Playing with colour. I have three courses coming up in December and they all have spaces, so if you fancy two or three days away to recharge your batteries, then you might like to consider coming out to play!   Water colour paper colour washed then torn, then colour washed on the torn edge - simply beautiful.   On December 4 th - 6 th I will be delivering a 3 day workshop - Colour Works! at Art Van Go.  This is a new course especially written for Art Van Go and will involve paint ing you own colour wheel and a tints, tones and shades chart. After this we wi ll be colour washi ng all w eights and types of papers to manip ulate and play with shapes and overlaying c olours. Whether you wi sh to work in two or three di mensions this will be three days of colour, pl ay and stitch. There should be time to create a considered stitched sample or 3d piece .  Working with colour is something we all need to do regularly to help us bu i ld our confiden ce when choos

A rather delicious 'pretty'.   I apologise for the rather woeful delay in writing this post, I haven't been this behind for ages. What with teaching over the weekend and nid-noi.com being a bit busier I am a wee bit behind with answering emails and all the usual admin.  I am rather fond of the Worthing Embroiderers Guild. Being local to me I have delivered several workshops and lectures over the past few years and many of them turn up from time to time on other workshops. So I was looking forward to spending a sparkly day with them last Thursday. The workshop was 'A new starting point' - my newspaper based one day workshop.     A few of the ladies getting stuck into their 'pretties'. The Guild hold their meetings and workshops in a fabulous room with plenty of power and light, it was a great treat to work in there. The plan was to create some 'pretty' backgrounds to print onto and also create a faux chenille sample using newspaper an

  Alpaca and silk tops with painted Bondaweb and layered newspaper ready to stitch.   I hope you all enjoyed the Jubilee celebrations and that those of you that were involved in street parties didn't get washed away . . It is wonderful to have a few days to just relax and let ideas arrive. When I was in Blenheim, New Zealand, for their Creative Fibre Festival I picked up some beautiful Alpaca and silk fibres and started to play with the fibres and painted Bondaweb unsupported - I don't mean me feeling lonely, I mean not on a background. Having started to stitch into the pieces I felt the need for some kind support but nothing too heavy that would detract from the beautiful fairy like qualities of the fibres . . . and low and behold I was asked to test a new self adhesive water-soluble product. It arrived this morning and is just the thing I needed and it washes away quickly with no residue - Fantastic. Once I get permission, I will let you all know the name of it.  

  Various weights of Vilene Spunbond zapped with a heat gun and cut with a soldering iron to create fabulous edges. Foils were added to some of the edges. First the good news - There are five spaces on my workshop   'Hot new jewelled surfaces for stitch' . New, soft fairy like and jewelled surfaces can be developed by distressing Vilene Spunbond/Lutradur and layering this exciting product with embossing powders and Hot Spots! Using beautiful mica powders and high metallic paints we will create stunning layered surfaces on which to stitch – or not.  This workshop is on Saturday 16th June at Hurley Village Hall, Hurley, Nr Maidenhead. SL6 5LT to book email Lesley a t lel.a@sky.com It is unusual for one of my workshops for a Guild not to fill within the Guild - I must be losing my touch - so those of you in the Windsor and Maidenhead area who have been saying I don't do enough workshops in your area - now is your chance! I shall also be putting this infor