The beautiful courtyard at La Verderie 2 workshops in France September/October Hot Textiles - Creative Bondaweb  September 26 th – October 1 st Luscious Layers October 3 rd – 8 th I am very blinkered in the way I think and sometimes need a nudge to make me realise what is staring me in the face!  Gorgeous old buildings with loads of inspirational textures can be found around and about La Verderie Because the workshops in France are going to be for 4 - 5 students I immediately thought they would be good for beginners and marketed it accordingly. It has been pointed out to me several times that working in a small group would also be a great opportunity for more advanced students to have their own 'masterclass' with me. There will be plenty of time for one to one tuition for any level of experience so Sue and I have now changed the skill levels on all the advertising. I am giving you all the 'heads up' as I start my show season this week and wi...

Phew! it's 34 degrees centigrade here in the Charente Maritime - too warm for the this English Rose! I am ensconced in Sue and John's lovely cool house. Teaching here September and October seems to be a very good idea - it should still be warm but not baking!!!  There are fields upon fields of sunflowers and grapevines in this area of France, it is stunning and so peaceful, 3 cars have driven past the house today. There are plenty of places to walk - around the hamlet or out into the fields. The sloes are about to ripen and the walnuts are on their way. There is inspirational colour and texture every where you look from flowers to old distressed doorways and brick work - gorgeous. The light through the grapevines is beautiful the Campsis in Sue's colourful courtyard garden is fabulous this year Hollyhocks self seed every where - it is SO frustrating, when I try to grow them they get rust!!! So to the workshops and the main reason I nipped down here to see Sue. That an...

As most of you will have noted - I have a dreadful life travelling miles to teach and torture unsuspecting students the joys of using heat to distress all manner of wonderful materials. Monday night saw me deliver a lecture, on time I am happy to say, for the Bourne Quilters. www.bournequilters.org.uk They are a large group with a dynamic mix of ladies and are very organised. It is always intersting when visiting groups to see how they are run. I was bit concerend that my samples and talk might be a bit 'out there' for quilters - not a bit of it!!!! They were all really interested, asking lots of questions, always a good sign.  I was put up by Lis and Steve Dawson while I teaching the workshops. I do so wish I could have stayed longer, I had such a good time with them, they are great fun - I was very well looked after. my students having to tuck into Magnums so we could melt the wrappers, the things we do for our art!!!!!!   The following two days were spent playing with Tyv...

Lesley on the left and Sue on the right This is just a quick blog to say that Sue and I have sorted out the dates for the workshops in France for 2012. We have also been eating and drinking rather a lot 'Quelle surprise'!!! Sue, Lesley and I lived together at college THIRTY FOUR YEARS ago - which is amazing as we are all only 36 - Ho Ho!!!  Sue is the proprietor of Kanagaroo the mail order company for knitting yarns and accessories. She also offers and teaches Learn to Knit workshops in France in case any of you are interested. see www.kangaroo.uk.com The holiday workshops Sue and I have thrashed out over several glasses of wine are Back To Basics workshops with a little local flavour thrown in. Follow the link at the end of this post to find out more. Because there is only space available for a small number of students I thought it would be a good idea to teach beginners on these workshops as we will all have more time together. A five night holiday in the beautiful Charent...