Bliss balls, chocolate brownies and fresh raspberries. Denise is a fabulous cook -  and it's all gluten free. Denise had been Gluten free for several years, until I met her I had no idea how debilitating it can be. So - here I am in New Zealand, Christchurch to be exact. Am in a motel for the night as I have an earlyish flight in the morning to start my journey back to the UK. I really don't want to leave - I do so love it here. I have had a wonderful time here. I have been soooooo well looked after by my lovely friend Denise Cleghorn and her husband the very funny Barry. He tolerated me with good humour. I also saw another good friend Christine Marks and her gorgeous man Bob for a couple of days in Blenheim. We have all had a good catch up. Whilst Facebook and emails can help when there is a long distance between you, there is nothing like a big hug when you do get to see each other. Most of my visit has been spent on Denise and Barry's farm just outside ...

A rather splendid sample by Nadine. Here I am FINALLY, sorry this has been delayed. Have had a bit of a struggle with WIFI access while I am traveling in New Zealand. It can be a problem uploading a lot of photos. The 7th weekend of Experimental Textiles is a 'students choice'. The group negotiate what they would like to learn. I have to put my hands up to guiding them towards working with metal. It is a great material to work with, the girls had a fun time working with all the supplies they brought into class. A great bundle of fun to sort out and manipulate. Different metal shims, embossed or coloured with alcohol inks. Embossed copper embossed and cut to shape. Of course - sweet papers were an integral part of the workshop. This was a fun table full of materials - an old vegetable rack, tin foil and packs of covered metal wire. These samples were made by layering different metal shims with washers. Drinks cans came in very use...

One should always be appropriately dressed when teaching! It's New Years Eve, how did that happen?  It is a great time to look back over the past year and think of friends you have met, places you have been and the wonderful things you have seen. 2015 was a busy year with 2 trip to the Antipodes, 3 trips to Ireland - 2016 will be even more bonkers . . . A sign on the wall of the World of Wearable Art exhibition in Auckland. I have met a lot of you at the various shows that I do throughout the year, both for myself and for Vilene. We have wonderful chats and discussions about all manner of things as well as textiles, and of course, chocolate!  One of the main topics seems to be how lucky I am. Until the middle of this year, I had never really though about it - I always say Yes! I am. A good friend of mine who also works on the stand with me, pointed out with great emphasis, that I am not 'lucky'. I have made the decisions and choices that have brough...

2 rather splendid corsages. My last workshop for 2015 was at Art Van Go, an excellent way to end the year. Viv and Kevin and the team look after everyone so well. They run a very comprehensive workshop timetable. Here are the workshops for 2016 -  bit.ly/1IjvI4U    I have a new one in August, Sticky and Shiny. Learning how to use all the glues and fusible webs with transfer foil. I think this is a long overdue workshop. Anyway - back to Making a Tyvek Box. As many of you will know, I rarely teach a workshop where students leave with something finished. teaching process is my passion. However, I thought it might be time to show how adaptable Tyvek can be and that students don't need to leave with just a bag of colourful, textured samples.   My Tyvek box sample.                   I took along the book Embroidered Boxes by Janet Edmonds. It has beautiful ideas for making...