This will be a quickie - This weekend will see me teaching my ExTex group at The Old Needle Works in Redditch, we will be procion dyeing on Saturday and on Sunday we will transfer printing . We should be in for a colourful time. The cake is made - all I need to do is sort out my kit and load the car . . . . x Worthing Embroiderers Guild are holding a workshop with Jill Flower  jillflower.com on Thursday October 18th and there are a few spaces left - The workshop is from 10 - 4 and is £20. Jill will showing you how to make her fabulous brooches. If you are interested please email Linda Hoddy lmhoddy@aol.com 

  A close up of the rust eating into a beam on some winching gear.  I had a day out yesterday and I took my 'big' camera with me. I am increasingly using my mobile phone's camera for convenience but there is nothing like holding a proper SLR in your hands and taking time to compose the shot. It has been quite a while since I took time out just to enjoy looking . . . Living in Brighton I have the luxury of two piers - the Palace Pier and the West Pier. The Palace Pier is still in operation and is full of gift shops, candy floss and a fun fair with lots of rides. The poor old West Pier is slowly falling into the sea. The West Pier is a photographers paradise with all the wonderful shapes of the exposed metal work. . . So it was with great interest that I explored the seafront at Eastbourne and the pier.     Two of the beautiful copper locks on the folding bandstand doors.     The amazing steel work that supports the pier. (I took loads of these)    

  The insides of my very old and very lovely Bernina 707.   I took a day off today to do a 'Getting to know your sewing machine' workshop at Foredown Tower with Sara Cook. I have always wanted to do this course, but never quite found the time. Like many of you I have been stitching for more years than I care to mention, in fact since I was eighteen - so a VERY long time. I have never taken the time to learn how to service my machine and get to know all the working parts. I have five much more modern sewing machines but this one is my favourite and consequently gets a lot of abuse - no I don't shout at it!!!! It was very satisfying to take the machine apart and oil the appropriate parts. I never knew I had an oscillating shuttle - how exciting?? I couldn't believe how much fluff and stuff was in my machine - I'm surprised it could work at all. I must admit I was pleased I had my old Bernina when I saw all the modern plastic machines. The old metal mach

  Just a little glitter . . . I hope you are sitting comfortably, this is going to be a long post - On Saturday I taught a one day version of 'A new starting point' my new(ish) workshop based on using newspaper creatively, to a fab group called Genesis Textiles Workshops. This is a very active and organised group based in Solihul.     You always know that a workshop is going to go well when the biscuits and coffee come out first thing. . . . You will be getting used to seeing (hopefully not bored with) images of my passion for newspaper, I hope that you will notice that no piece of work or sample is the same. The following images are created using my 'pretties and backgrounds' technique - which basically uses painted Bondaweb and torn newspaper with all kinds of gorgeous glittery bits and pieces. Gilding flake, glitter, sequins . . . .                      Then of course we have to have lunch- I know it is sometimes a

 Chunks of rocky road, tiny meringues and a cake on a stick!!! First to the naughtiness. There I was happily working away last night in Brenda's office at IDC inkberrowdesigncentre.co.uk , The Old Needle Works  when she comes back from a W.I. meeting with lots of swag. Beautiful candles and lots of little tasty bits. Cakes on sticks, rocky road and lots of tiny little meringues. For those of you who don't know - IDC is where I teach my Experimental Textiles course. experimentaltextiles.com I have come up to Redditch a day early because I have decided not to travel on a Friday if I can help it, it is just a nightmare. I am teaching for the Genesis Textile Group tomorrow. We are indulging in 'A new starting point'. More newspaper. It definitely seems to be the most popular workshop at the moment. The workshop is in Solihul, 30 minutes from Redditch so I thought I would stay with Brenda and help out in the office while she is te

 Iron-on interfacing colourwashed blue. This was then foiled all over with silver transfer foil and printed onto with one of my favourite wooden printing blocks. This can be done with the heavy pelmet Vilene (S133) if you want to make a box, or the softer Decovil 1 or Decovil light to make book covers or bags - gorgeous. I sell all three - www.nid-noi.com   Painted Bondaweb layered with torn newspaper, dot jewels and glitter.  I have a few weeks of calm looming - to write the book and start a new body of work. I am also making up some layered newspaper samples to have laser cut to my own designs to start making my new range of brooches and earrings. I love it when there is room in your brain for ideas to start slinking in. This tends to need time and space - all of which I have for while. I have plenty of things to catch up with, but there should also be time for play.  As most of you will know I think it is vital for any artist to play with their materials - it can lead

 A lovely little bowl that is a work in progress . . . .  I had forgotten how much I enjoy incorporating metal into textiles - so much so I will be teaching a new four day Metal Works? workshop at The Old Needle Works next Easter. Of course it helps to have students that have enquiring minds and enjoy experimenting. We worked with metal shims, knitted copper and metal mesh, mostly copper and brass. We tried embossing and punching out shapes as well as heat distressing to change the colour. We used a heat gun for this. My heat guns are 350 watt and are hot enough to colour copper. Anyone who has been on any of my workshops will know that I don't advocate using a naked flame.  I have had a selection of alcohol inks in a box for a about three years waiting for 'when I have a minute'!!! This was a great chance to use them to colour the metals. I also demonstrated transferring transfer painted papers on to the metal but that really needs to be saved til our next session w