More sketchbook pages

USA. I am coming!

I know that loads of people in the United States read my blog so I am very pleased to announce that I will be coming to teach in California in September. I will be teaching a couple of workshops for French General in Los Angeles. Hope to fly in to LA then travel up to Mendocino  and then back  down the coast to fly back from San Francisco. Would love any comments on places, sights not to be missed in the above itinerary particularly museums with folk art and quilts.
Information on my courses is beautifully displayed on the French General web site, hope to meet some of you there!

A bit different

A bit  different.... I have been preparing lino cuts and printing on to fabric recently in preparation for the summer school I always teach with Horsley Printmakers.

A quilt mystery

The nice thing about hand sewing is that you can have your iPad propped up by next to you and watch films and documentaries. Today I have watched a documentary about a diphtheria outbreak in Nome in Alaska in 1925.The only way to get the serum to the town which was cut off for eight months of the year by snow and ice was to send it via convoy of "mushers" and their teams of dogs hundreds of miles across thenAlaskan wilderness. An old fashioned tale of bravery of both men and dogs but what intrigued me was that the serum was not allowed to freeze in the extremely sub zero temperatures so it was wrapped up in a quilt to keep it warm.  Who made the quilt and what happened to it I wonder? Must be one of the best quilt stories ever!

More Sketchbook

Chartreuse

I have been meaning to start some work using a bit of a green palette and mixing very fine things like exquisite embroidery and silks with rough worn "stable boy" patchwork. Here is the first little collage. Applique and embroidery.

Selvedge

I am featured in the latest edition ( Jan/Feb 2014) of SELVEDGE.  5 pages of photos and a ghood article written about me by Dr Susan Marks.

Another thing to do with hexagons

Sketchbook page. January is sketchbook month as its the only month I don't teach and have time just to play.... I will be showing you some more pages over the next month. Clever people could probably insert a little film of turned pages  at this point but I haven't gopt the skills sorry!

Wolves are back

Wolves are back in Europe according to this weekend's papers. Never gone away for me! Here is one I finished this weekend.The best I have ever done I think, If you think it looks like a husky thats also OK! Now on Etsy.

What to do with hexagons

The very first patchwork I did back in 1977 was hexagons. I became enthusiastic after watching a BBC series on patchwork fronted by Rosamund Richardson and the book that accompanied the series and a Laura Ashley near by selling scraps pushed me in to starting patchwork and here I am today. I have a few old bits of hexagons that I have been given or collected and have always struggled on how to use them but am determined to incorporate them in some way. Here's one attempt.....