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Last Saturday I went with Mum for a day out at the Festival of Quilts at the NEC. I’m not a quilter, but you can always get me along to a textile or craft exhibition and after seeing the fabrics, threads and books for sale together with the amazing exhibition and competition quilts I really fancy giving quilting a go.
Once we’d walked into the exhibition area this is the first quilt that caught my eye…
 'Phoenix Rising' by Ferret I loved the colours and the detail added by the quilting.
 Close-up on 'Phoenix Rising' to show the detail added by the quilting The next quilt was surrounded by people oohing and aahing – and no wonder! It was a stunning minature quilt (about 12″ square) that had not only won the top prize in its category but had also been awarded Best in Show. It was a thing of beauty, and so precise!
 'Mission: Impossible 2' by Kumiko Frydl This quilt using a Hawaiian applique design from the 1930s also caught my eye, I loved the colour contrast and convoluted design.
 'Kaui o Na Molokama' by Pippa Moss My geeky side was drawn to this quilt.
 'W Bosuns and the Top Quark' by Janine Ayres And the op art look of this one almost makes you dizzy when you stare at it.
 'Punto Óptico' by Manoli Lozano And finally, this one caught my eye just as the tannoy announcements from the organisers were begging us to leave at the end of the day.
 'A Future and a Hope' by Lynne Quinn At the end of the day we staggered blinking into the sunlight outside the NEC, shattered but clutching all lovely things we’d purchased (I got some more fabrics to go with the Bali batiks I bought a few weeks back – soon I’ll have enough for a quilt!). I think we’ll be going back next year…
I picked up my copy of the latest issue of Bead Magazine on my way home today, and got to see my profile in print! They’ve written a lovely article about me, and I’m really thrilled to see it. There’s also a project/pattern from me giving instructions to weave my Daisy design.
I forgot to mention (and really should have) that I also had a project in the last issue, giving details of how I shade my beadweaving and giving the patterns for my Three Trees design. The issue’s off the shelves now, but you can still order it from the magazine’s website, or you can click here to buy the project online.
 One of the tree designs
It’s a glorious weekend, so we headed out for the day. I’ve been hankering after making a patchwork quilt for a while, and with our interest in batik raised by the class last week we headed off to visit Textile Traders in Bishops Castle.
 Bishops Castle turned out to be a very pretty village, if somewhat vertical! Textile Traders specialise in fabrics from Thailand, Java, Malaysia…. We were in seventh heaven, and in the end I think I was very restrained. I kept to a pack of four fat quarters of Balinese gold ‘Prada’ cloth, a larger square of batiked cotton with a stylised floral design, a metre of woven fabric in pinks, purples and orange, a beaded belt from Indonesia and a vintage Javanese hair pin!
 My stash from the day After that we headed off to Chester (yes, I know that’s not the next logical step from Shropshire on our way back to Nottingham, but we had shops we wanted to visit in Chester too  )
 Looking down Bridge Street. You can see the Rows above the shops. I love the way that in Chester town centre you can shop on two levels! Above the ground levels shops you get the Rows, a second walkway set into the buildings at the first floor as a gallery with it’s own range of shops and cafes.
 Steps up to the Rows
At the Festival we saw the lovely work of Marie-Thérèse King & Sarah Jones, who are Eekbatik. They run workshops from The Fold in Worcestershire, where they also show their work, so yesterday I set off there with Mum as neither of us had ever tried batik before!
 Playing on paper We started off by drawing with wax on paper, so that we could have a play with the different tools. There were several brushes together with some cantings and kyskas. It was great to start off working on paper, both to produce more in the day but also as when we first started with the tools the wax went everywhere!
 Mum's practice piece on paper Once the wax was on we got to play with the dyes. They came in fantastic bright colours and were great fun to use. We then put the papers to one side to dry, and starting sketching out our designs on fabric (using a thin cotton stretched on a wooden frame).
 My second practice piece on paper I took a book on The Matyó Roses with me for inspiration, and sketched out a design based on embroidery patterns. This took FOREVER and I was only able to get a small part of the painting done before we broke for lunch (which we had at the Eco Cafe at The Fold, and I’d really recommend their chocolate and beetroot cake – yum!). After lunch we all worked like crazy to finish painting the first layer on the fabric, then do a second layer of wax and paint on both our sheets of paper and the fabric.
 My finished batik We just managed to finish in the time, and have the wax ironed off our work ready to take home.
 Mum based her design on the folk art of Edit Halász The Fold was a lovely venue that looked wonderful in the sunlight, and the food at the cafe was very enjoyable. It was a bit hard to find as it’s not signposted until you’re right on top of it, and I think it could have been made easier to find your way around the site. Also, several of the artist workshops were closed (although we bought a really nice piece from this lady), and the cafe shuts at 4pm, just as we were coming out of the workshop ready for a drink and some ice cream before the trek back to Nottingham.
Overall though, it was a really good day. Marie-Thérèse was a great teacher, and I really felt we learnt a lot.
With all the stress (and fun!) of preparing for the Festival and surviving through it, I was just looking for something relaxing to do when Mum pointed out the Joggles newsletter to me with a link to this article. So I read round a bit about Zentangles and did this in my doodle/sketch book…
 My first doodle That was loads of fun, so Mum bought us small sketchbooks at the Festival and I’ve enjoyed myself decorating the cover…
 Gold pen on the notebook cover … filling up the first page…
 Filling a page with doodles … from there I went on to do a heart…
 Heart doodle … and I’m now working on a flower.
 Flower in progress If you want to give these a go yourself then you could check the official Zentangle site, see this Squidoo lens for some tips and starting points, or else just do a Google search for images to get you inspired!
Flower in progress
Today the weather was lovely and people came out in droves. Dad came in with us, which meant that we could all go for a proper look round the Festival.
 The marquees in sunshine Each year there are a number of painters demonstrating and talking about their art, at various sites around the Festival.
 Demonstration in progress at the Artist and Leisure Painter marquee The World Owl Trust have also come along for the last few years, and this year are giving talks on the work they do – greatly enhanced by the prescence of this beautiful Barn Owl.
 Isn't it lovely? The blacksmith always draws a crowd, and it’s fascinating to see him at work.
There’s also been live music each day, with today being the Carlton Brass Band followed by a folk duo (I didn’t catch their name)
 They were great If you’re thinking of visiting tomorrow is the last day. It’s a really great show this year, with exhibitors such as Wongsam Design, Wendy Darker, Tracy Whinray, Sheila Gill, Sky Blue Designs, Minimal Marzipan, PennyDog Jewellery, Glyn Matthews, David Bellamy and Jenny Keal, Just Soaps, Kerry Richardson, Daisy Designs, Derwent, and Fizgig to name just a few.
I’ll be sorry to see the event end, I’ve been having a wonderful time!
The weather cleared up and the sun came out! Thirty-two coachloads today, and so many cars we moved onto the overflow car-park.
 As the sun came out, people began enjoying the courtyard for a quick break between looking at exhibitions I’m all talked out, as lots of lovely people came visiting who were interested in finding out what we do. In between chatting I was working on some chain maille, and Mum was working on a miniature bear in a pale green fabric (who we decided to call Grasshopper). After placing the last stitch she was showing him to me when he was bought on the spot!
 Farewell Grasshopper, we barely knew you We quickly labelled and photographed him, and then Grasshopper set off to his new home.
We’re looking forward to tomorrow, the weekend is usually very busy with more of a mixed crowd of visitors.
Yesterday my latest order of Moo cards arrived! They look fab as always – I particularly like that fact that you can now customise the back, allowing me to add a picture of mybeaded tree I’ve started using as a logo.
 Some of my yummy new Moo cards and box The beaded champagne bottle is a new picture I’m trying on a card, I’m really pleased with how it’s come out.
This was perfect timing as today was the first day of the Patchings Art, Craft and Design Festival. As we’ve a studio at Patchings we’re exhibiting at the show, and it’s definitely an occasion you want to have plenty of business cards on hand! Sadly, it’s been drizzly all day, but that doesn’t seem to have affected the visitors – I believe we’ve had 30 coachloads today together with plenty of individual visitors. We always get a lot of art groups on the first day, which means plenty of people interested in talking to us about what we do.
I’ve not had a chance for a proper look round the show yet (just a quick look into the Jewellery and Mixed Media marquee when I was putting balloons up), but it seems really good – I’m looking forward to a proper look round tomorrow.
I’ve been playing with resin over the last week or two, so put out a display of some new magnets made in bottle caps with various inclusions and a charm dangling from the bottom.
 Bottle cap magnets These were SO MUCH fun to make! I’m now playing around with some bezels we’ve made to try and include resin in jewellery – hopefully I’ll get the first of these finished tomorrow.
Right, time to get everything together for the next day of the Festival…
…because my right hand is covered in henna! I really fancied having it done for the Patchings Festival, and we had all the necessary stuff (henna, lemons, etc), so Mum’s just finished doing my hand for me.
 Henna drying on my hand I’m now sitting here carefully looking after my hand, applying lemon and sugar while trying not to flake it off. A nice break as otherwise we’re on last minute prep for the Festival and keeping our fingers crossed it doesn’t rain!
I’ve been a member of the Beadworkers Guild for about 8 years now, and when I can I really enjoy entering their Challenge. Each year they set a theme and invite their members to submit work inspired by it. This year the theme was ‘Music Matters’, and I made this doll, Brunnhilde.
 It ain't over till.... I wanted to do a comic piece based on the quote ‘It ain’t over till the fat lady sings’, so she had to be a valkyrie from Wagner’s Ring Cycle. I adapted this fabulous pattern for a singing doll, altering the face a bit and making her shorter and stockier. She’s got a chain maille skirt with a beaded bustle, a beadwoven bodice with fringing, a bead embroidered shield, carries a spear and has a winged crown on her head.
 Side view of Brunnhilde  A shot of the whole doll I had a lovely time making her, and then sent her off to be judged. The Judging is held at the AGM, which I wasn’t able to attend this year (the first time in 8 years I’ve not made it!). But I got a call last Sunday to let me know I’d won my category!!! I’m so chuffed about this, and thrilled that others like her as much as I do. You can see her, and all the other brilliant entries, on the Guild website.
So this post is running a couple of weeks late, as I’ve been poorly sick for a bit (nothing serious, just a virus-thingy that knocked me back a bit).
Both me and Mum were supposed to be going on another workshop with Janet Humphrey (who’s just launched her new website), this time on Victoriana. Mum’s had a bad back the last few weeks, but I still made it out there, along with most of the people who were on the Venetian Glory workshop from my last post. This time we’d all brought a selection of lace, and spent the morning dying our lace (and some of Janet’s stash) with silk paints. The weather was gorgeous, so we were able to hang them out to dry while we broke for lunch.
 Our lace samples, drying in the sun. The idea was to then use motifs and sections of the lace in a small embroidered panel, with a bit of a Victorian feel to it.
 My dyed lace samples, together with backing fabric, ready to start stitching. My piece isn’t very far along yet, but it was another great day.
On Saturday I went with Mum to the Venetian Glory textile class run by Janet Humphrey. The class was to make an over-the-top embellished pouch bag inspired by some that Janet had seen in Venice.
 Here's the bag I made We started off with a base fabric (I used some Indian silk, Mum used a piece of hand-dyed velvet), and stitched on ribbons, lace and fabrics to embellish. After making the outer part of the bag it was further decorated with flowers, beads and sequins, before making a lining and finishing off with a tasselled drawstring and loop to hang it from.
 And here's the bag Mum made. It was a lovely day. We didn’t really learn anything new, but it was great to have a day making something just for the fun of it. And always fun to meet people who don’t look at you oddly when they see the size of your fabric stash! We’ve got another one in two weeks on Victoriana – not sure exactly what’s involved but it does include dying lace.
Tomorrow is Mother’s Day over here, and having read this post on Etsy about crafting Mothers and daughters I wanted to write about my Mum – without her I wouldn’t be sewing/beading/knitting/drawing…
 Mum sitting in the snow at the Budapest Christmas Market - see the beaded necklaces at the stall in the background? For as long as I can remember Mum’s been teaching me to make things. One of the first crafty things I remember was Mum showing me how to stitch a snail shape in chain stitch. All my teachers and relatives got handmade presents until I was in secondary school – cross stitched pictures, painted wooden spoons, orange pomanders… I can even lay the bead obsession at her door – she taught me to make headpin earrings when I was about 8, took me to bead shops, and bought me my first seed beading book. We laugh at the same things, she encourages me when I’m down or stuck, and gives me a kick whenever I need one! In a minute I’m off to cook her a lovely (hopefully) meal, but I also wanted to say Thank You Mum!!!
 Me and Dad at the same Christmas Market - I was only allowed to put up a picture of Mum if I promised there would be one of me too!
Here we are, a whole month since I started on my cushion covers, and I’m still on the first one! I was working on the first two borders together, and FINALLY joined them up to the beginning a couple of days ago. Since then I’ve made a start on the motif in the middle, and I’m eyeing up the remaining white space.
 Cushion cover so far. One day this will hopefully be full of stitching....
Some new windows are being fitted tomorrow, so I’ve spent some of today sorting out the spare room/study/library/general dumping ground so the fitters can actually make it as far of the window. As a lot of what’s in there is books I’ve mostly been straightening up the bookcases that line the room, and along the way I came across this.
It’s a book of hungarian sewing, embroidery, crochet and cross stitch patterns that was my Grandmother’s. There’s an inscription and date inside the front cover that shows this was a gift to her just before she and my Mum left for the UK to join my Grandfather. It’s a real treasure trove of patterns, instructions and techniques, and you can see from indentations in some of the pages (and the occasional traced pattern tucked in the book) that my Grandmother was tracing some of the designs to use in her own work. This was a really lovely thing to find – makes all the rest of the dusty work worthwhile!
 Page spread from inside book  The book has a number of fold out pages for larger patterns
The group exhibition at Patchings finished last weekend, so I got my large beadweaving back yesterday. It’s lovely to get it back – I’d forgotten how much I like it! The design is based on an Art Nouveau motif and woven with delicas on my Mirrix loom. I got a couple of beautiful inspiration books for Christmas (a HUGE Taschen book on illuminated bibles and this beautiful illustrated book of “The Thousand Nights and One Night” from Jan Pienkowski), so I’m hoping to design more large weavings like this.
I’d forgotten how much I like beading these and that I had quite so many up in the loft waiting for me to cover them! So I’ve run up a couple of netted tealight holders.
I’ve listed the second one in my Etsy shop, and will be listing the other one later.
I wrote the instructions on how to do these a while back, I’ll see if I can dig them out and put them in the shop too.
It’s a slightly worrying place, applying for new jobs. I’m lucky, in that I have family to support me, but it’s still a bit dispiriting sending job applications into the ether and keeping your fingers crossed. But today I got an invitation to interview in just over a weeks time – lovely to know that someone read my CV and didn’t burst out laughing at the idea they might want to employ me! It’s also a job that sounds interesting, so wish me luck…
The updating of my website continues, today I added a banner and did some tweaking on the formating. Not a big change, but it looks smarter. I’ve also confirmed the new date for the Three Netted Necklaces beading workshop I’m teaching at Patchings – on the original date the Midlands received lots of snow, looking beautiful but preventing people from coming.
*Sweeps dust and cobwebs away, lots of coughing*
So it’s been a really long time without posting, but it seems time to start again. Since last posting I got a new job and moved to Wales, and then got made redundant a few weeks ago. So it’s back to job-hunting for me. In the meantime I’ve torn down my old website and started to rewrite it, started teaching workshops at Patchings, and opened an Etsy shop. The Etsy shop is very new, and only has two items in it but I have big plans – including starting to sell patterns and maybe kits…
In the meantime I’ve started some sewing as well. I’ve loved these cushions that Mum made ever since they were finished a year or two ago, and I’ve been wanting to make some of my own.
I bought some beautiful space-dyed thread from Oliver Twists earlier this year, so I’ve finally started on my cushions. The first one is going to be in red/orange/brown and purple thread, and I’ve started off with elements taken from a new book on textiles and patterns I bought at the Ethnography Museum in Budapest.
This is only the first band of pattern, and I’m less than quarter of the way round, but I’m pleased with how it looks so far – though I’m desperate to start the next band!
I’ve been meaning to get some for a while, but haven’t been sure what I wanted or how to choose. But I came across this company last week, and loved the fact that in a box of 100 cards, you can have up to 100 different images! Perfect for me, as I wanted to show some of the different things I’ve done. I’ve had them done with images ranging from coloured chain maille, the icon from my last post, the Rainforest Jasper pin from my last post, some freeform beading, and this netted spiral. I’m really pleased with how they look.
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