Christmas Message

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, especially all my students. Here's to a productive and creative 2010!

Amelie with her own new baby and Granty Sian

The new born baby and the foetal scan you might remember seeing featured in my textile work a couple of years ago is now over two years old. Amelie shows her own new baby here and how she carries it around in its own 'embroidered' carrycot.

Happy Birthday John!

How does your 'baby' brother get to look so grown up?

A train journey to Cornwall on a beautiful sunny day to have lunch with brother John in Truro. Taking some photos through the window on the Brunel Bridge over the River Tamar I noticed the extra shapes in the reflective surfaces and thought how intriguing they looked. Will look out for more of these.

Anish Kapoor at the Royal Academy

Spot the photographer!

Photos of the amazing reflective spheres outside the Royal Academy of Arts while queueing for the Anish Kapoor exhibition. It's on until 11th December if you're in London near Piccadilly Circus, you can see these spheres in the courtyard without going into the exhibition. An interesting way of creating distorted images - ideas for designing perhaps?

Goodbye SpIishy

Splish died during August. She was my constant studio companion of 14 years who knew just the right background to enhance her colouring. Below, Splish poses with the ever growing length of the 'path' for my 'Tread Softly' exhibit.

The Knitting and Stitching show opens at Alexandra Palace on Thursday 8th October and I shall be there if anyone wants to say hello. I'm not attached to a particular show or stand this year but I shall be spending some time at the Pfaff Art Embroidery exhibition if you'd like to seek me out. Look out, also for 'Thread Softly', my piece of work in this exhibition. An image of this was posted on 16th May 2009.

Distant Stitch Summer School 2009

Candid shots in the Stableyard Studio - lots more on www.distantstitch.co.uk

Making 3D shapes from Solufleece

Inspired by a chosen artist, everyone made pieces of machine stitched water-soluble 'solufleece'. This was then genlty sponged onto a 3 D shape such as a bottle, head or shoe form to dry into a stiff shape. The Summer School finished with a show of these pieces along with the named badges everyone had stitched on the first evening - also inspired by the same artist.

Betty and Avis in photo below, Helen and Karen below that and Julie, Alison and Meg in the bottom photo.