2013 starts with the WI

So firstly, apologies for the lack of activity - I had a splurge of cover teaching in the run up to Christmas which was great fun as it was textiles with sixth formers, but it was exhausting, not just the actual lessons but the thinking time in the run up to each lesson and then the post lesson analysis afterwards.
Then off to Canada to visit family and friends for the festive season, came back with my right leg in a brace thanks to a truly silly chair lift moment, and then in to my first course for the WI at their beautiful educational facility Denman College, just outside Abingdon.
Even with my wealth of teaching and running courses, I walked into the beautiful Georgian house feeling a little nervous. I knew I had seven students but that was all and I was wrong footed when I discovered at the start of our first session  that they had not been sent the list of materials I expected them to bring. However several of them had been to Denman  before and thought to pack fabrics and scissors and I took mountains of resources and mterials ad equipment, because you just never know...
My ladies were really lovely and mostly total beginners and in between laughing and chatting and me teaching and them learning, beautiful things were made that they were thrilled with, which is a great feeling for me!
My only downside was sleeping in a single bed minus husband and two cats and not saying good night to the children - upside didn't have to get them up in the morning or make packed lunches!
So I am looking forward to next week's paper cutting course.

Busy cutting fabrics for stitching on to templates

Panel for a cushion

Detail fro my resources and materials table - the book is one of
the best quilt books I know, author is Michele Walker and it's good for
history, design and techniques

Making a pieced geodesic sphere, specifically a rhombicuboctahedron.
complete with panels of robins - gorgeous!