Fabulous cushions

Today is week four of my hand stitched (mostly!) patchwork cushion project at Sew Patchwork in Thame. Five lovely ladies and five fabulous cushions and all completely different. So pleased with them, and I think that they were rather pleased with themselves.
Will definitely be running this course again - watch out for it on the 'Courses' page on the blog.

This is the second time this lady has done the course,
another great result, particularly like the budgie!

Big smiles!

Love the use of different triangles and floral motifs

Lovely fresh spring colours

Of sunshine and paper cutting at Farncombe

Spent a delightful day yesterday at beautiful Farncombe estate, which overlooks Broadway in the Cotswolds - the views are breathtaking, especially when it's bright and the skies are clear. My class was located in the old coach house and it was very comfortable.
Ten lovely ladies who produced ten fabulous paper cuts and all so very different. One of the things I love about teaching is watching the students' progress through the day, and then seeing the results emerge and the reactions of the students - all delighted with their efforts.

I'm back at Farncombe on May 11th with a one day scrappy patchwork course.

For thirteen year old son

Lots of concentration!

Beautiful! And it's her first paper cut!

In anticipation of grandson's arrival

Perfect Easter card

A birthday card - so very delicate

A furling fairy tale pennant complete with castle

For a gardening hubby's birthday

Of stitching and ripping and fun

I know, long time no blog, apologies, hopefully this will  make up for the silence!

This weekend I was teaching my first  a course for the Oxford Summer School Plus, so a little nervous about what to expect and also it was a new course to me - ie I had dreamt it up but this was the first time I had delivered it.
WOW, what a treat - Liz the driving force behind the Summer School hires classrooms in a local school and fills them with creative and talented tutors and students so the buzz up and down the corridors is lovely.
I had four students, being the new tutor I was a bit of an unknown quantity, and I took in piles of inspiring resources and materials, boxes of buttons and beads and ribbons and lots of energy!
I encouraged them to forget the 'must do it like this' school of stitching and encouraged them to have some fun and try out  lots of techniques and ideas and generally enjoy themselves.

And I was so chuffed with the outcomes and we got great reactions from other students who popped in to see what we were up to and keen to know when I'd be running the course again!

Hopefully I'll be invited back before too long...

Love these two Ikat fabrics and the dash of orange

Great mix of fabrics and textures

Finished machine stitched elements waiting
waiting to be placed

Sampler showing crazy pieced patchwork background,
layers of gauze and hand embroidery

Happily stitching!

Large panel of pieced fabrics that will be
be machine stitched over and embellished with embroidery 

Embellishing by hand a floral motif, ribbons,
buttons and beads to be added in abundance

Panel of birds framed by denim making a feature
of the existing seams, love the strips of stripes