Paper Cutting in Chipping Campden

I spent yesterday in the beautiful Cotswold town of Chipping Campden in an ancient barn that has been converted into a museum. I had been invited to run a paper cutting workshop, and duly rocked up with my resources and papers and knives.

Honestly - I can never believe that my students have never done this before - the results are amazing.

And the icing on the cake was a walk down the architecturally delightful high street and finding 'Cherry Press' - a joy for a type nut like me - full of typographic and printing memorabilia, beautifully curated and next time I need business cards I know where I'll be going! More of that tomorrow.

All in all a grand day out!

More wreath making

Spent a busy two hours back at Denman College with the ladies of Otmoor WI, and two hours is not very long to get a project up and running and finished but they managed it (mostly) and seemed delighted with the results.
Love some of the mixes of fabrics - calicos with tartans and gauzes, stripes with florals, net with chintz - pretty much anything goes and once you've mastered the rotary cutter, the ripping and the knotting, it's straight forward.

Fab results!

Shropshire ladies get creative

Spent a fun, busy and highly creative couple of days at the WI's Denman College with ladies form the Shropshire Federation. I did my usual intro to 'Super Creative Cushions', on Friday evening and showed them an array of textile possibilities and then I threw the ball into their court and waited to see what came back. They did not disappoint.

Saturday morning we hit the ground running, cutting, pinning, folding, embroidery, beading and buttoning - a veritable hive of industry. 

By Sunday lunchtime we had seven cushions and a baby's quilt to show for our efforts. 

Great fun and very rewarding!

Getting creative with ribbons

Adding a braid detail by hand

Applique monogram (BT), with couching,
beads and buttons were added later

Wildly colourful baby's quilt with knotted detail

Hand embroidery lifts printed rose

Pretty strip patchwork

Applique, large buttons and hand
stitched couching used to dramatic effect

Love the contrasting textures, silk, hessian and linen