Walking into a clean and orderly studio set up and waiting for my students to arrive. Quite moments in the evening tidying up and getting ready for the next day. My garden full of fabric and drying screens. The calm after the students leave, when my studio becomes my space again.

And along the way a riot of colour. Seven students across two five day Breakdown Your Palette workshops, each creating their own unique pieces of fabric. Creative, happy days spent in good company. I have missed this so much! Teaching is a bit different in this new normal but just as satisfying.

The new normal means being flexible - plans often change, both mine and my students. I’m having to reschedule the Books for Textile Artists workshops with Ruth Brown for next April and have had to delay the start of my upcoming Creative Surface Design class until November. I currently only have three places left on workshops in 2020. There is one place on my Introduction to Surface Design 1 day a month for 10 months course which starts on Saturday 26th September. There is one place on my Print Your Palette 5 day workshop (Monday 28th September to Friday 2nd October). And there is one place on my Creative Surface Design course which is spread across five weekends with the first weekend being the 21st and 22nd November. I am keeping all my fingers and toes crossed that next year is better and that we can all plan with a little more certainty.

But until then I have a lot to grateful for. A big thank you to Sharon, Sue, Heather, Judy T, Alison, Judy S and Mandy for keeping me company and inspiring me over the last two weeks!

Many of you will know that I closed the studio a couple of weeks ago when local Covid-19 restrictions were introduced restricting access to peoples homes and gardens covering the area I live in. Although we are in an area with a relatively low and decreasing infection rate not all areas in Greater Manchester are so fortunate so the local lockdown remains in place. HOWEVER …. the government published revised guidance on the 14th August detailing the list of circumstances under which people may enter your family home or garden. Second on the list is ‘for the purposes of education or training’. I contacted my local councillor over the weekend just to be absolutely sure and he has confirmed that bringing students into the studio and garden is allowed!

Phew! I was getting increasingly upset that we might be in and out of lockdown throughout the autumn and winter, that I wouldn’t know if I was coming or going and whether it wouldn’t just be easier not to try to teach. Of course the situation could get far worse and we could end up back in full lockdown with travel restrictions in place. And I appreciate that some students who don’t live locally might not want to travel into the area. But for now I am enjoying some positive news!

The next workshop I run will be my five day Breakdown Your Palette workshop on Monday 31st August to Friday 4th September. This week was rescheduled at short notice so there are a couple of places available. If you are interested you can find more details here.

And the positivity doesn’t stop there …. today we are starting a new build. In order to work in a Covid-19 safe way in the studio we need to keep the doors open allowing lots of air flow. Not a problem on dry, mild days but winter is coming. My favourite builders, son Joe (Bodger) and father in law Bernard (Badger), have a plan! Over the next couple of weeks they are adding a porch to the studio. It will have an opening at the front to allow air flow but will stop the rain getting in and, hopefully, stop the heat getting out. I have been doing my bit by giving the timbers a coat of primer and undercoat. Their aim is to build something that fits with the rest of the studio front. My aim is to try to keep calm and carry on working on the book ….

I’ll post an update soon!

As I mentioned before I’m having to make changes to dates, and individual students are having to make decisions based on their own circumstances so there is a lot of movement on workshop availability over the next couple of months. Below is a list of the workshops with availability. I know that it feels a bit risky signing up for a workshop when things can change overnight but I am refunding and rescheduling when things do change so rest assured on that front.

Yes, I expect the mini-lockdown in place in Greater Manchester to last 2 - 3 weeks and yes, I think there will be further lockdowns as we get into the main flu season. But in-between I am determined to enjoy the company of my lovely students in an environment that is as safe as it can be. A slice of ‘normality’ in these uncertain times.

• Breakdown Your Palette - rescheduled workshop will now take place from Monday 31st August to Friday 4th September. It looks like there will be two spaces - please contact me if you want to be put on the waiting list.

• Breakdown Your Palette 7th to 11th September - 1 space

• Creative Surface Design, first weekend 19th and 20th September - 1 space

• Introduction to Surface Design, first Saturday 26th September - 2 spaces

• Books for Textile Artists with Ruth Brown 10th to 13th October - 2 spaces

Take care,

Leah x

Hidden Message 2 - one of the quilts on display in From There to Now

Those of you who live in the UK will be aware that the government announced new restrictions covering Greater Manchester (where I live) on Thursday evening due to an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases locally. We are no longer able to visit each others homes or gardens. They have not imposed any new restrictions on businesses so I could continue to teach. However, whilst my students never go inside my home, they do use the garden to access the studio, the bathroom and screen wash trough as well as sitting in the garden on sunny days. It is tempting to bend the rules as I know that I, and my family, are being super careful. And I know that the studio is Covid-19 safe. But I’m not going too. If we all bend the rules we will never get free of this disease.

So yesterday I contacted those students who were due in the studio in the next couple of weeks. They have all been so understanding and so lovely and I thank them for making a difficult day easier to bear. I’m trying to reschedule the Breakdown Your Palette workshop for later in the summer and may have a couple of free spaces if it goes ahead.

But life goes on and there is much to celebrate. Beyond The Festival of Quilts launched on Thursday and I have had some fabulous responses to my virtual gallery ‘From There to Now’. Although the official event finishes tomorrow I believe that the galleries are going to be left visible until next years show. I’ve also had a good response to the Helen Parrott and Rosie James workshops in 2021 with half the places taken in a couple of days. They are popular teachers!

And thank you to those who have ordered from my webshop, especially those buying my limited edition bookmarks. As a reminder the 10% discount code FOQ2020 is valid until midnight on Sunday.

Yesterday was horrible but today I have given myself a good talking to and am back working on my book.

Leah x

Sewing Blue by Rosie James

It is an absolute pleasure to announce that Helen Parrott and Rosie James will be teaching at Urban Studio North next year. They are both amazing artists and teachers and I’m so happy that they accepted my invitation to teach in my studio.

Stitched samples by Helen Parrott

Helen will be teaching a new five day workshop that combines creative personal development with individual coaching sessions. The title of her workshop is Northern Landscapes and Hand Stitch and you can find more here. It is a two part workshop running from 7th to 9th May and 12th to 13th June 2021. Students will explore new visual and stitch ideas drawn from northern landscapes. At the end of the first weekend students will go home with ideas to explore and reflect on before coming back into the studio. I had the pleasure of working alongside Helen last autumn and have seen, at first hand, how good she is at tailoring a workshop to fit individual students needs and aspirations.You can find more about Helen on her website here.

And what can I say about Rosie James? Well I absolutely love her work. Her use of a sewing machine to stitch drawn lines creates deceptively simple but powerful, evocative pieces of art. During her five day workshop, entitled Drawing With Your Sewing Machine (4th to 8th October 2021), you will learn to use your sewing machine for free machine quilting and will experiment with stitch on different surfaces including paper and cloth. You’ll learn to add colour using applique and simple monoprinting. By the end of the workshop you will have a series of experimental samples and one or more completed pieces. You can find out more about the workshop here. And you can find out more about Rosie and see more of her art on her website here.

I’m taking bookings on both workshops from today via my online shop. Both cost £450 including a £150 deposit.

A big thank you to Jane Mills and Janet Morsman for being such wonderful students this week and for helping test drive my Covid-19 safe studio. I was a little anxious about starting teaching again but it went well. The way I had laid out the studio worked and we were able to maintain social distancing …. albeit we cheated occasionally to go the wrong way around my one way system! Having to wear masks when walking around the studio wasn’t too bad as we each spent most of our time in our individual workstations where we didn’t need masks. And we were each able to make ourselves cups of tea and coffee in a Covid-19 safe way. There were little bits that need improving but overall I’m a lot more comfortable than I was.

It felt so good to get back to teaching and to be working alongside Jane and Janet. And we got to spend five days breakdown printing! I can’t think of many better ways to spend my time!

My Breakdown Your Palette workshops are full for this year but I still have three places left on workshops next year if you are feeling inspired!

I’ve spent the week getting my studio ready for my first students in over four months. It looks quite a lot different but we live in a different world now and we all have to adjust. I’m grateful that I can start teaching again - I have missed it badly. But it has been a strangely upsetting week. My studio is my favourite place in the world, it is part of my family home and feels like an extension of ‘me’. Putting up screens and taping out the floor space just feels wrong but I’m hoping that once my first couple of students arrive and the space is filled with laughter and creativity it will start to feel more normal.

I know that some of my students are anxious about coming into the studio so I have made a short video. In order to be able to embed the video in this post I have had to set up a YouTube channel (Urban Studio North). Which wasn’t something I was planning on doing but hey, maybe I’ll post more videos in the future!

I’m teaching my five day Breakdown Your Palette workshop so hoping for good weather! I’ll try to remember to post photos on Instagram through the week.

Needless to say that I haven’t made much progress on ‘the book’ …….

On Monday 20th July I will be teaching in my the studio for the first time in over four months. Life has changed in ways we couldn’t have imagined in that space of time and is unlikely to get back to normal for many, many months. So, in order to provide a safe environment for my students, and for me, the studio has to change.

I have made a start. I’ve cleared away most of the clutter and, with son Joes help, rearranged the student benches so that they all face my teaching bench. I’m only teaching two students next week but will be teaching four students at a time from mid-August. I have ordered protective screens and floor tape to mask off walk ways and to ensure safe distancing as we walk around the studio. I am elbow deep in hand gel, masks, anti-bacterial wipes and disinfectant sprays. I have brought extra tea towels and hand towels so nobody has to share. I have enough squeezy bottles so that every student can have their own set of dyes. I have laid awake at night trying to think my way through all the things that could go wrong ….

Over the next few days I will be giving the studio a deep clean. I’m even going to get rid of the cobwebs - a sure sign that these are extraordinary times. I’ll be completing risk assessments and printing appropriate signage.

And, in between, I’ll keep working on what the Higgins household is now calling ‘that difficult second book’. Yes, progress is slow.

Although I’m a little nervous about opening up I can’t wait to teach again and to have like minded, lovely people in the studio. And the best bit … I’m teaching my five day Breakdown Your Palette workshop which I love!

Bye for now, Leah

I have just updated my website with all the workshops that I will be teaching here at Urban Studio North in 2021. It is going to be a very busy year! Like many textile teachers I have had to cancel or postpone lots of workshops over the last four months and have rescheduled many for the first half of 2021. If you take a peek at my website you’ll see that I’ve put on extra Breakdown Your Palette workshops to accommodate students from 2020 and have 4 places still to fill. I know that a lot of my students are anxious about travelling and about staying in hotels at the moment but I’m keeping all my fingers and toes crossed that life returns to something approaching normality next year.

You’ll also see that I have a few places left on workshops in 2020. Including on workshops that were full a week ago. Life is challenging for all of us and individual circumstances change so I know that odd places are likely to become available at short notice. I guess we are all having to learn to be flexible right now.

And finally, this weeks teaser ….. I love bringing guest tutors into the studio and will soon be sharing the details of three stitch-based workshops with three wonderful tutors that will also run in 2021. So watch this space!

Stay well, Leah