This last week I had the pleasure of welcoming Louise Baldwin into my studio. She was here to teach her four day Accidently on Purpose workshop and it was a blast! The students had been asked to bring an eclectic mix of ‘stuff’ such as old bits of packaging, bits of plastic / metal/ ? from that drawer we all have in our kitchens where we put things then forget what they were used for, threads, buttons, wrapping papers, feathers, broken jewellery, scraps of fabric, unfinished bits from other workshops …. and out of the chaos they created and amazing array of samples.

During the first day they worked on paper collages and weavings. On the second day they added stitch to collaged papers then wash away some of the paper. And on the third day they hammered tacks into wood, and focussed on 3D samples. The final day was spent on deeper exploration of the the processes they liked best.

The benches were piled high …… and the results were amazing. The photo above is a work in progress piece by Sue R - she stitched papers to a piece of wool that she had previously printed then washed some of the papers away. Love it. The photos below feature work from Stephanie, Anna, Sylvia, Tracey and Sue.

Big thanks to Louise for a fab workshop!

It is less than four weeks now until Festival of Quilts, Europe’s biggest quilt show held each year at the NEC, Birmingham and I’m busy getting organised! You can find me on stand K47 opposite the cafe and seating area in Hall 6, near the Theatre and Exhibitors Lounge.

I’ll be breakdown printing on my stand except on Friday and Sunday afternoons when I’ll be demonstrating in The Creative Textile Studio. Artist and friend Ruth Brown will be helping on my stand and demonstrating in The Creative Studio on Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings. Please stop by and say hello!

I’ll have lots of my hand dyed and printed fabrics, books and cards on my stand and will be taking bookings for workshops. I’ll also have dyes, other chemicals, 14x12inch screen printing frames, squeegees and beginners kits for sale. But there is a limit on how much stuff I can get pack into my car and may (hope!) to sell out of somethings. So I’m offering an order now, collect for free at the show service. If you place an order in my online shop please enter the discount code FOQ2022 and your order will be ready for you on my stand.. The code removes the shipping cost. It can only be used on orders over £20. The code is valid until 11.55pm on Friday 12th August. If disaster strikes and you don’t get to the show I’ll get in touch after the show to sort out shipping. Please contact me here if you have any questions.

If you’re planning to go but haven’t got your tickets yet I have a promo code you can use to save you a bit of money. The promo code is CTSA22 which gives a discount on Adult and Concession tickets until midnight on 17th August, making the price £16 for Adults reduced from £17.50 and £14 for concessions reduced from £15.50*. Booking link is https://thefestivalofquilts.seetickets.com/ *T&CS and transaction fees apply.

I’m off to print some more fabric …. hope to see you soon, Leah x

It had to happen eventually. I was supposed to be running an ‘open bench’ week in my studio this last week. A group of students getting on with their own projects while I printed and dyed fabric to take to Festival of Quilts. I took my usual test last Sunday ahead of students arriving on Monday. And tested positive. Didn’t feel ill at that stage but within hours had a sore throat and banging headache. In the days since then I have had a cacophony of symptoms. Who knew that Covid could make your hands itch like crazy? A week later and I am mostly back to normal although still testing positive. Fingers crossed that I test negative soon and at least some of my very patient students can get a few days in the studio in the coming week.

I normally have two speeds - full on or asleep. And I am OK when I get a migraine - years have taught me that the only thing to do is to go to bed and stay there until the migraine spits me out the other side. I am less well behaved with illnesses that require naps and just taking it slow. I get bored. So apologies to my long suffering husband. Thankfully the need to isolate meant that I was banished to the spare bedroom / a chair in the garden / my studio so I didn’t drive him too nuts. I did however manage to give him Covid despite working hard at isolating. I owe him a very big bar of chocolate. When I can go to the shops.

When I can go to the Post Office I’ll catch up on the outstanding orders from my online shop. Apologies to those who are waiting.

I’ve managed to do some work over the last couple of days. Washing and ironing those fabrics that I’ve printed in recent months. And finishing and photographing my latest quilt. But I think its time to find some shade in the garden and have a snooze!

Very excited that Stewart Kelly will be teaching in my studio next year. Stewart is an award winning, internationally recognised textile artist. His work revolves around observations of the human form. Stitch is integral to his work and is often combined with drawing. Even if you don’t recognise his name you will almost certainly have seen his work. He has a great website which you can find here.

Stewart will be teaching a four day workshop from 12th to 15th September 2023. The course will encourage participants to develop a personal language through the exploration of combining drawing, colour, paper, fabric, and stitched textiles. It will be an experimental course, focusing on exploration, and the process of discovery through making. Stewart has provided a really detailed workshop outline which you can find here.

I’m expecting this workshop to be very popular. If it does sell out I will set up a waiting list so do please get in touch. Thank you, Leah

I am delighted to announce that Rosie James will be returning to Urban Studio North to teach her fabulous five day Drawing With Your Sewing Machine workshop from 8th to 12th May 2023. We had a wonderful time when she was here in 2021 and you can see some images of the students work below.

You can find out more about the workshop here. And you can find out more about Rosie here. The cost is £475 including a £175 deposit with the balance due 6 weeks before the workshop. Any questions, contact me here.

Thank you, Leah

Terry drawing with needle nosed bottles and thickened dyes

The Creative Textile Studio (previously known as the Virtual Studio) has been an integral part of each summers Festival of Quilts from the very first show. It is a space where visitors can watch and interact with a bunch of talented people demonstrating a wide range of textile techniques. Up until now it has been organised by Leslie Morgan and the students of her Committed to Cloth studio. Leslie has now decided that it is time to retire and focus on making her own art.

And I am very proud to tell you that I am part of a new studio collective taking over the reins. The collective is Christine Chester (Studio Eleven), Hazel Ryder and Terry Donaldson (InStitches) and myself here at Urban Studio North. This is a new venture for us and we have big plans! We want to stretch the boundaries of textile art and share with you the widest range of textile and mixed media based techniques. We want to inspire you!

We will all be demonstrating at various times in studio and will be joined by some wonderful artists and textile tutors including Clare Bullock, Elisabeth Viguie Culshaw, Jennifer Collier, Kate Findlay, Ruth Brown and more. As we get closer to the show I will share the studio rota so you can plan a visit. And our logo. Yes we are going to have a logo! But for now you might want to look at our Instagram page foqcreativetextiles

And maybe start following us? Or spreading the word to your friends? Any support is very much appreciated. We’re barely an acorn right now but we want to grow to be a great big creative, colourful, inclusive and inspiring tree!

Well that’s my opinion. If you’ve been reading these posts for a while - thank you! - then you will know that I love breakdown printing. With experience you have a level of control over the results but it is that element of serendipity that makes breakdown printing so special. And versatile. There are so many ways of adding colour and mark to a screen and they all give lots of very different looking prints. Breakdown printing forms the basis for my art and is the most popular workshop that I teach.

I had another wonderful group of students last week and you can see a small selection of their work below. Mid-week eye candy!

If you are interested in breakdown printing you could come and see me demonstrating at this summers Festival of Quilts, both on my stand (K47) and in The Creative Textile Studio. Or you could buy my book (details here). Or sign up for my online Breakdown Your Palette workshop. Or join me in the studio. I still have places available for the last five day workshop in 2022, 12th to 16th September. Priced £400, you can find out more details, and book, here.

And I’m very happy to announce dates for my Breakdown Your Palette workshops in 2023. The dates are 15th to 19th May, 12th to 16th June and 10th to 14th July. Unfortunately though I am having to put my prices up having held them for three years. The new cost will be £450 with £150 deposit and the balance payment of £300 due six weeks before each workshop. You can find more details here.

(Or yes and I also offer the 5 day Breakdown Your Palette workshop to private groups of six, giving a 10% discount on the price. Please contact me here if you want to know more.)

Plug over … now time for that eye candy courtesy of Alwyn, Clare, Enid, Jane, Janet and Kerry!

Twin needle Coptic stitch, Origata and a Stub binding

Some of you will know that I’m pretty focussed when it comes to how I use my time. If I’m not teaching or doing (the absolute bare minimum) ‘family / house’ stuff then I am in my studio making art. I read, do jigsaws, watch zombies on prime / netflix to wind down before bed but nearly all of my ‘free’ time is spent in the studio making art. I call this being focussed. Husband uses the word driven. I do get knackered sometimes and hubby will suggest I take a day off. Day off clearly means something different to him. To me it means wake up, skip having a shower, put on yesterdays t-shirt, kick aside the pile of laundry as I leave the bedroom, ignore the dirty dishes, grab a big packet of chocolate biscuits and head straight out to the studio. Remembering to lock the studio door so that I can’t be interrupted by my well meaning husband.

I do however make time for making books. I guess you could call it my ‘hobby’ now that textile art is my career / vocation.

And this last week I’ve been delighted to have friend, textile artist and book binder Ruth Brown teaching in the studio. I couldn’t sit in every day but I did make three of the five books that she taught during the week. My first ever twin needle Coptic stitch bound book which I love! Much firmer than the single needle version books I’ve made in the past and so many design possibilities. An Origata bound book which features a folded paper wrapper that holds the front and back covers. And a little stub bound book. The students also got to make a hard backed notebook and a travel journal.

Ruth is an excellent teacher and has a brand new studio in Otringham, nr Hull. Do have a look at her website here for details of her workshops. She will be demonstrating in The Creative Textile Studio at this summers Festival of Quilts as well as helping me on my stand. Do stop by and have a chat with her if you’re interested in book binding. (And don’t tell anyone but she is currently writing a book on hand bound books with stitched spines and will be teaching here at Urban Studio North in 2023 …. details to follow!).

Detail of Artefact 4,

Making art comes with lots of highs and lots of lows. Those magical days when everything you’ve been working on comes together and you know you’re making good art. The whoop whoop moments when a piece of work is accepted in a juried exhibition. The rarer, whoop whoop whoop moments when a piece wins a prize or sells. In contrast - those weeks when you just can’t get ideas out of your head onto fabric, when everything you print or stitch is somehow wrong. And those, all to common, moments when a piece is rejected. You know you shouldn’t take it personally but you do.

Most of the time though the process of making art brings with it a quiet joy and a deep sense of contentment and well being. There are somethings that are not so much ‘fun’ but that’s OK because they are just one step in an overall process that you love. I print my fabrics with dyes and the rinsing and washing stage is the step I like least. But I end up with a pile of beautiful fabrics ready to use in the next stage of my process which makes it OK.

There is one thing though that I find just boring. And that is stitching sleeves to my quilts. Stitching the facings is OK as this finishes the piece and makes it ready to photograph and to share. But sleeves ….. nobody sees them, they add nothing to the visual impact of my finished art. It is very tempting to not add them until a piece has been accepted into an exhibition ….but then you find yourself working late into the night on a piece that has to be delivered / shipped the next day. Yes, been there, done that!

But this week I have been a good girl and have completely finished the piece that I’ve entered into Festival of Quilts (detail above). As per usual it is a big quilt. And as per usual I’ve added sleeves to both the top and the bottom of the quilt. Thank goodness for good coffee and a good supply of chocolate!