Pour L'Amour Du Fil

For the Love of Thread!

Click Here! Pour L'Amour Du Fil 

I have been invited to exhibit my work and teach workshops at this beautiful textile show in April at Nantes in the stunning Loire Valley in France. 

The show is run by Quilt Mania who publish the most wonderful textile books and Quilting Magazines.

There will be some amazing highlights at the show including exhibits from the Tokyo Quilt Festival, and artists from around the world including Yoko Saito from Japan, Linda Koenig from the USA as well as wonderful textile artists from Australia and Turkmenistan.

Representing the UK in addition to myself will be Karen Ruane and Val Holmes . There may be other names that will be announced nearer the time. There will be some fantastic suppliers and exhibitions.

I will be launching my new range of embroidery kits that feature heart and circle shaped tins which can be painted with alcohol inks and embroidered with hand dyed threads onto silk brocade and handmade felt. These will also be the kits that will feature in my workshops at the show. 

In my exhibition space I will be showing my Altered Books, Fabric Books, Altered Tins and sketchbooks as well as some of my other Mixed Media work. I will also be demonstrating some of the techniques in the Cut Shape Stitch book if there is time.

Paul my husband will be with me and will take lots of photos around the show to share with you so you can feel like you are there with me.   Paul Watkins Photography

Dreams and Doodles

Tomorrow the wonderful new Stampington  publication, The Coloring Studio will be launched. 




I am so happy to have one of my illustrations featured in this great new colouring book that is much more than just a colouring book. Everyone who knows Stampington will know how gorgeous their magazines are; full of the most inspiring art and innovative techniques.

Today I thought I'd show you some of my other illustrations. These are copyrighted so please don't copy them but I do hope they will inspire you to draw some in your own style. Next time I will do a step by step on how you can start to doodle some illustrations of your own.

So here are some of mine...
This first one is an illustration for a wedding invitation. It is hand drawn in black ink.

 This one is a diorama of the Owl and the Pussycat in a little mint tin. Again drawn in ink and layered.

And these next ones are textile designs. They are drawn in black ink onto painted backgrounds.

Tomorrow I will show you how to start an illustration of your own with step by step photos. I will also be teaching this very soon so let me know if you'd like to be added to my mailing list for illustration, journalling, gelli printing, handmade felt or altered books and tins. You know you'd like to have an ARTY new year! Perfect for your New Year resolution for 2016.

When is is a tin no longer a tin?

Do you know about Altered Tins? 

I love a tin! Some of them are so cute or useful. I love putting buttons and beads in them  and I love to look in them and sort through the treasures within.

Well... there is now another use for tins of all sizes. You can take an ordinary tin and alter it to make it into something completely different.  The only limit is your own imagination.

They make the perfect little showcase for artwork. Because tins are so irresistible for peeking into, you can hide a little arty scene or frame a perfect little piece of vintage ephemera within an ordinary tin as a surprise for the viewer. Or you can make the entire box into something completely different.

I have been plying with tins this week to get ready for an Embroiderers Guild Summer School in July. We are spending 2 days making interactive Altered Books and Altered Tins.

Would you like a little look at my tins?

The first one is based on Bees: Those precious little creatures who pollinate our crops and keep our crops growing.

This is a little cigar box, about 3"x 3" in size. I have decoupaged the lid to disguise the raised writing on the front and painted it with metallic paints.

Then I used a new Sizzix Honeycomb die to cut out metal and metallic card for the background of the base and inner lid. This was layered onto paper and net.

I put a little wooden frame on top of the metal honeycomb to frame the little brass bee and glass flowers. I added a tiny brass tag with the word Believe. We must look after our Bees and protect them from harmful pesticides. Our crops and food supplies will be in grave danger if the bees die out.

Below is a close up of the frame with the flowers, the bee and the metal honeycomb.

The second tin is teeny tiny!

About 1.25 inches long.

It is small enough to be worn as a pendant. The outside of the lid is painted to resemble enameling. A little impressionist garden made of dots.

It has been wired and beaded into a pendant and has the same little brass Believe wired into the top.
The inside is handmade Merino and silk felt with hand stitching and glass flowers.  A little fairy lives in this tin. We all believe in Fairies don't we?

I'd love to know what you think.

I will show you more tins  in the next few days.

Bye for now xx