I have joined a new steampunk group recently formed through Congleton U3A and I am really excited! We think we are the only steampunk group in the whole of the U3A organisation and we are truly having fun exploring ways to dress up and adorn ourselves in long skirts, boots, a variety of tops, hats,…

I spent a lovely Saturday earlier this month at a workshop held at an art centre in the Forest of Dean. Cinderford Artspace is situated in the centre of town with free parking. It offers many different courses, both regular and single days for all ages in various art disciplines. Performing arts, painting, pottery and…

Have you ever played the ‘What if….?’ game with fabric? You may well be asking yourself “What is the ‘What if…?’ game??”. Let me explain. You start by following a pattern, following instructions, and then having got quite familiar with the pattern, you start to wonder. You start to think ‘what if I do this?’,…

The stories, yes stories, in my next suggested book, take place in September 1911 and September 2011, hence an ideal book for us to read in September. The book is called A Fall of Marigolds and is written by Susan Meissner. It is available as ebook, print and audio on Amazon and other good bookstores. Hundred…

I have been sent this book to review and what a beautiful looking and feeling book this is. It feels like fabric and has a close up of beautiful reverse appliqué and seed stitching. Yummy before the first page is turned. The book is divided into seasons as well as ways of working and equipment and…

Why I went? (To the FoQ, off course 🙂 ) Because I wanted to see my “Traveling with Kaffe”, hanging in the wrong section. I should have entered it into “art quilts”. But hey, what do I know? First time… And so I did see it. I went to see new friends: I met Sue…

Our children seem to create artwork with the same regularity and frequency as breathing. Having recently moved to a new home, I needed to find a new way of displaying their artwork without destroying any walls. Ideally I wanted the art display to be  easy and accessible to hang and see for everyone in the family,…

Have you ever had one of those moments when you’ve seen something and thought, ‘Why have I not tried this method before? Well, if you are like me you’ve either never seen it or never really taken notice of something right under your nose when you have been searching for tips/ideas. I was looking for…

Home from Festival of Quilts and the airwaves are positively humming! There are lots of topics of conversation, but the one that has leapt out at me is the thorny issue of Categories. I thought I could write about this – a bit about the why and a bit about the category definitions, and what…

We’ve had our Ercol dining room table and chairs for over 50 years and thought it needed a ‘service’. I left school at 15 ( yep I’m that old!) and went straight into work at Ercol Furniture in the accounts department. Six years later I was still working there when I got married. It was…