….christmas quiz day eight…..

Well, despite some protestations that yesterday's competition questions was too hard, nearly all of you got the answer right - it was, of course the beautiful illustrative work of Jone Hallmark; a consummate artist, designer and crafter (and born teacher!) and she will be joining forces with bookbinder extraordinaire, Alison Kuller, for the workshop Stitched and Bound here in July next year.  Together they will show participants not only how to make a simple book in several ways, but also how to decorate its cover and inside pages with divine cut-outs, block prints and numerous other methods.  It promises to be a fabulous hands-on explosion of techniques and definitely not one to be missed by anyone interested in paper, journals and illustration techniques.

Meanwhile, here is 

What is the name of this little lady whose raison d'être seems to be creating (and re-creating) beautiful things that you can wear or hang on your wall.  Julie Arkell is one of her biggest fan!

…. christmas quiz day six…..

Yesterday's questions was easy peasy - or so it would seems from the huge number of correct answers we received.  

Those lovely feet all belonged to the divine creatures made by the effervescent Julie Arkell.  So you might find todays question a teensy weensy bit more difficult for those who like a challenge - let us just say, the answer is not quite as obvious as it might at first appear

Whose perfect four inch squares, made with her own super-delicious yarn for the ultimately stylish fit, are these?

… itching to get stitching …..

Last week whilst I was in London I had the great pleasure to meet up with Christine Green who will be leading the first patchwork workshop for Les Soeurs Anglaises in August of next year.  Christine has had an amazingly creative career;  Graphic Designer for the BBC, film producer and director of "The Art" series (see her short film on another of our workshop leaders, Julie Arkell),  needlepoint work for the Contemporary Textile Gallery London, Head of Film and Animation at the Kingston University and much, much more.  With a huge,  eclectic array of talents under her belt, her focus has turned towards pushing the boundaries of the art of stitching and patchwork and I was bowled over by her plans for the workshop she will be leading here next year.

Here is some of her work, as well as that of Claire Wellesley-Smith (another of our incredibly versatile workshop leaders who will be dyeing and stitching her way through a five-day event in May called Slow Colour and Stitch);  plus some mouthwatering pieces from various patchworkers around the world that we just love!  (Apologies to those uncredited images that we have collected over the years.  Do let us know if you recognize the artist/crafter and we will happily add their names and website)

Not entirely a patchwork, but a beautiful piece of needlework produced by Christine and featured in issue 15 of our favorite mag, UPPERCASE.