March /2

Good day on this beautiful morning in Mevagissey.

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The sun is shining and and the sky is blue, at least the sunhine makes us smile, and this Forsythia shrub is giving a gorgeous splash of colour as the flowers emerge in our hedge. What more can we ask for in these troubled weather-times of climate change. Very sadly, globally there is so much extreme terror, anxiety and hardship that we cannot ignore.  However, if we are fortunate enough to be able to immerse ourselves in whatever creativity gives us pleasure, that, in itself, is such a privilege and can offer a calm, peaceful space.

This week one of my readers has told me that she can not open any of the photos on my Stitching News blogs. I would be so grateful if other readers could let me know if they have the same problem. Of course it is always worth making sure that the device’s Apps that you read the blog on have the latest updated version.

I am just going to send out a very short newsletter, today. It will be the last this month. I am having a break for three weeks or so.

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The photo above was from my original garden series, I worked on this series in  2024! It is in my “wait and see” box at the moment. It has had very little attention, but hopefully that can be corrected before too long and some thoughtful adjustments made. I think it will make me smile during these processes, and then I shall know when I have done enough!

Over the last ten days I have been busy preparing and planning some fresh work based on circles. This project has actually been rolling around in my head for many months. I will be using lots of colourful threads and fabrics. I have a very good selection, ready dyed and wound threads, and I am really excited to be making a start soon. 

I am proposing to do a series of small hangings, entirely handstitched. It is always great to have something which is easily portable for when we are away. I also love to have work in the evenings which I can pick up when I want to.

During the day I have a long term machine pieced project to start very soon, which will probably take at least two or three years to complete! I have already worked out the maths involved and will start cutting out the first block before too long. It is going to be a quilt for our youngest grand child. Colour will be my focus, and paramount in the designs for both projects.

By the time I write my next blog, I hope to be more informative. In the meantime I am enjoying working in my sketch book and writing and drawing my ideas down etc. … essential practice! I have to write everything down these days, whatever the task!

I am delighted to say that I am having cataract surgery on 31st of March It has been a long tortuous route, for a variety of reasons, but at long last it is on the horizon!

Until next time, Happy Stitching!

Di

MARCH 2026 /1

Good day to all my readers.

I have been thinking about the various art activities that I have written about over the last few years. I am very aware that I have developed my own practice, which is a long way away from what I used to write about, over a decade ago.  Does that matter? Do I lose readers along the way. I would like to think that they stay with me, but I am well aware that this may not be so.

I remember reading a quote from a ceramicist which resonated with me so much so that I wrote it down. She said;

“I make the art I do because I like it, rather than worrying about whether other people will do so too. Do what you enjoy and follow your obsessions, then I think that passion will come across in your work.”  A quote by Yvette Phillips.

In my last Stitching News post I showed a stitched version from one of my “daisy” printing blocks where I had stitched lazy daisy stitches directly onto the print that I had cut from an eraser. Below is a photograph of a new version where I have used five slightly different sizes of daisy blocks within the same panel. I have made all of the printing blocks over the years. As I am not stitching at the moment, I have painted the daisies with watercolours, then wrapped my chosen coloured threads around a strip of the cartridge paper that I’ve printed onto.

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The wrapped threads keep me in tune with my love of hand stitching, as well as creating texture and something else very personal to my work.

I have been creating borders with a stitched edge, in some form or other for several years now, and they make me smile. I love the dasies, but I am also experimenting with circles too.

The photo below, shows the result of printing block made from a waste product that a friend’s partner took home from work. He wondering if it might be suitable for carving into for a printing block. The waste product is a very hard, dense kind of  compacted foam. It was hard to cut/ carve into, but I am pleased with it.

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I shall have a go at using it again. I created this one over two years ago, and used it previously when printing on fabric.

Just a short post today. Why not follow me on Instagram if you don’t already…  di.wells

Until next time, Happy stitching.

Di

February 2026  /2

Good morning to you all. I am posting a second Stitching News today, as I am aware that the month ahead is getting busy, with possibly little time for such matters later.

Snowdrops, croci, and a few polyanthus have been popping up al over. One of the camelias is now showing colour. We have several camelias which flower steadily from January through to March. Such a welcome burst of colour on these drab, grey, wet days. Frogs are noisy and spawn is gathering which is hopefully a sign of spring around the corner.

Many of you will have seen just how much rain we have had down here in Cornwall. Thankfully, our particular neck of the woods has not been anything like as devastated as others have. We count ourselves very fortunate indeed.

I have started a sort of spring clean in my sewing room. It is happening in bursts, rather than one big effort as I so easily become distracted! I am continually uncovering little ideas and thoughts, which spark off further ideas! For instance, yesterday I found a small print, one of my favourites from an eraser printing block I made in Autumn 2023.

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I had painted the little eraser printing block with watercolours and called them my daisy prints. As you can see, I had hand stitched into the print with lazy daisy stitch too. I would like to do something similar again, but I need to have a go at a different version of this, where I am not stitching; ideas are developing!

I also “found” the little lady below covered up on my notice board. I made her many years ago and have moved her position now so that she can keep an eye on me while I work; just a bit of fun!

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I have also been tidying up my dyed threads. Far too many of them have become terribly tangled and neglected. Totally my fault! Often when I had needed to get together a particular colour palette, I would pull out threads still in the small skeins from the dyeing process! They often get quite tangled in the drying process, although I always tie them in three places around the skeins. But, in my haste, I would just pull a loose end I could see and it doesn’t take much imagination to envisage the result! However, the positive is that I am thoroughly enjoying sorting them out, and will be very mindful in the future to wind them straight away! In the past I have always cut up mountboard  off cuts to wind my threads around. This is easier, especially as I dont sell my threads any more.

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To make the tubes, I have cut 4″×4″ squares of computer paper, folded them in half, then I ran a glue stick along the folded edge. I rolled the double cut edges together, around a pencil, rolling towards the folded/glued edge, pressing hard to ensure that the tube is firmly secured, before pulling the pencil out. They are quick to make and cost next to nothing, as they can made from recycled paper; most of mine are cut from old handouts. The yellow stretchy tape that I have captured the end of the thread under, is called vetwrap, and is a product used by vets to secure dressings on animals. It sticks only to itself,  (not to fur or skin), making it easy to apply and remove without scissors. I have had a roll of this for decades! I have never used it. Indeed it was in an unopened, celophane wrapper. No idea even why I even had it. but it instantly came to mind when I was working out how to stop the threads from unravelling. The roll is 2″ wide and I cut about a 2″ length which I then cut into three strips. When I stretch the thin strip around the wound thread, I pull it tight making sure that it adheres to itself as it winds round. It is easy to undo, and use again, and hopefully again…!

The clever little device shown below is called a Glocusent neck light. I was fortunate enough to buy this second hand recently. I have tried it out in poor light, and it is excellent. Easily portable, which is a bonus. There is an LED light on the end of the flexble arms, each having three light levels, which are adjustable at the end of the arms. It seems that there are various neck lights on the internet. This particular one is also rechargable using a USB wire, which was in the box. I love it.

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Finally, my card making continues.  It is not so easy in the photograph to see the subtle colours emerging from the background palette, but the thread wrap does represent them.

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Until next time, happy stitching!

Di

February 2026 /1

A warm welcome to today’s Stitching News; to new readers as well as my very loyal long term readers. I have not had a productive January at all having been blessed with an acute attack of blepharitis. I have never encountered this before. It is not contagious, so cannot be caught from anyone, or given to anyone. The sting in the tail though, is that once you have had an attack you are subject to it any time at all. Apparently it is very common.  The only other comment I would make is that it can be very unpleasant, (as I discovered)! I am at the end of week 4, and just about feeling normal again.

I have got going with some more collage again. It is similar to some work I was preparing some time ago but has its differences.

This time I am using newly prepared painted backgrounds, but am collaging “containers and foliage” which are cut entirely from rejected snippets of some of my old eco prints of plants from our garden.

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I showed this particular photo in last months post but I have now done a little more work on it, painting watercolours and a touch of acrylic on the imagery. I have left the subsequent imagery, in the following photos, entirely natural.

I am still unable to stitch with any accuracy, but I love the little stitched strips that I have developed over the last few years to accompany some of my work. So, I have wrapped the strips with my hand dyed  threads, and I actually prefer the result!

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The detail on the vase in the photo above is from a print of crocosmia seeds.

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Finally, a forthcoming date for your diaries ;

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I have been invited to join a small group of artists who will be displaying and selling their work at Batsford Arboretum at the end of October this year. Setting up is on 29th October for 30th and 31st of October, and 1st November.

Batsford Arboretum is situated in North Gloucestershire.

JANUARY 2026 /1

Today is 8th January, and I am well aware that it is several weeks since I posted a Stitching News. So here I go!!

December was a very busy month with little time for much creativity. One highlight was a brief visit to Killerton house  (National Trust) in Devon, to see the Red Dress Exhibition.

https;reddressembroidery.com//

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The detail in some of these panels is quite extraordinary. Enlarge the last photo and note the beading, as well as the stitched detail on the blue and red dress.

If you click on the red dress link at the top of the photos, it will give you all the information about the project; I must admit that I knew nothing at all about it, even though it was completed eleven years ago! It is a fascinating read. The exhibition is touring abroad once again, but if you look up to see when it next visits the uk, you can see the exhibion dates and venues.

I have felt a big chasm developing in my head: a “nothingness” which has been inhibiting any creativity. It is a long boring story as to why I am still waiting for cataract surgery. My poor vision is inhibiting the start of any project.

I have frequently mentioned, over the years, that “inspiration does not “just happen”, and I have just been reading a blog post by a fascinating American needlewoman called Ann Wood.  I have mentioned her in my posts, in the past. She is endlessly creative and sews virtually everything she makes by hand. She loves recycling fabrics, and often uses mixed media in her creations.

In her most recent blog  she writes;

“Listening to yourself is a skill. Getting unstuck requires strategy. Ideas need a place to show up. Daily  practice makes that space. Keeping the practice small puts it firmly in the doable zone”. 

She is inspirational! I needed to read that in my present state of mind, so today, (11th January) I have got myself going again. I got out a box with some of my favourite scrap papers, created over many years. I am going to refresh and replace my very depleted collection of cards. My photos are as valuable as a sketch book, for inspiration, and browsing through them, as well as some sketch books has switched on a light again!

I found a selection of monochrome papers in tones/ shades of black and white. I created these during Covid. I had started with various black and white papers, then used bleach, marking pens, printing blocks, masking tape etc, to add or subtract marks, but have done nothing with them since. So, I have cut some of them into 1.25″ squares, using a fine back marking pen to sharpen some of the lines. I have arranged them on 5″ squares of cartridge paper, and glued them down.

Below is a photo of one of them. I have cut some         circular rings from a red painted paper, and just laid them on top.

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I actually like it at this stage. It is simple, and has places for the eye to rest to take in some of the detail.

Below is a totally different photo, similar in some respects to cards I made last summer, but this time the imagery has all come from my discard box of eco prints. The “vase” looked totally nondescript on the scrap of paper, but I made a template for a vase, drew around it over the scrap of detail, and cut it out. The isolation from its surroundings, plus highlighting the detail with my fine drawing pen, brought it to life! Nothing has been glued to the back ground yet and I have another couple of grass blades to add to the vase, tomorrow.

A dash of watercolour on the plant material has also made a big difference.

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The strip of paper to the left of the vase panel will have dyed threads stitched into it, picking out the hues and range of tones on the painted background.

Till next time, happy stitching and creating.

Di

November 2025/ 1

Good day to you all. This month has brought wide variations in weather, once again; torrential, short sharp downpours, strong winds, snow, and below zero temperatures as well as mediterranean blue skies and brilliant sunshine. We have violets, and primroses peeping through all the wet, soggy, leaf litter …

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The winter flowering Nerines, which gives such a welcome splash of colour, have lasted really well this month through all the storms.

However, the garden really needs lots of attention, but coughs and colds combined with a lack of energy, have kept us inside in the warm.

I am still not doing any sewing, which is SO frustrating, so I am spending some time building up a fresh stock of cards, having sent various cards to friends and family, and also selling a stash recently, too.

I just need to be doing something creative. I cannot sit still with idle fingers!

Several years ago I bought a first edition of Mary Thomas’s Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches.  I was enchanted by the miniature black ink drawings in it. I treasure it.

Then, I thought it would be fun to try to source a copy in a very poor condition so that I could use the pages for eco printing onto, as well as using the illustrations about stitch into collages.

(I have talked about the copy I sourced, below). It would be a real joy to combine my love of two passions; stitch and eco printing. Howeer, I hasten to add that there are no eco prints in this post,

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Above is a photo of the very beginning stages of my thinking about a series of collaged cards still developing from my painted cartridge paper with the yellow dye!! 

They are still abstract, and I am still using a vaguely circular theme within the collage. In addition, I am now also incorporating some of the delightful, tiny illustrations and text from an old, (possibly second or even third hand) embroidery book. I bought it very cheaply. It was very tatty, some pages were loose and damaged, but that really didn’t matter to me at all. I am repurposing it and combining it with my own little drawn interpretations of imaginary plant matter, which might possibly be foraged from an ‘abstract garden’!

The next photo is of four individual cards created from the above mentioned resources. Each of the four cards  are 3″ square.

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As you can see, I have enhanced the imagery using watercolours. The one thing that the photograph just doesn’t convey, is the built up layers of collage, which adds so much more to the imagery.

Earlier in the week, I had the opportunity of doing some leaf pressing with our 6 year old granddaughter when she came home from school.

)I had purchased a microwaveable flower press and decided to make it very easy and enjoyable for her to see how we might use it, by pressing and drying some leaves before she came home.

I ended up with a selection of colourful dried leaves. She loved them, and I showed her a very simple concertina folded book that she may like to put the leaves in. She was very keen to get started. as she loves making anything. We used ‘magic tape’ to anchor the dried leaves onto the pages.

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She then wrote the names of the leaves by them.   

Next time, I shall show her the drying process itself if indeed I can find  some usable leaves! 

I had just hoped to arouse her interest first and get her excited. Mission definitely accomplished. She loves her little book, and is looking forward to working into another little sketch book, next time.

Finally, I really wanted to make some Christmas cards again this year, but they absolutely had to be very simple. That was my first priority. I have a wealth of hand painted papers that I have created over several years.  I decided that they could become my main resource. Many of them were painted recycled papers, abd I use this resource frequently in my collages.

Four of the finished Christmas cards are shown below.

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I cut a strip off the length of the paper, then folded the strip in half across the width before tearing it on the fold. I then had two oblongs to work with. Each oblong gave one long narrow triangle and two smaller asymmetrical triangles, which need a small adjustment to even up the shape.

I clearly needed to work to the size of my blank cards. The two sizes of card I have used here are standard 4×6″ card (approx 10×25 cm), and the smaller cards are 4″ square ( apppro 10cm square).

I used the end of wooden paint brush to dip into a tiny bit of gold paint, then printed it onto the cut triangles. So, each initially long strip of paper gave me 4 Christmas cards.

Happy creating, until next time!

Di

October 2025 /3

It was a very grey, breezy morning here today. A brisk walk around the harbour really brightened my day.

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It was a busy scene with visitors enjoying the last few days of half term. Many of the boats were sheltering in the inner harbour, and the gulls were screaming as the wind tossed them up and around. An invigorating start to my day!

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Below is an updated photo of one side of one of the cartridge papers that I had painted waste dye solution onto. The morning before we were going away, we unexpectedly had a couple of  spare hours so I made a snap decision to add some collage with some scraps from my scrap bag of papers, glued over the marks already on the surface. The printed lilac papers are old work sheets from one of my workshops, and the much darker paper is distressed, painted, recycled brown paper.

While we were away, I worked into them with my drawing pens, reinforcing the circular imagery I was looking for. Mother nature is a constant source of inspiration lending itself to wide variation and interpretation. Endless ideas.

Below are three sections of the reverse side that I have beenworking on in the last 24 hours.

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No collage this time, just the use of drawing pens. Ideas are formulating  and I need to do more playing!!

I have been musing a lot over interpretations of these in fabric and stitch, and ideas are starting to evolve, which is the whole purpose of creating this sketch book. I am enjoying the exploration and it is leading to thinking more laterally, too.

It is so good to be able to be creative in this way, while my poor eyes prohibit much in the way of close stitching.

Until next time, enjoy your creative exploits!

Di

October 2025/2

What a chilly old day! A winter woolly is out today for the first time! I hoped for sunshine this afternoon and wasn’t disappointed. What a difference a couple of hours sunshine makes to us all.

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We have had work going on in the house for just over two weeks, and apart from keeping the kitchen really fresh and clean, I have not bothered with housework, so, as you might imagine there is nowa big clean up to do!

We have back to back commitments over the next two weeks, hence my desire to write this post and get it out quickly. Due to my poor old eyes, I have very slowly managed to complete the fourth of a series of four abstract collages. Below is a close-up of one of the four, followed by a photo of it framed.

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All four will be hung in the Textile Plus exhibition next month.  Details given in the October 2025 /1 post.

I shall be stewarding on Tuesday 11th November.

I have been thinking about what to take away with me, and have splodged some left-over Procion dye solution to two A3 sheets of cartridge paper, shown below, as a start for creating a concertina sketch book

I will use this to gradually gather ideas for some hand stitching during the winter evenings, (eyes permitting).  I think the marks on the paper may inspire me. I shall have to wait and see!! I have purposely made some circular motions with my sponge) brush.

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Both sides of these papers have been painted, offering the potential to work on the front and reverse sides of the folded book. I am only taking two black drawing pens, at this stage. I shan’t be taking any collage papers, glue, or stitching equipment away with me.

I really like the fresh yellow on my painted papers. It is uplifting; a very positive start for a sketchbook. I also applied some very dilute green, which is offering a lovely subtle contrast.

I am taking another of my small hand-made sketch books, which I was working in about 4 years ago. Then I was creating ideas loosely based on “circles”. Something might just spark an interesting starting point now.

There are several suggestions in this book that I could take further; a range of inspirational ideas.

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Until next time … Happy Stitching or drawing, painting, or whatever you may be working on at the moment!

Di

October 2025 /1

Good morning to my loyal readers and a couple of  new readers, who have been in touch recently.

The season is changing! Cooler temperatures, shorter days, and of course the change of clocks on Saturday 25th  of this month, are sure signs. The very heavy rain storms and high winds during September flattened the flowering plants. Leaves have been dropping, for a while now, as are acorns, and sweet chestnuts. A recent walk in Westonbirt Arboretum heightened our senses and awareness. Storm Amy, the first named storm of the season, sounds as though she may well cause havoc for some parts of the country this weekend too, as we are all asked to be cautious if out and about in the expected stormy weather.

Below is a photograph of the birthday card I made for our three year old granddaughter. She has just had her birthday, with celebrations over last weekend. She very much loves flowers, and the photo shows a water colour painted Eco print, with a larger than life, ladybird getting up close and personal! Again, ladybirds are a great favourite of hers.

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I have been working on preparing my work for the Textile Plus exhibition, “Fragments”. As many of you know, I love to work on a small scale, so the title of “Fragments” was very appealing. As a group we are quite diverse in what we produce. We have an interesting and varied set of skills within our group, including: hand and machine embroidery, painting, eco printing, weaving, felt making, quilting, patchwork and applique, dyeing making our own printing blocks etc. Some of us enjoy mixed media work, others enjoy traditional skills. 

Last year, I made a series of miniature collaged and stitched panels with hand painted/printed and marked papers which I then hand stitched into. They are abstract in composition, but most of them have a vase, or tub of flowers in them. They were fun to make and stitch. I always used a tiny, fine needle, and always a pair of needle point pliers to pull the needle through the layers of paper.

They are a necessity in my hand sewing kit. I bought them years ago in the market for the princely sum of £1.00, and I would be utterly lost without them!

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I know there will be something for everybody to enjoy and be inspired, so I hope you will add the details below to your diaries.

The exhibition will be set up on Monday 10th November, and will  be open to the public from 10 am- 5pm on Tuesday 11th to Saturday 15th November at The Poly,  24 Church Street, Falmouth,  TR11 3EG.

I have been feeling very frustrated because of my poor eye sight, but have given myself a good talking to and am really grateful that I am perfectly well in all other respects, so, until I can get my cataract surgery, I can concentrate on the skills I have that are not dependent on really close stitch work. Painting, dyeing, and eco printing come immediately to mind. Equally, a very good sort out and tidy in mysewing room would not go amiss either!

Until next time, enjoy your creativity, and also enjoy sharing your skills with friends. That really gives me so much pleasure, particularly seeing the responses and excitement it generates! It always has, and it always will.

As our grandchildren would say, … “sharing is caring”.

Di.

September 2025.

Welcome to this September newsletter. 

Our area of Cornwnall has had some terrific downpours over the last week or so. They come from nowhere and can cause havoc with the huge amount of water that falls. Sadly, this resulted in localised flooding, last week. Thirty homes and businesses were flooded in Mevagissey, purely as a result of the unbelievable rain we had within about an hour.

Textiles Plus, is a group of 12 ladies, all of whom bring a wide range of skills and interests to our meetings. I joined them maybe three or four years before Covid. We met last week  having had a break during August, and it was great to catch-up on what we we are all working on. We are gradually finalising work for our next exhibition, “Fragments”, which will be in The Poly, Falmouth, from 11th- 15th November this autumn. Please put these dates in your diaries. It would be so good to see you. I aim to be stewarding two days, and will give further details when we have sorted them out.

We always have a group entry, and this year it will  hang in the window. We have actually produced two pieces each. They are individually attached to a thick black A5 card, and two will hang ‘back to back’. The idea being that any movement in the room will create a gentle movement of air, helping them to slowly turn as they hang.

Below is a photo of one of my pieces. Vintage lace, which I have embellished with dyed threads, hand dyed buttons, glass beads, and a miniature abstract hand painted collaged, stitched card. This also references my colour palette of threads, buttons, and beads.

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Another date for your diaries;

Gate Quilters, Sewers and Crafters, of which I am also a member, are holding a coffee morning in aid of Cornwall Air Ambulance, on Wednesday 8th October, 10.30 -1.30. Please come and join us. We have a “double bed quilt” as 1st prize in our raffle, 2nd prize of a lap quilt and two cushions as 3rd prize. There is a selection of other prizes too.  Coffee and cake, as well as fabrics, books, hand made gifts, and a brickabrac table too.

I have given some serious thoughts to the quilt I am going to make for our third granddaughter, Poppy. She will be 3rs at the end of the month.

Colour is going to be a major factor in its design. I want it to be vibrant and joyful.

It will be a scrap quilt, and the 10″ patchwork repeating block will be the Maple Leaf block. Some half square triangles, some whole squares the background colour white, and maybe a very, very pale blue, which I will dye. I shall use a mix of hand dyed plains, prints, and a huge range of scraps of which I have many!!

I have deadlines for our Textile Plus exhibition, so although I can do some planning in my head, I shan’t do any anything else, until after the exhibition, when I can apply myself regularly. It will be a great winter project.

Finally, below are two more 6″ square cards in my latest series. Hand painted papers, and hand dyed threads.

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Happy Stitching!  … until next time,

Di