Well not quite, but it is the day when we complete the sale of our house! And we hope to be in our new home in Largs by the end of September. Praise be to all the gods, tears of joy and a very stiff gin and tonic!

After an absolutely horrendous 16 months two things came together - buyer number 3 could actually prove he had the money and a house we had placed an unsuccessful offer on previously become unexpectedly available again! Within the space of a few very stressful hours we both sold and bought a house. Talk about rollercoaster ride. Now that the move is finally happening we are excited and slightly terrified. Husband, Steve, is doing a better job that me at staying calm. I’m in a whirlwind of lists, phone calls, sleepless nights whilst he is plodding along packing the last of his ‘stuff’.

So much for me spending a few months making new art whilst buyer number 4 got money sorted. Instead I’m packing up the last things in the studio … what can be left at my father-in-laws for my Luscious Layers workshop ‘down south’ in October, what has to be put into accessible storage and what can be packed away in boxes that won’t get opened for months.

We’re going to convert the loft in the new house to make a studio for me but in the meantime I will use one of the bedrooms as a sewing room with my shop being run out of a storage unit. Orders placed up to 31st August will be shipped before we move. Orders placed after then will be subject to delays although I’m aiming to ship once per week. At least that the plan!

In other news …. Amazon managed to loose a proof copy of Breakdown Printing so it will be another couple of weeks before you can buy my new book on Amazon globally. Will let you know once its available but, if you live in the UK it will be cheaper to buy direct from me (even if you have Prime) and will earn me 2.5 times the miserly royalty that Amazon pay ………

So excited!!!

My next workshop will be my 5-day Luscious Layers workshop at InStitches from 12th to 16th October and there are still a couple of places left.

Luscious Layers is designed for students who have worked with procion dyes before, maybe done a bit of screen printing, fabric painting or mark making but are struggling to get ideas out of their heads and onto fabric. It is a ‘design’ workshop rather than a ‘techniques’ workshop although we don’t follow a set path as I honestly don’t believe that there is a single design process that works for everyone. Instead I get you started then work with you one-on-one to turn your idea or source of inspiration into a coherent collection of fabrics that can be cut and used together, or into pieces of complex art cloth that work just as they are or can be used as a basis for stitch.

We start with a pragmatic discussion about types of inspiration and what we might or might not take from them, along with the advantages / disadvantages of working in a figurative or abstract way. (If you want to create a realistic copy of your inspiration on fabric you are in the wrong workshop!). Because this is a workshop with me, we then focus on finding the ‘right’ colours for your project - it’s how I start when I’m developing a new series.

We then start sampling - different techniques, different combinations of techniques, using masks on our fabrics before adding further layers, adding more colour with dye, taking colour away with discharge agents, adding detail with textile inks - whatever works for you and your source, or sources of inspiration. Some of your samples will be little works of art, some will work as part of a collection of fabrics, others may end up in the bin (or as a quilt backing if you’re not quite ready for that step. Some students ‘sample’ all week, others use what they have learnt from sampling to create art cloth or coherent collections of fabric. Some may even start to cut and collage or stitch …. as I said, there is no one ‘process’ that fits all.

It can take time to develop your own unique creative voice or creative process but I have designed Luscious Layers to give you a little nudge in the right direction!

You can find out more details about the workshop and the InStitches studio here. (And Hazel keeps us very well feed - her pea and tarragon soup is legendary and her cakes are yummy.)

Some of you may remember that I created a short workshop for Textile.org ‘Stitch Club’ last year. That workshop along with about 70 workshops by other textile artists is available to Stitch Club members whenever they want.

My workshop was called Simple Screen Printing for Stitch and it covered how to screen print a small collection of fabrics that provide a perfect background for stitch. With one small screen, two colours and my favourite screen printing technique, breakdown printing, I used things like lollipop sticks, bubble wrap, buttons and paint brushes to print fabrics with small scale marks and textures. Once printed I cut and collaged the fabrics to create a surface for both hand and machine stitch. The workshop comes with a really comprehensive workbook and an e-book of my art that might inspire you.

Textile artists such as Anne Kelly, Amarjeet K Nandhra, Rosie James, Hannah Lamb, Sue Hotchkis, Alice Fox and Jette Clover have already made workshops for Stitch Club members and new workshops are added regularly.

Why am I telling you this? Well Textile.org has started an Artist Partner Scheme so that artists, like me, are rewarded for introducing new members. I like to be honest - I will receive 15% of your membership fee if you join and use the link below. You can join for just a month if you only want to look at my workshop or longer. What’s in it for you? 25% off your first months membership if you also use the discount code STITCH-25.

The link is https://stitchclub.textileartist.org/checkout/stitchclub-gbp?affiliate_code=99e97f

Hope you find this useful, Leah

and I’m enjoying the quiet of my studio and getting back to making art!

Festival of Quilts was (as always) hard work but really amazing. Thank you to everyone who stopped by the stand and I’m sorry if I wasn’t free for a chat ……. demoing breakdown printing on the stand attracted a lot of people and I may just have converted a few of them to the joy of printing!

Thank you to everybody who bought from the stand. We had a good show, selling out of some things. I’m really pleased with the response to my new book ‘Breakdown Printing’ and am overwhelmed that I sold all the places on my first Guided Textile Retreat in October 2027. Setting this up was a bit of a leap of faith, so thank you. (I have a waiting list that you can join by emailing me and I’m trying to secure dates for 2028!).

The biggest thanks goes to the fab three, son Joe, grandson Riley and best friend Ruth Brown, who ran the stand with me. Couldn’t do it without them. And to the lovely Ann R for bringing me coffee. Definitely couldn’t do it without coffee!

And now …. everything has been tidied and put away, screens have been cleaned, I’ve caught up on admin, stock has been reordered and the orders taken during the show are ready to ship tomorrow. I’ve tidied the studio and, whilst it definitely isn’t a blank canvas, I have created the space to go back to making art. The next Shoreline quilt is out and ready for quilting and I’ve done a bit of colour work for a new series. Happy days!

And in other news …. buyer number 3 failed to find the money so the house has been back on the market, had viewings and we’ve now accepted an offer of buyer number 4. I would cross my fingers but I need them to make breakdown screens.

And in other news … and this is for everyone that has been in my studio and to my Grasmere retreat buddies … the studio coffee machine has gurgled its last coffee after about 15 years of faithful service. She will be missed but thank goodness you can get a new coffee machine delivered the next day ……

it’s squeaky bum time!

Actually it is only four days until we load the cars, drive to the NEC and set up.

And there is still quite a lot of things to do. Including converting a small mountain of washed, but not ironed, printed and dyed fabrics into Wonky Print Inspiration Packs and Absolutely Darling Hand Dyed Packs. Because I had to focus on getting the book finished, I won’t have as many packs as normal but I’m very happy with the range of colours and patterns.

I also need to get ready for demonstrating on my stand and for setting up The Creative Textile Studio. I’m going to be breakdown printing for the full four days and expect to need four screens a day. So that’s 16 breakdown screens to make and dry - it is supposed to rain here in Manchester today and tomorrow but will back to scorching hot on Monday. Screens dry so much quicker in the sun!

And then there are the new books. There’s nothing like a hard deadline (this Tuesday) to get the heart racing. The production order was supposed to be delivered on Thursday but will now be (hopefully) delivered on Monday! I can’t stand up because I’ve got so many things crossed …… yes it is definitely squeaky bum time!

All that said, I am looking forward to Festival of Quilts. I don’t get to see much of the show but I do get to catch up with so many friends. And my grandson Riley will be joining me on the stand for the first time on Thursday. He is nearly 17 and taller than his dad, Joe who will also be there on Thursday.

So do please stop by and say hello if you are at the show!

So excited!! - my new book ‘Breakdown Printing’ is now available to pre-order via my website. You can find more information HERE and order HERE. Shipping will be from 30th July.

I will be officially launching the book at Festival of Quilts in two weeks time - you can find me on stand E16. I will be demonstrating how to breakdown print for the full four days so please do stop by to help me celebrate (and maybe buy a book too?).

This is a complete rewrite of my original breakdown book which was written only 6 months after I started teaching. Since then I have taught over 400 students globally and this new book incorporates everything I have learnt from them. Combining all new examples and a greater depth of instruction Breakdown Printing represents how I breakdown print today. There are new recommendations, some changes to recipes and a much greater emphasis on building layers of print. It is worth buying even if you have the original.

With over 400 images spread across 204 beautifully illustrated pages, the book is suitable for absolute beginners as well as experienced printers and cost £25.

(I am mindful that shipping outside the UK is expensive and, in some cases, fraught with difficulty, so the book will be available on Amazon globally from mid-August.)

And now for some of the lovely fabrics featured in my new book ….

Oh yes, it is that time of year again as I gear up for Festival of Quilts. The show runs from Thursday 30th July to Sunday 2nd August at the NEC, Birmingham and is the biggest quilt show in Europe.

It is, by some distance, my biggest event of the year. I didn’t take a stand last year because of the house move. I took a stand this year because I expected the house move to be done. It isn’t but that is a whole depressing blog post that you don’t want me to write! So my stand this year is, along with the InStitches stand, adjacent to The Creative Textile Studio which Hazel, Terry and myself run. We’re really grateful to the show organisers for agreeing to put our stands next to the studio. It makes running the studio easier but, more importantly, it extends the demonstrating area as I will be breakdown printing on my stand for the full four days and Hazel / Terry will be using thermal screens and textile inks on theirs.

The most important thing that I’m working on right now is a new book ‘Breakdown Printing’ which I will launch at the show. Details to follow but I’m really excited about it!

Around the book work, I’m getting everything else ready which includes buying in more stock of dyes, chemicals, screens etc. and there have been a couple of changes. The big one, that actually makes me rather sad, is that the UK manufacturer of wood-framed screens that I’ve used for years has closed down. They were the last manufacturer in the UK but struggled with the double hit of increased costs and decreased demand as more schools and colleges replace screen printing with digital printing. The good news, I found a manufacturer in Spain who ships to the UK so I will have lots of screens to sell at Festival. The bad news - a price increase particularly on the smallest sized frame. I’ll set the exact price once they have been delivered and I know the customs / duty / admin fees but I have had quotes from UK manufacturers of metal-framed screens and wood is still cheaper. In the meantime I still have a handful of screens in my online shop from the old supplier………

A small change has been to Soda Ash. I buy all my dyes and chemicals from Kemtex and they have seen interruptions in supply so have had to find a new manufacturer of Soda Ash. The change - the new stuff is significantly denser so if you use by volume (as I do) you will need to reduce how much you use. I used to use 3 heaped tablespoons per litre of water when making soda solution - I now use 2 heaped tablespoons. I’ve added a label to the packets to explain. If you buy from another retailer and it looks different, this is probably why.

And then there are Wonky Print Inspiration Packs and Absolutely Darling Hand Dyed Packs to make, leaflets to get printed, signage to print and laminate, stand ‘stuff’ to check and pack, and a whole bunch of boxes to tick!

If you’re at the show, please stop buy and say hello! (And maybe buy the new book ….)

Beautiful beach on Iona

We’re back from our Highland adventure and it was wonderful. We toured Mull, Iona and Skye with stops in Fortwilliam and Largs on the way up and down. I had intended taking lots and lots of photos but actually too many looked similar and they really didn’t capture the beauty of the landscapes. I loved Fionnphort in Mull and the island of Iona in the sunshine - the beaches were turquoise and crystal clear. We could have been in the Caribbean if it wasn’t for the somewhat cooler weather! And Calgary Beach, Skye, on a cold wet day. We visited potteries, craft shops and distillery shops (Tobermory was very impressive). And found some great places to eat - Penny Gate Lodge Restaurant on Mull and Bog Myrtle on Skye really stood out. We came home with several bottles of gin and whisky, a rather lovely ceramic plate and happy memories.

Not so happy was the house move emotional rollercoaster we’ve had over the last month - good news, bad news, good news, bad news rinse and repeat. In theory we are due to complete mid June but we still haven’t exchanged contracts and it is looking like the date will get pushed out. It is, frankly, infuriating.

But I had one very good piece of news recently - the latest quilt in my Shoreline series has been accepted into SAQA Wide Horizons. Having the time to make art has been a good thing to come out of the whole house move stuff ….

Shoreline V

After a long period of rejection after rejection I’m absolutely delighted to let you know that Shoreline IV (above) has been juried into Quilt Visions 2026! There were 33 pieces selected from 323 entries … which makes it even more special. I did a very happy Happy Dance when I heard! My heartfelt thanks to the jurors Carolyn Ducey, Justin Ming Young and David Van Burkirk.

The early pieces in the Shoreline series were calmer but, as my frustration at the snail like pace of our house sale has grown, the pieces have become striking, more jarring. And no, we still haven’t moved.

If you read my posts regularly you’ll know that I like to keep busy. I thoroughly enjoyed teaching my 3 day Luscious Layers workshop at Little Heath Barn in Bromsgrove a couple of weeks ago. Great students and some amazing work (examples below)! I’ll be teaching the same workshop next year from 30th June to 2nd July. You can’t book online yet but you can find more details and email Liske to register an interest by clicking here.

And finally I gave a talk yesterday to the Scottish Stitch and Textiles Garthering in Perth. I had expected to be making the relatively short drive over from Largs but, because of the retched house sale, I had to make the long drive up from Manchester. So the kind comments after my talk and the sales of lots of my fabric packs were very welcome. I am really hoping that I will be attending next years gathering as a member of a scottish textile group.

So what next …. in May myself, husband and beloved father-in-law are taking a Highland road trip visiting Mull, Iona and Skye and I’m looking forward to walking on lots of stunning beaches, eating well and picking up the odd bottle of locally distilled gin!. Of course we had been expecting to set off from Largs ……ho hum.