Detail from fabric printed using a reusable drawn and distressed washable PVA glue resist screen.

I’m dancing a happy dance here in the studio as my new online workshop ‘Simply Screen Printing’ is now ready. Based on the book and the in-person 5 day workshop of the same name, the online workshop contains approx. 25 hours of video plus detailed notes and support from me via monthly Zoom meetings, a private Facebook group and email. The notes are an edited version of my book so contain different examples to those featured on the videos. The cost is £300 for 12 months access. If you go to the preview page you can watch a ‘Welcome’ video in which I share an outline of the workshop. You can also watch a sample lesson to get a sense of what the videos look like and how I teach.

I am offering an EARLY BIRD SPECIAL with up to 2 months extra access. If you sign up in March or April your membership will run until the end of April 2025. Why …. well because I’m a nice person and well, I still have some videos to edit and upload. 80% of the content is available today and the rest will be in place by the end of March. I’ll notify you as the final units are ready.

I have also added two new items to my shop for those of you who will be setting up for screen printing for the first time. The Basic Kit contains a 12 x 14inch screen, a 9inch Speedball squeegee, 300g Soda Ash, 400g Urea, 150g Manutex RS and four 50g Procion MX dyes (in acid lemon, magenta, turquoise and dark brown) at a 10% discount on the usual price. I also throw in a free tile grouter! The Deluxe Kit contains two screens, one Speedball squeegee, 2 x soda, 2 x urea, 2 x Manutex RS and ten 50g dyes (acid lemon, golden yellow, magenta, scarlet, turquoise, royal blue, black, dark brown, petrol green and rust brown). Again at a 10% discount with 2 free tile grouters.

I am blessed to be able to earn my living working in my studio doing the things I love doing. It is a good life. But not everyone has things so easy. And so I will be donating £10 for each workshop sold in March and April to The Trussell Trust, an organisation that supports food banks across the UK and campaigns for an end to food poverty.

Phew! I might go have a little lie down now! x

In what will be a bit of a theme for 2024 I have started going through the studio and our home in preparation for our planned move (and downsize) in 2025. I could have started in the cellar which is full of all sorts of stuff (otherwise known as rubbish) that have magically appeared over the last 25 years. Instead I opted for a very pleasant couple of weeks sorting through my boxes of hand printed and dyed fabrics.

Even though I’ve sold lots of Wonky Printed Inspiration Packs and Absolutely Hand Dyed Packs over the last few years I’ve still managed to accumulate lots of fabric often when researching and sampling my books. Certainly more fabric than I will ever use. And then there are the fabrics that have been dyed and printed for series of artworks that I know that I’m not going to go back to. And so I’ve put together lots of fabric packs that I hope to find new homes for! Have a look at my website here.

Now a more commercially savvy person would have got the packs ready for sale in the run up to Christmas as they do make lovely gifts but I was rather tired after the mad panic that was getting ready for my exhibition. Instead I am going with ‘stave off those winter blues / fabric is for life and not just Christmas / because you are worth it ……’

Printed using a screen made with a washable PVA glue resist.

Taking a quick break from quilting ….. I have one place left on my five day Simply Screen Printing - The Full Monty workshop on Monday 2nd to Friday 6th October. I’m offering it at a 20% discount so £360 instead of £450. You can find out more about the workshop here. The workshop is suitable for beginners and for those you want to add more screen printing techniques to their tool kit. Please email me if you have questions.

Looking forward to 2024, I only have one place left on my new workshop Luscious Layers running from Monday 3rd to 7th June 2024. This workshop isn’t suitable for beginners as it assumes a basic knowledge of screen printing and other ‘wet process’ techniques. I’m really looking forward to teaching this workshop as it is all about adding multiple layers of colour, mark, texture, line and shape to fabric to create beautiful, complex art cloth. You can find out more here.

And if you’ve been thinking about doing my Breakdown Your Palette workshop the only places left are on the workshop running from Monday 1st to Friday 5th July 2024. You can find out more here.

And now for the bad news …. unfortunately I’ve had to put up the price of my screens by an average of 19% (actual increase depends on the size of screen). I could probably source cheaper screens from outside the UK but I prefer to continue to buy from the small family company that I’ve been using for years. That said, a well looked after screen will last for years and years.

Now, back to quilting ….

Festival of Quilts starts on Thursday and I am (nearly) ready! I’ve got a bigger stand this year, B50 in Hall 9 (if you stand with your back to the theatre entrance you should be able to see it). We had a great show last year but it was exhausting with just me and best buddy, Ruth, so this year we are going to be joined by my son Joe. Some of you will know him as he’s done shows with me in the past. I’m hoping this gives me a little more time to chat to old friends, meet new friends and possibly look at some of the wonderful galleries. If you don’t have a ticket yet please use the code LEAHHIGGINS23 to get a £2 discount. If you’re at the show please come and say hello!

As well as promoting next years workshops I’m hoping to get some sign-ups to my last 2023 workshop - Simply Screen Printing (the Full Monty) which runs from 2nd to 6th October. I will be offering the workshop at a 20% discount during the show and, because not everyone can make the show, I’m offering it at a 20% discount online from the 1st to 31st August - just use the discount code SSP5DAYDISCOUNT. The workshop normally costs £450 so you’ll save £90.

I will be taking lots of my hand printed and dyed fabric packs (112 Wonky Print + 35 Absolutely Hand Dyed). I’ll have lots of copies of my latest book, Simply Screen Printing along with my book on translating colour theory into colour practice, Colour Your Palette. I will also be taking all the remaining copies of my Breakdown Your Palette book to the show. I only have about 30 left. I’m not going to reprint the book as I’m planning to write a new version either next year or the year after, so once they’re gone they’re gone! (The digital version of the book will still be available). And I’ll be taking Procion dyes, soda etc, screen and squeegees. In fact, I will be taking as much stuff as I can physically get into mine and Joes cars!

And finally, both myself and Ruth will be demonstrating in The Creative Textile Studio which can be found to the left of the theatre. Ruth will be demonstrating different book binding techniques all day Friday, Saturday morning and Sunday morning. I’ll be demonstrating simple screen printing techniques on Saturday and Sunday afternoon. I’ll be demonstrating on my stand as well. Phew, I need a lie down and we’ve not even set off yet!

Some weeks are just good. Mine got off to a cracking start with an email from textileartist.org to let me know that their article ‘Discover: The power of print’ had just been published online. I feel honoured (and rather chuffed) to be included in this article on five textile artists who use print in their work. I’m in great company as the article also highlights the work of Amerjeet Nandhra, Sue Hotchkis, Bobbi Baugh and Ross Belton. We all use print in very different ways to create very different styles of art but we all exploit the serendipity of the hand printing process. If you haven’t heard of textileartist.org I really recommend that you take a look at their website and sign up to their newsletter. The breadth and quality of work they feature is amazing and they are a great resource for all textile fans.

On Monday evening I gave a talk ‘Understanding Colour’ to Seaside Stitchers in Blackpool. As always it is an honour to be invited to talk to a group although I could have waffled on about colour for far longer than my allotted hour! They are a lovely group of embroiderers, quilters and textile lovers and I really enjoyed chatting with them after the talk. You can follow the link above to their Facebook page.

Life is challenging for everybody right now and I am grateful to the 172 people who brought my new book Simply Screen Printing in February and March. As a result I have just donated £172 on your behalf to The Trussell Trust. Making a living as an artist is tough and I only get to pay my bills because of your continued support - thank you!

The frustrating bit …. the cost of posting books internationally. Unfortunately, when I started shipping the new book, I discovered that there are no longer any ‘cheap’ options for posting parcels weighing over 2kg outside of the UK. I kept my postage rates the same until the end of March but have now had to increase them. There is still a significant difference between International Economy and International Standard for parcels weighing up to 2kg but once you get above 2kg the difference is much smaller and pricing can vary from day to day. I shop around every time I’m sending out a parcel that weighs over 2kg and, typically, the standard rate will get you delivery via courier within a few days and the economy rate will get you delivery via a courier in 2 - 3 weeks. If I happen to get a rate that is cheaper than you have paid I will refund the difference.

What also made this week a good one was a few days away from home with hubby staying in Morecambe. I’m going to be on a plane to Melbourne on our 40th wedding anniversary so this was an early anniversary present to ourselves. The weather was a bit rubbish but the AirBnB was amazing and had great views across the estuary (when the rain stopped). I took some ‘moody’ grey photos of the horizon line, sand and rocks - inspiration for a project?? Maybe when I get a free moment!

Printed using a loose paper resists in different values of a lovely teal colour.

I’ve been elbow deep working on my next book over the last few weeks but have put my head above the parapet occasionally. And noticed that Christmas is nearly here.

So, a couple of things - if you are planning to order anything from my online shop please do so ASAP. In theory the last postage date within the UK is the 21st but postal strikes are taking their toll and I’m seeing that it is taking far longer than it should for things to arrive. I use Royal Mail for anything that weighs under 2kg and DPD for heavier boxes. Royal Mail seems to be badly affected in some areas and DPD have temporarily withdrawn their next day service and their collection service in my area.

And, if you’ve looked at my online shop recently you will have noticed that I have reduced the price of my Colour Your Palette from £25 to £20. With a new book imminent I need to clear some space!

The book ….. the words are (mostly) out of my head and on paper, or more accurately on One Drive. The bottle neck is sampling and photography which I can only do in my studio. My electricity smart meter is happily doing somersaults as I heat the studio during the current cold snap. Wearing thermals, sweaters, fleece-lined trousers, a woolly hat and fingerless gloves I find that I can work at 12 - 14C provided I don’t sit still for too long. My heart goes out to all those who can’t afford to heat their homes. It’s going to be a long winter for so many.

Hoping that you are lovely and toasty as you read this, Leah x

Printed using loose plastic resists in acid lemon and scarlet. Makes me feel warmer just looking at this one!

I had a wonderful time last Sunday at the Great Northern Textile Show. The organiser, Tracy Fox, did an outstanding job and is probably still laid down in a dark room recovering! I put my exhibition up on the Saturday afternoon so saw the transformation from empty sports hall to a buzzing textile show. It was wonderful to see so many old friends and to meet new textile artists and traders. And the cup cakes were gorgeous! Well done Tracy!

I had printed and dyed quite a lot of fabric for the show and sold lots but I have some left over. So I have added them to my online shop. They include a selection of Wonky Print Inspiration Packs and some Absolutely Darling Hand Dyed Packs. You can see them all here.

I’m now in book writing mode so don’t expect to be printing or dyeing more fabric until into the New Year so if you’re looking for Christmas presents or just fancy treating yourself now is the time!

Leah x

The whirlwind that is Festival of Quilts is over for another year and I am already looking forward to next year! Thank you to everybody who stopped by and made it such a successful show and welcome to all you new subscribers. My biggest thanks though goes to Ruth Brown, friend, book binder, textile artist and all-round superstar. I quite literally could not have done the show without her.

I’m not sure we could have fitted more stuff in my van - lets just say that it is a good thing that both Ruth and me have short legs! Set up went pretty smoothly and I was really pleased with my stand. Lots of fabrics, lots of books, lots of dyes and lots of breakdown screens ready for me to print. The show opened at 9.30am on Thursday and we never stopped! My notes for next years show consist of one word ‘more’. More fabrics, more books, more screens ….. not quite sure how we’ll fit everything into my van but what a wonderful problem to have.

As well as the stand this year I was part of the studio collective running the Creative Textile Studio. This is a live space where a fantastic group of artists and demonstrators share their techniques and their work. Myself, Christine, Hazel and Terry are so grateful for the volunteers who helped set up the studio, who manned the sales table and generally pitched in when needed. If you visited the studio we would love to get some feedback from you.

Myself and Ruth also demonstrated in the studio and I thought I’d share a photo that one of the other demonstrators, Amanda Duke, sent me …. this was taken at about 4pm on the final day and boy do I look tired. Tired but happy! Thank you all again x

It is less than four weeks now until Festival of Quilts, Europe’s biggest quilt show held each year at the NEC, Birmingham and I’m busy getting organised! You can find me on stand K47 opposite the cafe and seating area in Hall 6, near the Theatre and Exhibitors Lounge.

I’ll be breakdown printing on my stand except on Friday and Sunday afternoons when I’ll be demonstrating in The Creative Textile Studio. Artist and friend Ruth Brown will be helping on my stand and demonstrating in The Creative Studio on Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings. Please stop by and say hello!

I’ll have lots of my hand dyed and printed fabrics, books and cards on my stand and will be taking bookings for workshops. I’ll also have dyes, other chemicals, 14x12inch screen printing frames, squeegees and beginners kits for sale. But there is a limit on how much stuff I can get pack into my car and may (hope!) to sell out of somethings. So I’m offering an order now, collect for free at the show service. If you place an order in my online shop please enter the discount code FOQ2022 and your order will be ready for you on my stand.. The code removes the shipping cost. It can only be used on orders over £20. The code is valid until 11.55pm on Friday 12th August. If disaster strikes and you don’t get to the show I’ll get in touch after the show to sort out shipping. Please contact me here if you have any questions.

If you’re planning to go but haven’t got your tickets yet I have a promo code you can use to save you a bit of money. The promo code is CTSA22 which gives a discount on Adult and Concession tickets until midnight on 17th August, making the price £16 for Adults reduced from £17.50 and £14 for concessions reduced from £15.50*. Booking link is https://thefestivalofquilts.seetickets.com/ *T&CS and transaction fees apply.

I’m off to print some more fabric …. hope to see you soon, Leah x