The weather in the UK has been awful for the last few days so I thought you might appreciate some eye candy! Last week I had the very great pleasure of welcoming Christine Chester to my studio. She taught her 5 day Poetry of Decay class and it was fabulous. It is a mixed media workshop in which students add layers and layers of texture and colour to paper and cloth. Christine worked the students hard but the results were worth it. My thanks to Christine and especially to the students - Inge, Pippa, Chris, Gill, Ruth, Judy and Lesley.

After a couple of weeks break due to teaching I have spent the last few days finishing my latest art quilt. It is called Cadence 7 and I’m sharing a detail from the piece. Yes it is made from breakdown printed fabrics. Yes turquoise features heavily. And yes there is lots and lots of straight line quilting. But it needed something more.

The addition of a thin strip of complementary colour and some curved lines have helped to bring the piece alive. I absolutely love it and hope that some of you will get to see it in the Art Quilt section at Festival of Quilts at the end of July. Because the quilt is big (297cm wide and 101cm high) it should get displayed on a white wall …. I design my pieces to be exhibited on white walls and don’t enter them into shows where they would be displayed against black cloth. My art, my choice!

The next couple of months are super busy. As well as teaching my own workshops I’m delighted that Christine Chester and Ruth Brown will also be teaching in my studio. There are a few places left if you fancy a fun packed staycation in (hopefully sunny) Manchester. Details on my workshops page. And then there is Festival of Quilts where I will be demonstrating breakdown printing on my stand in the Quilt in Action area. I have everything crossed that it goes ahead - it will be such a boost in so many ways!

And whilst I like to fool my husband that I can bend time to get a couple of extra hours out of every day the reality is that teaching is all absorbing (and knackering) so I’m unlikely to get much ‘art’ time. I certainly won’t have the time to start the next Cadence quilt but I might find time to do a little sampling of some new ideas ……..

Quilting my new piece is progressing slowly because this week has been a bit of a box ticking week. I’ve been working through the list of ‘stuff’ that I decided to get done before I teach again on the 17th. The most time consuming, and the most fun, has been working through my pile of demo / sample fabrics and making up some new fabric packs for the website. Have a look at the fabric section of my shop. I’ve added a few more Wonky Print Inspiration Packs, this time in Cotton Poplin rather than Plain Cotton, and a few Absolutely Darling Hand Dyed Packs. I’ve also added two new types of pack. My new Cool Coordinating Colour Families contain fifteen different coloured pieces of hand dyed fabric. I love working with colour families - using dark, medium and light values of two starting colours you get fifteen pieces of fabric that will always ‘work’ together. And I have introduced a new pack called One of a Kind. These packs contain larger pieces of breakdown printed fabric that are just too good to chop up and use in my Wonky Print packs. Some of the pieces are samples from my Breakdown Your Palette book and some are demo pieces from my Breakdown Your Palette workshops. These new packs are priced individually based on the amount of fabric in each pack. I hope you like them!

I have also added a new gallery page to my website featuring my Print series. OK, so this should have been added 18 months ago but I got distracted! I’m not sure if these pieces will ever get an outing again but at least now they are ‘out there’ in the virtual world!

And I got around to adding three new Thermofax designs to my shop. I designed these for my online version of Breakdown Your Palette and rather love them. I’ve also asked my silk screen manufacturer to make me some square screens (which should have been done a year ago!). They will be 16 inches x 16 inches and I’ll add them to the shop as soon as they are in stock.

Other boxes ticked …. I fixed the toilet seat in the Bog Shed (it’s a glamorous life!). Thanks to the lovely Sue I’ve managed to find an electrician to check the lighting circuit in the studio which is playing up. He can’t visit until early June but at least he answered his phone. I guess electricians are in demand. I brought some plants for the garden which are sheltering in the studio porch because the weather is awful. And I’ve ordered a coat stand for the studio porch. Its turquoise. I’m very excited!

Now back to my quilting …

Breakdown printed fabric from my online Breakdown Your Palette workshop

In my last post I mentioned a couple of UK organisations that I’m a member of, The Quilters Guild and the Contemporary Quilt group. I am also a member of SAQA - the Studio Art Quilt Association. This US based but international organisation does an excellent job of promoting art quilts and provides lots of opportunities for textile artists to exhibit their work in galleries and museums around the world. I joined because I want to exhibit my work in the US and was lucky enough to have work selected for one of their exhibitions, ’Layered Voices’ which toured in 2017 -2019. I’ve also had pieces in two of their European touring exhibitions.

SAQA offer a range of membership levels including one called Juried Artist for which you have to submit a portfolio of work as well as an artists statement and resume. It was on my list to apply for several years but ‘stuff’ kept getting in the way. When I had free time last year during lockdown I moved applying to the top of my to-do list. And then found that I no longer had confidence in my work and couldn’t handle the thought of rejection. I think this was all part of the disconnect I felt from my art and my art practice.

But, as you’ll know from previous posts I set aside time towards the end of last year to reconnect with my art. And with my confidence growing I decided to apply.

And this week I heard that I had been accepted! Happy dance! Happy tears! And a massive honour. I now have an artists profile on their website which you can find here. And I have applied to have a piece included in one of their Art Quilt Quarterly magazines.

I also gave my second virtual talk on Understanding Colour to the Contemporary Quilt group this week … just as nerve-wracking as the first time but I’m determined to embrace more virtual opportunities! I have agreed to give my first live workshop in mid-April. I’m still at the ‘I must be mad / panic’ stage in my preparations but will share details soon!

And finally, take up of my first online workshop Breakdown Your Palette has been brilliant. This is an on-demand workshop that you can join at any time. If you have been thinking about joining, a little reminder - for every person that enrols during March I am donating £10 to the charity YoungMinds. They do brilliant work helping children and young people with mental health issues.

Thanks, Leah x

It may still be doom and gloom in the rest of the world but my studio has been buzzing with good vibes all week!

I have had an amazing response to my first online workshop Breakdown Your Palette. A big thank you to my new students! I had a target in my head that I thought would be brilliant to reach by the end of March and I reached it yesterday …. lots of happy tears in the studio. Together we have raised over £200 for the YoungMinds charity. And it has also allowed me to start refunding deposits to those students who can’t make rescheduled studio workshop dates or who don’t want to travel until they’ve had both jabs - which is an enormous weight off my shoulders.

The only technical hitch so far has been a couple of people who couldn’t see the Sample Video - I use Vimeo to host the videos and they don’t support older versions of some web browsers. The solution is to update your browser.

This week I also received my copy of The Quilter magazine featuring an article I wrote about colour. And I gave my first ever Zoom talk to members of the Contemporary Quilt group. It was about colour. Obviously. The CQ group are a specialist group within The Quilters Guild (UK) and The Quilter is the quarterly magazine published by the Guild. I have been a member for approaching twenty years and am a big fan of all the work they do. I also appreciate the opportunities they have given me, and other tutors, to promote our work.

This week also saw me and hubby getting our first Corona virus jabs. The process was flawless with our wonderful NHS staff being support by volunteers. Another weight off my shoulders.

And finally this was the week when I should have been joining 12 very good friends for our annual five day retreat in the Lake District. The retreat has always been a form of respite … 5 days away from work and away from family. I love my family but I love them more for getting the occasional break! We couldn’t be together in person this year so instead organised a 5 day virtual retreat. Although I wasn’t able to avoid ‘work’ it was lovely sitting at my computer listening to the quiet chatter of old friends via Zoom in the background. We had our usual book review (mine were both about colour), our usual quiz (animal based, I came last) and our usual five day challenge. Janet devised five prompts that took us from a piece of white fabric to a finished vessel. We shared our progress each day, it was joyful. I started by dyeing my fabric turquoise and ended up with a vessel that is the perfect size for holding a bottle of wine! Perfect!

I am very pleased to announce that Christine Chester will be teaching her five day Poetry of Stitch workshop here at Urban Studio North next September. Christine is a talented artist, popular teacher and runs her own studio in Eastbourne.

Stitching, whether by hand or machine, is usually the final layer on a piece of work and often the process we enjoy the most. But we can get into a routine of using the stitches with which we are most familiar. In this workshop Christine will encourage you to look at ways of stitching that will extend your language of marks. She will look at both hand and machine stitching thinking about the character and the weight of the stitching that we are using and how to apply that to printed work so that the stitch either enhances the printed layer; or creates focus within the print. There will be an emphasis on trying lots of small sample pieces before starting to work on a larger, more considered piece of work.

The five day workshop costs £450 and requires students to bring their own sewing machine. If you want to learn more about Poetry of Stitch please click here.

This is the final announcement about workshops in 2021 - the studio calendar is pretty full and I have all my fingers and toes crossed that we can run without restrictions, hopefully from March onwards. Normally I would now be thinking about workshops in 2022 but, given all the uncertainty in our lives, I’m not planning on making any announcements until Easter.

Before I go …..tis the season of shameless marketing ….. did you know that you can buy Urban Studio North gift cards in my online shop? Available in £20, £50 and £100 values, these digital gift cards can be used on all of the products in my shop including workshops, books, dyes etc and never expire! So if your loved ones don’t know what to get you for Christmas why not suggest a gift card?

Thank you for reading, Leah x

I just realised that I have been neglecting this blog! I haven’t even given you a porch update. I’m happy to report that it is because I have been super busy working on my next book and teaching.

The porch is beginning to look like a porch. For a while it was more of a pergola than a porch but it now has a roof and part of two walls. It means we can be Covid-19 safe and work with the studio doors wide open and it doesn’t rain in. It isn’t quite at the stage where it helps keep the studio warm on cold days but the lovely badger, with a little help from bodger, is getting there. Because we are doing this cheaply we haven’t poured a level foundation so there has been a far bit of swearing trying to get everything square! It will be worth it!

Teaching has been going well with some amazing printing this last week. My students are happy with the layout of the studio and the new rules. It is so important to me that we get this right as I don’t want to increase risk for my students or my family. Nine weeks with additional local restrictions hasn’t reduced the numbers and I suspect we will see more restrictions in the coming weeks and months. But we soldier on!

I only have two free spaces left on workshops this autumn. One is on my Creative Surface Design program starting on 21st and 22nd November and the other is on my five day Print, Stitch, Go! workshop on 9th to 13th November. If you are thinking about booking but maybe have some concerns re Covid and local conditions please get in touch here and I’ll do my best to help.

And finally, the book. The content is done. Words, samples, photos. The last few sections will be going out for their final proof reading this week. So now I just have the layout to do. Just. I’m considering adding padding to my table top as I know there will be some serious head banging as I try to remember how to use InDesign. And swearing. I can guarantee there will be swearing! But, just like the porch, it will be worth it!

Many of you will know that I closed the studio a couple of weeks ago when local Covid-19 restrictions were introduced restricting access to peoples homes and gardens covering the area I live in. Although we are in an area with a relatively low and decreasing infection rate not all areas in Greater Manchester are so fortunate so the local lockdown remains in place. HOWEVER …. the government published revised guidance on the 14th August detailing the list of circumstances under which people may enter your family home or garden. Second on the list is ‘for the purposes of education or training’. I contacted my local councillor over the weekend just to be absolutely sure and he has confirmed that bringing students into the studio and garden is allowed!

Phew! I was getting increasingly upset that we might be in and out of lockdown throughout the autumn and winter, that I wouldn’t know if I was coming or going and whether it wouldn’t just be easier not to try to teach. Of course the situation could get far worse and we could end up back in full lockdown with travel restrictions in place. And I appreciate that some students who don’t live locally might not want to travel into the area. But for now I am enjoying some positive news!

The next workshop I run will be my five day Breakdown Your Palette workshop on Monday 31st August to Friday 4th September. This week was rescheduled at short notice so there are a couple of places available. If you are interested you can find more details here.

And the positivity doesn’t stop there …. today we are starting a new build. In order to work in a Covid-19 safe way in the studio we need to keep the doors open allowing lots of air flow. Not a problem on dry, mild days but winter is coming. My favourite builders, son Joe (Bodger) and father in law Bernard (Badger), have a plan! Over the next couple of weeks they are adding a porch to the studio. It will have an opening at the front to allow air flow but will stop the rain getting in and, hopefully, stop the heat getting out. I have been doing my bit by giving the timbers a coat of primer and undercoat. Their aim is to build something that fits with the rest of the studio front. My aim is to try to keep calm and carry on working on the book ….

I’ll post an update soon!

Hidden Message 2 - one of the quilts on display in From There to Now

Those of you who live in the UK will be aware that the government announced new restrictions covering Greater Manchester (where I live) on Thursday evening due to an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases locally. We are no longer able to visit each others homes or gardens. They have not imposed any new restrictions on businesses so I could continue to teach. However, whilst my students never go inside my home, they do use the garden to access the studio, the bathroom and screen wash trough as well as sitting in the garden on sunny days. It is tempting to bend the rules as I know that I, and my family, are being super careful. And I know that the studio is Covid-19 safe. But I’m not going too. If we all bend the rules we will never get free of this disease.

So yesterday I contacted those students who were due in the studio in the next couple of weeks. They have all been so understanding and so lovely and I thank them for making a difficult day easier to bear. I’m trying to reschedule the Breakdown Your Palette workshop for later in the summer and may have a couple of free spaces if it goes ahead.

But life goes on and there is much to celebrate. Beyond The Festival of Quilts launched on Thursday and I have had some fabulous responses to my virtual gallery ‘From There to Now’. Although the official event finishes tomorrow I believe that the galleries are going to be left visible until next years show. I’ve also had a good response to the Helen Parrott and Rosie James workshops in 2021 with half the places taken in a couple of days. They are popular teachers!

And thank you to those who have ordered from my webshop, especially those buying my limited edition bookmarks. As a reminder the 10% discount code FOQ2020 is valid until midnight on Sunday.

Yesterday was horrible but today I have given myself a good talking to and am back working on my book.

Leah x