Almost Christmas!

This has been such a fast-moving year - in fact I think I lost November altogether! I always keep a notebook with lists of design-ideas which I mean to complete but this year's list seems to have got longer instead of shorter.  At least I won't be stuck for ideas in 2013.  Thank you to all the lovely ladies who have supported my Workshops. We do have a great deal of fun (and biscuits) and I am always thrilled and delighted with the work you come out with at the end of the day. My very Best Wishes for Christmas and the New Year...and keep on parching!

October

So pleased that many of you liked 'Gina the Gymnast'.  She was fun to design...as was my 1920's golfer jm029-7(another special request!)  I'm looking forward to receiving my copy of Dorothy Holness's wedding designs which I have on order.  I just love to LOOK at Dorothy's wonderful embossing and hope some of her great skill rubs off on me.  I also have a Guild Day booked at Christine Cade's house at the end of the month when I'm looking forward to meeting some other 'parchers'.  I hope to have my set of 'little shop' patterns finished soon - I've started with a Christmas Shop as I hope it might make a nice Christmas card.

Here comes Autumn

Have you found the latest free pattern on my website?  The last butterfly of the summer!  All the excitement of the Olympics is now over and - as a non-sporting person- I'm afraid to confess I didn't watch one single thing!  I feel quite guilty about it really, as the rest of the country seemed to take it to their hearts. However, I am about to make amends as a very fond 'grandma' has asked me to design some gymnastic cards for her young grand-daughter.  I'm working on these at the moment and they should be on-line within the next fortnight.  Our September parchment workshop went well and we were all delighted to see Carol back amongst us after her bad fall.  We started to get into the Christmas mood with a Poinsettia Wreath design, which will also be in the 'Colourful Christmas' range within the next fortnight.

Work in progress.....

I'm happy to say the new Christmas designs are still going well - especially the choir boys.  I was in Gloucester at the weekend and saw a particularly nice lantern on a church, which I am sure is going to be the next Christmas design.  You can't beat a decorated lantern to make you feel Chrismassy.  Earlier this month I spent a day in Margate, visiting the new art gallery, and whilst walking round the older part of town I found a very pretty shop which has inspired a new set of designs, featuring three little shops.  I just wish each week was ten days long - so many ideas, so little time!!!  Also halfway through a new set of Elegant Ladies for the CC Collection....think I'd better give up sleeping.

New Christmas patterns

Glad to say the three new Christmas patterns have already proved popular.  Now I'm working on a Christmas pattern for the Parchment Craft magazine.  I also have some 'Christmas Fairy' ideas to play with. I do wish this hobby didn't make the year go so fast!  Had a lovely weekend at Holme Barn Crafts, working with Linda Williams and Gail Sydenham , brushing up on pencil techniques.  It was fun to be a student instead of a tutor this time. Looking forward to running my next workshop on 14th. July.  I just hope nobody gets caught in the traffic jam caused by the Olympic Torch coming through the area.

New free pattern for June

Time for another free pattern on my website.  I hope you like the Hydrangea.  I am working on new Christmas patterns - and I hear some of you groan.  It seems we crafters are in two camps - half of us like to leave it until late November until we are in a Christmas mood, but others are buying patterns in January.  I'm looking forward to the next workshop in July.  However, my students are all getting so skilful, I have a job finding something to challenge them.  It's great when they suggest a subject for the next class, so I do my best to design something they really want. Even if you don't come to our workshops, I am always happy to create special designs from your suggestions.  Keep on parching!  

Good gracious - where did April go?

Seems far too long since I've been on here.  Been very busy designing new patterns and planning what is going to happen, now that postal charges have gone up.  Also the cost of printing the patterns has risen dramatically.  I hate the idea of  putting up my charges, so its been decided that in the near future we will offer instant downloads which will be cheaper than the patterns are at present - and of course there will be no postal charges.  Its something we have been fighting against since we started selling patterns as we lose a bit of control over what happens to the pattern as a download - however, we now have to go with it!  For those who don't like buying on the internet via Paypal, there will still be the option of  paying by cheque and buying an actual pattern but I'm afraid it will cost more.  This won't all happen for a month or two as it will take a while to set up.
For anyone with a line-dancing friend, there's a new free pattern on my website, just for line-dancers.
Looking forward to the next course at Barton on Sea on May 5th.  We always have such a good time - I just hope the girls enjoy it as much as I do!  (By the way, we're quite happy to include male parchment-crafters on our courses, but they seem to be a rare breed!)