We had a really lovely time visiting Mandy Shaw at her Quilts on the Farm exhibition near Brighton the other weekend; it included walks in the bluebell wood and a discussion with the resident llamas (who seemed to like my jacket!) and then we spent time with Mandy in her georgeous workshop where she showed us (amongst other things) how to make button bracelets, antique pinkeepers, and a wander around her workroom. All captured on film so we will be sharing it with you soon.
The weather was glorious and we had a really amusing time watching her tortoise try climbing up , and then sliding down, the skateboard which is housed in the garden – apparently he does sometimes make it to the top – not when we were filming he didn’t!
We also talked about her new book : Stitch with Love which we have chosen to be this month’s Book of the Month
https://justhands-on.tv/product-category/shop/books/
It is full of lovely little projects which include simple embroidery stitches (and I was so inspired by our visit that I have already made a start on some of the redwork ideas).
We start this month off with the first part of our visit last August to the Festival of Quilts where we not only see lovely quilts but catch up with demonstrators and exhibitors alike – including SAQA, A Slice of Quilt Art, Roses from the Heart, the Prague Patchwork Meeting, Oakshott fabrics and Auriful threads.
We also meet Sue Munday, teacher and textile artist who is in love with her Janome 11000 and who shares with us a great idea for making a bag from strips of lovely fabric.
Jennie shows you how to make one of her twiddled and fiddled flowers – called Daisy Delight together with a warning to bear in mind when designing the front of your garment!
In the techniques section we show you how the cylinder method of strip piecing is done – another fast and useful technique that works brilliantly for things like Trip around the World and Bargello – and then for those who just like to sew, there is a fast and easy pattern that is brilliant for beginners as you don’t have to worry about seam allowance, and for everyone else helps use up a bit of stash as well.
And finally we join Myfanwy Hart with her embellishing machine who gives you an insight into how to create lovely book covers.
Our new prize draw giveaway is a fastastic Colourbox from Oakshott – full of 100 1/8ths of their fabric, all numbered and supported by yardage in their warehouse so you can have a wonderful time designing your quilts. To be in with a chance of winning all you need to do is send us an email marked Colourbox to justhandsontvcomp@gmail.com . The draw will be made in June
Just a reminder that the basic membership to the site is free (you just need to fill in the registration form) and this will allow you to see all the taster videos of the workshops and films. So you can see before you buy. To view the complete films you do need to be a subscribed member and this you can do through Paypal on the site which is a pay-as-you-go monthly fee of just £6. If you want to pay by cheque that’s fine too and all the details are on the Membership page of the website.
Most of the videos and workshops are bite-size – perfect to enjoy with your coffee break or early evening beverage (or even night time beverage). You can join us any time you like.
Happy sewing
Valerie & Jennie
www.Justhands-on.tv