Welcome to Justhands-on.tv
We are devoted to inspiring and helping you to create beautiful projects.
We do this by providing online classes for quilting, knitting, crochet, embroidery, and textile art – featuring Britain’s finest tutors and covering everything from beginner techniques through to advanced patterns.
We also support sewing communities by providing a marketplace for local shops to sell a wide range of sewing products (see SHOP), and we regularly put on sewing retreats for those out to enjoy a little sewing “me time” with featured tutors (see EVENTS).
Welcome to the growing justhands-on.tv community.
Who Is justhands-on.tv
Justhands-on.tv was launched in July 2009 by Valerie Nesbitt. Prior to founding justhands-on.tv, Valerie owned her own shop, Creative Quilting, in East Molesey, a stone’s throw away from the Thames and Hampton Court Palace.
The idea for justhands-on.tv came about as the internet changed the way people shop for materials, and it become apparent that fixed class times and busy lives meant it was difficult for people to satisfy their appetite for education and inspiration. Valerie spotted an opportunity to place education and inspiration at people’s fingertips at any time of the day or night anywhere in the world, and an opportunity to share her love of patchwork and quilting.
The first video content to be published was a series of films highlighting the work of a textile group called ‘Diversity’ who were at a show at Norden Farm in Maidenhead. Since then the video library has grown to over 1,800 videos including full-length workshops by Britain’s finest tutors, hints & tips, interviews with artists, visits to shows & exhibitions and more. The topics covered have grown from patchwork & quilting to include knitting and a wide range of textile art. And, we now offer viewers the chance to buy fabric, patterns and templates featured in videos as well as attend a justhands-on.tv weekend retreat.
Our ambition is to share our very British passion for crafting with people around the globe. We have seen our significant following in the UK grow to include 187 countries. We look forward to welcoming more people to the justhands-on.tv community in the future.
We believe that the sewing community needs a thriving network of local shops. Our Founder, Valerie Nesbitt, owned and ran a shop in Hampton Court, so supporting shops is in our DNA. Always has been and always will be.
That’s why justhands-on.tv sell through shops. Not against them. The online SHOP at www.justhands-on.tv is more of a marketplace where shops and artists list products, patterns and books that they want to sell.
We have a thriving Community section in our site where sewers can share their work and find out what inspirational ideas others are enjoying, And there is an Events section where people can learn about upcoming retreat, shows and exhibitions.
We are committed to supporting sewing communities in the UK and around the world.
Valerie is the Creative Director. She is in charge of charting our direction through selecting the tutors and classes that we film. She is also responsible for facilitating relationships with contributors and shops. It helps that she has all those contacts from her days as a shop owner. Valerie became a bit of a YouTube celebrity recently with over 2 million views (and counting!) of her 40 minute scrap quilt workshop.
Steve is our CEO and leads the charge in terms of marketing. He comes from the advertising and digital worlds – – having worked at places such as Ogilvy.
Matt and Dave are responsible for all things related to video productions. They have been delivering videos for justhands-on.tv from the start, capturing all the passion of the artists.
Juliet is in charge of our Operations, Support and Tech. She’s probably the one you’ll speak to or exchange emails with if the need arises. It helps that she has spent most of her career teaching people (often older people) how to use computers.
Violeta is our social media expert. She keeps herself busy posting out all the latest information and engaging with the sewing community on social media platforms.
And the Tutors. Where would we be without all these wonderful and talented tutors. See the section below for more details about each tutor featured on justhands-on.tv .
Meet our tutors
Valerie Nesbitt
Valerie is the founder and Creative Director of justhands-on.tv , as well as our very own ‘Queen of Scrap’. She founded Creative Quilting, a quilt shop in Hampton Court, where she still teaches to this day.
Jennie Rayment
Jennie is a world renown quilt teacher, lecturer, author of nine quilt books and numerous patterns. From Houston to Qatar, Durban to Melbourne, Auckland and many other international cities, Jennie has wowed them all with her superb teaching style and hilarious lectures all laced with wit, charm and professional expertise.
Jayne Brogan
Jayne is an expert at helping people understand what machine right for them, as well as teaching how to make innovative stitches on their sewing machine, opening up a whole new world of creativity.
Dionne Swift
Dionne paints with stitches to create dynamic, vibrantly coloured textiles. Her needle becomes her pen and thread her ink. The scale, emotion, and energy of her landscapes are inspirational.
Gaynor White
Gaynor is a crochet-obsessed teacher and pattern designer from Wokingham in Berkshire.
Vendulka Battais
Vendulka Battais is an award winning textile artist, tutor and half of the couple running textile studio OliVen in the heart of Suffolk.
Claire Campion
Claire Campion is a modern quilt designer and award winning teacher. You will be inspired by her Walking Foot Quilting techniques.
Niamh Wimperis
Niamh Wimperis is one of the most colourful and dynamic embroidery artists currently practicing. She appeared on the BBC2 programme, The Victorian House of Arts and Crafts.
Fiona Goble
Fiona teaches knitting and sewing classes, and is the author of several bestselling knitting books, including: Knit Your Own Dolls, Knitted Animal Nursery, Knitted Animal Cozies, Knitted Animal Scarves, Mitts, and Socks. She started writing knitting patterns because she couldn’t find any that she really liked.
Daphne Morris
Daphne is a passionate knitter who will always have a hand knitting project on the go. Daphne particularly loves adding cables in her knitting for the texture and interest they bring.
Tess Grace
Tess Grace is a block printing tutor who has a passion for pattern, printing, and crafting.
Janet Clare
With over 25 years as a textile designer and teacher, Janet regularly hosts talks and workshops, focusing on the design process and creative techniques she uses - - especially drawing with your sewing machine and free motion machine appliqué.
Anita Birtles
Anita has been quilting since 1982 when she inspired by her needlework teacher at school. Anita was already a dress maker but didn’t enjoy that. Her teacher introduced her to quilting, reigniting her love of sewing.
Kelley Aldridge
Kelley is keen to help people who have never done hand embroidery, to give it a go.
Jane Czaja
Crochet is Jane's passion. She is a technical editor for “Inside Crochet” magazine, and runs regular crochet workshops so others can learn and be inspired.
Kate Barlow
Kate is a Royal School of Needlework trained tutor who loves using traditional techniques in a contemporary way
Angela Madden
Angela Madden is an internationally recognised quilter, teacher and author. After working for many years as an Occupational Therapist, Angela gained a degree in adult education and changed direction to pursue her interest in patchwork and quilting.
Anne Baxter
Anne has sewn all of her life, prolifically for the last 25 years. She works across a wide range of patchwork and appliqué techniques and designs -- from the Navajo blanket quilt that includes simple and advance techniques to simple cushion designs.
Carolyn Forster
Carolyn is an accomplished quilt maker, teacher and author of several books and patterns. Carolyn has been sewing quilts for over 20 years and just loves using up scraps. She is constantly inspired by vintage quilt blocks she finds on her travels and she brings them up-to-date with modern construction techniques – stitch n’ flip and Quilting on the Go are two of her favourites.
Gail Penberthy
Gail is an accomplished pattern designer and teacher. She loves to make three dimensional items as well as cushions, quilts and wallhangings. When she’s not teaching, she enjoys spending most of her time writing patterns and thinking up new and quirky ideas and how to make them.
Hilary Beattie
Hilary is an award winning textile artist and quilter who works with textiles and mixed media.
Jamie Malden
Jamie brings a refreshing, accessible and comprehensive range of textile art ideas to inspire people of all levels.
Julia Gahagan
Julia loves making miniature quilts on a variety of themes - especially small, pictorial quilts with little villages and sea sides. Her quilts have been inspired by travel in the UK & the Mediterranean. She also loves Christmas themed patchwork & quilting. This is reflected in many of her designs for wall hangings, mini quilts, garlands, tree decorations and wreaths.
Kathleen Laurel Sage
Kathleen is a freelance designer and embroiderer producing a wide range of innovative textile works. She enjoys blending traditional techniques with contemporary designs and unusual mediums to construct beautiful textiles -- from floral patterns in organza to goldwork.
Lorna Bateman
Teaching and sharing her designs and embroidery techniques is Lorna’s passion. She loves all forms of 3-dimensional, raised and textured embroidery and tries to encompass as many of these in her designs as possible.
Sallieann Harrison
Sallieann enjoys traditonal quilting techniques and has won several quilt show awards in the UK and the USA. Be sure to check out her wool applique projects using a blend of hand and machine sewing.
Kate Findlay
Making art is Kate’s passion. She works predominantly in textiles producing a wide range of work from wildlife and landscapes through to unusual night sky inspired pieces embedded with fibre optic lighting.
Kate Percival
In loving memory of Kate Percival, one of our delightful quilting friends and contributors, who passed away. Kate Percival’s hand stitching techniques have been an inspiration for many quilters. Her workshops and quilts live on as a legacy to her craftsmanship, and expertise.
Helen Butcher
Helen creates patchwork designs and write patterns so you can make your own unique, lovely things. She loves using three dimensional allusions in her work, and is an avid follower of the Modern Quilt Movement.
Lynette Harris
Lynette Harris has been quilting for 23 years. It started off as a hobby and grew from there! The Stitch Witch is her creative identity and the guise behind which she can let her imagination run wild!
Maggie Davies
Maggie is well known for appliqué, hot ribbon art and needlefelting. She has developed a new simple technique for invisible needle turn appliqué, perfect points, inward Vs and perfectly rounded curves.
Mandy Shaw
Mandy brings a distinctive whimsical design style to traditional techniques such as embellishing with buttons and rik rak.
Craig Joubert
Craig Joubert has been marbling since 1992 and loves to share his passion for marbling art with anyone willing to learn a new skill. He tells us that it might look complicated, but it is easy to do. Every design is unique. And it is fun to do for most ages.
Fran Rose
Fran has a passion for beading and she loves sharing that excitement with her students
Nancy Adamek
Nancy has been a keen Quilter for the last 20 years, specialising in English Paper Piecing. These high quality, pre-cut paper pieces are accurately die-cut, here in the UK, which means that not only will your patchwork be that much more accurate, but you can start sewing straight away and use them over and over again.
Paula Doyle
Paula Doyle is an author, award winning quilter and tutor. One of the things she likes best is designing complex looking quilts which are made using simplified techniques to make them achievable and enjoyable to every quilter.
Rosee Woodland
Rosee is an expert in knit/crochet/sew pattern design, with a gift for helping knitters get to grips with the basics. After cutting her teeth as editor of The Knitter and Knit Today magazines, Rosee decided it was time to fly solo! She enjoys passing on her love of all things woolly to her students, teaching knitters everything from sock knitting to how to design their own sweaters.
Sarah Hatton
Sarah’s inspiration has a tendency to be garment shape and she rarely works in more than one colour, yet produces amazing wearable garments that explore and push the boundaries of shape and texture. As a designer for Rowan for many years, Sarah is well-known for her innovative use of lace, cables and texture.
Sarah Soward
Sarah is an accomplished quilter and regularly teaches classes and workshops at Pauline’s Patchwork in Dorchester, Festival of Quilts and weekend retreats with justhands-on.tv
Sue Rhodes
Sue is a patchwork and quilting tutor, running regular classes and travelling to groups teaching different skills.
Sue Trangmar
Sue is a prolific designer of quilt and patchwork patterns, as well as a popular tutor.
Susan Rhodes
Susan has been teaching embroidery for many years and loves to share her enthusiasm for a wide range of techniques.
Sylvia Critcher
Sylvia has established her own unique process for combining raised quilt and stitch techniques to create wonderful effects.
Angela Daymond
Angela Daymond is a textile artist, quilter and teacher who just loves to stitch.
Carolyn Sinclair
Carolyn is an experienced tutor in computerised design and computerised sewing machines.
Chris Porter
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