BAD BACK

At this moment I should be teaching a workshop.  But I am stuck at home because my back has decided to pack up on me.  This is 5 days now & it is slowly getting worse.  Our physio is on holiday & I am back to the pill popping of the face ache days.  I am seesawing between being very angry & very upset.

As a result of this I am EXTENDING the 25% off offer on FOLLOW MY HEART WORKSHOP

MIXED MEDIA STITCH & ALTERED JOURNAL

Do you love to design on paper? But then get stuck as to how to translate a design into stitch?

Join this NEW CONCEPT of Altering an old book with many methods & ideas: Including backgrounds, use of colour, applying, secrets, removing, texturising

Use some or all of these ideas to create TEXTILE pieces. These pieces can be made into a book, used for cushions / pillows, bags or as a hanging

Working to theme - chosen by me or yourself you can FOLLOW MY HEART

The specific aim of the workshop is to use products & supplies that you may already have. I will suggest alternatives

CLASS BEGINS 1st June 2011 - 6 LESSONS FORTNIGHTLY

1st, 15th & 29th June

13th, 27th July

10th August

There is a members only Forum Yahoo group which opens after 1st May

REGISTER BY 10TH MAY TO GAIN A 25% REDUCTION

(note time frame has been extended due to Easter Holidays & my ailments!)

SIGN UP NOW ON: http://shelaghfolgate.bigcartel.com/

WEDDING FEVER

Its gone mad over here, bunting, TV awash with very strange programs, what who is going to wear, who will be there etc - what can it be???????

Good luck to William & Catherine

from

FOLLOW MY HEART

FOLLOW MY HEART update

Feeling not so sad today.  I have been asked to explain the new course in more detail.
FOLLOW MY HEART will create 8 stitched panels based on the altered book.
It is a NEW concept, directly taking paper / design / altered art & creating stitched pieces.
The aim is to try & use products & fabrics that may be in your stash already, without a large financial outlay - therefore substitutions & recycling will be explored
The 6 fortnightly lessons will explore Colour, texture, Line & shapes in paper & in fabric & FOLLOWING a theme, either Hearts, English Country Garden or a theme of yoru own choosing.
The fabric pieces can be made into a book or can be used as panels for cushions, bags or joined together into a hanging
There is a SPECIAL PRICE off 10 british pounds off the price until 1st May & the course will start 1st June

The Final Smashee workshop is 1st July & Tantalising Techniques finishes in July, so although there is a bit of an overlap Follow my heart runs into August.

Then there will be a summer break until September.  With only one off workshops during August

You can join at http://shelaghfolgate.bigcartel.com/

THANK YOU

Thank you so much for all your kind thoughts.  Today has been very odd, I keep walking into the sitting room whistling & talking to the wall, a great big huge empty space.  I am sad at losing Tori but very sad as he was the last of a life time of budgies.  He are hoping that the cardboard box cat will live with us one day, well she lives on the patio, sometimes in the kitchen & very rarely will venture into the dining room.  So we have decided not to have any more budgies :-(  I do love their little faces & cheery song.  My best friend who sadly died 3 years ago used to hate it when 5 budgies used to swoop at her, but it was just so funny.  They would go 'mining' along the pull cords for the curtains & when we had hessian wallpaper they would hang off of it like a cliff face, hysterical to see visitors faces.  They were always good & went in when we said in.  Was a job keeping up with the cleaning as it all had to be spotless, we had 2 cages interlinked with each other on top of a 5 foot high display unit.
The louder the TV or talking the louder they got until we covered them up, then occasionally there would be swark of protest, they did like to watch TV.
It is really heartening to hear your stories of your pets, I know some people think budgies are silly, but they were mine & I loved them x
I hope to resume normal blogging soon, thank you friends x

SAD

FOLLOW MY HEART HERE

Hi, sad day for us as our budgie died this morning.  He was 12 years old, a really good age & had been poorly for a few days & we found him this morning.
End of an era for us.  We used to have 5 budgies, that was such huge fun, I keep going into the sitting room & looking for him x

FOLLOW MY HEART

I am pleased to announce my NEW COURSE

FOLLOW MY HEART

a 6 lesson course (fortnightly)

MIXED MEDIA & STITCH

Altered book & stitch book

Create your own altered book using many techniques, adapt the paper ideas into stitch & create a stitched cloth book

EASTER BARGAIN PRICE until 1st May 2011

See page at top of blog FOLLOW MY HEART for all the details

Join at http://shelaghfolgate.bigcartel.com/  

Course begins 1st June 2011 & registrations will close on 1st June

There is a voluntary yahoo forum

Join before 1st May for price reduction

See you there

http://shelaghfolgate.bigcartel.com/

EASTER WISHES

Where ever you are I send you Easter blessings, may there be peace in the world x

EXTENDED & NEW YORK

HI, I have decided to extend the sale for the whole of Easter until Midnight BST 26th April 2011. That will also give me more time to sort out the NEW workshops as the weather here is blistering hot (27, ok not that hot, but hot for England in April)  So its take it easy time.

Does anyone who reads this live in New York?  My son is flying into Newark at the moment & the weather looks terrible online.

Dont forget the NEW HALF PRICE WORKSHOP - BIRDIE
I now know how to send an invoice via Paypal (thank you Barbars) if that helps.
http://shelaghfolgate.bigcartel.com/ or http://www.apatchshe.etsy.com/
There are Easter eggs in this house & one of them is diabetic chocolate...it is calling to me....

SALE SALE SALE

Many workshops HALF PRICE -
 (not The Smashees or Tantalising Techniques)

FROM NOON BST 22 APRIL 2011 TO NOON BST 24 APRIL 2011

HTTP://SHELAGHFOLGATE.BIGCARTEL.COM

WWW.APATCHSHE.ETSY.COM

Bag a bargain - check back often as workshops will change & COMPLETELY NEW ones will be added on SPECIAL OFFER for a very short time

.............BRAND NEW...........
BIRDIE MIXED MEDIA WORKSHOP
On HALF PRICE SALE until Midnight BST 22 April 2011 at http://shelaghfolgate.bigcartel.com

EASTER PRESENTS FROM ME TO YOU

BARNYARNS & DECOLORANT

 http://www.barnyarns.co.uk/  FREE POSTAGE over £6 for 2 weeks only from 21st April UK only
Easter pressies maybe for yourself!

DECOLORANT - oh WOW

Wool - Soy TT SIX

HAND DYED COTTON

LINEN

Easter pressie to self - more colours - hooked!

TOOTH OUT

THANK YOU TO ALL MY WELLWISHERS.  The second one is now out, the wimp that is me felt awful for a couple of hours, shaky & upset.  It was a bit of a trial.

That is now done I hope for all the face problems to disappear now & to just get on with life

The weather today is just fabulous, light breeze 22 degrees & a clear blue sky & blossom drifting lightly down, all the spring green foliage is out

The first picture is the view from where I am sitting in my garden & this picture is off the white blossom & the lime green of what used to be a Canadian Maple tree but a bough broke off in a whirlwind & some sort of other tree has taken over.  I miss the old tree & its wonderful helicopters.  This tree has also produced

this!!!!!!!!!

and this??????

How completely astonishing

I thought that my husband was playing a joke on me with the first photo as it looks like an odd sort of bird table from the angle I am sitting

Makes a fab shape though!

On the textile front I am experimenting with various products, some with excellent results (Inktense blocks) & some need further investigations.

I have tired the Inktense onto leather & whilst it does cover it, I think that the treatment on the leather pieces I used is causing the colour to float on the top & if I wipe my fingers over the colour it comes off slightly, so not recommended.  However the suede side holds the colour as it has a tooth to get hold off.  Good potential there.

Next week the Feely Felt part of Tantalising Techniques will arrive, that was good fun to write.

I have been asked to write totaly hand stitching workshops.  Anyone else interested in these?  Please leave a comment, if there is enough interest then it shall be done.  Mostly the workshops involve machine & some hand.  I dont write totally needle felting workshops either as I know that a lot of people dont have access to a machine.  However all have access to a hand felting needle & foam & there are some nifty gajets on the market now, namely Clover.  Give it a go.  I often operate my smashing machine with just one needle, as I like the subtle effects.  I guess if I was producing felt or totally felted pieces I would want to use all the needle (5 in my case)

Feeling a bit tired now, must be the drugs or the sun!

QUILTS & EMBROIDERY

I had a lovely coach trip to Uttoxeter Racecourse today with Kettering Embroiderers Guild.  The embroideries were mostly very good, some fabulous presentation & some that just feel short.  It is such a shame when embroidery is entombed in glass as one of them was fabulous texture, lost behind the glazing.  The patchwork ranged from very basic beginners, some of which was very well executed; to fairly advanced, so nice to see as some of the quilts at the larger quilt shows are so outstanding that it quite puts you off !!! lol
I did like the venue, plenty of space, lots of toilets are a few eating places.  The crowds were not there like Chilford or Malvern & nothing like the NEC, these 3 are sometimes heaving & quite disconcerting. I am just too tired to photograph my goodies today, have some experimental stuff to play with.  Oh goody Lewis is on the Box.  Talking of Lewis, did anyone see the F1 from China - wow what a race.  Well done Lewis Hamilton

TT TWO - CARELESS COTTON

Hi.  Summary of week .....ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Ok thats very childish but true.
1.  Very lovely Auntie funeral which I could not go to because of work (I am freelance)
2.  Raging tooth ache, cant get  to dentist to get tooth pulled until next Tuesday! Will I have any hair left by then?
3.  Car insurance
4.  MOT - break rouble mega bucks
5.  Back windscreen exploded - yep exploded - caught on CCTV - boom - mega bucks
6.  New battery - under warranty - hooray
7.  Class cancelled - severe loss of income
8. Too many chocolate eggs in the shops & I cant have any

So a really weird week, working for minus nought.

However, today is Tantalising techniques number 2 - CAREFREE COTTON - posting soon.  You can still join in.  Go to http://shelaghfolgate.bigcartel.com/
There are some fantastic pictures on the Yahoo Forums for both of my groups - THE SMASHEES & TANTALISING TECHNIQUES
I shall not be sending out a newsletter this weekend
I am going to try & do them monthly or you might get fed up with them
It is not working doing a series of design ideas as new people join & dont have the previous newsletter so I will make each one standalone.  Still need to sort out adding more pictures, but am slowly getting there.  You can join by signing up at the top left hand side of this blog.  Its FREE.
Coming soon - NEW WORKSHOPS & THE EASTER SALE (not Smashees or TT)
Check back often for information because it will be time coded!

CHAOS

Rant...rant...our town has a totally silly aspect to it.  Its lets do as many road works...slowly....as possible.  6 weeks ago the road outside the shop where I work was dug up...6 weeks...today the pavement outside the shop was also dug up, its complete chaos.  There is a cafe opposite the shop, he has to close lots of times, who wants to sit in a cafe with digers & noise outside...6 weeks, this is only one third of the street.  No money says the government, oh come here there is plenty of money to pay around 20 men to faff about for 6 weeks, it is still a hole with some concrete (a strip laid 4 weeks ago in a strange place)  Ok so it is funny, the astonished looks on anyone who tries to venture down the street,, called Market Street hahaha.  Until 2 weeks ago the main railway bridge was chaos as well oh and the market - which is now a skateboard park - called the restaurant sector hohoho - what a lot of wallies ( have not seen any women you know!!)

Ok rant over  Weather is still mild & lovely, it rained for a while & the air smelled so good.  My friend Fran remarked that this is England at its best, beautiful bright green foliage, wonderful flowers & the most beautiful skies.  I have been watching the white fluffy clouds go by on a slow moving conveyor belt whilst the birds slowly circle around.  The early evening sun is slanting through my trees with bubbles of white blossom hanging like fairy dollops, magical.
Oh just heard that my stickytigersupplies order is on its way with my melting pot.  Now I have a ton of things to trial out over the Easter break, yum yum yum, watch out Smashees, TT's & my City & Guilds - I only need a little bit of brain to arrive & whoosh lots of stuff to experiment with!

NEWSLETTER 4 SENT

Hi.  I have sent out the newsletter with no promos in it this time.  Mailchimp give me statistics on openings & not opening.  So if you have signed up for it, its called CREATIVE NEWS.  Some people have not opened it!
Another lovely sunny day here in springtime England.  The sky is an incredible colour.
I have been searching for a design book which I think I have left at a previous workplace, this upset me considerably for a couple of days, then this morning after the Grand Prix I watched a program on the British International rescue teams in Japan.  As you know my son is a firefighter & I can see him at some stage wanting to join this organisation.  The program bought home even more the terrible devastation of the Tsunami.  I felt so stupid wittering on about a design book & needed to get things in perspective.  Marvellous men & one woman, I salute you & the teams from other countries who also went to help.

STICKYTIGERSUPPLIES BIRTHDAY

Good morning - sorry I have been absent - my eyes have been giving me jip.

There is a fab website in Nottingham, England, that ships worldwide & is very efficient

It is their birthday TODAY 6th April ONLY & there is 10% off everything (except clearance) http://www.stickytigersupplies.co.uk/

I am not affliated to them, only found that they are efficient & helpful

I buy cardboard blanks, inks, pre-felt & lots of other supplies from them, including a long wanted  melting pot with 10% off

Back soon with stitching x

NEW YORK

In honour of the Red & White quilt exhibition in New York.  I made this table topper quilt.  I am teaching it at Poppy Patch in May
If you would like to make your own version (does not have to be red & white!)
Then please book direct with www.poppypatch.co.uk  all phone numbers etc are on there
I know that it looks like it hard, but it really is not & all patterns are provided.  This is my original design but it is inspired by the original quilt & book by Ricky Tims
The next one is going to be square & blue!

MOTHERS DAY

To all mothers everywhere

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY

I received the gift of my son for lunch, my daughter via the phone, 2 wonderful cards & the most fabulous glass bowl of flowers.  Pink, mauve, white & green such fabulous colours & textures.  My camera has been going overtime

Ill post some when I upload them

My NEWSLETTER 3 has just been sent.  I would welcome any comments on this fledgling venture.  It is taking a time to get to grips with mailchimp & its terminology.   I am having a few problems with my main computer so have uploaded my external drive to my laptop.  Hopefully this will save me oodles of time - thats a lovely word oodles= lol

I am having a day off of sewing as my eyes are a bit fuzzy

EXHAUSTED

ZZZZZZZZZZZZ need to eat & sleep = yes there is too much stitching & losing a tiny screw for the needle in my embellisher.  Did find some strange bits n the floor though, all look quite interesting bunched together.  Now shall I just see what I can do with those............hmmmmmm
NOOOOO --- food ---sleep zzzzzzzzz