:: retreat ::

i'm going to retreat! 

with it having fallen badly for me the previous 2 years i am yet to make an appearance at retreat but this time i am going...

i have to...

i'm teaching!!

i have to say i feel very honoured to be teaching and to be in such esteemed company. (check out here for a list of some of the teachers if you haven't already seen the announcement today.) what a line up...oh and then there's me!

i'm very very excited to be teaching and to finally get to meet so many blog and instagram and other quilter friends.

so are you going?

have you bought a ticket yet?

they are available right here and you can pay in 2 instalments too before March 2014...perfect!

i really can't wait. i just hope in between the teaching i have time to hang out...maybe i won't teach after all...

chirpy workshops...

 you may or may not remember that recently the most lovely design-led gift shop, chirpy, in chapel a in leeds became one of my nearest and dearest stockists.

well not only is it now one of my lovely stockists but it is now one of my workshop venues.

i am very excited to be teaching a zipper pouch workshop and a screen printing, the embroidery hoop way, in november.

harriet, the delightful owner of chirpy has put together a fab mix of workshops throughout october and november, the perfect time to sign up and make some handmade presents this christmas.

you can find out about all the workshops harriet has arranged here and read more about mine and the others (note tho that my zipper pouch workshop is £25 not £35...bargain!)

i personally am very tempted by Mr Yen's paper cutting workshop...love his work.

 Giveaway Time!!...

...from one of my lovely sponsors Avery Homestore.

I have actually met Jo, the owner of Avery, in real life and so was delighted when she wanted to be one of my sponsors.

Jo's store is a little different from my others - as well as being online it is also a real life bricks and mortar shop, where she stocks a great range of fabrics amongst other delights.

 Jo is a very talented quilter herself and also has a particular flair for embroidery, of which she has designed these amazing patterns. I am totally in awe of her skills and ability to design these intricate patterns. They are all now available as PDFs for you to produce your own version and you can also get Perle Cottons in all the necessary colours in store too. Personally I'm quite drawn to Boris, but if you can't decide Jo offers a complete set of all 4 of her characters for just £6.50.

Another big attraction at Avery Homestore is the selection of wools on offer. I know I mainly stick to sewing these days but I do have a bit of a soft spot for piles of yarn, particularly when they are as delicious looking as these. Rooster Almerino is a luxurious, soft blend of Baby Alpaca and Merino wool. The only problem with them is... how on earth do you decide which colours you can leave out!!

Avery Homestore is based in Edinburgh and I suggest you take a visit if you are lucky enough to live nearby as I have just touched on what Jo has to offer. One thing I will quickly add before I tell you about the giveaway - are you still with me? - is the extensive range of Craft Classes Jo runs, from weekly evening classes, to Half and Full Day classes, teaching everything from her cute little owls, to making an heirloom-in-waiting like the one below.

Ok so the giveaway. Quite frankly if you have stayed with me this long you deserve to win!

Jo is generously offering a PDF pattern of your choice to 5 - yes 5! - winners and, this is where it gets more exciting...the first name out of the proverbial hat also gets a full set of 10 Perle Cottons as shown in the pick at the top, a prize worth about £30...pretty damn generous I'd say!

Here's how you can win..

1 entry for telling me which pattern you would choose...

another entry for following my blog before or now...

another entry for follow Jo's blog before or now...

another entry for signing up to Avery Homestore's Newsletter...

a final entry for tweeting about it.

So 5 chances to win...what are you waiting for??!

Giveaway open until this time next week - end of play Weds 18 July 2012.

Two dates are available for booking –

Thursday 9^th December

Saturday 11^th December

For further information or to book a place for either workshop date please email Manda or Karen at greycircles@hotmail.co.uk

As alot of you know, I am a messy crafter. I'd like to think that all creative people are somewhat messy, but I have a feeling that I may be in the minority. I've been using the excuse that it is my artistic temperament. But the time has come for me to just admit that I am a slob and the time to change has arrived.

May scrap pile is getting bigger by the day and it is getting a little out of hand. I've decided to take this in hand.

It's not even as if it's difficult these days to be organised. A jaunt to Ikea to pick up storage boxes is all it takes. And then a couple of hours to contentedly put the right piece in the right box.

Crazy as it sounds, as chaotic as I am I actually love order and to see these boxes getting filled really rocks my boat and makes me wonder why it always takes me so long to realise this.

I'm going to have to go now because I still have more playing, I mean sorting, to do. But just before I do I wanted to quickly tell you about a workshop that Manda and I are hoping to host in December. It will focus on making some small, but fun Christmas presents and decorations. Again, the details still need to be finalised, but it you are interested, please leave me a comment and I will email you the details.