This afternoon was full of rainbows...of the fabric kind!  Fiona and Jane had been on the Playing with colour: tray dyeing course last Friday and we're excited, to say the very least, to show off all their beautiful fabrics.  Can't wait to see what they use them for ( yes! - you do need to cut and sew this fabric, you can always dye more!)

A sneaky peak at the latest batch of hand dyed threads destined for the InStitches shop.  We now use a long staple mid weight mercerised cotton, which dyes beautifully and is just perfect for hand quilting.  Can't wait until the coordinating fabrics are ironed and we can start putting the inspiration packs together...I always like to give each one a name.  I wonder what to call these? I already know one is a 'popcorn' for sure, and several are 'Eton Mess'.  Which ones will you chose??

After the business of Thursday's Playing with colour workshop it was lovely to welcome our students on Friday to explore Traditional hand quilting.  We spent the first part of the morning looking at some of the many hand quilted pieces, some of her own and some origionals from the beginning of last century ( and therefore not sewn by Hazel, just in case you were wonderingly!).  We then drafted our own designs before layering up and getting down to the gentle art of hand quilting.  A perfect project for the busy weeks in the build up to the Festive period.  

Everyone made really excellent starts to their hand quilting project and I can't wait to see the finished results...don't forget to send me a photograph of the finished piece ladies!

A busy day today with students creating trays of rainbow coloured fabric as they worked their way through metres of fabric and thread!  It was all Terry could do to keep up with mixing the dyes for them; can't wait to see the beautiful fabrics they produce!

Hazel spent a lovely day down in Basingstoke with Roundabout Quilters.  There were two styles of foundation pieces table runners on offer and whilst not everyone had Christmas fabrics, but it was enough to start the festive feeling!

Margaret is still working on this page, the rights hand jug needs more definition and where are the birds??

Christine is well on the way to her five-a-day 😉

And here are some of Fiona's ferns to go with her beautiful fungi.