Unless stated otherwise my courses all take place at The Hearth in Horsley, Northumberland. This small rural arts centre has studios for 9 resident artists and I hire a nice big room to teach in with plenty of space for you to work and me to lay out materials. At lunch time we can take advantage of the café on site which serves delicious light lunches ,snacks and cakes and I usually open up my personal  studio for a short while so you can see what I am currently working on.
You may be disappointed to find all my courses are FULL so if you really want to get on a course you need to sign up for my newsletter as it is definitely worth being on the waiting list. Students sometimes pull out for one reason out another.

 Fabric Books Sunday 12th May 10-4 at The Hearth £50 including materials now FULL

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I have been making exquisite books out of fabric for many years. My hand stitched pages can be simply sewn together with a pamphlet stitch, nestled inside a man’s wallet or a piece of quilt, stretched out as a scroll or the fabrics can be used inventively within a concertina format. The books can be used to collect together in one place precious tiny pieces of fabric with special resonance and in a sense the decorative stitches become the  story thread that runs through. In this course you will be shown a number of options for making books out of fabric, how to build up a theme and use stitches imaginatively  and then you will then  create your own little hand stitched book that you will treasure forever. If you want to make a book in a wallet you will need to provide your own man’s leather envelope wallet.
To be put on the reserve list for this  course please contact me HERE
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Workshops at Cowslip Cornwall  24, 25  26 and 27 May all FULL

Ben’s Pots. 2 day mixed media course.  Sat 8th and Sun 9th June at The Hearth 10-4 £120 for both days. Most materials included.Now FULL

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Years ago I ran very successful printmaking and surface decoration courses and this mixed media weekend gives you the chance to have one day experimenting with tabletop printing and painting, as well as non chemical discharge techniques on fabric On the second day you will work with the fabric and papers you have created to make collages. The palette of colours will be carefully controlled  and be influenced by some of Ben Nicholson’s paintings and drawings of overlapping silhouettes of  pots and jugs. I can only offer this as a 2 day course as it is essential that you have the first day to experiment with the mark making in wet techniques so that you can move on with a unique and personal set of mixed media bits into the second “dry” day. You will need to supply some of the materials yourself-
1/2 metre of white fabric or calico, a pad of A4 cartridge paper, some brushes and a cheap set of oil pastels and a few other small items. I will advise you further about materials when you book.
I have had to charge a little more for this course because it is heavy on materials  but my courses are still cheaper than most others are offering!
 Contact me HERE to be put on the reserve list for this course

 Creatures Sat 22 June two places left
Fabric Books Sun 23 June FULL
​ at Hope and Elvis, Nottinghamshire  contact Louise HERE

July 11th - July 18th Crafty Retreats in the Limouison FULL

Thread and Thrift Summer School at The Hearth 19-22 August FULL

Wool Work Florals Saturday 28th September at The Hearth 10-4 £50 incl all materials
Now FULL please contact me HERE to be put on the reserve list

​In this course you will work purely with tapestry wools on to either a lovely piece of tweed or an old blanket. The inspiration will come from looking at crewel work designs, Yllebroderie ( Swedish wool work), folk art and a more abstract approach. We will start with doing a small stitch sampler so you have a repertoire of at least ten stitches to work with and can practice a little at embroidering with wool.   I will work with you to build up a design for a small cushion cover though your finished piece could also be stretched and framed or be used as a panel in a bag. I will provide plenty of inspiration and the tweed or wool fabric but if you want your work to be more unique could bring  a piece of knitwear, a tweed skirt or another fairly open weave wool garment.
To book this course please contact me HERE

Chicken Sunday 29th September 10-4 at The Hearth £50 incl all materials
Now FULL please put your name down on the reserve list by contacting me HERE

​I have wanted to run a chicken course for a long time as I find them so comical and associate them with my childhood on the farm. You will work up a collage   with tiny bits of fabric, to suggest the plumage, on to a piece of quilt, and the real art comes when you start to apply hand stitches to  bring it to life. There will be a certain amount of artistic licence with the colours as what we are trying to achieve is the spirit of cockerel or hen but you are welcome to bring a photo of a particular breed if that is what you would like to do.
​To book on this course please contact me HERE
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 Seed Heads Sunday 6th October 10-4 at The Hearth £50 incl materials FULL to be put on reserve list contact me HERE

Gardens are not all about flowers but beauty often comes after the blooms have faded. As flowers and weeds go to seed they produce beautiful seed pods, skeletal forms and silhouettes at this time of the year. Celebrate this change in the garden with a workshop that refers to the work of print maker Angie Lewin and other artists who have used a subtle colour palettes and line to create nature compostions. You will work on to an A4 old piece of quilt with a fairly loose applique, to give some body to your shapes, which will be embroidered with a series of stitches which reflect the forms of nature and concentrate on linear expression

Hankie Portrait Saturday 19th October at The Hearth 10-4 £50 incl materials

You will create a portrait of someone you love or perhaps someone from your past on to an old hankie or piece of old table linen. This is an exercise in drawing  with stitch but you can add some little filling stitches or even bits of appliqué if you like. You will need to provide a photocopy from an original photo and then I will show you how to transfer enough detail on the hankie to get you going. These little pieces of art can be framed and make fantastic gifts. If you do not want to do a stitch drawing I will  transfer ONE small family photo on to  a hankie for you and you can work round it with collage or stitch to create a more textured nostalgic piece
​To book on to this course please contact me HERE

Lace Book Sunday 20th October at The Hearth 10-4 £50 including most  materials
Now FULL but please contact me HERE to be put on the reserve list

We all have collections of pretty pieces of lace that we do not know what to do with and in this course you can bring your own bits and mix them with my bits to create a little book. We will be using old bits of blanket for the pages and then carefully arranging and stitching in the lace with some fabric collage to show it off, complimentary hand stitching and you will have the opportunity to make some little silk paper examples incorporating lace which you can also use in the book form. You will end up with a little piece of treasure where lace will be beautifully shown off rather than in the bottom of a plastic bag!
Bring some of your own lace to make it personal.

Home Saturday 30th November at The Hearth 10-4 £50 incl all materials
Now FULL please contact me HERE to be put on the reserve list

​Home is where the heart is and with the sale of my childhood home it is a subject which I keep returning to in my own practice.  I have always loved the house motifs that appear in many old Amercian quilts and this  course allows you to practice the art of finger turned appliqué to create your own. You should also have time to put your house into a garden and I will show you how to contextualise it with flowers and simple tree shapes. I will provide a piece of vintage quilt for you to work on ( unfortunately not quite like the rare one in this picture!)  and the other materials that you need to build up your folk art inspired picture. 

Doll Sunday 1st December 10-4 at The Hearth £50 incl materials

I did not run this course in 2018 and I really missed teaching it as it has been a seasonal favourite with students  over the years. I will show you how to make a tiny doll which could just be a keepsake doll or a Christmas angel. I will show you the simple techniques I have devised to make the doll and will have a wide variety of lovely fabrics  trims and hair tresses to dress your doll, Very relaxing hand sewing workshop in the midst of a stressful season!
To book this course please contact me HERE