Liz Ashurst - Inspiration from Eastern Europe
2024-05-13 13:30 - 16:00 (Europe/London) | Kennet Valley Hall, Kennet Valley Hall, Lockeridge, SN8 4EL
Liz will talk about her journeys to Poland and Russia with a sketchbook and camera, giving a personal view of the landscape, life-style and folk art and its influence on my work as an artist.

Liz Ashurst trained at Chelsea & Goldsmiths College of Art where she obtained the City and Guilds Embroidery certificate parts I and II and the Goldsmiths Diploma in Art & Design. She is a member of the Designer Craftsmen, Embroiderers Guild and New Embroidery Group. She is a qualified teacher, working freelance and exhibiting her work both nationally and internationally. In 1998 she met Zbys (pronounced Spish) the proverbial Polish builder and her life has never been the same since !

Tase Woolf - Introduction to English Paper Piecing
2024-05-14 09:30 - 16:00
Membership Type

Members £35.00 GBP

Non-Members £45.00 GBP

English paper piecing (EPP) is a patchwork technique dating back to the 1770s. The techniques folds fabric over paper templates, which makes sewing shapes such as hexagons and diamonds much easier than sewing with a machine. All you need to start is a little fabric, a needle, thread and scissors; as so little equipment is needed, projects are really portable and can be picked up almost anywhere!

In this workshop you will learn how to:

prepare the fabric for piecing

how to sew with an almost invisible stitch

piecing the elements together and make either a needle case or a pincushion or starting your own quilt!

Examples of English Paper Piecing

Jayne Emerson - A Journey Through My Creative Life
2024-06-03 13:30 - 16:00
Jayne will be talking about her life, including studying Textiles at Central St Martins, having her own upcycled fashion label, writing 6 books, selling designs to international fashion and interior companies, being on TV with Kirstie Allsopp and sharing her experimental ideas through online courses and her group the No Rules Textile Society.

Jayne is a practising textile designer, author and tutor based in north Gloucestershire, UK. She has an MA in Fashion from Central St Martins and a 1st class degree in Textiles from Loughborough College of Art and Design.

For the past 25 years she has created innovative textile samples that explore the boundaries of modern embroidery, patchwork and needle felting. These ‘seeds of ideas’ have sold to clients including Chanel, Calvin Klein, Nina Ricci, Louis Vuitton, Dior and Balenciaga. She predominantly uses vintage and reclaimed fabrics and her studio is a treasure trove of inspiration. Jayne regularly teaches experimental textile workshops and taught Kirstie Allsopp how to needle felt on TV. She has written six books Simply Felt (with Margaret Docherty), The Impatient Patchworker, The Impatient Embroiderer, New from Old, Simply Needle felt and Boho Felt Crafts with Rachel Henderson.

During lockdown she recorded three online courses, Experimental Needle Felting, No Rules Patchwork and Water Soluble magic. Jayne opened her membership The No Rules Textile Society in March 2021. Website www.jayneemerson.co.uk – Instagram @jayneemersontextiles – Facebook @JayneEmersonTextileDesign

Jan Tillett - Stitched Surface Texture
2024-06-04 09:30 - 16:00
This workshop is available to non members

Membership Type

Members £35.00 GBP

Non-Members £45.00 GBP

Using Free Motion Stitching you will learn a variety of ways to raise the surface of your fabrics to create rich, textural surfaces. You will go home with a variety of samples to inform future work.

Jan is a Textile Artist/Tutor from Devon. Lots of experimentation with techniques to create textured surfaces – mixing fabric, stitch, paint and more !

Textiles & Stitch Exhibition
2024-06-07 10:00 - 2024-06-09 16:00
An exciting exhibition of our members’ work

Summer Lunch
2024-07-01 12:30 - 15:00
Our annual summer lunch!

Sketch and Stitch Day
2024-07-15 10:00 - 16:00
Another one of our popular days where you come along and work on a project of your choosing with other members

Suzette Smart - Treasure Boxes
2024-09-03 10:00 - 16:00
Membership Type

Members £35.00 GBP

Non-Members £45.00 GBP

In this workshop you will use fabric collage and free machine stitching to create a beautiful and detailed lid for your treasure box. Suzette will share her ideas on how to create bunches of daisies and other flowers with fabric and stitch and how to include paper in your design too. You might want to include a vintage button or charm for the finishing touches. When your piece of work is finished, it will be folded and tucked and will need just a couple of stitches to keep it in place. The base of your box can be covered in a fabric to compliment. There will be plenty of treasure boxes for inspiration!

Suzette is a Textile Artist and Tutor who delivers workshops and talks throughout the UK and SW France for French General in 2023/24. She creates stitched narratives which draw on her connections within landscape and the paths that lead her through and home.

In 2019 her work Draw My World was selected for the inaugural Fine Art Textile Award Gallery at the Festival of Quilts

Vanessa Rolf - Unearthed - Stories Told Through Stitch
2024-10-07 13:30 - 16:00
Textile Artist Vanessa Rolf will introduce her working methods researching archives, using maps and delving into stories about people and landscapes. Her series of works, created in response to Hampshire Cultural Trust’s archives of archeological artefacts questions the value of things, what we choose to keep, how we treasure objects, and how these shape our ideas about being human. Vanessa primary uses hand stitch and inlaid appliqué methods with wool felt. Her practice also often includes reusing fabric that holds traces of its previous story

Experimental Mark Making and Printing Day - Ann Smith
2024-10-21 10:00 - 16:00
A fun day experimenting with unusual mark making tools and then combining these with a few new Gelli printing techniques for you to try.

This is an opportunity to create a collection of printed and painted papers which will be ready to use when you want to make cards, wrapping paper or small art works. There will be a variety of papers to use which could also be layered.

Paint will be provided and your could choose to go with traditional Christmas colours ready to use in the mini workshops in December or use any colour palette you fancy

This will be a relaxing day and you will get very messy; remember to bring an apron! The day will be structured with plenty of time to experiment and produce some interesting paper.

Members only

Annabel Wilson - Creating with Shibori
2024-11-04 13:30 - 16:00
Annabel has a passion for stitched shibori and loves to teach her skills to others and see the wonderful creative fabrics they can create with her guidance. To achieve this, she runs workshops and gives talks about shibori. Her shibori speciality is to create forms from the natural world such as flowers, leaves, and shells.

Also, Townhill Studio provides a very informative blog and beautiful shibori design patterns for sale. The art of shibori can be used in mending and repurposing clothes in the movement to more sustainable living.

Annabel Wilson - Discover Stitched Shibori
2024-11-05 10:00 - 16:00
Explore 4 or 5 stitched shibori techniques to create you own stunning fabrics, inspired by the natural world, leaves, shells, flowers or landscape

Payment button appears for members on September 4thnon members on October 9th

Mini Christmas Workshops
2024-11-25 09:30 - 16:00
Once again we are holding the popular Xmas Mini Workshops on Monday 25th November.

There will be three Workshops and you will have the opportunity to take part in each one.

The cost for this day of workshops is £15 plus you will need to pay each tutor £3 for materials provided by them. Please pay this in cash on the day.

Calico Christmas Trees with Lindsay Sherwood

This workshop shows how to make small calico Christmas trees for seasonal table decorations. All materials will be provided but if you have any special threads you would like to use bring them along.

Cards with Ann Smith

A fun workshop using painted papers and collage to create individual cards. Card blanks/ Stamps/stencils/embellishments will all be provided.

Christmas Moth with Nikki Vesey Williams

We will use felt tips to decorate your moth then hand embroider and bead and decorate. The legs are pipe cleaners which you can attach to your Xmas tree. Alternatively you can attach them to a cotton reel as a table decoration or turn into a brooch or hairclip!

Hannah Mansfield
2025-01-06 13:30 - 16:00
This presentation will focus on the embroidery technique of tambour beading. This is a specialist beading technique frequently used in haute couture embroidery which Hannah specialises in within her work as a freelance embroiderer and tutor. The presentation will begin with an explanation of the origins of the technique. Hannah will discuss the technical aspects of the technique and how it differs from other beading techniques. Using images of her own work, Hannah will explain how the tambour hook can be used to apply sequins, beads and threads in a wide variety of interesting ways. Hannah will also discuss her book, Tambour Beading: Techniques and Projects which is currently one of very few comprehensive books focused solely on the tambour beading technique in print.

Hannah Mansfield is a freelance hand embroiderer, tutor and author, based near Bristol. Within her work she specialises in the techniques of tambour beading and goldwork. She creates bespoke embroidery for private individuals and companies.

Hannah is the author of Tambour Beading: Techniques and Projects, published by The Crowood Press.

Hannah is an embroidery tutor delivering CHANEL and The King’s Foundation’s Métiers D’Arts Fellowship at Highgrove Traditional Crafts and also teaches embroidery classes online and at various venues around the UK. In 2019 Hannah was awarded first prize in the textile art open category of the Hand & Lock Prize for Embroidery. A previous entry to the Hand & Lock Prize in 2017 gained her third prize in the fashion open category. In 2020 Hannah was made a Trade Freeman of The Worshipful Company of Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers.

Liz Tapper - Measuring Millimetres on a Gold Napolionic Dress Coat
2025-02-03 13:30 - 16:00
Come behind the scenes to follow the processes involved in replicating a military dress coat in goldwork from the early 1800s.

Liz Tapper trained as an apprentice at The Royal School of Needlework, and now works as a professional embroiderer, designer and tutor. She has worked on commissions for Harrods and Lulu Guinness, London Fashion Week, for television and on numerous private commissions, with her work being featured on the BBC. She lives in Somerset and is a Member of the Somerset Guild of Craftsmen and the Society for Embroidered Work

Nicholas Ball - Inspiring Improv
2025-03-03 14:00 - 16:00
Nicholas will discuss his beginnings in Quilting, before sharing some of his quilts and the inspiration behind them as well as their construction methods

Nicholas Ball is an improv quilter from South Wales. After graduating Art School in 2006, it would be some six years before the quilting bug bit. With a passion for improv quilting, Nicholas’ aesthetic is an organic one, preferring to sew without the use of patterns or templates. He takes a lot of inspiration from natural world and his Vegetable Patch, Koi Carp and Shoal quilts showcase his love of liberated sewing. He has taught improv quilting both nationally and internationally, contributed to the UK’s leading quilting magazines and was a co-presenter of the QNNTV show Quilt Monkey, alongside fellow UK quilter Katy Jones. His debut book Inspiring Improv was published in April 2019 by Lucky Spool and his second title, Use & Ornament, followed in 2024. He is an Aurifil thread designer and Aurifilosopher and has released two thread collections.

Screenshot

Follow on instagram @quiltsintheattic

Nicholas Ball - Shoals
2025-03-04 10:00 - 16:00
Membership Type

Members £35.00 GBP

Non-Members £45.00 GBP

Join Nicholas to create your own shoal of Improv Fish; based on his Shoal quilt, you will make improv fish using improv triangles and freehand curves.

Look at Nicholas’s instagram @quiltsfromtheattic to see more of his work!

Instagram – @quiltsfromtheattic

Christine Highnett
2025-04-07 13:30 - 16:00
15 pieces of Christine’s personal work showing the 2D and 3D journey with eco printing and silk paperwork.

Completed HNC in Textiles 1999 through Open College of Arts, completed with distinction. City and Guilds Historical Heirloon machine embroidery 2012. Plus numerous other courses. Exhibited in Open Studio since 2013 and other exhibitions.

Jayne Emerson - Fabric Recipes
2025-04-08 10:00 - 16:00
For over 25 years Jayne has created the seeds of ideas for fashion and interior companies, mixing up textile techniques with vintage and reclaimed fabrics. She calls these samples ‘Fabric Recipes’ and will be here to share her inspiration with us!

A day of experimentation, play and word prompts. Mixing up techniques, breaking the rules and not thinking about end results. Bring your sewing machine and any fabric/thread scraps you want to use. Jayne will bring her fabric stash, embellishers, smocking machine, hand looms and a whole heap of ideas and inspiration!

Jayne is a practising textile designer, author and tutor based in north Gloucestershire, UK. She has an MA in Fashion from Central St Martins and a 1st class degree in Textiles from Loughborough College of Art and Design.

For the past 25 years she has created innovative textile samples that explore the boundaries of modern embroidery, patchwork and needle felting. These ‘seeds of ideas’ have sold to clients including Chanel, Calvin Klein, Nina Ricci, Louis Vuitton, Dior and Balenciaga.Jayne regularly teaches experimental textile workshops and taught Kirstie Allsopp how to needle felt on TV. She has written six books Simply Felt (with Margaret Docherty), The Impatient Patchworker, The Impatient Embroiderer, New from Old, Simply Needle felt and Boho Felt Crafts with Rachel Henderson.

She is the creator of four online courses, Gel Printing on and with Textiles, Water Soluble Magic, No Rules Patchwork and Experimental Needle Felting. She is the founder of No Rules Textile Society, an online membership for impatient, creative, textile rebels!

Debby Bird - A Journey into Colour with Silk Painting and Batik
2025-05-12 13:30 - 16:00
Debby will introduce her work where silk painting is often the first layer. She will explain how silk painting and batik became the basis of her practice and show you samples of other contemporary silk painting and batik that inspire her along with a very brief history.

Debby is a mixed media artist and tutor in Bristol. She began her art journey with a city and guilds in silk painting. This led her into all types of textile art. Her work ranges from tiny embroidered brooches , to huge wall hangings and installations. She has worked with schools and groups to create huge batik banners and teaches creative stitch on a weekly basis for Adult learning in Bristol.

Debby Bird - Silk and Batik for Beautiful Greetings Cards
2025-05-13 10:00 - 16:00
Debby will bring frames, paints, brushes, tools and a wax pot. She will demonstrate several techniques for you to try and by the end of the day you will have several samples for further use along with a couple of greeting cards.

Debby is a mixed media artist and tutor in Bristol. She began her art journey with a City and Guilds in Silk Painting. This led her into all types of textile art. Her work ranges from tiny embroidered brooches , to huge wall hangings and installations. She has worked with schools and groups to create huge batik banners and teaches creative stitch on a weekly basis for Adult learning in Bristol.

Kate Findlay - Working in Series
2025-06-02 13:30 - 16:00
A talk showing three different series of Kate’s work including videos and work in progress.

Kate is a self employed textile artists and teacher, with an interest in the British countryside. She uses hand dyed fabrics, in many layers, collaged and stitched with free motion machining.

Kate Findlay - Textile Lanterns
2025-06-03 10:00 - 16:00
Membership Type

Members £35.00 GBP

Non-Members £45.00 GBP

In this workshop, Kate will show you how to make a lutradur lantern using mixed media and stitch (hand or machine). Sew in a circuit with special electronic components to light it up.

Emily Jo Gibbs - Still Lifes with a nature theme, working with silk organza and hand stitch.
2025-09-02 09:30 - 16:00
Working from sticks or cuttings in pots and jam jars create a delicate textile collage using layering and hand stitch.

With an emphasis on really looking at the subject, studying shape, colour, shadows and refraction and using drawing and photography to experiment with composition, build an appliqué.

You will use long and short stitches to bring your work to life with texture and colour on silk organza.

Sue Rangeley - Embroidery Atelier; Visions and Passions
2025-10-06 13:30 - 16:00
Sue will be sharing the secrets of her studio life as a textile artist, exploring the inspirations and techniques of her embroidered creations. With a focus on the collection of embroidered works that feature in her latest book. Sue will be showing a selection of original pieces from her publication and studio samples which give an insight into her special processes.

An artistic career shaped by fine art studies in the late 1960s, a love of painting and drawing continue to infuse Sue’s embroidered creations. Early fashion and interior textiles display her distinct hallmark of delicate, romantic, painted silks accented with applique details. She specializes in beautiful, crafted embroideries for contemporary dress, one-off accessories and textile art.

International exhibitions and lecturing in USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan have brought wider recognition. Sue’s embroideries are held in public and private collections worldwide. She has received numerous awards for her creative activities; in 2009 she received a National Lottery & Arts Council England grant for curating ‘A Wearable Art’ exhibition in Oxfordshire. In 2018, Sue was chosen to demonstrate at an exclusive event at the Victoria & Albert Museum, as part of the ‘Fashioned from Nature’ program, hosted by the Friends of the V&A.

Mandy Nash - British Wool for Feltmaking
2025-11-03 13:30 - 16:00
Mandy will be talking about her book British Wool for Feltmaking, showing samples from the book.

Mandy is primarily a jeweller, however, over the last twenty years, she has been slowly introducing textiles into her practice and it has now become her main focus. Traditional and contemporary textiles have consistently been a major influence, so the transition from creating colourful, non precious jewellery to textiles is not a large step.

Mandy’s main technique is feltmaking, which combines her three passions of colour, pattern and process. Wool is a natural, sustainable and versatile material that can be transformed into wonderful, tactile objects. The different characteristics of the wide variety of sheep breeds offer endless possibilities to create both functional and nonfunctional pieces. she enjoys the challenge of transforming a flat material into a three dimensional form.

Mandy is involved in many craft groups and associations and is a regional co-ordinator and past Chair of the International Feltmakers Association. She is also a member of the Makers Guild in Wales, the Association of Contemporary Jewellery, the Society of Designer Craftsmen and of MaP, a textile group.

Mandy Nash - Slashed Felt
2025-11-04 09:30 - 16:00
Book here for workshop. Please select the correct membership type.

Membership Type

Members £35.00 GBP

Non-Members £45.00 GBP

During this workshop, participants will experiment with Bergschaf wool batts to create a colourful sample, either flat piece or a simple vessel using the ‘Slash /Reveal’ technique.This wool felts easily but is much stronger than merino wool so is ideal for slashing and creating sculptural work. The technique can be adapted to add to hats, vessels etc.

Cancelled - Sue Hobson - Scottish Tapestry
2026-01-05 13:30 - 16:00
Due to unforeseen circumstances, Sue is unable to give the scheduled presentation and so we will be having a stitch and chat session instead

Abigail Holgate - An Insight Into Modern Millinery
2026-02-02 13:30 - 16:00
Abigail will talk you through her personal journey into millinery, equipment and techniques.

Hanny Newton - Creative Embroidery
2026-03-02 13:30 - 16:00
A look at Hanny’s career over the last decade, exploring her love of metal thread and the historical inspiration behind it, some of the large-scale interior commissions she has created, and sharing her exploration of straw as ‘natural gold’ in recent years.
