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Hello!

Hello and welcome to our newsletter.

I thought I'd start this week by showing you some of the beautiful pieces that have been completed by students following the Running with Stitch course.

In the course Linda encourages students to use their stitched fabric for a purpose, be it to make something using it or to frame the piece. Just look at these great examples!

On the left is a lovely one by Ally, those colours are giving me very beachy vibes!
And below Laura got on roll and has completed no less than three pieces! Don't they each look great? Thank you to everyone who's continuing to share their work in the Community. We love checking in each day to see what you've been making. It is extremely satisfying to see pieces being finished and framed!
New work by Linda
Linda's added this quilt to her website and shop. It's called Fish Shoal and as you can see combines many of her favourite techniques. There’s monoprinting, lino block printing, discharge printing, strip patchwork, free motion quilting and fabric painting. She says, "The strange fish swim through a curtain of metallic gold fronds which I have free motion quilted and then hand painted."

You can take a closer look at details of the quilt over on her website.
If we have space, this quilt might be among the pieces on display at Festival of Quilts. Here's the info and don't forget to use the discount code if you're booking your tickets.

Taking place at the NEC, Birmingham from 18th - 21st August, the Festival offers a four-day celebration of all things quilting. There are 18 gallery exhibitions including Linda and Laura's and it’s the best place to stock up on quilting supplies. There are hundreds of workshops and talks on offer, 600 competition quilts on display and some amazing special exhibits.

Save £2.00* on tickets with code KEMSHALL22.


T&Cs
*Save £2.00 on adult and concession tickets when quoting discount code ‘KEMSHALL22’ at checkout. To purchase tickets visit www.thefestivalofquilts.co.uk. Not valid on child, VIP, or group tickets. £3.50 transaction fee applies per e-ticket order (for any number of e-tickets purchased), and a £3.95 transaction fee applies per postal ticket order. T&Cs apply. Discount expires 17 August 2022.
Drawing Skulls
I’ve been working in my sketchbook trying to establish a regular drawing practice. It’s not easy for two reasons – I don’t find I have much time for drawing amongst the other jobs I have to do, and once I start drawing I become so absorbed by it that nothing else gets done, so it becomes a bit of a self fulfilling prophecy!

I’ve been drawing skulls. They’re such a fascinating thing to study, so much to get your teeth into, form, detail, proportion. There’s lots to challenge the artist. I’m keen to do some more portrait work and of course making some drawings of skulls is the perfect preparation for this. If you can draw what’s under the flesh and skin then hopefully that will help understand the structure of the face and head.
If you'd like to see more of what I've been doing please pop over to the website where I've done a short post.
Workshops to try
If like me you love drawing and would like to do more, we have some workshops to get you started. First up, you might like to try Drawing Tricks and Cheats. This is a mini course of three workshops where I'll show you some techniques to help make your drawing easier and quicker. Get all three classes for £4.50. Take a look.
Next I thought you might like this class where I show you how you can mix techniques. We'll start with some rubbings which are a fantastic way to establish shape, then work into them with drawing to add detail. This is a single workshop so it's just £1.50. Click here to find out more.
The Artful Holiday
There is still time to sign up for The Artful Holiday class at the discounted price. Here's all the info if you've missed it....

I was delighted to be invited by US artist Julie Fei-Fan Balzer to be part of her new online class The Artful Holiday. You can join me and 18 other artists for step-by-step video tutorials for more than thirty handmade art projects. 
The Artful Holiday class includes projects using printmaking, collage, assemblage, painting, paper crafts, jewellery making, sewing and more. The class begins on August 1st and if you sign up before then please use the code EARLYARTFUL for a 15% discount on the class fee.

In my class I’ll show you how to make a quilted and painted book wrap like this one. Included with my class will be the digital stitch files to make the front label if you want to make a wrap just like mine.
You can find all the info about the class and who the other teachers are over on Julie's website. Thank you for checking it out! If you do decide to sign up, please do so through the link in this email. It's an affiliate link so I'll earn a little bit extra, but it won't cost you anything more.

Thanks for reading our news today.

Keep creative,
Laura
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