New Course, new blog

I can't remember what I have already told you on this topic so let me start from the beginning.... I think you know that I have been doing the City and Guilds Certificate in Patchwork and Quilting for the last two and a bit years. I was very unhappy with the quality of the provider but do feel that I have learned a lot from doing the course - because it has inspired me to go off and learn from books/ online courses etc.

I felt that there was a lot more I could learn and that I could have done the earlier design parts of the course much better having seen the work of students from other providers. However, it is almost finished - the final exhibition is in July and I just have my container and a few odds and sods of samples to tidy up.

I then embarked on a huge debate with my myself as to what to do next

(a) nothing - just continue to learn from books

(b) the diploma in Patchwork and Quilting with another provider - which is maybe the natural follow on

(c) the same level qualification but in embroidery.

In the end I opted for the latter on the basis that it would give me a well rounded practical skills base for textile art and would enable me to repeat the design work thereby enabling me to solidify the rather shaky base I felt we got from the first course.

I chose to do it my distance learning rather than attendance with the same provider ( no point in compounding mistakes!) despite the cost being far more ( the main factor in the need for a debate with myself.) Having had a recommendation from Linda Kemshall ( with whose organisation I will do the diploma in quilting when I finish this second certificate, cash permitting) and having seen examples of their students work at the Embroidery Show in Harrogate, I chose to do it with Stitch Business based in Durham and run by Julia Triston and Tracy A Franklin.

I went up to see them in Durham a couple of weeks ago in their studios at Fowlers Yard and spent all afternoon chatting to them about the course and the portfolio of work I was asked to take up. Mostly they will email images and instructions but there are also three distance learner days in Durham per year. Initially I was told that these were voluntary but it has quickly become apparent that actually they are going to be quite vital!

I think it is fair to say that they are still getting to grips with having learners by distance but were clearly very keen to get it right and to modify their systems as they saw room for improvements. They have an on site class which works on a term basis and so I have started in the middle of a year. The plan is for me just to launch in and then come full circle at the end of the course finishing up where I came in. This was a little confusing at first but any questions have been amply answered by a quick telephone response to my emails and also by material being sent by email so I am not anticipating that the problems I had getting sensible answers to simple questions last time around will be repeated!

Now, obviously I want to share my course with you all. I asked sometime ago when I started an embroidery sampler whether you wanted me to separate out embroidery onto another blog and got a unanimous - NO! However, I have decided to ignore you all. Well, no not really. I shall blog here about the stories from the course, some of the more interesting pieces etc as you wanted me to. However, I have also set up a separate blog.

Why? Two reasons really - last week before I started working on my first tasks I wanted to get a feel of things by looking at other people's samples. So I turned to Google and realised that it was difficult to find things because people added them to blogs interspersed with tales about the dog and the snow or whatever and the search engine didn't really pick them up. So, in the assumption that other students or interested people out there might want a dedicated source of inspiration I decided to have a place where I could showcase every small sample, sketchbook etc. At least that is the idea.

Also I need to send my tutors images of my work and it seemed easier to do that via blog than email attachments . Plus my fellow distance learners can see what I am up to without ploughing through the lifestories they may not be interested in

If you are only interested in hearing how I am getting along generally, my likes, dislikes, and one or two key images ( like the ones of early samples included above) you need do nothing - all that will be right here.

If however you would like to see all my samples and see exactly what the course entails, ( and probably detail of where to get the products I used, book reviews etc) but without the chitchat you get here then you can subscribe to the new blog.It has a natty title for the search engine titles mentioned below which is ( wait for it!) City and Guilds Embroidery

If you have a passing interest on some bits but not others stick with this blog alone and I shall give you links to specific topics I think you should check out in more detail as I go along.

Clear?! Well maybe you could just this once go and have a look and see what you think!