Happy Birthday Anne

Anne Smithies

Happy Birthday Anne! A couple of years ago Anne was our resident art quilter at our spring and summer machine quilting retreats.

detail of Anne's 'mad bird'

 She is quirky and fun and taught us how to machine quilt birds...

Anne showing her beach hut technique

and beach huts

Anne trying out the Art Quilter frame at our summer Retreat

Anne loved our Art Quilter frame because she could set it up like an easel.

a felted scene from one of Anne's workshops

Anne has many talents besides art quilting. She felts and works with glass and paints and draws and nurtures other artists.

Chapel Gallery in Hawes, North Yorkshire

Anne's family stumbled upon this renovated Methodist Chapel in North Yorkshire and realized that it was the perfect platform for all her many interests. It was a great spot for her family too!

Chapel Gallery an artist's haven and more!

 Well Anne emailed the other day. She had a commission for a large quilt and needed an upgrade to extend her existing frame. So we sent her an upgrade and it arrived today, just in time for her birthday! Happy Birthday Anne! You've had quite an exciting year.

Follow the links below to catch up with Anne and 

checkout the neat workshops and exhibitions at Chapel Gallery: 

www.chapelgalleryhawes.co.uk

anne@madbird.co.uk

Mad Bird

Up Close and personal

Practice makes perfect. This is true, but sometimes practice is just not enough. Sometimes we need help that is Up close and Personal. That is exactly what our Machine Quilting Retreats are for. Being around other machine quilters who are using similar tools is really really helpful. And to be honest the other people on the retreat are just as helpful as the teachers!

Our Machine Quilting Retreads have participants of all levels and we find that everyone learns from everyone else. The smallest things can make the biggest difference. Getting to see and ask questions and get answers takes you to a new level. Getting to look over the shoulders of other machine quilters and listen to the questions that they think of asking helps you grow twice as fast.

The Petwood Hotel is a gorgeous setting. A bit of pampering away from all the hustle and bustle of everyday life is a perfect way to get the new year off to a good start. Setting aside a weekend to focus on a craft that we're all passionate about creates the opportunity for everyone to grow into the 'loving intelligence' that I was waxing lyrical about it the last post.

There will be lovely food, good company, blazing wood fires and plenty of room to spread out and practice on our frames. The retreats are open to day visitors as well as people staying for the nights. There will be three teachers with different areas of expertise so we will be able to give plenty of up close and personal attention. To find our more drop me an email and or follow the link to the Retreats page on the website. A retreat is a great way to start off the New Year and recover from the busy holiday season. Martha, Anne and Trudi wish you all a joyful Christmas and hope to see you at the January Retreat.

Please email or ring with any questions: martha@machinequilter.co.uk

Tel: 01526 378057