Newsletter 6
January 2026 post celebratory catch up!
Happy New Year! I’ve reached that stage of life where sitting down now comes with a sound effect. This year’s resolution is to stop saying “ooomph” though I’m not optimistic. Old people do that a lot. Apparently, I am now old people.
I have Type 2 diabetes and usually keep a very strict watch on my weight and what I eat, but over the festive period I did let go just a bit and it was absolutely fantastic to indulge slightly. My favourite bake this year was a chocolate fudge cake with white chocolate mousse. Completely unnecessary. Entirely joyful. I’ve put my recipes at the bottom in case anyone fancies a go.
I haven’t begun my sketchbook challenge yet, but will. I got a few old ones out for ideas and got totally distracted looking at them. There’s just too much to do around here what with creative stuff and plain boring life stuff.
From the garage (the proper name for the studio)
Since the New Year, I’ve been working on a handling sample for the Quilters Guild of Great Britain who bought a Life Quilt late in 2025. It was called Poisonous Plant and there are lots of details of my website if you’d like to know more.
It took longer than I thought it would, and here’s some process photos.
Quilters Guild handling sample construction
First stage is about drawing onto the cloth. I was copying an existing quilt so you’d think it might be easier, but it wasn’t and took some time. I tried to match the fabrics for the applique with those used originally but not having got the quilt in front of me and only poor images, it wasn’t that accurate. I used my drawing to trace the outlines onto paper which I then used as a pattern for applique, and once it was in place I could begin stitching it on.
The stitching is not just to hold the applique, but also to add text and definition, and then to completely cover the whole piece - I do like the effect of dense free hand machining.
Once the whole is stitched, I could add a little paint to the applique. To me, this transforms the fabrics and is essential for the look I’m after. There’s not masses of paint because there would be little point in the applique if it was covered entirely! Just enhancement and to give tone, eg the bottle fabric is striped to start off with (see above) and black and green threads enhance that, meaning only a little white acrylic is needed to show the light hitting the bottle on the neck and body (below).
I then added more stitch and more applique (maggots!) and decided to leave the right hand side as incomplete - as if in the process so that someone with visual imparement could feel it’s construction; the other 3 sides are bound as normal. I’ve sent a swatch of the fabrics along with the sample to the Quilters’ Guild, so if you come across the quilt at an exhibition, you’ll be able to handle them all yourself.
And talking of exhibitions, if you happen to find yourself in Birmingham, Marcia (Windrush 2) is currently on show at the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists.
Chocolate cake and white chocolate mousse.
The cake is as below without the icing and without the red food colouring. (I made a book years ago of fave recipes and gave copies to the family)
The mousse is simply:
300g/11oz white choc broken into squares
450ml/16fl oz double cream.
You melt the choc and leave to cool. Whip the cream but make it softer than you might normally, as when you add the choc it thickens. You can always whip a bit more. Sandwich the cake layers with the mousse before it sets too much.
Much nicer than the icing in the recipe!
So that’s January so far: one quilt sample, several maggots, a great deal of stitching, and a cake that was absolutely worth it. It feels like a good way to begin the year — making work that can be touched, handled, and occasionally sworn at.
More stitching soon, fewer maggots (possibly but I’m not promising), and I’ll let you know how long the “no ooomph” resolution lasts.
If you’ve scrolled this far, you’ve earned cake, a sit-down, and permission to make whatever noise you like. If anyone asks, it was the chair.