Looking ahead and the here and now!

copyright Tina Francis Tapestry

Well things are really hotting up with almost 4 days of continual sunshine here in Birmingham!  I love seeing how the city changes in the sunshine with all the open spaces being used for lunch and meeting up.

I have been enjoying the sunshine whilst working on future projects, it's always the way for me experiencing now but irons in the future fire!

If you are visiting the Lakes during the summer do not miss the fantastic Farfield Mill in Sedburgh. This place is home to really thoughtful textile exhibitions and is a place you really can spend all day at.  Heritage weaving looms, national and international artists and a marvelous cafe! From the end of August I will have some work exhibited there alongside some really world class fibre artists it is amazing how we all use wool so very differently.  More on this soon! 

It seems that there is some sort of craft leyline happening in London over the weekend 19th - 22nd September and I am preparing hard to be part of the magic! The Handmade Fair runs from 19th to 21st and is a new and exciting show, there are different entry price levels with the £29 ticket including a workshop, a seminar and a make session great value!  You can also buy an entry only ticket £12.50 which will enable you to visit the show without the workshops and with so many great stands full of some of the best makers around it will be a fun day out.

On 20th September do not miss The Great London Yarn Crawl  this event looks set to be a winner!  You enter in teams and visit different yarn shops on specific routes using public transport to get to them.  It is a bit like a pub crawl but with the only regret being spending all your money on essential wool for your next project! There will be lots of other crafts in the shops featured on the crawl and maybe even some tapestry by me!

Finally Craft, Hobby and Stitch International have a new trade show at Excel 21st to 22nd it's the first time they have staged two trade shows in a year and it looks set to be another great event, they really looked after me at my first trade show earlier in the year.

So that is a look into the future whilst I return to the here and now and stitch in the sunshine!

Happy stitching!

Tina

Geometrically yours!

Tina Francis Tapestry copyright

So it's been a while, I have been settling in to life here in Birmingham and have been loving every minute.  There is a lot going on here which can easily distract a tapestry stitcher!

It's all been a little geometric for me lately, some of my work will be included in the latest edition of Geometrics - A book of contemporary British Textiles produced by The Slow Textiles Group.  There is an exhibition that runs from 28th June to 19th July showcasing some of the best geometrics around and I will be there on 27th with examples of my work and kits for sale.  The above stitchwork will be available as kit alongside other geometric work in the pop-up shop.

Living in a large city has also been having more and more influence on my work and this is the latest kit I am working on - it is a real stash buster and does not need a huge stash to complete it.  People familiar with Birmingham will know where I got the inspiration for this one!  Check here

Tina Francis Tapestry copyright

This kit will be launched at The Handmade Fair in September with the pattern being available by the end of this week!

Living in the Jewellery Quarter means I discover more and more every day there are so many little streets and alley ways, it was on a little jaunt that I discovered The Pen Museum.  During the Museums Night event Transient-Art exhibited there and it was a great success bringing many people to the Museum that may not have visited before.  The Pen Museum are having their first Summer Fair on 27th July and I have designed a small pen related tapestry kit which will be for sale at the vent with all profits going to the Pen Museum.  It will be a great event so maybe I will see you there!

Tina Francis Tapestry copyright

Finally I have been featured in Craft Focus this month, you can find me on the back page going on as usual about all things stitch! The people at Craft Focus have really helped me with my move to selling to retail so thanks gang!

Until next time, happy stitching!