Happy holidays

Oh dear my favourite holiday is as good as finished and I know that I will have a mamoth amount of marking to do for the next 3 weeks or so, AS coursework projects and all of the A2 coursework so it will be pretty hectic for a while.
Well what was the holiday all about:
Decorations - at home

at college

visiting family (some at work) and some relaxing

having Alex and John staying with us for a long time - lovely

a short walk on New Years day and a drink in the pub

relaxing

playing with my ipad

spoiling the cats

going to the cinema twice in a week

relaxing, eating too much, drinking, shopping, chatting and being very lazy.

What a long time it's been, again!

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. This is the time of year when there should be so much to post about, but work has been so full on, it seems that during term time there is never a moment for a teacher to call their own: marking, observations, meetings, 1-1s with students, schemes of work, training days, the list goes on and on. Unfortunatly just when it seems you've worked your way through it, it all starts over again - the courses I teach on in the Foundation Learning department are now due to have external moderation oh and of course there will be parent's evenings next week and the following week.
Anyway I suppose all of these things can make you really appreciate the little or unplanned things and this weekend has had some of those.
My friend Alison texted me on Saturday afternoon inviting me to go to Reading with her for a spot of late night Christmas shopping. Reading's Christmas lights are very beautiful.
My friend Jackie had an open house with crafts on show from her and some friends and from what I saw she was having an amazingly busy time.
My husband surprised me (lovely, as he doesn't do surprises) and gave me this yesterday morning, how better to start the days of December than with some good chocolate.

Oh dear what to do with a bumper harvest?

It's been a pretty rubbish year for our vegetable patch and we have even resorted to the odd veg box which has been lovely.

But one crop which has been abundant is the grapes. We grow our vine purely for the shade it provides and the way it looks. The grapes usually consist of some very small, sparse bunches, however last year we had loads of bunches each made up of very small, extremely sharp grapes. This year though they're getting sweeter and bigger but are full of pips and we just have so many, at least 60 litres, it's such a shame to throw them away, and they look lovely, but can't think of anything to do with them, and they wouldn't make good wine.

Lace

Today a very lovely, and extremely busy, colleague gave up a precious hour of her time to share her passion for all things lace with 4 of our textiles students. She bought in a large range of her own work, samples of lace she has collected and images of lace she has acquired. She was a font of knowledge and was able to share facts from smuggling lace, Queen Victoria's wedding dress to how to make lace on a train. She really impressed the students (and me) with her samples of textured lace made from wools and how to use buttonhole stitch to achieve a lacy effect.

Thank you Diana, it was a treat.

As Textiles

Well the summer holidays are almost over and it will be back to work with a bump on Monday so here's the post I meant to add weeks ago showing a little of the work the As group did last year. There's no excuse for this late posting, I've just been enjoying my own time over the holiday too much.
Hand made book project

Bag project

Skirt project

Sketch book pages

Exam pieces

 

 

end of term treats

What nice students I have! Lots of cards with lovely messages as well as the odd late night texts, maybe after a drink or two, all saying thanks and how nice it's been. I have to admit the A2 and As year have been great this year with a real mix of characters. But what a nice surprise it was to walk into the office just after lunch on what had been an aweful morning on my last day and find this along with a lovely note from 2 of my As students. It's true, it is the little things that count, and this really cheered me up so thank you Jess and Emma.

End of term show

Well, term ended without any time for a breather and I was straight off on holiday which explains the lack of recent posts. The final weeks of term saw mad rushes to complete final units for some students, leaving parties and lots of tears, awards ceremonies, masses of paperwork, trying to keep the As level Textiles group motivated to the end, along with putting up work for A level verification, taking it down again and putting up a display of some of the lovely pieces from this year's textiles groups. So here's some pictures of the work they've been hard at this year.

          

Sophie's experimental piece

  

 

Olivia's re-vamped suitcase and beautiful photoshoot

 

 

                                       

Allie's dress with delicate stitching and printing

                 typically quirky designs from Polly

sophistication from Lauren and Edie

It's not all about the end pieces though. Here's one of Caitlin's drawings of lighthouses which led to lots of experimentation and ended in designs for skirts and dresses.

        drawing                                                       sewing

             

           

        reverse applique                                 illustration  

                                                

 Tabitha's hand batiked fabric

Maggie's cute little girl's dress and pinafore