Since our last newsletter the world has changed and we are all taking measures to isolate from those around us. Luckily many of us have internet and mobile phones, so can connect by Skype, Zoom or WhatsApp and see each other face to face or pass messages, sharing news and funnies. You Tube, Online classes and Facebook are serving us well for creative outlets and there is an endless supply of books and magazines available via the library straight to your computer or tablet.

Meanwhile, here at Living Threads we have taken the decision to halt our Summer School classes and hope to transfer everyone to Autumn dates. Your tutors will be contacting those who had their classes cancelled in March, to offer alternative dates, and we will be taking bookings hopefully in August. We have a Preview Day organised for 1^st August, but more about that closer to the time, when we know more about the virus restrictions down the line. Please keep an eye on the website.

We will also be bringing in our new online payment scheme, so please bear with us while we get familiar with all this!

We are all hunkered down at home, planning work for our exhibition next year, which will be all about Gardens. Luckily the sun came out last week to encourage us all and it has been a joy to watch the blossom on the early fruit trees, the bulbs blooming and the shrubs budding up. Bees are buzzing and I’ve already been bitten by an ant! Now more than ever we can become more aware of the beauty of our surroundings and the joy of simple things.

For those of you itching to keep busy creatively, the fabric shops are still open online, so quilters, dressmakers and embroiderers can add to their stash of fabric and threads. Most shops catering to the textiles market are open virtually, so you won’t run out of supplies and it is good to support these small businesses, or they won’t be around when we come out of this bubble. I’ve found lots of Sew-Along projects online, Facebook has loads of embroidery groups sharing and setting challenges, and you can find commercial classes and organised virtual retreats.

Don’t forget to check our website at: www.livingthreadstextileartists.com or email us at: livingthreadsgroup@gmail.com or check us out on Facebook

We wish you all a lovely, if isolated, Easter and the full dawn of Spring.

Until May,

Cheers

Gilli Theokritoff, Newsletter Editor