Successful Castlemaine classes

Last week I was away from home as I was teaching in regional Victoria. I was hosted by the Castlemaine branch of the Embroiderers Guild of Victoria (Australia), and the trip was ably organised by Helen. Classes were held in the Garden Room at historic Buda House, Castlemaine, which was a simply delightful venue! The walls of windows overlooking beautiful gardens made it very light, bright and peaceful.

On Monday and Tuesday I taught the ever-popular Frisian Whitework Silk Sampler project. It was so lovely that the class had been opened up to other guild groups and so there were people from Castlemaine, Bendigo and even Warrnambool (3.5 hours away!). Good progress was made, and a lot of fun was had!

Silk sampler class

Wednesday was scheduled as a rest day for me, and I was given the option of joining in the branch’s regular guild meeting. Quite a few of them are working on a goldwork project of a pear. I was invited to join the class, and I was so glad I did. I haven’t really done any goldwork before (though I have used a lot of gold passing thread stitching plaited braid stitch!) and it was lovely to be taught by endlessly encouraging Chris. I really enjoyed making it, and while I simplified mine a little from the original as I wanted to complete it while I was away (I knew I’d have other things to move on to when I got home), I was so pleased to have the opportunity to make such a gorgeous design and learn new things. Thanks Chris!

On Thursday and Friday I taught Portuguese whitework Christmas decorations. In this class there were participants from Castlemaine, Bendigo and Ballarat. It really is good to be able to share opportunities like this across branches! The students did really well, and I think a good time was had by all. It certainly was by me!

Portuguese whitework class

As a little aside, the photo of the Portuguese project was very popular on social media, so if you’d like to do this class, I’ll be teaching it again in a few weeks’ time at The Crewel Gobelin in Sydney. There are still a few places in the class, but you should get in quick so you don’t miss out! More details here, and bookings are through the shop, not me.

While away, I was staying on a lovely property a little way out of Castlemaine where it was very peaceful, and I was well taken care of by Helen and Peter. (Thank you!) On the Thursday night, I had a surprise encounter with some wildlife, as at about 2am, I found a microbat flying around the room! I opened the door wide to encourage it to go outside, but I have no idea where it went. Thankfully, it didn’t bother me again, that night or the next!

Thank you to the Castlemaine branch for hosting me, and particularly to Helen for her wonderful organisation of the classes, the students and my trip. Thank you so much!

Something you might like to note: From mid next year, for a few years, I plan to teach less (I already don’t teach very much, so if you see a class with me that you like the look of, take it, because you never know when the opportunity will next arise - SEIZE THE DAY!) because I’ll be doing my PhD. I’m going to be very busy with that, and do not plan to spread myself too thin!