Going nowhere fast!!!

I feel rather like this spider today, going round in circles and not achieving much. Lots of creative ideas...... but hand and eye co-ordination is really out of cinque...... so have spun my web of creativity, and have come to a full stop in the middle.
Should I just go and do something more useful, or persevere? Mmmmmn....... any suggestions?

Lydiard House and Park

Along with my pals from the Great Western Embroiderers we were invited to Lydiard House with a view to creating a stitching exhibition next year. My dodger Chum Penny also came a long with me. Sophie the curator, gave us a guided tour, which was most informative.

We had visited the adjoining church earlier in the year. and enjoyed seeing the walled garden this time in all its splendour

The trees in the surrounding parkland are wonderful too.

Lydiard is surprisingly close to Swindon.

Now it is time to start the sketchbook and make decisions.. will it be flowers, or trees. or may the plasterwork in the house. the exhibition is in March, so I have a little more thinking time yet... then must start stitching.

Must go and prepare for the meeting tonight of the Swindon Branch of the Embroiderers Guild.

Surprise at the end of a wonderful week

This was a wonderful surpirse and so unexpected, a gift from my dodger chums who came to the Summer school . It is not often I am reduced to tears, but this was one of those moments. I have all my many photos to sort out and some small videos..... will share as soon as I have finished unpacking and downnloading. It may take a while..............................!
I am so missing my chums this morning, but I have this wonderful bouquet to remind me.

Another Day at Summer School

Took a lovely -after breakfast- stroll around the garden of Urchfont Manor. When the stroll started the sun was shining, but by time I got round to the front of the Manor, the outlook had dulled. The dew on the fauna and art in the garden was truly inspirational.

Gordon Dickenson's green man in the vegetable garden has rusted wonderfully since last year.

Here is the taster of the "gallery", you should see the sketchbooks on the chairs they are fantastic...

Dodger Summer school

Some of my work completed yesterday, all experiments and samples.

I am having a wonderful and very creative week with 14 of my Internet chums. We are working together all week, rather like a retreat, good food , good wine, fantastic company and a real creative buzz happening and sharing of so many ideas and techniques.

We have been taking it in turns sharing teaching and we are awash with ideas for dyeing, transfer dying, printing with pasta machines, crochet, tatting, embellishing with the needle felting machines. plastic and metal jewellery. Naturally the presentation is very hi tech and lots of techie gizmos are being used

.

This was the wonderful Wiltshire sunset tonight.

Getting ready

Just showing you the way ;0) ....... I have made a start on the "idea".. still not sure about the colour. It is a great yarn to make crochet chains, but I am not using a hook, using my fingers instead.
Will unravel the idea at our Summer School at Urchfont..... I'm getting very excited about it. are you?

Poppies in July

Very aptly for the month of July, I went to a workshop yesterday that the Marlborough Branch of the Embroiderers Guild were running, called Poppies. I have just finished the final bits of machining on the background this morning, so thought I would share it with you.

The tutor was Richard Box and the workshop was great fun.

Richard had kindly bought along a number of his drawings and pictures of Nature along to inspire us.

If you would like to chat to Richard and see what he is doing. He is Artist in Residence at

Nature in Art Twigworth in August... you can check out the details here.

Melting moments.

Its been a bit warm this last week, and I really thought I was going to melt .....but I am really pleased as I have managed to get all the work for the Barnstable Exhibition finished, and ready to go. Quite a feat in this heat.

The duck pond at Urchfont looked very inviting today................... but I had other exciting happenings to occupy me.




I took my finished work along to Urchfont today to hand over to a friend who will kindly be taking them to Barnstable for the hanging. A relief to be able to meet the deadlines, but non-the-less a strange feeling to see them being taken away.

There was another reason, however that a number of us were at Urchfont, it was the textile open day today. Some of the courses finish and it is an opportunity for the students to showcase their work and celebrate passing their courses. We like to go along to support them, and meet up with old friends and of course the home made cakes at Urchfont are to dye for.


Unfortunately , this year most of the students had decided they did not want the work to be photographed, but fortunately for me the group I helped to start way back in 2000 decided we could take photos. They are called Textile 21 and meet over 3 weekends a year at Urchfont. A lovely group of artists, and they showcased some of their work.. Great stuff, Well done Pat, and Jane.




A number of traders were in attendance as well.. and who can resist some molding paste and some wonderful wires and lametta in colours to saviour.


The drive back home through Avebury, showed that as usual it was very busy with visitors and the bikers were just starting to gather at the Red LIon.




This morning travelling through the village, the sheep were all around the stones, but later the visitors had them all to themselves again.





A great Day and good to catch up with friends. Another exciting day tomorrow at the Marlborough Branch of the Embroiderers Guild.
Richard Box is talking to us.