Since Last Week...

My weekend away teaching went well and it was good to be back at Missenden Abbey again. I miss being there on a regular basis but the new School of Creative Arts seems to be going well and there were lots of people and a good variety of classes on offer.

I arrived on Saturday morning to beautiful sunshine and it was actually warm enough to sit outside with a cuppa before teaching began. Not a bad place to be going to work!

I had seven very enthusiastic ladies in my class who all worked hard to translate their landscape inspirations into textured textile pieces. Despite a wide range of experience from beginner up, they all produced a picture of which to be proud. Most are not quite finished but still looking good, every single one.

Back home I've struggled with headaches, blurry vision and queasiness all week, something I get about three or four times a year, usually lasting several days at a time. Never bad enough to incapacitate me (although I had to lie down this morning for a while) but enough to make me feel less than 100%. I think they are probably a migraine and the sensible thing would be to stay away from the screen and sewing machine etc and rest, but then sensible was never my strong point - too much to do, too little time.

The cupboard clearing has been limited to the airing cupboard, prompted by our shower pump (housed in the airing cupboard) packing up. As it is the original pump we assumed it had died but it turned out to be a blown fuse. At least the bed linens and towels were sorted out. I won't embarrass myself by telling you how many duvet sets are going to the charity shop, but lets just say it's been a long time since anyone had Mickey Mouse bed linen in this house!

Finally this week winter seems to have left us and we have by-passed spring and launched straight  into summer. It won't last I'm sure, but it was a good excuse to do some much needed work in the garden yesterday, plus it was a break from the sewing machine and screens. My head felt slightly better as a result although I walked over to book club last night and it although it was a fun evening, there was so much noise and laughter, my head was pounding again by the time I walked the mile home. Our book was The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, a fictional diary of an 83 year old in a care home, which was met with mixed reviews. Some people found it really sad and depressing whilst others thought it was hilarious. I found it a mix of the two but enjoyed it nevertheless. The idea of having an "Old but Not Dead" club for a select group of the care home residents really appealed to me... old people going out having fun and eating and drinking. My sort of club!

I had one portrait left to do for my 'critical mass', each one stitched on a normal domestic sewing machine I might add. I don't have an embroidery machine! I had hoped I might get to twenty five but sixteen will have to do. I managed to finish it yesterday morning but it was a struggle with my funny eyes and flashing lights. I wasn't sure it was as good as some of the others as a result but the family recognised Johnny Cash... can you spot him?

And my exciting news is that next week these will all be on display at Art Van Go in Knebworth - probably the closest I'll ever get to having a solo exhibition. I might sneak that one in as a sixty by sixty! I won't bore you with sixteen individual photographs but here they all are...

They are all fairly random choices based on their distinctive characteristics if I'm honest. The whole point is that they are recognisable. The first one came about because I was researching tattoos for something else entirely. I found a picture of a Amy Winehouse tattoo complete with roses which fitted the bill, so stitched that. But when it was complete I abandoned my original idea and mounted the embroidery in a hoop instead, which I quite liked.

Then David Bowie died and as a long time fan I decided to stitch him, closely followed by Prince. At this point Stewart named them my 'Dead Singers' so Freddie Mercury followed but was never finished. The roses stuck as a sort of signature.

They were then abandoned for eighteen months but at the beginning of this year in an effort to finish things off I got Freddie finished and just carried on making them. I'm not superstitious but it was with a bit of trepidation that I stitched my first couple of portraits of people still living. As far as I know they are still well! Have you got a favourite... I'd love to know?

So that's my week since last time really. Still no more waistcoats done but they are on the list for next week. I would like to be out in the garden again today but I need to accompany my Mum to hospital this afternoon. This evening we are off to see Westwood at our local Picture Palace and then tomorrow morning I am off to Coventry for another weekend of teaching. I'm hoping the head feels better by then.

I hope you've had a good week!

Dithering

Where shall I start today?
I have ideas for posts about cake (of course), about rag rugs, social media, family... I could go on. But the chance of actually getting around to all of them as individual posts is pretty remote so I bring you a jumble of my past week instead. Shall we start with cake?

I dithered and dallied with the technical bake from the Bake Off semi final... could I really be bothered with all those ingredients, all those different steps, all that time? But in the end I caved in and made Les Miserables. They were a complete faff from start to end. So many pans, so much mess and I still can't make a proper Swiss buttercream, I didn't temper my chocolate and I certainly wasn't going to cut raspberries in half. Why would you? I guess they looked okayish, although more like sandwiches than cake, but I thought they were overly sweet and sickly and most of them ended up being binned... the ones that Stewart didn't manage to eat that is.

 

Last night I went to watch the final of the Bake Off with other members of the Cambridge Clandestine Cake Club at a rather nice establishment called the Grain and Hop Store. We had to bring along our signature bake so I brought along a gluten free chocolate and almond cake. It wasn't this particular one as it was too dark to photograph the one I made, but it was pretty much like this minus the strawberries. All the cake that was brought along was delicious... not a Miserable in sight! I may have had several portions of cake for my dinner! I managed not to hear the Bake Off winner in advance, as leaked by Prue Leith on Twitter yesterday, but pretty much guessed it would be Sophie. Now I'm dithering about whether to apply for next year?

 

I have also been busy trying to get one of my Textile Art newsletters out. Having dithered for ages about whether to send one, I had one all ready to go last Friday and then my laptop died. I had wanted to promote my rag rug wreath course that I'll be teaching at Missenden in a couple of weeks. But the newsletter didn't go and the course was cancelled... that was until I posted a photo of a second wreath in a different colourway on social media and got several enquiries about the course... it seems that blue and silver was a popular choice!  And so it is now back on again because the lovely people at Missenden School of Creative Arts have decided to take a gamble and run the course even if we don't get enough people. Fingers crossed that we do to make the gamble pay off!

 

I always dither when I send out newsletters mostly because without fail within an hour or so of sending it I get at least half a dozen people unsubscribe. It is swings and roundabouts because I pick up at least as many new subscribers over the weeks between sending them out but it still fills me with doubts... have I said something wrong, am I boring, do people just hate my work? In my heart I know it is nonsense because I can't please everyone all of the time but it doesn't stop me wanting to! Anyway my laptop was fixed and the newsletter went out, I have had seven people unsubsrcibe (only one of whom I actual know... that bugs me!) but I've also had interest in a course, two orders of my DVD (which is on sale at only £5 + pp) and an absolutely lovely email from a lady called Barbara who reads this blog... Hello Barbara! So it was definitely worth sending it and should you want to receive the occasional newsletter from me too, you can subscribe via the button on the sidebar... as long as you promise not to unsubscribe straight away!

A Bustle Skirt

This is a story that starts almost a year ago at our Embroiderers' Guild branch Christmas lunch. Back in December, Gill returned from deepest darkest Norfolk to join her old friends (friends of old or friends who are old... read it as you will) for lunch and with her usual panache she was wearing a fabulous skirt with a bustle that of course she had sewn herself. I confess I had serious bustle envy, after all who wouldn't want to wear something so stunning. Fast forward a couple of months and I spent a couple of days up in Norfolk with Gill and she kindly gave me a length of her left over fabric so I could make my own bustle skirt... all I need to do was buy a zip and some suitable lining fabric.

Fast forward even more months and despite searching my stash and keeping an eye out here and there nothing was deemed suitable and so the skirt was never made.  Then, this week I happened to be at the Knitting and Stitching show at Alexandra Palace, demonstrating rag rugging for Missenden School of Creative Arts. I had a quick look round the show over my lunch break but was left feeling it doesn't seem too special any more. I used to love going but now I don't find much that is inspirational and I certainly don't need to buy anything new to add to my stash... although if you are there this weekend check out the exhibition by Hue, and in particular the three stunning panels by my friend Marian. So I wasn't really prepared to do any shopping until I spotted this gorgeous Liberty Lawn fabric.

I had absolutely no idea if it would look okay with the fabric Gill had given me but I bought a couple of metres anyway and as luck would have they look fabulous together with the print picking out the burgundy stripe in the woven fabric.

So although I had set aside a day yesterday to cut out my new coat instead I made my bustle skirt!

The design is very simple but so effective and is essentially a rectangular length of lined fabric cleverly joined at the back with a zip to create the bustle.

The trickiest part was inserting the zip and even that wasn't that tricky... but look at those gorgeous folds and that fabulous fabric!

And because the woven fabric has a beautiful fringed edge I only had to hem the lining.

I commandeered youngest son to take some photos of me actually wearing the skirt... he grumped a lot and was very reluctant and this is the best of a bad lot. I wasn't going to ask him to try again and as he was the only person I was likely to see while it was daylight these photos will have to do!

It is not quite as long as it appears and is just below knee level at the front, although sweeps down to mid calf at the back.

I love the skirt but was a little disappointed that I had made it too loose on the waist. The instructions advised getting a friend to help with the pinning and measuring. I certainly wasn't going to get youngest son to help stick pins in me so fiddled about and did it myself with the result I was a bit cautious and too generous with my measuring. My heart sank a little as I thought I would have to adjust the back seam and re-insert the zip but then I decided to add a couple of little pleats in the front instead. And although I say so myself it was just a little bit genius because not only does it fit much better now it also sits better over my tummy. Let's face it who actually has a completely flat tummy... not me that's for sure!

So although the fabric for the coat remains untouched I do have a lovely new skirt to wear when we go out tomorrow evening. I'm also off to teach a rag rug class tomorrow for Elspeth who runs Ragged Life and  next month on 18th November I will be teaching a whole day at Missenden Abbey to make rag rug Christmas wreaths... which was why I was demonstrating at Ally Pally this week. Whatever you are doing I hope you have fun this weekend! (And I apologise for actually mentioning Christmas twice in one post... it just sort of slipped out!)

As One Door Closes...

I'm back this evening from a fun few days at Missenden Abbey for the last summer school with Adult Learning. I've been going to the Abbey for about 17 years as both a student and a tutor and have stayed in many of their study bedrooms... all perfectly comfortable and functional, even if the bathrooms tend to be a bit snug. So imagine my surprise when I was given the "Abbey Suite" on Sunday evening. I had a huge bedroom with a bed that was wider than it was long, a very roomy bathroom along my own corridor...

and a living room with a second TV. I felt like royalty!

I was teaching a Stitched Graffiti Art class to a small group of only six ladies and on the first day we had a bit of a warm up by using the machine as a painting tool and they produced this wonderful selection of little brooches.

As well as enjoying the teaching and the wonderful surroundings of Missenden Abbey itself, one of the other things I love is being able to walk in the surrounding countryside when I am there, something I've not been able to do on my last couple of visits due to being on crutches. So I was looking forward to some nice walks this week but unfortunately it has been a bit wet and drizzly for the past few days. However this morning the sun made an appearance so I had a stroll up to the parish church after breakfast and before class started.

The views over the valley are beautiful and I took a few moments to take it in and watch a pair of Red Kites hovering and soaring over the churchyard before heading back past the Roald Dahl memorial bench... I've written more about it here.

Back in the classroom, each student worked on their own designs for a "Graffiti" piece and although they need finishing off at home, these are the wonderful results:

"Create" by Sue in a fabulous font

"One in a Million" by Barbara... a special gift for her husband

"Cheers" by Valerie... very cheerful!

"Not One Hectare More" by Wendy... a comment on the destruction of the forests of Borneo

"Perspective" by Janet. I think this says much about me that my eye picks out the P and R and I see "Prosecco". Once Janet has finished the outline there won't be any confusion about what it says!

 

"Cats Rule" by Pasqua in a lovely crisp font.

And so it many ways it has felt like an ending but the atmosphere at the Abbey this week hasn't been down beat bacause as one door has closed another has opened. Although this is the end of Missenden Abbey Adult Learning in its present form, two of the adult learning staff have started a new company that will be running creative courses over weekends in the coming year.

The website of Missenden School of Creative Arts will be live very soon but you can go there now and register an interest, which means you will be the first to hear about new courses as they are added. And with a bit of luck I'll be back in Great Missenden next spring!

Out of Kilter

Last weekend I was away teaching at Missenden Abbey for what was my last ever City And Guilds weekend. I will be back for summer school in August with my Stitched Graffiti (only a couple of places left... But you can book here) and there is a possibility I'll be back there for future weekends but not with Bucks CC and not teaching C & G. So it feels like the end of an era.

Of my eleven students, ten achieved their C & G certificate... The eleventh didn't merely due to the time constraints of a full time job and young family. She just hasn't finished yet.

But every single one of them produced beautiful work of which they should be very proud. They certainly made me proud of their achievements.

I'd like to say this picture heavy post represents work from each of them, but unfortunately it's more a showcase of my better photographs.

But they are a good representation of the standard of work overall.

Beautiful finished items, beautiful samples and some fabulous design work

So well done Penny, Elza, Judy, Judith, Christine, Chris, Helen, Diane, Roz, Shirley and Claire! You are all stars!

Since coming home it has felt like a funny old week so far and I don't seem able to settle to anything... a bit of this and a bit of that but nothing actually useful.

It is a week of family birthdays so there has been plenty of cake. But I'll share that with you another time...

And I've started to think about Open Studios. But haven't really got beyond the thinking stage... it just makes me want to curl up and hide!

There has been a visit to the vet for Hector for final injections, which has meant some short walks around the village and a visit to the physiotherapist for me about my ankle. Apparently I'm making good progress although it still feels frustratingly slow. But apart from that I've dithered with this and dallied with that and haven't really settled to anything at all. And I hate feeling like this!

Perhaps next week will feel better. Meanwhile this little chap is keeping me busy as he is in to everything and I need eyes in the back of my head. Now isn't this a guilty look if ever there was one... He'd been digging up my vegetable beds, naughty boy! He was also very sick last night (probably something disgusting he ate in the garden) which did worry us... but today he is back to his usual mischief with a very healthy appetite!

 

I'll be back soon with cake and hopefully feeling more upbeat.

Gossip

Well, one or two of you guessed and some of you knew but my "news" from earlier this week was neither exciting or good. In fact it is rather sad news. After summer school in August, Missenden Abbey will no longer be a centre for adult education in Buckinghamshire. Which means that more than half my annual teaching commitments will just disappear... Leaving me with a lot more free time on my hands and considerably poorer! It is a very sad day for adult education in this country but for me personally I am seeing it as an opportunity for more time to devote to ideas for my new business so I am trying to see it as a door opening rather than one closing... Exciting times for change. Meanwhile there is one last chance to take a summer school with me at Missenden Abbey  from 1st - 3rd August where I will be teaching Stitched Graffiti Art.

I will also be teaching this as a shorter one day workshop at Art Van Go on 14th July. And talking of Art Van Go there is a fabulous exhibition of oil paintings on there at the moment by Vicki Otte called Colour Fest which runs until 28th May.

 Vicki Otté is lives and works in Hertfordshire and has always painted, originally with acrylics  illustrating children's stories, which also led her to create painted wood sculptures. However, for the last few years Vicki has concentrated exclusively on oils.

Many of her paintings involve portraits and it is obvious from her work that Vicki Otté has a keen eye for people and for characterisation. All of her paintings are portrayals of life as she sees it, usually with humour, and always in vibrant colour. They just made me smile they are such joyous happy paintings.

I just love the colouful exuberence of this work, so much so that when I was there teaching little stitched miniatures a few weeks ago I took this painting called "Gossip 2" as inspiration for a little stitched miniature of my own

And this was the result... obviously not for sale as it is a copy of Vicki's work, but for my own enjoyment.

 

So that is my news really.

So I am not sure how many more workshops I will be teaching in future... a few at Art Van Go, odd ones here and there but mostly my focus will now be on my baking. And I've lots of ideas for things I want to do so I'm seeing it as exciting times. I'm dancing in the rain!

And for those of you who can't make it to a workshop in person, I still hope to be able to teach via downloadable tutorials... a new one is in my Etsy shop today for the stitched miniatures which you can find here. And there are more planned for later in the year.