End of the year

My last post written way back in October ended with my looking forward to a workshop in Garstang. Well it was lovely and the town looked lovely too. It's a super little market town with a lot of independent shops, and I really wish Chorley had taken a leaf out of their planners' book when they decided to wreck our town with unsympathetic developments. I said this in the class not knowing that two of my students were from Chorley, but I think in the end they agreed.

Anyway here are some pictures from the day.

 There was some really super work all different.

 The two below both used the same source picture, so it shows that we all have our own style.

 A Van Gogh interpretation.

 The one below should be rotated. It's based on a David Hockney tree painting.

 And here is a shop in Garstang all decked out for Halloween. It's a long time ago now!

 Also a long time ago, the roofer decided to thank me for all the soup and toast I'd made hm with a lovely hamper.

He made an excellent job of the roof, and it's completely dry now if somewhat cooler, as the old wood and mortar between the wood and the slates, has been replace with battens and breathable membrane so there's very little insulation left up there between us and the elements, and the bedrooms are chillier. However, when all the loft has been cleared of a lot of the aforementioned 'stuff' that fell into it , we can put down some layers of insulation and that should make a difference.

 It's a beautiful job and cost a fortune, so you can imagine how upset I was when the chimney above began to drip into the kitchen again. We all thought it was cured but it seems not, so at extra expense it has to be re-investigated from the other side, ie the neighbour's, who are absolutely adamant that they have no problems with it. It only seems to happen when the wind blows in a certain direction so it could just be a small crack somewhere.
So...watch this space.

So we had a farewell photo of Lovell and Michael but we'll be seeing them again in January!

I've been working like a maniac sewing and selling and doing workshops to help to pay towards the roof works and I'm pleased to say I've been selling well.

I've made birds

and sheep

and lots of other things.

I've been in 'Felt Matters' magazine, 

very exciting, and I've been asked to write for another magazine. 

I did another two day workshop of my own and it was equally good fun as the last one, with more super work from students.

We had a good laugh.

I've had a lovely Christmas with my family at home and too much food.

I've been accepted for Wonderwool Wales, and I'm about to apply for Woolfest once again.

I have a new two day workshop in the offing, 26th and 27th January in Lancashire, still some places left, as well as some work on a fossil theme to accompany a special exhibition.

So, plenty to look forward to in 2017.

But I'll let you into a little secret, I'm feeling rather down. That black dog.  Not really a secret, I've mentioned it before. Christmas can make it worse or better. It seems to like to alternate and this year it definitely worse.

(I hope thats not a truth too far.)

So roll on 'normality'. 

And Spring.

Only 8 weeks to Ballyvaughan.