Inspired by Charleston

 This felt has appeared before.

 Its mellow palette was inspired by the interior of Charleston Farmhouse Sussex which we visited just before this time last year. 

I had been thinking about what to do with it and recently I got down to it and produced a whole pile of little pieces as is my wont....which I then stitched to a background.

 Near to it was ok, but from a distance....

 too confusing.

So I made a nice neutral piece of felt, got out my un-picker and re-positioned the pieces.

 I am really quite delighted with the outcome.

 Thought I'd share.

 It looks sort of Heraldic

 Well....anyway..there it is.

 This exact time last year we were in Symi...ahh Symi...Blue...hot....delicious..sea swimmy Symi.

However funds this year did not stretch to that bit of heaven so as I felt the need to be on an Island we went last Sunday to Anglesey in order to walk to Llanddwyn Island. Bu all accounts a very special place. However when we arrived after a 2 and a half hour drive we found there was a dog ban between 1st May and 30th September,  so we were confined to this beach..which was very nice but not Llanddwyn. 

(See the kite surfers? It was windy.)

And definitely not Symi.

I liked this though.

Better Now

Thank you dear readers for politely reading, commenting and bearing with me during my rant.

I have made a few brooches derived from the piece in this post.

I have made them for a reason I am unable to divulge just at the moment.

But in the fullness of time all will be revealed.

I also made an extra bit of embroidery to go with the others.

It taught me anew that there is always something more to be learnt from 'sampling'.

Its very subtle but if you look closely at the 'knobby' bits

they are just a bit different a bit more successful than some others you may have seen. The difference is that I went round and round and round over them till I built up quite a raised blob. I was using variegated thread so it was nice to exhaust one shade and surround it with the next from the same thread.

The weather forecast for Marrakesh: Monday..heavy rain.

Of course it is..I'm going.

Update on Thursday: I haven't had a cough or a cold or anything for at least 18 months and guess what? A sore throat and a headache this morning. I think I'll stay in bed till Monday!

Slight Improvement

Do you remember the 'Post with Appalling Picture Quality'?

Those items have now returned and have obligingly posed again.


These pictures are an improvement but


I still wish I understood the workings of my camera,


and could make it take better pictures.


Its almost idiot proof,

but I am quite some idiot.

I've listed some of these in my ETSY shop.

I've taken advantage of the lemons.

If this idiot knows one thing, its her colour wheel.

(With grateful thanks to Mrs Bond, Lower V a, Winckley Square Convent School, 1964.

I had my very first migraine induced by painting the tints and shades of yellow on said colour wheel)

Musings of a domestic slobbess.

Isn’t it amazing how you can go for weeks with not much in particular happening and then a whole lot of things you want to do happen over the same few days?

For instance this weekend is the Traditions Folk Festival near here. On Sunday I am having a stall and doing two feltmaking workshops at the festival during the day.

Thats good. And I’m looking forward to it.

I’ve made a few more brooches and some hair barrettes that I thought might appeal to Traditional Music Festival goers.





When I go to a craft fair/workshop I sew up to the last minute then leave the house looking as if its been burgled. After the event I have a good tidy and clean.



But this weekend we are providing accommodation for two of the festival artistes, so I have to clean the house, and get ready for the event at the same time.



On Friday during the day its the last meeting of my embroidery group till September so I was hoping to go to that.

On Friday and Saturday its Woolfest



I could do with some wool tops for the felt workshop. I was wondering which day I could hope to go(..its about 2 hours drive so I don't think I can go on Saturday because of our guests..) when I received an invitation to an exhibition at a local college from 6.30-8.30, yes on Friday, with a personal note from the teacher hoping I could make it this year. (I couldn’t last year)

A lovely lady in our parish died last week and the priest rang today to say that the funeral is on Friday and I promised to do the flowers in the church, collecting them from the supplier on Wednesday, and arranging them Thursday, so it looks like the cleaning has been brought forward!

And when I say cleaning I don't just mean a quick flick of a duster, but moving beds, re-arranging the ‘spare room’, washing sheets, towels, rugs and throws which have been sadly neglected during the run up to the previous craft fair and left ‘till nearer the time’ of this one.

You know its bad when the dog refuses to get in her own bed till its been changed.

And when we emptied the junk from the cupboard space under what was my son’s bed so we could move it, I noticed this lovely and very appropriate box for my Celtic wares. It was empty. Now its mine.

You can probably tell from this.. the hoarding gene has been passed on to the next generation.

Why do some pictures load the wrong way round?

Please tilt your head when viewing the above.

Not Cupcakes

I can't do icing shouldn't do eating, I'll have to be content with looking

and drooling and make dyed woolly brooches instead.

My Mum found a lovely cream woollen blanket at a jumble sale and gave it to me for my now departed dog, Daisy, (yes!) to sleep on.
I saw its potential and before you could say 'English Pointer' I had it chopped up and immersed in dye. It came out in these lovely Dolly Mixture/iced cupcake colours.
Good enough to eat.
And calorie free.