The suspense!

The giveaway is now closed for judging.
Thank you for all your comments. I have decided to copy and paste them all into a document and hand them over to the impartial judging panel..(two of my friends) and let them decide. I think thats very fair.
I'll post up the winner tomorrow evening so watch this space.

I have not been idle though.
I've been working on two orders for two gallery shops. Lazyhill Gallery in Abbotsbury Dorset and
The Found Gallery in Dunbar, East Lothian.
I feel so honoured to be associated with these two beautiful places.

I also sent my fishy piece to Ramster Textile exhibition. My mounting decision was made last week. I covered two narrow sided canvases with unbleached calico and stitched the pieces on. In teh end it was teh best decision as they needed to be light enough to send , and also narrow enough to frame if a buyer wanted to. 

Here they are ready for off. 20x20 inches..too big for Royal mail next day delivery so I had to spend a fortune and use Parcelforce. 

I hope its worth it.

I won't even know if they've been selected unless one of you dear readers visits the exhibition and tells me!

PS Have any other bloggers out there been invited to the preview of the 'Products' associated with the Pompeii exhibition at the British Museum? I have but I can't afford the train fare and I can't imagine how they think I'm 'press'! I'd die of embarrassment if anyone asked who I was.

Two tours

Yesterday we had the preview of our Exhibition at Astley Hall Coach House Gallery, Chorley.

A beautiful space. We each introduced our work with a few words and had a fun time with our invited guests.  Here's my corner.

 In this picture from Left to right, Jenni Ripley (3pieces) Elizabeth Rayton (5) then two and a half of Mary Holden's

 Mary's full works here,

 Brenda Smales' work then around the corner to 

 Gill Yates' print based works,

 Here's the showcase..in bad need of a re-organise which I'll do some time soon.

 On to the retrospective section..more of Elizabeth's,

 Yvonne Downing,

 my work to the left and Gill's work to the right.

 Margaret Kay's 'Pool at Le Jardin Majorelle'. 

I've missed a few but I'll get them on another day.

 Here's a long view of the whole space. 

Me again 

 and I hope you'll forgive this one. Its all part of trying to be less self conscious..and makes me realise I haven't lost as much weight as I thought!

It also looks stiff because my husband takes so long to take a picture I'd got a bit tired of smiling.

Now a tour of last weekend when we should have been in Paris. We couldn't go, but look at these pictures. 

I know where I'd rather be? 

Lunch at Chesters by the River at Skelwith Bridge.

 then we drove to Elterwater village and walked back towards Skelwith Bridge along the river.

Just enjoy, especially the Herdys under the trees.

Update: Just watched' Countryfile' on BBC and there was an item on Herdwick sheep. Farmers lose 70p per sheep on the fleece. It costs more to shear them than they can sell them for, so they may be a sight which will disappear.
Beatrix Potter was a great champion of the Herdwick.

 The doors to the workshop at the Lakeland slate company.

 Then home via the Windermere ferry

 past Belle Isle.

Better than Paris.

News

At last.
The Exhibition at Astley Hall is up and looks amazing even though I say it myself. If you live anywhere in the vicinity it would be great to see you. Easy parking, nice cafe, lovely old Hall to view and then pop across to the Coach House Gallery upstairs for our exhibition.
70 pieces from 9 people. Mostly new works and some older ones.
Heres a bad view of the hall which is a gem.

 Here is the Coach House, newly restored and waiting for you!

My days for minding the exhibition are this coming Saturday, then 20th August, and 4th September.
I live quite nearby so I think I'll be popping in on other occasions.

Other plans for the summer: a week in Dorset. I had a bee in my bonnet about Dorset and have found a delightful little cottage which happens to be the home of a Textile artist. It was meant to be. We got a cancellation.
A trip to the Festival of Quilts on the Thursday is also booked, and a visit to the Royal Exchange theatre next week . Then its the big six-o.
Oh.

One man's meat...

Nothing much to report(but has that ever stopped me before?) except that I have had one of my Marrakech felt pieces accepted for The West Lancs Open Exhibition at The Chapel Gallery in Ormskirk. (This is for JP. I can't reply to you any other way. Its on Now. I went on Friday to the preview..mine is in the bit leading to the toilets!!! Some kind of judgement I suppose)

I have also done my annual accounts and sorted through the pile of slithery books pamphlets cards and papers on my sewing room table, so I feel a load off

It made me think of another open exhibition I submitted for about 12 years ago.
Do you want to hear about it?
Are you sitting comfortably?

Then I'll begin.

I was new from City and Guilds and had had a year or two doing my own things.
I had two pieces I wanted to submit to an open exhibition. A Celtic panel and Three little purses based on Tropical fish.(They look a bit like This, I don't know why I didn't submit these instead)
Yes, three purses, so I had to find a way to combine them to make them into one piece.

I looked into having a perspex box made but it was fiendishly expensive .
Then I had a brainwave...they were based on fish, so if I had a piece of driftwood it would enhance the sea connection.
Now, the seaside near me is not the kind of place you would be likely to find driftwood.
Blackpool, Southport, no pebbles or driftwood so we went a bit further afield and drove to Sunderland Point,(Do click that link, there's a lovely set of photos there) near Lancaster, where you have to cross a causeway at low tide, and there's a wild pebbly beach full of all sorts of junk.

We strolled along looking for the perfect piece of driftwood, collecting a LOT to choose from.
My husband even picked up the back end of a boat and was going to use it to make a sign for his studio. Not exactly appropriate in a moorland mill village.
As we got back to the car a local resident looked at our bundle and said 'We'll have to start buying coal if you keep coming '

Once home I selected the perfect piece..a block with three rusty bent nails, around which I entangled the purse cords so that they looked like flotsam (or jetsam?) and duly submitted my purses and my Celtic panel for the exhibition.

Time passed
My letter arrived...one piece accepted, one rejected.
'Oh well ' I thought, 'that Celtic piece was perhaps a bit traditional.....but I knew they'd like those bags.'
I went to collect the rejected piece.

Shock Horror!
They rejected the purses but wanted the Celtic panel.
I expressed my surprise at the choice.
She asked what it was I'd had rejected.
I said 'Three little purses like fish.'
'OH!' she said, 'We loved those bags........







......we just didn't like that driftwood they were attached to'.

Doh!

While some of the bloggers I secretly subscribe to are prancing about talking about 'yummy' this
and 'scrumptious' that and delighting in their own creations, I am on a bit of a downer at the moment.

Stupid mistake number one:
I was excited when I made these and displayed them on little tiny box canvas frames.



But then I had to go and spoil it all.
I wanted to submit them to an exhibition and when I read that they had to be mirror plated I decided I couldn't mirror plate a dozen little frames.

(This, by the way, is a mirror plate.

I had to put that in for all those who asked.)



They looked great all together but guess what?
I forgot to take a picture.
I tried them behind glass in an Ikea frame.
It didn't look right.
I tried them all together on one canvas box frame but that didn't look right.
I made a special piece of felt to attach them to.
It started to look better ..
But by the time I'd tried to attach them with bondaweb, then the embellisher, then handstitch, then finally machining , they were so mangled they lost all their impact and the whole piece, (which I am too embarrassed to show you) now looks like a beach towel.
Here's a bit of it.


I'll let you know when I get the rejection letter.

Next stupid mistake:
I sold my Gaydon Cake stand for £1.99 plus postage.
NOT ENOUGH POSTAGE!!! I forgot how heavy it was.
Still, I suppose my main reason was to clear out and if someone can love it, thats better than throwing it in the bin.

Oh I almost forgot..
Stupid mistake number three:
I have withdrawn my word brooches from my etsy shop after I realised(with a little help from my lovely friend Kitty) that you cannot sell and item which is to be displayed on the buyers chest with the word 'FELT' on it.

On the upside, I have had a commission from a lovely Gallery in a lovely place in Cheshire for 30 felt brooches, not sale or return either.
(They want some photographs for their ad in a very upmarket magazine. Sssshh...I said shssshhh!!!)
(EDIT: Thanks for all the comments but Oh dear..pride goes before a fall and I bet I've completely jeopardised it now.
It was just a whisper and its not MY ad its the Gallery Ad and they might not even put my work in it. So try not to mention it)


PS I forgot to say I am having a little stall in Knowle Green Village Hall near Longridge on Saturday and Sunday. They are having an open garden weekend and people who use the hall are having a couple of stalls. I am there as part of the Felt Group. Now officially the 'Fellside Felters.'

A coincidence

Today was my day to steward the Exhibition I am part of at Lytham Heritage Centre.
It was very quiet with only one visitor until about 11.15 so I decided to pop out to buy something I needed.
I was away about 20 minutes . When I got back the other lady on duty said there had been 9 people in and there were two waiting for me to get back.
Look who they were!



Maggie and Clive Grey!
They hadn't known the exhibition was on, and had just been visiting relatives in Lytham as they were on their way to Rheged near Penrith, for the Northwest Regional day of the Embroiderers' Guild, where Maggie is giving a talk, and for which I have a ticket.
They saw the sign outside and just popped in for look.
What an amazing coincidence.
That it was on my day to steward too!

Here I have to say that Lytham is MILES from where they live and quite a few miles from where they were headed so you will appreciate the slim chance of us meeting.

I had been out to buy a canvas for a piece, and visited a new Art Gallery in Lytham run by a man who had a huge piece of work for sale with a print of a fish on it,when I say a print of a fish I don't mean a drawing of a fish rendered in print..I mean fish as printblock!
And bird too.
I wondered what happened to the fish? If he'd done some potato prints he could have made a fish and chip supper. (After he washed the ink off)
Just a minute I'll go and find his card and then I can link to his website so you can see ................................................................................................................................................................
..............................................footsteps disappearing ........................................ .................................. ............. ......................................................................................................................................................................
.............................................................coming back ........................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................................................
found it!
William Estlin Cummings

Back after a busy week.

Today I am feeling quite relaxed after a very hectic week.
Monday was spent preparing for a visit from two really close friends. We first met 40 years ago in September when we arrived at Strawberry Hill, St Mary's college. We had a fantastic three years there then spent another three years together teaching in the same area. One is now a head of an 'outstanding' school,(offstead!) and the other is a deputy and doing a heads course. I on the other hand am a complete failure in the world of education.
Friends like that do not stand on ceremony. We have years when we don't get in touch but then pick up where we left off.

Tuesday was the felt group day and on Wednesday my friends arrived and we talked ate and drank wine until very late, and I was sad to say goodbye on Thursday, but I couldn't have stood another night with that amount of wine!
Then I had to get ready for Friday, pictures below, a workshop with a great tutor, Linda Westerman.
Here we are all working

This is a pile of some of Linda's fabulous work.

Here are our efforts.

Bet you can't guess which is mine.

She was an excellent tutor and we all did different things.
I was asked to give the vote of thanks.
I wrote it down, I read it to my friend.
BUT IT STILL CAME OUT WRONG!!!! I managed to make a sincere compliment sound like an insult.
Its my special skill.
Or a syndrome.
Putting my foot in it syndrome.
I had done it on a blog comment only the day before, but I won't tell you where.
I am going to get a tattoo on my forehead saying 'please do not ask me to speak in public..I will muck it up'
I feel sick. I couldn't sleep.
Fortunately I have a very poor memory so the sting has faded almost away, its only writing about it here thats is giving me post traumatic stress.

Karen tagged me recently with a kreativ blogger award, where I have to write a few facts about myself. I already did it here so I'll pass on writing more facts but I must encourage you to visit her blog and look at the beautiful stiching there. I think I'll mention four here that I have been reading and enjoying.
Heather from Ragged Old Blogger who has done wonderful things with a dead catalogue!
Helen from Cocoa and Blankets who is currently showing lovely pictures of her trip to Venice
Another Helen who does lovely embroidery at Sea Strands and is making fibre flowers.
Do visit Cathy at Menopausal Musings who has a really interesting way with her blog pictures.
So ladies, if you would like to play, all you have to do is write 7 facts about yourself, link back to me here, and pass it on. You can use the picture if you like, its in my sidebar. Kreativ blogger.
There is no obligation.


On Saturday morning I remembered that I had generously volunteered to type out, mount, and cut all the labels or should I say 'tablets' for our exhibition.
When that was finished without too many rejects, I started this, a copy of a piece I did earlier in the year.

Its about a foot square. Its funny but whatever you do, you always learn something or find a bit you like. Do you find that?
I really like the little blue circle above the black 'star' and I made a very small brooch like it.
About one o' clock in the morning on Sunday.
I may do more.

I finished my two large 'moucharabia' pieces, which I have re-named 'Marrakech' because it may have more appeal to someone who has been there.
This is the completed piece on its calico background,

and here it is rather skew whiff on my wardrobe door.

Here's the second one I did.


They are about two feet by 18 inches approximately.
The detail below shows a bit of two needle embellisher work. I wanted to give the idea of light coming through the window, but I don't think I've made the lines vary in length enough. It was all done in a rush so I didn't have time to change it.

The next one shows the area where I made nuno felt on muslin and then worked from the back with the embellisher to push the felt through to the front. I finished it with hand stitching to convey the idea of the tiled courtyard outside.


I put the two small pieces in IKEA frames.

I stuck them on with sticky velcro, but by the time we delivered them, they had come adrift in the frames. I stuck them back but am worried.

The exhibition is in Lytham at the Heritage Centre on the corner of Dicconson Terrace.
We had a lovely walk along the sea front, the weather was amazing.
I haven't been out for an afternoon with my husband since last August Bank Holiday (Not counting Symi) so it was a real treat.

I am stewarding the exhibition on Friday, 10 till 4 so if you are in the area do call in and say hello.