happy holidays

Happy Holidays !!

I hope everyone has a fun

holiday season!!

feather step down

these were half finished pieces that

were just sitting around

so I worked on them a bit

not too long ago, but never

photographed them

love in my heart

am spending most of my time packing up the studio

the movers come next week to scoop

it all up and put it into storage

have been wondering what to do with my sewing machine

and other materials

do I put into storage?

do I take to the house?

where in the house?

anyway.....

I think I have decided to put everything into storage

(eek!)

it's a tricky one, especially as I do not

know how long this all will take

I could be here for another 4 months

but without the studio

and really; without the room for anything

at home

yup

that's what I'll do

so then......

I can get back to more reading

and writing

and contemplating

and devising

which I have not done in a long time

I need to really think about how I want to proceed with my art

what to keep; what to change

and then there's wax

I like wax

I like stuff covered in wax

I want to start exploring wax

but just really calm my head down

and take the time

to think

since I have it

this move needs to move me too

I need to move forward

and try

really try

again;

happy holidays

thanks for coming by......

__a

cute!

how cute is this?!

so want to buy him...

wonder if husband would notice

hee hee

look at that face!!

I spotted him in one of the local antique places

I was actually searching for two other things

to stash away

and take with me to the States

1) a Victorian hot water bottle

weird, I know

but when I first moved to the UK

I saw them all over the place and wondered what they were

haha

will remind me of first moving here

2) pie funnel

a ceramic blackbird

you put into your pie to let the steam out (is that right?)

I don't actually bake, I just think they are cute!

and again......had no idea what they were when first moved here

so......every other time I meander around the local

antique shops - there were dozens

of these things

this time, now that I actually want them,

nothing

nil

nada

zilch

always the way, eh?

next time, I won't think I want to buy them

am just wandering around........

then they will show up again! ha

thanks for stopping by!

I know I am veering off

my usual arty-stitchy topics

such is my life right now.....

it is cold and rainy today

am hoping it gets colder!

want to build a little fire in the front room tonight

hope everyone is healthy and happy out there

__a

pretty little thing

isn't she a beauty?

I totally forgot to show her to you

my husband bought it for me

at the local car boot sale

right before my open studios

back at the end August!

I have never heard of Jones, but

many people who have seen her know that name

I have only seen Singers so beautifully decorated

well....now I know why

Jones was a sewing machine company

started in Manchester in the 1800s

I saw these jugs outside of a furniture restoration place down from my house

ok, when I first saw the sign, it said

"100yr old Polish Jugs"

and I wondered why they had jugs from Poland?

luckily, I kept my mouth shut

when I went in to buy them

the guy who helped me started telling me

they had a huge pile of them

in their studio

they were at least 100yrs old........

and stored.......polish

oh!

where am I? furniture restorer.......polish

not Polish!

sheesh

don't tell Mr, but I am secretly hoarding things to take back with me

ok, not so secretly as he immediately noticed the jugs

but he didn't say anything

well, actually, he did start in on

"no room, shipping costs"

but then he stopped

I think it might have to do with the

blue and white plate

you can just see in the background in the photo

which he came home with a few days earlier!

ha

not much in the creativity line has been happening

my main dilemma, other than packing up my studio

which isn't really a dilemma, more of a

just get on with it!

anyway

I have to pack up the studio and have it empty

by the end of the month

ok, no problem

however

I am going to be here for a few more months into the new year

now.......

do I bring my sewing machine to the house?

how bout materials?

where will they go?

can use the dining table....

but there isn't anywhere to store anything

if I actually use the dining table for eating

(yes, I do use it for eating, thank you)

what will I be working on?

what materials do I bring with me?

hm.....

on another note;

it is finally getting cold!

I like that

but....the usual problem

do I decorate for the holidays?

or they should probably go into storage

with the rest of the studio things

since we will be at hubbie's parents

some day......I would like to really decorate our house

and be there to enjoy it for a bit

hope everyone is doing well

thank you so much for being here

__a

projects

don't know if you remember the sample

of the soldier I did

to be able to stitch on the community project

for the Battle of Lewes Tapestry

two panels are worked on at once

in the Castle Museum

we work for 1-2 hours at a time

there will eventually be 5 panels

and will be hung in the museum

this is a very bad photo of the

design

this was taken weeks ago

so much more has been done

should take more photos

I am so thrilled to be a part of this!

it is planned to be finished in two years! yikes......

that's a lot of stitching

I also participated in a "craft" show in Brighton last weekend

not much success, I have to admit......

but thought my table look quite fetching!

(if I do say so myself)

see the whitish birds with the brown/orange tips?

they are a pearlized white but I burnt them in the oven!

they came out with these golden tips with gold flecks

a fantastic mistake

my friend from Get Felt had her felted bags there too

all sorts of things have been going on here......

I went to a class at West Dean

that place is a.maze.ing!

such a beautiful house and the college

has a huge range of classes

all run so well

I took a class by Julie Arkell

who is an artist I have admired for a long time

she is such a warm and friendly person

and has fabulous personal style!

(photograph courtesy of http://lovelytextiles.blogspot.com)

I also went into the tapestry studio there

it is one of the last working tapestry studios in the UK

so cool!

they had just finished making 4 pieces for Tracey Emin!

wish I could have seen them

but then again......if they were still working on them

we wouldn't have been able to go in the studio to see them anyway

let's see.......what else is going on?

oh yes

I'm shutting down my studio

because

we are moving

to the US

sometime

fairly soon

happy, excited, scared, anxious,

all at once!

thank you so much for checking in

an hello to the new people who have

stumble upon my blog!!

have a lovely weekend

I know, I know

my French still life seems so long ago that I took this

yes, it really is me

been a long time, hasn't it?

not sure what has happened, but am having a hard time getting back to my blog........

so sorry

I'll be back soon

but wanted you to know I am still here!

please check back

Mont St Michel

unbelievably beautiful

a little island surrounded by sand and water

hope everyone out there is doing well

and having a lovely fall.......

what texture!

a random shuttered window

thanks for checking in!

__a

Open Studios at Cardinal Arts

here are some (rather bad) photos of my Open Studios

we opened over the Bank holiday weekend

and the turnout was.......

terrible

am hoping this weekend will bring more people in

(should mention that the inspiration for these bird charms

came from the amazing, amazing, amazing artist Geninne)

the people that do come in

are full of compliments

about the work and the set-up

my studio is at one end of the town

so it seems to be difficult to get people down here

altho, there are others near here -

and we are listed in the catalogue

and right next to the Buttercup Café!

we'll see what happens

am still optimistic!

lovely felted bags by Get Felt

and the diaphanous knitted shrugs or capelettes

by Tuscan Handknits

(despite the name, she is a local maker)

I have sold the "capelette" hanging above the bags

LOVE to bags! they are knitted and then felted

fantastic colours and shapes

have sold a couple of those too

the funny thing is that I just happen to be in

my studio during the week

all the publicity states the studio is open

on the weekends

but have had more sales during the week

from people just randomly wandering in!

go figure

it is a sunny day today

which is nice

even tho there is definitely a nip in the air

fall is coming soon!

and so is my mother!

she arrives next week - just in time to see the end of my show

then mother, me and S are going on holiday

we rented a gîte in France for 10 days

cannot wait

so looking forward to relaxing......

have a stack of books waiting

but before then

wish me luck!

have a wonderful weekend!

and a big hello to a couple new followers

thank you for wanting to be included in my ramblings!

Artwave getting closer

well, here I am;

still working towards getting my studio ready

for the Lewes Open Studios:

Artwave

some very patient stuffed birds

waiting for their tails to be sewn shut

while these two are waiting for someone to come

and take them home with them!

other birds in progress

these are made with clay and hand painted

how cute are these?!

more clay birds covered in various papers and tissue

ready to be strung up with beads

like this

(hand not included)

more mini canvases

that will eventually look like these

I made earlier

I also want to do more

of my usual free machine stitched pieces

similar to this

in this terrible photo

I tried to show you one piece I finished for the show

detail of above picture

was experimenting with silk embroidery

lots more to do!!

oh! and I did get selected to join the

volunteer stitchers for the

Battle of Lewes Tapestry

I start next week

am hoping I can take some photos

of the progress to show you

have a sunny, creative weekend everyone

and thank you, thank you

for stopping by!