Not Just Stitching

It must seem as though I do nothing but stitch and I must admit the last few weeks have felt like that. I'm so glad the sun called me into the garden today for a couple of hours of weeding. I would have missed the sweet perfume of the Daphne, the emerging cyclamen, the first Anemone blanda, the Hellebores, the berries on the Gladwyn Iris, the last of the aconites and the marbled Arum leaves that are just at their best. It wasn't exactly warm but the sun on my face was just what I needed.

I may not have been stitching but lot's of crafting has been worked at over the past week or so.

After the inspirational talk by Linda Monk at the Guild last Saturday my friend Paula and I got together on Monday for a play day. 

We were overwhelmed with all the products at our disposal and agreed next time we would limit ourselves to a much smaller selection of stuff to play with. Children and too many toys come to mind. However one or two lovely pieces happened and will bear further experimentation.

On the same day I started a week long on-line course with Dionne Swift info@dionneswift.co.uk I could fill a book with all the reasons why I think this is the future of teaching for the more experienced student. I have always thought that I would miss the 'classroom' atmosphere and lack of peer inspiration but I have found that I have been able to work and think at a much greater depth than I can in a usual one or two day course. I have been crafting for a long time and I'm familiar with most media, I just need silence to concentrate ( I admit that could be age related) and lot's of thinking time, classes have started to stress me with their speed and too much content. The fact that this course is one of the most professional that I have seen also helps. I think she has brought some interesting work out of me. Thoroughly recommended!