From the sublime ...

I spent a wonderful weekend on the Embroiderers’ Guild Summer School at Alston Hall on the course run by the delightful Lucy Smethurst.

I have long admired Lucy’s work, especially her exquisitely worked jewellery boxes. I think I’d chuck the jewels and just keep the box! Not that I’m likely to be given either jewels or box!!!

Lucy was so organised and patient and very generously showed us how to work with rouleaux and beautiful appliqué and cutwork.

Sitting there, calmly and peacefully hand-stitching was ‘just what the doctor ordered’ and I came away feeling relaxed and re-motivated …

… for this …

This is the interior of my garage. When I moved to my present home, nearly five years ago, I brought with me so much ‘stuff’ which wouldn’t fit into my much smaller house and, of course, it all ended up in the garage. My car has lived outside ever since and more and more ‘stuff’ has accumulated.

I have spent the past few days amongst the dust and cobwebs, ‘sorting and siding’ and visiting the local tip ...

... it says 'Here to help' on the back of their jackets ... but you mostly see the back of their jackets

… when this has been your main source of human contact for the last week it’s good to keep the end in mind. A workroom! I have been scribbling ‘plans’ of where everything is going to go in my new space and working out colour schemes and getting very excited. There’s a long way to go but I keep telling myself it’ll be so worth it in the end.

Of course, having a workroom (I can’t say ‘studio’) will remove all those excuses about not having the space/table/right conditions in which to work. All that will be left will be ‘time’ but having the right conditions will surely make me want to stay home and create? Please say ‘Yes’???

I shall invite friends to 'make' rather than 'lunch'?

As a bit of a boost to my very easily-dented confidence I went with Jackie to the Preview of the West Lancashire Open Exhibition at the Chapel Gallery in Ormskirk on Friday. I tried hard not to show how excited I was at having a piece selected for display – jumping up and down would have been a bit ‘infra dig’, I suspect - but I did succumb to having my picture taken with ‘Pool at the Jardin Majorelle 2’.

So ... watch this space for a progress report?