Stitched Little bird to say Merry Christmas.

This is my Christmas card for this year. Little bird says Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. Thank you for following or looking in at this blog from time to time. Hope you enjoy the holiday and have a relaxed, peaceful time with family and friends.

Falling leaves.

 I have been struggling on with this piece of falling leaves. Back and front shown here. whew too much stitching for one small piece and I should not have put so much on the background so now I am taking some out. It is a reminder to work all over a piece rather than finish one section at a time. Richard Box said on a workshop years ago - you wouldn't finish the eye on a whole body portrait and then go on to the head body, arms etc. work it all up together. So looking at this small piece I can see so much wrong with it. Better leave it for a bit I think and come back after Christmas with fresh eyes.

Dark,wet days here- to cheer myself up I have been working on my meditation circle and back to winter colours and border circles. These are lovely to do because the cloth changes under my fingers as the small circle is worked. The colours are restrained but that is lovely too. And I am getting into the corners of the large circle back to the winter colours. I have taken out stitching on this piece too- some of the heavier wool - it is better in silk and cottons. Hope to get the bottom border done and start thinking about Spring.
I hope your Christmas preparations are going well, it all gets a little crazy and I am waiting for that big hush when it all settles down and there is time and space to relax. Shortest day soon and then we turn the corner.

The Avening Little Book of Baking on Radio Gloucester.

 On Sat 14th Dec at 10.10am I am going, with other contributers, to be on our local Radio Glos talking to Faye Hatcher about the Little Book of Baking. Sales are going well.

Westonbirt Enchanted Christmas.

 Last night we saw the trees all lit up at Westonbirt Aboretum for their 'Enchanted Christmas' walk. My pictures did not come out very well but it was wonderful to see the tree shapes in a different way.

The Little Book of Baking - Avening Community Cafe.

 Yesterday was our book launch of The Little Book of Baking. Recipes supplied by people in the village who make terrific cakes for the community cafe. Each recipe has its own story.

We displayed the original artworks for people to see. 

 An early customer -Lil Adams, in front, who was leading a pom-pom workshop. Clare, standing behind her, did the most marvellous job of designing and editing the book. A very exciting morning and we sold about 60 copies which was brilliant for a fairly quiet cafe. All proceeds after printing costs go to the cafe. A marvellous success at bringing people together in a small rural village with no shops and limited bus services. We are lucky to have a Primary School but for older people the cafe is a hub to the village and somewhere to have a chat and meet up with new and old friends. You can recycle stuff and choose a book from the book swap table. There are workshops most weeks and of course coffee and delicious cake.

Perpetual journal pages- Nov.

 Here are my November pages in my perpetual journal. Some more full than others, depending on how busy the week was. That pesky date stamp has crept back in too - you turn your back for one minute......

Slow stitch - circles and Autumn colour.

 I have been pondering over the borders on my large meditation circle- the cycle of the seasons.I began some small cicles and really enjoyed them. So this side is the autumn border, from the colours outside the window and autumn leaves. I have used either a variegated thread or 2 strands of different colour silk or cotton so that the colour isn't too flat but contrasts with the large middle circle. These are spirals for the unwinding effect.

 Autumn leaves gathered and pressed flat. Below at Westonbirt Aboretum - Lime Avenue.The leaves shone on a rather damp misty morning.

Little bird finished.

The Great Tit, holly and ivy is finished. It took about 11-12 days which is quick for me! I have worked on it most days. Now ready to get some cards done. I will get it framed eventually. The news is that The Glos Guild of Craftsmen are going to take over Rodmarton mManor again next Sept for a large exhibition and events, so I will start putting togther a body of work for that. It will take me all year and with the gallery in Cheltenham to supply that is enough to keep me busy. The recipe booklet is now going to the printers and we hope to have out for sale by Dec3rd. I have my cake pieces back ready to mount and sell on that date. The people who supplied the recipe get first refusal.

Knitted squares blanket.

 I have been knitting this for months and months. I used up all my oddments of 4 ply, left over from knitting mittens and an odd pair of socks. I bought a few extra balls and luckily found a stash in a charity shop. It is a mitred square pattern where you pick up stitches from the previous square so no tedious stitching together of patches. You decrease down the middle of the row. Difficult to explain but plenty of instructions on u-tube etc. It is so comforting to knit.

I will use it as a studio blanket over my knees or round my shoulders on those chilly days. Like today. Woke up to snow! Very early for snow here. Turned very slushy now. We Brits love to talk about our weather. How can anyone deny climate change? As Beth would say-'don't get me started'

Garden bird - great tit- in stitch

 The cold weather has bought the birds back to the garden bird feeders- yes the bird cafe is busy with visitors! Great tits and blue tits are present all day so my next new piece features a great tit. Hoping to use this as a Christmas card which means getting on speedily. Well there is always next year if it takes too long!

meditation words finished.

 All finished and it's going on my studio wall. It helped me concentrate in yoga on Wednesday. All the words are prompts to help me relax my muscles and calm my mind. So I can't touch my toes but I can try to relax fully and find a quiet mind.

The central image is a visual unwind message. The final word a promt to let go all the tension in my face ( I really have to nag myself to relax those jaw muscles!) and then the smile appears inside and out. It is a nice format and hope to do some more pieces this shape and size.

stitched meditation.

 I began a new piece of work at the weekend - a kind of spin off or second piece to my large meditation circle. I have been trying to think of what to do in the borders of this large piece and had an idea of words that calm the mind. I decided to make a small piece just for myself. So I have been thinking of a series of words that could take me into a peaceful place. (Like at the end of yoga in corpse pose) Choosing quiet and gentle colours. Not sure if the stitching is working but hurray that stitches can be undone if I change my mind.

 I thought I would stitch a word each day and think deeply about that word throughout the day. Difficult to choose just a few words but some trigger a response more than others. I wonder what your words would be?

Yesterday morning - a walk to Cherington pond. Calm and serene with autumn colours. (also very damp and muddy!)

october perpetual journal.

Here are the entries for October in my perpetual journal. I have put all the pages together and will now make the cover. This is volume 2. Just 2 volumes and I realised I needed an inventory in the back of each because I forget what I have drawn! Also if I need to look things up for reference. Amazing that in 2 more months I will be coming around to Jan again.

Cards and berries.

 Finished cards - Merlin, landscape, swan, pebbles, dahlia monoprint and squiggle monoprint.

And those blue berries with pink petals are Harlequin Glorybower. What a name! Clerodendrum trichotomum. E and S Asis. Westonbirt Aboretum. There are other varieties . See yesterdays photo.

Card making and autumn colour at Westonbirt Aboretum.

I have finished all the recipe book illustrations so I am card making. That means I get out the box where I put all the unfinished bits of embroidery and samples and make them into cards. I sell them in the Guild at fiftyone for £10 each. Steep for a card but if someone framed them, excellent value for a little picture. They also fill that gap between sending someone a present or a card. A bit more special and you can put them in the post. They need a bit of finishing off and presenting nicely so I find something good on the radio to listen to and buckle down.

 We have had our first frost but yesterday was spectacular at Westonbirt Aboretum. We went early - the hour change helped. By the time we left there were queques to get in - everyone else had the same idea. The car tail back on the road went on for a couple of miles. These berries above will feature in the perpetual journal. Liz Brooke-Ward was showing her amazing embroidery in the oak hall. If you don't know her work, look up~ mylittledoglovesme~ on Instagram.