Winter cloth finished. Slow stitching.

 At last this piece is finished. 6weeks solid stitching but worth it.

 Each little square became an achievement in itself and a daily goal so it was like a calendar of Winter, recording the cold blustery,wet days as well as the landscape. There in the centre are the bare trees in the winter wood, all twigs and movement. In the field squares around it are furrows, sunshine and the crossed out days of illness. I decided to leave some blank to allow calm and silkiness to contrasdt the busy stitched squares. There are french knots around the wood to lead you in and add a raised texture.

 Last picture are of silk cards - little magic carpets to go to the exhibition in April at the Guild at 51.

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.

Hand stitched cards.

 I have made a few field cards to sell at the exhibition. Little patchwork textures.

Today is my 65th birthday. I can get a bus pass and at some point during the next year a pension. Slowing down and always more tired it shouldn't come as a surprise but I always ask myself How did that happen?

All yellow

 If you remember my winter field book, I drew the oil seed rape in leaf (looking like cabbage.)

 Now it is in flower and the enormous field has turned bright yellow - a rather acid yellow actually and bad for hay fever sufferers. A long time ago my husband kept bees and the honey they made with this turned solid almost immediately so not wonderful but abundant. Last year this field was barley so this is part of the crop rotation.

 I have been playing with patchwork fields for cards for the exhibition.

Just painted the border for this piece that I stitched last year but never finished. The sunlight on the loops cast wonderful shadows.
Happy Easter to one and all! I shall be away from her for a bit over the holidays. Thanks as always for reading my blog and leaving your comments.

Spots and stripes.

 Last week I found a scrap of tape with spots on that I love and have used every inch of in the past and not seen again in the shops. So I made a card with a guinea fowl feather with a spotty theme. This week, lo and behold I found some striped red legged partridge feathers so am in the process of making a companion card.

 Also working on the field map piece slowly. Herringbone stitch is hedge, long running stitch -road.

Preparations for Crafts Alive at Rodmarton Manor.

Making a few more cards and getting everything packed, labelled and sorted. It always takes longer than you think. I will be stewarding at Rodmarton Manor on Thursday 6th and Sat 8th. On Sunday 9th I will be in a tent on the front lawn demonstrating stitching, printing and painting on fabric. Another thing to sort out! I hope it warms up a little or I will be the one in a tent with all the layers of clothes on. Luckily just finished knitting a shawl so that will be another layer. Definitely Autumnal here now.

Rodmarton Manor 2.

 Yesterday we picked up the brochures for Crafts Alive at Rodmarton Manor. Today we are taking them into Tetbury to distribute about the town. Other members will be doing the same in the county.

 The manor has beautifully decorated drain pipes. Here is a monkey and my interpretation.

 I am making a few cards but it is slow progress.

Perhaps it is the weather! This pied wagtail because I watched a pair by Lake Coniston on holiday, bobbing and weaving on the edge of the water.

Snow and exhibition preparations.

 My pictures arrived back from the framer before the big snow.

 I made some cards for the show and then

the beast from the East and storm Emma hit. Large quantities of snow arrived with drifts so in our country lanes no one is going anywhere. But we are snug and warm, plenty of food and firewood so just hunkering down and waiting for the thaw.

I have been totally distracted bird watching from my window, we put out boards on the snow this morning with seed and it is lovely to watch who comes. This female pheasant on the wall is well camouflaged and the colours are beautiful, it would make a lovely embroidery. The last time we had snow like this ( and with such low temperatures) was in Dec 1981 when my son was born. The village was cut off for a couple of days then. It seems unlikely that we will get to Newark Park on Monday to put up the exhibition as planned. Not really important, keeping everyone safe and warm is the important thing.

Wren - sketch and stitch.

A card commission for a wren. A little bird but a loud one, hard to spot but easy to hear! I don't usually do commissions but this one was quick and enjoyable.

A few more stitched cards.

 A few more stitched cards made for the exhibition. I had my plucky blackbird in mind. The one with feathers missing around his neck. A cat pounced maybe or magpies attacked? Last year I saw a pair of blackbirds fighting off magpies to protect a young chick. Very distressing because magpies and jackdaws are persistent. I know, they all have to eat and all have young to feed.

So yesterday it was back down the Fosse Way ( an old Roman Road) to Chipping Campden, a picturesque Cotswold town with yellow stone cottages, topiary, hollyhocks and tourists! The exhibition is small but very pretty and with tempting things to buy which I succumbed to straight away. I enjoyed my morning very much - new earrings and a new scarf! Well you can't have too many can you?

Handmade embroidered cards.

Cards for the Summer Delights exhibition. The birds in the garden and feeding at the bird cafe are a delight. There have been many baby birds. The blackbirds have been successful this year. Old man blackbird is faithful to the garden and waits for me to go out with food. I know it is the same bird because he has been in the wars and lost a chunk of feathers at the back of his neck. I am still pondering and working on some ideas to produce a summer garden piece.

More cards - pen and stitch.

Avocet, water rail, dandelion head and fieldfare- looking back through my sketchbook and drawing onto calico with a gel pen. Free machine stitching and a wash of water to make the ink bleed a little.