“Time is what we want most, but… what we use worst.”

Today I’ve been trying to manage my time. I’m setting alarm clocks so I get two hours for each task…garden, housework,making, writing, Hand &Lock attempt… I’m already behind schedule, unwashed ( didn’t factor in that bit!) and surrounded by small bits of chaos. It was a great weekend.It certainly makes you feel a bit more inspired when you sell a few things and the art fair at Rural Arts was a great success for me.One of the nicest things though was meeting old friends and making some new ones; talking about our experiences and sharing our common fears about our creative lives. Jane Carlisle makes silk applique landscapes, Jorja Wilkinson designs interior fabrics and Jo works at the Joe Cornish Gallery which is currently running a photography competition if you are interested…

I’d had some more cards printed with three new designs and these along with the bird peg boards will be in my Etsy shop as soon as I get around to refurbishing it, it’s closed at the moment while I do a virtual dust of the shelves and brushing up of  the cobwebs.

So, here on Witchmountain it has become almost earily silent now that the wind and rain has stopped. A whole month of miserable weather has left the garden battered and bruised. It has been so bad that mice have invaded the house which they usually only do in autumn, moles have made a city under the asparagus patch and I’m wondering how to bribe my kids to help me do a big tidy up because its so hard to concentrate on anything else when you’re surrounded by jobs that need doing and being harrassed by small mammals.

At some point I will have to decide whether to invest more time in my Hand &Lock entry…I’ve got some great fabric samples from a company that specialises in outdoor/high performance fabrics and lotsof ideas but not much time until first stage entries need to be in (June 30th). As well as this I’m thinking of doing the Sketchbook Project again. This year it comes to London as well as visiting Vancouver which is quite appropriate! My sketchbook has now been digitised which is so exciting. At last I can see it again, and in order, like a real book. I’d love to know what you think and if any of you are thinking of taking part this year?

Hmmmm, time for my next task…making a moose necklace commission!

Reading “The Help” Kathryn Stockett    Listening to: A play on Radio 4 about catching moles!!

Heat Haze

Today I took a sheet of paper and in Sharpie pens of various colours wrote PLANS . Then there was a knock at the door and all the day’s plans went to pot when the man who had come to mend the chimney kept me talking for hours about everything from Art College education in the 60′s  and onwards to building regulations in the National Park. All in all quite an interesting afternoon but my asparagus plants have remained un-planted and my list of plans does not look convincingly thought out, let alone implemented!

Last week I bought myself a new set of pens for making necklaces and feel as though I’ve really got the hang of it now, so I’ve been making painted boards to display them on and trying to pluck up the courage to take them around a few shops .

Well it’s been amazingly beautiful weather the last few days and it must have gone to my head because I decided to enter the Hand and Lock competition. I have obviously fried my brain lolling on the trampoline; after paying the entrance fee, re-reading the brief and looking at some previous submissions I wonder what on earth I was thinking!  However, I’m hoping that having a project to work on will focus my mind much as the Sketchbook Project did earlier in the year. Talking of which, I got a message on Facebook today from Julie Fordham who had been to see the sketchbooks which have been in her home town, Atlanta, Georgia. It was lovely to see photos of my book on tour so thank you Julie ( Have a look at her book , I love it and can’t wait until later in the year when alot of the sketchbooks will be digitized)

So, it really is time I got on with something so I’ll leave you with this picture of Helmsley Castle and  The Walled Garden. Last Friday I had my first day working in the Vine House cafe  and nearly cooked myself as it is in a greenhouse and it was the hottest day ever. I’m not really designed for hard work in extreme temperatures, nor for enforced coffee rationing (!)but despite being exhausted I must admit it was a lovely environment to be working in and the food is delicious.

“12 Hours of Sunset”

Looking west this evening, my phone pictures never do it justice , but the sky ranged from lead grey to vanilla (“I’ll see you in another life when we are both cats”) and gold . I spent ages watching a curlew, I love the sound they make- so mournful and yet it managed to wring a smile out of me.

Looking down from the new bridge at Blow Gill…the river has smoothed out the rock and it’s an almost stupidly beautiful place, if it weren’t for the nasty old ants that mean you can’t stay still for a moment.

So, today I’ve been printing out labels for the work that I will be taking to York next week and reading the Hand and Lock book I bought for inspiration (lovely book but unlike Ario, rubbish delivery times and maddly expensive p&p)Its time I got some fresh inspiration because my muse left today, flying away though those big grey clouds to Vancouver ( hopefully not using the compass above or he’ll end up in Australia- because some fool printed it backwards-I’ve just noticed!).

So…next time I write I promise I’ll be cheerful, this blog isn’t about to become an introspective misery memoir! Here’s wishing Gazz all the fun and adventures a boy could wish for and don’t forget to watch out for bears! x

2009 Degree Show

Since I last wrote I have been to Hartlepool twice to see the Degree Shows at CCAD. The opening night was very busy and brought back all sorts of memories from last year. It was lovely to see some familiar faces and catch up with people a little bit, as well as seeing the end result of all the hard work I’ve been reading about on various blogs.An instant favorite was Holly Flanagan’s amazing dresses, featuring bold prints and jewel like embroidered neck-pieces.The embroidery was so original and fresh, very inspiring. I think she is entering the Hand and Lock Competition this year so I’d like to wish her good luck.

I’ve been working on some new designs and found out I’d sold a piece in Japan which is good news amongst the gloom of a wet June day. I’ve also been making a few little bits and pieces to take to York for the Embroiderer’s Guild exhibition.I’m not sure if I’ll be allowed to sell stuff but I need to fill the table anyway.Its a shame the exhibition clashes with the next Designer’s Marketplace in Middlesbrough on the 28th.

Now, time to reheat the coffee and finish some sewing. I just finished my last  (and decidedly weirdest) Moomin book, “Moominpappa at Sea”, and have that horrible feeling you get when you finish a book and feel a bit bereft!

Snow

The snow has almost gone now but this was my “Little House on Witchmountain” last Thursday. Its been a while since we got such deep snow; Sara took the batteries out of the TV remote and managed to get these pictures before the camera gave up the ghost again.

In between struggling to think up some Spring designs ( not easy with the snow hiding all sign of green), I managed to make these little shoes for my niece’s new baby daughter Chloe.

I think they’re really cute but I haven’t tested the pattern on an actual baby so I hope they fit. How big are baby’s feet, I can’t remember?!

Its been quiet on the blog lately so it was heartening to get a lovely comment from Solomon, a Hand and Lock prizewinner who had stumbled upon Witchmountain while looking for work by Maria Lavigina.Have a look at his work on the Hand and Lock website.Thank you Solomon.

“I Sit At My Table…”

This was the scene at my kitchen table yesterday as I tried to do some canvasses using worn out heat transfer stencils, paint and stitch. I’m looking for things I can make that people might actually buy, since the designs I’m doing for New Leaf are only garment shapes.Other than buyers in the fashion industry, who wants half a dress or just the front of a cardigan!? Anyway, I’m not sure about the canvas idea because as soon as you make something that is intended for someone’s wall then it starts to call itself ART and that is a whole other ballgame…!

I hung some of my latest creations on the line in the sun, before they got posted off. They looked quite sweet and made me feel as though they would look good as real garments, in fact I might have to make some and see if I can borrow a small child to model them!

Yesterday I had a look at the Hand and Lock website to see who had won this year’s prize. Two of Maria Lavigina’s images are shown below and the stitching is so immaculate it makes me feel as though I’m doing mine with two left hands. This year ( 2009 that is) the competition is open to anyone rather than just students so I’ve downloaded the brief, just in case!

Now I must go and see if my neighbour can lend me some chicken food because its getting dangerous setting foot outside the door, those little beasts are ravenous!