Woodland Walks September ATC Swap

I've enjoyed seeing this swap theme come in. It's had a nice little element of variety, from green lush woodland, to turning autumnal woodland, to mushrooms (which you know I love), to bird boxes, pink Cyclamen, leaves and a gorgeous fox. We've even got a very topical Queen Elizabeth I wandering through the woods with her good pal Paddington and a little Corgi. 

I love that these things can be incorporated. The idea behind the swap themes initially was for them to mirror what was happening with the seasons so that there was a lot of inspiration around to draw from and I love that this has actually proved true. Not only are the seasons being mirrored in these cards, but events that happen during the months in which they are made sneak in as well which is so lovely. 

I see a lot of light in these, through the use of colours and light and dark shades. It really mirrors and reflects the dappling you have on a walk through a woodland landscape, the light pouring through the canopy in some places and just trickling in in others. 

We are still having new members join the swap group, although sadly we've also had several leave for various reasons. A lot can happen in a year as I know all too well! So far this year I've had a baby, welcomed several friends' babies as well, got a mortgage and moved into my first home with my gorgeous partner, been offered many opportunities, put on a few extra pounds, definitely grown some more grey hairs, lost a family member, seen the end of one royal reign and the tentative beginnings of a new one. The year is not even finished!

It has kept things fresh for my spreadsheet though I suppose and has made it slightly easier to make sure that everyone gets work from someone new each month. Those who have been with me from the start are starting to pose a slight difficulty as they have nearly gone through the whole list of other members. It's a good difficulty to have! I like having new members join and, for next year, have reached out to all of the embroidery and stitching groups that I have recently given talks or workshops to, in the hope that more people will join in. I am also teaching a workshop specifically on ATCs to a group in Brighton in July next year. If you are in a group, please feel free to share this swap with them and see if any would like to jump in. 

It's interesting, some people's work has developed and changed over the course of the year as they've tried new things (these little cards are easy to try a new technique on because they are so little), and others have made their favourite techniques fit in with the themes which is really great to see. There are several restrictions for these cards so it can be hard to get too experimental, they need to be fairly flat so as to fit into a standard letter size, and they have to be the set size of an ATC. Composition can be tough in a small space as, often in my case, I want to add more and more and sometimes you have to remember that less is actually more for these tiny things. (I still don't really remember that in the heat of the embroidery moment though.)

As always, I have updated the ATC section on my blog with close up images of each of these cards for you to have a look at, along with all of the other themes which are there for you to see - plus the proposed themes for next year. If you have been uhmming and aahhing about joining, definitely do! Even if you just try one month to see if you like it. Pop me an email at sales@dottytextiles.com and I'll send you the info on how to join in. 

Slow Memories

One of the nicest things about embroidery is that it is slow. It is mediative and thoughtful and gives you time to breathe and think and work through any bothers or emotions. For the last couple of weeks, I have had a lot to think about - I have had some difficult and uncertain news from my part time job, an amazing but scary and 'is it achievable?' opportunity offered to me which would mean a new direction for my (and my family's) future. I'm trying to get used to travelling back and forth between my home and my hometown for Rainbows and Guides, baby sensory and rhyme time, as well as looking ahead and booking talks, workshops and events for next year under my Dotty Textiles business, and basically just keeping it all together. 

Among all of this, we sadly, and unexpectedly, lost my Grandmother - the last of my Grandparents and possibly one of the biggest supporters of my embroidery business. Her home was where my studio was and she would always be asking me how I was doing and what I had sold or created recently, discussing where I wanted to take the business and coming to events to show support where she could. 

Today was her funeral. A lovely service in the church of her choosing - a small little place in a local village where she was born and grew up. She had always expressed her wish to be buried there, in the same burial ground as her own Grandmother, and had fond memories of the village which she would often tell. 

You don't really think of your grandparents as young people - it's almost as if they were born old and you only know the last quarter of their lives so they can't have been doing much before you came along. But Americ (we weren't allowed to call her granny or anything similar) was a very rebellious, curious person, with many interests and fantastic stories. She had travelled all around the world and brought back many souvenirs - especially rocks which she chipped out with a little hammer and often smuggled back in her bra or dirty underwear, assuming no one would check. She joined writing and art classes, never washed her own hair (visiting a hairdresser on a weekly basis for a chat, a wash, and the odd top up of her roots - going grey was never an option), studied geology through an adult education class, was a keen gardener with a vegetable garden, and loved hot and spicy foods, growing her own chilies every year with the quest of making them hotter and hotter. For Christmas I would often try and find strange pickles and chutneys, as hot as I could find them, and I'll never forget one year when she cracked open a jar and ate a massive spoonful, nearly disappearing through the ceiling with steam coming out her ears at the heat of the contents. 

I think it's been said before that people would love to attend their own funerals. Nearly everyone she had loved was there, including people she hadn't seen for years but had admired her or knew her well at some point. Many had travelled a great distance and she would have loved sitting down chatting to them, holding court as a guest of honour with all of her nearest and dearest. We really should make sure to find time to meet up more with the people we love - not wait until it's too late. 

There were many memories banded around today, and little touches of Americ's personality dotted here and there. From the Paco Peña flamenco music played in the service (we went to see several of his shows in London and Brighton together), to the jazz which reminded me of summer days at her house growing up and the jazz CDs playing throughout the house and wafting into the garden through the open doors and windows. She loved the colour purple, would wear it often, had purple plates on the table, purple vases, jugs and watering cans, painted her walls purple, and has been honoured with a bright purple coffin. Something she definitely would have approved of. 

She will be greatly missed by everyone as somebody who spoke their mind, didn't "bandy about the bush" and always had something to say, but who took us all out for meals at her favourite Chinese and Italian restaurants, whisked us away to the Natural History Musuem when we were younger and got in trouble for fondling the giant urn silverware because it was begging to be touched. She drank sometimes a little too much, enjoyed playing the piano, retired from nursing about four times but kept going back to work somewhere else in some capacity, and seemed to overcome many odds. 

The sky this evening was a beautiful colour, one she would have loved and appreciated whilst sitting on a bench in her garden with a glass of something alcoholic and maybe a book. I'm glad she got to meet Finley, and that our final conversation was about how well he was doing and how happy I was with my new home and my little family. Now I imagine she'll be up there, somewhere, reminiscing with all of the others gone before her and waving her arms in an expressive manner whilst telling a fantastical story of her exploits whilst they were gone. 

Paper Trees

With the ATC swap that I am hosting this year I have tried to get the themes to match the seasons so that there is lots of topical inspiration around when creating. Following on from my last post about our visit to Sheffield Park and seeing all of the gorgeous, rustling leaves I wanted to get that same feeling in the October cards which have the theme, Autumn Blaze. With the leaves crunching underfoot, they sound quite rustle-y, and I did consider trying to use actual leaves somehow in these cards but decided that it probably wouldn't be lasting as the leaves would disintegrate fairly quickly. 

Instead, I have used papers, trying to get a selection of different textures and colours to create more of an interest. Having considered hand cutting hundreds of little, tiny leaf shapes, I decided instead to take the slightly quicker route of using a hole punch and basically creating paper sequins to stitch down and layer. My only concern is that they might look a little like fish scales? I'm hoping not too much though. 

I have stitched a few single ones part way down the trunks to represent falling leaves, as I had a couple land on me when walking round Sheffield Park, and also a little floor of leaves at the bottom of the card. 

I do really like the fact that the punched circles kind of rustle if you run your hands over them. They are only stitched with one little stitch on one side so they kind of stick up a bit and can be manipulated slightly so there is good fun to be hand with the rustling aspect. One of the papers was also shiny and a little see-through so it is a nice contrast to the heavier handmade papers or the brown and orange sugar papers. 

I know the theme was Autumn Blaze and there is a lot of colour connotation with that but I'm wondering whether I can have too much autumnal colour in one card? I think I'm just going to edge the fabrics that still have visible raw edges, and maybe add some french knots to the leaf litter, but other than that, these are pretty much done!

I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else comes up with for this swap. The September swap is a little late being sent back out to everyone as we have been waiting for cards to come in around various illnesses and postal strikes delaying things!

Sheffield Park in October

Look at this little chap. 6 months old already!! 

October is a busy month for our family. We have many birthdays crammed into it (and another baby overdue to join the October gang. Not mine, I hasten to add!) so there is a lot of cake and singing and trips out to various places. 

Last weekend we went to Sheffield Park, one of our favourite places, and were blessed with gorgeous sunny, balmy weather. The ducks were in fine fettle (we always take some duck food with us) and the park was packed with visitors keen to see the changing colours and embrace everything autumn. At this time of year you have to book entry because it is so popular with art and photography groups who come to see the planting around the pond and try to capture the colours - it is a very photogenic set of trees!

As well as the gorgeous colours and reflections in the ponds and lakes, I love going at this time of the year on mushroom/toadstool spotting expeditions. Sadly, this time round, a lot of the toadstools had been kicked down - something I don't really understand why parents let their children do. Mine certainly won't be trampling toadstools down when he is old enough to walk round and help me look for them. The below two toadstools, which were resplendent when we walked past them on our way to the cafe, were completely squished an hour later when we walked back past them to the car - they were even behind fencing!! I'm glad I took the time to photograph them when they looked so pretty. 

I walk around this place with my head swivelling like mad, looking up to see the contrast of the brightly coloured leaves with the blue sky behind them and then down to spot little shrooms nestled in grasses or on tree stumps. Bushes at eye level with their bright berries also vie to catch your eye and, with the rustling of the leaves underfoot it's a hugely sensory experience. Definitely book to visit if you can!!