November Happenings

 

I have a love/hate relationship with the grey days of Autumn. On the one hand they are really depressing and the light is terrible for working in or photographing anything and you have to layer up and my shoes usually leak so I have soggy socks and wet toes. But on the other hand, you can appreciate little wonders like a totally bejewelled spider palace in the plant pots, which just illuminates how clever these little eight legged creatures are, you can get cosy inside with candles and autumnal decorations and fluffy socks, and the thrill of Christmas and Christmas plans is starting to tingle and buzz just a little bit. 

But then again, viruses start to rear their ugly, snotty heads and all three of us have been struck with various lingering coughs, runny noses, blocked ears, hot/cold fevers and general sluggishness. I was doing really well keeping up with my blog posts and was going to have written an on-time Stitchscape Swap post, but then ended up spending two days under blankets on the sofa with Baby F as he was really poorly and just wanted lots of mummy cuddles. 

Luckily we didn't particularly have anywhere to be on those days, although managed a gentle walk in the afternoons as it was sunny and I thought it might help him to sleep at night if he'd had some light exercise. There's only so much children's TV I can put up with too. When I was nap-trapped I had a Stitchscape project on hand (of course) by the side of the sofa so that I didn't need to disturb him by getting up and down. I am almost finished with this one now, I just need a bit of inspiration for my rocks to make them more exciting. It turns out I may not have the correct colour of bead - unbelievable I know! - and may have to go bead shopping...

I also really love what Autumn does to the trees. I love the leaves changing colour, the bold colours of them against a blue sky or grey pavement. I love kicking them and throwing them in the air to make Baby F laugh. We've made pictures with them, I've pressed some pretty ones and displayed them on my wall too. 

I've been enjoying my coffee mornings with slow stitching. Even from the photo above it has changed quite a lot, and has even more changes from when it was started in the summer. For starters it was 12cm not the 15cm one it now is, and it has an extra fabric at the top which I've snuck in to fill the calico gap, and the stones are at the bottom for the same reason. I don't think you can tell and I'll go more into the story of this one when I've finished it and it has its own post. It will need a name though, any suggestions? I've started looking up fun place names in the UK so if you have any good place names near you, do pass them on.

 

My Christmas workshop with Juicy Lemons is now advertised and available to book via their website, here. We initially thought to just make cards in the workshop but will also offer for little tiny hoops so I have been working on another sample of a tiny hoop to add to the adverts. It's been surprisingly slow even though it's only about 8cm. I keep taking it around with me but can't seem to find the right gold thread which has stumped me. My supplier is out of stock of the colour I want and the one I have from them as a substitute is an oddly green gold rather than a nice warm gold gold. If you get what I mean. I do need to get a wiggle on with this though so it's on the priority list!

Our weekend just gone was manic. On the Saturday I had a Christmas workshop at Made and Making, the last one of the year with them (I'll put that in a separate post), and Sunday I was at the Victoria Pavilion Arts Festive Market all day. It was such a great day, there were lots of people I recognised as past customers, current customers, from groups I've given talks or workshops too, and from various different areas of my world so it was great to see everyone. Plus it was a lucrative endeavour which was good because I'd been so stressed about it in the run up with my preparation plans delayed by illness and other things creeping in so I didn't feel prepared for it at all. I must admit, sales from my online shops haven't been as high as they have been in previous years and it is a bit worrying, especially as this sales event was the only one I planned for this year. Times are hard for everyone so any sale I make is appreciated. 

Lots of kits that sold are intended as Christmas gifts and I get such a warm little jiggy feeling inside at the thought of all of these people unwrapping a kit that I have personally designed, photographed, made, drawn, written, cut, compiled, packaged..... I really hope you all like your gifts!

And finally, as always, the months are shorter than I think they are - we are already at the 20th November and I have just started thinking about the Poppy Fields Stitchscape Swap cards due in 10 days! Eeek! Better stop chatting and get a wiggle on.