Chicks And Classic Cars

Boy is it hot!

Looks like Summer has arrived and it is lovely, though my brain seems to have turned to mush. That is partly because of the baby birds who are growing up in my chimney pot, waking me up at 5am because they are hungry! Their parents arrived late in March and since then there have been weird scrabbling noises and lots of squeaking at unearthly hours. I like birds, but I am beginning to wish they would hurry up and grow feathers, learn to fly and go off and find their own worms! As soon as that happens I'm getting a roofer over to cap the chimney pot! Weirdly, this hasn't happened in the 20 years we have lived here, but there is a lot of major road construction going on locally so the birds have probably lost some of their habitat.

All because we humans like our cars!

We visited Tatton Park in Cheshire at the weekend to see the Classic car Show.

 It's amazing to me just how much some humans LOVE their cars.

 I do enjoy the convenience and freedom my car gives me, but to be honest, I am a bit car-blind. I have been known to walk past my own husband in our car and not recognise that it was him. So it was all a bit lost on me, but Mr Dotty does like to take photographs (mostly of the people with the cars).

 I enjoyed sauntering around in the sunshine, taking in the sights.

 We haven't been to Tatton for a couple of years so it was a treat to mooch around the gardens.

It is difficult to see from the photo, but this lady was wearing a beautiful floral dress and hat that perfectly matched the oranges of the flowers.

The Italian garden is very beautiful and has a view that reaches beyond the garden itself. It would be a fabulous venue for a cocktail party and I like to imagine sweeping down the steps in a floaty gown and banging a dinner gong to call the kids in for their tea!

I was a bit worried that this lady was going to topple over the wall as she looked quite precarious and had already almost fallen into the little box hedge as it wasn't strong enough to be sat on!

How have you been enjoying the sunshine?

Busy Stitching

I have been busy stitching at my studio space at Makers' Place Macclesfield. I'm enjoying the productivity, being among creative people and chatting to the public.

But boy, am I tired! It has been a hectic few weeks with family stuff and I'm still learning to balance working and being away from the house with all the jobs that need to be done at home, trying to build up my running again and finding time to see friends! Though I don't miss the distraction of the washing machine beeping to demand that I hang out the washing, it is amazing how quickly the dirty laundry builds up! At least it has been a great few days for drying!

"Home from Home"

"Inspired by Skye"

"Come Rain or Shine"

I'm also looking forward to Artisans in the Palm House at Sefton Park, Liverpool on 29th & 30th May. It will be a fantastic weekend, especially if it is sunny- come on over!

Hope you have been enjoying the warmer weather.

My New Venture

I am delighted to tell you that I was recently accepted to take a studio/ selling space at the Makers' Place at the Heritage Centre in Macclesfield.

It is a bright, airy space where a number of makers create and display their work and there is also a museum, shop and a lovely cafe.

I began to set up last Thursday. My space is between two corner spaces and has a big windows on either side letting in lots of light. I have acquired a lovely big unit with plenty of storage space for my fabrics and a good-sized table to work on.

Much as I love the bright stripes at the front of my unit, I think it calls for something a little more neutral, which I hope to put up this week.

I will be selling small textile artworks as well as larger quilted wall hangings.

This is part of my work space. I will be there on Thursdays and Fridays and also some Saturdays. I also aim to be there on some of the Sundays when the Treacle Market is held in Macclesfield as the cafe and Maker's Place will be open.

 This is my view as I sit working, looking through the doorway to the cafe. I am enjoying chatting to the public about my work and people are often interested to see what I am up to, especially when  my needle-felting machine is clattering away (must find a way to reduce the noise pollution!)

 I plan to be really productive on my studio days. It will make a big change to go out to work and to get away from the many distractions that present themselves when working from home. It will also be amazing to have other creative people to talk to- I have felt increasingly isolated at home recently. It also means that on my days at home I can enjoy doing things there without feeling resentful!

 There are still a few more things to do. I'm going to make a sign for the top middle of the wall and possibly a shelf .

                                       The view through to the shop.

So, if you fancy a trip out to Macclesfield- you could combine it with a look around the Silk Museum- do pop in and have a chat with me, have a cuppa and a browse. I'd love to meet you.

New Venture

Coming soon.... a new venture, a new space to make and sell my work and new creative colleagues to share with....

Art by the Lake

My next stall will be at this event in support of The Calm Zone- a charity dedicated to preventing male suicide.
Please visit if you can.

Getting Creative

Every other Wednesday I join the lovely ladies of the Ten Plus Textiles group to arrange our exhibitions, chat, sew and sometimes eat cake. They are a great source of support, both personal and creative, not to mention a source of inspiration.

As we don't have an exhibition for a little while we decided to kick-start our creative processes with a little practical work. Liliane Taylor, a member of the group, offered to run a workshop for us and generously lugged in lots of materials, dyes, brushes, etc for us to use. Liliane is a professional textile artist, a bright, humorous and lively lady; a real breath of fresh air!

This was an example of work from one of Liliane's students and the kind of effect we were aiming for.

We got stuck in snipping, stitching and painting, with a lot of chatting too!

Working from a source picture or design idea, we cut out shapes from calico and attached them to a calico background with fusible web or stitches.

I isolated shapes from the image of a sculpted angel so it was quite abstract.

We then used Procion dyes to colour the pieces.

It's lovely to see how everyone's work evolves and how different each piece becomes.

This is a detail of Liliane's work after it was painted. I love the colours and how they have bled together.

This is mine- I think it looks a bit weird, but I do like the way the pieces curled up as the dye dried, showing the white underneath. I'm not sure what I will do with it next, but sometimes it is useful to experiment and see if it takes you in a different direction.

We are going to continue to work into these pieces with stitch and embellishments, so in  a month I will get some more pictures to show you.

What have you been creating this week?

Merry Christmas 2015

'Tis the season to be jolly and this year the Treacle Market in Macclesfield certainly made us feel festive.

There was plenty of sparkle... 

...silly hats...

..a tune to make you smile...

...mistletoe...

...and festive dogs!

We got our tree up eventually and each year I love the memories that flood back as we unwrap the decorations. Not for me a tasteful, colour coordinated, fashionable set of decorations. Ours have been given by friends, bought as souvenirs on holiday or hand-made by family members and each year we unwrap them and marvel about where they came from. Some don't survive another year in the loft - air-dried clay has a tendency to crumble- but those that don't are gently wrapped up and put back in storage.

The tree in all its sparkly glory! It is small, but lovely (unlike the angel who looks kind of huge and unconventially dressed in red!)

We made lots of painted clay decorations when the children were quite small and had such fun with beads and glitter.

 A button heart made by my daughter.

A sleepy owl made by my mother-in-law

I made this Christmas stocking when my patchwork obsession was born.

The stag sits on the wall year-round, but has a festive touch for Christmas.

I'm very proud of my felt wreath.

Once the decorations are up we open this tree and have one of the special chocolates that are hidden inside. I think the family occasionally sneak one when nobody is looking, which is fine as long as there is one left for each of us for when the decorations get put away in the New Year.

Funny how we all develop our own little traditions as the years go by.

So after this little peek at my Christmas, all that remains is to wish you all a Happy and Peaceful Christmas 2015.