When in doubt, use the scissors.

I committed myself back in May to entering two pieces plus some cards into the Embroiderers' Guild SW region exhibition "Waterways" in Gloucester, confident I would have them finished well before the children broke up from school so I could do some more coursework. I hasn't quite worked out as I expected. First, I lost the little bag that I had managed to finish (and found it several days later in the place I had first looked), then I decided I didn't like the second piece once it was finished. What to do? Fortune favours the brave so I grabbed the scissors, cut it into three pieces and remounted onto 3 small square artists' canvases. Much improved. All the bits are now safely packed up and ready to be delivered.

School broke up on Friday so I don't expect to get much done in the next 6 weeks.

A Lucky Find

At summer school, I was puzzling over how to display the transparent 'slides' I had made of layers of pylon prints. They are about 20cm square and need to stand in something that allows you to look through them and also rearrange the order. Sara came up with the idea of making them smaller and using a CD rack - one of the wire ones that is a bit like a toast rack, but the only ones I have spotted so far are designed to stand upright and don't balance if they are lying flat. My other idea was something on the lines of the cardboard toy theatre we had as children where you slotted in the scenery.

While I was doing the supermarket shop this morning I wandered into the stationery section and suddenly realised I was looking at rows of open-fronted cardboard display boxes with slotted sides. And they come in lots of different shapes and sizes. After inspecting them all closely, I found one that is just the right size for the slides and luckily it only had one item left in it (which I left neatly on the shelf). With a bit of paint and some trimming, I am hoping it will be just the job.

Summer School 2007

I really am going to try and get in the habit of updating this blog weekly (even if it is to confess no work done) so here goes. Came back yesterday from the Distant Stitch summer school at Urchfont Manor - what a wonderful experience. Once again working from dawn to dusk apart from regular breaks for huge amounts of food and fresh air when the rain stopped. This year we worked with metal with Maggie Grey and Kantha with Sian.


Maggie (centre) with Kaye and Avis.












Margaret hard at work.