1000 Hearts…
A few weeks ago, a friend of my daughter’s introduced her to this lovely goodwill gesture created by a young woman in Hobart, Sarah, who wanted to spread kindness and compassion.
A few weeks ago, a friend of my daughter’s introduced her to this lovely goodwill gesture created by a young woman in Hobart, Sarah, who wanted to spread kindness and compassion.
Four days absence.
I’ve just completed a four day embroidery school. Two projects – as different as chalk and cheese.
How many other writers have interests completely divergent from their profession? Most I should say – if one asked.
In my own case, I have a number of interests (apart from dog-walking and reading). Anyone who’s followed the blog through the years will know that…
I often wonder how I got myself so deeply entrenched in the twelfth century. If one takes the TV or movie image of that era, it’s represented by mud, damp and ell upon ell of brown or taupe cloth which has been hastily cut and roughly sewn together to make tunics.
My writer’s day, catalogued in the previous post, mentions embroidery which is pretty important to me. It, like writing, is something I will do every day (night actually) without fail. Some women pick up knitting needles or the crochet hook. But me? I pick up a needle and thread.
It’s an odd thing really…
And when I went through my box of projects finished and almost finished, this is what I found:
One blue cushion cover with bird (unfinished).
One stumpwork of snowdrops (almost finished. See below).
A stitch in time saves nine they say.
A week ago, I attended a masterclass of stumpwork embroidery in a shop called A Stitch In Time.
In fact I saved no stitches at all. I had hundreds of stitches to accomplish before the piece I was working on would be finished.
Being published is tremendous, talking with one’s readers even more so. I count myself fortunate to have been able to correspond with so many readers since 2008 owing to this amazing technological world we inhabit. But one of the most exciting developments in my writing life has been establishing the informal partnership with Pat Sweet.
A couple of days before Christmas, I went to the framers to collect my stumpwork medieval mirror. I could barely remember what I chose as a frame although I recall I didn’t want any sort of mount on the assumption that the embroidery itself would form a border to the mirror which would rest in the very centre of the stitching.