I can't believe this amazing weather is still going on, summer temperatures at the end of March. From the news it sounds as if most of England now has potential drought conditions due to lack of rain.

The other night we had a picture book sky, loads of stars visible and a sliver of moon with a star, which I think was probably Venus so a planet really, right on the moons tail, very beautiful.

Elemental Rainbow

 As I thought the images I took at the NEC Birmingham of our exhibit have not come out very well. Anyway here are a couple of the better ones.
Some of the long strips

These are some the five inch squares, they looked good and drew people on to the stand.

Have just got back from Taunton after collecting my piece from Mapping the Future, a very successful exhibition for our group which is unfortunately coming to an end now though I am sure the embers will progress in different directions and new groups will evolve.

Had a busy but exhausting day at the NEC, our stand was much admired and we had a lot of visitors. There was some amazing and beautiful work by different makers at the NEC, some individuals, some groups and colleges many different ideas. Also lots of stands to buy beautiful yarns and other products to experiment with, this was my downfall though I did try not to spent too much.

I have taken a few photos of the stand on my small camera so not sure how they will come out. Will upload them tomorrow if they are any good.

The weather has been far too beautiful to work inside so my garden is well weeded and my weaving is growing cobwebs, must force myself back into the studio.

Birch trees

Progress

Have got about as far up the loom as I can possibly weave, three of the five trees are now finished, one more back ground tree to complete and then on to the main one. Would have liked the trees to have been taller but not possible on the size loom I have. Then again I shall be quite pleased to get this piece finished, there will still be a lot of work to do once it is off loom.

Guild Exhibition

Lichen

Another one of my sitting in front of the telly pieces.
Circular weaving stitched on to an African strip cloth
background.

It has been a beautiful day which was mostly spent gardening. I have pruned my climbing roses, ouch! and dug up my rosemary bush which I am quite sad about but it had grown out of control. Plants that like my soil, very sandy, grow like mad, plants that don't just die.

When I moved in about five years ago I planted two birch saplings that had grown from seed in my previous garden, they are now at least thirty feet high and the inspiration for my present piece of weaving.

Some very sad news, my daughter's friend has been found, it appears he drowned in a canal very near to where he was last seen.

Elemental Rainbow

Yesterday delivered my 5" x 8ft piece and 5" square plus some cards to our meeting of the South West Textile group. They will be travelling up the NEC, Birmingham on Thursday as part of the Elemental Rainbow exhibition at the Fashion, Embroidery and Stitch show running from 22-25 March. I am stewarding on Sunday so hope to have some photos to post next week.
Thats one exhibition out of the way so I can now concentrate on my open studio day in April and the exhibition in Bristol in June.

Last week we had a meeting of some of the artists taking part in the Bristol exhibition some very interesting and beautiful work in progress. Its great fun meeting up with other textile workers and discussing ideas with like minded people.

Ceramic driftwood sculpture

 This amazing sculpture has just been installed in my garden by a friend and talented ceramist Tracey Burgess. It was specially commissioned after the death of my father to represent my parents, myself and my siblings.

Each piece is like a driftwood fence pole with nails and metal embedded in it. This is not a literal translation of my family though I guess all families have their holes and spiky bits. Its just because I love driftwood and rusty metal and all of Tracey's work so it is a wonderful combination.

Driftwood

Found this on the beach, I am looking forward to warmer weather when I can sit outside and start working on it. I get great pleasure from removing all the rotten wood from pieces like this and then hopefully it may be suitable to do some weaving on. If not I may be able to remove the ivy from it or just keep the whole piece for its sculptural effect.

Baskets

This is a picture of a little basket I made out of paper covered wire, its about the size of a two pence piece.
By coincidence I've also done a 5" square piece of weaving in similar colours based on the tree lichens.
I've made some more baskets which I am attaching to the weaving and hoping to add lichens.

I had great fun making the baskets, I got the idea from a book by Janet Edmonds 'Three Dimensional Embroidery' which is full of amazing stuff.

I have my first follower, welcome.

Birch trees and other thoughts

I am still having trouble with my tapestry Birch Trees, the branches still don't look right and now I am getting nearer the top the weaving is getting very tight but I would like it to have a little more length so am struggling to weave at the moment.
 I'm feeling a bit despondent with my work at the moment, I haven't been that pleased with the last three pieces I've done. They've all been for exhibitions so maybe its just the extra pressure or maybe its because I'm a little out of my comfort zone.
Though saying that I did really want to do the trees.

Seagulls

The seagulls are all flying out to sea fifty or sixty of them, do they sleep on the sea? Saw the heron today it was just taking off, they are beautiful elegant birds.

Thoughts

I have just started reading a new book 'My Garden, the City and Me by Helen Babbs. In the preface she describes herself as being 'a sometime melancholic and an over-thinker.' What a wonderful description and describes me to a detail. I love the word melancholic its so descriptive and little used these days. It describes my down days so much better than feeling low or depressed, which I'm not. And an over-thinker, I wish my brain would shut down sometimes, I went to bed really early last night as I was so tired but could I sleep, no way, my head was full of my visit to Taunton and ideas for future pieces of work and all the usual rubbish that my head is full of. So now I am really tired.

Mapping the Future

Yesterday we went to The Brewhouse, Taunton where I have my Mapping the Future piece in an exhibition. The exhibition is fascinating and thought provoking and includes loads of fantastic work. Unfortunately I forgot my camera but you can see some of the work on the blog mappingthefuturewhereareyou.wordpress.com
My favourite piece was called The Souvenir Shop by Helen Price which I could have looked at all day. It consists of a cabinet with loads of random stuff in it, including little nesting type baskets with lichens, rusty stuff, driftwood all sorts really. All my favourite things which I randomly collect and don't do anything with, which of course is why I was so drawn to it.
Gave me lots of ideas.

Ok I take that back, somebody was thinking of me as I typed and all the blogs I was following have just turned up again. Thank you.

I find reading other peoples blogs fascinating, enjoyable and a totally time wasting occupation. But there is so much good stuff out there. I love stitchers work but hate the fact they seem to be able to do a whole piece in the time it takes me to do about two inches. Tapestry weaving is so slow.
I do mixed media work occasionally maybe I ought to do more. Anyway my blog site seems to have decided I don't want to follow any more blogs and has deleted the whole list that I have carefully set up. How annoying is that now I'm going to have to start over.

Catkins, roots and birch trees

 Catkins on my twisted hazel, I love this tree, it also has female flowers so I guess this one doesn't need help from another tree to produce nuts.

A small tapestry I've been weaving in front of the telly. I'm pleased with it very simple with roots of marran grass sewn into it.

I have been weaving as well as wandering round the garden, progress has been achieved. Two of the trees are nearly finished but I am having trouble with the branches, they are only attached to the main warp where they come off the trunk and at the moment look very flat. Thats why I'm not letting anybody see them at the moment, not until I've solved the problem.

Daffodils

Miniature daffodils in the  garden.

Still beautiful weather, who would believe its the beginning of March.