'If you make happiness your goal, then you're not going to get to it… The goal should be an interesting life."

Dorothy Rowe

Friday 5 July 2013

It's been a busy week...

and it's not over yet. I helped set up the College exhibition, (which closes at lunchtime tomorrow if you want to see it), stewarded it this afternoon and will dismantle my bit tomorrow. 

In between that and our usual child minding, we squeezed in a visit to Walford Mill and Kingston Lacy - two favourite destinations which are conveniently close to each other. At the Mill we enjoyed the exhibition by silversmith Chien-Wei Chang, especially his silver/annealed copper waterpipes/bamboos/vessels - and a delicious smoked salmon salad in the cafe. At Kingston Lacy we had a walk in the gardens and a cream tea. Greedy, or what? 

These are the two latest 'Repetition' pieces - one deliberate, one an embellishing experiment which morphed into a finished piece. The answer to 'can you embellish skeleton leaves?' is 'yes, provided you don't mind them breaking up a bit, and it works best from the back'. 

The other one is all worked with the same space-dyed thread - three skeins of it!

I had intended to start another one, but Babybel decided otherwise. She is a girl whose idea of suitable after-school activity includes running, jumping, climbing and swimming. Having her arm in a cast, even if it is a red one, and a strict ban on all such activities, is very boring. TV and games on the iPad pall after a while, so on Thursday, when, in the absence of her little brother (who would not mix with sharp pointy things), I pulled out my embroidery, she asked me about my 'knitting'. Then she asked to have a go.




Just compare granny's prissy little cross stitches with Babybel's lovely big ones. She made me rethink what I was going to do with this bit of left-over aida. 

It's a good match with one of the pages in my Repetition book, so I can't let her have this piece, but I have promised to give her her own  on Monday, together with pink, orange and purple thread, as requested. I shall be fascinated to see what she does with it.

She would have done more with this piece, but 'Peter Rabbit' started...

On Sunday, cast or no cast, she is participating in the 'Race for Life' with her mummy, and we will be there to cheer her on. I wish I had half her courage and energy!

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