life is simple

if you just let it be...

since we came back from the Isle of Mull my mantra has been 'do less'...why do we find it so hard to actually 'do' nothing? 

how can I ignore the jobs that just seem to be so essential and let go? even a little letting go makes life so much more pleasant...

Rather than waiting for the magic moment when everything will be finished and perfect (ha ha!)I am trying to just be in the moment and enjoy whatever that is, whether it's chopping carrots, doing paperwork, cleaning the sink or sorting the piles of washing...sometimes I can't help a little frustration that I would rather be in the studio...but by practising being in the 'just now moment' of mindfulness I feel so much happier and content! mind you 'practice' is the word...or maybe remembering as it's easy to get caught up in the nonsense of things we think we should do! 

I have been reading The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh a small and simple book but full of wisdom and I've found it really helpful

so outdoors I simply try to appreciate the beauty around me, not striving to improve anything, not worrying about how the garden is really weedy and plants not always where I'd like them to be...I haven't gardened much this year and somehow the garden has managed to be beautiful without my intervention...by looking at the loveliness and not judging anything as good or bad, I am more peaceful

and I do get lots of time for being in my creative space...

which is just as well as it's C-art Affordable Art Fair this next weekend , Sunday 3rd November I'll be at Rheged near Penrith with lots of other fantastic arts and makers...do come and see us if you're around!

nature has shown her strength this week, and we must respect her...I do hope none of you out there has been affected by the storm in the south of the UK...I am thankful that so few were hurt, though it has been tragic for some and my heart goes out to them. A reminder again that life is precious and NOT to waste it on nonsense...

Have a peaceful week Emmaxx

Friday night and I'm loving...

the cold weather, strangely, with air like a cool refreshing drink, real weather for October, no longer the warm Indian summer...the garden and hedgerows turning slowly to brown and bare, stripping everything for the winter's rest...

that being snug indoors is so welcome...after a blustery walk in the wind which clears your foggyness and gets the blood singing

that my studio is tranquil again after sharing for C-art with my oh so welcome friends and visitors, but now it's all mine to arrange how I wish, finding all my treasures after they were hidden away...and clearing out the bits and bobs I don't need or love any more ...so much easier when they're all neat in a box than spread out around all my tables...

that I had a workshop yesterday with 2 lovely ladies, helping 
them to be inspired and tap into their creativity, to get confident with free machining and playing with fabrics...and didn't they do well? 2 beautiful landscapes slowly emerged...

(please note usually an embroidery foot is used for free machining, but as neither had one they carefully stitched without a foot at all, obviously you must keep your fingers out of the way! also this doesn't go well with thicker fabrics, so they then used normal stitching witha foot on)

 

and it was a beautfully sunny day too with wonderful views over the fields and hills outside and inside a lovely view of art in the making!

 

first choose your fabrics, cut and lay out, pin then stitch...

hills and fields awaiting definition and detail...wait and see!

I do love a creative mess...fabrics, threads, books, samples, ideas, scraps...getting out the boxes of fabrics instantly brings life to the studio...making it a working space once more...

 

after a day's hard work here are Jennie and Sue's beautiful textile landscapes...  sorry don't think my photo gets the lovely dark blue shades of the velvet here so well, must be the moonlight!

hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Emmaxx

feeling creative...

back home after holidays and all seems golden for the first few days...then all those things you have to do take over again...but this time I am determined to try and retain the feeling of tranquility and peace I enjoyed on Mull. Perhaps by doing less...after all when you're away from home you manage to fill your time quite easily and pleasurably without any stress!

everything seems so strangely unfamiliar when you've been away, home has existed in a parallel universe...or has it?  

back to abundance in the veggie patch...how many courgettes are now marrows?? don't you love the ruby chard against the greens?

a trip to the north east and I spot these beauties, the last of summer...

and then back into my studio...where reality really does await me...whereas the house is now primped and cleaned after months of neglect...the studio is more or less untouched after the busyness of earlier in the summer...and C-art is now only a couple of weeks away...

but somehow I get sidetracked by the lovely things I bought or collected on holiday, and a creative playing session takes over any desire to tidy or sort...but this in itself is valuable, as I haven't made since Artfest... and this will now get my creativity restarted...who knows where it will take me?

I love my 'new' camera soo much...playing with the focus so you get subtle changes...can you feel the hints of autumn? I'm loving textures and colours, sea-blue mug and rough greys and browns...fingers itching so I think it's an afternoon of sorting then some fabric and stitching time...

hope you too have a happy weekend! Emmaxx

apres Woolfest...

so Woolfest is over for another year...and thanks to everyone who made it such a fab event...again! I had so many wonderful people visit my stall, friends and strangers, lovely feedback, lots of chat and made some good sales too...

 

so did you miss me?? I am sorry not to have been here for a while...somehow I just needed a breather as I put such a lot of energy into my stall ...but I was very pleased with how it looked ...a BIG thank you goes to husband of patience who painted everything white (and himself!) and to him and daughter mine for being the tech team setting up the stall...and she and I did the arty arranging, she always has such good ideas...

and I did get time out to look around too, daughter mine and I enjoy going round and shopping together...

here's a few of  my favourite stalls this year...I would so like to make a basket like this one...made by High Fibre...check out their website here

 

 

and every year I buy some lovely felt items from Jenny Pepper...they're irresistible! see more here
 

Lindsey Tyson is another feltmaker, with such beautiful felt creations... see her website here
 

and still more lovely things I spotted...beautiful knits by Jennie Atkinson...see more of her gorgeous patterns here

stunning hats and scarves made by Felt by Bridget...and still more here 
 

and of course some beautiful animals in amongst all the stalls...

and loads and loads of people, and such a bustling happy atmosphere...

and to sum it all up...




my next challenge is ArtFest North in Kendal 27th and 28th July... put it in your diary if you're nearby

have a great week...summer is here so it's icecreams all round and sitting in the garden...haha I'm off to work!

Emmax