That almost-but-not-quite feeling!

Yes, I'm back... sorry about the distruption in service, but between blogs I've had some chill out time as well as another working trip to Wales. I did think there wasn't much to report, but I still seem to have filled the two weeks somehow!

We were going to have a bit of a holiday, but decided that the issue of relying on 12 year old transport when travelling back and forth over distance was a bit risky so a newer, more eco-friendly vehicle was the first priority. It's not a new car, but it's much newer than the old one. It enjoyed the drive to Newton Abbott (well a girl's got to get to Hobbycraft somehow) and didn't object to me being at the wheel, so it looks like it can get it's first treat of a drive to the Rhondda next Monday. Just as long as I remember to put diesel, not petrol in it...

We had a trip out to the Cockington for the day the week before last and it was lovely to wander round the craft workshops and while Graeham was distracted by the lady in the fabric shop explaining about peg looms I bought some lovely oddments of fabric!

I got to spinning and acquired enough merino to finish my offering towards the Tedburn teddies for the exhibition at Killerton. Here she is, a bit lopsided, but with chracter I feel...

 

 

And I got to the Guild meeting so that I could hand her over too! While I was there I offered some pieces for the sales table at the exhibition and they were accepted.... I had two sari silk handspun scarves that I'd knitted, a skinny handspun, hand knitted skinny scarf and a bag I'd made from merino - spun, knitted and felted. I was caught in the usual debate about how to price them and was persuaded up from my original ideas by friends at the Guild who complained that I always charge too little!

 

Inspired by that and some of the lovely encouraging comments from you last time, I've also got some luggage labels to display my brooches on and am gathering the nerve to approach the owners of a shop and gallery later this week about taking some of them. Thanks to those of you who pointed out that I ought to go for it as the worst they can say is 'no'.

 

Having a bit of free time also meant I could get back to a project I started about three (or was it four?) years ago. I went to a workshop on Dartmoor to lean about mosaics from an artist called Anne Read. She was fabulous and we spent the morning making coasters to learn the techniques and the afternoon beginning a piece to finish at home. Of course, once I got home, that was it! Well, I got it out (a wall hanging for the garden) and cut up the rest of the tiles I'd brought home and glued them onto the block board. It goes without saying, that just like my teddy, I ran out of tiles. Still I'm an awful lot closer to finishing than I was before. This is it so far. What you're looking at is the back. Once all the tiles are temporarily stuck to the paper on the board they are butted up to a cemented tile, the paper is removed and the gaps grouted, then voila! Well, with luck anyway..

 

No work travelling this week, so today's about clearing paperwork and finishing odd bits and pieces of tasks. Spinning group is on Wednesday, then on Thursday I'm off to see my mum and sister by train - lots of knitting time! The rest of the week I can get stuck into the teachers' notes for a Welsh context book that's been waiting an age to be finished. So when I get back to you next week I may well have turned that almost-but-not-quite feeling into a look-I've-got-stuff-finished one.

Just one more thing to do - a browse over at Handmade Monday to see what everyone else has been getting up to....