To Felt or not To Felt?

That is the question. Whether 'tis nobler and more sensible to sell this lovely heather and grey tartan wool blanket on ebay or whack it in the washing machine and max out on soap and heat to produce some delicious felt? Dilemma compounded by fact that the blanket is in fabulous, completely intact, hole-free condition. Seems so brutal to felt something in such great shape, but as is; doesn't suit my decor. Hmmm....decisions decisions...

Beautiful Blanket Face

'Tis the season to curl up with felted wool and get handstitching. Madeleine Millington does this to great effect with her hot pastel palette of enticing projects and workshops. I recently attended a workshop. Simple, soothing and something I actually continued when I got home, rather than stuffing the item into a cupboard from which it could silently reproach me for months, if not years. Recommended.

Pinball Wizard

Stunning vintage pinball machine,  beautifully detailed and plays like a dream.Too big for my cottage, but great for furnishing the diner in my dreams...

Vintage Paper Jubilee

Only the hardest Republican heart would be unstirred by this delicately sun faded vintage folded paper decoration, carefully  preserved from the Silver Jubilee and unearthed in time for this year's festivities

Merry Meringues

The merriest looking meringues around. Positively perky and as delicious tasting as they are photogenic, these beauties were part of the bounty on offer at Marlborough Garden Association Plant Sale. They were displayed prettily beneath a fabric banner appliquéd by a local teacher. Reusable, pretty and practical, (the banner that is, not the teacher.)  Love it. Fab plants too of course; affordable, grown locally, so perfectly suited to my Marlborough cottage garden. 'Days out at home' don't get much better than this.

Faerie Frocks

I was fortunate enough to have attended one of Annette Emms' wonderful workshops a while back with my daughter. We shared a magical day making fairy shoes. Frankly, if there's a better way to spend quality time together, let me know and I'll sign up because this was both fabulous and affordable.

Here's a gorgeous piece of work from this master storyteller; both as a speaker and in stitch. A generous, tutor who manages to combine the prosaic with the poetic, anyone attending Annette's class will come home buzzing with myths and methods in equal measure. A must for your 'workshops to-do' list.

Sunkissed Window

Springtime in Wiltshire still relatively unsunkissed, so here's a window piece of mine which makes the most of even the most scant of rays. Nuno felted on scrim, with found objects added to hem, this was a worked sample for a large scale, commissioned piece featuring free machine embroidered text.