SweetMyrtle

gratitude and my creative space...

i have written about my creative space recently but i really am so grateful to have it after years of working from the kitchen table and having to clear up before each meal (or not, as often was the case... you know, just pushing it all up one end to find a little space for our plates)

i really am using it more than ever at the moment even though it is very cold in here as we only have minimal heating. most people would probably not find it cold but as a wrote back at the flour loft some time ago , i do suffer from cold feet. So today i am also grateful for thermal socks!

i wanted to share another little area of my space today which is the pin board above my cutting table... this is a practical pin board where i pin up current work, notes , reminders and also inspirations... it is ever changing...

 

at the moment i am working on creating some more necklaces from recycled paper beads, felt and papier mache for a craft fair that i am doing at my girls old school later this week. i have hung a few on the board to remind me to make some more.
the love cushion is a sample for a valentine workshop which i am running next year and the dove wreath was a sample for a wreath making working shop which alice and i ran on saturday which was great fun. 

we had a full class of 12 ladies on saturday who all created a fabric wreath to take home with them.  we supplied a good variety of fabrics and some basic templates to start their ideas off but encouraged them to spend time thinking about their design and to make something individual to them. they created some amazing work and some photos from the day will  be added to the workshops gallery page on the alice and ginny website very soon.

today i am also thankful that the sun is shining and even more excitingly that Paws is now allowed outside. his leg has pretty much all healed so he is off out and being a proper cat again.

I also am grateful for all the friends and support and lovely comments that i receive here at sweetmyrtle. as a thank  you i am going to do another giveaway... this one is exciting for me as it is a huge project that i have been working on with my pal alice... yes... it is our new craft book 'Home Sweet Sewn ' which is officially launched next week.

so  in my next  post i will tell you a little about the book and  the  giveaway... so please do pop back.

wishing you all the loveliest of tuesdays...

 ginny x

p.s. for more creative spaces please visit kootoyoo.

gratitude and angels...

today i am thankful for the opportunity to teach... i adore teaching and find it immensely rewarding.

yesterday's angel collage session was great... here are a few images of a couple of nearly completed pictures with only the finishing glittery touches still to be added...

the kids were really pleased and seemed to really enjoy the collaging process. i am really pleased with how the  leafy wings turned out...

i had collected oak leaves, beech leaves, wisteria leaves and maple leaves... and each child chose which ones to add to their picture. the staff are going to  display  them on a wall in school so i shall go back and take some final pictures next week.

i also wanted to share this post from the frugal family fun blog which i saw this morning about creating a gratitude activity jar... a brilliant idea! please do go and take a look.

wishing you a happy thursday. x

wonderful nature...

 

this time of year always seems to be very busy for me... i often end up feeling stressed and a little  under pressure. ~  this year has been no exception as there are oodles of projects still to plan and to lead and to write about.

this is another reason why i think that stopping to look and notice  and keeping connected to the wonders  of life that we often take for granted  are so important  in order to keep everything in perspective.

this morning i got up early and collected golden leaves from under these trees...

i am pressing them today and preserving them along with other leaves i have collected to use in a project that i am leading with sixty (yes,  you heard right), sixty,  7 year olds  at a primary school tomorrow morning. we are going to make collage angel pictures. these leaves will become the angels wings.

it was raining this morning  as i gathered the leaves into my bright blue tub and although cold and wet, it was immensely pleasurable... it was fascinating to look carefully at each leaf and to notice  their varying shapes and sizes and their subtle changes in colour.  i also felt thankful for these gifts from nature which the children will enjoy carefully adding to their art work.

 

leaves have to be one of my favourite  gifts from the autumn along with pine cones. (diana agrees with me on the pine cones).

what are your favourite's ?

making me smile today...

for caireen....

thank you for your response to the november gratitude... i have been enjoying reading your posts and also being introduced to some lovely new blogs...

i have added some links to my sidebar so you can see who is joining in (if you would like me to link to your blog  please let me know).

today i am thankful for connections ... and to friends who i have met through this incredible blogging community which i have been involved in since april 2007.

 you have enriched my life... so thank you. x
i am very busy this week but i hope to post some thankful images soon...ginny x

november gratitude...

i awoke on the first day of november  to hear the rain lashing down outside my window. it reminded me of this poem by Thomas Hood;

No sun - no moon!

No morn - no noon -

No dawn - no dusk - no proper time of day.

No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,

No comfortable feel in any member -

No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,

No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds!

-November!

so here we are in november which is often a very bleak month for me... a month of short days and long nights, cold fingers, cold toes, heavy rain and snuffly noses.

after chatting to georgia we decided that it would be a good month to look at the things in our lives that we are thankful for (and i think also it will help me to not dwell on the negatives as outlined in Thomas Hood's poem!)... so i have created a november 'gratitude' button

 

please feel free to take one and join us in a month of gratitude.. there are no rules .. post images or words... just take time to notice  and appreciate  all the good things in your lives this november.

let us know if you are joining us and i will link to you in my side bar

today i am thankful to have met such an amazingly kind veterinary nurse who has been caring for our Paws... who is on the mend and nearly back to  his normal lively self.

wishing you a happy november day

x

p.s. edit to say that  i don't agree  with mr hood's 'no moon' in the poem as wasn't it amazing last night?

morsbag giveaway winners

a few weeks ago i wrote about Morsbags as part of that little bit greener and decided to make up 5 to giveaway. i have put the names of everyone  who left a comment or emailed me into a hat and have drawn out 5 names.

the names i pulled out were;

caireen

louise

simone

marie

georgia

so if you could please email me your addresses i will send you your Morsbag.

if anyone is keen  to make  a Morsbag or two then all the details are here on the Morsbag website.

october noticing round up...

thank you to all who took part in or left a comment during my month of 'noticing'. i would like to share a few wonderful images from friends who have been noticing too....

georgia

self portrait looking down by georgia

Louise

 

almelanchier tree by louise

Marie

maple leaf by marie

nina

conkers by nina

 and please pop over here to see cathy's noticing.

thanks also to everyone else who took a button and encouraged others to stop and notice. i have enjoyed noticing with you.

 i have been asked if i shall continue with this into november and although tempted i would like to do something a little different and have been discussing this with georgia. i will post our idea in the next few days..

last day of noticing in october...

today i have been noticing 'hallowe'en preparations'...

my creative space...

this week i tidied my creative space..

my space is half way up the garden... and in a building which was once used to store all our junk.  when alice and i moved out of our flour loft studio it pushed me to get this space up and running.. with the help of my husband who googled' how to create a raised floor', the room  gradually started to come together at weekends and  on days off. we needed to raise the floor as the space had previously been flooded and we couldn't risk the contents being flooded again . a window was then moved and a new glass door put in to let in more light... this was a project for my husband and his brother (neither  are builders... but both love a challenge!) we also insulated the walls, and clad them in tongue and groove... at one stage it looked like we were creating  a 1970's sauna! a little white wash on the wood brought us back to the present.  the room is still not complete as we need to finish insulating the pitched roof... one day soon i am sure. but it is very workable so long as i keep it tidy!

the space above shows where i sit and design or sew. it overlooks the pebble courtyard section of our garden and a large bamboo plant which sways beautifully with the breeze. i feel so fortunate to have a designated space to work and in which i can  store all my crafty bits and bobs. the girls use the space too and i love it when the three of us are in there together being busy and creating.

when i met caireen back in august at the festival  of quilts she gave me a present which she thought would be perfect for my studio...

a photograph of a wee boat she found on her travels called 'little seamstress'... she  framed it up for me ... i was so touched... i have now found the perfect spot for it on my little treasures shelf...

i love it.. thank you again caireen!

and now my studio is tidy i need to finish the next 4  Morsbags for my giveaway which i shall draw on the last day of october.. so if you would still like to enter please email me or leave a comment.

i also need to tidy the house and remove all the clutter that is now in here from the studio!

have a happy evening!

* for more creative spaces see  kootoyoo's blog

x

things i am noticing...

fallen leaves in the warm autumnal light.