Pretty Things

Brooches handmade by me!

Still insanely busy here at Delicate Stitches HQ but I thought I'd try and share a few photos with you. This week The Heathlands Project, where I work part time, has been down at Alex Boathouse at Talkin Tarn selling our hand made wares. The sale was organised by my friend and colleague Helen Tuck and we both also had our own little tables there.

My stall

View across the tarn from the boathouse

The guys up at Heathlands have been working really hard and have made some beautiful things, including some lovely felt Christmas tree decorations made by my textiles group. Today I got the chance to take a couple of the guys up to the Boathouse and I was really impressed seeing all the work out on display.

A selection of the Heathlands Projects wares

It was also a really nice chance for me to have a look at my stock and put out a couple of new things, including some hand printed sketchbooks. A few weeks ago I carved a couple of lino blocks and I used these to make prints for the sketchbooks. I really like lino cuts and enjoyed designing and carving these blocks.

Hand printed sketchbooks 

Detail of hand printed sketchbook.

Quiet Reflections

I haven't posted for a while, not because I've had nothing to post about but because there has just been so much going on. I love my work and I am incredibly lucky that I get to do what I love and earn a living from it. However, the downside is that it can be hard to say 'no' and, as with all things, you can have too much of a good thing. This is the position in which I have found myself recently and it has been a very hard time.

We all need a work-life balance and recently mine has been all off. All work and no life is not a good way to go, however much you love your work. It is hard not to let it be all consuming and the past couple of months has really shown me that I need to work at keeping the balance right, which is not always easy. There is always the concern that if you say no you won't be asked again but saying yes to everything means you run the risk of burning out. The other thing that I find really hard is that because I have so much work it is hard to find time to work on my own art, which leads to a another dilemma which is how can you call yourself a practising artist if you have no time for your practice?

I have another few busy weeks ahead of me but then I am looking forward to having some quiet time to reflect, make and relax. I can then make a thoughtful, considered choice about how much I take on in the future so that I can continue to enjoy my work, earn a living and enjoy my life. All in all I am seeing this as a learning experience, sometimes you have to push yourself to the limit to find out where your boundaries are.

On the plus side, I have been really enjoying all the projects I've been involved in and I am looking forward to having time to write them up on here and share some pictures with you.