My Freedom - travel in time

Blog prompt 2 from Shimelle - if you could travel in time for just one day where would you go and what would you do? Well I'd go back a fair few hundred years and meet up with the man who wrote this manuscript - and spend a great day chatting and playing and listening and asking him all about these techniques and tunes ...

My Freedom

A new online class by Shimelle starts today, running Monday to Friday for five weeks, and this time there are blog prompts too, so here goes! There will be ten topics about your perspective on life and this week's topics are TIME and TRAVEL. Both of these are real biggies for me. I travel a lot, sometimes too much, sometimes in terrible weather, sometimes in a terrible hurry to get there in time, and sometimes, just sometimes, I get to relax and enjoy the experience and realise how lucky I am that I get to do this.

As for time, well I've always wanted a day (or a week) between today and tomorrow to catch up on all the things I should have done. I don't have much regularity or schedule in my life, like most freelancers there is no real division between 'work' and 'time off' for me, and I always seem to be fighting the clock. Deadlines have always been important to me, they really do get the creativity flowing in a way that doesn't seem to happen when you have all the time in the world (unfortunately). And I have to admit I'm not the best timekeeper in the world, I don't wear a watch and rely on my phone to keep me right, along with the pc which is pretty much always on and the odd clock about the place. But calendars and diaries and planners, yes I certainly need them!

Kingfiisher flies ...

Well no, but he has now alighted onto a spot to call home. In the end I attached a pipe cleaner and used that to wind round the 'perch' that he's on. Kind of clumsy in close up for feet but looks good from a distance.

Kingfisher tales

The next part of the needlefelting class - and this is getting harder! Very therapeutic though. So here is the legless kingfisher. I'm struggling with twisting wire into legs - have scrapped about 4 goes so far, and am currently experimenting with pipe cleaners! So I've moved on, and tried copying a little glass pig that I have, and of course the owl and the pussycat really needed a beautiful pea green boat (though I'm having thoughts of reclaiming it and making it into a bowl!)

The owl and the pussycat went to sea....

Another day indoors trying to shake off the lurgy, and the second part of Linda Misa's online needle felting class is done! The owl now has a pussycat pal, despite breaking two needles and not getting the wool to felt round the pipe cleaner properly, I'm quite pleased with them. Now for the pea green boat...

Owls

I've been signed up to this class for two weeks now but so busy with work that it wasn't til I had a real stay in doors 'cos I feel too ill (coldey/fluey/yeuch) to go out day that I got a chance to play. I've always loved owls. I made a pottery one in art in school, bought one in Finland and one in York, so today I made a needle felted one to add to the collection. The instructions said to wet felt the body first, but my sister broke her needles trying that so I decided just to needle felt it all! I had a bit of trouble getting the shape right, and think it's still a bit of a skinny owl really, but maybe it's a young one.

Shetland for wool!

Before June disappears completely I thought it would be good to visit my own blog for once! Life has been very busy workwise, and I also had a great two week holiday in Shetland with my mum in May -lots of wool bought there, I can assure you! We visited Jamieson's Spinning Mill in Sandness, and were lucky enough to get shown round the mill. We also had a lovely visit to the Shetland Collection - designer knitwear based near Sumburgh airport, where we were shown round the workshop and how to use a knitting belt as well as getting to see lots of samples and fair isle and lace garments. Then there were the wool shops in Lerwick ... the car was packed to the gunnels on the way home! I started a cockleshell scarf when I was there, it took me about 4 goes to understand the pattern but it's about 3/4 done now. I also got the spinning bug again and sneaked a fleece into the car too. But all in all it was a lovely peaceful and rejuvenating time - looking out on seals, lambs, lots of wildflowers and seabirds. The air was so clear, and we were very lucky with the weather too!

April and May

Up to date again! Wonder how long it'll last for this time ... These are the next two in the Bitty Blossoms book of months/seasons, following Willow's prompts. April was about spring, flowers and space. May was about Mayday, Beltane, male and female together and partnerships.

Saving the Day!

I've made my covers and all the inside pages ... got very messy stamping ... but had great fun... and have now done April's pages. Must remember to take more pics of people next time ... here are a few pages. They're all variations on a theme so didn't think you needed all 12 of them ... but I have done them - honest! Just need to bind it all now ...