What I did on my holidays

I have just had two weeks off and it has been rather a jolt getting back to work. We decided not to go away this year. My knee injury put a stop to our plans to go back to Lulworth for a walking holiday. So we decided to stay at home instead. We were very lucky with the weather. This year has been rather mixed as far as Summer weather goes. One day blazing hot the next day 5 or 6 degrees cooler. The last two weeks has been glorious, hot and very sunny.

Some of the time was spent pottering around at home some on days out.

Salisbury is one of my favourite places to visit. It is easily accessible by bus from Bournemouth and there is lots to do and see. Saturday is the best day to go as there is a market in the Square selling everything from work boots to locally made beer. We often go home with a loaf of artisan bread, mouthwatering olives and a plant or two. My OH is a keen gardener and loves to browse the plant stalls selling herbs and unusual perennials and shrubs. The shops themselves are really good and I usually pay a visit to Bijoux Beads and Franklins to browse through their range of knitting yarn and fabric. Very close to Franklins is Fisherton Mill which has been converted into an arts centre. They sell a range of locally made crafts. When we visited last there was someone weaving cloth on a loom and a silversmith making jewellery. They have a great cafe selling delicious food too.

Gilbert the Dragon who has recently taken up residence in the centre of Salisbury.

One of my dear friends - P - is retiring next week and she held a Barn Dance to celebrate her and her husband's retirement. I was not able to dance unfortunately, due to my ongoing knee problem, but found watching everyone charging around the hall very entertaining. Much fun was had by all and I was able to finally meet fellow blogger Nadia, of 'Shadows and Clouds' fame, and Mr M. who were over in the UK for a visit.

A good deal of my break was taken up with knitting, sewing and beading - more about that in future posts. In search of inspiration as always I finished my holiday by visiting Wimborne to see 'The Banquet' exhibition at Walford Mill. The room was laid out for a feast. However this was a meal with a difference in that every item of food was made from non-edible materials such as wood, felt, yarn silk, glass and ceramics. I found the whole thing really inspiring and took lots of photos.

Now it is back to normality with a bump after being a lady of leisure for a fortnight.

Textile Kaleidoscope

Things have been a bit hectic over the last few days so I haven't had time to add any updates. The end of last week was taken up by the Textile Kaleidoscope exhibition. I was stewarding on Friday morning and then helping to pack the exhibition away on Saturday. Sunday was spent recovering. Although my knee is getting better I still find standing for too long very painful. I have taken the decision not to use my stick anymore and I seem to be walking better. Hopefully this means I am well and truly on the road to recovery. Here is a selection of the work on display last weekend.

Summer at last

I am progressing with my beaded bag. I have decided to take some elements of the passion flower and play with the shapes. It will be a pyramid in shape and very heavily influenced by Art Deco. I plan to line it with coffee coloured silk dupion.

My OH has also been very creative recently. One of his work colleagues is leaving to return to her native Australia. He came up with the idea of making her a cake in the shape of the Australian flag. Although he hasn't done much cake decorating before but it turned out really well. I am very proud of him and I know that everyone in the office enjoyed it very much.

On Friday evening I took a walk down to the beach. I am very lucky in that I only live a short walk from the sea. The route is through a wooded valley, locally know as a Chine, which is actually a dry ravine. It is only a ten minute walk but it was a positive step forward for me (no pun intended) as my knee is still quite painful. It was really nice to sit on the sea front and watch everyone playing on the sand and walking their dogs. My next goal is to start going to the gym, I have asked one of the staff to devise a programme which will allow me to ease back into exercise.

Sunshine and thunderstorms

I was woken at 1:30 this morning by a loud clap of thunder. Summer has finally come to the South of England and after several hot, humid days we were treated to a spectacular storm. Realising that I would find it hard to go back to sleep, I got out of bed and padded to the living room and watched out of the window for a while. There were some amazing forks of lightning, I only wish that I had been able to take some photos. My OH of course slept through the whole thing!

At one time I was a bit scared of thunder storms. Silly I know, but I think it probably stems from an experience in my childhood. Whilst staying with my grandparents on the Kent coast, the house next door was hit by lightening during a particularly violent storm. It shook the whole house and scared me out of my wits. For quite a long time after that storms made me nervous. Now I don't mind them so much and even find them quite exhilarating.

Summer (and the hard work of my OH) has brought its rewards. Last night we sat down to a meal of salad, including the first of our potatoes from the allotment, followed by fruit pie, containing homegrown blackcurrants. I can claim absolutely no credit for them, especially at the moment with my limited mobility. I really do appreciate his hard work as you really cannot beat homegrown fruit and vegetables.

Yesterday was a sad day for me, it was the last day of my City & Guilds Beadweaving course. To mark the occasion we all went to a local pub for lunch. We sat in the garden, enjoying the sunshine, chatting away and it struck me how lucky I am to have met these women. They are all ages and from many walks of life with one thing in common - their creative spirit.

I will see some of them at our annual exhibition - Textile Kaleidoscope - which showcases the work of City & Guilds beadwork and embroidery students, in three weeks time. I am working away on my Art Deco bag , which will be one of the exhibits. So the weekend ahead will be full of beading and writing up my design journal.

Reasons to be cheerful...

This week has been hard. My leg has been hurting and I have found the normal routine of work and everyday life quite difficult. To make me feel better I have recently got into the habit of counting my blessings. I know, it makes me sound a bit like Pollyanna! But it really can help, so here are a few things which bring me joy -

1. Strawberries from the allotment, still warm from the sun.
2. Beading with friends.
3. Feeling the sun on my face and the warm breeze in my hair.
4. Summer evening walks along the beach listening to the waves crashing on the shore.
5. The soothing rhythm of my knitting needles as the yarn slips through my fingers.
6. Three wonderful women who are happy to spend time with me no matter what my mood.
7. Fresh asparagus from the allotment.
8. Sitting quietly reading with my OH.
9. Sharing a meal with good friends.
10.Wearing hand knitted socks.

I could probably go on and on. I feel better just writing this list!

Some more good news this week, my team at work has won a national award - a Times Higher Education Leadership and Management Award. So now I am part of two award winning teams at work and out of it, that can't be bad. Another reason to be thankful!

Congratulations

I attended one of my City & Guilds beading days yesterday and discovered that not only have the Priory Beaders won the Beadworkers Guild Group Challenge but one of our members, Val Robertson, has won the Intermediate Category for individual beaders. Congratulations Val! Both entries can now be seen on the Beadworkers' Guild website.

Good News

I received an email from the organiser of Priory Beaders telling me that we have won the group entry of the Beadworker's Guild Challenge. Great news I am so thrilled. We are a very new group having only been formed in September 2008 so it is a great achievement. I don't have any pictures of the finished piece at the moment but will post some as soon as I can. This cheered me up immensely as the saga of my injured knee continues. I have had the results of my MRI scan and there is good and bad news. The good news is that I have not torn the cartilage and so don't need an operation. The bad news is that I have extensive bone bruising. This means that I have lots of little cracks on the head of my femur and tibia. It will take a long time to heal, possible up to Christmas and beyond. So far I have been trying to carry on as normally as I can but it is very painful and I will have to continue to walk with a stick for quite a while. At least I haven't done any permanent damage!

On a brighter note I have been working on my next beading project - a beaded bag. It is once again inspired by the shapes and colours of passion flowers. The whole thing will have an Art Deco feel and will be pyramid shaped. I am aiming to make it up from beaded shapes and line it with silk in a contrasting colour. I am going to incorporate lots of Swarovski crystals and fresh water pearls.

Some beaded elements for my Art Deco Bag

And I am continuing my adventures in sock knitting. Spurred on by the success of my Salvation Socks I bought a copy of 'Cool Socks Warm Feet' by Lucy Neatby and I am now knitting some toe up socks with a Turkish Heel. Great fun!

My finished 'Salvation Socks'