My Other Life!

When I’m not gardening or working I’m sewing. I find that where I live and nature in general give me loads of inspiration for my textile works. The sea, which is just a five minutes walk down the road, is always good to motivate me as it is forever changing. Walking along the cliff tops one sees different vegetation and wild life as well and it is all this that gives me ideas for my work.

  This bag was inspired by the masses of anenomes I had one spring. They are such a wonderfully colourful flower. This small bag(I love making bags!) came about because I had a yen to make something with a seaside motif. As well as the shell with the fish hiding inside it, I also added hollyhocks and campanula from the garden too.

  I made these silk cushions as Christmas presents last year. I designed a whole series of fruit patterns which I then taught in my Friday morning patchwork class. It was great fun doing them. This piece was also great fun to do. I painted all the leaves, being inspired by the myriad colours of the leaves blowing in the garden which kept getting caught on the vines on the back wall, and then cut them out and  appliqued them to a free-machined embroidered background.

And last but not least a silk ribbon embroidered piece inspired by a visit to Trebah gardens. I painted the silk and then embroidered it with hand-dyed silk ribbons and embroidery silks, working from a photograph to get the placement of various plants correct. I particularly liked working the ferns, bottom left!

So when it rains, as it did today, I have plenty to do indoors and if I run out of ideas I can always have a look in the garden!