(Nice sky)

Still finishing assignments so…….

“A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.” 
– Maya Angelou

Sing your song, Mairead.

(We’ve arrived!)

Ok I’ve been walking for hours, I’m exhausted. May not last until dinner (cooked and served by someone else, joy). So this’ll be short and sweet. I’m at the Knitting and Stitching Show.

(Our new address for the night)

Beautiful colours and textures everywhere. It seems like hundreds of stands. Demonstrations and classes for everything from doodling to felting and christmas tree decorations to hats. I’ve booked two classes for tomorrow….. one is called Drawn Together. The description on the ticket says “come and experiment…make space in fabric by removing threads and pulling warp and weft to leave gaps for new threads, materials or found objects…” sigh, sigh, beautiful…… I may not be able to sleep tonight with the excitement, and trying to work out what it means.

(This is my favourite mother-in-law, Eilish)

The other class is called Upcycling with a description, “explore textural contrasts…. use simple hand stitching….have fun with the original construction of well-loved old fabrics…” sigh x 3, still no idea what that means, don’t care and can’t, can’t wait. It’s at 11am tomorrow and is probably significant….11am on the 11th day of the 11th month of the 11th year their century!

Must rush, have to practice my doodling, Mairead.

It’s been another busy day. I’m working on the last of the assignments for my course, but I’m still going to take the next few days off. Tomorrow I’m going to the Knitting and Stitching Show in Dublin with my favourite mother-in-law! We’ve been going along every November for the past three years, but this year I had a very good idea.

I got a deal and we’re going to stay overnight in a hotel. So this year when we get tired looking at the cards and threads and buttons and ribbons and wool and needles and materials and paper and paint and….. and…… we can have a little rest. There’ll be dinner tomorrow night and on Friday morning we’ll go back and do it all again.

Can’t wait, Mairead.

(Yummy wool)

Whew, that was a long break and I missed my little blog-time ritual. Sitting on the armchair with the leg rest engaged, ignoring the cats, husband, son, dinner, doorbell and lots of other stuff and just waiting to be inspired. It’s good to be back.

(Big creative mess…… sigh)

To celebrate, yesterday morning I put loads of craft stuff on the kitchen table and invited two friends to come and play! We had a lovely time… Well, I had a lovely time (I think they had too!). So much so I’m thinking of starting creative play sessions and the only criteria is that you don’t think you’re creative! A lot of people don’t think they’re creative so they steer clear of anything that seems even slightly arty or crafty or even has the word creative attached to something else… like creative writing, creative dance, creative budgeting (!)

Yesterday two “I’m not creative” people created beautiful stuff. Is it a miracle? Nope, it turns out we’re all creative! Isn’t that great?

(String, paper and beads, what else is there?)

So, who wants to come and play at the Creative Play for “I’m not Creative” People sessions? Mairead.

PS May need to shorten the name…..

(For all the people… (Moira and Elaine), who wondered where I was)

“The more we study the more we discover our ignorance.”
Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) English poet.

Probably just as well I didn’t start sooner then, Mairead.

(Safe harbour)

I bought a card today, it had a quote from Mark Twain……..

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. Sail away from the safe harbour. Explore. Dream.”

If you couldn’t fail, what would you do? Mairead.

(Time standing still)

Why are you so enchanted by this world when a mine of gold lies within you? Rumi

(He was a mystic…)

Gold. Mine. Mairead.

(Another memory from summer)

From Byron Katie again……

A thought is harmless until we believe it.

Countless thoughts go through our minds each day, that’s normal and healthy. Hanging onto them, thinking them over and over again, that’s normal and unhealthy. Allowing them in and allowing them pass through with just a breath, that’s not normal but very healthy.

Don’t be normal, Mairead.

(Blue Flower from a long ago summer)

For all the people who think they have to be perfect before they can do their work in the world – a quote from Richard Bach, author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull……..

“You teach best what you most need to learn.”

Go teachers! Mairead.

PS  We’re all teachers…..