Veg Plotting

My head's an explosion of colour at the moment, following Thurday evening's trip to Toppings (a lovely independent bookshop) in Bath with Threadspider and my SUP buddies to see Kaffe Fassett . Regular readers may recall we met him earlier in the year at Bath's Blue and White exhibition - that was so enjoyable, we were determined not to let a second opportunity pass us by in less than a year. The evening's objective was the launch of his new book, Country Garden Quilts . I'd been intrigued when I heard of this as the quilts are not only all on a theme that's close to my heart, but they were also photographed at Great Dixter , a garden on my must-see list. I'd wondered whether the strong colours and luxuriant foliage of Great Dixter's borders might clash with the vibrancy of Kaffe Fassett's work. On the whole I needn't have worried. Prior to the book signing (and after a brief introduction from another of my needlepoint heroines, Candace Baho...

As promised, I've just done the first random prize draw for those of you who've donated to my Open Garden Fundraiser this week. Thanks to all of you who've helped to raise £488 so far. This time the prize drawn out of the hat is Nerys, a tapestry piece I completed earlier this year. And the winner is... Maggi - Congratulations! So Maggi, do let me know if you'd like Nerys as she is or made up into a lavender bag or pin cushion. Maggi is one of my fellow KLC students and I first met her at Gardeners' World Live in June. She deserves a very special mention as she has just signed up to volunteer with The Great Generation . She'll be off to Uganda for 2 weeks in November to help set up a model Community Garden in the slums of Kampala. This was an opportunity I also had a look at when KLC advertised it on the student forum so I'm pretty envious, but of course I wish her well. So, if any of you are interested in hearing more about what she'll be doing, you...

Threadspider and I were reduced to weak-kneed giggling schoolgirls yesterday when we visited the Blue & White show in Bath for the second time. We both admire Kaffe Fasset - me for his tapestry (needlepoint if you're across the pond) and Judith for his quilts. Both are much in evidence at this exhibition. Yesterday we both got to meet the great man as he was there for a book signing. For me, there was a wonderful bonus as Candace Bahouth (another tapestry inspiration) was also in attendance. Her mosaics at the exhibition were a revelation to me and my fellow SUP regulars - Sally was there too yesterday. There was a very unBritish melee in the Gallery as we awaited the arrival of the great and the good. Judith and Sally neatly averted certain disaster by preventing a Kaffe Fasset original screen crashing down on a table of his pottery, thus saving many thousands of pounds of modern art! Soon afterwards Kaffe appeared and treated us to an eloquent description of his work...

I grabbed this shot whilst on my way to meet up with SUP to see the Blue & White exhibition in Bath today. Both the wording and the guy on top of the waste bin amused me greatly. He was reading a book at the same time, so he was completely oblivious to the product! The exhibition was fabulous and inspirational. It was like greeting old friends as a number of the exhibits were the originals of pieces seen in my craft books. I hope to return in a couple of weeks time as Kaffe Fassett is doing a book signing.

I had a very cosy Sunday with SUP earlier on in the week - drinking mulled wine, eating crumpets and generally setting the world to rights. We did briefly touch on all things needling, including my completion of the pictured Nerys from my day at Jolly Red . This project took a wee bit longer to complete owing to my woolly headedness in leaving the chart in Somerset at the end of the workshop. Happily chart and owner were reunited in time for me to complete Nerys for showing off last Sunday. SUP gets back into field work mode next month as we'll be visiting the Blue and White exhibition at the Victoria Art Gallery in Bath. This features the work of Kaffe Fassett, Candace Bahouth and Carol Waller and starts today, hence my saving this post until now.

Prior to my foray into the wilds of the North-East last week, I ventured through a pea souper fog into the heart of the Somerset Levels to meet those jolly nice people at Jolly Red for a day's Beginners' Tapestry course. These types of courses are hard to find, so it was no surprise to find a mixture of 3 locally based participants, plus 2 other fellow 'incomers' who also drove over 60 miles to get there. We were a comforting mix of complete beginners through to experienced needlers, all wanting a day just for ourselves in convivial company. I'm completely self-taught and consequently employ a number of techniques to complete my work. I have singularly failed to understand even the most helpful of diagrams supplied with tapestry kits and design books. Kelly, our tutor for the day and designer extraordinare of Jolly Red, very quickly dispelled all difficulties. She's improved things vastly on her diagrams by showing numbered stitches and work direction, thus e...

No, I don't mean the crop circles that Wiltshire's so famous for. My allotment pal Sarah's been emptying out her loft and gave all this to me, plus loads more tapestry wool - half a bin bag in fact! Whoopeeeeee! Thanks very much Sarah!