Forever Autumn

Is it just me or does there seem to be no transition to the seasons this year?

I love summer, its my favourite time of year and this year it seems to have been super short. The summer holidays went by in a bit of a blur as I dealt with 'stuff'. Indeed an odd summer and it was only when it was the last week of the holidays I finally felt that summer contentment that touches my soul and sees me through the winter months...So with the children safely in school now and my new life just at the seedling stage. My last week saw me become a student and complete a days work in the real world not just in my sewing room. The weekend before all these changes had me planning a weekend at the beach with friends. I went off with my weekend bag packed with towels and swim wear and even my wetsuit. Well wet it was, it rained all weekend and was cold, the realisation that summer was indeed OVER for another year hit me hard. It filled my heart with sadness. So to make up for the dreadful weather, yummy treat food was nibbled, rich hearty red wine and cushions and quilts to snuggle under in front of the fire with a couple of trusty movies. BLISS.
Yes it warmed up my heart and set me up for the challenges of the week ahead. So here I am again another week over, a week of many things new...
Of course the Dotty red work room also needed a lot of time spent in it, working on orders and preparing for the next season. The fabrics have moved on from the delicate washed out beach hut colours to a warmer and richer set of shades and heavier fabric moving away from the light crisp linens to warm textured cord..
The autumnal cushions are making me happy, mixing different techniques, applique, crochet, quilting...
Yes a busy little week, ending in heading off to my little place by the sea, for a wild, wet and windy walk along an empty beach, snuggling up in the evening with my boys and reading our selection of books and magazines. Once the little ones are asleep I have curled up with a glass of wine and managed a little hand sewing listening to the radio.

Time to pack up now and head back home to reality... wondering what this week will bring... I wish you a good one.

(Autumnal picture was taken last year, it a traditional picture, same picture, same place, same children, for the four years I take the this picture, only a few weeks till we take this years...) I love these family traditions and rituals.

Edited to add... sorry crochet cushions sold, can be made to order:)

What ya doing?

So what have I been up to...I have been working on a couple of Dotty Red commissions...
A scary request for a wedding ring heart cushion... scary because the request was white and blue with a ribbon, no more details. I always find commissions a little daunting. I guess even after years of sewing I still get a little shocked that I am asked to do things - especially things that will have an emotional attachment to them. Yet these things also give me the biggest buzz. I like being stretched and taken out of my comfort zone too.
Along with the special requests I am working on a small order for my Russian Dolls and also making a few extra for the Christmas season. I think these will be kind of cute on a table top Christmas tree. I love the stages involved in making these and gradually watching their characters emerge.
Christmas! I mentioned it again... I have still not accepted that the summer is over. This morning I did the school run in super long linen trousers and fit flops-in the rain!I wanted to share a little good news with you. I have been very nervous all summer as I have had to take some exams to qualify for a place on my course. Tuesday was my exam day. I passed...I returned home to two happy children, my eldest one was so pleased for me I got such a warm glow... or maybe that was the rather nice bottle of red wine I opened at supper time to celebrate.

Just for fun... out of the mouth of babes

OK indulge me here. This is a video of a Mom taking her two BOYS into a yarn shop. I love it and it makes me laugh out loud every time I watch it.

I think I have a couple of potential film makers in the family. Well maybe with some more experience...

Have a great weekend and enjoy your creative living.

The Dotty Red Studio

As a little girl I always wanted a studio, it didn't matter what kind, I went from the desire of having my very own dance studio (the Pineapple Dance Studio had a big impact on me in the eighties), an aerobics studio, a card making studio, an art studio.. and so the list went on.Then one day as a big girl my dream came true, I got my Studio!!!
My sewing studio, after years of sewing on the kitchen table and my sewing paraphernalia in boxes all over the place I finally got my own STUDIO. Well half a room at first as it was officially the playroom.

So I moved in a sewing table (my mother in laws old sewing table after she passed away, a table with some family history) I put all my threads on a rack (kindly given to me my my sewing buddy Caroline) and away I went...
Only I was really uncomfortable calling it a studio. I felt it sounded pretentious, the word sat uncomfortably with me. Even when the children no longer needed an allocated room just to play in and store their toys, even when I took over the whole of the room and moved my fabric and yarn stash out of boxes into a lovely display cabinet, I was still unable to call it my studio.
So the sewing room it became. Yes, I know from a business point of view the word studio sounds so much more professional and implies a great work environment, I still call it my sewing room. My children however still call it their playroom. Only they don't play with wooden train track or build Lego-the little one now pulls the fabric out of the cupboard or stacks up the yarn balls whilst playing tiddly winks with my button stash. As for the older one he is more likely to be found with his laptop perched on the side of my sewing table showing me the latest game or a little movie he has just put together. Most importantly its still a room we all enjoy, a room that feels like a place my family can gather in, a space with the things we love in.
Its funny how things evolve organically, I remember this home when it was being built each bare room open to my own interpretation of what it could be made into, a true blank canvas. I remember being told by the Estate Agent that this was the Dinning Room, in my heart then I remember thinking...what a great studio space...