SweetMyrtle

november gratitude round up....

well thank you to everyone who participated in the november gratitude, i have really enjoyed reading all your posts.  i have found this november to be my best one for some time. i often find the dark months hard, particularly if they are accompanied by incessant rain! but by focusing and feeling gratitude i have been able to see joy even in the weather!

  
november felt like a good month for gratitude and we were so right as mine and georgia's initial idea linked right into thanksgiving,  so come the end of the month my blog lines were filled with post after post giving thanks in some way... and it really becomes infectious.

a little exercise i do from time to time is to write down 5 things at the end the day that i am grateful for... often this will include health, shelter,  my girls, supportive friends and family, clean water... that kind of thing...but one of my favourite posts from simone gives thanks for 'freedom,' so i will add that to my list too in future as it is so important to remember how lucky we are. please pop over and read her post.

my favourite post from georgia is this one about being , 'thankful for the things i complain about'... my favourite gratitude on her list is georgia being thankful for her slow computer because it teaches her patience. i love how she always turns things around to view them in a more positive light.

i have also enjoyed louise's beautiful photos here... and another fun post is marie's gratitude of flannel pyjamas.

so  thank you again to everyone who took a button and posted... katy, marie, louise, georgia, pomona, denise, maureen, lyn, caireen, ella and simone.  the links are on my side bar to all the participating blogs that i am aware of... if i have missed anyone please let me know.

So here we are in december... this morning was beautifully frosty... it made me think of my friend diana who loves frost.  i am starting to feel quite festive now and i have an idea for a december button... which i will share once and if i get it sorted.

 but for now a couple of requests... firstly i really need to purchase a good pair of walking, wellington boots and i want something really comfortable as i have arthritis in one foot ... i am coveting a pair of aigle boots but they are pretty pricey .. so any recommendations would be good...

also i have asked for a new iron for christmas ... not exciting you may think but exciting to me as i am a very practical girl... i need it for using with my textile and sewing work and wonder if you could help, as unlike a new sewing machine which you can try, you really don't know how good an iron will be until after you have purchased it. i am looking for one with a really good steam that is fairly substantial and maybe has a self clean button too... i am not sure about the ones which sit on a water reservoir as i have heard that these need to be emptied frequently, which i know i would not do... any iron experiences would be greatly received.

 thank you and Happy December !

x

book signing tomorrow...

wow... thank you for all the lovely comments... i have never had so many in one day!

just to let you know that alice and i will be in Guildford tomorrow at WH Smiths... if you are local please do pop and say hi... we would love to meet you.

 

and the giveaway is still open (until sunday 6pm ) on the post below....click here to add your name to the draw.

wishing you all a Happy weekend!

x

Something to celebrate and a giveaway...

My new book,   'Home Sweet Sewn' , co - written with my dearest friend Alice, was officially launched last night!

We hosted a celebration for friends and family in the gallery of our local arts centre complete with tea in china cups....

a little bit of fizz and some rather pretty cupcakes....

 

it was a fabulous evening and a great chance to say thank you to our parents, families and friends without whose help and support we would never have been able to write  the book. a special blog friend was able to pop over too which was lovely.

we also displayed our designs and finished projects...

we loved creating Home Sweet Sewn and are so proud of it and we really hope that it will be received well.

all the projects in Home Sweet Sewn were inspired by the seasons and the cycle of the year ...

from a 'feathering the nest' spring cleaning apron with a sweet song thrush applique, through to an embroidered floral summer tea set, an autumnal inspired rag rug created by recycling old t shirts to a festive winter fabric holly wreath. There are over 20 projects  to create, each with extra design alternatives  suggested.

the projects cover various techniques including crazy patchwork, printing onto fabric, stenciling, embroidery and  basic book construction.  in our first book Sew fabulous Fabric we focus on fabric, particularly recycling fabric and give alternative fabric suggestions throughout the book. In Home Sweet Sewn we still encourage recycling fabrics but have also focused on design by including some of our sketches, the alternative design ideas and a little section on design and inspiration. we hope that this will inspire our readers to add their own twist  and  design their  own variations of the projects to create something personal to them. of course each project has all the instructions to complete as we have made them too... i have set up a  flickr group for the book too here to add your creations... lovely tabiboo nina is my first member and has made a gorgeous crazy patchwork star.                                                                                                                                 
here is our crazy patchwork angel

 

displayed here are the memory book, photo montage wall planner and applique floral duvet set. (more photos of the launch on flickr)

last night we did a spot of  signing too...we are now donating £1 from the sale of each book we personally sell to  our local children's hospice Chase and through generous donations  and book sales we raised  a fantastic £146  at our event.

and as part of my november gratitude i want to take this opportunity to say thank you to alice who has been the best friend to me and a fabulous creative partner for these last eight years. our friendship goes way back to secondary school (some 30 years now!) and she has been there always. ... i feel so blessed to have you in my life alice and  you looked fantastic last night! x

so now onto the giveaway...

to 'spread the love' a little further and as a way of saying thank you to this amazing blogging community i am giving away 2  author signed copies of Home Sweet Sewn. All you have to do is to leave a comment on this post before  6pm  on Sunday 29th November and your names will be added to the draw.

i will pop back before then with a few more book related images and news of a couple of signing events.

good luck and thank you for indulging me with all of this...i really am very excited!

warmest wishes

ginny x

gratitude and my creative space...

i have written about my creative space recently but i really am so grateful to have it after years of working from the kitchen table and having to clear up before each meal (or not, as often was the case... you know, just pushing it all up one end to find a little space for our plates)

i really am using it more than ever at the moment even though it is very cold in here as we only have minimal heating. most people would probably not find it cold but as a wrote back at the flour loft some time ago , i do suffer from cold feet. So today i am also grateful for thermal socks!

i wanted to share another little area of my space today which is the pin board above my cutting table... this is a practical pin board where i pin up current work, notes , reminders and also inspirations... it is ever changing...

 

at the moment i am working on creating some more necklaces from recycled paper beads, felt and papier mache for a craft fair that i am doing at my girls old school later this week. i have hung a few on the board to remind me to make some more.
the love cushion is a sample for a valentine workshop which i am running next year and the dove wreath was a sample for a wreath making working shop which alice and i ran on saturday which was great fun. 

we had a full class of 12 ladies on saturday who all created a fabric wreath to take home with them.  we supplied a good variety of fabrics and some basic templates to start their ideas off but encouraged them to spend time thinking about their design and to make something individual to them. they created some amazing work and some photos from the day will  be added to the workshops gallery page on the alice and ginny website very soon.

today i am also thankful that the sun is shining and even more excitingly that Paws is now allowed outside. his leg has pretty much all healed so he is off out and being a proper cat again.

I also am grateful for all the friends and support and lovely comments that i receive here at sweetmyrtle. as a thank  you i am going to do another giveaway... this one is exciting for me as it is a huge project that i have been working on with my pal alice... yes... it is our new craft book 'Home Sweet Sewn ' which is officially launched next week.

so  in my next  post i will tell you a little about the book and  the  giveaway... so please do pop back.

wishing you all the loveliest of tuesdays...

 ginny x

p.s. for more creative spaces please visit kootoyoo.

gratitude and angels...

today i am thankful for the opportunity to teach... i adore teaching and find it immensely rewarding.

yesterday's angel collage session was great... here are a few images of a couple of nearly completed pictures with only the finishing glittery touches still to be added...

the kids were really pleased and seemed to really enjoy the collaging process. i am really pleased with how the  leafy wings turned out...

i had collected oak leaves, beech leaves, wisteria leaves and maple leaves... and each child chose which ones to add to their picture. the staff are going to  display  them on a wall in school so i shall go back and take some final pictures next week.

i also wanted to share this post from the frugal family fun blog which i saw this morning about creating a gratitude activity jar... a brilliant idea! please do go and take a look.

wishing you a happy thursday. x

wonderful nature...

 

this time of year always seems to be very busy for me... i often end up feeling stressed and a little  under pressure. ~  this year has been no exception as there are oodles of projects still to plan and to lead and to write about.

this is another reason why i think that stopping to look and notice  and keeping connected to the wonders  of life that we often take for granted  are so important  in order to keep everything in perspective.

this morning i got up early and collected golden leaves from under these trees...

i am pressing them today and preserving them along with other leaves i have collected to use in a project that i am leading with sixty (yes,  you heard right), sixty,  7 year olds  at a primary school tomorrow morning. we are going to make collage angel pictures. these leaves will become the angels wings.

it was raining this morning  as i gathered the leaves into my bright blue tub and although cold and wet, it was immensely pleasurable... it was fascinating to look carefully at each leaf and to notice  their varying shapes and sizes and their subtle changes in colour.  i also felt thankful for these gifts from nature which the children will enjoy carefully adding to their art work.

 

leaves have to be one of my favourite  gifts from the autumn along with pine cones. (diana agrees with me on the pine cones).

what are your favourite's ?

making me smile today...

for caireen....

thank you for your response to the november gratitude... i have been enjoying reading your posts and also being introduced to some lovely new blogs...

i have added some links to my sidebar so you can see who is joining in (if you would like me to link to your blog  please let me know).

today i am thankful for connections ... and to friends who i have met through this incredible blogging community which i have been involved in since april 2007.

 you have enriched my life... so thank you. x
i am very busy this week but i hope to post some thankful images soon...ginny x

november gratitude...

i awoke on the first day of november  to hear the rain lashing down outside my window. it reminded me of this poem by Thomas Hood;

No sun - no moon!

No morn - no noon -

No dawn - no dusk - no proper time of day.

No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,

No comfortable feel in any member -

No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,

No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds!

-November!

so here we are in november which is often a very bleak month for me... a month of short days and long nights, cold fingers, cold toes, heavy rain and snuffly noses.

after chatting to georgia we decided that it would be a good month to look at the things in our lives that we are thankful for (and i think also it will help me to not dwell on the negatives as outlined in Thomas Hood's poem!)... so i have created a november 'gratitude' button

 

please feel free to take one and join us in a month of gratitude.. there are no rules .. post images or words... just take time to notice  and appreciate  all the good things in your lives this november.

let us know if you are joining us and i will link to you in my side bar

today i am thankful to have met such an amazingly kind veterinary nurse who has been caring for our Paws... who is on the mend and nearly back to  his normal lively self.

wishing you a happy november day

x

p.s. edit to say that  i don't agree  with mr hood's 'no moon' in the poem as wasn't it amazing last night?