Christmas Glow @ Wisley

Just managed to catch the last few days of Christmas Glow at RHS Wisley

We arrived after 5pm as advised (due to its popularity) and walked around the fairy lit grounds admiring the light instillations and featured 'Iconic Trees'

A beautiful moonlit evening made an ideal if chilly end to January 1st 2018

 

 

Snowdrops

 

 

Hoya

 

 

The Glasshouse

 

 

 Inside the Glasshouse

 

 

Lotus on the pond

 

 

 

Happy New Year!

January Sale

Sale time!

 

 

I currently have 20% off all items in my Folksy shop until 15/01/2018

 Simply enter the code ODD18 at checkout

Click Here to visit

Wishing you a very Happy and Healthy New Year.

Covent Garden at Christmas

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Covent Garden this week, ticking all the boxes!

 

Robin Redbrest

I can resist no longer! Time to embrace the coming festivities and start adding a few Christmas related items to my shop

 

 

This flat felted robin is available in my Folksy shop now

Click Here

Expecto Patronum

Can't help noticing that Christmas is starting to make a sneaky appearance in the shops.

Last year we focused on some time together rather than the mountain of presents route so did a little starlight walk at Painshill Park in Cobham - was half expecting to see a doe patronus when I looked across the lake!

Okney Revisited

Another lovely holiday spent in Orkney this year. Did say 'next year we'll go on a holiday where we come back with a suntan not rust' but somehow it keeps calling us back.

Stayed near Orphir on the mainland and spent time walking, beachcombing and admiring the seals who hauled up near the cottage at low tide.

 

 

View from the back garden

 

 

Our favourite beach

 

 

An Orcadians idea of a footpath!

 

 

Cliffs on Hoy, by The Old Man

 

 

 The fruits of my labour!

Little Owl & A Teapot!

Picked my needles up again this week and here is the result.

Currently sat amongst the treasures on my desk, he is awaiting wrapping up ready for my Folksy shop (available now Click Here)

Was trying to think of a witty name for this piece but failed miserably and went down the literal route.

Here's a little poem by someone more clever than me instead

I know that you were made for me

And I was made for you

A wise old owl up in a tree

Told me this was true

I asked him only yesterday

If I should marry you

He answered - I can safely say

"You're not a twit to woo"

- Martha Simms

Hipster Horse

Just on a short stroll in the woods, minding my own business when I saw this...

 

 

The Hipster movement has taken a step too far this time, or maybe 'Movember' is still a thing? This dapper chappie certainly thinks so.

(Subsequently found out that some Cobs or Gypsy Vanners have this feather to their genetic bow)

A Boxer Named Wellington

Just finished a commission for a lovely couple who own a huge character in the shape of a Boxer dog named Wellington (Welly for short)

Torn between a needle felted version or a pastel portrait they ended up wanting both.

I studied so many photographs of his face that I could see his little teef when I closed my eyes at night!!

Sloth In A Bucket

Perhaps the current cold spell is affecting my judgement but a miniature sloth in a bucket seemed like a perfectly reasonable idea the other night. Having acquired a number of brass trinkets, this little bucket was crying out for a inhabitant. My partners face was a picture when he asked what I was doing but I had the last laugh as 'ol' three toe' sold at a fair this weekend.

Here is a quick snap of him that I took on my phone - cant decide if he's looking on approvingly or judging me as I enjoyed a post production glass of wine!

 

The Christmas Spirit

Spent a few minutes admiring the double window display of Shabby Chic Country Living in Dorkings West Street this weekend

 

 

Now that's what I call Christmassy!

Needle Felted Black Labrador

I have been battling with Cosby on and off for a few weeks now, trying to capture his doleful expression!

 

Owned by my cousin and family, he's a failed Guide Dog (he liked other dogs too much and got distracted) The softest, most loveable lump, he is now in his senior years but still enjoys a good paddle about in the stream when he gets a chance. 

Christmas Robin Decoration

I supposed I'm allowed to mention the C word now that we are into November?!

Just added this guy to my Folksy shop, made from needle felted wool and framed in an embroidery hoop.

 

 

A robin tamed me once (yes I do mean that way around!) and he had be set up a mealworm feeding station for his exclusive use. I got into big trouble if I didn't prioritise his breakfast when I arrived in the mornings and he would stand bobbing by my elbow until I paid him due attention.

Available in my Folksy shop now

New Stock in my Folksy Shop

Lots of new items added to my Folksy shop including a needle felted Greyhound, Fox Terrier & Otter to name a few!

 

   

 

 

 

Click HERE for more details

Hay Hay We're The Bookworms

Still thinking of the lovely break we had in Hay on Wye 'The Town of Books' at the beginning of the month.

The small market town of Hay is famous for its second hand bookshops and was a favourite haunt of mine when I was studying in Hereford, so, quite a few years on I was happy to see it hadn't lost any of its charm.

 

 

 

 

The 'on Wye' bit also didn't disappoint and we were treated to glimpses of Kingfisher and a first for me, Dippers - such smart looking little fellows!

 

 

 

 

One of the highlights had to be watching wild Kites being fed in the heart of the Brecon Beacons.

 

 

Although curling up back at the apartment with a new book, freshly purchased in town came a close second!

 

 

Heaven!

Shopfest at Denbies

Madly trying to finish the last few pieces for Shopfest at Denbies this Sunday, 9th October 2016.

The Fair is open from 11am - 4pm with free entry and is held at Denbies Wine Estate, Dorking, Surrey,  RH5 6HA

 

 

Do drop by and say hello if you're in the area.

Arundel Castle

 

I've been a long time fan of the market town of Arundel in West Sussex.

Our usual activities comprise of coffee and cake, a stroll along the river, a nose around the back streets and a smidgen of retail therapy.

This last visit we ventured into the grounds of Arundel Castle (home to the current Duke of Norfolk) and we were not disappointed. Small but beautifully formed, the diverse planting and inspiring setting made for one of the best day trips we've had this Summer.

The fact that that it was a near perfect summers day helped of course but as we entered a courtyard dotted with fountains and tinkling with the sound of water, the impression was that of an absolute paradise. Do you remember arriving at a theme park as a child and feeling such an overwhelming sense of excitement that you positively had to run everywhere - well that was me (or maybe that's just me?!)

Anyway, enough rambling - here are some pics!

 The Collectors Earl Garden

 Cut Flower Garden

 The White Garden

 Stumpery

Wildflower Garden

Sprinting Hare

A fantastic holiday in Orkney has inspired this latest piece.

A gentle stroll down to the beach, Oyster Catchers calling over head and hares running flat out through the fields either side of us - heaven!

Awaiting instillation into his glass case he will be available in my Folksy shop tomorrow.

Click Here For Current Work

Tweet of the Day

Not every culture sees a single Magpie as a bad omen, in Korea the bird signifies the arrival of visitors to your house and in China the bird is a symbol of good luck and fortune.

Consider this little chap as a welcome visitor to your home and remember that if you see lots of single magpies in the Spring it's usually because they are foraging for food for their mate.

This needle felted miniature sits atop a hand painted vintage brass telephone and will be available in my Folksy shop in the next day or two.

The Fox &The Gramophone

As anyone who has ever lain in bed listening to foxes knows, when singing their song, they are practically pitch perfect!!

This fellow loves nothing more than listening to some smooth classics of an evening.

 

 

 

Available from my Folksy Shop in the next day or two