We went to Cornwall and stayed with lovely dear friends. My friend Rebecca Ball makes the most wonderful quilts http://www.manycuriousthings.blogspot.com/ Rebecca showed me her latest quilt which was on her quilting frame stretching the length of her studio work room. She had begun the quilting of it. The quilt quite took my breath away, it is absolutely beautiful. She has incorporated plain and patterned silk and cotton fabrics into the design. My photograph of it has not done it justice, not even including the amount of hard work, time and love that has gone into it.
She has a wonderful sense and clever play with colours and fabrics and maximises them to their full potential, it is only when you look at her quilts that you realise how clever she is with her choice of colour and how each block piece is placed so simply and so succinctly with the next block to create a clever optical illusion of the most wonderful colours and clever use of shapes to create unique and very desirable quilts.
We visited Truro Fabrics http://www.trurofabrics.com/ and spent ages just walking around the shop in a haze of loveliness before choosing fabrics and trimmings to take home to use. (well, one day)
I went to visit Tuppenny Barn http://www.tuppennybarn.com/ in West Sussex an inspiring and long term vision incorporating learning, education and very very delicious organic fresh from the field produce. Maggie who runs it sent me on my way with the best flavoursome salad bag I have ever eaten.
My visit to Tuppenny Barn was a welcome break from the three commission pieces I am currently working on and have almost finished. The pieces have been very hard work, I did struggle with the drawings for the pieces, but the time spent has paid off and now the embroidered pieces work well together and now that I am on the last piece I feel as though I can relax a bit, I can't wait to get them framed and see them in their full glory.