After several months of procrastination and one sewing machine that had to be returned due to a fault, I have finally settled on my new sewing machine. I am delighted with it, well worth the wait. Thank you Ma for giving me yours several years ago, a fifty year old Frister and Rossman, and thank you Pa for fixing it endless times, but mmm...this one is better!!  At last I can get sewing again. On Saturday, having easily followed the manual and started using the new sewing machine, I produced this new bag, using a delightful peacock feather patterned material, with a lovely turquoise lining and a 'tie dye' effect material for the handles and edging. I am rather pleased with it. Hope you like it too.

This painting was orignally a 'watercolour challenge' from my very dear friend Peter Clements several years ago now and given to a few of us to attempt. I think I was the only one to fully complete it, frame it and put it into an exhibition! It is a challenging painting and a few weeks ago I decided to take on the challenge again, this time in acrylics, a much more forgiving medium than my favourite watercolours. With acrylics  if you make a mistake, you can just paint over it! I've also published it under my acrylics page on my website and you can enlarge the painting there.

Life has been so busy for several months now that I haven't had the opportunity to be creative or to update my blog. In recent weeks, I've been easing myself back into work, starting by working on an old painting I did of a seahorse and developing it. The original painting was a watercolour/collage but I wasn't happy with the bottom of the painting. I used acrylics to paint over this and to create some rocks. Its still not my most favourite painting but a vast improvement and it gave me the opportunity to get back into painting.

Of course, now I have all kinds of ideas roaring at me, but as always not enough time to get the ideas onto paper!