Life Goes On

Here I am nearly a week post operation and I am still in the hospital. I am recovering well from the operation apart from the fact that somehow a nerve in my right leg was affected which has meant I can't walk and will need rehabilitation. It is not so easy to find a rehab bed so meanwhile I am still in the Royal Women's Hospital.The nursing staff are lovely and work so hard to make all patients comfortable. The view from my window is pretty good and I can keep an eye on those builders on the building site across the road and make sure they are keeping their nose to the grindstone and I can watch the incoming weather. I feel well and will have biopsy results later today. So trying to keep busy awaiting those.

To try and keep busy I have decided to run another on-line  Traveller's Blanket Class which will start on 1 November. I am working on one myself- which  is turning into a bit of a manifesto in keeping to the  creating/art making state of mind whilst I recover. Occasionally I refer to what is happening but mostly  I find myself telling myself to stay alert, to "see", to draw from within and to just stitch. Of course there are many other reasons to make traveller's blankets, as in, recording journeys actually made, creating a memento of family memories, recording a favourite place. There are so many ways to stitch a journey. We are not all wordy people, and more and more I am finding that stitching is expressive of what is within and as I have watched people make their own blankets in various classes each is so different and so must more than simply recording.

If you would like to join please message me. The cost is $75 and I set up a private Facebook group for discussion and sharing your stories and work.

Misty Mountain getaway

I have been up at Dorrigo teaching at the Misty Mountain Getaway. Dorrigo is in northern NSW and a sleepy country town  apart from the hive of activity created by the Getaway which is 7 days of  classes with  well known teachers from around the country. The weather has been so so but  rain is desperately needed in these parts.

The tutors are staying just outside of the town and I wake up to the view in the photo in the morning !

The first two days I was here I taught the tifaifai  class and I have to say the participants were all enthusiastic and well skilled so achieved a lot including drafting their own designs. I always love the surprise students get when they lay out their designs.

  A detail of Corrinna's design, she managed to place both the positive and negative.

The peacock feathers are Sandra's design and she also managed to place both the positive and negative and said she would bring in one of these quilted when she comes back later in the week.

The last was Tonia's  design which has a beautiful circular motion happening in the centre design and was all but complete when she left yesterday afternoon.

The township of Dorrigo has quite a few interesting "lifestyle" businesses and also a few mosaics around the town. The photo below adorns the town hall where most of the classes are taking place.

So it will be a busy week. My date for surgery has been set for 17 October, and there is still a lot of things to do before then. After surgery I will not be able to do much for 6 weeks, except stitch and write my new Traveller's Blanket book- so watch this space! At least all the stitching is done.