I shared a passion for textiles with my Mum.I designed and she made my wedding dress nearly 25 years ago.We attended to opening of Ebony at Bellevue Arts Museum.It was great to catch up with old friends and see some amazing pieces.

My personal favorite was a plus sized evening dress with stunning hand work.Lots of pictures below.I’d highly recommend this exhibit and if you know anyone who has the facilities to host it -it’s just waiting to be shared.

Not my best image ever due to low light.Hopefully the detail shots make up for poor quality.Up close images worked much better.I loved the surfaces in this piece and am pretty sure they will work their way into some of my work.

It’s turned cold and grey again.

It’s still worth getting outside and catching up with all the flowers in bloom and seeing the distant lakes, the mountains are hidden in shroud of clouds.I hope to post an image of a banks that overcrowded with blue flowers.I think every neighbor has a different name for them but today I saw a hummingbird feeding on this patch.I saw it buzz in as I walked along and just paused until it had it’s fill.Moments like this are just precious .I am so lucky to be able to stroll slowly and enjoy them.I miss work and a busy complex life but watching a hummingbird just makes my day.Building my own garden to support such birds feels like a valid occupation.Time to reduce the buttercups  and propagate some more of those blue flowers.

Such a great day to celebrate.

I checked the new trees we’ve planted over the spring.Enjoyed the new blooms in the deck barrel.I’m working on some recycled cuffs which I’ll share more about later if the project comes together.There foundation are recycled jeans, plastic bottles and other end of life textiles.

I have been exchanging letters with my old ward sister for the last 21 years since my son was born.These letters have become important in the years since we arrived in the US.Since I no longer work formally , just volunteer ,I miss professional contact .In her last letter she asked how I’d supported the young folks at the Artful evening evening.I had a few left over supplies that could be adapted to a flat pack card for mailing to the UK.So this card will be winging it’s way back to Oxford.

Back in the day I did a lot of cross-stitch.Back in the day I taught health and social care a bit.

One of my ex-pupil posted this quote recently.She has done very well in the world and continues to impress and surprise me. It’s deliberately irregular and the penguin were a request.

Have to big up Pinterest for this project.The text creator and penguin were sourced there.Little technical point I brought a square frame locally but found it really uncomfortable and difficult to tension for this project.I swapped back to an old wooden ring and was much more comfortable and able to tension the work better.

It needs trimming, washing, pressing and sending to the UK.

I’m still working from Cas Holmes Stitching Stories book and her wonderful article and this months Cloth,Scissors and Paper.Suddenly I realised it’s March and I have finally gathered the required supplies well almost I’m still having issues finding the correct adhesive.So instead of starting I’ve put my draft to one side will try a pilot book with will be part one of two.

My stitch story focuses on my weekly walk around Hilltop.I try to make this about 1 trip every week.It means on a clear day I get to see two volcanos. Mount Baker my daily companion and Mt Rainier the volcano that dominated the Seattle skyline plus the Olympic Mountains.There are also Lake Washington the Cascades and the Spaceneedle. It truly as a top of the world trip.