Grand plans and a grand day.....

We were off at a gallop this morning.  There was laundry and vacuuming and general tidying before prospective buyers came to look through our house (auction looming).  There was a hairdresser appointment and a promised cafe lunch.  There were patterns to pick up from the printers and there were plans... oh yes... craft markets and artist studios.... and I think I mentioned something about going out to the country to visit my parents in the evening.

 Ok, so it was all a bit unrealistic after the tidying, hairdresser, lunch and printers bit. 

We got lost in unfamiliar suburbs and arrived at the River Studios Open Day much later than expected (...and in desperate need of a nice cup of tea and a bit of a sit down). 

How lovely to see Leonie's drawings tansformed into new screen-prints, all made up into cushion covers and packaged fabric panels.  This is her first print and she has plans to extend the range of prints and products, using her own art images.

 There are lots of interesting people in the River Studios, doing all manner of art and craft-based work.  I loitered around the tactile textiles of Gaye Abandon..... lovin' those felty  table mats and coasters.

 I wanted to dive into the stacks of cut up, felted jumpers..... (Although I don't think Gaye would have thought that was ok...)

 The wee girl found an enormous sheet of paper and a box of pens.

 ..and she fund her 'tribe'...

 They drew, they played with the "dollies", they played imaginary games of SPIES and TEACHERS....

They had an altogether FANTASTIC time.

...and I was happy to see her so happy and engaged with other kids (and I was thinking of a saying about things that are not broken), so we stayed a bit longer.

I did some knitting, had a lovely chat, ate lots of bread and pate and cheese.....and then realised it was getting dark outside and that I'd missed the opportunity to go anywhere or do anything else with the day.

It was probably a good thing.

Substation Artists Market

My sister has been busy getting ready for her stall at the Substation Artist's Market in Newport on Saturday. She whipped up this batch of lavender sachets with prints of her original drawings on them... perfect for keeping your drawers, suitcases and wardrobes super-sweet (and moth-free!). She's also selling her original drawings, cards and other textile-based goodies (using prints of her drawings).

The substation is a fantastic venue and the market is chock-o-block with talented artists and craftspeople. Worth a looky.

If you're interested in a spot of life-drawing, Leonie runs a group on Saturdays where you can drop in week by week - without having to book in for a full course. It's a great way to try out something new and creative (or scrape off a bit of rust that may have built up since college days). There's always great food and fine company, to boot! Contact Leonie through her blog for more details.