I have to admit that one of the most irritating things to read on a blog is ‘sorry I haven’t posted for a while……’ . So, I’m not going to apologise for my absence because sometimes life takes over and that is fine, it is far more important than blogging. However, some of my absence has been caused by internet connection problems. For a number of years we have used Virgin Media as our provider, but no more……. Today we changed! Here’s hoping that it’s for the better and that our connection remains constant for all hours of the day. It also means a change of email address, so if you have been writing to me at a virgin.net account I suggest you contact me for the new one. For a limited time you can use   winifredsheadache@gmail.com   as a contact address. Make sure you tell me why you need to have it – remind me of where we met etc – as I may not be the only one checking the mail and I WILL NOT BE RESPONDING TO SPAM! Those of you who know me know that I don’t want to lose contact, so this is a sort of belt and braces means of letting you all know. You can also, of course, contact me via the usual shop address.

So, on to other things. Did you all have a good weekend? The weather was glorious and it was such a pleasure to be able to go out for the day yesterday in warm sunshine. We visited the Hillier Gardens in Hampshire. It was the perfect time to view the Magnolias

They were truly beautiful set against a cloudless blue sky.

On Saturday we attended the Embroiderers Guild Regional Day at Wokingham. We saw lots of lovely people as usual, and listened to some very interesting speakers. I’ve heard Debbie Lyddon before, an interesting talk which is highly recommended, but also heard one by someone new to me. The morning talk was from Kirsty Whitlock an exuberant and enthusiastic artist who works in mixed media textiles. You certainly won’t be disappointed if you have a chance to hear them somewhere, and they are both also friendly and approachable people.

Now, I need your help! I have mentioned before that I’m teaching an Embellisher Workshop at Janome in Stockport near Manchester at the end of this month. The class was ready to go, but sadly one of the participants has had to pull out as she has been admitted to hospital. This doesn’t sound as though it would make much of a difference, but she is the driver for 3 other friends, all of whom were planning to attend. Four people pulling out this close to the date means that the workshop will have to be cancelled unless they can be replaced by Tuesday 14th May. Please can you pass the word? Mention it to anyone you think might be interested, and also apply NOW if you were considering coming but had decided to wait until the last minute to enrol. It will be a great shame if we have to cancel. The price has reduced from that of last year, and the venue is wonderful. Remember that you don’t need a machine to participate, all machines are provided, so you can travel as light as you wish as supplies will also be available to purchase on the day if required. Further details are here and by popular request we will be making a little pair of boots amongst learning other things.

I have had many requests for a workshop in the West Country. I know that you don’t like travelling far, so I’m very pleased to tell you that a two day workshop has been arranged for August this year. I’m planning on coming to the Mad Hatter’s Studio in Plymouth which is ideally placed for both Devon and Cornwall. Details are here. I haven’t visited the Studio before, so if you need information about the set up I suggest you contact Sheron. By all means contact me for more information about the actual workshop.

There is more news too, but this is enough for one day, so there will be another post tomorrow, and then, when I’ve caught up, I’ll be back on track as promised.