Sarah Downton Beads and Jewellery

Wednesday evening

Oh it’s all go! I’ve been at the Surrey Guild Gallery again today, and will be teaching again tomorrow. It all just seems to be non-stop for me at the moment, which is good but a little exhausting. After my big push for the Big Bead Show on Saturday I’m feeling totally shattered and keep falling asleep watching telly in the evenings! I spent the day in the gallery today matching beads to make earrings and floater necklaces (when there were no customers), it takes time but I think it is worth it, as I am very particular about attention to detail in my lampwork glass beads and jewellery. I am now ready to start making my jewellery again, just in time for the start of the run up to Christmas and the few craft fairs and exhibitions that I am taking part in.

The Big Bead Show was fun, it was lovely seeing all my friends again, meeting all my new customers and and seeing all my students who came to say hello, thank you for making my day. Our mystery free gifts went down very well, our new Sarah Downton Fridge Magnets with stunning photos of my beads, all photographed by Rick. I can also reveal that I was  finalist in The Bead Awards, something that I had to keep quiet for ages! I was one of 6 finalists chosen from many applicants, there should have been just 3 finalists but the standard of entries was so high that the judges had a real job deciding. In the end they chose to call in 6 entries and chose 3 winners. Unfortunately I did not come in the top 3, but I did have my entry on display in the awards room and was given a finalist certificate. I’m really pleased to have got so far, and would like to congratulate my friend Francesca Cerretta who came first with a really quirky bead, Manda Murdimer who came second with her sublime cored bead and Rachel Elliot (3rd) with her Retticello bead, and also Emma Baird and Marion Sidebottom who were the other 2 finalists with me.

Here are the beads I entered….Transition iii

Friday morning

Tuition date announced……I have 1 space available on a 1 day Beginners Course on Saturday 10th October. Contact me now to book your place!

Another day another dollar, or should that be bead? We had a great time last weekend, catching up with bead making friends from around the country and generally having a good time, oh, and we sold beads! I managed to stay fairly chilled in the end, and set a time limit for pricing up my new bead sets, which I actually managed to stick to, so I didn’t spend all evening sitting at the desk working like I’ve always done in the past. It was lovely to see some of you guys again and to meet some new customers. I am now preparing for the next flurry of fairs, which are next weekend at Harrow and 2 weeks later at Sandown – The Big Bead Show, this is the one where I need lots of stock, my new arrivals area was decimated at the end of the day last year. So I have had my head down as much as I could this week, and will be popping off into the studio shortly to continue my exploration of colour…..I’ve been trying new ways of using my many pots frit and I’m really pleased with yesterdays haul.

Just lately my mojo (and I actually don’t like using that word) seems to be coming and going. One day I have loads of ideas, and the next I struggle to think of what to make, even though the previous day I will be itching to try lots of ideas. I think maybe the pressure of fairs booked and only having a certain amount of time during the day to make beads isn’t helping. I know when I can spend time at the torch and feel I must produce as many saleable beads during this time as I can.

Forget all the business stuff I have to do, which again is falling behind as is the housework, blah! I guess there just aren’t enough hours in the day and I should stop being so hard on myself. The kitchen looks like a bomb hit it, and it’s not just me, it’s Rick, we both hate housework and will do anything else when home to avoid doing it. I’ve come to the conclusion today (well, actually I’ve always known this) that I hate washing up too, it’s all such a waste of creative time. I wish it would all go in the dishwasher. Maybe we should buy some cheap saucepans that can be bunged in with the rest of the stuff, or maybe we should be training our daughter to do the pots and pans….hmmmm….now there’s a thought.

Monday evening

Oh woops! I’m back, yes I do apologise for the long gap between posts. It has been manic and I’ve had to have my head down and keep focused and working hard to fit everything in over the past month. Open Houses, which were in full swing on each weekend sandwiching my sponsored walk, were successful, we had several visitors, and almost everyone left with some sort of goodies from one of the 3 of us. We had a lovely 2 weekends, with good weather and fun together in Ediths beautiful sloping garden, making new friends and enjoying each others company.

After that I had to prepare for the Contemporary Art, Craft and Design Fair at Winchester, this included getting all my stock ready, then a trip down with my cabinet to set up, 2 days stewarding on the Thursday and Friday, and then another trip last Sunday to break down the exhibition. I saved my energy and booked the salubrious Travelodge north of Winchester, and enjoyed 2 days there, with some fun but very rushed shopping in my lunchtime, and a very quick visit to my friend Simon’s bead shop there called World of Beads. Oh, and I managed to squeeze in a trip to the Hampton Court Flower Show the same week as the Winchester show, phew.

Then it was back home to yet more teaching, trying to tidy the house and catch up with stuff in general, and prepare for the next bead fair, which is this coming Sunday, at Ardingly. I will have my usual mix of yummy colour beads as focals and sets, and my fun bargain pots, which I have restocked since the last fair at Dorking. Catch you there, I expect I’ll be upstairs so do come and say hello and get yourself some of my new bead designs.

Tuesday morning

I have space on another 2 day Beginners Glass Beadmaking Course next week, Mon 22nd – Tues 23rd June. Email me now to reserve your place on this or the other course from Mon 29th – Tues 30th June (one space remaining) running the following week…….

3 days until I have to set up my cabinet for Horsham Open Studios and counting (do you see my necklace at the top of the link web page? eh? eh?)……all is going well, if not a bit manic, as I am working from when I get up,  almost until I go to bed, with only enough of a stop just to eat lunch and dinner. But I’m getting there, at my last count I had 50 pieces of jewellery to put in my cabinet, not including beads on thongs or phone dangles, so I’m almost there. All I have to do now (ha ha…all) is clear out my cabinet which I use as a store most of the time, dust down the shelves and try laying out my display. Then I have to label my pieces with codes and prices and do a stock list so I know what’s sold, organise my packaging, leaflets, mirror, earring holder etc….I always forget how long that part takes. Then I have to find the lights, keys, extension leads etc…it all takes so long, so if I can get most of my work made and finished today that gives me a couple of days to sort the rest hopefully. Roll on Saturday….slowly please.

In amongst all this I have managed to book my ticket to the Hampton Court Flower Show (yipee), but more importantly I need to find time to go for walks, as my Race for Life sponsored walk is next Wednesday.  Thank you to everyone who has sponsored me so far, you know who you are, but there is still time for more sponsoring for those of you who haven’t so far and would like to. It’s very easy, just follow this link to sponsor me on-line and help such a worthy cause that affects all of us at some time and in some way.

I have to admit to struggling with this post today, as I’m outside on my favourite bench (well, it’s the only one we have actually but I love sitting here) in the very bright sunshine, with my brightness turned up so high, and I’m still struggling to read what I’ve put or even worse find the cursor! I thought I should pop outside and get some fresh air after being cooped up indoors all day yesterday. Well, I’d better get back to the grindstone…laters.

Tuesday morning

I love my new studio! I can’t get over how spacious it feels inside, you could really swing a cat in there (apologies to all cat lovers), whereas the last one you could pick up a mouse but not even swing it…not that there were any mice in there of course. I have 2 workspaces set up in a sort of minimal way, and I’m determined to keep it as clear as I can until we start lining the walls, however I don’t seem to be succeeding. I keep needing more things to be able to work, ‘oh just that tool’ and ‘I really want to try that glass I bought at the Flame Off‘. What’s a girl to do? All that scrumptious new glass and lovely new colours from CIM, I’m aching to try CIM Sapphire and Cornflower and TAG Taxco Silver Turquoise. OH dear, I’m going to have to take the rest of my box of goodies down to the studio today and start using it, I can always stash it in one of the wire drawers I have.

I really don’t know where the last 2 months have gone, well I do, but didn’t get the jobs done that I’d hoped to, as I thought I’d have loads of time to update my website, write tutorials and generally tart things up a bit. But taking down the studio and preparing for the new one took all my energies and thoughts, I suppose I thought that may be the case, but had hoped that I’d be able to take advantage of the time and sort some indoor jobs. But I’m not going to beat myself up about it, I have a huge new studio and can make handmade glass beads again, which is bliss. I also started my glass beadmaking courses again last week, and have a couple of days this week and several dates to look forward to throughout June. Anyway, enough of my wittering, I need to get my kiln on and get making beadies for the Bead Fair at Dorking Halls on 31st May.

Monday tea time

Where did the Easter holiday go? Why am I sooooo tired? Why am I skint? Why is there a huge pile of washing up in the kitchen, you know, all the posh stuff you don’t want to ruin in the dishwasher? Why are there masses of glass jars and bits all over the lounge floor? and who left that shed in pieces around the side of the house?

OK, so here’s the plot, Monday before Easter we emptied my studio, that took longer than I thought it would, even with my packing things and tidying stuff away the week beforehand. Late Monday afternoon Rick removed the benches, power and stuff screwed to the walls. Tuesday we took the shed apart and carted it around the side of the house, this was very enjoyable as there was no way I could have done that for the last 10 or so years previous. Then Rick started excavating the plot to lay the next 12 slabs we needed, including digging out the pesky Virginia Creeper shoots and ivy plants everywhere. We managed to fill 2 of those Hippo bags you can get from builders merchants with the soil from the slope, which didn’t look particularly slopey until he started digging of course. Then he had to lug 12 bags of sand, 12 huge slabs, move the 2 heavy sleepers that were holding back the lawn, then move them 3 or 4 more times as they kept gettong in the way. After the slabs were laid we started repairing the surrounding fences, and removed 2 panels from the back of our garden so that we have slightly more room to walk along the back of the new studio to remove leaves and stuff. The panel removal revealed a huge tangle of more Virginia Creeper, which all had to be prised off the fence and chopped to fill the recycling bags, and the huge root dug up and disposed of. I also went around the garden and pulled out all the brown long leaves from the Crocosmia and grasses around the place, cut back the Pyrocantha and the Fatsia Japonica to reveal the Hellibores we planted last spring, and generally got rid of the plant rubbish. I then attacked the front garden border and had several subsequent trips to the dump, which in itself was entertaining as the bags were so heavy I had to drag them, then pull individual handfuls of plant bits into the skips until the bag was light enough to pick up and tip the contents away. Phew. Oh and we also had 2 trips down to look at cars, one of them to buy a car we wanted and had rung up to check it was still there, only to be told casually ‘Oh we sold that one yesterday’ when we got there. Typical.

That’s the progress so far, we now have to finish repairing the fences, paint them, and decide how many new sleepers and slabs we need to complete the area around the studio and the path down to it. I also need to organise the insulating materials, the internal cladding, the flooring, the ventilation and what benches I want. I’m also trying to choose a couple of lovely garden shades to paint the shed when it’s been up for a while. That’s all the good news, the bad news is that I’ve been let down on when the studio is being delivered, which is after I was supposed to be starting teaching again. This is very annoying and stressful because I now have almost 3 weeks without a studio, the time slot that I had planned for fitting out my studio perfectly, and now we have to make it just ‘OK’ to start teaching on time, and that’s with having had to rearrange a couple of students to come in June instead now. Of course even OK will be plenty to actually teach properly, it just won’t be fixed up permanently and decorated.

As far as the rest of the holiday and my tireness, that’s probably down to going away to the Flame Off last Friday and Saturday, but thats another post!

Thurs evening

I have a couple of spaces available for beadmaking courses

The first is a space for 1 person on a 1 day beginners course Thurs 21st May.

The second is suitable for you if you have taken a course but not yet set up your studio, or if you are self taught and want to improve your skills or simply see someone else make beads. The dates for this 2 day refresher course are Sat 16th May and Weds 20th May.

See my tuition page for more information and email me now to reserve your place.

Plans are going ahead for my studio refurbishment, or should I say demolition and rebuilding. It’s been a long time coming, we chose a new shed last year, but the weather was soooooo cold in January that I had to put my plans on hold as we were concerned about freezing concrete. I’ve since found out that I don’t need to lay a concrete base, which I’m really happy about as it’s not very green laying masses of uneccesary concrete. I ordered my shed on Monday, with a whole 25% discount, the best I’ve seen for this make, and it should be here in 2 to 4 weeks. In the meantime we will be packing up the studio on Monday and dismantling it, then lifting the old slabs, cutting away the lawn to make space for the extra 2 foot width and hauling the sleepers along before laying the base. There’s so much to do but I’ve decided to deal with each stage about a week before it’s due to happen. I can’t be doing with sourcing everything right now as I have an urge to make as many beads as I can before I see my studio collapse.

So what about our fabby new car? Oh dear, after masses of agonising on Tuesday we walked away from the deal because the dealer couldn’t locate the Service History. To say we were gutted would be an understatement, but the saying ‘that you get what you pay for’, and ‘some things are too good to be true’ are spot on. It was such a good deal, very new second hand car with a low mileage and a high specification that was 1K less than it should have been.  So now the hunt continues, although I think we’ve narrowed down the choice of cars, so could possibly task a garage with the fun of tracking down our ideal car.

Saturday evening

Phew it’s been a busy day, but very enjoyable. I’ve had 2 lovely ladies for a one day beginners course (waves ) and now it’s time for me to put my feet up. It’s Saturday night and I’m home alone as Rick has taken our daughter out for the afternoon and evening so it looks like it’s up to me to decide what I eat tonight, yay! I hear a pizza beconing cos it’s easy, hmmmmm, and it means I can watch BBC1′s zanny Comic Relief idea of getting celebs to do famous iconic dances. Last weeks Flashdance by Robert Webb was hilarious, I wonder if anyone else will come close to his performance. Then later when his nibs gets back I hope to kick off my shoes and watch this week’s Lost…

You know, I’m going to clamber onto my soapbox and have a quick winge about Sky. Why do they always knick the best shows from terestrial TV and prevent other channels from showing them, I mean, I know it’s business, but it really annoys me that they don’t have the guts to try out new series, they wait for terrestrial TV to try something out then if it’s a hit they nab it. They should have the guts to try things out for themselves and stop creaming off the best. I realise that it’s also a way to get more subscribers, but I think it’s way mean. I really miss 24, that was another quality series that was snatched away.  Rant over.

Friday morning

230 beads…………that’s how many I had to clean after my mamoth session on Tuesday added to the results of all my play work last week. Yikes, I really should try not to let them pile up like that. Today I’m having my final bead making session for the magazine comp, at least I hope it will be, I may have to sneak out tomorrow and finish off if the beads don’t sit properly together. My work on this on Wednesday was, I feel, successful, but it’s adding to what I’ve already done that could potentially be a problem as I’m reet proper fussy when it comes to making up my really posh sets.

I had another fab teaching day with 2 lovely ladies yesterday, and that was my last bit of teaching until the new year, and of the course the last this month, which has been chocka full of teaching dates. Now all I need to do is get ready for the 2 fairs I have next weekend, and the 2 exhibitions I think I’m doing, that also start next Saturday, so have to have the pieces to deliver on Friday at the latest. I’ve been trying not to get stressed about my work during the run up to Christmas and this has been working well, but to be honest, it’s working too well, so well, that I’m so laid back I’m horizontal and have done almost nothing to prepare. I have a stash of beads I made last month waiting to be turned into jewellery, but all my time has been spent doing masses of teaching, making my weekly order and getting to grips with Double Helix glass as well as my efforts to enter the magazine comp. I would normally have been making up jewelley in every spare moment, and all evening, but I’ve been so tired or busy cleaning beads and preparing my studio and tidying up from teaching that by the time all that’s done I need to rest……..I think I’ll put it down to still being a bit under par from the huge doses of anaesthetic earlier this year and my continual healing, after all it does get a bit zingy around my scar from time to time, so stuff is obviously still happening on some level.  Right, I’m off to run the kiln and start making beadies again. TTFN.

Monday morning

Well helloooooo there. I probably shouldn’t be so chirpy as I am missing my jewellery class yet again – the place to go for me to have a fun afternoon chatting with like minded jewellery making obsessed ladies. And especially today they are having our Christmas class jewellery sale. Yes I’m a bit sad about this, but maybe it’s a good thing as I am still just sooooo wacked out. We really must get our car situation sorted out….anyone got an estate car for sale? anyone? anyone?

I just popped out to my studio, and man, it’s chilly out there, only 5 deg. C this morning, but I’m off out to make some handmade glass beads in a mini mo for my regular weekly order. Then tomorrow and Thursday I’m teaching yet again, I seem to be doing about 2 days a week at the moment, which is so much fun and a bit tiring but hey ho, it’s worth it.

The big question on everyone’s mind today is…who on earth is voting for John Sergeant in Strictly Come Dancing? It sure ain’t me, but he really should go now, I know he’s fun to watch how badly he does everything, but it now seems so unfair that the really fabulous contestants are being booted off the show a week earlier than they should and missing their potential to learn new dances and improve more. I suppose maybe we should be asking ourselves if the BBC are cheating and keeping him in to give the show controversy and generally rigging the polls to suit what they feel the show should be like? Or does he have a huge cake baking, blue rinse, daytime TV watching, lady fan base? Who knows.

Monday afternoon

I don’t know what’s going on, but the last few days I’ve spent bead making I seem to have managed to cut my fingers twice a day, that’s 6 cuts on 3 days. Wot? I just don’t get it! And of course they’re the kind of light paper styli cuts that keep opening up slightly and stinging lots. Ouch. So what’s going on?

Well, I think I may be starting to panic a tad, oh yes, it’s that time of year again when offers of exhibitions and shows, all starting on the same date, all come slewing in at the last minute to tempt me to join in. Now if it was one event after the other it wouldn’t be too bad as I could make some new stock, display that, then while it’s out there make some more to top it up and so on. But of course it’s not, and here was I planning to start making up Christmas stock in September and October, but what happened? I had 3 bead fairs in 2 months, only 1 that I’d actually planned well in advance, and that kind of put things back. I’m also very pleased to be doing lots of bead making tuition and I can now reveal that I have a regular order now too. I wanted to do it for a while before mentioning it here, but it’s going well and giving me lots of practice although it does give me less time for my other activities.I think I may have to resort to making myself a timetable, or I should say do some project planning to make sure I get everything done. Oh well, I’d better get off and put some washing on and run the dishwasher…what an exciting life I lead!

Monday afternoon

Phew, I’m glad this weekend is over. It was a very busy show on Saturday at Sandown, a huge event with masses of stalls and hundreds of visitors. Thank you to everyone who came to see us and say hello, and of course to everyone who bought my beads. My tray of new beads was decimated by the end of the show, I hope you all enjoy using them. I was so busy all day that it was only when I popped over to Tufnells late afternoon to collect my glass supplies that I realised how wet it was outside, yuch. Fortunately we didn’t have too far to drive to get home so were tucking into a well deserved curry and a bottle of wine by about 8 o’clock that evening, and today I’m sat here with my feet up having a second day of rest to get over the last 2 months solid of work. I now have to plan how I’m going to fit in the next 2 months work and sort Christmas at the same time, rather than leave it all until the last week before the event.

I have 3 tuition dates remaining this year, all of them for 1 person to attend a 1 day Beginners Beadmaking Course. The dates available are

Friday 7th Nov (yes…this week!)

Wednesday 12th Nov (next week)

Thursday 27th Nov

Email me to secure your place on one of these courses, the last dates available before next February! We are planning to replace the studio in January next year so I will not recommence teaching until February.

Tues morning

Just a quick fly by to say hi (ooer that rhymes). I seem to be very busy, making beads for orders, teaching and getting ready for the Big Bead Show on the 1st Nov. Please note that this is a Saturday Bead Fair, not the usual Sunday affair. My personal targets for October seem to be slipping away without me achieving them, apart for one which was to try and master silver rich glass, which I’ve had a few hours at and have made wonderful progress, well, in one session at least.  I got all technical about it, went down to my studio armed with printed hints and tips and a tutorial, and a piece of paper to record my results and make notes on how I did it, where and what time it was put in the kiln….and guess what…no more poo on sticks! yay. Of course the second time I tried, but with a different technique and on ivory, all I got was tiny brown dots and very muted colours where I’d done a plunge dot. So now I need to work out how to get fabulous colours with encasing the stuff. Anyway, I must dash, I have a shed load of beads to make today, and they won’t make themselves you know…wags finger.

Monday teatime

The start of another week and I really must have a day off! Unfortunately I’m actually having to cook dinner every night this week as Rick has swanned off to the other side of the world and left us to fend for ourselves. He’s been cooking almost every night for the last 4 months, initially because I was recouperating, and for the last month because I’ve been working so hard making beads, teaching and selling at shows, that I’ve been too tired in the evening to cook. I have to interject here that I haven’t been a complete lush recently as I’ve made my more than my fair share of lunches, and we’re not just talking sarnies here, but salads and stuff, and I cooked a little on holiday too.

So where has he gone and why? Well, he’s popped over to Minneapolis with a work colleague to meet with a bunch of other programmers and be geeky in a room together at this do called a geekfest…actually I lie, it’s called a Backnet Plugfest. They all sit in a room and make their controllers ‘talk’ to each other, then after a set time they get up, move around the room and start over with another geek…..woops, programmer. A bit like nerdy speedating. Don’t you just love it

My day has been peachy, instead of going to class, I stayed home to see himself off then spent the morning cleaning my beads, I managed the handsome sum of 200 today, woo hoo, and you know how much I hate cleaning beads. Tomorrow I may just attack the wash pile, it may just be one of those weeks.

Wednesday teatime

Here we are again, a week later. Harrow was good, even though I was tired by the time I got there. I had been pushing it working everyday for the 2 weeks in the run up to the fair, and now I’m extremely pooped, but hey, I did it! Thank you to everyone who came to say hello and also those who bought my beads, especially to Elizabeth, my first customer of the day. So this week I’ve been trying to relax a bit which I’m finding difficult to do as there are so many jobs that I have at the moment, although that’s nothing new, there’s always something to do when you run your own business, and I thought October would be quiet. I have 2 days tuition this week and another hectic weekend ahead of me.

Wednesday teatime

As of last night I now have a table at the Harrow Bead fair this Sunday. Yipee. This has to be my favourite fair, not sure why really, but somehow it seems like ‘The’ bead fair of the year, maybe because it was one of the first. So I’m beavering away this week getting ready for it, well, not so much beavering, but working steadily and not too hard like last week, as we were both shattered after last weekend….partly because I worked soooo hard in the run up, then Rick continued with replacing the fence down the side of our house, then we had a party in the evening which we were both involved with helping, got to bed at 2:00am then up at 6:30 am for the Hatfield Bead Fair………oooooo no sleep. I’m teaching again this Saturday too. Phew I’m really going to need a rest next week.

My life seems to be pretty much back to normal now, it was officially 4 months on Saturday since I became a bionic hippy, and I can’t believe how good I feel, so much better already than the last 3 years, and I have the next 8 months to really get over the experiance. I haven’t used my stick at all for over a week, yay, and have been walking to the school unaided, which is all a bit wierd for me at the moment as I’ve been using a stick for the last 15 years. I have to really concentrate on how I walk, as bad habits formed in my endeavor to walk without pain, and I’m having physiotherapy to help me reach my foot again, it’s funny needing to have someone else tie up my shoelaces! and of course once lace ups are on they have to stay on all day. But hey, I feel good.

I have a couple of dates available for one person on each of the following beadmaking courses -

1 day beginners…………….Saturday 27th September

2 day beginners…………….Thurs 2nd to Fri 3rd October

Send me an email now to secure your place on one of these courses.

Other news…..I’m rushing around getting ready for the bead fair this Sunday at Hatfield House.  I sold so many beads at the Stourbridge bead Fair in August and haven’t had the time to make many more because of the school holidays, but I am busy making some of my new jewel toned silver foil lined beads and some more pandas. I also hope to make some new simple dichroic beads for you to use in your creations. I am sorting out some more of my bargain beads, these can be experiments and poor little orphans that can’t find a home in a set and will be taking along my selection of high quality chains and cables. Do come and say hello on Sunday.

Wednesday afternoon

Wow I’ve been away from here a long time. So what’s been happening? Well it’s school holidays for a start, so life is upside down at the moment, but since we last spoke we’ve had Ardingly bead fair, a lovely day with lots of friendly faces coming to say hi and lots of bead shopping, yes me too! I couldn’t resist some amazing and simple boro beads from Purple Beech Designs, I bought some of the teardrops in various colours. Of course I had to rest for a few days after the exertion of preparing for this, then we went away to France for a week with Ricks family. There will be more about ‘The Great Downton Getaway’ in later posts. Now I’m trying to recover from the journey home and the last few days of our holiday which were very busy physically for me.

The good news is that I was 12 weeks post op yesterday, this being another milestone for me being allowed to do a few more things, but the last milestone is my 3 month date on 20th August, when I will be able to stop all my hip precautions and start to lead a completely normal life again (I hope). This is the date I’m really looking forward to. Also this week I have 2 days teaching, my first course until I resume working full time in September, obviously I can’t really teach many days in August due to my daughter being on holiday and family commitments on general.

My next event is the Stourbridge Bead Fair, formerly the GBUK Bead Fair. This is a 3 day bead fair at the Bonded Warehouse in Stourbridge running over the Bank Holiday weekend and is again part of the International festival of Glass (IFG), an amazing and exciting celebration of all things glassy. Actually I’m only going for the Gaffers’ Ale and another hand blown and cut 1 pint beer glass (hee hee) to add to the other 3 in the cupboard.

I am also very pleased to be taking part in ‘The Tempest’ glass bead exhibition on the theme of Shakesperes’ play. This exhibition of handmade glass beads and small sculptures is in the Coffee shop at the Ruskin Glass Centre, details are on my events page together with details of the bead fair. There is a fab website to accompany the exhibition, follow this link for a sneaky peak at my bead (which looks even better in the flesh)! I may also have a couple of my prototype beads for sale in the coffee shop, if I decide to sell them there, if not then they’ll be available on my stall at the beadfair.

Wednesday morning

How do I start this post? I keep typing this one and deleting it! You see it keeps getting too heavy and sounding way too serious, and you know I like to try and keep my blog light-hearted if I can. So I guess the game is up, all this time it’s been hidden from you that I can’t walk very easily and this is due to something called clicky hip (or DDH) which is a condition that they now check for in newborn babies. Although I did mention it exactly 2 years ago (21st April 2006 ER….me too the episode where Weaver, the lady Dr with a crutch realises she needs a new hip, incidentally it completely changes her life for the better) Anyway, I have big news, as I realised just before Christmas that I could really now do with a hip replacement and that the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages.

So, there is is, and I now have my date, 4 weeks from now, yikes. I now have to stuff in as much work as possible to be ready for 2 lots of Open Houses in July and maybe the exhibition in Winchester if I can manage it. There’s also plans to be made for how to run the house when I get home, raising chairs, making space for me to live in my recovering state. And of course I have to treat myself to the obligatory new nightie!

I have lots to tell you also of our adventure visiting my consultant in Oxford, but I’ll save that for another post.

I should also point out that this will impact on my teaching schedule. I am planning to take a break from the end of May and start teaching again in September. August is way too complicated with school holidays, weddings, lazy days out etc. and it can get very hot making beads in August.

Tuesday morning

The sun is shining and all is well with the world. Ok, so all is not well with the world, what with people abducting their own kids and lying and smirking about it, and the Olympic torch being attacked, together with the honoured bearers, when the protests are supposed to be peaceful. But on a happy note, the sun is shining, as is my kitchen sink, which I’ve actually cleaned again with my marvellous ‘Shiny Sinks’, I don’t know what’s come over me, that’s 3 times in a couple of months….yes I know, most people do it everyday, but I’m really not the type. I also spent most of yesterday afternoon and evening getting rid of paper ‘stuff’ again, and can’t believe I have the urge again today to go through even more ‘stuff’ and get rid of that too.  There must be something in the air. Well, there is lots of something everywhere, and that’s what the main problem is. lol.  All you guys who’ve come here for tuition know what I’m talking about, and have very kindly turned a blind eye to the state of our house.

So, what’s on the cards at the moment? Well, it’s school holiday for this week and the next, and I’m having a bit of a break, but saying that, and I’m also spending a couple of hours every morning and evening just to keep things ticking over, so please, if you want to send me an email, or request tuition information, please keep the mails coming.