Breaking Bloggers Block

After working almost solidly for 2 weeks, there hasn't been the opportunity to update the blog and you know how it is, after a gap you always think you have to say something momentous and put off posting until that occurs. I referred to this as 'bloggers block' in the talk I gave yesterday to Thames Valley Contemporary Quilt Group. It's the first time I've given a presentation on blogging and I wasn't quite sure how to pitch it but in the end decided to concentrate on what I get out of it rather than a 'how-to' . Hope I didn't puzzle too many people!

It was such an inspiring meeting, expertly organised by Sandy Snowdon and with the opportunity to spend quality time with like -minded textile people, it's become a fixture in my diary. Linda had brought in a massive bunch (is that right word?) of peacock tail feathers and I couldn't resist bringing some home, getting some funny looks on the train especially making way through loads of football fans at Brentford!Today I've been scanning and photographing them with slightly different results - scanning captures the iridescence more I think. I couldn't resist playing in Photoshop altering the hue. The afternoon of the meeting was spent in a number of exercises cutting and glueing papers into scrapbooks to drive home the design principles so clearly outlined by Judy Fairless. It's great to be reminded of these and particularly in relation to textiles. Having spent some time looking at how designers drew attention to products, I'll never look at adverts in quite the same way again. As one of Sandy's famous 'icebreakers' we were asked to choose which was our preferred colour group for our textile work (as opposed to favourite colour - don't necessarily coincide). I never thought I'd be joining the 'neutrals' group but given the greys of my 'Lunaria' piece and the fabrics I'm currently auditioning for my next project, it was the logical choice. However, shoot me if I start to express a liking for beige.