Favourite double page spreads from daily drawing sketchbooks
I didn't do been much sewing in 2020 (apart from about 110 fabric masks made for family and friends which made no impression on my stash). However, I did some daily art projects, mainly drawing, starting with the annual #30daysketchbookchallenge and keeping going . At the beginning of the year, a local artist set up a ‘Small Reflections’ Facebook page to post daily Black and white photos. As one of the The ‘Hot Tin Girls’ ( named after the venue we used to meet regularly) we took it in turns to set daily drawing prompts continuing to Day 169 before things started opening up . The ‘Drawing Tuesday ‘ group is still active, sketching at home rather than London museums but missing the catch-ups over lunch afterwards
The most memorable thing that happened , a day of wonder, was
the visit of the bees. We like to think
our garden is wildlife friendly with
lots of herbs and have many bees and hoverflies visiting. But to have a swarm of about 5000 arrive was
magical and we felt so privileged for them to choose us. I'd seen what I thought were wasps around a crack in an upturned trug over some compost (Ian
had emptied and sifted one of our compost bins earlier in the year). But when
we saw a huge cloud descend we knew it was bees not wasps and contacted the local beekeepers
association. ‘ Steve Bees’ came with a portable hive loaded with sugar
to tempt them ( we had an excellent view as it was just outside the kitchen
French doors) and left it for a couple of days before he came back for it. There
were about 100 girls who were out on a ‘cleansing flight’ when it was collected
and came back to find everyone gone. Felt a bit sorry for them but at least
they had plenty of food.
We had a very fruity summer, discovering all the local
produce in the area on my cycle rides. At the beginning of
the cherry season, hand painted signs began to appear along the road directing
down a bumpy track, past a small holding, through orchards to ‘Terrys Cherries’
(Sound Horn for Service). I’d ring my bicycle bell to summon him from the
incredibly tall cherry-picker ladders.
Terry is quite a character (and a bit of a celebrity – he’s featured in
foody articles in the Telegraph). We tried about 8 or so different varieties,
many of which aren’t available in the shops as they bruise easily. When the
cherry season was coming to an end, in a field further down the road, a series of
enormous wooden crates stacked against the hedge were transformed into a fruit
stall. We bought raspberries, strawberries, rhubarb, gooseberries,
loganberries, and then later in the season, so many varieties of plums and then
the first of the apples.
Ian’s office was the major project of the year. Months in the planning, Ian had his computer set up in the
dining room which wasn’t ideal but we somehow managed to squeeze in the
decoration and then construction of the bespoke bookshelves / built-in
wardrobe by a local carpenter in between
lockdowns!
