Well I think I'm finally ready for Oxfordshire Artweeks which starts this Saturday. I'm sharing a studio with a mosaic artist in the village and we decided to open from 12-6pm every day. It seemed like a good idea 6 months ago but I've a funny feeling that the family are going to be deserted over the week and will have to fend for themselves.

I've got about 11 pieces framed and ready, together with any number of cards, so I hope someone buys something! I know it's mainly people who want to see what people consider 'art' and just what their neighbour gets up to!! Anything that will help people to understand that 'embroidery' is no longer cross stitch tablecloths (although they have their rightful place) has got to be good. If I can get a few visitors to the Oxford branch of the Embroiderers' Guild, even better.

Anyway this is a close up of a piece I finally finished yesterday. I tend to have two or three on the go at a time. They sit around my workroom while I tweak a bit here and there, or undo something I've already tweaked. But this one is definitely finished. So's the one at the top.

My next problem - I've started a blog for the Oxford Embroiderers' Guild and some of the info is getting swapped between the 2 blogs! I've just left a note on Purple Missus' blog and it comes from the 'Oxford Embroiderers Guild' instead of 'Amanda'. I'm beginning to think this technology is beyond me!

I haven't blogged for a while, what with a holiday last week and panicking about Oxfordshire Artweeks. But a friend and I are trying to set up a blog for our branch of the Embroiderers' Guild and I'm not sure it's going well. General opinion seems to be that it's easier to do a blog than a web page so that's what we're doing. But I'm not sure either of us is qualified - I still can't manage a respectable heading for my own blog; the picture is too big and the heading too small (not sure which)! Any ideas anyone? How do I reduce it?

We're also trying to think of other ways to open up the Guild to more people. I know from my own blogging that there are loads of people out there interested in all types of textiles, but I'm sure most of them don't belong to a branch. Is it the 'Embroiderers' Guild' name that puts people off? Have people not heard of it? Do they think they have to be of a certain standard to join? Any suggestions gratefully received.

Christmas arrived again this morning! This time a package from Jean of the UK Embellisher group and again the Arty Bits swap. I did work at my swap yesterday but I'm not sure I'll get them all finished before we go away on Saturday. But it will be done by the end of the month (promise!). Anyway Jean sent me some lovely handmade beads, inchies, cords, together with a packet of beads, sea glass (which I collect anyway), some lutradur (I think) painted and heated, fabric. I could go on... Also with it came a card with a beautiful photo on it which she took herself. Aren't we all talented?!

Just to prove I have been working on this swap, these are bottle top pincushions which I made last night specifically for this swap (I have to produce four packages). I think they're really sweet and I've stuck one on my sewing machine. You can find the instructions for making these here. I've put a velcro circle on the bottom and they could be put on a wrist band as well as stuck on to something as I've done.

Seem to have got the computer problems sorted, though I'm not sure how. Anyway I don't keep getting thrown off for no obvious reason.

Christmas arrived early for me on Friday - got this box from Sue through the UK Embellisher Swap group. It's an Arty Bits swap. We have to make 5 inchies, 5 cords, 5 beads and also include something bought and something made. Sue has put everything I've done to shame already (not that I've finished making the cords yet). She made a pelmet vilene envelope for the inchies and another one for the cords, both beautifully decorated with beaded fasteners. The beads are lovely and long and already I know what I want to do with them. She says they were straws, wrapped with chiffon, then acrilyic felt with wool tops needled onto it, then zapped and wrapped with wire and finally dry brush wiped with gold paint. Fabulous! She also sent me some bags of beautiful beads (bought ones). Guess what I've got to get on with this week?

I also had another envelope with these lovely button fairies (sorry about the slightly blurry photo) from Amanda, Jean and Fay of the Mixed Media ATC Group. I really enjoyed making mine and it was fun to see how different everyones were.

I'm having real problems with my computer which for some strange reason crashes when I try to use the internet but when I log on as my son (same computer!) is fine. However, despite all that, have managed to finish my bookwrap for Angie Hughes' bookwrap challenge at the Ledbury Artplace. I'm really pleased with it!

The book I chose was The Hobbit which is an old favourite of mine. Obviously it had to depict a dragon as well as the famous gold ring! So I painted some garden fleece black and gold and sewed it to some black velvet before using the heat gun on it. I wasn't too sure about it then so it sat around for a week or so before I embellished some black wool tops over it. Sort of like drifting fog I hoped. Atmospheric and black, that sort of thing.

I then cut out a dragon shape out of black velvet and bonded it over the background before machining over the whole shape. Then I cut strips of black velvet and hand sewed gold designs on it, hopefully looking like elvish writing. I copied these from the book.These strips were sewn on top and bottom, with some cords made on the machine alongside. I used the flower stitcher to make some gold felt circles to sew on the ends and then gold metal rings were attached as fastenings. The edges were sewn in rough shapes, intended as mountain ranges (or so I hoped). All in all I'm quite pleased and I'll get it in the post tomorrow. And now for some reason the computer won't let me put the picture on of the whole thing. I'm going to bed. Heh! Managed it - 5th attempt. Wasn't life simpler without computers?!