stolen time & the tale of a stolen child . . .

two weeks have disappeared in a blurry eyed haze

whilst i have mostly slept & dreamt the strangest of dreams

for the oddest of bugs knocked me right off my feet,

leaving me feeling as giddy as a . . .goat??

a wonderful excuse (whilst recovering) to catch up on reading

to doze & doodle & drink endless cups of tea

i discovered this hauntingly beautiful book, the stolen child

an ethereal tale of changelings hidden deep in the woods.

i was reminded of the beautiful poem by william yeats

& of course one of my most favourite & wonderful songs

of the same name by loreena mckennitt

a sweet surprise parcel arrived on my doorstep too

from a dear blog friend, jasmine of natures whispers

it brought such a smile to my face for in it were

this delicate felted tree made from natural fibres & dyes

& a bundle of other thoughtful lovelies,

a knot work purse, heather & shells & all sorts

do visit her blog for a peep at some of her beautiful work

* * *

oh my, its so good to be back

x x x

shetland and back . . .

home again from the far off shores of shetland

from days filled with music & wonderful hospitality

Mr O playing with irish fiddler manus mcguire

my oh so talented lovely sister -in -law marie fielding

days filled with wonderful scenery

wide open skies & regal seas

peat filled valleys & ruin strewn hills

with wee sturdy shetland ponies

and curious seals watching from afar

with centuries of history to discover,

from iron age brochs to ancient crofts

pictish carved runes to viking buried treasures

we stayed with the sweetest lady, Harriett

who shared her home & her deep love of the island & made our stay a joy.

* * *

travelling here & there these past few weeks, such things i have seen & heard

but i have missed our wee home & cosying in front of the fire

my fingers are itching to get back to the studio

* * *see more of my shetland photos here
& others shetland photos here

here to visit the shetland museum

a christmas carol . . .

it is a little early to be thinking christmasy thoughts i know

but this is something i am so looking forward to . . .

a favourite tale of old . . . .the new "christmas carol"

animated movie by disney, and i had to tell someone ...

due for release in november

magical faerie wedding

deep in the forest tricia fountaine

weaves her magical spell

with costumes & flowers & love

for a peep at this fantasy faerie wedding

tiptoe over for a visit to

kiss the groom

or see more stunning work

of event organiser tricia at

by tricia fountaine design

costume & medieval magic . . .

we couldn't leave bath without a visit to

the costume museum

to soak up the details of old

and stumbled upon another unplanned treat ...

an exhibition of designs by "bill gibb"

whose work i have long admired, simply stunning

later we found the 13th century st marys church in berkeley

with medieval wall paintings that would once have glowed

and jeweled colours in its stained glass

painted bright by the sun's rays

and there just outside

the resting place of the very last jester in england a trove of treasures we unearthed on our travels

complete with a visit to see my eldestall in all we had a wonderful time away
* * *
now its nose down to finish two commissioned pieces
until next time x x
* * *
more beautiful images of st mary's here

a celebration of creation . . sue symons

we couldn't visit bath & not the abbey

a stunning sight, with ceiling to giddily gaze at

but such an extra treat waited around a cornera mouth watering exhibition of works by sue symons60 glorious illuminated pages, her new book
"a celebration of creation"

hours & hours (7000 in fact) of detailed loveliness

embroidered borders & painting pages

intricate designs & sumptuous colours

beautifully celtic inspirations

depicting plants, animals, insects and
"the beauty and wonder of creation"
each page telling such tales, i could gaze for hours!

to purchase a book of these works

or learn more about sue see here* * *to see many more wonderful images of sue's work

see here on denise's blog and here for
"The Bath Abbey Diptychs"