https://www.facebook.com/TheSherbetPatch
Quirky, handmade fabric items for the home.....

That moment in time.....

In everyone's life, there is that defining moment, or a time so special that the years which pass fail to dim the memories or blur the edges.  For me, it was the summer of '91.  The defining moment was pregnancy, with my now 19 year old son, but those five months, from July to December, contain so many special moments and memories, and the friendships forged during that time are still with me now.  Funny how a time nearly two decades ago has had such an influential effect on my life.  

Israel....kibbutz....Jerusalem.

Israel.....special from the first moment I set foot in Jerusalem, in 1986.

Kibbutz....four, but the one which remains so special is Sdot Yam.

Jerusalem....oh, my goodness, Jerusalem!!!  Mad, crazy times, set against such a beautiful backdrop, where seeing the sunrise usually meant a 4am walk up Ben Yehuda from The Underground.

But what was it that made the summer of '91 so special?  SdotYam has that magical quality; the beach, the sunsets, Mexico City, but they were there before.  The people.  Yes, the people ~ there was an energy, a vibrancy, chemistry.  We bonded over blue jugs and bonfires.  Hitching.  Midnight raids on the kitchen.  Afternoons chilling.  Parties.  The Underground.  Ein Gedi.  

A moment in time.....

My dad, a man on a mission.........

I admire people with limitless energy and the motivation to see a project through to the end.  I seem to be lacking.  Distractions everywhere I look, unfinished projects, a day lacking structure.  The Sherbet Patch has gone off the boil lately, as I have struggled with motivation while working from home.  Boundaries have become blurred.  And I need to get back on track.  

My dad is 66.  He works 6 days a week, sometimes for 11 hours, is self employed, motivated, and will always find another project to do on the back of a long day at the factory unit.  He is my inspiration.  

The Owl and the Pussycat.........

The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea in a beautiful, peagreen boat........
My favourite, childhood poem, illustrated beautifully in a 1970's book of nursery rhymes, long since disappeared.  This is a book I remember vividly, a bedtime book, pages dogeared and worn soft by use.  And this is a poem I am going to use as inspiration for Sherbet Patch projects ~  how beautiful would a textile canvas be of this poem ~ the waves, the sea, the umbrella ~ a lazy cat and rowing owl ~ and what a great excuse for fabric buying!!!

The Owl and the Pussycat.....

The very wonderful LIBERTY of London

By the light of the moon......

Everyone has their own way of working.  Being in employment brings structure and routine, working from home is more difficult.  The lines are blurred.  Where does work end and home begin?  The endless distractions of the internet, the teapot, daytime TV.  Am I an owl or a lark?  I wake early, love the still roads and birdsong of dawn, yet my most productive and creative time for work seems to be evening.  By the light of the moon.  Tonight, it's an octopus. A patchwork octopus. 
It's been a funny old week.  A cat on diazapan, a son ignoring me and a floral owl in transit to Birmingham.  My first online order!  Very exciting.  Royal Mail, don't let me down....... 
And then there was Penclawdd Produce Market.  Oh, my goodness, Penclawdd Produce Market!!!  Where were the customers?  Definitely not in Penclawdd.  But  there was the stallholder who refused to let me have the table next to her because my box contained a doorstop.  Who proceeded to pointedly ignore me for the duration of the event, throwing me the odd dirty look, and I was reminded of the school playground.  I think I'll take it as a compliment.

https://www.facebook.com/TheSherbetPatch

One......two......three......and b r e a t h e !!!

Lavender.  The perfect antidote to stress, and, as any mother of a university age son will tell you, stress is ever present!
Despite a cold that has rumbled on for a fortnight, bringing with it a dulling of taste and smell, the aromatic scent of lavender is filling the air. And it's soothing. Very soothing. Against a backdrop of student finance, two dead robins and the sewing machine, it is the perfect stress buster.
Lavender. My latest project. Delicate lavender bags have lead on to robust, colourul pyramids.  I'm thinking  rosemary now. Dried rosemary bags, to scent the rather less pleasant odour of the shoe basket.  
 As a consequence of the lavender box, Humpty Dumpty remains legless.......