Hacked Off

This may seem ironic that I am using a computer blog to have a moan about computers but I am using this just to alert people that my e-mail account was recently hacked by spammers. As I expect that most people that read my blog are people I know and, therefore, have their e-mail addresses just a warning to only open e-mails that you would be expecting from me. It has taken me ages to sort this out today and hopefully this is all now secure again and I hope these people that do this sort of thing get exactly what they deserve. But its just another occasion when technology has caused problems and totally disrupted my day.

There are times when I really hate all this modern technology. Now don't get me wrong I know exactly what it was like to live without many modern conveniences and we should be grateful. I know what it was like to live with no indoor plumbing, bathing in a tin bath heating water on a range , cold outdoor loos, not having access to a washing machine until 1978, washing sheets in a bath and using a mangle or not knowing what central heating was until 1979 when it was often a case of scraping the inside of the bedroom window to see out- I know it was no picnic (although it does mean I am a dab hand at plucking chickens, removing shot from fowl and can dig a great drainage ditch for sewage!). I still wouldn't know what to do with a tumble dryer or a dishwasher and I know computers can be useful but they really seem to have taken over our lives. If there is a power cut -the world stops, people panic. We have almost gotten too reliant so bring back balance! send me a letter not an e-mail occasionally, don't expect me to be on the end of a mobile 24/7. - just allow for 5 minutes peace away from all this madness. I'm off to mediate.

Sailing into 2012- new year,new challenges

Gosh- Half way through January already.

My textile year started with a bang as I spent time helping out setting up the 'shop within the show' at the Society of Designer Craftsmen exhibition in the Mall gallery in London. They have such beautiful work there that it was a bit scary putting the shop together and handling exquisite pieces of glass and ceramics as well as all the textiles and jewelry etc... Still I learnt an awful lot about display and the commercial world and am looking forward to being part of it all next year.

I was also lucky enough to have a one to one mentoring session with Deidre Hawken , she of the exquisite hats. This is something that the SDC offers its new licentiates and it was really useful as I start to venture out into the real world.

Still no time to relax as our first 'Bridging Waters' exhibition looms large, only a month away now. The work has all arrived over from 'Articulation' in Canada- this was a bit nerve racking as whilst it was out of our hands somewhere over the Atlantic you are never sure if its going to land all in one piece. Fortunately it arrived safely and I think it will all make a stunning show.

Even before this exhibition has started I am deep in preparations for the next showing which will be at a textile event we are holding in an Essex village in May with an emphasis on ' spreading the love of textiles' so watch this space or the Material Girls website

(www.the-materialgirls.co.uk) and blog for more details.

Its all very exciting but I feel like the many mentioned swan - all serene on the surface and paddling like crazy below the water line. Still talking about paddling I had just better go and check my elderly spaniel hasn't fallen in the pond again- he's gone very quiet! bye for now