Catching up with blogging after a loooong break.

I can hardly believe that it is 10 months since I blogged.....time seems to go faster each year, and this one seems to have beaten all the others.
It has been a busy one. When I last added a post, my Etsy shop was very new, but now it has been open for a year and is one of the reasons that the Blog suffered I think, as making and creating things always comes first, and once people started to like what I was making, then of course you keep going....I also find it a relaxing contrast to the deeper textile work I make for our E.A.S.T ( East Anglian Stitch Textiles) which is either very personal, or much deeper in meaning.....for Etsy I can just make beautiful things which I hope will bring some joy to others.....here is a photo of the detail of one of my favourites, which is off to a new home tomorrow. It was made from a piece of an antique handmade quilt, which I use for much of both my art, and craft work, with the addition of hand embroidery and antique lace.

Once we got into Spring, then the garden work took over, as I have a wildlife garden which is very labour intensive......so trying to keep up with both areas of creating, plus the garden, and all the normal household work....and a new role of responsibility in my textile are group, just put the Blog right at the back of the queue, and it seemed easier and quicker to use my Facebook art page: https://www.facebook.com/Fragments.by.EllenDevall/ but I would like to start writing again....especially now that many of us are going into winter, and have the dark long evenings, and writing on a more personal level....not as a platform for the shop ( ive spoken about that here, as it's one of the reasons for my blogging absence), but as one to share both life, art and creativity.....I shall try to keep it up.....especially as I seem to have kept many of my followers.....thank you.
( Looking at my blog now, after so long, I can see that I really need to change the layout too, so please bear with me!  )

Antique Sweetheart Swallow brooch with little hanging gem.

The complete panel....a grey, wet old day makes it look rather dull though.