In the land of the living, almost.

I've been suffering whatever lurgy is going round. I tried to fight it; I don't go down easily, and I have too much work to do to take a sicky, but last week after doing my daily cycle, and stacking this lot -

- I realised I wasn't just tired, but on the point of collapse. So collapse I did, in a shivering heap. I am not a willing invalid: I do not relish huddling in a blanket, hacking and dozing and indulging in whatever one is supposed to do when one is ill; it is too dull for words. Thank goodness for my bolshy immune system - I am starting to feel human again. Almost.

In the name of balance, on the day I succumbed to foul sickness, the posty brought two parcels of delight - firstly, a simply beautiful scarf, chunkily hand knitted in soft, pumpkin orange yarn (possibly my favourite colour, depending on what day of the week it is). It was a generous gift from my friend Janet of The Empty Nest. It is absolutely perfect, and just what I need when I get back to my daily cycle rides. Thank you Janet, I am going to be wearing it for years to come. Janet is a fiendishly quick knitter and has beautiful items and artworks for sale in her Etsy shop - though of course, my scarf is the best of all!

It goes perfectly with my new winter jumper, the other parcel which it arrived with. I buy one every few years when my old one falls apart. It has to be 100% wool, inexpensive, and not too fussy. This one, made by Black Sheep of Norfolk, fits the bill exactly, a princely £40.00, plus postage, from Sheep Delight.com - great service too. It is amazingly warm; minutes after you put it on you can feel the heat building up, just what I need in my unheated studio.Clever sheep. (And that is the first and probably the last time you will ever read anything approaching a fashion item on this blog).

Despite it being only October, I have been getting enquiries about calendars since September. The 2009 Red Flannel Elephant calendar was so successful I've done it again, but with a different line up of characters;

They are held at last year's price of £8.50 ($14) plus postage. the first four went from Etsy within half an hour of listing, and as I write there is only one left. But I've got more rolling in, so if you'd like to reserve one - or if you don't like Etsy and want to order one privately - do drop me an email or an Etsy convo.

I've been doing so much painting and drawing for my mystery jobs that I've not had much time for needle felting - though I do have someone to introduce who might make an appearance on Hallowe'en, if she can get her little broomstick working...watch this space.

Another trip to the bear shop

Seems to be one of those times of year when things are tidied up, finished off and others started. The cottage has been autumn cleaned and yet more space cleared. I am anxiously waiting for news of a job that has been in the pipeline for months, and have begun work on a design brief.

Today I popped to town to deliver the rest of my toys to Teddy Bears of Witney. I don't know why it is that every time I visit these lovely people I am in some state of scatterbrained-ness or (as with this morning) completely exhausted. I was actually babbling when I was ushered to a chair. Lovely coffee in a little mug and a buttery teddy bear biscuit were brought to me, which helped.

What I hadn't realised was that I was to be given the honour of drawing the names out of the hat, to decide who would get my creations; some of them had multiple applications, and there are only three of each design, so they like to keep things fair by holding a ballot. In a top hat. They know how to do things properly here.

My name announcements were accompanied by delighted gasps, as the staff know so many of their customers and were happy that they had got what they wanted. Afterwards I happily pottered about looking at new displays and taking snaps. I love these skinny bears, 'Lucy Havahart' and 'Duke Havahart', created by Deb Beardsley, a Wisconsin bear maker.

I saw this chap and dropped to my knees to admire him; I adore spotty old horses on wheels. It's the kind of shop where they totally understand if you start crawling about the props. Or maybe they are just extra indulgent with me.

Bears, bears everywhere.

Although there are many many unique artist bears, they are also a major supplier of Steiff collectibles.

Oh look - down there on the bottom shelf; it's one of my favourite new models - Dulcie. She has been specially commissioned as a reproduction from an original old bear owned by one of the staff.

And round a corner, in a big, mirrored display cabinet, are some familiar faces. Not teddy bears at all, but looking quite at ease with their furry brothers and sisters.

Soon they will be on their journeys to the corners of the world, to start their new jobs. And I am going to take a day off to rest and try to get myself back together, starting with a long, hot bath.

Squash

Our poor little back garden is looking very end-of-season. Dishevelled and rotting, the lush greens of summer are slowly disintegrating. We had yet another terrible year for tomatos. The wet summer brought blight again, and by the time the weather improved it was too late. But miraculously we have managed to have a small but consistent crop of cherries, and they are still struggling on.

The purple and green string bean wigwam, a late planting, is also still cropping, despite it's raggedy appearance.

Our acorn squash were disappointing; only two so-so fruits from four plants. But we will save the seed and try again next year.

The cucumbers have been slow but magnificent. This last one has been quietly growing without us even noticing. Then, the other week, I glanced at the fence and - wumph!

Despite having many, many butternut squash plants, we only harvested five. What a satisfying crop it is. The heavy baby-heads are so solid and cold, that you really feel as if you have grown something. To save space, we grew most of them up poles and trussed them up.

At their height, they were voluptuous and triffid like. Now they are crumpled and dying, but still fruiting. I wonder of any of these tinies will get to edible stage before winter sets in?

Five fat butternut squash. One to eat now and four to store, somewhere dark and cool.

Titbits from Cotswold Peeps

We have found a delightful new walk in even more beautiful countryside.

I have been moonlighting as an informal delivery girl.

And there is a new, autumn online edition of UK HANDMADE MAGAZINE which is simply beautiful; full of projects, interviews, recipes and general loveliness. Just click on the front cover to read, and make sure you have a cup of tea and a slice of cake.

Into October

Thank you so much everyone for the lovely congratulations; I truly appreciate it. At certain stages in my life I always feel sad that I can't share them with my mum and dad. I know that they would have been so proud. But next to that, having support from my blog and real-life friends is wonderful.

Life is falling back into a familiar pattern; for the first time in a few years, I have two *proper* jobs on (not to mention 101 little chores on an ever growing list). So I divide my time neatly into work and play. I heave myself out every morning to cycle and return, refreshed, to ensconce myself in the studio. This is what happened when I was lazy and dipped my paint bowl into the water jar.

Slipped out of my fingers and sank to the bottom. Luckily it was easily saved.

On Andy's days off we go out walking. This week we discovered a nice new route nearby, in a village dripping with history, as recorded here on Cotswold Peeps. Today we have a turning - light drizzle gusted in on fresh winds. The cats know and have called a truce. This is the real sign that the weather is on the change;

Teddy Bears of Witney

We have had a little holiday from home, going out nearly everyday to find new walks and tread old ones. (For our trek round Hailes Abbey, there is a post here on Cotswold Peeps). And one of my secret 'things' is secret no longer. Back in the spring, I referred mysteriously to a large 'trade order' -

- which was no ordinary trade order; it was a commision from a well establised Teddy Bear shop in our local town. I first ventured into 'Teddy Bears of Witney' back in about 1988, when I moved here as a scruffy, odd-hair-styled art student. I don't remember much about my brief visit, but I do remember loving the Japanese art bears on display, goggling at the prices and thinking how wonderful it would be to do something similar.

When I returned to West Oxfordshire in 1994, I was delighted to see it was still there, but it wasn't until a few years ago that I had the pleasure of owning my first collectible bear. Andy had had a stroke of Christmas genius; he had taken his big 6ft 8'' self into that tiny, toy crowded shop, and bought me 'Spud', the little bear to the bottom left of the shelf below. I think I cried when I opened the bag. Never did I think I would ever own my very own special bear.

Two more joined him Tofty (bottom right) and Quimbly - top right. The traditional bear in the top left is a 1980's Laura Ashley bear from a friend many years ago. The catalogue they produce every year, showing new stock, is a little book in its own right, so lavish and highly produced that it has a cover price of £5.00. And I (or rather, my toys) are in the 2010 edition, celebrating 25 years of the shop's existence. Here they are in the British Artist Bear section, sat in front of one of my precious Moleskines.

Everyone at the shop has been perfectly lovely to me. Since my first meeting with them I have been treated like royalty whenever I have popped in. They make delicious coffee. Ian, the founder and owner, decided that my toys should be made available by ballot only, as he expects demand to be high. He has an extensive list of international customers, so with luck my little people will be going all over the place. And he has raised the bar on my prices, starting from £125/$205 - so if you got one of my early pieces for £50/$80 (or less), then you have done well!

They also stock my cards, which can just be seen in this catalogue photo, in the card rack towards the back, in the middle rails.

Needle felting is still a little known craft in the UK, but maybe this will help spread the word. And hopefully my name with it. In the meantime, I am back to painting - for one of my other jobs - my poor paint bowls were literally covered in dust...

Seasonal Changes

Last match of the season

Things are changing. Throughout the summer it has been my humble goal to earn a minimum of £50/$80 a week. Just to get by with food, bills and the odd bottle of beer. I managed that. Many, many thanks to everyone who supported me and purchased my bits and bobs. Now I find that the handful of 'seeds' I have been secretly planting are starting to sprout; an ongoing job which has been stop-starting since February has started again. Another seed sown two years ago has finally put forth shoots and to my delighted surprise I was summoned to London for a business meeting last Friday.

Our country train station, not as sleepy as it looks.

If all goes well, I will be working on projects that fulfill my wildest dreams, with (for the first time) the freedom to indulge my imagination completely. But, that is as far as I can say; as is usual, these things remain confidential until they go public. What it does mean is that making things for sale will take a back seat and I can cease worrying about earning that £50 a week.





What it also means is that I am stretched to my limits time-wise. I am keeping up the exercise though, although I rather overdid it yesterday; a nine mile cycle followed by a four mile walk in the sun has left me exhausted. For those of you who do not get bored with my endless ramblings, it is recorded on my Cotswold Peeps blog (not too much text and lots of nice pictures) My morning cycle was happily diverted by a village yard sale. I restrained myself from visiting all of the venues, but found an excellent haul for only a few pounds.

An enamel pot, a nutmeg grater and only-slightly-chipped hare mug = £1.20p/$2.00 the lot. The pot and the grater still had their Daylesford price stickers on; the uber-upmarket, organic, lifestyle (sorry, 'farmers') shop, just up the road. They originally cost an eye watering £9.99/$16.65 and £12.99/$21.65 - and were barely used.

A useful box for 50p/.83 cents. Because you can never have enough useful boxes. And best of all, for a princely £2.00/$3.00, a wonderful little etching of Bertram Mills circus, signed by the artist 'Gould' - whoever they were. In a vintage frame.

I did much Googling, but failed to trace them. It is so skillfully done and with such lovely composition that I am sure it was rendered by a trained artist.

Next week I will be able to show a fully grown 'seed', planted earlier this year and now grown to fruition. For now, I must try to keep on top of everything; game over, and back to the pavilion for another winter.