It was a good day until ...

We realised the washing machine was b******d.

I used it yesterday but the washing came out pretty wet – which usually means the filter needs cleaning. Wensleydale nobly cleaned it out this morning and when we got back from the Tuesday trip I ran another load. And we realised that the drum was not rotating. Wensleydale has diagnosed a stripped bearing. So I have a load of washing which is dripping wet but not washed, dripping over the bath as I type,.

We have decided that as it was 15 years old we have had our money’s worth, I have consulted ‘Which’ [UK consumer advice magazine] and we will be off to John Lewis [UK department store] tomorrow. It would, of course, happen when we are still recovering financially from the holiday, and I have lots of post-visitor washing. But of all my appliances the washing machine is the one I could least do without – only Wensleydale is more crucial to my mental health, if only because he is more versatile.

On the plus side – we had a good Tuesday trip, managing to dodge the rain which only fell when we were inside. We had a picnic lunch at Highcliffe Castle – about which I have written before – and then went on to the Red House Museum in Christchurch to catch the last week of ‘Please Touch’:

http://www.cadarts.com/tactiletextiles.htm

It was really good to be able to touch the textiles for once, and I came away with some ideas for toys for Babybel when she is a little older, as well as lots of ideas for other pieces..

Then we had a walk in the garden. We have been to the Red House several times but never realised what a pleasant garden it has, much bigger than expected. One section leads on to another and each is slightly different. We managed to catch a sunny interlude in the usual UK summer weather [cold, wind and rain].

By the way. I must thank everyone for their kind comments on Babybel and on my books. I have made a fabric version but it is not quite finished as I suddenly thought about safety pins – you can tell I predate punk, can’t you? I have also started a little book of white - although some black has crept in as well.

I was particularly interested in Jackie’s comment that some parts of the paper book might be pieces in their own right – which raises all sorts of interesting questions about what is ‘an embroidery’, how much stitch do you have to put into it, and- crucially – how do you know it’s finished?

Increasingly I want my work to have some sort of meaning, even if it is only for me. The cloth book has become a ‘rag book’ in my mind – and ‘rag’ has interesting connotations. I am also always conscious of my family history – mostly Lancashire weavers as far back as I have gone. With the occasional widow taking up dressmaking. What for me is a pleasure was what, for them, kept bread on the table – and I want to reflect that too. Now all I have to do is put all those vague ideas together and come up with something to sew!

And on that philosophical note I shall go and watch telly.