What’s On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 905. Today is for Sarah..

 

With apologies to Brian who wasn’t ready, but my, what a great picture of Sarah’s apple cheek smiley face!

Oh Deskers, we gather on Wednesday905  with great sadness and shock to remember Sarah, and celebrate that section of her life that she shared with us. I can’t share any details, I don’t know them, It is enough isn’t it, to know that Sarah has died. Too soon. Too suddenly. 

Sarah took over the management of WOYWW 125 weeks ago when I decided that I’d had enough and you were being bored by my uninspiring blogging. True to form, Sarah took it all on with magnificent efficiency. Her time management skills were a bit legendary don’t you think? I think she and I were good illustrations of that old phrase ‘give a busy woman a job and she’ll get it done, give a woman who has time to do the job and the deadline will slip…’ or something like that. Procrastination was just not in Sarah’s genetic code. She crafted ahead - made backgrounds for her daily ATCs in monthly batches, she did a year of daily art journal pages for which she prepared each prior evening, without fail. She knitted ahead of the season she wanted the item for. Nothing in terms of her preparations escaped me because they were so impressive to my slap dash character!

Sarah joined WOYWW in early 2018 which was quite a big year for her in Craft terms, she had some samples shown on TV’s craft channel called Hochanda and was invited to join the Clarity design team. She has been a member of that DT ever since. I don’t know, but am presuming that like a lot of other  design team members, her blog had to become exclusively about Clarity products. I know she had a lot of followers - between the Workdesk posts that we knew her for, she published some really useful step-by-step technique instructions and attended Clarity’s Retreat days as a tutor. Im sure her blog will remain as a good resource for many.

We first met Sarah and Eva at the Llandudno Crop hosted by Margaret. She was very forthright - there had been earlier Crops which she did not attend, and without hesitation told me that she didn’t really think it would have been worth the petrol and the effort!  Speak as you find gal, I replied, and asked her if this one, her first  Crop was OK. I must admit I was quaking a bit, I’ve never had a critique of Crop before! All good, she was pleased they had come, found us all quite friendly but the parking inadequate. Made me laugh (relief and empathy, parking was a bit horrid!) which made her look a bit baffled! Indeed, such was her continued enthusiasm that she hosted a crop in Stoke on Trent, her home town (that’s where the picture was taken).

That Crop at Stoke was bittersweet for Sarah and came at a time when we were all glad to be able to hug her and offer support. Her husband Paul had recently passed away and she displayed deep resilience in going on with plans made. The next day at her beloved Trentham Gardens, Cindy, Helen and I walked with her in sunshine and enjoyed a very relaxed and sunny time with her.  She chatted about Paul and her sons, and her twin sister and her Mum and Dad. Her Dad has since passed away. It’s been quite a hard couple of years for her and her family, they are very much in my thoughts as I write about Sarah, as is dear Eva, who found Helen to break this awful news to, and who has lost a very close friend.

This is how I’ll remember Sarah;  casual, and often in my head, wearing the shirt of her football club, Stoke City. WOYWW, Stoke City, Clarity….showing a woman who had deep loyalties, huh. Her WOYWW family will miss her for sure, she touched the lives of so many, a language teacher in real life, and certainly a craft teacher in fun life. And as always, so, so much more. So many parts to her, as complicated and accomplished a woman as you could wish to meet. Rest In Peace Sarah, and thank you for teaching us all how to make the most of every day.

It doesn’t matter if you didn’t know Sarah, link here to tell your desk or your Sarah story, we’ll get back to the trivia of desk tops and crafting at some point, not least because it’s our therapy.

What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday 904

There is nothing on my desk gentle reader. We’ve been away and I thought you may like to see a bit of Croatia instead of my perennial mess. We cruised on a small boat with 20 cabins. No sails, and tbh, a lot of noise when the engines were running. No overnight ‘sailing’ and lots of island hopping.

Croatia is beautiful, the people are proud of their country and very quick to welcome you to it. The war which created four countries from one Yugoslavia is still evident in many places. We visited islands which were rich in history; many occupied over centuries by a variety of other nations, so the architecture and influences are fascinating. Largely, the Venetians had the most longevity as invaders and the beautiful lime stone that pervades means that everywhere you look there’s a beautiful building, and when there are no buildings, there’s a breathtaking view!

We hiked. This is a salt water lake on Mljet island, a national park. So, so stunning. At this point, I was snapping pics one handed because of very deserved ice cream in the other. That’s another thing, Croatian ice cream is the creamiest I’ve ever had….

Every island is some size of mountain. The best views are from the top! You can just make out the fort at the very top. These stepped alleys vary in width, some had cafes with tables and chairs balanced. Sociable and precarious!

This was the fruit market place in Split. From left a 13th 14th and 15th century house just happily living against each other. Fascinating. 

Most island towns were heavily fortified and had impressive walls.

 Ottomans and Italians and of course bi partisan pirates were a constant threat.

Approaching anywhere from the sea gives a wonderful new angle. Whilst moored somewhere we re-fuelled, the tally on the pump was at 8000 euros when we lost interest…probably lunch was called!

Our fellow guests, 37 of us in total, we got to know everyone by name, seating ourselves at meal times meant sitting with someone different each time which was really interesting. 

Mr Dunnit and I were completely new to the format and in general enjoyed it all. Our last day was in Dubrovnik and we both agreed that we couldn’t have done any more guided tours if the holiday had been longer…despite the fascinating information, we aren’t really very comfortable at sightseeing in a big group. It was a lovely week, weather sublime, places amazing and accommodation and company were great. We have been genuinely and happily surprised! 

For real desks and craft stories,  visit Sarah. I’m now off to try to suppress some panic feeling that I should be thinking about Christmas crafting now….!

What’s On Your Workdesk? Wednesday WOYWW 902

 For as long as we’ve being doing WOYWW ( and in 902 weeks that’s a lorra years), I’ve been trying to get a grip on my time management skills. It hasn’t worked, and in the time since I handed the WOYWW reins to Sarah, it’s getting worse. I’m beyond help it seems.

I’m trying to be more than a one-job-at-a-time gal, but to be honest, it sort of just makes me panic at having more than one unfinished thing sitting around! Anyway, here’s the real desk…….

I met some fellow WI members this morning and we spent an hour putting leaflets through doors. It’s a bit of a piggy job, but we’re only about 100 houses away from having put a leaflet in every domestic letterbox in this small town.  Good for the legs! 

This sofa seat is the ‘desk’ in front of the tv…can’t do a Helen and use the floor! Again, WI related, someone donated a huge amount of yarn and I’m trying to turn the little amounts into useful things; most of these are cotton yarn so have managed a handful of coasters and will try to crochet some of the teeny bobble hats for Age Concern/Innocent campaign, but that might prove a bit fiddly for my brain! 

Linking up at Sarah’s where you can link or have a wander around some very creative desks. 

What’s On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 900

 I can’t remember who suggested that I should put the week number on WOYWW posts; I’ve trawled through a lot of comments but really, with this number of weeks, it’s a big old job. Thank you, anyway, it was a stroke of genius!

I can remember that it was Jan who got a grip of me and told me that ‘we’ (she did it, I ran around pretending to be on board) should plan a Crop for a meet up. I was genuinely worried that no one would want to cross hills and dales just to meet some crafters off the internet. Wrong. 

I can’t remember when it was first decided that if you lot were ok to travel to a Crop then really it should be in different locations. That worked so well. I’ve been to beautiful places that I’m not sure I would have got to yet, if not for WOYWW Crop hosts!

I  remember and do so with great fondness the contribution to WOYWW and friendship offered by  Eliza, Janet, Debbie, Christine and Neet. Losing friends is never easy; being geographically distant didn’t lessen the shock or grief of losing these friends. I hope that our love and good wishes were of some comfort to their families.

I can’t remember the number of times my desk has looked the same….it’s a lot. And it was never looking the same in a state of tidy. Oh no, that would be too good to be true.

I can remember some small detail about each and every person who has contributed to WOYWW over these 900 weeks. Craft specialities, quirky spaces, wonderful writing, crazy projects…everything you show us sinks in and helps form the you that we know. By the time we meet, we already know each other!

900 weeks of sharing, growing friendships and genuine caring. Just because we have a love for some craft or other in common. How amazing. Props to Sarah for keeping it up when I needed to stop, just as in 2016 when Jan was at the helm for some months, it was a necessary stop for me. 

Nine hundred weeks. You are really an amazing group of hard-to-shake offs aren’t you! In these seventeen odd years our lives have changed, blogging has changed and so we’ve bent and adapted. To be honest, those whose lives led them away from blogging are still a part of WOYWW, many still on Facebook and not a one I wouldn’t hesitate to call on if I was travelling through! That’s the power of WOYWW, a power I never dreamed it would gain. Community and friendship, weekly or not. So as I flit from crochet to paper and learn nothing new in between, let’s keep doing it!

Link over at Sarah’s these days, till she needs to throw it back at me!

What’s On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 898

 Late to the party today, but better than not at all, huh! Thought you may like to see what I was up to first thing…

Look at that lot! A friend who works in a school uses every summer holiday to purge and clear, and her stash of yarn is ‘out of control’. She’s also a scrapbooker and card maker, so I’m wondering how those stashes are doing too….! Anyway, she asked me if I’d like to share this lot with WI, so of course I decided to sort it and have a good look. My whole kitchen island covered - if he’d come home unexpectedly Mr Dunnit would have fainted! Another hobby!  I do crochet but have no actual stash, just what I need for the little things I do, so he’s never fallen over bags or boxes of yarn at least!

Join us for a look at some very interesting craft areas, we meet and link over at Sarah’s. 

Wanna send healing vibes to our Helen too, my word gal, don’t do that again. Gentle hug hug hug.🥰 

What’s On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 897

I’ve been doing gentle crafting on the table in the garden, in the shade of the awning. Brings me joy to swap between a bit of stitching, crochet and some reading. Spoilt for choice!

You can see I change the upright ‘dining’ chair for a whicker tub chair, get my footstool situated and then enjoy every minute. The only downside is that unlike LLJ, I don’t have a gorgeous waiter to bring me drinks. I’m working on it! 

The felt shapes are die cuts that I’ve blanket stitched together and stuffed a bit, to make bunting/garlands, whatever you want to call them. In one of the bags is a bunch of die cut baubles and stockings…all for WI upcoming events…by the time they want Christmas stuff to sell I’ll be knee deep in wanting to make cards so I thought I’d get a run on. Well, I’ve cut them out, haven’t quite got past the flowers yet! For a change I’m brimful of ideas for various makes, largely due to the local community craft group that I’ve joined, my word what an assortment of talent there is there. The drawback is that they meet on a Wednesday morning and I’m not coping with that lifestyle change very well!

Stay in the shade, get a lovely man to wait on you with drinks and enjoy the still moments, if you’re in hot parts; it really doesn’t matter what does and doesn’t get done. A perfect opportunity I would say, for visiting desks! Join us over at Sarah’s Craft Shed, enjoy the views and maybe add your own?

What’s On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 895

 Turns out I didn’t tidy for no reason….I've used my desk! Hurrah, fanfare!!

As you can see from this morning’s photo, it’s on the cool side in my workroom all morning, so at the weekend I turned my back on morning routine and enjoyed a couple of hours at the old desk. I made up the cards from the Stampin’Up Pumpkin Patch subscription kits I signed up for. Turns out I’ve quite a lot to say about the kits, so will photo the made cards and talk about them separately. I soon turned back to my stamps and mess making though, and really did enjoy a thoroughly good session- and although I did tidy, it wasn’t thorough, huh! I’m off to join in with some community crafting this morning at a local pottery painting shop; I think I may actually paint a pot rather than drag stuff with me to do, after all, there are Christmas presents to be made!

I’m grinning now at the various reactions that talking about Christmas will have caused….! Join us over at Sarah’s for sensible and creative desks!