Reasons To Be Cheerful

Two blogs in particular have given me a bit of an elbow in the ribs recently. Sue, on The Quince Tree quoted a poem by Grace Noll Crowell, called Such Joy in Simple Things, which pulled me up short as I had been in low-grade grumbly mode. Then I read Penelope's post, on L is for Love, where she was considering 10 Good Things Right Now.

Having a high level of intolerance for....well, all sorts of things, really, I can easily slip into an irritated frame of mind a propos of almost nothing at all. And it is annoying. Both for those around me, and for me, too. So without wishing to get too right-on and positive thinking, shoving my gratitude for life down folks' throats, I'm going to be considering some Reasons To Be Cheerful on a regular basis.

Now I shall be posting this on Saturday, when I've sorted the photos out, but I'm writing it now, on Friday. And obviously, it is a given that my family and friends are always souces of cheerfulness to me!

REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL

The sun is really shining today, and I'm basking in its warmth.

All around me Great Britons are allowing themselves to feel proud about being British!

The Garden is still looking quite good, lush growth and colour.

 I have been reading some lovely comments on the last blog-post.

I actually got down to organising the neccessary for my Baskets Quilt! Yay!

......and actually made a start!

My new business cards arrived from Moo, and I love 'em...thankyou Cathy (Potter Jotter)

I managed to work out the left hand all by myself chords and basses to the new tune I'm learning on my melodeon! I shall amaze Nick, my tutor on Tuesday! Love it! (It's the RSB by Andy Cutting  - who else? - in case you're interested.)

I bought this mag a couple of weeks ago, only got down to reading it today!

Reached page 15...the Feedback page and there I found..........

.......................my Angel! Yes, there she is, Gloria, in all her ........glory! What a surprise. And look at that total we raised.....fantastic!

I finished a journal page using my new Inktense Pencils...love 'em!

While rummaging for the Basket Quilt fabrics, I came across this.........

It's the Auntie Green's Quilt which I saw in mmmmmm, I think Australian Quilting Magazine ages ago. I got as far as the central appliqued panel and the first border of pinwheels. One day.....one day.....but it was great to look at it again and ponder.

We got into town early this morning and did the shopping before most other people were up and about - bliss!Today just meandered along, in quiet contemplation and harmony between us. Nothing wildly exciting happened, it was just laid back and gentle. And very, very cheerful.

Angels in the Architecture

                                                                Gloria-in Excelsis

St Nicholas' Chapel in town is in need of a bit of a face-lift. After all, it is 600 years old. Although no longer a parish church, it remains consecrated. Twenty years ago it was purchased by the Churches Conservation Trust, and supports a wide and varied programme which includes music, poetry and art exhibitions.In order to conduct a 'repair-in-time programme', and update the facitlites -including lighting to show off the beautiful carved angels in the roof trusses, the Trust needs to match funding to secure a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £1.5 million. This weekend saw The Festival of Angels, an exhibition of ....well, angels, in all kinds of media. I was encouraged by the gals in Stitch & Bitch to enter my felted wool angel, and I knew Yvonne was hard at it finishing her 'Recycled Rosie' to exhibit.

Yvonne and I were allocated space to the right of the altar, which included the old anchor which is dropping rust all over the place. I hadn't realised how HUGE this is, and it provided a good resting place for Gloria...she looks almost like a figure-head, doesn't she?

Gloria was made in felt and felted wool at a Madeline Millington workshop a few years ago. Obviously this is  one of Madeline's designs, so she is not for sale..though I have had several offers for her...but I love working with wool and have been creating some designs of my own.

Yvonne made Rosie from recycled sweet papers....Roses, of course, and 'found' fabric. Despite the  theme of being a 'second-hand-rose', it wasn't until she had finished setting up that Yvonne realised the wings were covered in a rose design, although you can't see in the photo because of reflected glimmer. Of course, all the spectators assumed it was meant to be!

There were  hand-crafted angels from a variety of 81 local businesses, clubs and societies. Yvonne and I were demonstrating crafts on the the Saturday, there were also a few stalls with pottery, picture framing and woven willow angels. Not to mention the refreshment tables!

     We enjoyed listening to some 17th century music played from here by a local brass band.

                          You had no idea Yvonne was musical, did you? Or angelic......

Yvonne was standing on tip-toe for this shot which is why she is looking so....uplifted! And I think the Restoration Committee will be feeling uplifted this morning as there were around 2,000 visitors over the two days. Hopefully this will go a long way to providing those much needed funds. We were amazed at the numbers through the gate, and both Yvonne and I met up with dozens and dozens of folk we knew from our various 'lives' - neighbours, friends, old colleagues, ex patients/clients, fellow textile lovers; we kept trying to find a quiet time to eat our sandwiches but the stream of visitors never stopped. A Celestial Success, I'd say!