Nobody puts baby in a corner

I always travel with my own quilt and this is me doing my meet and greet in the bar of the Dragon Hotel. Who knew they all came just to see me.

Wales, who would have thought it was a land somewhere to the left of England? I always thought that they lived in the sea, how wrong could you be?

It turns out that it's a very very nice place. A lovely lady called Tina Gilmore invited me to come and see her shop and she said that Daisy could come along too and give a class.

The hotel was good enough to accept humans and so we ordered the  man servant to drive us there. We had a little detour to Ledbury to see an exhibition, Daisy loved it. The exhibition was called Daphne's Gloves and featured work by Tamsin Abbott, Claire A Baker, Sarah Burford, Ali Ferguson, Caren Garfen, Sharon Hall Shipp, Christine Kelly, Jeanette McCulloch, Kathleen Murphy, Mandy Pattullo, Karen Shapley & Mariette Voke. 

Daisy was so excited to see Mandy Pattullo's work close up. I, on the other hand had to stay outside with the man servant and talk to the locals. A rather demanding chocolate lab and a couple of spaniels. They were very nice to me.

After a little lunch we set off to Montgomery along the twisting roads of Wales. This didn't have the best effect on Daisy as her spinning world illness resurfaced. However being the trooper she is a little thing like this wasn't going to stop her.

We arrived at the hotel and I guarded the car while the man servant helped Daisy set up.

The room was light and cosy and Daisy set out some of her work so that people could see what she does.

I have to report some upsetting news now, and I know you'll all understand when I say .........no I can't bring myself to say it.

You know how they always tell you that you're the only one and they'll never love anyone else? Then you go through their phone and find pictures like this.

Man servants! Who can trust them. You know what I mean ladies. It just makes you feel soooooo

So who came to the class? Well I had the man servant take a picture because I knew that you all like to see them.

That's Tina, hi Tina, next to Daisy. The lady second from the left wasn't booked on the class, however she was in the hotel and needed something to do while her man servant was doing a photography class. She enjoyed herself so much, as did everyone. Tina always puts on a good spread for her classes.

Although I didn't get to try any I was told how good it was.

Now, a very rare thing is going to happen and that is that Daisy is now going to tell you how the class went because I had to look after the man servant and make sure he didn't get into trouble while Daisy was working.

Hi all!  I've managed to get a look in at last!  

After the brief talk I gave (well I hope it was brief enough) we moved into the supplies room. 

I had brought several suitcases full of goodies to use and Tina also had lots on offer to tempt all

the lovely ladies.  

There was all sorts of bits and bobs from watch hands to suffork puffs to use.

I think everyone had a go at the hexagons to start with.  The tiny ones are very fiddly but well worth

the effort.

It was a hive of activity!

It was great to see the fabrics come to life.

One of the reasons I love teaching these workshops is to see the stories coming alive.

Such beautiful colours.

Shoes!  I'm so happy there were spotty shoes!

The french envelopes went down very well.

This little owl is going to be part of a counting book.

More envelopes given a new lease of life.

A sewing book in the making with lots of yummy pockets 

I love the cover.

It had wish tokens stitched in too.

The beginnings of a childhood memory piece.

Heres a sewing book made with French General fabrics.

Pockets galore!

Lovely florals and more spotty shoes. 

With some beautifully stitched paper.

I would like to say a big thank you to Tina for the invite and also to

all  the lovely ladies that came to join me for a happy day of stitching.

 I shall now hand you back over to Georges very capable paws.

See you soon. xx

Isn't she lovely. If you have a sewing group or local shop and would like Daisy to come and give a class I'm sure I could get her to come along and show you how she does what she does.

There was so much more happening in Wales and the post has gone on for so long. Daisy has told me that I should leave you wanting more and so I'll say part two of our Wales trip will follow very shortly. I'll tell you how the man servant got a big surprise in a shop too.

Remember a walk isn't a walk unless you have a dog to enjoy it with. 

More from the wit and wisdom of George later.

Nurse George to the rescue

I know. I know. It's been a long time since my last blog, however there is a very good reason for it, and while I know a lot of people say that. At this juncture, do you like the use of that word there I had to use it because putting point in a sentence twice looks bad,  I would like to point out, damn hoist by my own petard, that I'm a dog and people rules don't apply to me.

So carrying on. The reason that I've been quiet is that I have been very busy looking after Daisy.

Yes, I know it's very tiring and sometimes you just have to take a minute and chill out.

You see Daisy hasn't been very well. A human thing called Labyrinthitis hit her very hard. For those of you that don't know what that is like imagine chasing your tail while on a cruise ship in a storm and drinking something called alcohol and you'll get a glimpse into how she felt.

One moment she was fine, teaching a class one evening last month, and the next morning wham. She couldn't stand up or focus!

Of course I looked at the servant, but he didn't have a clue what was happening as usual, I sometimes wonder why we keep him around. Anyway Daisy managed to get the vet out.

What?

What do you mean he isn't called a vet when he comes out to you?

And he doesn't take your temperature by.........no, I can't bring myself to say it.

A doctor? He's called a D O C T O R. Vet's easier, it only has three letters.

Ok, well one of those came out and told Daisy bed rest for about a week, possibly two, and then nothing stressful for a month or so.

The man servant did his best with drinks and any food she could eat, while I did all the heavy lifting. You know, the lying on the bed beside her, hand hugging and nose nuzzling for a stroke. The eating of things that would just be too much for her to eat, Rich Tea Finger Biscuits in case you feel the need to send me any. And let's not forget the sleeping beside her all day as a comfort. 

Of course she had to do the thing that hurts her the most and that is to ring people on her classes and......I can't even bring myself to say the word.....cancel. People were very good and understood what was happening.

After a week and a half, and a car journey to see how she was, Daisy started her classes again. We, Daisy and myself, had the man servant drive us to work and basically run around the class as ordered, while we sat and watched. I do have to say that he didn't do too badly, but the best thing to come out of this is that I get to go to all of the classes now. So it's worth coming just to see me.

The good news is that Daisy is on the mend. She can walk in a straight line most of the time and the world is a more stable place, but if she does too much it does make her world spin. 

Now for some great news. Daisy is at this moment in Wales teaching a class at Indigo Moon in Montgomery and I would like to thank Tina, the owner, for inviting us along. Yes, I was allowed to come to. 

In fact just this lunchtime I popped in just to see how things were going and I must say the greeting and strokes I got were well worth the 45 second walk from the hotel.

So that will give you something to look forward to in my next blog, and Daisy lets me have some pictures.

In the meantime here's a picture of Daisy on the Thursday night before she took ill, teaching a little group some embroidery stitches.

While others did some hexie work.

Anyway, that's been the last month. Things are looking up and the man servant is making sure that Daisy doesn't over do it.

I would put a picture of him on, but that's another story for another time.

Now remember life isn't that bad as long as my dinner is ready at 7.45 every night no matter how you're feeling.