Last weekend seems ages ago, and last Monday was beautifully mild. I even saw a Comma butterfly in the garden. But it is freezing here again. The pond is solid ice and the birds are are squabbling over scraps in the garden. Here are a couple of pictures I took at Stockwood Discovery Centre last Monday.
The hens were in the "Dig for Victory" garden taking the opportunity to sun themselves.
I'm not sure what tree this was, but the buds were certainly striking.
Many hours this week have been taken up filling in my husband's "Limited Capability for Work" questionnaire. As he has dysphasia as a result of a stroke 15 years ago, he has a very limited ability to read and write so I had to fill the form in for him. I had to explain the questions and phrase the answers for him. Not being able to fill the form in, of course does not mean you are unemployable. The assessment seems to be asking if the person is capable of doing some sort of work, and yes we could say that my husband could work, if there was a job that was specifically tailored to his special needs. He lost his benefit once before, and as a job seeker was seen by many people at the Job Centre. They finally concluded that there was not a job he could do and there was a not a course that suited his needs. However this does not entitle you to benefit. We went to appeal that time and won. I do not think it will be the case now. We can manage without his benefit until he is old enough for his state pension, so he won't have to go through all the rigmarole of attending the Job Centre and endless, pointless interviews and appointments. But there are many who could be in his situation who could not manage financially. No one wants to pay out to those who are fit for work, but the solution to this seems to be punishing. He paid his way until his stroke, and we hoped that our National Insurance, was just that, insurance against loss of employment etc. His case is more complex than I wish to share here, but you get the drift. Just don't mention 'scroungers' to me, or you are likely to get your head bitten off.
Let's get back to more pleasant topics. I have fulfilled my requirements for the appliqué Module of my City and Guilds so I will share my samples here.
Above - shadow appliqué
Above - different top stitches.
Needle turned appliqué
Different fabrics - the beetle is transfer dyed satin.
Bias strip appliqué with contour stitching.
I'm not sure what to do with my appliqué samples yet. Leave them as that, or use them in some way. But no pressure, a nice decision to have to make.
I have one more module to go, but I haven't looked at it yet. I am taking a break this week as I have a two day workshop with Bobby Britnell at Art Van Go, called Drawing and Designing for Textiles. I am really looking forward to it and hopefully I will have something different to share with you next time.
Hope you have a good week.
Jill
