Thursday 2 December 2010

Thank you to Abi Wrightson

Abi is aged 10 and very kindly went to the trouble of writing me a poem. I called in on her Mum unannounced just as she had finished it. I was very touched and would just like to say a BIG THANK YOU. You made my day Love Nelxx

Wednesday 24 November 2010

Facebook (32) | November 24, 2010

MINI Art PREVIEW This weekend, goes live online Monday 29th

As usual I am rushing to pack the van and of course it won't all go in, no surprise there. Do hope lots of you can make it this weekend. I will be at the Yorkshire Events Centre for the Living North 'Essence of Christmas' Show. MINI Art Will be previewed there so make sure you get there early. I will also be showing the fabulous new ROYAL WORCESTER MUGS, candles and the last few calendars. It should be a great show . Times are on the gallery page it's Friday-Sunday. See you there here is a sneak preview of some paintings that will be on show.

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Monday 11 October 2010

Cup cakes and knitting

Facebook (5) | Nel Whatmore

Here are all the pics from Knitting and Stitching Show. Thanks for such a good time look forwrad to seeing all your pics of what you make with your Happy Go Lucky Fabrics. We're going to have a gallery for them on my blog. Can't wait to see the jitterbug dress in black trefoil, nice to meet you at the show.

Saturday 4 September 2010

Friday 27 August 2010

Thank you Abs and Maddie!

Just had to share these lovely pics have a great weekend! Maddie and Abi in their 'Happy Go Lucky' dresses I made for them. Can't wait to pick up the quilts tomorrow. Thank you to those of you who have been emailing about where to get the fabric I hope to have a link for you next week byee for nowxx

Monday 23 August 2010

Holidays ,Home and Hot Tubs!




Well I have been sitting, very happily I might add, in a hot tub in the middle of a forest for two weeks. Not 24/7 as naturally that would neither be pleasant or productive, but on enough occasions to make me sit and think a little and ponder what I might do next .We have been on holiday in Devon to a beautiful thatched cottage.

Holidays are funny  they seem like pauses in life or at least they do now that our kids are older. When they were younger a friend once said to me while mulling over why the relaxing idylls that holidays once were before they had children bore little if any resemblance to holidays after, with them. He said 'it's just more of the same but with different scenery!' Holidays are now easier as we are blessed with teenagers who for the most part are great company although trying to drag them away from their phones, ipods and play stations all in the name of having 'quality family time' sometimes seems like a battle one needs a degree in diplomacy in or connections with a burglar to come and pinch the whole lot!
Anyway back to the hot tub! Complete with LED lights and sound system any footballers wife would have been delighted, as in fact we were. I stayed in it so long ,after one partiularly rainy venture out to see some worthy monument ,that Polly informed me that the ends of my hair, that had been trailing in the water quite happily while I read my book had gone green. Actually she said "why is your hair REEEALLY GREEN?" Evidently over soaking in chlorinated water and highlighted hair don't mix. Thank heaven I hadn't decided to do my full Ursula Andress impression and had had the sense to put my hair up in a ponytail as there may have been tears at bedtime.
We had a great time anyway in true british summer time style, we body boarded in the rain, celebrated when we could actually see any blue sky at all, ate too much, slept too long, laughed at Marks jokes and learnt that Nut Hatchers walk vertically down bird feeders. Perfect.

Now it's back to work coupled with trips to find school uniform for Polly as nothing now fits but no skirt seems the right shape, length or material (if your 14). I am thinking of threatening to make her one then she may well leap at the first polyester pleated number we can find in Mark and Spencers. David is going into sixth form so that of course means no uniform but a whole other daily dilema of "what shall I wear?!" Bring back short trousers until they leave home I say. Sorry back to the hot tub.

So having that quiet interrupted time to think meant that my brain roamed around and deliberated what to paint next and why, to blog more, get fitter and make a list of what I would like to do before I'm 50. It seems strange even writing 50 as if it's a number that has nothing to do with me. The list will have little things on as well more significant ones I have decided. I guess I am writing this here so that I won't be able to get out of them. Not that a million of you are going to say "excuse me but you failed to do number 36 you are officially a lesser person." But this is what comes of being self employed for a long time combined with the advent of blogging and twitter. Ultimately we all want to tell someone something, it's human nature. Well I think I better upload some pictures some I can tick off 'updated blog". Before I go, Helen has picked up our two quilts today, that we have had made from the other two Happy Go Lucky Colour  I cannot wait to see them. Thank you Anne Jeater and Tania for all your hard work. I can now post some pics of the photo shoot we had just before we went away. We love how they have turned out, thank you Simon at Hilton Photography.


Thanks also to Carly who has just emailed me from Wisconsin she has made a fabulous quilt using Happy Go Lucky fabrics she sells patterns for it too. Her is the link
http://www.etsy.com/listing/54425824/painted-windows-quilt-pattern-cjw-013

I am just designing the next collection called Keep A Secret which will be revealed in the months to come. For now here are some pics from our holiday and or things large and small.

Wednesday 12 May 2010

"Happy Go Lucky Fabrics" have landed




Well it is one of the busiest weeks of the year. Seven days before Chelsea, Surtex in New York before that then the Licensing show in LA. So thank you to Helen for getting the parcel off today to Julie Newman my new american agent. I'm sure she will have a great show. Julie we will be there with you in spirit!

 So every day I'm finishing off paintings  and delivering and picking up from the framer. It's so great to see things finished after months of gazing at them trying to work out what to do with them . Some paintings never get finished others get painted over in disgust! The Painting above is called Swan Lake and is a very large pastel and will be one of the centre pieces at Chelsea.

 But the exciting news is that the sample meters of my first fabric collection ' Happy Go Lucky have arrived ( small scream of delight!). I am so pleased with them can't wait to make them up into all sorts of things just need some time.

This is the Blue colourway.

Well it seems we have a Prime Minister today after much drama. Hopefully election fever will pass and my friend Elaine will get on with running the country from be hind the scenes!

Naturally I have to also pass comment on Dr Who as it is a family tradition watching it on a saturday . I'm still not sure about Matt Smith I have to hold my hand up. Which is not a popular opinion in our house, given that Mark my husband writes Dr Who books. But hey I have to be honest, as he is with my paintings sometimes, when asked to give his opinion. Naturally being sensitive and artistic, something of a potent combination, it's never good when you show someone your work and they point out exactly the thing that you hoped no one else would notice but that inside has been niggling you like that label with the irritating edge, in your new jumper.

We have also finally arrived at doing GCSE'S with my son. I hear all you parents out there with kids of a similar age groan and hang their heads. After trying too many times to express why 20 mins a night for revision is really not going to make a whole lot of difference. I have come to the conclusion that what will be will be and that there is little point wasting energy on breath that only makes everyone else including Mark and I, grumpy!

By writing this I am also spectacularly avoiding doing the plan for my stand at Chelsea , which involves sadly doing a scale model of the stand. Terribly organised I know but actually it has been the most helpful tip given to me  by my very good friend Rebecca de Mendonca, as it has saved us hours of work and holding very large pictures up and down and up again until everyone would probably just like to just go home. So think of me and my little dolls house ...which I really must do now...so have a good evening.

Oh one last thing. I will be sending a diary of where I will be for the rest of the year and FREE TICKETS to the Ripley , Grand Sale Show 10th -13th June,  next week. So let me know if you don't get your copy. Have a great evening!

Friday 26 February 2010

Cold and Cups and Things!



Well could it be any wetter or colder, probably not, for it has rained all day, yes ALL day and struggled to be even half a day. As by 10 am it felt like four and at four the sky had given up and taken all and everything off to bed.
And so I paint bright colours to beat back the grey and try to remember long summer days with warm wide skies and seas of buttercups and daisies .

My hands are cold as I type and typing quicker doesn't help. So I cast my mind to more fruitful past times than wining about the weather, as weather is weather and there is little to be done than just accept it.

My new studio is great I paint for longer and ,I hope, better and rediscover that in painting for hours I reach further and find my mind digs deeper and asks questions that I haven't asked myself for a very long while. Whether you paint or sing or build things or your role is simply just to think up things, it all takes time and is not fathomed in a day but from hours of perusing.

I have just realised the heating is actually on! It feels like it's off! Time for vest number 14 me thinks. Anyway the opening of my new studio at Umbrella Creative was last night and it all went well with everyone participated who could, from sculptors to painters and light makers.
I love it. I'm painting for Chelsea and Tatton Park flower shows at present as I have just been selected for both which is great. So I have been painting for months the award winning gardens from the last two years. I am planning to unveil those paintings at Chelsea. This coincides with ,David ,my sons gcse exams , oh joy. So May is going to be a busy month! I am aiming not to be grey by July.

In the meantime Helen and I are very exciting as we love the new votives that Enesco launched at the Spring Fair and also Pimpernels placemats ,mugs and trays.

As there is little food in the cupboard and I can hear plaintiff calls of 'whhhhhaaaattttts for teaaaaaaaaa I'm starving?!"wafting up the stairs I will have to stop here and say it would be nice to hear from you all as to how you are weathering your winter. Here are some pictures to keep you warm.