A far more typical day on the island today with a little rain creeping in and I am trying to do lots of things all at once. I am blogging earlier than normal to free up some more time for creative work for both the Butterfly Tree and the studio opening. Time is marching on and my list is not getting any shorter. The problem is I keep adding to it!
Over night I had so many messages from people wanting to help the Butterfly Tree campaign by making paper butterlies like the ones I made yesterday.
I have put the pattern on my scottish island mum facebook page. If you don't do facebook just email and I can send you the pattern. They are so easy to make but not that quick because of all the cutting. Mindful of the elves and the shoemaker, I would really appreciate all the help with cutting I can get. My papers were from Paper Chase and are all printed with butterflies but any pretty paper would do. I am so proud that this little blog is such a force of good at the moment. Everytime I turn round someone offers to help or donate something. I will keep posting ways people can help throughout the project. The lovely Lynn, that we have met before, has the most wonderful basket of handmade yarns in her sitting room. She has been looking at them for some time wondering what to do with them. Yesterday she phoned me to offer them to people who can then crochet little butterflies for our fundraising campaign. These can then be sold to family and friends or sent to me to sell on the island. The pattern looks quite simple - all I have to do is learn to crochet which has already been scheduled as a friend is teaching me very soon. Lynn will be bringing the yarn to the studio opening on the 27th April and I will put a photo on my blog. If you would like to help with these little crochet lovelies do message me and I will reserve some yarn for you. Lynn just asks that you take a photo of your creations and send through. It is yet another very generous offer from Lynn and I am incredibly grateful.
What is so charming is that new butterfly crafts are springing up everywhere and the campaign already has a real organic nature about it. The raffle prizes are beginning to appear as well and this morning I was greeted with this amazing prize made and donated by Angela from Sugar and Spice.
It is generous on lots of levels but the fact that she has taken time out from running her wonderful business to do this for the campaign is enough for a large tear to emerge. I am truly touched by this donation and I am also hoping I win this prize on the day!! I have already commissioned Angela to do some wonderful pieces for my new studio and I just keep adding to that list. Her work is so well finished and her choice of fabrics is always spot on. A very clever girl.
I have made the hard decision not to sell my own work online this year. I will still be selling on the island and I will use my With Love from Arran facebook page to sell as well. I am not, however, going to restart my etsy shop for this year. When I began this blog I could not have known just how many things would develop from it. As well as the projects I have already mentioned I have writing work that I dare not turn down. The original point of doing this blog was to get into the discipline of writing something every day but I had no real expectation beyond that. How wrong was I? I am a strong believer in going with the flow in life and this is just one of those times. I will, of course, keep this decision under constant review. I want to concentrate on running some creative courses at Hazelbank and making our home a place that others can come and enjoy. I am hoping my little studio will be kept very busy right up until we are all making Christmas wreaths and drinking mulled wine. I am beginning to network with other potential tutors on the island and that will broaden our portfolio.
I had another remarkable email this morning for a very old friend. We still exchange Christmas cards but our lives are always just so busy that I haven't seen her for years. We first met when she was a student teacher with me back in the day. She stumbled across my blog when looking for updates on the loss of power situation on the island a few weeks back. She tells me that she has been reading it daily ever since and it has become part of her 'me' time. You will know just how thrilled I am about that......
I should have mentioned last week that our charity campaign had a lovely boost of £30.00 from a former pupil of mine. Helen was in my year 6 class when I taught in London and she still lives there and is now a mother of a beautiful little girl. Helen had some tickets to an event that she couldn't use and put them on facebook to sell. The money she got for them has been sent to the island for the Butterfly Tree campaign and we are very grateful. To be getting money in before we have even really begun sets the whole campaign up well. Thank you Helen. There is slightly more to the story with Helen because I moved away from London when Pete got a PGCE place at the university of Southampton. I got a job in a local school but a year later we were married and guess who was one of the bridesmaids? She was lovely them and is lovely now.
Speaking of lovely....the lovely Mollie our film maker has started her own blog. I do hope we are all in this together as we support a young island girl with buckets of talent taking her first professional steps. If you have time take a look at her blog. Thank you.
I am off to get all busy again while Mother Nature waters my garden for me. Excellent.
Until tomorrow. xx
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