Scroll of the Year: May

Hello loves

At the beginning of May, I wrote in my journal, ‘More colour please Lulu!’ following my realisation in April that I had abandoned some colourful and joyful work I created last year.

And so, I got out my fabric paints and enjoyed a few days of slow hand printing using objects I had around the flat, such as cork bottle stoppers, a nail file and a peg, creating pleasing patterns on remnant and vintage neutral cottons and linens. I used the printed fabric as backgrounds for the examples I stitched up for my next stick and stitch embroidery patches pack, ‘Meadow’, which you can buy here.

I also used it to create a patchwork background for May’s Scroll of the Year.

On top, I stitched roses…

My late Dad’s rose had my heart in May. It is a climber and it has slowly been taking over the garden. My reward for leaving nature to take its course has been an abundance of beautiful, creamy yellow roses…

I also stitched the words, ‘blah, blah, blah’, a reflection of all the journalling, brainstorming and writing of lists I did in May. I find writing stuff down is the first step to a calmer mind, closely followed by making!…

I always have a sketchbook to hand so that the images that are also swimming about with all the words in my mind can make it out onto paper. I have sketchbooks full of ideas and one that keeps appearing in some form is currently called ‘Shapes’. I made a start with it and it is slowly evolving. This is an example…

And this is how I represented it on May’s Scroll…

Lastly, in May my eldest daughter came home from Uni after 4 years of study. We were meant to have moved in late April/early May but the universe had other ideas (See April: Scroll of the Year) and so rather than my girl moving back to a London that I was no longer living in, we were reunited. Having all three of my kids under one roof again is pretty special. It has been a difficult few years and our family has felt fractured and frayed, but the kids and I now have a chance to rebuild and repair before our eventual move separates us. This heart encapsulates all of it…