Back to work...hot and bothered

It's a beautiful sunny morning here in London ~ let's hope it's not as humid as yesterday!

I went back to work on Friday after missing two weeks through illness. It was so hot and stuffy, traders and customers quite listless ~ the forecast threatened thunderstorms in the afternoon, but these didn't happen. Exhausted when I got home, but had Saturday to look forward to ~ the Saturday market is outside so you get more fresh air and the famous afternoon wind of greenwich, off the river.

Saturday started well ~ another bright morning. By midday it was scorchio-hot, cotton covers up for some shade and loads of cool liquids consumed (no amber nectar unfornately). By 3pm, it was hot, humid and airless ~ where is the wind when you want it???? At 4pm, I had a "paddle" in a washing-up bowl of cold water...bliss. By 5.30pm I was soaked to the skin!!!

Flash thunderstorm hit as we were packing up ~ everything bunged under the table as no time to pack properly and load the car, then a sprint to the car to take refuge from the storm overhead. It was like someone had opened the sky and poured a bucket of water over us! After 20 minutes, the rain had slowed (not stopped) enough to pack the car ~ boxes and covers soaked. Drove 3 miles home and although they had a thunderstorm, not a single drop of rain....grrrrrrrr!!

Boxes now strawn on the floor with contents drying, ready to be checked and cleaned tomorrow.

Took a rough pic of my Friday stall at Greenwich Market ~ camera phones are not the best quality :(

Pink Beads!

I'm not really much of a pink girl, nor one for hearts, but I have fallen in love with some gorgeous lampwork glass beads in pink-pearl and just HAD to buy them! The set comprised of a focal heart, matching pink beads and coordinating black spacers ~ I've made them into a heart pendant and earrings which I am wearing as I type...these are not for sale and are mine, all mine, mwahhh!

The beads are handmade by UK glass artist Trudi Doherty, who is part of the End of the Rainbow Group ~ her beads can be found at Glittering Prize www.glitteringprize.co.uk

Slipping into the summer schedule....

A beautiful couple of days in London, as long as you ignore that flash-storm last night! It's now beginning to feel like summer and my mind turns to distractions such as Wimbledon, Pimms and the like. I can feel myself slipping into my summer schedule ~ up really early and into my workshop before 9am for a few solid hours of work until I break at lunchtime and settle down to a couple of hours of tennis....first the French Open, then the Stella Artois (or whatever it's now called) and in a week's time it will be Wimbledon.

On the subject of summer days, the group that I belong to ~ The End of the Rainbow ~ set a monthly challenge to come up with design(s) that reflect our feelings of summer days. One member came up with Pimms (yummy) and that got me thinking about Wimbledon and eventually onto strawberries, so my design entry is entitled "strawberries and cream" ~ pair of sterling silver earrings and pendant with red jade and cream freshwater pearls with a tiny splash of green to represent the stub of leaves in the strawberries.

A new dawn...for blogging anyway

Just moved across to blogspot as my main blogging area ~ previous posts can be found at http://www.kymbigwood.com

We've just had the nicest weekend weather in London for ages and I was looking forward to working at the outside market at Greenwich but some divine force(s) had other ideas, and I was struck down by my OH's "man-flu" on Thursday. I've been sweating, coughing and spluttering, unable to leave the house and definately not able to bear the sun. It just made me stay indoors and catch up on some work instead ~ no housework mind you ;)

Some new designs over the last couple of days, combining colour and texture ~ natural copper with fine silver detailing.