After a hectic summer of exhibiting and teaching, not to mention family occasions, we leave soon for our annual pilgrimage to Spain. Certain places and areas have always offered inspiration. The changing light, the colours, the different crops each year, when sunflowers previously grown turn into fields of lavender, distant mountain ranges that are blue, grey, rose, depending on the weather conditions are all things I look  for. I make drawings, never quite sure which ones will lead to a textile, and often return to earlier sketchbooks which are like diaries for me. Here are some images from a previous visit taken from the wonderful landscape of the central plateau, the Meseta

This is near Covarrubias in Castille, one of our favourite places. Lavender grows next to the burnt sierra soil and  golden wheatfields

This is a drawing taken from here,

. As you can see the farmhouse doesnt get into my drawing on this occasion!

 

–and here is a machine embroidery that found a new home last week! The end result is never the same as the starting point, as once I’m on my sewing machine anything can happen, but it wouldn’t take shape without the knowledge gained from looking and drawing