You are so lucky . .

The view across the fields from my house.

I used to run and work on, the retailer stands for Vlieseline Freudenberg. A company whose interfacings I have always used in my work as a textile artist. It was a wonderful job, traveling with the big textile shows in the UK. I loved showing the visitors just what you could do with these creative products. As the shows and our stands got busier over the years, Laura Strutt joined me as a demonstrator on the stands. A lovely, bright young lady, full of great ideas and good sense and we had such great fun traveling and working together. Laura demonstrated the patchwork and quilting products and produced beautiful quilts and craft items. We were the sublime and the ridiculous, Her work was sublime, beautiful and exquisitely finished - mine was more . . . Experimental!

It was an interesting dynamic. Working with younger people can be a real eye opener. I learned a lot from working with Laura. She was very organised and had already written her first book - The DIY Wedding Manual.

Laura, on the right, and me, at the Malvern Quilt Show in 2014

For someone who was younger than me, Laura was very observant, particularly about the visitors to the shows who visited our stand and chatted away, sometimes for a good half an hour, talking about our samples, how we could help them . .

I was obviously in my element at these shows, demonstrating all my favourite techniques that I had developed over the years, teaching experimental textiles, with products that I loved. I was having the best time. One of the comments that was made time and time again was - “you are SO lucky to be doing this job”. And I always replied, “I know, isn’t it amazing?” Because that is really what I believed, I was so very lucky to have a job that bought me into contact with great people and the opportunity for me to play with my favourite products.

Laura could obviously hear all these conversations, and after a year or so hearing the same comments, and my replies, she said something that changed the way I look at my life and what I have achieved.

“You are NOT lucky, you have EARNED this!”

It was the light bulb moment, or the scales falling from my eyes.

Laura pointed out that I had worked hard to get to this point and that it hadn’t been given to me on a plate. I had made the right choices and done the work to get me to that point in my life. And of course, everything then fell in to place. We are always happy to beat ourselves up for making the wrong choice, big or small. We rarely take the responsibility for the good choices we make in life. And when you think about it, I think you may find you do the same.

My dogs Pops and Fizz in my field

Since making my big move from Brighton in the UK to a quiet peninsula on the west coast of Ireland, I have been getting similar comments. Old friends and followers on social media tell me how lucky I am to live in such an amazing place. I am not lucky, I made the choice to do so. And it took me about 18 months to really feel that this was my home. Living in a quiet rural community is very different to living in a city like Brighton. I had to put the work in. Which is what you do when you believe something is right for you, even when others think it isn’t. I am very happy to take full responsibility for making a choice that was SO right for me.

I know it wouldn’t suit everyone, to up sticks at the age of 60 and change your life, but it was something I felt I needed to do.

It was the best decision I ever made!

And Laura? We stopped doing the shows after 10 years. Laura became a freelance journalist and has 2 fabulous children. And remember I said Laura had written her first book when I met her? She has now written 22. TWENTY TWO! I told you Laura was organised. To achieve what she has, while having 2 young children, has taken remarkable perseverance, patience and determination. She is amazing. We are still in touch but I do miss her. You can find Laura’s books here - Laura's craft books

So when when some tells you your are lucky - think about it . .