'I can't resist the lure of #water ' 💧

Come along to 'Water and People' at the #Newcastle Arts Centre and see Sue Spence's incredible textile and embroidery River Tyne on display, running until 13 April.

Read more: bit.ly/water-and-peop…

🎄 CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY 🎄

To celebrate hitting 3k followers, I'm giving away a signed and dedicated copy of BLACK HEAT plus a set of 3 gorgeous character postcards! To enter simply follow and RT. Closes Sunday 10.12.23 at 9pm, winner chosen randomly. UK only, sorry. Good luck! 🔥

For those of you who were following the story of My Grandmother’s Skirt, I’ve just finished stitching this little postscript on the reverse.
Project complete! 🖤

More from my amazing daughter, Bex Hogan (‘Black Heat’ out next week 😃)
Here’s a peek at No.1 in a series of fabulous fantasy adventure stories for younger readers (7+) coming next Feb - available for preorder now!
Such fun! And fantastically well illustrated by Hannah McCaffery

Us Cornish Maids have lots of fabulous local indies to choose from - I’ve just got my order in with Falmouth Bookseller -
What are you waiting for, fantasy fans?

falmouth-bookseller.co.uk/product/black-…

My daughter’s new book is out in less than 3 weeks!
And if you pre-order now, you can claim an extra treat! 🖤🔥🖤

‘My Grandmother’s Skirt’ - my poem celebrating an old black skirt & Gran who gave it to me - has been hand embroidered on that very skirt, with the final stitch going just now.
But with 6 days to spare for my 💯 day project, maybe I can stitch a quick postscript on the reverse?

Being with family over half term slowed progress on Gran’s Skirt & some days no stitching was possible, so my 💯 day project has stretched out a bit more. Even so, with the penultimate stanza complete, I’m perilously close to time being up!
Can I finish before Day 100?
88/100

Stanza 7 added … in which Gran’s skirt comes into my possession in 1969, when senior school drama group, under the direction of my wonderful English teacher, Elspeth Williams, put on a couple of shows composed of scenes from Shakespeare.
#100daysofstitchinggransskirt

New update on My Grandmother’s Skirt.
Stanza 6 (of 9) is now stitched, with the focus firmly on how Gran supported my love of acting in the late ‘60s by creating fabulous costumes!
I still have the curtain dress 😊
Day 72 #the100dayproject

World Bee Day is a great time to reflect that wild flowers in our gardens are food for many pollinators.
If you’ve held off mowing your grass for #nomomay PLEASE consider leaving a patch to feed the bees for a few more weeks.
#WorldBeeDay

Stanza five (of nine) is stitched, with the focus now on my Gran’s formidable dress-making skills.
I think she loved creating my costumes as much as I loved performing in them. I still have the scarlet satin Principal Boy’s tunic I wore in ‘Puss in Boots’.

It was buzzing last night at Poly Falmouth ‘s Spring Open Exhibition Private View.
Really chuffed to see my stitched collage in such excellent company ❤️🧵🪡
The exhibition is open each day, 10 - 5 until Saturday, if you’re in Falmouth .

I’m precisely halfway through stitching my poem on Gran’s skirt, so here is some context - me in the costume Gran made for my role as Queen in ‘Sleeping Beauty’, and Mum in her wedding dress, which was cut down to make it.
60/100 #100daysofstitchinggransskirt #the100dayproject

On a day when so much wealth is on display, I’ve completed stitching stanza 4 of my poem, honouring the wealth of an ordinary extraordinary woman.
Now a grandmother myself, I’m grateful to be rich in the love of my family.
58/100
#100daysofstitchinggransskirt #the100dayproject

With the third stanza stitched, I’m now a third of the way to embroidering my poem on my Gran’s old skirt.

52/100
#100daysofstitchinggransskirt #the100dayproject

Thrilled that ‘Time & Tide 7 : Polgwidden’ is selected for Poly Falmouth Spring Open Exhibition in May.
I have loved Polgwidden Cove, Trebah Garden , for the last 30 years.
My stitched collage is from a series inspired by scraps of vintage quilt and memories of coastlines.

The second stanza of my poem is stitched.
Almost half my 💯 days gone; with seven more stanzas to stitch, this is looking like a 300 day project 😉
46/100 #100daysofstitchinggransskirt #the100dayproject

Stunning proofs have arrived for my talented daughter Bex Hogan ‘s new novel, ‘Black Heat’, out early July.
These look amazing - and I promise you that the book is every bit as terrific !
And yes, you can preorder now from Hive, Amazon, Waterstones, or your local independent 🖤

The promised occasional update on my #the100dayproject .
Day 33 - the first of nine stanzas of my poem has been embroidered on my Gran’s old black skirt
🖤🤍❤️🤍🖤