textiles

I first saw Caren Garfen's work at her degree show in 2007 at Hertfordshire University. Caren was doing the same Applied Arts course as my friend Chris. Looking round the degree show Caren's work stood out for me. Her display area looked like an ideal of domestic bliss. I saw it as a laundry room with clean crisp white embroidered cotton tea towels. I think because my background is in graphic design I was drawn to the simple linear designs she employs to illustrate her work. Outlines of familiar domestic appliances silkscreened on to cotton.

I enjoyed the Knitting and Stitching show for lots of reasons, and seeing textile artists work is one of them. There was an area at the exhibition showcasing the best creative talent from this year's textile and applied arts degree courses. All the work was interesting but the artist that stood out for me was Claire Moynihan. She studied at the University of Hertfordshire, a local connection. Claire said , " I am primarily a three dimensional felt designer, working with locally sourced, un-dyed Alpaca wool.

On Saturday afternoon Susie and I decided to visit some of the Open Studios in St Albans. Steve and David were both away on their yearly cycling adventure to Italy. While we have had a few good days of sunshine here it has been raining heavily in Italy, unlucky!

A few months ago the BBC filmed Flog It!