I am pretty disciplined about working in my studio but it is sometimes hard to make myself walk the 20 metres or so from our kitchen door to my studio when it is dark, cold and raining. And this last winter seemed to go on forever. We don’t get much snow – just day after day after damp, grey day. But eventually, after a couple of false starts, spring arrived. The days got longer and drier. The sun shone occasionally. And I was filled with the desire to work at my bench, to print, to try new things and to start new projects.

It is the same every spring. Spring always brings new beginnings, new hope.

And so I decided to print some new fabric by revisiting a technique I haven’t used in years. I printed the word HOPE in three values of the purple I’ve been using for my Cloth in Common pieces. Such a simple process. It put a smile on my face.