I have to admit I was quite nervous about my first 1-2-1 lampshade lesson today – there seemed to be so much to get ready to make sure it was perfect, especially as I was running it from my house. I had a big checklist to work through – garden tidy, check, house clean, check, cakes baked and decorated, check, not to mention making sure I had all the lampshade bits and instructions ready, check!

But after all that it went really well and I met a lovely lady called Lynne Sharpe who had driven all the way from Chelmsford to come and make a beautiful drum lampshade in my dining room. Lynne specialises in felt making and runs workshops in this as well as sewing, knitting and crochet. She is one of a team of resident artists at Hylands House in Chelmsford where she has a studio. She also runs workshops from her house under the name of The Make it Room. Maybe that will be me in a few years time?… (We can all dream, can’t we?!…)

Well, we had a lovely chat about work, life, craft and everything in between, while she made a lampshade from a gorgeous Amy Butler fabric under my guidance. I really hope it’s the first of many 1-2-1s and workshops chez gilhoolie – check out my workshop page for more dates or contact me to book…