Aylesbury Embroiders Guild … and cutting my thumb on the grater!

I had a speaking engagement with the Aylesbury Vale Embroiders Guild yesterday.  They had invited me to speak about my Degree Work, My Mother's Work. They were a fantastic group to speak to, as they interacted and asked questions throughout.  It makes it so much easier when an audience want to know more, and you then tailor the talk to their interests.  One of the audience (on her first visit to the group) told me about a module she studied at London Met about Emotional Labour, where there was a case study about air hostesses and the value of the emotion they put in at work. How helpful is that!?  I will follow up at uni.

As my work is all about Valuing Women, I have reflected on what I will spend the speaker's fee.  I am not temperamentally suited to being a carer, but I value and respect people with these skills, and I try to support the carers.  So, I have decided to save it until Shirley's Mum is in next in respite care, and it will fund our next theatre trip.  Like I said, "Valuing Women"!

When I got back home I was tired, and decided not to get straight back to stitching Mrs Konieczny's sampler.  I made dinner …. and managed to catch my right thumb on the cheese grater.  I have taken a match head sized lump of skin off the tip of my thumb - and it is sore.  Too sore to stitch.  Hmmm.  This will slow up my progress!   Will I get the sampler finished for uni deadline for assessment of 10 May?  And then for the University of Herts Alumni show?

But on reflection, I could take the pressure off myself by saying it does not need to be finished.  It could be displayed as work in progress, along with the storyboard I have made, which shows the evolution of the work.  I think this might be quite interesting

Storyboard from conversation with Miranda Pender,
using oral history technique
Miriam's words gave me the phrases for the verse to be stitched at the bottom of the sampler.
Something along the lines of:
My Friend's Mum, Mrs Konieczny,
recognised loneliness and had a knack of saying the right thing;
and did not judge and provided solace for the vulnerable.

Storyboard from remembered conversation with Anita Konieczny,
who did not wish to be tape recorded.
Research has to be conducted in line with the wishes of the subject.
Anita's discussion gave me the words for the crossword