Weekend with Michelle

Arrived at Michelle's house at 8.30 for our drive to Norwich for the Norfolk Makers Festival in the Forum. Not my usual route as we bypass Norwich but I was comfortable driving. So comfortable and chatting, we actually missed the turning and ended up doing a big loop! We laughed...alot...the whole wknd actually and that's so good for the soul. Michelle is very good at putting a positive spin on everything...its never a mistake or wrong. Its just a different way. That came in useful again once we'd arrived and sat at our first 'have a go' table. Doodling. Repeating patterns. Zentangling Doodling.
I felt far from Zen, and couldn't do it without instruction, worried about making a 'mistake'. While Michelle did a wonderful black and white doodle with sweeping, free strokes and circles...in main pic. I didn't find the process relaxing at all. We moved on to another table opposite, where there was lots of fabrics and silk threads and embellishments, and I felt more at ease. Caroline Aldridge  https://www.instagram.com/hediedwaiting set up this community project, Remembering Together, to help those dealing with grief and loss after realising creative stitching really helped her when she lost her son.
We sat there for 3 hours, stitching, chatting, supporting before finishing our own hearts for a quilt of remembrance, before realising the time and doing a quick tour of the rest of the exhibition which closed in half an hour. So many wonderful creative stitching, textile things and on the lower ground floor, Margaret Seaman knitted exhibition of Buckingham Palace, Sandringham Estate and Great Yarmouth Golden Mile among other things. Incredible nonagenarian.
We wandered outside into the lanes and came across Biddys Tea Room, which had an extensive list of loose leaf tea and cakes displayed in an old haberdashers cabinet. A litre of tea in an enamel teapot and the largest piece of Rocky Road for me and similar for Michelle, we made our way to Fakenham, and popped into see mum who was very bright. She'd reknitted the blue jumper gifted to me at Christmas,  but unwearable due to the strange shape. It looked lovely, if a little short. Michelle and I dropped off our bags at the cottage and went over to the Aviator pub opposite for a great meal, a little more alcohol than I've drunk in the last year, and open conversations.
I tried the jumper on when I got back and it is very short....does it go unworn, do I gift it to someone, or do I ask mum again?
It provided alot of laughter before much needed shut-eye! A great day.