Yesterday I flew to Belfast, Northern Ireland for 2 days of teaching at the Lovely Glen Gallery Crafts.

I have visited Southern Ireland more times than I could count, as both my parents are from there and much of my family still live there, but never had an excuse to come this far north. Unfortunately due to very heavy rain and fog so far I haven't managed to see much of it! It was so foggy as we landed that I was convinced we were still in the clouds and I have no idea how the pilot managed.

From travelling and teaching so much recently I have really learnt to throw all my expectations away and just turn up and see what happens and where I am. When I have taught in different places my accomodation has been anything from someone's spare bedroom to a hotel by the Nile and each has been lovely and I have always been made welcome and loved my time. Also the shops I have taught in, or for, have ranged from wonderfully huge to small and based out of a suitcase or someone's spare bedroom. With the internet you often have no idea the true size of an enterprise until you see it in the flesh- which always makes for interesting discoveries and surprises. This trip I was delighted to discover I had my own little 1 bedroom apartment to stay in- and hosts who insisted I take a proper lunch break each day in there to have a rest (not that I wanted a break from the students or the shop) and the shop...wow!

Before arriving I wasn't sure the size, scale or stock of the shop and it wasn't just a surprise, but a wonderful one, when I got to see it last night. The shop is a hidden away treasure trove. The stock covers so many crafts from knitting & crochet to felting, embroidery, glass painting, beading, quilting.. and I'm sure so much more. It was the sort of shop you could spend hours and hours in and still not see it all. Not only that but they had a great books section with many titles I had never seen or heard of before. Such a treat to get to sit and browse books before you buy then- not only does it support local shops (which I love to do and encourage you to do also) but it means you don't end up ordering something which if you had seen it in real life you'd have realised wasn't what you wanted. I always feel sure I could get books cheaper online but nothing beats being in a book (or craft or bead) shop, holding the book in your hands and being able to have it instantly. Also nothing beats helping to make sure those local shops survive and are there for us in the future.

Today I was teaching Geometric Stars and it was a happy day spent amongst like-minded souls with teaching interspersed with lots of browsing...