This is the window of the lovely women's clothes shop Gúna Geal in Athenry, which hosted two of my paintings and a beautiful bag made by my sister Anke (her online shop is here; we are also going to open an etsy shop together very soon) as part of the Athenry Art Trail 2014. Thank you to Máire and Donnacha for including us and for all their hard work, to Sarah for letting us take over her shop window, and to Vinnie for displaying our work so beautifully. And a big Thank You to Fionnuala for all her help and encouragement!

1. Artwork drying on the kitchen floor

2. My contribution to the NUI Galway Knit & Crochet Group's stall at the Galway Hospice Christmas Craft Fair (Sunday, December 9th, 12-6pm, Galway Bay Hotel)

Reading Man with a Blue Scarf after seeing the amazing exhibition.

Swans and light

Knitting for a tiny human

I haven't bought any art materials for myself in months. These days, it's the colours and texture of yarn that I'm drawn to - there is such a good selection available at the moment. The dark evenings seem more conducive to spending time on the couch knitting and listening to podcasts than standing in front of the easel with artificial light. Ok, that's an excuse - I do spend a big chunk of time each week in my house during the day.

I am drawing quite a bit, though - no photos yet -, and I remember last winter I got into a nice routine of working on illustrations every evening at my kitchen table, where it was warmer than in my studio, with TED talks as company. I must do that again.