Dog-Daisy Chains

Hearty Cheers

2012-02-01T14:30:00.001Z

Valentines Day and the Chorley Contemporary Crafters big Crafty Takeover at Astley Hall approacheth.

And I'm ready!

Reddy I should say...reddy reddy red red.

Not only that but I have resurrected the leaves I made a very few of two or maybe even three years ago.

They are a bit fiddly to make but I do like them.

This is my favourite.I used lots of snips of velvet in colours I'd almost run out of.

The same with greens and yellows.

More hearts in other subtler colours.

There's got to be purple hasn't there?

Caramel anyone?

Paisley?

On my stall there'll be Tweets and Tweed bags and silk cuffs and tweed brooches..and then there are all the other lovely stalls and lovely people....come and see for yourselves.

Its good to sit at the sewing machine when the weather is bitter outside, and then go out and find little works of nature's art in the garden.

This why we have to go in the garden...often! (And not always in time)

We had such fun at puppy training last night. A room full of baby doggies? Its the best thing ever.

Hetty was very good and had especial fun when Ferdinand, a little Laso apso decide to practice his humping skills on her!

We were wondering what we might call the offspring,

you know, like cockerpoo, and Labradoodle.

'Schnapso' was the best we could do.

Fortunately we won't have to worry about that due to their age.

Ferdinand didn't really know what he was doing!

Loving and Living

2012-01-23T16:36:00.000Z

February is nearly here and for the first time ever I am actually going to have some luvverly hearts ready for the big day.

(I say 'the big day' but in our household it goes largely..in fact completely ..unnoticed.

Ah its a good job love is more than hearts and flowers isn't it?)

But for those who like a bit of romance, there are some heart brooches here.

As with all my restarts, it takes a time to get going again. (I've made something else this year but thats under wraps as its a gift. I'll show it later.) Here's a first purple one..with whirly bits.

Talking of love....I love where I live. The North West of England. My actual village is pretty wonderful for walks, but we are also in such a good spot for getting to other places! Less than an hours drive took us the village of Staveley near Kendal, where we had a walk along the river with Hetty and then a drink and a sticky bun in the dog friendly Wilf's cafe. Then a drive home via Arnside, which, by the time we arrived, was a picture glowing in the late afternoon sun.

With the sea on our right we drove along the coast road looking for flocks of starlings (which we missed by 5 minutes) and watching the sun set over the bay.
Really lovely, and home in time for tea.

I was having a root through some old things that came from my in-laws- house. In a box I found this little wooden turned tube.

On unscrewing the top I discovered these. The one on the right is easy to identify,

a vey fine crochet hook which sits inside its own handle.

But the other thing took a bit of experimentation to work out what it is. There is a large tube, with a shorter tube and it contains three small crochet hooks, with a sort of pin head on each one.

After fiddling about with each one, I've discovered that you put the pinheaded hooks through the short tube (the pinhead bit stops them falling out)

then you put the short tube into the large tube and give it a little turn to lock it into place.

I can only wonder who used these precious items before I found them . We absorbed all the bits and pieces that came from my mother in laws, and her parents' home. These include a basket made from an armadillo, several carpet beaters and a device for making an ice cream sandwich!

I'm so sentimental. I can't bear to throw stuff away. (but I might draw the line at the armadillo. Its got hairs!)

Anyway I thought I'd share the crochet hooks.

I'm busy collecting my own heirlooms of the future and two more arrived last week.

I was contacted by Al from 'All Tea Towels.' before Christmas asking me to review some tea towels. I said yes then forgot all about it, but have been in touch again and have received two fantastic tea towels of my choice.

And talking of choice..it was really hard to decide. There are so many lovely ones to choose from. Just click the link on the name to go and have a look for yourself.

Nice and big, great quality fabrics and really well printed.

Nice enough to go in frames even!

First I chose this iconic 'Tunnocks teacakes' wrapper design.

I love the graphic and it takes me back. I never liked the things..but I loved squashing all the tops in the packet!

As I'm a very big fan of tea I just had to choose this one

I love 'monkey' and thought it was a bit of fun.

I love his grey face

but I wonder if I have been influenced by someone?

Who was really non-plussed by having to sit on my sewing room table and be photographed in monkey mode.

Look at the eyelashes!

Sunshine and Schnauzers

2012-01-13T20:51:00.000Z

Writing this blog has made me many friends all over the world. Its amazing to think of someone in other parts of Britain and Europe, Japan, Australia, North and South America, Europe or South Africa reading what I've written and looking at pictures of my world when theirs is so different.

Even better when a bit of 'their' world appears in mine.

This is what happened recently when Elizabeth Armstrong, feltmaker, teacher, and wool dyer extraordinaire, sent me some of her hand dyed wool for feltmaking.

Wasn't that lovely of her? Thank you Elizabeth. It arrived a while ago and I took it the felt group today. It was like a bit of Australian sunshine lighting up the dreary grey of Lancashire!

There was a lovely pink and orange combination too. It reminded me of 'fruit salad' chews we had as children. I don't know why I didn't take a picture of it.
I laid out the wool and its even nicer when the colours blend together.

It produced a grogeous piece of felt ready to be made into some luscious brooches..perhaps hearts for Valentine's Day.

I have the velvet exactly to match it.

Thanks for all your comments about my last post . My piece is still on ebay with 47 watchers....you know who you are! 11 bids and a reasonable total so far. Someone asked me today how much I'd like to get for it.

£10,000 of course..I replied.

But I am realistic. I'm hoping all those watchers will swoop in with high bids at the end, but then two of my friends have bid and I don't want to upset them either! Ooooh...I'll never make a good businesswoman will I?

Do you remember this little moppy puppy?

With hair all over her face?

Well Ta daaaaa!

She's been for a haircut. We love her all over again in a different way. Her fur is so soft and smooth. She looks so grown up. We can see her eyes.

She's a little Princess.

Mind you ..her behaviour reminds me of the Princess and the Pee...(Yes I meant that)

Time for a diamante collar I think!

(Or perhaps a Harris Tweed coat?)

New Year Old Piece

2012-01-07T14:56:00.001Z

Happy New Year.

There are no resolutions on this blog.

I've taken my time to get my first post of 2012 off the ground haven't I?

The truth is I've been a slob. Just playing Tetris battle and eating Christmas Cake and chocolate orange.

Not the healthy lifestyle for Olympic Year I'd hoped for.

When I took the decorations down yesterday I felt all energised and did quite a bit of cleaning and tidying.

I came across this piece, which was made for the 'Anthology' exhibition but never exhibited, mainly because I didn't get a frame or canvas for it.

Its been seen here before I think.

So I decided to have a bit of fun with it and I've listed it on Ebay. Yes Ebay.

Now, I have sold other stuff on Ebay but never a piece of my work and I thought it would be interesting to watch what happens.

I love the colours of this piece, and the texture is very seductive too.

Yes there are bees. Can you hear them?

I love the colours too, and enjoyed the handstitching.

Ebay is such an unknown quantity isn't it so I will enjoy seeing what happens. It may go for a fiver! Or it may not get a single bid.

If its a success I may put its predecessor up there too.

A smaller, but more textured piece where I'd stitched motifs onto a background but then cut them out and transferred them.

I rather like this piece but it isn't mounted or framed.

Ooh I love a good bidding war..lets hope it isn't completely ignored over there. If you want to watch it go to ebay.

I've just been..its had two views! (Probably me)

Meanwhile a modicum of inter species harmony has broken out at the dogdaisy house. Its a little strained as Hetty get jittery when she is in the vicinity of Jools and stays on alert.

But what better way to surf the net or play scrabble or Tetris battle (addicted) than between two little furry heads.

Yes that is my stomach at the bottom of the shot. I was on widescreen what do you expect?

Last day of the year.

2011-12-31T00:47:00.003Z

Here we are on the last day of 2011 and I can honestly say its been one of the best years I've had, which is not what I expected. (There have been a couple of 'downers' but we won't dwell)

The video below (I recommend turning the sound off) illustrates most of it.

Days out, 2 exhibitions and a new body of work, meeting bloggers, my 60th Birthday, an attempt at veg growing, many brooches, Ireland, Dorset, Sussex, Greece, 3 craft fairs and finally Hetty's arrival.

The year seems to have flown by as quickly as the video.

If you want to make your own go to http://www.pummelvision.com/

With thanks to Domesticali for pointing it out on her lovely blog.

And a Happy New year to one and all. Hetty is bathed ready for 2012.

PS: There's 20% off in my etsy shop: coupon code 'twentytwelve'

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T20:02:00.001Z

Eat your heart out Kirstie Allsop! Its Jackie's home made christmas. Well...a wreath anyway. A nice slender non- plastic wreath made from a piece of Russian Vine and various bits of greenery.

OK OK the apples and the gold leaves are some sort of plastic but the rest... well... its natural.

I love it.

Even the lavendar bush has had a touch of glam for the festive season.

So my front door looks very Christmassy and might detract from the awful state of the garden!

And inside? well Hetty and I have been busy...

Can you guess what we've been a doing of?

Making snowflakes.

I just got the urge..

And these are genuine 6 sided snowflakes..not just easy 8 fold paper shapes as seen around t'inter web.

I always insisted when we made these at school that they were authentically 6 sided.

I really enjoyed making these. And then.....and then......I did what every 'cute-dog-owning-person should do.

I got out the treats and struggled..

and struggled

till I got Hetty as an Angel!

The following pictures tell the story.

Merry Christmas everyone!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Letter to the future from the past.

2011-12-18T23:40:00.003Z

UPDATE: I have just discovered I now have 800 blog followers. Thank you all so much for signing up.
I wonder if I'll ever get 1000?
(And I wonder why?!)

What a wonderful early Christmas present I had last week.

It reminds me of the 'Handwritten' fun we had a couple of years ago. Do you remember? Click here to see.
One of my friends from way back when we were at college, slipped into my Christmas card, a letter I wrote to her on my 21st Birthday.
Its a snapshot of my life on that day, 19th July 1972 and so lovely to read now, all these years later.

Handwritten of course on Lancashire County Council headed paper from the Architects department where I was working as a student in my summer holidays. We had finished college in Twickenham and a flat that 5 of us shared, so I suppose that was why I'd sent her a cheque...' for £1.50, but please don't cash it till the end of the week or it might bounce'....no change there then except the amounts involved!

In the letter I am 'playing secretaries ' and have nothing to do but answer the phone, and am pretty peeved that I've been moved from Div. Admin II office to Div. Admin. I office because the 'talent' was better in Div II and they'd promised to take me to the NALGO club on my birthday at lunchtime, but now I wouldn't see them!! I was looking forward to all my Aunties and My Grannie coming for tea. What an innocent way to spend my 21st Birthday. All my friends were in Twickenham (or back at their far flung homes) so I was with family and perfectly happy about it.

My main present had been a sewing Machine ..but..my dad had given me £50 which I was putting into the Abbey National to accumulate enough for a car! (That took two more years to raise the £125 my first car, and old Morris 1100, cost)

Ah..happy days. I dare say we'll be looking back on blogs in the future to see our pasts won't we?
Here is my past being made.

Fair play

2011-12-13T00:05:00.001Z

Just popping in at this busy time to report on goings on and to thank everyone for their lovely comments from last time. Hetty appreciated them very much but is resting now after the exertion of her first walk. There were many monsters to be afraid of on the main road with headlights on, so she had to stop. Then I trod on her foot when she got beneath it in the darkness and there just happened to be some builders outside a house who said she sounded like a smoke alarm.

Very accurate.

Anyway last Saturday I did a craft Fair in Manchester and it was very nice indeed.

When I was getting ready I popped into the back bedroom to get the shelves I usually take and spotted the old wooden towel rack. It was much better than the shelves for hanging the brooches on and I think they looked rather good together. Now I must find a suitable solution for all the other jumble sale-y bits.

Its strange that I sold all my 'Tweets' last time I did this event, and this time I didn't sell one...well, I gave one away to the delightful Charlotte who was about to buy one,who had the stall next to me and was a delightful companion asking me if I needed a drink or lunch as I was on my own and she had company.
Anyway they may not have sold but they looked lovely on the tree.

I sold only brooches and Harris Tweed purses.

Isn't that strange?

I love making the brooches best so I am envisaging an ONLY brooches stall next time!!!

Ah well. These things are so unfathomable and there's etsy when I get round to it...probably too late for Christmas.

Today I cleaned and tidied and ironed.

Tomorrow I am going Christmas shopping.

Bleeeeuuurghhhh.

I must just mention our recent Monday night activity.

CAROL SINGING!!!

Well of course, I can't sing...well...I can sing and its not nice, but I do so enjoy it; so when a few weeks ago..actually it was quite a few weeks ago...we were invited to practise with a group of people from the next village who wanted to get a carol singing session going in the local pub I was a bit unsure. Its by no means a choir, but is in the spirit of the Carol Singing Pubs around Sheffield.

See video of the Sheffield singers...NOT US!! and many more.

Anyway thats what we've been doing every Monday since Mid November and it turned out to be in our local pub as the one in Wheelton closed down ~~in the nick of time~~ very sadly, and now instead of driving to the next village we walk two minutes down the road to The Oak Tree Brinscall.

So, if anyone who reads this wants to come and join in..words provided, come to the Oak Tree next Monday night at 8.30 for the last session. Its should be a good one and if you come too it would be better.

My favourite one is Sweet Christmas Bells. Here is the Kate Rusby version.

We practised way back in September and then when we went to Greece after that, I was swimming in the sea singing away to myself 'Sweet Bells..sweet chiming Christmas bells...' whilst doing a bit of backstroke like a single synchronised swimmer in 30 degrees of heat.

Hetty's first post.

2011-12-07T22:24:00.003Z

Hellooooooo!

My Mums been really busy, running up and down stairs, making a racket with her machine on the table upstairs .

First she made some hearts and she sent them to Munich.

The order was for 'quieter colours'

I heard her muttering something about it being too dark to take pictures.

Then she was asked to make some more pendants and these were what she came up with.

There was a lot more running up and downstairs with that thing she's always pointing at me and I can tell you, its a lot easier now I've learnt to come down one step at a time.

I can follow her and if she's a bit slow I can nip her heels.

(She gets a bit cross if I do that)

Then someone asked her to make some purple pieces like her 'Noon a Purple Glow' piece.

(I don't know anything about that because I've only been here for three months)

So she made these brooches.

She was grumbling again about the photos.

She's done a lot in that sewing room.....and I've helped.

Its a lot of work keeping my patch like this.

But someone's got to do it.
Those things won't chew themselves you know.

Oh..........................she says to tell you she'll be here on saturday and she's taking all her ETSY stuff with her so she's shutting up shop for the day.

I wonder where I'll be.....?

Felt, cotton and fur.

2011-11-26T12:07:00.002Z

As many bloggers say at this time of year..in fact at any time of year..life just passes by so quickly and its amazing when I check how long its been since I blogged (or, to my shame, since I read blogs)

I haven't been entirely idle though. I've made a few bits and bobs for an order, some hearts and leaves and Harris Tweets. I don't have any pictures of the tweets but I will be making more soon. They are lying here in a pile waiting for their stuffing and eyes and beaks and legs.

I like the hearts and they've all gone now, but I have to make 10 more for another order

On thursday I went to the Knitting and stitching show in Harrogate with some friends. We all fell for this wonderful book in the Quilt section but can't remember the name of the artist.

Any ideas?

My pictures are blighted by the shadow of my bulky frame.

There were many more birds in evidence in the Graduate showcase, Alice Wolfe made these with her father who is a scupltor. They had knitted 'feathers'. They were quite stunning in a unique way.

Birds are very 'current' with wings and skulls and beaks in many of the exhibits. A few years ago there were poppy seed heads everywhere. What will it be next? Who can imagine and why does it happen that there is a trending motif?

A particular favourite exhibit was the Korean, Jiyoung Chung with beautiful pieces made of Joomchi a particular type of papermaking technique. Her website is here and is definitely worth a look.

I also enjoyed the Diana Springall exhibit . Her book and tv series in the 80s presented by Jan Beaney was my great inspiration to go ahead and do City and Guilds.There were her original paintings which she worked into designs for embroidery and the finished pieces.

Then there was the Beryl Dean exhibition. It was fascinating to see the great scope of her work from way back in the 30s when her work must have been so 'modern', to her beautiful 'or nue' pieces with precise and controlled stitches. My favourite piece though, was a gorgeous child's dress from the 30s, her student work.
It had beautiful short sleeves made from concentric rows of fabric triangles in shades that looked like a page of the Farrow and Ball paint colour chart, subtle greys and pale duck egg.
No photos allowed!

I ventured downstairs to the knitting and other workshop area. I love this picture with the giant knitting needles and three knitters engrossed in something or other.

Here is another knitter..sorry I don't have a name. She was telling me about some workshops in London.

I took the knitting pics really for my son's girlfriend who has just learnt to knit and then immediately made some fair Isle socks!!! I mean...how incredible is it to be able to knit Fair Isle? And then to put it into socks? Wow.
She's opened an etsy shop with, knitted accessories and fimo jewellery. Do pop over and have a look and boost her visitors. Its hard to get your head above the water on ETSY . It took me 4 months of hard work publicising my etsy shop to get my first sale way back in 2007 and then another month and a half for sale number two and slowly steadily its built up until my work is in dozens of treasuries, and I make a reasonable number of sales per month...but my biggest seller?
The teabag paper!!!
Now my son's girlfriend also has a blog and the first post has a neat home made light box to help with photographs in this miserable climate, no expensive materials needed. So perhaps readers could pop over there to have a look.
Well, I said I hadn't done much but mainly I've been busy with this.

And when I remember how I was this time last year, all those smiles she brings can only be a good thing.

Sweeties

2011-11-15T16:28:00.002Z

First there were sugared almonds...

then there were chocolate limes....

and recently..and I had to make special felt ..

for these : caramels!

Or perhaps they are chocolate eclairs? The sweetie chewy kind, not the cakes.

Someone has asked me to make some caramel brooches and its not something I would have considered, but now I'm very glad I did. I love the velvet on the butterscotch felt.

Another person has asked me to make a piece along the lines of 'where the cricket sings', but with some purples in it.

So far I have some pieces of felt ready for stitching.

They look so much better in reality than in these photographs.

But I love them as they are. Felt so surprising and delightful.

Prefelts and other wools added to a prefelt background.

This afternoon I have listed LOADS of things in my etsy shop.

I suddenly looked and realised it was very low in stock.

My bargain pieces are the Harris Tweed brooches which are lovely (sorry!)

They are like sweeties in themselves.

But the photographs aren't so great.

See?
Its not ALL about dogs!

(Thank you to everyone who commented and welcomed little Hectic Hetty. Those who didn't receive a reply are 'no-reply' bloggers.)

More Hetty

2011-11-08T22:28:00.001Z

Do you think I'm here to show pictures of my sewing?

Or to tell you about new techniques I've developed?

Or to share some feltmaking?

Well I'm sorry...you will be disappointed.

The only thing I've been doing these last few days is smiling.

Oh..and running round with a small mop.

Because the advantage of a small dog is small puddles.

And you can't really be cross can you?

Heeeeeeeeere's Hetty!

2011-11-04T16:44:00.000Z

Gleeful bouncy cute adorable ...yes.. four legged therapy.
(Excuse scruffy bit of mat in the hall please and my old shoes)

Love is in the air

2011-11-03T11:56:00.001Z

Love and some very hastily taken and badly edited photographs but its busy busy busy here at Dogdaisyhill.

Last week I made a 'card' for a lady to give to her friends for their 50 years of marriage.

I layered sheer fabric and machined leaves and then cut them out and made them into a heart.

I've scribbled their names out (Badly) because just in case anyone reads this blog who knows them..and everyone in the village knows them...it wouldn't be a surprise.

A lovely couple, kind and generous . I hope they have a great day.

Next a bit of a loss.

Our garden is not the best or the easiest but was dominated by a larch tree. In the summer we would sit under it(Although that hasn't happened for a while) and its gorgeous drooping boughs hung over us like a waterfall.

Birds nested in it and midges made merry in the evening preventing us having chinese lantern lit soirees I used to dream about.

When the wind blew as it does so readily here at 800ft above sea level, branches full of cones hurtled across the garden. In the Autumn the path was a mat of needles. They drove me mad.

It was in the garden when we arrived and had only reached a fraction of its potential height and width. 26 years later that was unfeasible in our narrow space and sadly we had to do the deed.

Which now means our garden is TOTALLY boring and so is the view. but we do have a goodly stack of wood for the fire which we will need, as we now have no money left for the gas bill. You would not believe what two men up a tree for two hours charge!

Maybe it will improve growing conditions for next year?

I have also been busy making ..as usual. This seedhead was a commission.(I am not Anna Wales..it was just a convenient white background for the pic)

Then yesterday was a craft fair in Preston. Moderately successful but sometime you wonder if its worth the effort. I met nice people and there was a percentage commission for a soldiers charity.

I made almost enough money to pay for half the cost of the cat to have his teeth out next week.

Sigh.

Then I came home and catalogued a large part of my stock and listed and numbered and posted off for this event.

If you are in that vicinity you might like to pop in. There are some very good makers and lovely quality of work.

These are the ones I didn't send!

Harris Tweed brooches.

Of course felt brooches. I kept the hearts back,

but there are plenty of paisley, and fronds, and leaves.

Today I should cleaning because...and I don't know if I mentioned this....

someone is coming.

Tomorrow.

Warning:May contain traces of dogs.

2011-10-19T20:17:00.004+01:00

Many paws have passed through the pages of this blog in the three and a half years of its existence.

When we began I had my lovely constant companion, Willow, and we shared many walks with you.

I was distraught when she died.

Before Willow we had Daisy our first ever dog. Like Willow but with a black head. She was from the pre-digital era so I don't have any photographs on my Computer except this one. Its not a success but it gives the idea and shows feline paws too.

And who could forgot Porky and Blodwen? We had them on various occasions.

They baffled Willow with their size, she didn't baffle them, they were oblivious...to many things!

Conveniently sink sized, and completely underwhelmed by great Art.

My son had a dog for a few years, the delightful Denny. Noisy and enthusiastic and very intelligent. She came to stay a few times causing the cats to run up impossibly high and unsuitable for climbing Leylandii trees next door.

Then we had a visit from Indie. She is a real treasure and so peaceful and gentle you could take her anywhere. So we did! Here she is cooling off in Bassenthwaite,after a visit to Woolfest.

Then we met Dylan, a little cutie being looked after by my friend, when we went away to the Lake district for my birthday last year.

Another one of Denise's charges came to us for a night,

Dexter.

When Willow died I thought I could never love another dog.

I didn't feel I could manage a pointer again and thought I'd just enjoy looking after other people's dogs.

Then a few weeks ago along came Missy.

When she went home after a week we missed her more than we had expected.

We felt ready for a dog again.

So we made a few enquiries.

and in two weeks and two days Hetty will be coming to live with us.

But Willow will always be there in the background to keep and eye on things.

Standing up for themselves

2011-10-15T23:42:00.000+01:00

Displaying work is always a tricky topic and lately I've been making small labels or tags for my brooches so that they don't appear to be 'all card'. But the downside is that they must lie flat on a table or in a basket or something.

Of course I have my lovely tree when I do craft fairs but not everything will fit on there, so I've been playing with cards and come up with these.

They can stand upright, or sideways.

I've cut little tabs on the backs so they can even be bent into a curve for standing in galleries and then folded over front wards to make a sort of pouch for packaging.

And, there's room for my 'disclaimer' which I'm sorry to say was necessitated by one customers comments.(I didn't add 'don't stick the pin in your eye -its sharp,' but it was all I could do to restrain myself)

The other advantage is that the brooch seem to be enhanced on a plain background.
There is a drawback.
Its yet another time consuming, money consuming part of making and presenting my work. Also the card is too wide to use my hole puncher for the pin so I have to use a scalpel to make an 'X'
Ah well.
No one said it was easy. I suffer for my art!

I made a huge pile of frond brooches last week as readers know, and I've sold more than half of them.
Thats good isn't it? (Don't forget blog reader coupon code for 20% discount: 'squashes' , until the end of October or thereabouts.)

Now I'm just going to whisper this ....on Tuesday we are going to choose a puppy! It will be ready at the end of October.
I can't wait.

More more more

2011-10-13T12:24:00.002+01:00

"Oh no not more of those B***** leaves!" I hear you cry.

Well a girls got to keep a record and present it to the world.

You've aready seen plenty of the above but can you spot the difference in the ones below?

I had a plan where I'd stick to a few basic designs but I just can't help deviating. I suddenly made the veins and they reminded me of beech leaves, on the ground, in the Autumn and winter when you go for a walk at dusk and the stars come out...I just had to add a few stars. So a new 'standard' was born. What shall I call them?

Starry beech?

Since I showed the fronds I have sold a few and so just made an extra couple to keep the numbers up. Its my favourite.

I haven't listed these or the fronds on etsy but they are very definitely available as brooches or pendants...just ask.

UPDATE:I decided to list them after all! HERE

Don't forget 20% discount for blog readers with coupon code 'squashes'

Talking of shops, I must direct you all to the recently opened etsy shop of my old school friend Elli Woodsford, Embex studio. Imagine my surprise when I found her a few years ago on Friends Reunited, with a passion for textiles!

I just had to get in touch immediately.

Its a Plan

2011-10-10T16:03:00.000+01:00

Sometimes when I'm working for Christmas sales my head gets all fuzzy from trying to think up new designs for each piece.

So I have a cunning plan.

I make the same basic design in lots of different colours.

I shall call this particular style 'Frond' and have made 20 in a selection of colours.

I still get the pleasure from the unexpected outcomes of one colour against another.

I particularly enjoyed the surprise of these yellows on the greeny grey felt.

Blues are always a delight to make too.

Now, these above are all brooches but would they make good pendants? And if so, which sort of necklace is best? Coloured memory wire,

or a dangly fine black faux leather?

Its that time again

2011-10-08T18:53:00.002+01:00

Yes here I go again! Craft fairs approach. I may have three in the offing, and as well as that I have Gallery Commitments, so its all systems go here in my little sewing den. I would love to call it a studio but lets face it, its the spare room.

I've been limbering up with a few colourful paisley pieces. It takes me ages to get into the swing of things and these started in a bit of a forced way but eventually became more fluent.
I do so love choosing the colours and matching the threads and felt.

And then I went a bit 'off piste' with a scrap of leftover velvet, a prototype that needs refining.

Maybe there'll be more of these but I'll have to see. Thats why blogging is so useful , the feedback is invaluable. Thank you everyone for your comments. I have ~~761~~ 762 followers now. I can't believe it.

Thank you all for signing up.

I based this one on the shapes of some of the leaves at Charleston.

A few weeks ago I had a mystery envelope through the letterbox.

Nothing on the back and I didn't recognise the writing.

On opening it up I found this delightful little envelope..still no wiser....then inside that

was a beautiful piece of writing paper and even then I didn't quite realise what it was.

All that was written on it was...............

Then there was the tissue wrapped parcel and it began to dawn on me.......

How exciting! I'd won the giveaway on Karens blog a few weeks earlier and had forgotten about it so it was extra surprising to find this delightful, exquisite little 'sketch book page' inside.

There is so much work in this precious little sheet of paper. Perfect embroidery stitches a pricked pattern, around a beautiful circle of fine pink flowery fabric.

How amazing. If you don't know Karen's blog do go and have a look at all the delicious works of stitched art there. Everyone has hours and hours of beautiful hand stitching in it and she uses gorgeous materials. There are even classes so you try your hand at stitching along with her. Thank you Karen. I won't be putting it in the bottom of the cat litter tray as you suggested!

Off I go to get into full production mode.

Thanks for reading and commenting.

Harvest

2011-09-28T17:11:00.005+01:00

My vegetable gardening failure has reached almost legendary status.

But I can grow things on my sewing machine, in the fertile soil of my spare room, on a bed of felt.

I water with thread and feed with velvet.

I judiciously prune the leaves (splitting infinitives as I skip merrily through the pumpkin patch)

and when they are ripe I can pick them.

then lay them out for quality control.

As in life there are a couple of left handers.

Ten fat pumpkins all made into brooches for Halloween chic.

Available here by request or in my etsy shop for slightly more.

Pick a number. any number.

All different.

(Blog readers get 20% discount on anything in my etsy shop with coupon code 'squashes' until 22nd October)

How to make a brooch

2011-09-26T11:28:00.003+01:00

Ingredients:
Inspiration
Technical ability
Handmade felt.
Hand dyed silk velvet
Machine threads
Liberty cotton lawn
bondaweb
Fabric glue
brooch pin
PVA

METHOD

For the technical ability

Spend five years studying C&G creative studies and learning skills. Join Felt group and learn technical skills of feltmaking. Join International Feltmakers asscociation and Embroiderers guild.

For the inspiration

Study, draw, visit exhibitions, read books, look at pattern and colour...for years.

For the felt:

First drive 60 miles to Wingham wool works and buy merino wool tops. Drive home.
OR
Spend a while on the internet choosing colours and ordering.

Then spend a few days laying out the fibres, wetting, soaping rubbing and rolling the wool tops until you have felt.
Next spend a day letting it dry. If its winter and central heating is on, or if its a sunny summer day, but if its a grey damp humid summers day it will probably take 2 or 3 days to dry.

For the velvet:

Buy three metres of silk viscose velvet from Whaleys Bradford at minimum £18 a metre plus P&P.
Buy a selection of Kemtex cold water dyes plus soda ash, urea and syringes. Mix up several pots of dye mix. Prepare plastic bags for dyed fabric.
Spend a day tearing the velvet into small pieces and space dyeing them. Leave them overnight and next day rinse several times until the water runs clear. Dry then finish in tumble dryer to preserve the pile.

For the threads:

Order Natesh threads from Silken Strands , pay and wait for the delivery next day.

Bondaweb: phone Freudenberg non-wovens and order a 25 m roll of bondaweb .
Find Bfnt online and choose the three hole brooch backs . Order and wait for delivery.
Liberty cotton lawn: Find a market stall, friend with offcuts and buy or beg.
Make a room in your house to sew in.
Fabric glue:find some on ebay and order.

Prepare the room for sewing. (Electricity, sewing machine, lights, chair, iron,ironing board) and have a lot of fun for about 10 minutes applique-ing velvet to felt and drawing with the needle to produce a little patterned piece of art.

Repeat ad ~~nauseum~~ infinitum or until creativity dries up.

Trim the excess felt from the edges of each piece.
Iron bondaweb to the back of the Liberty Lawn.
Glue the brooch back to the back of each piece.
Cover with the liberty lawn and iron on to the back of the brooch, first making small cuts in the fabric to allow the pin through..
Trim the excess fabric away.
Finish with a coating of dilute PVA to prevent fuzzing of the surface, and leave to dry.

To sell:
EITHER
Photograph from all sides and upload photos.
Compose description and add tags on Etsy.
Promote shop by twitter, blog, Flickr and Facebook.
Wait for a lovely person to buy.
Leave feedback.
Print card labels.
Wrap in cello bag, tissue, jiffy bag.
Print address labels and 'thank you' label.
Walk down to the post office and pay for postage. If its a Wednesday (half day closing)drive to the next village
Keep proof of posting for accountant.
Pay Etsy fee. Pay paypal fee.

OR:
Apply to several craft fairs and accept rejection from some and ensuing depression. Pa fee.
Drag yourself along to one with all your stock, set it out and stand there for two days or so selling or not.

OR:
If you are very lucky send items to lovely Galleries who have asked you for goods usually at a reduced rate. Not always!

Submit accounts to accountant.
Pay accountant.

How much do they cost?

Is it really too much?

UPDATE: several commenters have asked if this is in response to something that has happened. No it isn't in particular but its something I've been thinking about for some time.

Bright

2011-09-23T22:35:00.001+01:00

The whitest legs in Christendom have been scaring fish in the blue waters of the Aegean for the last week. I performed a valuable public service..making everyone else on the beach feel tanned.

Up a total of 168 steep steps we found the delightful Villa Iris above the harbour on the beautiful Island of Symi in the Dodecanese Islands.

We arrived in Rhodes on 15th September and spent the afternoon strolling and exploring the old town.

I once saw a film about Rhodes as 'The crossroads of Civilisation' and so it is, with remnants of the Crusades and the Moors everywhere.

The pavements in the old town are suitcase wheel wreckers..but very beautiful.

In a side street snuggled against the city wall we found a lovely small taverna where we ate our first Kalamari of the week and restrained ourselves from buying a wine can.

They look colourful and right on Greek Island but once in UK a bit different.

A glance over a ruined wall revealed a huge patch of Morning glory...

........glorious.

The Dodecanisos Seaways Express whizzed us from Old Kolonna Harbour to Symi island in about an hour and we were taken to our villa, high above Yialos, cool and airy with a lovely terrace from where we could watch the goings-on the harbour.

Can you see us? Find the ruin just right of centre, and ours is the one on the lower left of it with white windows almost in the centre of the top of the picture above the brown vertical stripe of the near building.
Take a look around the inside of a Greek Island house, albeit with a French owner and a few added artefacts.

It was an airy and really pleasant place to relax in with a stunning view.

But of course it comes at a price: the view can only be so spectacular because its high..steep steps to climb..every night.

Here's one particularly steep run. I loved this bit. Or I should say the look of it.Climbing it was another matter. The doors and the walls painted pink and lilac, and the huge pile of fallen and dried bouganvilla petals that lay on the lower steps held the picture together. Enlarge to get the best view.

Most beaches on Symi are too remote to be reached by foot so you have to go down to the harbour to catch a taxi boat . However, Nimborio is walkable and one of the roads over the hill started above our house, so join me on the road to Nimborio.

Upwards from the house.

Passing a few neighbours on the way.

Island life is relaxed and there is no manicuring of the landscape here.

In searing heat we passed a little chapel with a ships mast in the grounds.

We saw where the donkeys go after work.

Parts of the road are paved with marble.

Notice there is no shade whatsoever.

Until we reach another church.

Just what you imagine on a Greek Island?

At last a glimpse of the sea.

Look at this road.

How did they build it? 'Health and safety gone mad' is not a phrase you hear often in Greece!

The beautiful Aegean.

Sudden amazing flowers jump out from behind a fence.

Look carefully and you will see sea anemones here just beneath the surface.

Finally we reach Nimborio where we swim in the clear blue sea ,

lie under the Tamarisk Trees

and eat at the taverna until its time to walk home on the lower road.

On another day we caught the new and very fast taxi boat to Marathounda beach.

We lay under the rather tatty umbrellas and ate in the taverna and swam in the sea....again!

A hard life.

Excellent food here, especially the bread.

We had fun fending off the locals!

On our return to the harbour we went for the obligatory frappe/ouzo/ or Mythos beer at Pacos bar, watching the world of Symi go by.

Ancient looking Gulets from Turkey jostle with huge charter yachts with staff rushing about swabbing the decks .

The best day was went we went on a boat trip around the Island in a Traditional caique, The Poseidon.
The first stop was at a blue cave where some people swam. I didn't.
Then to St Emillianos where we looked around the monastery, swam, and ate the most delicious picnic prepared on the boat,

and the barbecue.

Saw a little resident.

Then off to more isolated beaches for swimming in the gorgeous water.

The week continued much in the same way. Walking, swimming, eating, sunbathing. But still my legs remained as white as the driven snow! All hopes of changing that vanished on the last day, when we once more walked to Nimborio and after our swim .....

.......the heavens opened! It was a first for us, to see rain in Symi. And what rain! Thunder and lightening. We all moved into the taverna where the roof cover began to bow with the weight of water, so Maria got her brush and pushed it off. Much laughter ensued as it hit the umbrellas and poured back in over someones tzatziki.

It was a lovely holiday. The only downside was the air traffic controllers strike in Rhodes which resulted in 7 hours at the airport. Ah well.

I'll finish this post with a hazy view from our bedroom window, which was covered in a bamboo blind.We were lying in bed one morning when this woke us.

Enjoy.

especially the last few seconds.

A Greek Holiday:A little piece of stained glass in the wall of memory.

Hope you liked it.

Autumn Leaves

2011-09-12T19:44:00.000+01:00

Autumn Twilight arrived.

September Night followed.

A while ago I made two pieces of felt with a view to making smaller works. I forgot to photograph the 'plain felt'. I made pre-felts and cut them into shapes, laying them down on a background and wet felting again. They are around 8 inches square.

I made vague leafy shapes and machine stitched them, adding details by hand later. It took me ages to do the one above.

Suddenly I needed two pieces to enter for an open exhibition, so decided to finish the other one off..which I did in a day!

That presents a problem...I haven't got to know it yet..I didn't want to let it go! It turned out better than the first one I think. I must be Bloomsbury Inspired!

Just for a change I thought I'd put them in frames. They are a bit squashed but more sellable.

I still don't really like textiles behind glass though.

More difficult to photograph and to look at.

The frames ar about a foot square.

Did you spot the mistake?

Or should I say , 'Indecision?' Autumn Twilight ...which way up?

In the first picture its got the grey leaf at the top right.

I liked it better in the frame with the leaf at the bottom.

Sussex Journal...Long.

2011-09-09T22:36:00.001+01:00

No sewing in this post unless you count this:

On the way to our Sussex destination we passed through Emsworth for reasons to be explained later, and found the HQ of Jennie Raiment. I'd heard her speak and it was nice to see where she works.

We were on a work related trip for my husband, and stayed in 'another world.' The village of Firle near Lewes. You know how it is. You think you'll stay in a cheapo B&B , say a Premier Inn or Travel lodge...you start Googling, you find The Ram at Firle..and nothing else will do. So thats where we stayed for two nights.

Bliss.

If you like dogs.

I do.

Firle has a village church with a John Piper Window

Very Lovely.

And an older stained glass window... pretty and delicate.

The Ribbons had prayers on them. The sign said 'Please put a donation in the box. Lots of love, The Vicar'

The vicar is apparently, famous. He presents a TV show called 'Round the world in 80 Faiths'. He was in the bar at the Ram and so was Rory MacGrath who is making a TV programme nearby.

I mention him because he was in my blog some time ago taking part in Cumberland Wrestling at Ambleside Sports.

The village of Firle is indeed another world. It's the essence of Englishness

'The pastures of the wilderness run over and the hills are girded with joy. The meadows are clothed with sheep and thick with corn that they shall laugh and sing.'

The church wall in Firle.

The forge..female blacksmith making garden ornaments.

Even the window cleaner is vintage.

So here is what became our itinerary.

Wednesday Morning: a trip to Lewes. I wanted to go into Bills Cafe, I had seen it on other blogs. We went inside, it was an Aladdins cave of food, but sadly the breakfast at The Ram was so substantial I didn't need a thing for a long time.

At 1pm we went to Berwick Church.

NOW PAY ATTENTION AND LISTEN TO THIS. Sorry to shout but this is amazing.

Walking up the lane to Berwick church I passed a family. As I passed, the mother said 'Oh I like your brooch'. I said I'd made it. Then as I moved on I decided to turn back and give her a card. She looked at it and said ' Oh my goodness! I know you...Jackie? I used to have a blog'. She said it was called 'Echoes of a dream', and I answered 'Simmy?" ..we had been in touch a lot until she stopped blogging over a year ago.

Un-be-lievable!

We jabbered and hugged and jabbered some more, her children and husband were delightful. They invited me to the pub. My husband was in the church by now talking to the vicar so we tootled off and spent about an hour together. It was her wedding anniversary and they were all having a day out together before the children went back to school.

Now what do you make of that coincidence? I still can't decide.

So..back to Berwick Church: decorated by members of the Bloomsbury Group. I heard a very good description today. 'They lived in squares and loved in triangles.'

Very apt. Heres the pulpit decorated by Vanessa Bell, and added to by the local flower arrangers who had gathered all their material from gardens and hedges. There were rose hips and old man's beard , golden rod and eryngium, hawthorn berries and apples; nothing bought, all grown locally. Perfect for the atmosphere of the church.

The colours of the fruit and flowers were so well matched to the paintings of which there were many.

Two of the lovely roundels seen here of the four seasons,

Christ in Majesty over the arch.

Whatever you think of the technical or artistic skill of the residents of Charleston Farmhouse, or their morality, you can't deny that the church is a wonderful spectacular and special place.

So, talking of Charleston farmhouse, that's where we went next for a guided tour.
Again, so special. Slightly tatty and badly done, quite naive and OTT but delightful in its confidence.
No photographs allowed inside so I'll show the beautiful garden.

What are these below? (Thank you bloggers:Zinnias)

Envy!

Just lovely, an artists' garden. So delightful.

Well as if that wasn't enough we tootled off in search of the Long Man of Wilmington.

Here he is.

Then back the long way round via Beachy head, Seaford and Eastbourne.

Bracing!

Back to The Ram for a stupendous meal.

Thursday: another visit to Berwick church, noticing different things this time.

A simple honest memorial.

A stand of hollyhocks

and the altar frontal worked by one of the Charleston group. (the mother of one of them.)

Then an arranged meeting at The Royal Pavilion, Brighton.

WOW!

I didn't really want to go there but am so pleased that I did. Its completely amzaing. No photographs allowed, but anyhow they wouldn't capture the opulent Chinoiserie . It was so interesting being shown round and we were taken up into the parts where the public can't go.

Next stop: The museum and the 'Radical Bloomsbury' exhibition. Such a great collection showing the best of the art of Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell. Enlightening and inspiring.

Then we spent a good half hour looking for an artwork by Stig Evans, who had told us he made a mosaic by the railway station. We didn't find it. When we finally got back to the car we had exceeded the 4 hours for £15 and gone up to £25. Don't think I could afford to live in Brighton!

Now back to Emsworth and Chichester: the reason we went that way was to see the Fida Kahlo exhibition, but on our way down we were too late, so went on our way home and it was well worth it.

The works of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in a few rooms at Pallant House Gallery.

Stunning.

Especially this one. In reality absolutely beautiful.

And I would love to visit Chichester again.

Well, I ate too much, I saw a lot, I wrote too much.

But I don't want to forget it.

Thats what blogs are for.

This and that.

2011-08-27T14:22:00.000+01:00

Forgive me for showing these again but they were taken with my new camera and I feel they are better than my previous version.

The background is a little on the pinkish side though. I will have to keep trying.The exhibition has just three more days to go..weekends only ..four if you include today. Astley Hall Coach house gallery, Chorley. Free admission.

Poor Mummycat was put out of her misery a week last Thursday. Her ear cancer wouldn't stop despite two operations and much bandaging and dressing it was a big mess and couldn't be ignored so it was the only way. We buried her in the garden near this lovely bush. We were very sad, but our spirits were lifted by our little guest. Missy.

The most adorable well behaved little mini Schnauzer. She's going home tomorrow so I expect I'll be a bit sad. Its a bit much to hope her owners might not want her back isn't it? We've walked all over with her. My Mum and I walked for two hours last Monday..my Mum is almost 84!

We took Missy and my Mum to Elterwater on Thursday, she helped us finish our pasta salad at Chesters, so we had to take her for a big walk after that! We don't want to send home tubby.

Now: I know I was very optimistic in this post, and excited about my vegetable patch.
Well its a good job anticipation is so enjoyable because the outcome is not good. The broad beans fell over numerous times, allowing the snails to leap aboard their bendy stems. Some of the flowers went black and dropped off and I am still waiting for my harvest.

I've had a squeeze at these pods and I'm sure they're empty.

The leaves are holey and even my nasturtiums haven't flowered.

And as for the garlic......well apart from most of it vanishing this is whats left. Impressed?

No neither am I.

Oh well. never mind.

I had a belated birthday trip out with my friends last night. We caught a steam train in Bury and had a chug along the moors whilst eating a lovely meal.

And drinking copious amounts of wine.

All the carriages were 'first class'

Many of the passengers were in vintage costume to go with the train.

This is a place called 'Summerseat'. I really must investigate from the roadside sometime.

Miniatures

2011-08-17T12:50:00.003+01:00

Not many words needed. These are what it says on the tin.

Little extracts from larger pieces, or should I say abstracts? Some of the areas I like from the larger pieces reworked as small squares.

About 4 inches square. SOLD.

SOLD

I love this bit where the silk fibres have spread over the wool felt, and make a sort of marble effect.

I think they look nice in a row.

Now listed on Etsy (Only the centre one available now)

Another little miniature that came into our house yesterday.

Involuntarily.

Jools our badboy cat was feeling bored with the expensive food we'd spread before him so went out out for a snack. He doesn't have many teeth so the snack escaped, besides he wasn't that hungry.

I caught him under a glass. The only damage was a wet back from the cat gums.

Sweet. Enormous eyes.

And now free.

This is not my work

2011-08-13T14:56:00.002+01:00

Just a record of a super but very tiring day out to The Festival Of Quilts last Thursday.

I didn't buy a programme so I can't tell you who these were by. I loved this called 'Colour comes to the back of Beyond'

The traditional quilts section had some beautifully made pieces . I liked this one especially because in my UFO bag from the 1970s I have one using these shapes.

The subject of this picture was close to my heart. The quilting stitches were all sorts of words like 'half a pound of sausages' and 'Fat' but I think they were all positive, right down to 'Chocolate coated statins'.

I once had an idea to make a piece about being diabetic, with a lot of text , but I think this says it all.

Beautiful quilts by Pia Welsch (?) with machine embroidered motifs on the surface.

Fabulously shaded pictorial piece. The detail was amazing.

I loved these fish. There were 4 altogether, and below , one called 'Manhattan' drew me in.

The one below which I love was made from knitted pieces and looked very comfortable.

We had a bloggy meet up and the ~~one on the front row who looks like a barrage balloon is yours truly.~~ I've replaced that unflattering pic with one I've pinched from Sue K! Hope you don't mind Sue.

Left to Right: Julie, Mirim, Carol McFee,Carolyn Saxby,Margaret Roberts,Me, Gina, Chrissie, Viv Margaret, and Sue is seated.

It was great fun. We all said hello gleefully with much hugging like old friends, and chatted and then stood about wondering what to do!

Inevitably we went our separate ways and then..AND THEN.....

these.

They bowled me over.

Each and every one was a stunner.

But the prices. This below was enormous and was a mere £500 and some.

Its telling that this mans hand is a blur.

These smaller one were around £100 and some were well under

It makes me embarrassed about what I do and what I charge.

It was a grand day out.

What we did on our holidays.

2011-08-07T18:18:00.002+01:00

The essay: Its a holiday diary for me to record one of the nicest holidays I've had for a while. We stayed in Morecombelake near Lyme Regis as you can see in the distance from part of the fantastic garden.

The day we arrived was our wedding anniversary so we had the half bottle of champagne our friends bought us. We wished we'd taken the large bottle as well!.The vase of sweet peas was left for us by our lovely hosts. The scent was everywhere.

On Sunday we ate at Downhouse Farm and were quite lucky to avoid the rain. They do clever things with lovely food and old drinks cans.

Its all very tasteful. Then we walked across the fields to Eype Beach. delightful but slightly drizzly.

Pebbles..we brought some home of course. Carefully selected for roundness.

The village of Eype had some chocolate box cottages with gardens full of fabulous flowers.

The garden below has a railway carriage to rent for holidays. I noticed this in particular because I harbour secret desires for a railway carriage in my garden..but before that, perhaps a garden big enough to accommodate one would be a good idea!

The garden of our cottage was also a delight with a private little pond just outside the window.

I had a good time with my new camera, recording the details of the lovely place.

Just look at the beetles on that! (Or not if you prefer)

This is the view from the other end of the pond.

The outside staircase(because the inside one is a bit narrow and steep and twisty) goes from the kitchen downstairs straight into the bathroom above!

There was a conservatory to sit in if we wanted. (Great for my husbands concertina practice)

The bedroom was beautiful with a very comfortable bed. (I always take my own pillow on holiday since a very lumpy sleepless experience in North Wales, but I didn't need it here.) We slept well. The windows had quirky wooden shutters for night time.

The cottage was lovely but the garden, the wider garden and house it all belonged to, were stunning.

We were told to feel free to wander anywhere, which we did, marvelling at the flower beds, herb gardens, trees and hedges, scents and sounds all around.

In this picture you can just about see the house.

The scents of flowers and herbs were a delight.

Textures of a variety of white flowers were carefully thought out. I love these poppies with their papery white petals, and there were some frilly ones nearby .

And what are these? They looked like giant snowdrops, and the nearest thing I can think of is a yucca.

Isn't it strange how something can just stop you in your tracks? Right in the middle of this I saw these antirrhinums, and was immediately taken back to the garden from my childhood. It was a council house for the first 7 years and snapdragons epitomise that ever-sunny-Enid Blyton- time.

On Monday we caught the Park and ride bus to Lyme Regis. I had my first and only'Cornish' pastie of the week. It was heavenly. Hot and delicious eaten from the bag whilst sitting on the sea wall fending off the seagulls and watching the world. Its obligatory.

Lyme Regis is a lot of fun. There's something for everyone.

The bucket and spade brigade, the fisherman, sunbathers, walkers, fossil hunters, sailors, swimmers, paddlers, shoppers, foodies, literary types.

As we walked along the Cobb I was thinking about Captain Wentworth and Louisa Musgrave.

( I didn't think about the French Lieutenants woman because I really hate that book.)

I spotted this sculpture in a lovely area, near an old brewery and bakery using water power.

This building below is home to an aquarium with a very old lobster..according the boards outside, 80 years old. (How do they know?)

An amusing encounter on the promenade.

Lovely lichen covered rooftops.

This day would have been perfect. we were tired at about 6.30, having walked around for hours. So we went to the bus stop for the park and ride bus back to the car park.

If only it had occurred to one of us to have asked what time they finished! We waited..and waited...and eventually caught an ordinary bus. the driver was very nice as he said he was going past the car park he would drop us to pick up the car, but as we approached and saw that our car was the only one..we realised the gate was locked, and the key for the cottage was in the car. The lovely bus driver said 'Go and get it and I'll wait..but be quick!' My husband climbed over the gate and was back in no time, and the driver dropped us at the end of our lane. Fortunately the other passengers weren't in a hurry!

Tuesday was hot and sunny so we went to Seatown beach, where we had lunch at The Anchor:another obligatory food item, the crab sandwich, made even more delicious with a portion of chips!

Then we lay on the beach frying our skin and went for a wonderful swim in the sea. It was quite hard to get in because of the undertow and even harder to get out!

On Wednesday we had a day at Sidmouth (Via Abbotsbury which is I later found, in the opposite direction!) for the folk week. Here's the tail end of the procession of dancers. I had been to the old Sidmouth Folk festival in my youth. It was strange to be there over 30 years later, and also to see that many of the other people who were there were of a similar age.

Hairy Loch Ness monster too.

Our visit to Abbotsbury was to visit Lazyhill Gallery, where we met Rachel who made us very welcome and took some more of my brooches. The Gallery is beautiful, I am very privileged to have my work stocked there.

Wednesday finished with another meal at The Anchor' at Seatown.

This post is getting too wordy so I'll simplify.

Thursday:Rain:Axminster; River Cottage Lunch-excellent pork pie!

Ottery St Mary Collegiate Church, Organist practising gave us a soundtrack.

Mosaic by Butterfield over a tomb of a member of the Coleridge family with her feet on an Otter!

The River Cottage Cheese haul.Great, especially the unpasteurised brie, but indigestion ensued.

Friday: Morning reading in the garden.

Then to Bridport. Knitted Garden exhibit at the Arts Centre.

Then lunch in the Art Centre Garden . (Just a note...we ate salad they grew in their garden which was about 2 foot square-I love Dorset)

Best bakery I've ever seen:Leakers.

Hive Beach for the afternoon, home then back to Hive Beach Cafe for a FANTASTIC meal.

What a way to end a holiday. Scallops overlooking the sea.

This little hill kept popping into view throughout our travels so I had to get a picture.

Home via Wells, another great cafe for lunch 'The Good Earth' and Cheddar Gorge .

A week in Dorset. Hope its not too showy-offy but I want to write it so I remember it.

Accountability

2011-07-27T20:41:00.000+01:00

Its been ages since I've posted and I don't know why.

I'm back down to earth after a tremendous Birthday week. Thank you for all the birthday wishes.

Perhaps my life has been too nice to spend time on t'internet.

I feel very contented at the moment.

I daren't say that too loudly, as my friend Margaret says 'When the sun is out and your sails are full of wind, thats when your ship get blown onto the rocks.' Its so true but just now all is well. We are off to Dorset on Saturday and have resident house sitters who want to come for a little holiday so the cats will be well looked after.

I'm so looking forward to our visit to Dorset, staying in a teeny weeny cottage near Lyme Regis.

Our exhibition is going so well! I feel so buoyed up every time I visit. Lots of visitors, great comments, lovely place.

But into every life a drop of rain must fall. My drop of rain is only small but very boring. I've been doing my accounts. My assistant was no use at all. (At least he wasn't licking his nether regions in this one.)

I gathered everything from bags, coat pockets, decorative midwinter casserole dish with lid in danger of dropping onto the floor by being too full of proofs of postings, cupboards, shelves and those safe places and it amounts to this.

A big heap of disorganised clutter. I wouldn't mind but I earn so little I rarely pay tax, and still I send my figures to my husbands accountant and he just fills in the form and says 'that'll be a small fortune please'. I do all the work. I don't have the confidence to know what I can and can't claim for.( Please don't try to help!)
So, I get easily distracted when I have to sort it all out. I take pictures of stuff you've already seen..

and then when I get really fed up I cover it all up in this bit of nuno felt I made a couple of weeks ago.

I tried out my new camera. Its made the purples a bit bluer than they should be. Time to tweak I think.

I apologise that this looks like a pair of bosoms.

So back to the accounts. Nearly done.

I had my last 'One to One' (tuition session) at the Apple store and had expressed an interest in stop motion animation. He suggested I took a few photos, so I did, (76) and he showed me how to put it into a slide show so here it is. I ask for your understanding..its my first, I did it without a tripod and just with what was to hand. I learnt a lot.

I've also started road testing my kindle with my first e-book,

I thought it was a nice lighthearted start. I like the lightweight ease of the Kindle, and the way its so clear to read.
I have a few problems...I keep accidentally grasping it by the next page or previous page buttons.
If I want to flick back a few pages to remind myself of something I have to go through all the pages so a Russian novel is out..all those names.
And you can't swat flies with it.

Lovely day

2011-07-20T20:50:00.000+01:00

A restaurant,

and all my favourite people (except for one who should have been there but couldn't)

made for a very happy birthday.

I took lots of photographs with my new camera..and even changed the shutter speed for one..

careful now!

(But not one of me in my 'party frock')

I had a gadget filled 60th Birthday.

Camera, Kindle, sat-nav, and bird box with webcam.

Thank you for all your delightful Birthday wishes.

They mean a lot.

Good morning

2011-07-19T06:20:00.002+01:00

..............ty.

Two tours

2011-07-10T12:48:00.001+01:00

Yesterday we had the preview of our Exhibition at Astley Hall Coach House Gallery, Chorley.

A beautiful space. We each introduced our work with a few words and had a fun time with our invited guests. Here's my corner.

In this picture from Left to right, Jenni Ripley (3pieces) Elizabeth Rayton (5) then two and a half of Mary Holden's

Mary's full works here,

Brenda Smales' work then around the corner to

Gill Yates' print based works,

Here's the showcase..in bad need of a re-organise which I'll do some time soon.

On to the retrospective section..more of Elizabeth's,

Yvonne Downing,

my work to the left and Gill's work to the right.

Margaret Kay's 'Pool at Le Jardin Majorelle'.

I've missed a few but I'll get them on another day.

Here's a long view of the whole space.

Me again

and I hope you'll forgive this one. Its all part of trying to be less self conscious..and makes me realise I haven't lost as much weight as I thought!

It also looks stiff because my husband takes so long to take a picture I'd got a bit tired of smiling.

Now a tour of last weekend when we should have been in Paris. We couldn't go, but look at these pictures.

I know where I'd rather be?

Lunch at Chesters by the River at Skelwith Bridge.

then we drove to Elterwater village and walked back towards Skelwith Bridge along the river.

Just enjoy, especially the Herdys under the trees.

Update: Just watched' Countryfile' on BBC and there was an item on Herdwick sheep. Farmers lose 70p per sheep on the fleece. It costs more to shear them than they can sell them for, so they may be a sight which will disappear.
Beatrix Potter was a great champion of the Herdwick.

The doors to the workshop at the Lakeland slate company.

Then home via the Windermere ferry

past Belle Isle.

Better than Paris.

News

2011-07-07T12:58:00.000+01:00

At last.
The Exhibition at Astley Hall is up and looks amazing even though I say it myself. If you live anywhere in the vicinity it would be great to see you. Easy parking, nice cafe, lovely old Hall to view and then pop across to the Coach House Gallery upstairs for our exhibition.
70 pieces from 9 people. Mostly new works and some older ones.
Heres a bad view of the hall which is a gem.

Here is the Coach House, newly restored and waiting for you!

My days for minding the exhibition are this coming Saturday, then 20th August, and 4th September.
I live quite nearby so I think I'll be popping in on other occasions.

Other plans for the summer: a week in Dorset. I had a bee in my bonnet about Dorset and have found a delightful little cottage which happens to be the home of a Textile artist. It was meant to be. We got a cancellation.
A trip to the Festival of Quilts on the Thursday is also booked, and a visit to the Royal Exchange theatre next week . Then its the big six-o.
Oh.

Scoring in Extra time

2011-06-28T18:23:00.003+01:00

Our planned weekend away has been cancelled and I have been given some extra time to complete my exhibition pieces.

So, yet another 'Midnight's all a Glimmer' for which the other two were trial runs.

But more exciting for me, and I don't want to sound smug or self satisfied, but here's "Peace comes dropping slow' and I have to say I am delighted with it. rather poor photograph in raking sunlight.

Update: I took the photo below in dull weather today. Click to enlarge.

I used palest colours and light coloured velvet and added machine embroidery which was a joy to do. I used the little seedhead motif to evoke the 'slow dropping' floating down feeling. I kept the colours very pale and added tinges of ..yes you guessed it- ochre, teal, grey, cream, aqua.

Each one is different and instead of using the holey felt I went back to the (despised in some quarters) blank white canvas and they just began to speak more clearly. I chose a grid pattern because it reminds me of Mid century fabric patterns, it pleases me.

How does that happen? I had no idea what the outcome would be when I started.

Below is my very favourite one.

Its almost too sunny at the moment to take decent pictures. I might try more later. In fact I'll bore the internet to death with them!

In the meantime

..anyone want to buy some holey felt?

Hello

2011-06-25T21:11:00.004+01:00

Well its been a long time since I was here because I've been a busy bee. Sometimes lovely weeks come along when quite ordinary events happen and make you feel good. Along with all the events I've finished another piece for an open exhibition locally. Its another version of 'Where the Cricket sings' and is smaller and goes alongside 'Midnights all a-glimmer'.

I'm just showing one or two details.

I really must change my palette don't you think?

But I do love these colours.

Here they are together.

Embroidery 2000 are gearing up for our next stage of the exhibition which will be at Astley Hall Coach House Gallery, Chorley, starting on 9th July and open weekends 12-5, until 4th September.

The Gallery is big so we are all doing more work and putting some older work in. I've made several floppy pieces of cobweb felt as the basis of a piece called 'Peace comes dropping slow' . My other piece with that title was a bowl so I've renamed that and transferred the title to this one. I'm going to add some small delicate motifs and hang it from a batten in layers. Fingers crossed. I'll bore you with a load of photographs.

I put silk fibres on the felt and graded the colours .

Its holey!

I suppose the veils of morning would have been the perfect title but I've already made that piece.

For photographing I've hung it inappropriately fro my flowery ironing board!

Here's one of my nice events of the week: Dexter. He came for the day and had hundreds of kisses. He's the most kissable doggie I've ever met. We had a lovely long long walk. It wasn't going to be long but I bumped into an old friend and her son and we walked for miles, so when his minder came for him we were out!

Another day my husband had to take a painting back to Didsbury so we picked up my son and went for lunch to 'The Art of Tea' a lovely 'shabby ' cafe with a second hand bookshop in the back. I googled it and it hasn't got universally good reviews but we thought it was great. Lovely staff and delicious food.

Rocket salad with sunflower seed dressing.

Last weekend was Art and Garden and as usual its a beautiful event. Here's my tree with brooches. I sold quite a bit of stuff but not as much as usual.

So many people who were there said it didn't matter f they didn't sell anything because they love it.

I agree.

And here's my next door neighbours' honeysuckle growing over their back wall. The leaves looked a bit wiggly and I thought it was diseased but I've never seen it so fluorescent.

Add in a Confirmation where I was the sponsor and had a lovely time afterwards drinking wine with the parents, a workshop with my embroidery group and a plea to take part in a good craft fair in November, and even the weather hasn't dampened my spirits.

I do have a cold though.

Sniff.

Two by two

2011-06-10T18:10:00.000+01:00

Its that time of year again...the annual 'Art and Garden ' event next weekend, and I haven't been making for quite some time, so I had a go this last week to get a bit of stock together. I had also promised some more brooches to a local gallery that I always keep supplied so making things in pairs seemed a good idea.

Not exactly alike but near enough.

It halves my thinking time and doubles the output.

Th etrouble is when you then split them into two separate orders they don't look like much. I showed the pink ones last time and I have added some deep scarlet ones.

When I thought I had enough for the gallery I made a few more singles in slightly different colours.

Slow and steady......

Shoshi, Jude, Magic Cochin, Heather, Sheep Rustler, Rachel, Aileen , Beverly, Beacee, Monica, Annie and Lyn thank you all for your comments. You are all 'No reply ' bloggers and because I don't reply individually it doesn't mean I don't appreciate your comments.

Different creativity

2011-06-06T22:55:00.004+01:00

In the first year of my blog I revealed my appalling failure as a gardener with the above picture..

These are the easiest thing in the world to grow ..nasturtiums ...and I had failed.

But this year I have determined to have a better go at it.

I think I gave up on gardening when we had dogs running all over the flower beds, so felt doomed to failure.

Now, with a new, possibly chemically induced optimism...(Yes the pills are working) may I present the instant-tetris-bookshelf-raised-garden?

Yes these little units were once my sons bookshelves made in tetris modules shapes. I have asked for raised beds for the last six months. 'I'll have to look for some wood' came the reply.

See if we have some wood?!!!!!

You can't look in our garage without getting splinters.

So I went in the garage and saw these and knew they would work. They are only MDF so won't last long, but have had a coat of 'Ball green' inside and out and are sealed along the bottom edge with duct tape.

I have to admit that B&Q grew the chard and the strawberries..But I grew the broad beans from seeds.

Impressed? I hope so. I am. I have a chair right next to them so I can sit and watch them grow, and listen to the army of slugs gnashing their teeth at the edge of the gravel.

Just pass me my lace up wellies , an organic hemp smock, and a trug, and there's not much between me and Sarah Raven. Well, except about a foot in height and few acres.

I know that in the south and east, broad beans are bearing fruit now, and mine may seem pathetic, but its cold here, and often dull. Believe me this is a triumph in these parts. 850 feet above sea level and on the moors, clay soil, in the shade.

I've been creative in the kitchen too. (Oooh just call me Nigel Slater, what with the Swiss chard and everything)

Chocolate covered crinkle cut ready salted potato crisps .

One of my gifts for my friends 60th birthday after a conversation where they cropped up as a joke.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients: 4 bars of Cadburys Dairy Milk Chocolate

I bag of milky bar buttons

2 bags of Seabrookes crinkle cut ready salted crisps.

Method: Eat one of the bars of dairy milk.

Melt the other three.

In another bowl melt some of the milky bar buttons. Eat the rest.

Empty out the two bags of crisps and eat all the broken ones.

Dip the round ones in chocolate and put onto waxed paper.

If you don't have waxed paper use a yard of bondaweb wrong side up with the adhesive bit peeled off.

Dribble with some milky bar chocolate melted.

Put in the fridge .

Try one.

Then another.

Just to see if they are ok.

And another.

Quality tested by me.

Yum.

I think.

Busy bees

2011-06-03T20:37:00.003+01:00

As I have a few requests for 'stock' I thought I'd venture back into the production field.

I can't say I enjoy it as much as I did but I have to do a few things for my annual trip to Art and Garden ..details later, but if you're in the area it would be good to see you.

I was feeling in need of some cheery stuff so I produced these brooches and pendants.

Then I got bored after making 4 things I went outside to 'pot on' my broad bean plants which are in ridiculous pots just to start them off, and I could wait forever for the raised beds my husband promised.

(But..big update on that , next post)

Well, there I was, thinking about' The Lake Isle of Innisfree' my poem for the exhibition thinking I'd need a lot more beans to compete with old WB ..'nine bean rows will I have there and a hive for the honey bee' when I heard the sound of the ' bee loud glade' right there outside the back gate.

look

A swarm. What a beautiful noise!

Worth a silver spoon ..its June!

So I phoned my friends who live in the next village and who keep bees to come and see.

He came and then went off to collect his wife from work, and left me with the instruction to ask the people whose garden it was if we could go in. There is an avenue of modern houses locally known as 'cumfy 'omes', some backing onto our garden and thats where the bees were.

Imaging my horror when I discovered they thought they were wasps and had called the exterminator!!

(We are really up against it here: think 'We chop the trees down because the birds make a mess')

Anyway my friends and a woman who lives nearby whose bees they could be, arrived in beekeeper garb and investigated.

It was a huge ..maybe several swarms.

Duncan chopped the branches off, (enlarge the pics to see the bees.)

and shook them into a 'skep'.

The woman whose bees they were had a lot of bees -too many- in her hives so my friends went home with a new hive full.

Heres Anne taking her boxes home.

Here's the investigation into the owner's hives to see how many queens she has.

This is the best way to view the beekeeping if you don't have the gear, from the top of the pergola.

Such excitement. And I was only sewing. I do wish I could eat honey.

Anyway back to the sewing though I say it myself:

This pink velvet is LUSCIOUS!

Glimmering

2011-05-28T18:06:00.001+01:00

This is my favourite bit of one of my latest pieces in the 'Lake Isle of Innisfree' series.

The new venue for the exhibition, which starts there in July. is huge and we will need more pieces and I am enjoying myself so here they are.

The line I am working on is

'Midnight's all a-glimmer'.

I started with lots of very dark pre-felts and composed several backgrounds to work on.

This is a small one about 10 inches square.

I've enjoyed experimenting with lights on dark and trying to make it 'glimmer.'

Below is a bigger, longer piece with machine and hand stitch.I still have a little bit more finishing to do on this.

Perhaps its not immediately apparent but I've cut around the shapes on some of the edges. Black is very difficult to photograph. When you look at black felt it draws you into its soft surface, but the camera just sees the light it reflects back.

I've got plenty more felt backgrounds ready for more stitching! Here's a bigger one.

Can't wait to get 'glimmering'.

It occurred to me the other day when I was looking through my photographs, that I hadn't explained the origin of 'Low sounds by the shore'

The colours and textures were inspired by this fantastic seaweed on 'The Flaggy Shore'

So colourful and bright.

Just thought I'd show the two together.

I had a recent request for a felt item from a very lovely lady who has bought a lot of my pieces. Remember the Pumpkin?

She writes the etsy feedback the way I wish I could write my descriptions!

If you've nothing better to do, pop over to my etsy via the link on the right, and peep at my feedback.

Anyway I just thought I'd share the process.

Here's a bit of 'prefelt': that is, some wool that has been partly felted but still has a long way to go.

I cut a piece off and I added some faint greeny-yellow stripes and felted it all some more.

Here you can see the difference in size and texture once felted. Its shrunk lots.

Here it is before being stitched into.........

...this.

She loved it!

Thank you for all the kind comments on my last silly post. I am hopelessly out of step with blog reading and everyone is so kind to take time to comment here.

And for every published comment I have yards of 'anonymouses' offering me everything from dubious surgery to homes in France. Thank goodness for the blogger spam filter.

Sublime and ridiculous

2011-05-24T23:11:00.000+01:00

The wind is having a fun time here. The garden chairs are blowing past the window.

I braved the woods with the dog we are minding for the week, and found this a little bunch of twigs joined at the base. I knew what I had to do.

I picked three bluebells, a buttercup, some red campion and a bit of cow parsley and wove a wreath.

I just had to.

(And wouldn't you just know that as I walked up the road with an albeit miniscule bunch of illicit wild flowers, I bumped into someone who is a bit of an environmentalist, who I saw last time 6 months ago when I was carrying a big bunch of holly. I haven't picked anything else from the woods in the last twelve months.She must think I do it all the time)

I hung it in different places around the house. I like this one.

So pretty.

Not so sure about this.

My husband arrived and I stuck it on my head and asked him to take a picture.

(Don't forget I'd been a walk in the windy wild woods and I am staring 60 in the face)

He was having a real chuckle as he clicked.

This is why.

Beam me up Scottie.

Cards and Cat and Commerce.

2011-05-19T16:02:00.001+01:00

These cards were made for my son to send as 'thank-yous' after he was best man at a wedding.
He asked me to make them for him to send so I pulled out the stops.
It was so nice that he asked me. It tells me a lot!

It was strange to move back to silk paper from felt.

I enjoyed making them but there's a lot of work in them and they wouldn't be commercially viable.

But when your son asks....well....you just have to don't you?

In other news..we have at last used some of our airmiles to book a flight to Paris to meet with friends for a few days in the summer. After the booking was done I did a dummy 'buy' of the flights to see how much we'd saved: £179. Not bad. But I had been under the mistaken impression that airmiles gave you nice luxurious non-budget airline flights.

Something else we had to do last week was take 'Mummycat' to the vet. She's white, and she sits in the sun all day and had a wound on her ear that just wouldn't heal. Her ear has been getting smaller, so we had to do the deed.
Before:

(The pictures of her have to be taken at a great distance)

On the first day we booked, we failed to catch her and had to cancel. On the second day my husband managed to shove her in the carrier (which had been their dining quarters for two weeks) and shut the door. She is semi feral and after having had her for 11 years she still can't be picked up or handled. They call her feral at the vets.
Feral the peril.. or perhaps we should change it to Beryl?
It took 6 of them to catch her last time the vet tried to examine her.

So the ear tip and a tooth were both removed.
Guess how much?
Go on

Go on..

Yes

£178.50

So..you could say we got the cat sorted on 'air miles' with 50p to spare if you don't count the extra £20 baggage costs.

When she got back home I put the carrier on the table. We looked at the poor cat, bleeding from her mouth and her stitched ear tip, half alseep, post operative, and I said 'We have to keep her in for three days, can you lock the cat flap?'

At the very moment I said 'I'm opening the cage', and my husband said 'Im just opening the door to check the flap's locked', the supposedly sedated cat de-materialised.
I have never seen anything move so fast. Actually I didn't see.

There was much shouting and recrimination.

My husband and I being very different types of people reflected on the event.

Me: She could die of cold outside and we spent all that money .
He: Poor Mummy Cat.. she must be so frightened and might not come back.

After:

She was back bossying about at 7pm and is recovering.

Exhibition and an expedition

2011-05-09T22:10:00.004+01:00

This is at last the finished final exhibition piece.

I called it 'Low sounds by the shore'.

The colours are like the seaweed on 'The Flaggy Shore' in Clare.

You can enlarge it by clicking.

I was unsure about the background felt, but enjoyed stitching the motifs onto the felt and embellishing them..in the traditional sense of the word, by handstitch. It was the first bit of sewing I'd done since 'you-know-when.' and it rescued me .

Its about 12 inches wide and 20 inches long.

Regular readers will know I have spent a long time deliberating on the mode of presentation of my work. I initially wanted to use perspex and have them look as though they were floating, but that presented many problems so I settled for unpainted blank white artists canvas.

Now I know this is not a conventional way to display work and I hoped it wouldn't be read as me being clueless choosing the first thing that came to hand and not realising it should be painted.

Rather, I wanted the canvases being brilliant white, the same colour as the gallery wall to make the work seem unattached.

So, we went on sunday to the Gallery and put up our work.

Its a super duper curved gallery space , very classy and very sharp looking. Its upstairs in Booths Supermarket (..the north's very own Waitrose) and there is a Booths "Artisan" cafe opposite so even more reason to visit!

The work looks great, very professional and I must say I am pleased with mine.

I like it better than all the work I've done for a long time.

However when I read the first comment in the visitors' book my heart sank.

"Not keen on the white canvas....."

Well at first I felt sick.

However I have decided that its my choice, I like it and I'm sticking with it .

I'll try not to dither.

The Fylde Gallery, Booths Store, Haven Road, Lytham, Lancashire

Until 5th June

I dithered a bit last Thursday.

He:Well are you coming with me or not?

Me: hmmmmm ..can't decide

He: well I'm only going straight there, dropping the files off and coming back

me: Ok I won't come

He: well you can, we could at Gales on the way home

Me:But I have to get my pictures ready for hanging and clean up a bit.

He:Ok then

Me: But its a nice day ...

He: Well come

Me:Oh go on then..but I have to have a shower and wash my hair.

He :I'll wait.

So at 11 am we set off for Powis castle.

We arrived at 2.

My husband has worked there on and off for so long that he takes the beauty of for granted.

I have visited a few times but have never been round the house or the garden. We enjoyed the delights of the National trust tearoom and then he went to discuss things and I went round the gardens. I'll just show ~~you~~. yew.

Its all built on terraces.

The yew hedges are spectacular and some have arches with seats cut into them.

But just look at this wisteria! I have never seen such such panicles..ooo er missus.

(I racked my brains for that word..even asked someone in the garden who thought about it too. Then how funny...thank you Jeanette Mistress of Longears for assuring me with your comment about the lilac. But if these are panicles, what are racemes?)

Anyway whatever they are , they were BIG. And fragrant.

When I got back to the courtyard there was another treat in store.

Alan.

On the doorstep of the castle, displaying and rattling his plumage at

Mrs Peacock.

He didn't even move when we walked past him into the castle so we could see my husbands handiwork close to.

I have only seen photographs so it was good to see the coats of arms in context in the Long Gallery.

Back to the outside:

Whats not to love about a place with a shield like this? Look at the chubby little silver chappie on the right.

Cute.

And of course the meal at Gales Wine Bar of Llangollen was just lovely..as usual.

Midday

2011-05-04T18:02:00.003+01:00

Once I'm on a roll there's no stopping me.

Al the lovely comments from the last post encouraged me into production.

'Noon a purple glow' is done.

Does it work?
Click and click again to view large.

Its certainly different to 'Veils of Morning' but a suitable companion piece for an exhibition.

I really feel as if I've stepped up a notch with these because they are not like any piece I've done before but at the same time small motifs are what I'm used to.

To have allowed the small to become the large has been a bit of a leap if not of faith, then of hope.

Its like 'take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves' ...or 'Many a mickle makes a muckle'.

Well I hope my muckle has been made.

I enjoyed making these little seaweedy pieces, making the purple glow but still keeping the lime and aqua.

Another piece that I have shown in progress is finished too. Its on the same sized canvas, but is all one piece of felt made first with prefelts, then stitched and not cut out!

This is 'Where the cricket sings'.

It has a 1950s look. I like that. I got very excited by the leaf shape in the left of centre when I'd done it, and also if you look in the top left you can see where the seaweed began.

This is how it happens for me. Accident, serendipity ..whatever.

We had an afternoon out on monday. We found what we called, when we were little, 'The Cows Mouth'.

Since no one we ask has ever heard of it I can only think it was a name my dad made up. We went there on many a sunday afternoon when we were little, and played in the streams here and on the bridges. Here's my mum having a bittersweet moment, remembering happy times.

My parents also took our children there and my Mum showed me where she found the younger son hanging by his fingertips from the bridge over deep fast flowing water when he was about 6.

(He always came home from walks soaking wet.)

On the way home we stopped in a very pretty village called Scorton where they were having a bicycle and barrow event, and there were lots of bikes and wheelbarrows about, decorated in various ways.

The village was so pretty but the white noise of the adjacent M6 spoilt it for me.

My own gardening efforts have taken a turn for the worse.

I saw a beautiful red beetle so pretty I just couldn't stand on it. On further research I find its a scarlet lily beetle...right next to my fritillaries. No wonder there were only three flowers this year. I have taken the GQT advice given to Clarrie Grundy and squished the eggs.

I got all the snails off the hostas and threw them in the electricity substation land at the back of our house...but not until I'd painted them each with a yellow spot.

I'm looking to see if they have homing tendencies.

Then to the Maypole Haste away.....

2011-05-01T18:24:00.003+01:00

Thank you for all your encouragement with the last piece. Its given me a shove so here's the start of 'Noon a purple glow' with a seaweed feel I think.

I heard a recording of Yeats reading the poem where he says it refers to the glow of the heather in the water, well mine's the sea and not a lake, and its the purpleness of the Burren Limestone reflecting in the sea....so there!

Sorry about the blurry picture, its quicker to e mail it to myself from my iphone than sit and wait for iphoto to upload from my camera. I'm sure there's an easier way but I need to get a 'one to one' sorted out at the Apple store and I really don't fancy a trek into Manchester in this lovely weather.

Talking of which....

Yes there are parts of my garden which flourish because I leave them alone. I took the clippers to this lilac three years ago and its the first time its flowered since. But isn't it a beauty?

Ooh..the scent from this vase of loveliness!

(Another phone photo so a bit flarey but the colour is better than my camera)

About 9 years ago we arrived in Paris in time for 1st May and were delighted to find the custom of carrying and giving Lilies of the Valley in little bunches.

Les Muguets also grow in my untended garden.

I have a National trust Lily of the Valley soap on my bedside table just for the scent.

Happy Mayday.

Third bloggiversary.

2011-04-29T13:29:00.002+01:00

Just popped in between 'The Ceremony' and 'The balcony' to announce my third bloggiversary.

How thoughtful of Will and Kate to celebrate it so grandly for me!

Also second doggiversary ...Willow's demise was today two years ago.

I won't dwell.

I took this from my bedroom window a few minutes ago.

The moors above the village are on fire.

It hasn't rained for ages and the wind must be fanning the flames.

I am shocked by the news from Marrakech. My friends and I had a meal in the Cafe Argana, which has just been badly damaged by a suicide bomber.
It really brings it home doesn't it?

Resolved.

2011-04-27T20:29:00.003+01:00

After all my umming and aaahing about perspex v canvas I have eventually decided and here is the finished piece. I used a blank stretched canvas, 2 feet square, with deep sides, attaching the pieces on small pieces of foamcore board first glued then stitched to the backing. You can see the distance from the canvas in this raking light.

This piece will be called 'The Veils of morning' I think. Or maybe 'Midnights all a-glimmer'.

I'm using 'The Lake Isle of Innisfree' by WB Yeats as my poem. The colours are from my peaceful place, The Burren, and I'm translating the sounds from the poem into motifs swirling mistilly....I hope!

I enjoyed making these little pieces and if I had time before the exhibition, would have liked to have made a similar piece for the line '..noon a purple glow'.

I can see it in heather and stone and sea colours.

I like these darker pieces.

The blues and greys are supposed to recall the limestone and sea.

You may remember this piece of felt.

Well..I've had a little go at it with my sewing machine.

Oohhh!

What fun and there's more to do yet.

Talking of fun. I had a lovely time last week at Keswick Embroiderers' Guild. I drove up through the lakes a week ago tonight and stayed with a lovely couple in a beautiful house in a beautiful village.

The next day I gave a talk and we played with dyes, then I had an equally wonderful drive home, past Derwentwater, Thirlmere, Grasmer, Rydal Water and Windermere. The weather was gorgeous and people were out in force, little groups standing at bus stops with rucksacs, couples hand in hand strolling about with big smiles on their faces, blossom everywhere and sunshine...SUNSHINE!! It makes all the difference. Especially in the Lake District.

Oh, and I made a few brooches.

I hope everyone had a good Easter. I did. We sat in the garden in the sun.

Etymology and Acronyms and Innocence

2011-04-20T11:48:00.004+01:00

At fifty nine and three quarters exactly, I might have realised by now that 'Jaundice' comes from the French for Yellow.
I was born with Jaundice.
I learnt French at school.
But it took John Humphries and a question on last weeks 'Mastermind' to help me put two and two together.

Similarly, when I was about 55 and three quarters and was probably on my way to the Post Office, I had the ~~dull thud~~ exciting 'ting' of realisation that an envelope was called that because its 'en-vel-opes' whats inside.
I'm interested in the origins of words but that commonplace one hadn't ever made me think before.

So you may not be surprised to know that on a recent visit to an unfamiliar health centre, I saw a notice for a gum clinic.
I went to the counter to ask about it for someone I knew who hadn't been to the dentist for a long time and was suffering.
They looked at me pityingly and pointed to the bigger picture. The whole board was a campaign for young people, against STDs. (And I do know that does not refer the old fashioned name for direct phone calls).
I wondered what people might be doing that would cause them to have gum problems.

The other night I strayed into the distant areas of the TV network to a programme called ' Embarrassing bodies' and now I know that it has nothing to do with Gums. Google it if you don't know what it means. (But cover your eyes if you are of a nervous disposition)

I have an embarrassing mind.

That last post was so boring.
I could have called it 'Canvassing opinion' but I didn't think of it until I replied to a comment.

Thinking aloud.

2011-04-19T23:12:00.002+01:00

This trophy has been in my possession for three years and I have just handed it back. Phew..what a relief. It belongs to the Embroiderers Guild and I won it for designing the cover of the NW Journal three years ago.

Its solid silver and very valuable.

I am only blogging about it now when I am no longer responsible for it.

The sad thing is that the cover I designed had to be altered drastically because I did it on a black background and the ink was too expensive! In fact they didn't even use it this time.

It was very smart.

It had a sort of 'wordle' on it before wordles were around.

I typed out all of the names of the all the branches in the Northwest and then cut them out

and stuck them down in all different directions on a black background.

It was very smart but there was a slight technical hitch.

Blackpool blew away!

It was only noticed after it was printed.

I am very sorry Blackpool Branch.

Another piece made up of lots of bits is a bit further along the way now.

This was what I wanted the perspex for. Thanks for all the helpful comments.

I was going to attach each piece to a two inch perspex rod and have them protruding from a background hanging on the wall.

Despite having an offer of help from my cousins wonderfully practical daughter, I had a bit of a rethink. Perspex is difficult to hang and if the wall behind it isn't white, it won't look good.

Soooooo.....on second thoughts..I think I am going to attach them to a blank primed canvas with each piece raised very slightly from the backing.

It will be easier to hang and transport and easier to construct. It will be about 24 inches square.

I have a bit of a dilemma about this. Those primed canvases are not really meant to be displayed 'bare' are they? But on the other hand I really like the bright white background as a foil for the felt.

It sharpens it up a bit.

If the canvas could be seen by a viewer as giving the pieces their 'own bit of wall' it would be fine.

I have to arrange them more carefully for the final piece.

Talking of arranging..the place where we have our group meetings has a beautiful garden full of weird and wild sculptures and at the moment these.

Just look and enjoy.

Sprung

2011-04-11T17:51:00.001+01:00

Once upon a time I worked with someone whose daughter wanted to give up piano lessons.

Her mother said "I've told her she must carry on until she starts enjoying it''.

Well...thats what I've been doing and at last.....at LAST....I have derived some enjoyment again from my sewing. The pieces in the last post were ok..and then I cut them out which I hadn't planned to do.

I seem to work better on 'modules'. Perhaps I'm hooked on brooch mode?

Then suddenly...ping!

I started to like them. I was back in my stride.

Some are better than others and some have been here before.

I seemed to get my 'vocabulary' back.

So does that mean its really just more of the same?

Yes yes, I know the colours are the same, because I'm working towards creating the essence of this

The Burren and the sea.

Today I made some more interesting shapes in darker colours but the photos were so awful I can't really show them properly. I'll save them for next time.

Does anyone know anything about perspex for display purposes?

Thank you for sticking with me on my blog through thick and thin, leaving lovely comments and helping me through a difficult patch. I'm still not ready for the brooch making treadmill again yet, but I am out of the tunnel and the light is dazzling.

Spring is here.

I know that, because I left a cup in the garden overnight and there was a slug in it this morning.

eeeuuuyykkk.