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Sunday 13 July 2008

A ''This is.' and a 'these were...'

This weeks theme for the 'this is' game was chosen by Flightless boyds.

We could choose between 'This is ... what gives me goosebumps' and 'This is ... what scrambles my brain when I try to understand it' so as I showed you the goosebumps thing in this post I thought I'd try the second because there's certainly a lot of scope for it.

This is the first thing that scrambles my brain..I have recently set up Google reader to view all the lovely blogs I enjoy so I don't miss anything, but then I found that it wasn't picking up some of them, so I subscribed to my own to see what happened...this happened:

and it wasn't even a real post, just a test I did when I first started, and the previous post from my blog on Google reader was from weeks ago, with nothing after it.



The second blog related thing that scrambles my brain when I try to understand it is this:


Now lets be honest, we do like our blogs to be read.


We can look at Technorati now and then to massage our fragile egos, (well I do at the moment but I'm relatively new to blogging so it may wear off) and having learnt how to 'ping', and even how to configure a ping, I am often checking back and forth, and I now know that 'authority' means I have a lot of links.


I have no idea what rank means but its nice when it goes up..gives me goosebumps in fact...but sometimes it says I have an authority of this or that and one day last week it said 'No authority yet' and rank down in the zillions.... and the last post it picked up was last Sunday's, despite me pinging all week.


I do not understand!


But do I need to understand? Its really not important, but if its there it should work.


Anyway a bit of sewing relief since there was a glimpse in the 'snip' above I will now bare all and show them in their full glory. These are some silk purses like ones I made 10 years ago when I had an offer of an exhibition the showcases of Pendle Art Gallery. I had to think of something small and sellable so I started playing with my favourite material, silk dupion, and produced these little bags which I thought were totally my own idea but I have since seen similar elsewhere so I'm not sure. Maybe two people can have the same original idea, who knows?


I didn't sell any there but they were later accepted by another Gallery which led on to other things, and they were all sold.


I later discovered that 6 of them went to a man on Christmas Eve who was giving his coin collection to his Children or Grandchildren and he bought the bags to put the coins in. Isn't that gratifying...they have become heirlooms.


Anyway since they are no longer unique to me I now offer a workshop which is quite satisfying for a day because you do a bit of machine embroidery, a bit of construction, as much decoration as you like, make your own cord and tassel, and sew on a few beads.


Just look what Macclesfield Embroiderers Guild did! (Scroll down to the bottom picture.)


About 5 years ago I took a lot of these to an Agricultural show Craft fair and decided to name them 'Reticule' purses. My first browsers were an elderly upright couple and the husband asked me what a reticule purse was, so I said it was the name some purses had in Regency times, Jane Austen heroines may have carried them.


He went off quite satisfied, I thought, but about 5 hours later he was back with the important news that these were not reticules as a reticule was a netted or crocheted bag.


I tore up my sign, but now know that it was correct in the same way as we say we are Hoovering the carpet and we use a Dyson. (I have seen that referred to on many a blog but I had often thought it myself)


Anyway it was a lousy day for my stall . It rained and my friend who came to help me was wearing jewelled flips flops, and a cheescloth skirt, and when she got back from looking round the show ground she had mud up to her knees.


I would say that in general in this part of the world, people who visit Agricultural shows are there to look at pigs, sheep and bulls, watch the tractor pull, and drink beer, and not buy crafts.


But right at the end of the day a young couple came up to the stand.


The woman was very pregnant and the husband was the most handsome, blue-eyed, black curly haired, wide smiling, rogueish looking farmers boy you have ever seen, eating fish and chips out of bag, with a can of beer in his other hand.


His wife wanted one of my bags and he forked out a sizable sum and bought it. Or rather, she forked out the money and he looked on. (It was one of those occasions when you forget how much you need the income and almost want to give it) I felt as if I had just been part of a Thomas Hardy plot.


Since then I have avoided Agricultural shows .


There weren't even any puppies.


These are some more items from the same era.



"Oooh, my daughters getting married next year/I'm going to a wedding but I haven't got my outfit yet, when I know what colour/ my little girl is going to be a bridesmaid.. can I take a card and we'll be in touch?"


followed by " "




15 comments:

  1. I love your story about treasured heirlooms. You reticule bags have so much whimsy to them I know his grandchildren will always cherish them.

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  2. I love the reticule bags and the name is perfect!

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  3. hehehe Brain-scrambling. I suffer from the same affliction as you but you sound soooo much more knowledgeable with your 'pings' and 'authority' and so on.

    I've been suffering on the upadates front as I told you. I use Bloglines to subscribe to peoples' blogs but last week it seemed to have it's own 'brain' scrambled. At one point it had updated me with about 2000 posts!! It had re-sent me everyone's back catalogue of blog posts. I think that was when I realised I had lost you and a few others. Seems to have been OK since then tho' touch wood.

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  4. "" ""---i DO resonate with that----i'd rather people just walk away without saying anything, than "call me up later"----" " them :}

    Another reason i don't do craft fairs of ANY sort anymore....at least though, you had that lusty farm lad to look at:} You *know* my thoughts on the yimyaws here at our "fair":}

    I'd have forked out the money too! The bags are gah-jus!

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  5. Beautiful bags and a great story. i think i will give the google reader a miss, my brain doesn,t need anymore scrambling.

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  6. Great post! So cool about the grandfather buying the purses to put the grandchildren's coins into! What an honor.

    We also have lots of agricultural shows here, too. I think the only real art and craft success stories at these shows are the weavers "sheep to shawl" competitions, which are very cool! Some of those finished shawls get auctioned off for great sums of money!

    ... And I am also befuddle by Technocrati!
    (and am to0 intimidated by google reader!)

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  7. Good God, what is a ping? I have very little notion what Google reader does so you're lightyears ahead of me!

    What a pedant that guy was coming back to correct your craft terminology! I think your reticules were/are beautiful. Fab that they've been used as heirlooms.

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  8. Hi Jackie. Thanks for your input, I am SO NOT offended, I really appreciate feedback from everyone. I don't think i charge 'enough' for anything really, but for the moment I am happy not to be working for zilch, we shall see how it goes in the future. Maybe one day......we can dream!!

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  9. well, all these blog readers and things, you probably know how i feel already. none of this stuff really works...especially when you have lots of blogs you read, you just don;t know or notice what's happening. and technorati's info is always wrong.
    your stuff is great and i am just wondering whether to try to sell anything after reading everyone's stories.

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  10. Wow! The guy who gave your bags with the coins...how cool is that?! That would keep me smiling for the rest of my life. Worthy of being an heirloom in a stranger's family! Yeah, it can't get better than that.

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  11. I have the same problem with technology and had the same problem with your blog on my google reader! (Yours is not the only one) I haven't a clue about pinging and authority though!
    Gina

    PS lovely bags by the way!

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  12. I don't know how to ping ... how does one ping?

    First your new posts weren't showing up in my google reader, now it tells me you've posted 18 times. Something weird is going on?!?!?!

    x

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  13. Hi, I love your work. What machine do you use for your machine embroidery? I can't control the speed very well on my basic janome so can't control what I'm doing.
    Also love your bags.

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  14. The bags are gorgeous and I love the silk piece in your previous post. Your work has a wonderful style.

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  15. Jackie ~ I hav'nt a clue what google reader is ~ I just keep everyone on my favourites and try and check them out as often as poss (takes quite a lot of time) ~ Is there a better way then? Uhh?
    As for that guy coming back and putting you right about your bags....well, I'm not allowed to call him a swear word am I?

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