In the Zone

These days sadly for this blog, my first stop for posting my photographs is Facebook. 

For those who don't use it, I have a normal facebook account for everyday stuff that only friends can see, and I have a 'page' for anyone to look at with just my textile work on it.  (Update for all those who asked its here: Jackie Cardy textiles )

It can be 'liked' by people and on Friday morning I had about 820 likes.

Then I uploaded these pictures and suddenly there was an absolute torrent of comments, likes, shares and now I have 960 likers.

For those of you who do use facebook I expect you'll be sick of the sight of these by now!

 Now, I'm not vain  enough to think that this actually means anything significant but its shown me that these pieces were well received so I must be doing something right!
When I made them I did feel as though I was 'In The Zone' which is an expression my son used once when I told him I'd had a very high score in tetris.

 Often when I sit down at my machine I can make what look like 'the same' sorts of thing but they just lack a little something and don't thrill me .
These did. I just love the way the colours work together somehow. Especially the leaf with the yellow centre on the left. It had a lovely blend of lime and jade down the side that was unexpectedly delicious.

I had made all these pieces as a selection for the delightful Lazyhill Gallery in Abbotsbury, Dorset, but when I showed them to Rachel for her to choose she wanted them all! 

I am so grateful.

Meanwhile I will be making some similar ones for other places.....if I am in the zone again.

Hear ye..hear ye....

Let it be known among all those e-present that the fair ladies from the Guild of Embroiderers within the borough of The City of Preston request your company to view their handwork at Barton Grange Commencing today 20th September and proceeding for one week hence.

I thought since we were at the end of Preston Guild I'd try a bit of a proclamation. Sorry if I got the language wrong but I'm sure you get the gist. We spent a very tiring but very pleasant day yesterday hanging the exhibition without any fuss in a spirit of getting the job done. The Barton Grange Staff were wonderfully helpful. 

I must say the exhibition looks superb with something for everyone.

We had lunch together in the cafe there, delicious and we packed up just in time for cake-o-clock and went home shattered but satisfied. Now all we need are visitors to see our efforts.

In the meantime I have been working on my usual, and come up with a plan.

I have made a whole lot of pieces to be made into brooches but suddenly wondered if anyone might want to buy them as 'patches' to do with what they will?

So I've decided to have a patches sale. If you wander over to my etsy shop in about an hour from now..(of course that all depends on when you read this but lets say Thursday tea time BST)there will be sets of patches available.

Here are a few photos.

First a foursome in pinks and greens.

 Then two of the 'hattifattners'

 and two more

 Here are two made in the Charleston-inspired felt that didn't quite make it to the final piece .

 two tropical garden types.

 a round and a leaf

 twice.

Allsorts. 

And as I don't have all the fuss and bother of making them into brooches, adding backings and  trimming, they will be considerably less expensive.

There are of course other things I have made into brooches. 

Because I have to imagine what other people might like I try different  colour combinations and sometimes I surprise myself. 

 Who would have thought this dull black with splashes of olive felt when combined with olive velvet would be so.....

 ...well......

..............I have to admit ...stunning. I love it.

I surprised myself.

Inspired by Charleston

 This felt has appeared before.

 Its mellow palette was inspired by the interior of Charleston Farmhouse Sussex which we visited just before this time last year. 

I had been thinking about what to do with it and recently I got down to it and produced a whole pile of little pieces as is my wont....which I then stitched to a background.

 Near to it was ok, but from a distance....

 too confusing.

So I made a nice neutral piece of felt, got out my un-picker and re-positioned the pieces.

 I am really quite delighted with the outcome.

 Thought I'd share.

 It looks sort of Heraldic

 Well....anyway..there it is.

 This exact time last year we were in Symi...ahh Symi...Blue...hot....delicious..sea swimmy Symi.

However funds this year did not stretch to that bit of heaven so as I felt the need to be on an Island we went last Sunday to Anglesey in order to walk to Llanddwyn Island. Bu all accounts a very special place. However when we arrived after a 2 and a half hour drive we found there was a dog ban between 1st May and 30th September,  so we were confined to this beach..which was very nice but not Llanddwyn. 

(See the kite surfers? It was windy.)

And definitely not Symi.

I liked this though.

September and a few corsages

As soon as my sons Birthday is over on 31st August I feel a change in the weather. Its amazing isn't it that the weather knows September has begun? The low sun and nip in the air takes me back to those first days of motherhood 30 years ago. Ahh sweet memories and where has the time gone?

All water under the bridge, and a lot of water has dripped through the kitchen ceiling from the central heating pump. We have had an almost resident heating engineer sorting out some long standing problems which should be finished by tomorrow afternoon at great expense.

This year, all last week in fact, has been Preston Guild. A celebration every 20 years of the granting of the Charter to Preston way back in History. 

All my young life my parents used to tell me what a fun time the Guild was, so I was really looking forward to being 21 and having Guild fun in 1972..but sadly I was away on my very first week as a teacher in Ashford Middlesex, so I missed it.

Twenty years later in '92 I didn't take much notice of it except for the last night when I went into town to watch the firework finale. My husband was working away so I went with my Mother and father, cousins and my two little boys. We waited for hours and hours for the fireworks to start. My younger son was on my dad's shoulders a lot of the time.We saw the spectacular fireworks and then all walked back to my parents' house. It made a lovely precious memory because 6 weeks later at the age of 65 my father died. 

So this years Guild? Yes we went to the second event, the Vintage weekend. 

Now I have mixed feelings about these vintage events. Sometimes the stalls look like the contents of my wardrobe that I can't bear to throw out.

There were cars, 

It was a big deal. Organised by Wayne Hemmingway. 

 There were hairstyles,

and sewing,

(It was all a bit hot and dark in there.)

and even some not terribly pretty yarn-bombing.

 It seemed very funny to see all this on the very steps I and all my classmates trudged up and down dutifully every lunchtime in a huge long crocodile with Sister this or that.  

("The Walk' was absolutely obligatory as our convent school playground was not made for the large number of pupils who attended so half were sent out on 'the walk' around the parks. 

During the first few weeks of term the crocodile was very very long, until we all found places in school to hide out and avoid it. It got shorter and shorter as the year wore on until it was about 5 girls and and a nun)

We walked home past our old games field where the back wall of some old changing rooms now sports some spectacular Graffitti

That was as far as I went joining in with the Guild 2012. I didn't watch a procession or go to a concert. I was faintly interested in the finale but I'm glad I didn't go because it wasn't a firework display but a dance and drum concert with a few pyrotechnics and if there's anything I hate its drumming. (Sorry if that offends anyone) There have been many complaints. The people of Preston wanted a firework display like the one in 1992!

I don't suppose I'll make it to the 2022 one! 

Ah well.

Ooh I almost forgot my BIG news. My work has been featured in a superb German felt magazine.

The jolly old Doc Martens were on the cover but my real stuff was inside. Thrilling. Its a really beautifully produced magazine and there is an English supplement inside mine.

So..its September..and time to make new stock.

I've been playing.

And because they are so big I decided they needed boxes. Readers may remember the card I got from Dunelm that I didn't know what to do with but just knew I would use it. Well, I found a use. Its perfect for these boxes, modelled on a little box I got in Greece. Just the perfect size and shape for the corsages.

Its only a pity I gave so much of it away!! I really enjoyed making these boxes.

 I've already sent three boxed corsages off, two to Australia and one to Germany. 

Thank you Dunelm.



OOOPS! Who can't add up? The next Preston Guild is of course in 2032. Thank you for pointing it out.