Sunshine and Schnauzers

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

          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.....?