Like Buses...

Nothing for weeks and then they all come at once. Well maybe not all at once but two posts in five days from me which feels like a lot. To be honest I need a break from clearing out my studio. The logistics of trying to decide what I might need for the next six to twelve months and what I can put in storage is making my brain hurt but I'm slowly sorting out every box and drawer which has been quite cathartic. The realisation that I will never do silk painting again and the satisfaction of passing on a box full of supplies to the local school was a high moment. The four large crates of knitting yarn I plan to keep (after already getting rid of several bags full) doesn't feel quite so good... until I remember that knitting is good for you!

And I was reminded of this by a special little parcel that arrived this week... so beautifully wrapped.

A few weeks ago I bought myself a ticket to an evening talk at Craft Days in Saffron Walden to hear a talk by Jame McIntosh. I think that people often think that I am confident and outgoing but actually the opposite is true and it takes quite a bit of courage to venture out to an event like this on my own. I can quite happily stand up and give a talk to a room of fifty people, or teach a class full of students, but in a small group of I often struggle. But James was talking about how knitting helped him overcome a serious bout of mental illness... literally saving his life. And long time readers will know that this is an issue close to my heart as my youngest son continues to battle with his mental health. So off I went... I took my knitting as a security blanket and on arrival I smiled a lot  at everyone but said very little! Of course as it turns out everyone was really friendly, including James, whose talk was inspirational and very funny.

His book "Knit and Nibble" has recipes for sweet treats as well as sweaters and we were treated to several of the fabulous cakes and biscuits while we listened to the story of how knitting helped his recovery from a severe breakdown. I loved the sweater he was wearing... simple shapes and stitched up with brilliant big embroidery stitches. Definitely on my list to make (just remind me I don't need to buy any new yarn!)

By the end of the talk everyone was mingling and chatting and I got talking to an interesting lady called Addy, an ex airline pilot and now a rep for Rowan yarns, who had her own story of over coming mental illness. We got chatting because she was wearing a gorgeous hand stitched brooch featuring a little fox with his knitting needles. She told me it had come from a lady called Lorna also known as Stitchbirdie.

When I got home I sent a message to Lorna asking if I could buy one of her beautiful brooches and this week a little parcel arrived for me and here he is! The photo doesn't show how beautiful the stitching is on this gorgeous little brooch which is entirely hand stitched. The little sweater is exquisite and the whole thing is beautiful done on a piece of Harris Tweed. And for me it is a little reminder that we all have our own struggles in life to some extent or another and we just need to be kind to each other.

It Just Wasn't my Day!

Having delivered these four paintings for a small local exhibition last week, I was looking forward to seeing them in situ. Although I have had textiles in many exhibitions over the years, paintings are still new territory for me and I wasn't feeling too confident. But on Saturday morning we set out, collecting my Mum en route, to visit the exhibition.

Imagine my disappointment to find two of my pictures hung together like they had run out of time and space. I wouldn't have minded quite so much if the whole exhibition was badly hung but every other picture had lots of space around it and looked very professional. The chances are I wouldn't have sold anything anyway but I knew there was no chance of selling them looking like this. I felt like I had been an after thought.

It was disappointing but there wasn't much I could do at the time (I have let the organisers know what I felt since) so we left and went off for some lunch before returning home to carnage! Our very naughty dog had managed to get into my studio (he likes it because it is the only room downstairs that has carpet on the floor) and take six embroideries out of a bag, destroying them all, along with several reels of thread. I'm not sure how much of it he swallowed but so far has shown no ill effects (Suffice to say some of it has reappeared!) He had no concept of having done anything wrong and was really excited to see us and wagged his tail enthusiastically when we got back, keen to show us the new toys he had chewed! I wasn't quite so enthusiastic as him as you might imagine.

Taking the philosophical approach that it is only stuff that can be replaced, we had a quick cuppa and I took Mum home. When I got back there was a message from Stewart that he had gone out to collect his son from the station but was unable to start his car again so was stranded at the station. I had to go and rescue them leaving the car there for the weekend until we could get it towed back. It's a very old car. Originally mine, it was the first one I bought for myself after I was divorced. That might not sound very significant but was actually the first car I had ever bought or chosen for myself, having always had cars chosen for me, (don't get me started on the subject of control) which at the time seemed a huge step  towards my independence. After four days without it, our local garage have got it working again for the time being but its days are definitely numbered. I know it's only a car but I will be sad to see it go.

By then, we didn't  think anything else could go wrong. In the evening we were going to a village social fundraising supper to celebrate Thanksgiving. I decided to wear red, white and blue so put on my special dress that I had made for Kirsty's wedding, along with red shoes and cardigan. As the first course was served I suddenly had a whole cup of pumpkin soup poured over me... accidentally I might add, the poor chap serving us was mortified. It mopped up and the dress has been washed so there was no lasting damage but I couldn't help thinking I should have stayed in bed on Saturday!

I know I have not replied but thank you if you commented on my last post. I really appreciated your kind words and thoughts but didn't have the energy to answer. Jacob seems to be in a better place and dare I say it, life is returning to normal... well as normal as it ever gets if you have just read this post!

While I was gone...

 I hadn't planned to be away so long... I know it's only been just over a week but it feels like longer... but you know how it is... I've been busy, easily distracted, caught up with other things. So what have I been doing?

I've been researching.

For a while now I've planned to do some research on my family tree, but in the spirit of my 60 x 60 and "what am I waiting for", and spurred on by my friend Liz I've joined ancestry.co.uk and I'm finding it a little compulsive. I've gone back to the early 1880s on my Mum's side of the family. The photo above is of one of my great aunts in a locket the size of a 50p piece. The photo below is of my Dad (he's the little one on the bike at the right) with his brothers and little sister. It's fascinating! Yesterday we visited a couple of Cambridgeshire churches in the hope of finding some evidence of relatives in the churchyards. We were out of luck in finding anyone but instead we did find a wonderful church inWillingham complete with the most amazing wall paintings. One thing leads to another...

I've been cooking

lots of meals from scratch using loads of vegetables, continuing to follow the advice of Dr Chatterjee. Stewart was overheard to mutter "Your Mum will have biscuits" when we were on our way to see her this weekend... he wasn't wrong. I fear my attempts at healthy eating might be failing!

I've been planning

New classes in a new venue and it feels exciting

I've been stitching

more little hoop portraits. My Marc Bolan caused some debate on Facebook... is it Brian May, is it Phil Lynott, is is Roger Daltry (someone even suggested Noel Fielding)? No... it's MARC BOLAN!!!

Bob Marley was a little more recognisable it would seem.

I've been drawing

More daily prompts on Instagram... houseplant, beins with "L", suit (Chanel and Armour), can, wheels, paint, denim, row...

I got as far as 'hug' but have fallen by the wayside over the past few days...

too busy researching all those ancestors!

Advent 2017 :: Day 13

A couple of Christmas stockings finished... one for a friend's new grandson and the other for our grandson

Although after seeing the exquisite embroidery of May Morris I feel my hand embroidery skills leave a lot to be desired!

But it was a good excuse to make more pom poms!

Advent 2016 - ten

After my lovely day out in Cambridge it was a dash back home for the December gathering of our stitching group, a quick tidy up, light the fire, put out wine and snacks... And then write their Christmas cards. Except because my mind works in weird and mysterious ways, with less than an hour before they arrived I decided I would also make their cards... why do I do this to myself?

I put layers of ribbon stitched in straight lines onto felt, cut them into triangles and stitched them back down onto a small piece of linen on paper to look something vaguely like a Christmas tree. Hey presto... Six cards in half an hour!

And then I did it all again on Wednesday for the gathering of our book club... Except I made Christmas puddings too.

I've bought the rest of my cards... Just a little matter of getting them written and delivered now!

Thelma and Louise (aka Gina and Gill)

In an ideal world, we should not live with our adult children. But the world is not ideal and for the foreseeable future there are currently four people but three generations of adults living in our home... One of whom often doesn't seem to know what is going on but becomes quite bristly at any suggestion that might be the case. And another who is facing a serious battle with mental health issues and finding the presence of a grandparent rather difficult. Meanwhile my long suffering husband (whose foot is much better thank you... Sunday morning's panic over) is displaying extreme patience whilst he tries to build a new business and find work despite constant interruption. And me? I'm just playing piggy in the middle trying to keep everyone happy. Miss Piggy in the middle judging by the amount of left over Christmas cake consumed this week.

So when I got into Gill's car yesterday and announced it felt like Thelma and Louise, I wasn't kidding. Escape was the only thing on my mind! Except we didn't launch ourselves off a cliff but headed for a wonderful peaceful day of stitching at Backstitch.

After a cup of tea and a good old moan, we set to work. Well, Gill set to work and I fiddled about for far too long with scraps of fabric using a method by Alex Waylett that was in last month's Stitch magazine. I got as far as pinning them together before I got bored (it needs a awful lot more little cut out circles than you would imagine) so you'll have to wait and see what it turns into.

Meanwhile Gill was very busy, sewing up what is going to be a really fabulous poncho with a stunning fuchsia pink funnel neck. (if you are reading this Gill... for the first time ever, I spelt Fuchsia without the aid of a dictionary.)

 

And eventually I got around to starting another new dress... this is part of an effort to buy less but make more of my own clothes. It is nowhere near finished but I promise to show you when it's done. Especially as we are already booked into Backstitch's Social Sew again next month.

I returned home with my sanity restored ( well, as good as it ever is ), slept well for a change and have had a productive morning baking. I'm now about to have an equally productive afternoon carrying on with my stitching. That dress might be ready to show you sooner than I thought!

Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep!

So would you like to make your own little hanging Easter birds? Then read on...

You will need a small square of felt (any colour), at least 6" (15 cm) square, some bondaweb, scraps of patterned fabrics in the colours you want your bird, some decorative thicker threads to make cords, a small scrap of yellow or orange felt, a small handful of toy stuffing and some beads for finishing off.

 

Cut the bondaweb to the same size as your piece of felt and iron it to the felt... Make sure the rough side of the bondaweb is facing down onto the felt or you will end up with a bit of a mess on your iron!

 

Peel away the paper backing...

 

Now cut your fabric scraps into different size squares and rectangles between 1" and 2" square, and begin to arrange them over the bondaweb side of the felt. Make sure the fabrics overlap slightly so that none of the felt is showing and don't worry about rough edges.

When you are happy with the arrangement, iron them in place to stick to them onto the felt.

 

Now it's time to stitch! Thread your sewing machine with a toning thread and start to stitch gently meandering rows of automatic patterns. If your machine doesn't have in built patterns, a zigzag stitch will work just fine. Keep the stitching going in one direction only... If it goes in all directions all over the surface it tends to look a bit of dog's dinner combined with all the patterned fabrics.

 

Keep going until the entire surface is covered with stitching.

 

Then change your thread colour and go over it all again, making sure any loose edges are stitched well down. And when you've done that, add another layer of stitch in a glittery or metallic thread to add a bit of sparkle to the surface. If you find it tricky to stitch with metallic threads try using a larger needle (size 100) and loosen the top tension on your machine slightly.

Now mark a 4" (10cm) circle on the back of your felt (I draw around a large mug)... Depending on the size of your felt you might fit in more than one circle and of course you can make different size birds by marking different size circles, but I find 4" is a good size.

 

Cut out your circle... Or circles...

 

Set your machine to a close zigzag (satin stitch) and zigzag around the circle, neatening the edges.

 

 

You could just stop now and have a fancy coaster or two... but if you are making birds...



Now you need to make the legs. You could use a ready made cord, or plait or twist together some pretty threads but I like to make a machine wrapped cord. Start with three or four pretty threads... About 18" (45cm) lengths of each.

Set the machine for free machine embroidery... Lower the feed dogs and put the embroidery foot on the machine. Choose the zigzag setting and holding your threads taut (this is important to stop the threads disappearing down the race) zigzag over the threads along their entire length.

 

Cut a small triangle from the scrap of yellow felt for the beak. I usually use a double piece and here I've stitched two bits together. Cut a 9" (20 cm) length of cord and fold it in half for the legs. And now you are ready to assemble your bird...

Fold your circle of fabric in half, tuck the beak under one end and start to stitch the two halves together, trapping the beak as you stitch. When you get half way round tuck the legs in place and stitch them into the seam too. I do this on the machine but you could oversew by hand. 

Stop when you get almost all the way round and put a small amount of stuffing inside the bird before finishing to stitch the two halves together.

Finish off your bird by stitching on a couple of beady eyes, add some larger beads or buttons onto the ends of the legs and stitch on another length of cord on it's back to hang the bird up with. I like to add a couple of bells too. I like to keep them quite simple but you could customise your birds with tail feathers, wings and all manner of decorations. 

 

 

Have fun! And do share your results... I'd love to see them!

Spring has sprung!

Having spent two back to back weekends away teaching I find it always takes a few days to get back to normal... Whatever normal may be! I'd still not finished unpacking all my teaching stuff from the weekend before I was packing another bag ready for class on Tuesday. As it was the last class this term there were some treats too...

It has become something of a tradition that I bring cake at the end of term, so these little Easter cupcakes seemed to fit nicely with our end of term project... Little quirky spring birds.

These were some of the birds finished by my students yesterday. 

 

 

Today I've still not unpacked those bags but managed to spend a few hours pottering in the garden doing some much needed tidying up out there instead.  Much nicer tidying in the garden than in the house! And despite the threat of a cold wet weekend to come there is a feeling of spring in the air.

 

I think the little birds look quite at home in amongst the spring blossom!

As I've ended up making a few of these I thought I could give one away. Leave me a comment by Sunday and one of these little chaps could be flying your way in time for Easter.

I'm Still Here...

But I'm just a little overwhelmed at the moment. Too much "Bonkers" and not enough "Enjoy"! Trying to juggle various aspects of teaching in between a large but lovely commission on top of supporting family etc. etc... You really don't want to know the ins and outs of it all and I'm fed up listening to myself moaning. Some days I feel that I'm really not coping... On top of which... my knees hurt! So much that even swimming is painful so I'm not exercising and that makes me grumpy! Boy, am I grumpy!

 

So as you might imagine blogging is pretty low down on my list of priorities right now. But I thought I'd stop by to share some of the lovely work done by my students over the past couple of weeks... which is enough to make anyone smile right now.

Some fabulous landscapes finished in my Tuesday machine embroidery class

By Jan (above) and Di ( below)

 

Gorgeous colours from Ann

A seascape from Julia... That water looks inviting!

 

Beautiful work from another Julia... A beginner!

And this joyous piece of work from Nina

My year two City and Guilds group are continuing to make wonderful work too

A needle case and Chinese styled vessel from Jane. Both exquisite!

A beautiful pomegranate inspired cushion from Linda

 

And this stunning lampshade from Mara.

Now I shall stop writing, stop moaning and get on with this commission... before son no. 2 arrives for lunch!