A Book or Two

Although I have a long reading wish list, I'm trying to read some of the books I have around the house or those I pick up in charity shops rather than buying more new books. A few years ago I discovered the writer Douglas Kennedy with his book State of the Union. It was an easy and engaging read and I was especially intrigued by Kennedy's ability to write so well from the female perspective. I then picked up his short novel The Dead Heart which I found totally gripping. It's a fast paced, gruesome thriller, interspersed with humour, set in the Australian outback. It's a real page turner. On the back of those two books I received a pile of Douglas Kennedy books one Christmas. I think I probably read a couple of them which were not great but entertaining. So when I picked up The Woman in the Fifth I hoped it might be okay. Unfortunately I thought it was awful! Moderately entertaining to start with, it is an easy, although somewhat far fetched read, telling the story of American Harry Ricks who arrives in Paris having run away from a failed marriage and a scandal that ruined his career. With no money and nowhere to live, Harry unwittingly falls in with the city’s underclass. When he meets and falls in love with a mysterious woman it looks like his future might improve. The plot thickens and the mysteries deepen and then about 75 pages from the end it feels as though Kennedy couldn't work out how to tie up all the loose ends (Spoiler alert... but I don't care if it prevents anyone else wasting several hours reading this nonsense) so he explains everything by making the woman a ghost, without so much as a previous hint at anything supernatural, which was complete and utter nonsense. What a waste of reading time!

Fortunately I found the next book I picked up was far more entertaining. I have read Any Human Heart by William Boyd which I really enjoyed, so when I spotted  Waiting for Sunrise from the same author in the charity shop I thought it was worth picking up. And it didn't disappoint. I found the main character Lysander Rief, very similar to the hapless anti hero Logan Mountstuart of Any Human Heart, and it also has the same easy flowing style, but the story was very different charting Lysander's life from Vienna to London via the battlefields of France during wartime Europe, as he gets embroiled in a life of sex, scandal and spies!

At the same time I also picked up The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel from the same charity shop. I enjoyed the film so was looking forward to reading the book especially since the news that I could be going to India next year. The book isn't quite the same as the film - the basic premise of a retirement home for the elderly is still there and the characters names are the same but that is where the similarity ends. The actual characters and the story line is totally different, so although it is still  enjoyable I'm finding it difficult to remove myself from the mental image of the film as I read.

I thought it was worth reading though to get me in the right frame of mind for my Indian holiday with Colouricious Holidays next year, although it hasn't really conjured up the atmosphere of India I had expected. I'm looking forward to experiencing it first hand for myself instead. If you fancy joining me you can find all the information right here if you click on the link below. It would be so much fun to have blog readers join me on this trip.

Experience India with Gina Ferrari

Talking About Words

Well that was a longer than intended break from my blog for no reason other than I seem to run out of time each day. I've been busy this past month following the 100 day goal with The Business Bakery, trying to build up my on line shop and increase sales for my little art business. I have been developing several more on line tutorials, which I will be back to tell you about soon, so there has been plenty of writing, plenty of words but just not here.

I have also been off with my girls to give some talks recently. I have given talks to groups for several years now. Once upon a time  I wouldn't have ever dreamt I would be doing something like standing up talking about what I do in front of an audience  yet it has become one of the favourite parts of my work.

I am always convinced beforehand that no one will want to listen to me and I'll bore the pants off everyone, sending them all to sleep. Actually, given that my audience consists largely of women of a certain age, and we are mostly in darkened rooms in the early evening, invariably there is at least one person who nods off half way through which sends me into panic mode. Never mind all those who remain awake and listening... I rush through my talk fixating on the snoozing individual... thankfully no-one has ever started snoring yet... praying they don't fall off their chair... convinced I must be totally boring, yet still I love it. I love the buzz and the adrenaline rush... and if I'm honest I love that feeling of holding an audience captive, even if they are asleep!

I do sometimes have a problem with words though and can be mid sentence knowing exactly what I want to say when the correct word hovers just out of reach... and I have been known to use a completely wrong word on more than one occasion. (Frequently if I'm honest!) The same goes for common phrases or idioms too. I get them muddled up, confused or only half finished. Only the other day I was talking about our estate agents and the progress (or lack of) on our house sale (not during one of my talks I hasten to add) and I wanted to say they had taken their finger off the button... or possibly they had taken the pot off the boil. But instead what came out was they had taken their finger off the boil! Fortunately most people are too polite to laugh out loud and point out the error of my ways.

I might be a bit worried about this tendency if I hadn't done it all my life. And it's not just me as the youngest two sons also have funny ways with words. Joe would always invent words as a child (and still does). He would combine words together or completely make up new words that were often hilariously funny and usually much better, more descriptive and oddly more appropriate than the original words. Of course at the time I always thought I would remember them but I don't and now wish that I had written them down. And Jacob, being on the autistic spectrum always struggled with phrases and idioms. Try explaining "it's raining cats and dogs" to a four year old who takes everything literally. As a result he would often come up with his own off the wall made up versions. 

As well as writing tutorials and talking to embroidery or quilting groups, I have also designed and stitched some cards that I've had printed so that other people can write their own words.

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Despite being able to stand up and talk about myself and my work for nearly an hour it's the self promotion part of running my business that I find the hardest, but I guess there's not a lot of point in getting cards printed if I'm not going to let people know where they can buy them... which is here since you ask!

Written words, spoken words, made up words and even the wrong words at the wrong time... I actually enjoy them all. And if you belong to a group who would like to hear me talk then please do get in touch and I'll visit you with my girls and my incorrect words.

My talk is all about stories... the stories of women's lives and the artwork that they have inspired... and words of course. How are you with words?

A Book Tutorial

Long time readers will know that as well as a bit of embroidery I also like to dabble with some book making. Over the summer I taught a one day class making these pretty little albums and afterwards I was asked if  I could produce an on line tutorial. I'd like to tell you I had made a wonderful video that you could follow step by step but I haven't! I have however spent hours analysing, photographing, drawing and writing the whole process out step by step to make a downloadable fully illustrated PDF that is now available to buy from my Etsy shop. I will say now that I didn't invent this book structure but I learned how to do it from a fabulous print maker and teacher called Heather Power. I don't know whether Heather invented it or whether she learned it from someone else, but it was part of a weekend bookmaking with Heather and I was never given any notes, so the tutorial is all my own work.

But before I possibly tempt you to buy yourself a copy, I thought I would do a free tutorial here for a simple variation of a pamphlet book, that is one of my favourite little books to make.

To make one of these little books, perfect for notes and quick sketches  you will need:

Sheets of cartridge paper for the pages - enough to make 4-8 sheets 10cm x 20 cm (4" x 8")

A piece of water colour paper or light card 10.5cm x 25cm (4.5" x 10")

Some decorative paper (optional)

A craft knife, a metal ruler, a tapestry (blunt) needle, strong thread, a glue stick, a map pin and an old tea towel

First of all tear your cartridge paper into the correct size for the pages. I do this against a metal ruler and prefer to tear rather than cut as it gives a deckled edge to the pages. It doesn't matter so much then if they don't quite line up.

Then fold each in half and make two nests of 2-4 pages, depending on the thickness of your paper. These 'nests' or groups of pages are called signatures.

Now take your water colour paper or card for the cover and fold this in half too. Measure 2cm (1") in from the folded edge and fold the cover back on itself.

Do this on both sides so you end up with a W effect, as shown in the photo.

Now take your two signatures and put one into each fold of the W as shown.

You then want to fold the covers out flat whilst keeping the fold of the signatures tucked against the folds of the covers as shown...  this is the stage where I realised having a different colour cover might have been useful for the sake of the photos. But I'm not doing it again!

Hopefully the diagram will make it seem clearer (The shaded bit is the cover)

You are now going to stitch the two signatures and the cover together in one quick manoeuvre along the fold using a simple pamphlet stitch.

Along the fold mark three dots, one in the centre and two either side an equal distance apart from the centre. Using a map pin and with the whole thing resting on an old tea towel push holes where you have made the dots.

Thread a rounded needle with about 40cm (16") of strong thread and take it through the centre hole, leaving a tail of thread for tying off later. On the other side take the thread up and through the top hole.

Now take it straight back down to the bottom hole, missing the middle hole.

And finally back through the middle hole coming out on the other side of  the long stitch that runs down the centre.

You should have two ends either side of the central long stitch, which you can now tie off and trim.

The diagram shows the order of stitching... in the centre, down to one end, back to the other end and then back out the centre.

All you need to do now is fold your covers back to the outside and you should have a neat little two signature pamphlet book!

I then decorated the cover with nine little squares of wrapping paper. You may have noticed the first book had little squares from the inside of envelopes. But of course you can decorate it any way you like or use coloured or patterned card for the cover. If you make one I'd love to see how it turns out!

And should you wish to make a slightly more complicated book the twenty page fully illustrated tutorial is available from my etsy shop here. And thank you to Catriona for testing this for me. Her response was "Very clear instructions... the pattern is a winner" so I hope that might encourage you to give it a try.

And something I forgot to mention the other day... I will be making one of these books for every single person who comes along on my block printing India trip with me next year. A little gift from me to say thank you and to hopefully inspire some sketches while we are there!

The Story of a Bun

In all the years I've lived in the Cambridge area until recently I had never eaten a legendary Fitzbillie's Chelsea Bun. These sticky fruit buns were created and first eaten at The Bun House in Chelsea in the eighteenth century but they have become synonymous with Fitzbillies restaurant in Cambridge. So in the interest of crossing another sixty by sixty off my list I thought it was about time I tried one.

Maybe it was because I kept hearing how amazing they are but on trying the real thing I was actually just a little bit disappointed.  Now don't get me wrong, it was good, but not as good as I thought they would be. They were just a bit too dry despite the sticky topping (I wondered as it was a Sunday if they were possibly a day old?) and there wasn't enough spicy flavour for my taste.

So given that on the Great British Bake Off last week (despite my growing disappointment with the show I can't resist watching) the contestants were asked to make Chelsea buns I couldn't resist the challenge.

I brought out my trusty mixer to knead up some dough and decided to go with an almond and cherry theme, soaking dried and glace cherries in some Cointreau with a few drops of almond essence. I would have preferred Amaretto for extra almond flavour but I didn't have any!

When the dough had risen it was knocked back and rolled out before spreading it with melted butter, a mix of ground almonds and sugar as well as the drained fruit.

It then was rolled up like a Swiss roll and then allowed to rise again.

The recipe that I was using as a guide suggested making a sticky glaze that was added just before baking but I think I would add a glaze after the buns are cooked if I made them again. I also think I would find a bigger tin because my buns were starting to make a bid for freedom!

But despite being rather misshapen and a little too crisp on top, they were very soft and pillowy inside with a good almond and cherry flavour. Definitely worth making again to perfect the recipe!

And although it feels like sacrilege to say so.. I preferred them to the Fitzbillies buns!

Only two more 60 x 60 things to go before I start my 100 challenge!

My Big News

I can finally reveal my big and very exciting news... and you are hearing it here first... that I have been invited by Colouricious Holidays to host a block printing holiday to India next year

For ten days from 17th to 27th September 2019 we will be based in the beautiful pink city of Jaipur staying in a private family run hotel - the Megh Niwas. Our breakfasts and dinners will be prepared daily by their own chef using home grown organic food.

We will be taking part in several traditional block printing workshops in Jaipur supporting local artisans and craftsmen.

We will spend a day with elephants

and will visit local sights of historic interest and great beauty such as the magnificent Amer Fort, built high on a hillside from red sandstone and marble, overlooking Maota Lake

and Hawa Mahal, another stunning pink and red sandstone palace with over 900 small windows, originally used so that royal ladies could watch festivites without being seen. All transport will be in our own private coach.

There will also be time to visit markets, go shopping and experience local life.

I have always wanted to visit India so I can't tell you how excited I am about this trip. And all I have to do is tell you all about it and hopefully get enough people to fill up the tour... although places are limited. Flights are arranged from London Heathrow and are all inclusive in the price but you can join the trip from anywhere in the world if you wish to make your own transport arrangements and the price will be adjusted accordingly.

All the information you need can be found here:

Block Printing holiday with Gina Ferrari

but don't hesitate to get in touch with me if you have any questions.

Did I tell how excited I am?

The Final Celebration

It couldn't have been better weather or a more perfect setting for our final wedding celebration in this summer of weddings!

 

At the Royal Tay Yacht Club on the bank of the River Tay in Dundee in the most glorious warm sunshine we gathered for a blessing of Kirsty and Adrian's marriage. I think it was the first time I've ever been out without a coat and scarf, never mind a cardigan, on a visit to Scotland!

The very happy couple arrived hand in hand for a short service to celebrate their week long marriage. It was lovely occasion for Scottish relatives and friends to share their special day.

Although this week a certain little someone decided to get in on the action...

And almost, but not quite, stole the show... peepo!

After drinks on the terrace we had yet another delicious meal, although I ended up sharing mine with this little chap, who once again was giggling and happy all evening until he finally flaked out in his push chair.

The meal was followed by some lively dancing to a ceilidh band (lots of men in kilts!) but it was also a chance to catch up with family members - Stewart with his Mum and Dad and sister in particular.

And of course there was cake... a rather well travelled cake having come 430 miles in the boot of our car the previous day, but it seemed to survive. So another perfect day and a very happy Kirsty and Adrian.

We were back home again on Sunday after another 9+ hours on the road and now I need to get back to some sort of normality, whatever that may be! It really has been the most wonderful summer although I seem to be suffering from post wedding exhaustion... three weddings and five celebrations in the space of eight weeks have left me feeling just a little tired but perhaps I shouldn't be surprised when I think of all the travelling, baking, sewing and entertaining it has involved.

Now if you'll excuse me I'm going for a lie down but I'll be back in a day or two with my exciting news.