Finished the Family Tree.

Looks Ok, a bit less like a lollipop.

I am going to hang it like this, i.e. with out any background. It is very light and hangs from a green gardening stick thingy attached across the back.

I stuck it all onto some craft vilene to give it a bit of gravitas, the kind of stuff used to give bags or belts some stiffness.

made by hand

Trundled up the A14 to see a small but perfectly formed exhibition of Patchwork City and Guild work. As you can see patchwork and stitching [embroidery] have moved so close together they are almost incestuous. A Quilt is defined by stitching together 2 or more layers and these days the stitching is probably the focus.

This heavy duty example was by Clive, one of the few men partaking, and highly valued as rare of the breed. He has an excellent eye and an adventurous style so he will go far, pursued by adoring acolytes no doubt

There were a couple of traditional quilts, which colourwise were very enjoyable. But the quilting fabrics are specially stocked to mix and match now, which has somehow taken the excitement out of finding materials that work well together.

Barbara produced this rather poetic vision of a forest. She was so delighted to have actually made a completed project, from a standing position. She had never really sewn before, and felt she had never really made anything before. So satisfying to see anyone with that glow of achievement.

This one was based on research into a brickyard I believe, and glowed with gorgeous colour.

This birdiewasn't anything special, just happy.

stitched up

I am afraid the three fossicking fossil panels combined against me and are now one. Went and sawed off a bit of dead tree to hang them from [well Retired Person did the manly work]. There were three dead elms down by the river, bleached white and bark-less by the wind, but we could only reach the lower branches so not quite as dramatic as I envisioned, but maybe they will clean up.

Here are the four books, each with a page of each of the 24 members. I realised after hours of faddling trying to get something interesting from some printing on fabric that actually i should have chucked it and done four fat ladies instead. But you know how it is, hours spent - so hard to chuck.

And this is the Family Tree, very much work in progress. I would like to stitch a wise old saying about trees...fruit....women.....on the trunk, if anyone has any suggestions. All I can think is "the fruit never falls far from the tree" but not sure is it is sufficiently gnomic.

more cold comfort

It is so cold and wet today, I have on jeans, socks, long sleeved T, cardi......knickers and glasses to complete the set, and I am still chilly and disgruntled. Can't possibly put the heating on, it is Flaming June.
Have been finishing the stitching on Fossils, and trying to pin them straight on a backing piece. Growl, I am not good at straight. Ta for the positive thoughts, I need all the buttressing I can accumulate, as do the Fossicking Fossils.
Have an idea re a Family Tree........thought i might cut up into leaf shapes some prints of the usual suspects and, and add some lacey leaves, and make a tree thingy. I keep reprinting out old pics and then getting stuck as to how to move on. Matriarchs from the past glare at me and I wilt.
Told the exhibition committee it might be ready by 7th July, as I haven't actually started, in a scissor snapping way, that doesn't seem likely.
Auntie Cinders tells me to put on another jumper and get on, doubtless they were colder and miserabler in the war, so no arguing.
She has been having a new gas fire fitted, but they lost the original connection bit, so could not proceed as it was obsolete etc. Finally found it on the mantelpiece, Auntie had looked for a candle holder and found the exact round metal thing.
Haven't got anything to read either. Finished Fifth Witness, Ok if a bit irritating, and the new Donna Leon. Thought one of the plot devices a little unbelievable, but I have no doubt she found the story of the crime in a newspaper somewhere.
Spent some time thumbing through Kindel, what a lot of books, most of which I have not heard of. When I read the reviews it is like looking for a comfortable hotel, many dissatisfied users.
Watched the end of Shadow Line last night, not sure I understood who was doing what to whom, mostly shooting each other, but there was some killer acting.

hot day

I live near a fairly small "market" town; I was going to say we don't have much of a market any more and likewise not much crime.

Then I remembered the recent serial killer.

Anyway this was a quick smash and grab that I stumbled across this morning while wandering around looking for something to edge my fossil strips. [I merrily cut them into 3 long strips without leaving margin allowance] so need tofind a way to finish them off.

The robbers presumably grabbed some expensive looking watches that are usually smugly laying on their velvet cushions in the window. Not sure how they got away from the hue and cry as it is a pedestrianised zone, but I guess if they are dastardly thieves they may break other rules too.

I finished the 4 books I have to make for the next exhibition.

We each had to make a sample of work 2"x2" some notes about our prowess and 4 attractive covers. Not my favourite occupation, so the stitching looks a bit sulky. We are charging £15 and pooling the money between us, haven't booked any away days on the proceeds!

Pic will follow but Retired Person, who does the technicals, is a bit sulky too. It is hot and feels like there will be a storm. He has been trying to expell the grass that cemented itself between the flowers in the drought and has got rather irritated, understandable.

So a grumpy couple.

The cat is happy, it is hot and he is asleep.

fossils

Thought it was about time I looked at some stitching. Small persons don't leave a lot of gaps in the day. I am/ was working on a piece for a Time and Tide exhibition, so thought i would do fossils.

I have three skinny panels now - not really sure how to present them. I made them by rollering paint and stuff over a lace doily and moving it about to make a background. Then printed some fossil type things and sort of stitched around. Everyone seems pleased with me that I have made something subtle for a change. Poo.

This stitching group is having a fit of the knipshers about what to price our work at. I suspect they think i price too low, but I do want to be affordable. They had a big meeting where they agreed we should charge more I think, I dunno I didn't go.

"Hell is other people".

I once worked at a psychiatric Unit and the chief assured us that "Life is other people". Hmmm perhaps.

Tempest 2011 Highlights

This is my son, he's the handsome one, mostly withou a cap. Their pool team have won it seems.

Yes, of course, he got his head stuck in his potty. We had to cut him out.

evidence

no place like home

Back now from sea-side holiday with DD and GG. Lovely weather but mood swings from squally to moody, mostly because young people these days seem to live their life on Facebook and there was no WiFi or even phone signal.
Even GG was disadvantaged as the TV signal was crap so no CBeebies and only 4 snowy stations, g'ma had to watch Eastenders thru the blizzard. I saw far too much of Spiderman and Mona the Vampite DVDs however.
Also! the beach was very stony which led GG to demented aerial warfare, so we travelled in-land to castles and lakes with swans.
Castles were appreciated muchly but swans were also in aggressive mood and knocked g'ma over when I was trying to show GG how they wouldn't hurt him.
Returned early to the comforting presence of technological toys and real + virtual friends .
Aggers the cat is not amused, he preferred the quiet and regular meals provided by next door.
Test Match started today, delayed by downpours, Aggers thought it amusing when Aggers the commentator was drenched as he watched the toss.
No comments please.
Auntie Pauline in Canada [87] joined Uncle Ron last night. I don't think they will get on. Ron was very slow talking High Noon Gary and Auntie P is where I am supposed to get my impatient tongue from. She is the youngest sister, so some comfort to ma and Cinders that they are winning.
Ma has gone up to London to inspect the Olympic Stadia today, you can't keep her down for long.

say cheese

song

90 years

It all went fabulously well and I have the aching neck muscles to prove it, I was rigid with nerves.

But great grandma, me, Daunting Daughter and Glorious Grandson [+ Retired Person of course] had a celebratory lunch at Jimmy's rare breed farm restaurant and walked the environs without mishap.

Jimmy provided a disgusting little cake for the 90 year old to blow out her candle and we all ate lots of Meat and highly coloured creamy things.

The walk round the estate was lovely in the afternoon sun, lots of little piglets and goats and chickens running around having a good time - for now. The nonagenarian led the way all round then refused afternoon tea and went home triumphantly clutching her cake. We all flaked out a good job well done.

The Glorious Grandchild has landed. We have been sleeping in my work room. He and Daunting Daughter are upstairs still asleep.

I am trying to work up the emotional strength [and physical] to go up and wake them and get everyone out the house in time to pick up mother for her 90th birthday lunch. Wish me luck.

taking the bins out

So the Bin-man has finally been binned. For what good it will do, and probably a lot of bad. There's a lot of legalised murder around, but i guess there always has bin. It's all very sad and totally outside my control, even if we get AV voting. Which we probably won't.


It seems to me that most men favour first past the stupid post and women are more inclusive, but I may be wrong. Picking up daughter and GG on the day, so must remember to vote, fore or aft.













We spent the weekend at a textile printing workshop, very amiable and peaceful.



















































in the main, tho tutor wanted us to make strange little vessels which I wasn't up for, tho others were braver and persevered with the origami like folding involved

She did show some stitch samples which I liked however.

It has been relentlessly sunny so it seemed a shame to stay in the village hall for two days, but it seems there is more to come. Poor dry garden. Son reports that San Francisco is fine too, which must be pleasant, but he has split up with his girlfriend so he is not enjoying it much. If only we could organise our off spring properly, either that or live in blessed ignorance like my parents preferred.

Daughter may get to see some bluebells if she gets over her jet lag in time.

Alternative Royal Wedding

For those who didn't get to see the Great Day, this is probably more fun. I did sit down and watch Kate and Wills become the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and even sniffled a bit at times.
The Abbey looked magnificently Gothic, but a little strange with trees down the aisle. I suppose Charles had to have someone to talk to.
The fascinators were amazingly huge, sitting behind what with the trees must have been very arboreal.
Apparently when Charles comes to the throne, if ever, he won't be a Charlie, it is thought to be an unlucky name for a king, so he will be George VII.

fairly bright

After the daffs we now have the blue bells,down the bank in the garden around the poor pruned apple trees, among the grass and on walks thru the woods.

and the wisteria is beginning to flourish.

I am not, I have a headache. I am extremely grumpy, if I was flower I would be a dark, manky weed tunnelling along under the ground and popping up to spoil the show.

We decided to break out this Easter Monday and toddled along to the next village to go to the Fair. I envisioned lots of ice cream and winning a monkey for the Glorious Grandson who will soon be amongst us [flower and weed! as he is now two and quite a handful].

Apparently monkeys come second only to dinosaurs in his universe, grand-ma will come way down when I start laying down the law...............

However the fairground was teeny, just a roundabout, 4 or 5 stalls , a bouncy castle [already deflated ready for a quick get away next day and some twirly machinery that was already turned off. The local kids seemed quite happy whizzing round - but no ice ceam and no stuffed monkeys!

It has been such a lovely run of sunny days I shouldn't complain, I wouldn't if I didn't have a headache. And Dr Who was crap.

released into the wild

I have been devouring books lately. Fortunately the library van is still chugging round every 2 weeks and the Wetterstones in town hasn't been closed yet.
Just as well as their advent closed all the other Indy bookshops in double quick time a few years back.
Finished The Rapture by Liz Jensen yesterday, she writes very well, richly and somehow in the "now" dunno what I mean by that. It just seemed her characters were living in a world I recognised, that is before it all went eco-catastrophe and religious mania..............but even that built on strains of behaviour and science I had heard of. It is set slightly in the future and goes a bit block buster at the end, but i did enjoy her intelligent approach to the madness.
Before that I read Mystery by JKellerman, absolute sensationalised rubbish.
I was so annoyed with him, that when I joined the Book Crossing website, his was one of the first to give away.
It is very happy contrivance for me. I have so many book cluttering up the house, even tho i do download quite a few, I do still prefer the actual pages.
With the Book Crossing wheeze I can just register them on the site, leave them somewhere and hope that one day I hear back from peeps all over the globe..................[well around here anyway] that someone has picked it up to read.
The other giveaway was The Gate at the Stairs, is that right, a novel by Laurie..........someone. It was a slow burner but in the end I enjoyed it. Of course I didn't want to leave 2 junk thrillers in the same spot, too shaming.
We went out to have a corned beef hash lunch at the Victoria, a country pub near us today, so i left behind my two prepared books - with Book Crossing labels to explain, stuck inside.
As was inevitable, a woman came puffing out after us to return them, just as we were making our Le Mans getaway.
So i had to explain the principle of releasing books into the wild.
Hopefully it will get to be a more slick operation.
In the past I have given books to friends [but do they really want them] and down to the charity shops [too much heavy lifting thru a pedestrianised zone] so this could be the answer.
I know the library is really perfect, as one has to return books but I am too impatient to get the new releases.
Have been to Wetstones already and replenished with The Sentry; The Last Werewolf and best of all the new Fred Vargas.
Yes, alright, they were doing 3 for 2.

blossom dearie

Yesterday was one of those sunny Spring days; no doggie to walk, but we went round the Long Fields anyway. We are learning to walk out without Hattie. Not our tree, it belongs to farmer up the lane, blossoms wonderfully every year and dares me to be depressed - about anything.

The magnolia is out again, too many flowers to count now, but cold windy day has made it easier yesterday

Our poor pear trees were cut back over the winter.

They are fighting back, but look very sad at the mo.

Goodness knows if they will have pears. Guess they will have a few just in desperation.

paper nylon

Yes the petticoats were "paper nylon" as Gillian says.

As I remember it we just used to soak them in hot water into which much sugar had been dissolved and then they drip dried on the washing line.

Dunno why we didn't use starch.

They used to stick out beautifully under the full skirts until the body heat from rocking and rolling melted the sugar again and we and our petticoats returned home somewhat limp but still sweet sixteen.

I have a pic somewhere but will have to add it later I guess. It is not very dashing, just me in black and white standing in my nana's back garden looking embarrassed and maybe in a fullish cotton skirt if I remember rightly. [Found it - only one petticoat i think]

I expect I was about 13, far too tall and with defiantly curly hair that led to me being nicknamed Golly, in those un-PC times.

My mother insisted I brush it back off my face, i hold much against my mother but that was one of the deepest crimes, she told me I would look awful with a fringe. Since leaving home I have never been without one.