Sunday 24 June 2012

West Country Madness...

Days on end of rain and gales and tonight Mark and I are going to don wellies and waterproofs and head to Westonbirt Arboretum to see Madness in concert (should anyone not have heard of them, their website might jog some memories: http://blog.madness.co.uk/). Every time we go to an outdoor concert you can guarantee flooding in the UK. At least we are used to these gigs and know to take blankets and waterproofs and forego any idea of a dainty picnic for sausage and chips from one of the stalls to try to warm up. It's not actually raining at the moment, but I am not holding my breath.

I have spent a fair amount of time sewing this week, but it's a gift so I cannot share details here until it has reached the USA and been opened. So, as the present (in both senses of the word) is off the menu this week, I thought I would focus on the past and the future. Some of the things I have made in the past and some of the things on my making wish list. It's probably rather sad, but I do love to make lists - particularly of future craft projects!

I am going to wander through crafting projects of my past by medium, starting with paper. Here I have to confess that a lot of my ideas appear while I'm asleep. When I was 12 or 13 years old I dreamed that I made a Victorian maid out of paper, and when I woke up I made what I dreamed. After most of a household of Victorian maids, I moved on to other paper figures.



Left: I even made a model of the boy I had a crush on at school (and never even once stuck a pin in it!)

Right: ooh la la so Parisien.










When I was 16 my oldest sister got married and I made her wedding cake, including a paper bride and groom on the top:



Over the years there have been a great many paper brides and grooms:





These pieces are very time-consuming, but really good fun to make. As far as possible, I replicate the style of the wedding dress. I usually make the cakes too, so the icing can also tie in with the fabric patterns used - the piping on the one above matched the groom's waistcoat.












This geisha was one of my favourite pieces. It was a gift for a friend abroad and I was so relieved when it reached her ok.

 






I have n't made any paper models in a little while and really want to make some more. I wonder about making a paper carousel, but maybe that's pushing it...I also have an ambition to make a carousel from gingerbread, and I think that might be more achievable.

Another thing I do not do enough of these days is plain old drawing and painting. It seems like all my artistic efforts are done with food colouring and it would be nice to make something people don't eat. Here are some drawings/sketches I have done in the past:


Murphy - Mark's parents' old cat, in pastels, chalk and charcoal.
An otter for a friend who's a fan of these cute critters, in pastels.


 Viggo Mortensen in pencil (I actually gave him a copy of this at a poetry reading in Odense...poor chap!)
 This is a pastel sketch of Dylan thomas' boat house in Wales.
I'm not sure I have mentioned my Russell Crowe lust (Mark is very understanding) - this chalk sketch is tucked away in my larder, next to the herb rack!

















I am keeping an eye on the clock to make sure I don't run out of time to dig out gloves and scarf for the concert - yes it is June, but this is England! - and I think I have time to add a few fabric projects of the past:

 Cat tea cosy














The same cat on an apron
























In Eithne Farry's excellent book 'Yeah, I Made It Myself' (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Yeah-Made-Myself-Fashion-Domestic/dp/0297851179/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1340552742&sr=1-2 ) she has a list of projects she would like to make and included the idea of a cloud bag with a silver lining. Well I loved the concept and had to give it a go. It's still on my to make list, as I want to have another go, perhaps with raindrop fringing!































Rag dolls are always on my making wish list. I want to make lots of them - including a Star Wars stormtrooper (I have had the fabric in my stash for years now and just need to get around to it).














I also have a love of  aprons - I want to make some of those frilly 1950s domestic goddess type ones, in really kitsch fabric.












Right then, if I am going to make it to the concert, I am going to have to stop now (somewhat abruptly) and add my wish list and the quilt and bag photos next time. I'm not sure it counts as leaving the entry on a cliff-edge, but tune in next week for more!








Sunday 17 June 2012

Excuses, excuses...

The trouble with deciding to keep a blog and to update it once a week is that there is no hiding any lack of sewing! So this week's excuses are:

1) outside drain blocked; had to stay in Bath on Thursday rather than run off to Dorset with my fabric and sewing machine for a couple of days;

2) Mark was home from work early on Friday so whisked me off to Midsomer Quilting http://www.midsomerq.com/ (yes, the man is a treasure - I could have driven myself, but he offered, and also bought me a late lunch);

3) today is Fathers' Day (it gets to me a bit actually, even though it's 10 years since my dad died). Anyway, somehow Mark's gift to his dad this year turned out to be Sunday lunch (that I cooked) and chocolate tiffin (that I cooked) - combined with cleaning and tidying and choir practice, there really was n't very much sewing time; and

4) my first photobook arrived and I am chuffed to bits with it (you can see it here,
http://www.photobox.co.uk/creation/1299064905 but please don't consider buying it, despite the blurb on the page the link takes you to, full price is more than I would pay for any book - I only did this at all because I had an offer that worked out at almost 75% off). So when they then offered me a 40% discount on a subsequent purchase I put together a shorter version for my godmother's birthday, and when they sent me a 50% off voucher to be used by midnight tonight, I decided to make another short version for my mum's birthday (it's not until November so I hope I don't forget about it by then). It's really time-consuming choosing photos and putting them in the order you want them to appear; but very satisfying when you hit the 'create book' button.

However, I am trying to focus on the positive - I did finish stripping wall paper off the dining room wall where I want to hang the brilliant painting by my friend and talented up and coming artist, Helen Campbell. If you see that her work is being exhibited anywhere...go and see it! On a good day I am not bad at painting or drawing what I see, but Helen is much much more - she can paint what she feels, and that is simply awesome!

I did manage one small bit of sewing and finished a quilt square. I am a bit addicted to printable fabric. I used to use printable iron-on transfers, but they make the fabric feel hard and inflexible, whereas this stuff still feels like fabric:



The photo itself was a bit of an accident. It was the first time I took Mark to West Bay and I tried to record the moment with one of those arm's length shots and forgot that my (pre digital SLR) camera was on zoom! I rather like it. I am not 100% sure about the square though... not sure whether the additional flowers make it just that bit too sickly sweet. What do you think?

Before I go I have a gardening fact to share: I have always been told that it is slugs and snails that eat hostas...it's not true!!




Sunday 10 June 2012

It's raining, it's pouring...

Well this week did n't really go to plan. I always plan to do more than is possible in any given time, but this week I achieved almost none of it! The wallpaper in the dining room is still on the walls and no painting in the dining room has been done and the wood work in the hallway remains as dingy as it ever was...and there has been very little sewing.

I recall studying Jane Eyre at school and being told that the storms reflected the emotions of the character(s) in the book and that this is called 'pathetic fallacy'. It's been like that for me this week (although google advises that pathetic fallacy is actually inanimate objects or nature actually having human emotions, which is a very inconvenient truth). Anyway the point is I have had a really grotty cold and cough all week while the weather has been throwing rain and gale force winds at us. I was too ill to go to my singing lesson - I cancel so many lessons for throat and chest infections, it amazes me Kelly is still prepared to teach me (I confess to shamelessly bribing her with homemade marmalade in addition to the cost of the lesson). I did n't get over to Chepstow to visit my sister while my niece was staying with her, and I missed an all day rehearsal for Bach's St John's Passion. I am a self-taught musician and my sight-reading and timing leave something to be desired and this piece is quite putting me off Bach! The point is I really need the practice. I used to sing soprano, but I am really more of a mezzo so now sing alto, and it's very hard not having the tune.

At least I did manage to enjoy our street party in honour of the Queen's diamond jubilee. I live in a lovely quiet cul-de-sac of 1930s houses. There is quite a good community spirit and we have a Christmas street party every year, where we take sausages for the barbecue and sing carols around a brazier and someone dresses up as Santa to hand out presents to the kids. One year it even snowed as we were singing. This was the first Summer street party I have been to and it was nice to have a get together when it was daylight - it was amazing how many people said they did n't know people's names as it was always dark when they were introduced at the Christmas do. Personally I have such a bad memory for names, it makes little difference. My cake went down a treat and we all ate and drank and chatted happily all afternoon. So very English I think.


It was after the street party that I succumbed to the cold and cough. The only thing I managed to do all week was to put together a photo-book. An online digital imaging company (can I say it was Photobox?) celebrated it's 12th birthday, I think, by offering a huge discount to buy a credit for a 100 page book, so I took advantage of the offer. We are fortunate to have a tiny holiday flat in Dorset and I wanted to put together a book of photos of my favourite places to go. We let friends and family use the flat, and I thought it would be nice to leave the book in the flat to give people ideas of places to visit. it took hours and hours to choose the photos and arrange the pages, but I think I've done it - just one more proof-read and I will order it.

I have been feeling better today - just as well as the 'holiday' is over and I am back at work tomorrow - so I put some more work in to the quilted butterfly idea. My first attempt, besides being a bit too tight a fit in the box frame, felt a bit too glitzy:


I thought I would try something softer and more obviously fabric:


I think it works better, but still needs some tweaking (a different quilting stitch and wing shape perhaps). It's a work in progress; I have to keep reminding myself that my days off 'proper' work is meant to be a time is for fine tuning my products, and I can't expect them to be perfect straight off. I think the butterflies would look better in a longer frame with a number of different butterflies together. Perhaps I need to be brave and have a go at making my own frames. I don't usually work with hard media like wood - the hardest material I have used is gingerbread when I left out the baking powder!

It's still raining, but at least the cold is on the mend...



Sunday 3 June 2012

Jubilee weekend

I have been resisting the diamond jubilee fever that has been sweeping the country, but last week I came back from lunch to find a union jack flag stuck in my desk, and I guess some of Rob's enthusiasm has rubbed off on me (Rob bought the flags). I was up early today baking bbq chicken and a sponge cake for our street party tomorrow. I got a bit carried away decorating it (must add red edible glitter to my shopping list!)


It's a basic vanilla sponge with cherry jam and buttercream in the middle, covered in fondant icing and painted with food colourings...and edible glitter. I really LOVE edible glitter; surely everything is improved with a bit of sparkle!

I have managed some sewing this week, between gardening, housework and choir. I used to think I liked Bach, but after Saturday's rehearsal I'm not so sure. We are working towards a workshop weekend singing St John's Passion and it's really hard work. I play the guitar and recorder and can read music, but I taught myself so my sight-reading is a bit iffy and my music theory is...um...limited. Add to that a distinct lack of natural rhythm and timing, and it's amazing they let me sing at all! But I digress, as I said I have done a little sewing. I have finished Ellen Mouse version 2 - I want to change the shape of her ears (more round, less like elephant's ears) and move the position of her legs a little, but I think she is just about ready to go in to production:














I want to try some other clothes combinations. If I can make sure the mice are all the same size, I could make changes of clothes for them, which would be fun to do...and once the mice are on course, i think I may try making a rabbit too.


Max was very interested in the little mouse, but luckily Ellen Mouse escaped unscathed!

 My other project this week has been butterflies. I had it in mind it would dead easy to quilt a little butterfly to display in a small box frame, but it has been really fiddly to make something so small remain delicate. I think I have worked it out, and have been staining frames today, but you'll have to wait until next week for the finished piece! Who knows I may even have another quilt square too.