A herringbone cushion for Cornhill Terrace

I have always wanted to be a great seamstress but feel my careless attitude to measuring has always resulted in inexact sewing. This often doesn't live up to my expectations for a usable product and the whole un-malleableness  of fabric in comparison to paper or wool makes it hard for me to find my haphazard trial and error approach ok. However I did make our curtains and bed spreads nearly 2 decades ago and am approaching the task of replacing them as they are both faded and chewed or torn by all our animals ! These are big projects and I'm struggling to find the fabrics I want that suit our dark small roomed cottage but yet are bright and bold.

I'm not very good at completing these big craft tasks ( so watch this space) but I have completed a cushion for L's birthday, and have squashed it into my hand luggage and squeazy-jetted it up to Edinburgh. I started it at Millie Moons in Wells last year with my friend Kate, but had just never found the time to finish it off, but here it is complete! The sewing is a bit squint, as ever, but the cushion itself is great and I really like the choice of pink spots to complement the blue and greens of the patches. The patchwork pieces were from a 'jelly roll' of precut pieces and the herringbone pattern was really very quick to do. 

The booker long list ...

J and I have been involved in a book club in our village since 2008.  E has also occasionally joined us when home or from a distance. Initially we invited people we knew read and were interested in literature. This has expanded and we have had the real joy of meeting and getting to know an extended circle of neighbours and colleagues. We meet once monthly in each others homes and, not knowing how other book clubs organise their choIces, we decided that each month in turn someone would suggest a book we read, they then 'present' why they chose it and what was good/provocative/informative about it to the group and we then discuss it in detail. Each meeting someone also chooses and brings along a poem to read to the group, often reflecting some of the themes presented by the book being explored or championed that evening. Tea and wine are integral to the discussions!

I am always impressed and touched how courteous and sensitive everyone is to each others choice, yet able to be truthful and positive in criticism of the books we read. We rarely have the same opinion about the books and I don't feel I can, even now, predict who will like each choice. We have also read many different genres - including  historical, western, crime, science fiction, magical realism, nature/observation, classics, autobiography - and I feel I have read books I would never have picked up if they had not been prompted by the group. As I sometimes have reading 'deserts' when I just can't seem to concentrate enough to read a book it's also been something that has really forced me not to give up and find a way thorough these times at least once a month.

This year and last year we have also had an extra ploy. We are each reading a book on the Booker long list - 13 novels published this year and chosen by the Booker judges - and will meet to each very briefly present the books individually, (without giving the plot away) and propose, from each others judgement,  which will make the short list of 6. There is then a gap of a month before the winner is announced and we each then all read as many of the six as we can to then be more informed and involved when the winner is announced in mid October. It makes such a difference to have read the  books to then listen to and be involved in the discussion of the most important literary prize of the year.

This year I have recruited our village library into the whole event and the meeting to discuss the announcement is going to be open to any one and in a special open evening at the library ! Lets hope my organisation and publicity is going to be up to it with the help of a lovely community librarian, Dave from North Somerset. 

The Tale of the Amazing Blanket

Once upon a time, E had an idea. For J's 50th Birthday (2012), she contacted friends and family to all knit bunting! Sounds like a mad idea - but it worked really well. They had a weekend long party and it finished with a magnificent caleigh where the bunting was hung:

(here it is laid out on the floor being put together)

This had been such a fun project to do that in the summer E wanted to do another joint craft project. But what to do... The idea came at once! E had always wanted to knit a blanket herself, but had never quite been able to commit to the sheer volume of knitting. But if you have 10 or 20 knitters all doing squares...? Well, that's quite a different matter.

E cast the request far and wide, and the squares came in thick and fast...

The squares could be any colour and any stitch, the only requirement was they be 5x5 inches. It was amazing to see the variety of wools and colours and patterns - what creativity all these people had! Before too long though, E had too many squares and she had to tell people to stop! Now, with two large bags full of squares, the blanket was ready to be formed.

One Saturday back in the autumn, A and E discussed blanket designs. They thought for a long while and then started experimenting with colour combinations and patterns. Here was their idea in the end:

Sadly, there were too many squares to use all of them - this is already a double bed size blanket we're talking about! But the other squares will be put to good use in time, don't worry. (E and A have ideas about joining them together to make cat blankets, but that may be a different story.)

Originally, E was going to learn to crotchet. But, plans changed and she asked the magnificent K to do the honours of fitting the blanket together. K worked industriously over the Winter and early Spring months and, pretty quickly, the blanket was finished. Some of the squares weren't quite 5x5 inches, so there was a lot of stretching and ingenious manipulating to be done. But she worked wonders. And what a sight to behold.

(beautiful blanket on the beach at Lyme)

This story is not quite finished yet. The blanket is being raffled to raise money for Studio Upstairs - a brilliant charity that provides a space for people with mental and emotional health difficulties to come together as a working community and express themselves and their talents. There are two studios - the original one in Bristol, and now one in London as well. They allow people access to materials and exhibition space as well, offering the potential for real careers in the arts world.

So... the blanket will be finding a new home soon. E secretly wishes she could keep it, but she hopes that whoever it goes to will love it as much as she does and everyone does who has contributed. It may not be a work of art, but it does represent a community - a community of people brought together through knitting. May the spirit of the blanket live on!

Flowers

Every week I visit Ellie I bring flowers....  It's now heading  towards September but I still to find her a little bunch each time. I have an almost perpetual supply of coloured raffia to bind them. We have also got transporting them down to a fine art with a large plastic clear pot full of life preserving water sitting in the cup holder of the car all the way to London.

Each week 

I bring you flowers from the garden

From home.

Snowdrops and posied primroses,

Shy cyclamen from underneath the rose tree

Sweet narcissi

Paper plum blossom

The blue brilliance of forget-me-nots

Faces of acquilegia

Your wig wammed sweet peas and

Clouds of 

Mother goethes white stars.

Sprays of white tree roses

The scented gold from outside your window

Stout ever forgiving valerian and orange day lilies

Silvered sage 

And playful catnip and lavender.

And the summer plantings of 

Cosmos, antirrhinum, zinnias ,dahlias

And giant daisies and lemon balm.

Tall Japanese and omens

Rattling statice

Fennel heads from the triangled patch

Seed pods and haws and 

The ivy that cements our stones

I bring myself each week.

Home always come to you

With love.

And the kittens are still growing

Moo and kosh continue to grow! The most amazing development is that Kirry is now having her face washed by Moo, and Kosh is continuing with her whole body rubs and wraps to greet Kirry and plays a batting game with her which doesn't end with Kirry rushing off in disgust! It's better than I ever could have expected as adult cats often really struggle to get on with new cats sharing their territory. Kirry has tolerated other cats in the past but LC was a struggle for her as she was jumped on unexpectedly and erratically bullied as she went in and out the cat flap. Despite being introduced to the smell of the kittens for 4 weeks before they arrived, and then their smell and sound for a week,  she was horrified when she actually saw them. So they are a beautiful trio and I feel hopeful for them living contentedly with each other.

The kittens are 12 weeks old tomorrow and have their final vaccination so we can think about them going outside in a fortnight or so. They are incredibly settled in the house - favourite places for sleeping are the warm spot on the wellies in the conservatory, the blue basket wherever it is, and on the bed between us... The cat activity centre I made them with a cardboard box isn't enticing but a red snake gifted to them from a friend at work, marbles and cotton reels and the bowls of shells and stones around the house keep them busy.

Kosh is still bigger than her brother and still has her wonderful 'chirrup.' She rushes around the house musically and purrs every time you talk to her. She spontaneously jumps on your knee and settles down these days.

Moo most enjoys batting and his favourite toy is still a tiny pretend mouse that now doesn't have a tail but still has its rattle. He also likes poking at some huge blue and silver marbles when you put them inside a box but they often end up stuck under the piano.

Ten pm is kitten banana-time and they go ballistic for an hour, and will run from one end of the house to the other, then roll about in play fighting until exhausted. I wonder how people manage to entertain a single kitten? These two certainly seem very happy with each others' company. 

They then actually sleep soundly on our bed or with Kirry under the window of our bedroom until 5.15 am. It's almost completely reliable that they start to play fight and bite our toes some time between 10 and 20 past 5 and at this point we have to shut them out of the bedroom to get a final hour or so' s sleep! 

And T had a birthday...

Birthdays have always been really special in our family and a chance to celebrate the person in good style! I have never completely understood the relaxed unpersonal approach to birthdays other families have. So we have had so many wonderful adventures and occasions over the years and this year, despite E not being able to join us in person we met up for a luxury picnic in a beautiful perfectly proportioned basket found in a second hand shop in bristol. it was filled with home made and bought goodies and we sat in the sun on the grounds of Wadham College Oxford, were entertained by the Merrry wives of Windsor http://www.oxfordshakespearecompany.co.uk/ then returned to T and Hs for a home cooked Indian and vast chocolate cake. The play was fun despite some misgivings about the modern hooded rap like interpretation of a couple of the characters, and the day good despite awful news for H on our return.

Pictures to follow!

Scilly Shells: A Tutorial

So, little M and I both found ourselves at 2 Coombe Cottages on Thursday - an impromptu and rare occurrence! A had mentioned something about sorting out her shells from the Scillies, so we did that in the conservatory as we caught up and chatted. They all looked very pretty when we'd finished... Of course, we were rather stupid, forgetting that we are sharing our house with two small kitten people, so the exercise had all been rather futile...

All our hard work wasted! At least the kittens looked happy.

Little M had to go home on Thursday evening, so it as a very short visit, but nice to see her all the same. 

On Friday, J and I decided to do something with the shells and that is what I am going to share with you all now. We didn't actually use these shells, but delved into A's stash of shells from years past (which is pretty extensive) to make a birthday present for S at J's work. Shell craft is usually A's forte, so J and I felt a little nervous at the prospect of potentially wasting her shells but we forged ahead anyway. This is what I'm going to share with you now.

This general technique can be used for lots of things - we've mostly used it for mirrors or photo frames, and have two huge A-made mirrors the bathroom at 2CC - but this time we decided to do as a sort of plaque.

So, first, you gather together your supplies. You need the thing you will be decorating, enough shells to cover it, water, polyfilla (or similar), knives for spreading, cloths for wiping up smears and a mind ready for creating!

The wood we were using was quite rough, so J started by smoothing it out with a wire brush.

We were then ready to start!

It's a good idea to have a rough plan in your head of where you want the shells to be placed because, once you've started, you have to work quite quickly. The polyfilla we had sets in about an hour - and for the last 10 minutes or so is pretty stiff to work with, so the shells are less likely to stick. Also, working in a pair, its's a good idea to plan so that you don't have arguments in that crucial stage where everything must be done fast!

Here was our very rough plan - we just thought about where our biggest shells would be and agreed we would fill in the gaps however we felt like, keeping it generally symmetrical.

Now, mix up the polyfilla. The general ratio is 2 parts powder to 1 part water, but there's no need to measure it very accurately. Make sure you use something that doesn't mind getting a bit mucky, and be ready to clean it out before it sets too hard. The consistency you want is fairly thick, but not so thick as butter, and without lumps as much as possible.

Now you spread it over your surface and start positioning your shells - couldn't be more simple! We started with the basic design we had mapped earlier...

...and then start filling in the gaps, bit...

...by bit...

This is all a matter of preference - the important thing is to keep going before the polyfilla dries! It's good to have a balance of colours, shapes and sizes, and it looks best with the least amount of white showing between the shells as possible. This means searching for little shells, like tiny yellow periwinkles, little top shells and other elusive treasures like cowries and wentle traps.

When the polyfilla gets stiff - stop! There's no point really ramming the shells in because they're more than likely to not stick properly and you can always add shells later (as we did) using glue (A told us super glue would've been better but we went for good old PVA). Now, leave it to dry properly. (At this point we went off for a walk.)

We went back and did the bit around the top of the plaque separately afterwards, and then left this to dry as well.

The last step is giving the whole thing a good varnish - we just used standard clear drying furniture/household varnish. Don't skip this step - varnishing the shells really brings outs their sheen, as though they are still wet from being washed up on the beach.

And there you have it - how to make a shell picture in a few easy steps! It's not as good as A's creations but for me and J it seemed good enough, and we just hope that S likes it. (I'm sure A would've done a better tutorial as well.)

A wonderful way of creating memories and using up shells and other bits and pieces that you collect on holiday - A also uses driftwood and sea washed glass but we didn't have any this time.

Beautiful shells, beautiful sunshine, beautiful outdoors.

x

Romance is alive and well....

The Scillies brought out the romance in our lives.... T and H walked off into the sunset along the flats of the campsite beach and M and J were a wonderfully sartorially elegant couple.

Home to cats

And now we are home again and the little cats are growing. Their names have stuck. Koshka ( Russian for cat) is the dark tortie with the wonderfully huge purr and heart warming chirrup, and Moo-sang (also meaning  a type of cat in Malay) is the little ginger boy who bats marbles and fluff with a hunting vengeance. They are learning to play gently with people, Kirry tolerates them most of the time and they scurry about the house happily when we are home. Very joyful!

Scilly Time 2013

Last week we were in Scilly, our traditional family holiday. What constitutes a tradition? Well, we have been going to St Martin's for twenty years, so I think that does. The very first year we stayed in the Julian's cottages opposite the Post Office General Stores in Higher Town, then had a year break and since then have been most years for a fortnight to St Martin's Campsite in Middle Town. That first year E was in a back pack and wanting to get out and toddle whenever she could, and T was walking, but with a buggy close behind so that those short tired legs could get a break. How big the island seemed, exploring with those restrictions! I don't think we ever made it to either end, and the longest expedition was over to Great Bay on the north east side (about 500 m), somewhere we routinely go for a swim before breakfast now.

Who came this year? Sixteen of us, assorted cousins and friends, two of whom are the current residents of 2CC and two of whom were "Scilly Virgins" as someone dubbed them.

Here we all are on the beach last Wednesday evening:

We don't habitually eat in this formal way on the beach, but on this occasion Little B had organised a celebratory meal,we had brought glad-rags with us, and then scavenged very successfully about the island. The table had once been a barn door, (it still had seven keyholes in), Sam's black suit came from the charity shop, as did the crystal pudding bowls and two of the champagne glasses. Most of the crockery came from the Reading Room, courtesy of Rod the postman and the charming table decorations and statuesque flower arrangements were from the dunes.

So what else did we do? We read (The Chaos Walking series, one of the Hunger Games and Far from the Tree for me) played Ticket to Ride ( and started to get a bit more sophisticated in its strategy), swam, sailed, kayaked (both round the island and to the Eastern Isles and Tresco), swam lots and TALKED. 

Birds creating an early morning sculpture from an inadequately hidden loaf.

Sosmix, a 15 year old friend of Jamie's (or several generations down?)

A  kayak resting at Great Bay on its way round St Martins.

And this is the traditional parting ceremony: a St Martin's Wave?

We often say it is the best holiday place on earth, and this year it wasn't difficult to remember why we think so. Natural beauty, the sea, good food, wonderful company, shell collecting, physical activity of all sorts, and this year SUN, which does improve all the rest. May we return many times.

Home .....

And here they are at home! Two new little cats for Coombe cottages. The only unhappy party at the moment is Kirry who is very suspicious of the chirrup noises, pattering of feet and smell of foreigners emanating from the family room. She will come around I'm sure and we are swapping scent, and associating it with food but we will just have to wait although I know she will ultimately cope OK. After all they can't be as bad as a wild Bengal.

The kittens have experimental names at the moment but I'm waiting for the human family to gravitate homeward before making final decisions. They seem to have settled immediately - the dark tortieshell is a very positive about people already and sticks her tail up and rubs in greeting, the little ginger is less positive but is trying to groom me and loves play. I have time off work to get to know them and to help Kirry cope. :) 

Kittens to cats...

Ginny, the stray ginger mum, and her four kittens have been doing amazingly well in her foster home with A and C . They have decided to give Ginny a  long term home, which is wonderful, and all the kittens have been claimed by prospective owners! They have been such a joy to watch.  They are emerging from the doddery uncoordinated phase to pouncing and climbing, and are now greeting with tails up and today we heard the first chirrup of excitement. We are still set to welcome two into our home and  we have been busily trying to get Kirry, our existing cat ready for this. As cats communicate through scent we have been 'scent swapping'. Blankets and rugs of Kirry's have come back to the house having spent a few days in the kittens nest. Initially Kirry wouldn't go near these, even when in her favourite spot on the bottom of our bed, but now she is less worried and will eat from her food bowl even when on a kitten smelling blanket!

No real names as yet but C has been calling the little ginger male Rupert and the dark tortieshell female Rosie.

June birthdays

The year is running away from me and here we are at the longest day.. The garden is at its height of fecundity so when I do get home without more work to finish I try and tame the jungle outside. So, little time for crafting. But the wonderful June birthdays at least make me sit down for a little while to go through my drawer of papers and create cards!

The green one is a print I made many many years ago on a wet day on st martins with an artist called Mandy who created amazing paper sculptures with findings from the windswept beaches. I have always wanted to emulate her one winters beach walk and will do so one day. The card and gift  of a tiny green handmade notebook is for Richard who spends his life tending trees and plants. 

The pink card is from recycled bits - a moshulu bag and Emma Bridgewater catalogue-  for my dear friend Caroline also with a notebook. This one a bought find of beautiful birch trees and line drawings. It is a wonderful time of year to have a birthday and I wish them both well. 

Introduction to Zentangles

Hello everybody! I wonder if there are any readers to this blog? If there are, please leave a comment and say hi!

Now, I've discovered a new way to "waste time." (I'm sure the zentangle community would crucify me for saying "wasting time!") I started doing general doodling a while ago, as a way to keep my mind occupied and whilst searching for inspiration online, I came across zentangles.

Source: craftthatchery

So, what is a Zentangle, and how does it differ from "just" doodling?

According to my Zentangle book, a Zentangle "turns drawings into artistic dsegin while reducing stress and focus. This relaxing process can be done anywhere and no 'artistic' talent is needed." (Sounds good to me - I can't draw to save my life!)

"Traditional zentangles...

A very simple process is part of every traditional Zentangle. 1) Make a dot in each corner of a paper tile with a pencil. Connect dots to form a basic frame. 2) Daw guideline 'strings' with the pencil. The shape can be a zigzag, swirl, X, circle of just about anything that divides the area into sections. It represents the 'golden thread' that connects all patterns and events that run through life. The lines will not be erased but become part of the design. 3) Use a black pen to draw Tangle patterns into the sections formed by the 'string.' 4) Rotate the paper tile as you fill each section with a pattern."

So, there you have it! There are "Tangles" in the book I bought, and there's a huge wealth of them online as well. And there's so much you can do with a Zentangle. You can make it into shapes...

source

And you can add colour...

source

As well as Tangling on different spaces/different media...

source

It's all pretty inspiring and exciting stuff! Needless to say, my own attempts are not anywhere near as good as any of the above. I will post some of mine, but I thought that in order to make this post at least somewhat pretty it was important to include some "proper" zentangles! My first attempt was this:

Not anywhere near as impressive as any of the others, but it was quite fun to do. At this point, I decided to buy myself some nice new black fine-line pens, and made some more attempts. Here are some of my later attempts:

Getting a little better, although I think the thing I really need to work on is shading... I'll leave you with one final Zentangle (I think it's technically "Zentangle Inspired Art" as it isn't a "tile") - this one is a card that I sent:

Hope anyone reading this has enjoyed the introduction the world of Zentangling! I may post some more in the future, so watch this space...

E