Evening Bag and Tweets

Back in January I downloaded instructions for a bag by Angie Hughes and this week I spent a little time making it.  The base is black cotton velvet with bling added including Angelina fibres, painted Bondaweb and bright fabrics.  All these were overlaid with organza and stitched to within an inch of it's life.  I then beaded and finished it off.  I'm quite pleased with it myself and can see me making a few more with an alteration or two.

The My Tweets blocks are all now finished!  I know they are a little late as it finished in December but I was really struggling with the boredom factor with these!! 9 - 12 below.

All there is to do with them now is wash them and hope none of the pieces float away, size them up and decide how I'm going to finish the top itself.

Whilst rooting around in a cupboard I found this untouched box of inks waiting to be rediscovered.  I love using dip pens so perhaps this is a hint to dig out the nibs again, and perhaps a brush or two.

I have also raided the shredder and made some paper today à la DMTV. I even added some paint to tint a couple of the sheets.  They are now drying so will have to wait for the photos of that!

While I was having a wonderful time finishing this and that poor John had the task of moving two tipper truck loads of logs. The truck can only come halfway up the property and John has to move them the rest of the way to the woodshed with the trailer (sometimes we are lucky to rope in a son or daughter!).  Even that many only half filled the bay behind him but they won't be used for about three or four years anyway so I expect they could be added to.  The middle bay is what we have been using this year and the nearest one is next in line.  They joys of being lucky enough to have two rather large wood burners have to be earned and John will be the first in front of one of the fires tonight with his very deserving whiskey!

Have a wonderful weekend!

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Recovery

Phew, what a weird week I've had!  I wasn't feeling well as you know from the last post, but it has taken all this time to be able to do something simple like walk up to the top of the garden and back without having to sit for ten minutes in the G&T hut. Not sure what it was but hopefully it's gone now.

I had managed to put together this play quilt for a baby.

But seeing as he hasn't actually arrived yet (due this week) I thought I'd better put in a fleece cuddle blanket and some matching burp cloths for a new born.  They are so quick to make and lovely and soft.

When I've had the energy I've done a little tidying and actually managed to clear the space in front of the door that goes out from my studio into the little courtyard.  In the winter the door is not used so it attracts all sorts of things that can just sit there for a while.  I remember once hearing someone say that if you put a newspaper down on a surface before long other things are attracted to it and you end up with a little pile of bits around it.  I have seen this happen!  Good job we don't have papers any more.

Not too much on for us this week so perhaps some pottering in the garden in between the pup training.  It's so tempting to start the garden too early when the weather is this lovely.  Two years ago we had a glorious March and snow in April and we lost so much fruit blossom.  I'm sure the garden centres are rubbing their hands together in glee at the thought of all the things they have to sell twice. The tomato plants can stay in the house until I can put them out in the greenhouse next month.

I hope your week is full of things you want to do.

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Air Ambulance E Petition

I've not been feeling too well since Sunday.  I've had something strange that's knocked the wind out of my sails.  At the moment I'm struggling to stay upright for too long but each day is a little better.

It's at times like this that you consider what may happen.  On Sunday I passed out but luckily for me, and John, Elsa was there to help.  But what if it had been more?

Recently a certain little Hobbit at Bag End reminded me of how lucky we are to have the Air Ambulance.  When you live a rural life even popping out for a pint of milk is something that takes a little more thought.  We see our Dorset air ambulance fairly regularly.  A double edged sword.  We are grateful it's there but usually doing a job we'd rather not think about perhaps.

Please go to http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/29349 and sign the e-Petition to help this charity save some of its money on fuel VAT.  Like the RNLI it is totally funded by donations, not by the government.

I have a quiet day ahead planned apart from Ruger's hydrotherapy for his knee, but right now I have to rescue Brian the gardener from a certain pup who is overjoyed he is turning out the compost bins and revealing all things gooey and smelly.  It could be bath time again later too.

Can a Girl Really Have Too Many?

I think I many have over estimated how many 132 foam brushes are.

I had bought a few crafting versions of these to do the Flora Bowley class with but they soon wore through so I found these on line at a fraction of the cost.  Probably because they didn't have the word 'craft' in the description.  Anyway, I think I won't have to worry about buying more for quite some time!

We've had a few really beautiful afternoons here, a little misty in the mornings but clearing by lunchtime and turning into glorious evenings.  Ruger has been on rest with his cruciate injury but he has been going a little stir crazy at home or on the lead.  We took them on a gentle walk along the drove road behind the house to see how he would be.  Slowing down a Pointer is a bit like slowing the tide but it wasn't too bad!

Of course he had his partner in crime with him all the way!

In the distance you can just see that they have been stripping out the hedges.  I would have thought March was a little late in the season as the birds are beginning to nest.  It is nice seeing the laying coming together though.

We disturbed this herd of Roe deer who disappeared off into the next valley.

The grass is always greener.  Especially when those two brown dots in the other field are hares wisely going in the other direction.

Ellie is very good at making sure we are never too far away.  She's growing so fast too, now 4 months old.

 I hope the weather is good for you too, have a great week!

The Need to Bead

Last week I had a little bit of a tidy up in the studio.  (Yes, I know I had a hangup about calling it a studio before but I'm over that now.  It's a place to create and I do create things.)  After all that time making things for the City & Guilds, I was almost sad to see it all being put away.  The enormous feeling of relief soon outweighed that though!  I passed very happily with distinctions right through.  If you would like to see some of my work it is on the Design Matters student gallery here.  I must say I was quite scared of what photos Laura would post!  I think she has been very kind.

Well with no creative deadline to drive me around the bend and all the tidying done I have totally obliterated all work surfaces with 'stuff'.  I've been chopping and changing what I'm doing and actually quite enjoying it.  I found a project basket with some beads in that I had stashed.  In the bottom were some fabulous cabochons I had been picking up here and there.  There may be a project in mind but it's usually a case of just having to own and handle some of these things!!

Fossils...

Agates...

Jaspers and a little turquoise and bronze...

And I have been beading a little with a rather lovely bead made by glass artist Manuela Wutschke.

You can just see the depth of the iridescence inside.

I'm liking the Blogger reply in the comments!  I't nice to reply directly to you.  I know I chatted to a lot of you through email before but it always looks as though you've been ignored on the blog, and there are a few of you with no reply so at least you have one now!

I had the very exciting job of re measuring my tailors dummy the other day.  The diet is going quite well and there are a few inches missing now.  I felt quite smug actually.

The hazels are all out in the garden dripping their catkins, and their pollen.  There are not many things that  I have a reaction to but it seems over the past few years catkin pollen is one of them.  I'll just keep the pills handy.

The rugby is about to start for the rest of the day.  Have a fabulous weekend!

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Bereft!

I have just clicked 'send' to Laura with my last module of the City & Guilds.

I was full of needing to to other things a couple of weeks ago and was going to put the C&G aside and do them, then I had a change of heart.  If I carried on with them, the C&G folder would still be there, on the corner of my desk, glaring at me.  A feeling I have been almost dreading each time I picked something up that wasn't anything to do with it.  I girded my loins and hit the last couple of modules hard.

I think (hope) I succeeded.

Now just to wait on the results of 17 months of course work, mostly thoroughly enjoyable, but sometimes frustrating in being there when other things needed doing.  Not the course's fault!! I'm just not of the natural scholarly type and tend to buck the traces now and then.

Now that list of things needing doing.....

Totally out of reach and inaccessible in my head.

I can't think of anything that was on it!

Good job I have it written down in a notebook.

Somewhere.

It can wait.

A glass of celebratory wine calls.

Now did I cover everything that needed doing..........?


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