Books

Today I went looking for that Moomin book I said I was saving for a special occasion ; needing to escape a little from the here and now. So I went into town and bought books and Vogue Bambini ( for research) and embroidery thread. As I left the bookshop I heard this …a man, with a small boy of about 2 or 3 who wanted to go in to the bookshop, said ” you don’t want to go in there, it’s only full of books” ….my heart sank even further than it was already. Sometimes a good book is the only thing that saves me. I can’t imagine a childhood without books or stories…poor kid.

Well I posted some designs today so that means I can spend tonight doing something to put on Etsy, before starting another group of six. Today’s picture is a sketchbook page, I really must start using it more.

Time to light the fire now and snuggle down with my reading.

(Oh, don’t forget, if you’re in Newcastle this Saturday, Designers Marketplace is holding it’s latest event at the university there; actually, I might get the train up since the weekend is looking pretty empty so far!)

“Bless the Weather”

“Bless the weather that brought you to me
Curse the day you go away
Bless the weather that brought you to me
Curse the storm that takes you away” (John Martyn)

These two little chicks are my belated Mother’s Day present…apparently we’re going to get some new chickens to join Evil Penguin and the Other One ( who has no name but lays all the eggs). Funnily enough I was looking at these pipe cleaner chicks the other day and remembering how much I used to love them when I was small.

I also got these beautiful cards, made by my lovely babes ( the flower is a photo Sara took at college and Jake drew the hen). Handmade things are so much nicer and more special aren’t they.Thanks you two.

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For some reason I can’t type under the picture below.Why won’t it let me?Its a tiny canvas I made ages ago that says ” Just Keep on Dancing”.I’m going to try, but first I need to get this group of designs finished and posted.

Equinox

Here is the button box I bought today from the “Mind” shop.It is full of treasure…and some strange rubbish…I shall explore it’s depths later ( the best and tiniest buttons are always at the bottom.Don’t the orange and green look lovely against my transfer paint papers?

Yesterday Lyndsay and Carl came over for one of our tea, cake and catch-up sessions. We had to make an emergency trip to Helmesley for chocolate supplies and then did a quick  bit of still life drawing as well as  trampolining and talking to the ponies. It turns out that Sara Collins who was in our year at college has just got a design job in Australia, I’m so pleased for her and ever so slightly jealous..Congratulations Sara!

Meanwhile , just as we were wondering where all the jobs were Lyndsay’s phone rang and it was an agent offering her some work.Hurray! The sun has got his hat on and hopefully things are looking up.

This weekend is the Spring Equinox, one of the eight Sabbats , traditionally symbolized by the solar fire-wheel.Janet and Stewart Farrah’s book “Eight Sabbats for Witches”( Hale 1981) gives some interesting historical information on spring rituals, including the origins of Easter eggs, hot-cross buns and lucky Shamrocks. I’m just glad that the equinox means light nights and hopefully warmer days!

Horses

Annoyingly these horses looked much more lively and interesting from the wrong side of the embroidery. I like the way they look like quick sketches rather than the very neat finished design ( which I can’t show you for copyright reasons). I’ve just come in from the garden and my hands are stinging with cuts and scrapes and splinters, after getting carried away weeding the rhubarb patch and wrestling with the willow house.Its been such a beautiful day and the toads were back, making a lot of noise, as were the lapwings, wheeling about above the ploughed field behind the house. Who said the countryside was peaceful! It seems a shame to come indoors but I need to get some more work done because apparently it’s being sent to Japan in early April. Meanwhile a mysterious cable has been spotted on the moor…could this be the long awaited broadband slowly heading towards Witchmountain?!

Sap Rising…

It’s been a lovely day; I ventured outside and got my hands in the soil for the first time this year. The Curlews came back on the first of March and yesterday I saw my first lamb, so although it’s not warm it does feel like spring. The toads in the pond ( old butler’s sink) were certainly feeling full of the joys,so I expect there’ll be spawn next time I look.

I’m busy doing more designs for New Leaf; happy that I sold another piece in L.A. and finally got paid for the others that sold in November. When I sold a design through college (to “Calao”at Indigo ) it took over 6 months to get the cheque, so it seems important not to rely on a fast cash flow ( well it always flows fast in the wrong direction doesn’t it!).

Today I’ve also put a few more things in my Etsy shop. The cover of this book includes part of a drawing I did ages ago and some “Illustrator” butterflies that I made using Tom’s instructions! It also features buttons from the charity shop…who rang me and said I could have the whole tin after all.

The moon is big and I have lots to do so I’ll say goodbye for now.

“Wave to the Wattingers”

What on earth have I been doing for the past week? Time has flown by and I don’t seem to have achieved all that I wanted to ( I even ended up watching “In The Night Garden” with the children- none of us exactly the target audience!). Last night I helped to serve 100 cups of stewed tea and dodgy coffee at the Osmotherley Cider Event which was a great success.Giles Pinkney and Robert Thorniley-Walker continued their good natured battle for cider supremacy , the others didn’t stand a chance! I only wish I liked cider and didn’t associate it with underage drinking experiments on Runswick beach…

This apple brooch was something I made specially for the event and my cynical attempt at self-publicity worked because I had several nice comments and a couple of possible orders.This only goes to show that you should always carry business cards and if possible wear your own designs.

The blue in the background is something I’m working on for New Leaf so its time I switched this thing off and did some work. Before I do though I’m going to look at TinyHappy which has become one of my favorite blogs at the moment.

Keeping The Wolf From The Door

I went for a trawl around the charity shops today in search of interesting fabric and desperate for a book ( having read all but two Moomin books …the last two being saved for an emotional emergency as they are hot chocolate for my soul!) I found these beautiful old books with weird and obscure titles. Too expensive for my pocket money but aren’t the covers gorgeous? I love the faded colours on “Dick’s Dog” and the sailing boat… no sign of a dog though.

I came home with Inspector Morse ( not literally unfortunately!) and a handful of buttons and belt buckles which was all they’d let me take from a button tin I was hoping to buy and rummage through. I love old button boxes- they always smell funny and generally have one or two treasures hidden at the bottom.

I’m still making my little note books, the picture above is the latest, using a design I’ve showed you before, but this time printed on cotton and embroidered. At the moment I’m all over the place and not at all focused so I think I need to stick to one idea at a time , maybe books on Mondays, New Leaf Tuesdays etc.

I just got a couple of e-mails , one from Leanne Hodgson, mentioning a new blog for the “Venitia Red ” label .”Venitia Red” is a really interesting idea; a fashion label supporting new graduates and run as a community project. The other was a newsletter from Selvedge magazine which included a big advert for Helen Stevenson’s “Designers Marketplace”. The next event is in Newcastle on March 28th and should be well worth a visit.

Reading: Inspector Morse Omnibus by Colin Dexter

Listening to: Last Night a DJ Saved My Life

“Who Knows Where The Time Goes?”

Ahhhh! Look at this picture my brother sent me last week.It must have been taken in about 1972, judging by the collar on my dad’s shirt, his hair and me being about 4 or 5! How time flies, and I’m not sure my painting skills have improved all that much!

I’ve been adding a few more things to my Etsy shop and have entered some of them in tomorrows “Childrens” showcase; just to see if it makes any difference. The detail above is from a T-shirt with printed silk appliqué and embroidery.I had to test that it was washable because one of my fears is that everything I make may fall to bits as soon as I’ve sold it! ( It didn’t and they won’t so don’t worry)

Highlights of the weekend included the play “Busybody” which was very funny and starred the multi-talented Angela James. I also had a lovely afternoon of tea and Twix’s with Tom Hutchinson who showed me some Illustrator tricks and talked about life after graduation.He’s just set up a new website so take a look.

I still love this heat transfer on wool technique , I’m definately going to have to make some more of those little baby shoes using this fabric.

Now I must set my mind to doing a few more designs for New Leaf as I seem to have gone off on a tangent the last week or so.