A new charm

I have been on leave this week and so far it has been a strange mixture of stress and relaxation. The stress was caused by a visit to my Dentist on Tuesday only to be told that one of my wisdom teeth needs to be extracted. She assures me that it should be straightforward to take out. Apparently upper wisdom teeth are much easier to extract than lower ones and luckily this is an upper one. So I have an appointment in two weeks time to have it pulled. I have a really good dentist and I trust her completely but I am a bit stressed out about it.

The rest of my break has been quite relaxing. Monday was a really beautiful day so we decided to go for a walk. We are very lucky to have a great deal of green space in Bournemouth. The Gardens run through the centre of Bournemouth, for about 5 miles down to the sea. We joined the Gardens in Westbourne and walked down to the centre of Bournemouth. It is a beautiful tranquil space filled with a wide variety of trees and shrubs, including some beautiful Sequoia. This is what the Upper gardens looked like on Monday afternoon.



Below is a picture of the Upper Gardens taken this afternoon (Thursday) by Nick Beck for the Bournemouth Echo. This morning we had a freak storm. At 11 am it was so dark that we had to turn on our living room lights and there was a violent thunder storm raging overhead. Over two inches of rain fell in less than two hours. The result was flash floods, which caused havoc in the centre of Bournemouth and Poole. Shops and houses were flooded, roads blocked and traffic in both areas ground to a complete standstill. Luckily we were not affected directly by the floods, but the car park at the back of our flats was ankle deep in water for a while. Sadly it meant that the first day of the Bournemouth Air Festival had to be cancelled. The forecast for tomorrow is much better, so hopefully the rest of the planned events will still go ahead.



On the beading front I have completed another charm for my bracelet. I created a peyote tube and then embellished it with size 15 seed beads and 2mm Swarovski crystals. I glued sterling silver grommets onto the sides of the bead to give it more stability.





Finally I attached a tiny Swarovski crystal heart charm. I have had this in my stash for a while. I bought it at a bead show without really knowing what I was going to use it for. It was in the 'bargain basket' on a stall, and I have never been able to resist sifting through reduced price beads. You never know what treasures you might find.

For me it symbolises two things. The first is a resolution that I have made to try to improve my general health and well being. Unfortunately I can't do anything about my arthritis, but I can try to take regular exercise and eat well, to ensure that my body is as strong as I can make it. Hopefully that will make coping with this auto-immune disease a bit easier. The second is to symbolise the love and support that I have received from my friends and family. I will talk about this a bit more in my next post in my other blog Arthropy. But this last twelve moths would have been virtually impossible to bear without their constant love and support.

And finally I have also been working on my butterfly necklace. I have embellished the bezel and added some beaded dangles to the bottom of the pendant.



The next stage will be to create a beaded rope and a bail. I will ashow you more pictures and describe how I created the necklace, in more detail, in my next post.

Update

Just a quick update. A while ago I wrote about my plans to create a beaded charm bracelet to record my progress in coping with the recent changes in my life. Well, I have made the first charm. It is fairly plain but for me symbolises the start of my journey. Not trying to take on too much at once. Hence the simplicity of the design.

Also as part of my coping strategy I have started another blog, simply called Arthropy (see the link to the left). In it I try to explain what coping with a chronic illness means to me. I have been having some counselling recently and the counsellor suggested that I might want to record my thoughts in some way. I agonised for quite a long time as to whether to keep the blog private. In the end inspired by 'Stitched Together' and 'A Girl in Winter' I decided to make it public in case it might help someone else in my situation. After all, you don't have to read it if you don't want to.






Finally I have been experimenting with using 'found objects' in my bead work. This butterfly is actually sold for scrap booking but I thought that I would see if it worked as a pendant. I will tell you more about it and post some more pictures in future posts. So far I think that it looks really good and would make a great centrepiece for a Victorian inspired necklace.

Time Off

I have been on holiday for a few weeks and so I am afraid that this blog has been sadly neglected. It has been really good to have some time off and we managed to pack in quite a lot. The first day of my leave was taken up with collecting OH's new car and then taking her for a bit of a run up to Shaftesbury. It it really strange having our own transport after many years of having to rely on public transport, but it certainly gives us more flexibility and independence.

We also managed to fit in another trip up to London. It was a bit of a spur of the moment thing. Several weeks ago I had tried without success to get hold of tickets for the Cult of Beauty exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum. As time was running out (it finished on 17th July) I decided to make another attempt, and was successful. Whilst having coffee with a friend she reminded me that that was the same weekend as Knit Nation at Imperial College. As the V&A and Imperial College are right next to each other I decided to try to take in both on the same day. As it turns out it was a very exhausting day, it was very hot and humid and extremely wet. It rained solidly until mid afternoon.

The exhibition was interesting and full of beautiful things. Exhibits included 'Veronica Veronese' by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (see the image below), silverware by Christopher Dresser, Arts and Crafts dresses, William de Morgan tiles, William Morris hand painted furniture and a whole host of Pre-Raphaelite paintings.



The exhibition was well worth the trip and the discomfort. I am not sure that the same could be said for Knit Nation. I went to it last year with 'A Girl in Winter' and we had a good time. This time I felt that there were not as many vendors and was also disappointed that Wollemeise were not attending. I did however pick up a skein of Wollemeise sock yarn from the Loop stall. It is really hard to get hold of so I took the opportunity to buy some. I understand that lots of people tweeted to say how wonderful Knit Nation was this year, so I may be alone in my opinion. However I am certainly glad that I did not make a special trip just for that alone.

Another highlight was a trip to Sandle Cottage, near Fordingbridge, which was open as part of the National Gardens Scheme. It was a lovely tranquil spot with lots of interesting plants. We then drove home through the New Forest.



I have not been idle on the beading front during my time off. I was working on a necklace as my entry in the Stitch and Craft Swarovski Charm Challenge. the idea was that you were sent a Swarovski bead every month and had to create a charm with it. You then had to put all twelve elements together to make a necklace. I am afraid to say that I sadly was not able to complete my necklace in time. I was hoping that I could spend the whole of Friday putting the necklace together. However the tingling and pain in my right hand just got too much and I had to admit defeat. I will continue with the necklace and hopefully post pictures of it in future posts.

I am a bit upset and annoyed with myself that I could not finish in time. However, I enjoyed making the charms and I have come up with some new ideas for jewellery to make in the future. Here are three of the charms -

A ring bead with a sprig of leaves and flowers attached to it.


A large crystal triangle rivoli. I created a bezel around it using delica beads and size 15 seed beads. I then embellished it with circular netting.


A 27 mm crystal button bezelled with delica beads and size 15 seed beads, topped with flat circular herringbone and then embellished with netting.

Shopping

Just a short update. Quite a lot has happened since my last post. I have been struggling a bit with my arthritis, but happily that seems to be improving at the moment. I have also been experimenting with my sewing and beading. I am not ready to share at the moment, perhaps in future posts.

This was a short week for me as I had annual leave from work on Thursday and Friday. Thursday was spent in London. While I was there I visited VV Rouleaux near Sloane Square. I must admit that I was completely overwhelmed by the range of ribbons, braids and other lovely things. I bought some pieces of ribbon plus a vintage butterfly clip, a carved bone pendant and some turk's head knots made from strips of leather. In fact while we were in the shop one of the staff was giving a customer a masterclass in tying the knots. I found it fascinating. They have a really good web site but there is no substitute for actually visiting the shop. If you are ever in the Sloane Square/Kings Road area of London I would highly recommend it.

Friday began with another visit to Poole Hospital Physiotherapy Unit. The latest course of treatment has meant attending once a week for the last 6 weeks. The good news is that I have been discharged for the time being. I have nothing but praise for the staff there but I was very glad to leave on Friday morning. Unfortunately I doubt that is the last time that I will see them.

Finally this afternoon saw a shopping trip with a difference. Those of you who read my blog regularly will know that shopping is normally one of my least favourite activities. However this trip was very exciting. This is what we bought.


A shiny, Lightening Blue, almost new (the word used by the Mini dealership is 'Cherished'), Mini Cooper. We are due to collect it next Saturday. We have managed for a long time without a car. However, the time finally has come to change that. It will give us more independence, make it easier for my OH to go to the allotment and for us to visit my family in Devon.

Inspiration is everywhere

It is amazing what we experience during the course of just one day, we are constantly bombarded by sights, sounds and sensations. Often ideas come to me, as I go about my normal working day. A shape, texture or snatch of music will stimulate an idea. I have not been feeling too great today, probably a combination of an arthritis flair up and the medication that I am having to take to counteract it. I have still been having ideas, despite struggling to function. For example an idea popped into my head this afternoon about how to incorporate vintage buttons into a bracelet. I have found that on days like these the best plan of action is to write these flashes of inspiration down as soon as I can, before I forget them.

I hit a bit of a brick wall about 6 months ago where my beading is concerned. I am not really sure why it happened. For the last 5 years I have been completely absorbed by it but perhaps I just needed to take a break and recharge my batteries. I think that I am now working through the beaders' block and hopefully coming out the other side. Going back to my opening sentence - I have so many ideas buzzing around in my head that it would take several lifetimes to realise all of them. On days like today when just navigating my way through the working day takes all of my energy, writing my ideas down is the best plan of action. It also means that when I have a bad patch with my beading I can browse through my notes and ideas and see where it takes me. (Sorry if I am rambling, but as I said earlier - very bad day!).

During my City & Guilds and NCFE beading courses I got into the habit of keeping a beading journal. I now have a small collection of sketch books. I have found it a great comfort looking through them over the last few months. Even if I have lacked the energy to actually make much I have at least been keeping my mind ticking over.





I also have a couple of large lever arch files full of beaded samples with scribbled notes and instructions. These have proved absolutely invaluable.


I would definitely encourage you to start a creative journal, whatever your chosen craft. I don't profess to be an expert and there are many books available on creating and keeping journals. However here, for what they are worth, are my tips for keeping one -

• Buy a number of inexpensive journals or sketchbooks. I find the Daler Rowney range really useful as they come in a range of sizes and the paper is robust enough to cope with paint, marker pens and glue.

• If you find a blank white page daunting then colour it with a pale watercolour wash or diluted ink.

• Write in your journal or notebook regularly. It will soon become a habit. It doesn't matter if you think that you cannot draw. Don't worry about being neat, no-one else has to see it.

• Collect items which inspire you - postcards, magazine cuttings, scraps of fabric, dried flowers and leaves, feathers - whatever takes your fancy.

• If you are frightened of using colour in your work, use your notebook or journal to experiment. Get some magazines (garden and interiors magazines are good for this) and tear pieces out, then create a collage. See what works and what doesn't. Very few people have an instinctive way with colour. We all see colour differently, good use of colour come with practice and trial and error.

• If you make something write down instructions and the exact details of your materials before you forget them. Then, if you need to recreate a piece you have all of the information in one place. I have been extremely thankful on a number of occasions that I have done this.

• Finally - have fun. Who knows where it might lead!

I honestly couldn't have got through the last few months without the support from my family and friends. It was 'A Girl in Winter's Birthday today and I decide to make her a bag to say 'Thank You'. A couple of years ago, at the Knitting & Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace we bought an Anne-Marie Horner bag pattern, splitting the cost between us. The idea was that we would each make a version of the bag. For various reasons that simply did not happen and the pattern has lurked in my stash since then. I recently came across it and decided to make it for her as a surprise.



For those of you who are interested, the pattern is 'The Multitasker Tote' and the fabrics are Amy Butler's Daisy Bouquet in 'Misty' for the handles, side pockets and lining and Sweet Jasmine in 'Gray' for the main outside panels. I was a bit worried about my fabric choices. I ordered the fabric online and when it arrived, as often happens, it was not quite what I was expecting. However they are definitely 'A Girl in Winter's favourite colours so I hoped that it would be OK. As it turned out she loved it.

The pattern was easy and fun to make. It is not a pattern for a complete beginner, but would suit an intermediate sewer. I have made a number of bags and I have to say that I found the instructions mystifying on a first read through. My advice would be to simply follow the instructions to the letter and everything will fall into place. The construction is really ingenious.

I made the following modifications to the pattern -

• The finished bag is quite large, and as I was using quilting weight fabric I was worried that it would be too floppy and not robust enough. Therefore I attached medium weight fusible interfacing to the pocket panels and lining and fusible fleece onto the external panels. This gave the finished tote just enough substance and strength.

• I used a double layer of fabric for the interior pocket (instead of the single layer in the instructions) for the same reasons as above - to give it strength.

• I added a magnetic snap to the upper edge of the tote, to make it more secure and to prevent the top edge gaping open.

I was very pleased with the finished bag. OH remarked that the fabric reminded him of a 1950s apron, which was exactly the look I was aiming for. I would definitely like to make myself one. The only problem is going to be deciding which fabric to use.

Rainy Sunday

The weather was appalling today, gale force winds and torrential rain. It has been unusually dry in the South of England this Spring and some of us have been secretly hoping for a good downpour of rain to soak the parched gardens and freshen everything up. Well today we got our wish and more than we bargained for. I had arranged to meet a couple of friends at the Pavilion in the centre of Bournemouth, as there was a Vintage Fashion Fair being held there. So I ventured out in the driving rain to meet them.

Unfortunately one of my friends had to cancel at the last minute, but I did meet up with 'A Girl in Winter'. I am glad that I made the effort, as despite the weather as it was really fun. It was being held in the ballroom which has some lovely period features such as the Art Deco wall lights. Despite the foul weather outside the atmosphere was very warm and welcoming.





There was so much on offer - vintage clothing, shoes, hats, bags, jewellery, buttons, textiles, knitting and sewing patterns. I bought some vintage celluloid buttons and some buckles. I have an idea for incorporating them into my bead work. I will put pictures and further details here on my blog, if my ideas work out. There were some beautiful clothes if you have the confidence and the figure to wear them. I found a beautiful blue felt cloche hat which really suited me and an immaculate beaded bag, complete with a small mirror in a case. Sadly both were outside my budget. However, I could not resist buying a vintage Vogue Knitting magazine. It doesn't have a date on it but I am guessing from the photographs that it is from the early to mid 1950s.



I am not sure that I would ever knit the beaded halter neck top in the 'Evening Glamour' section.


But, there are many really timeless designs (well, we are talking about Vogue after all!) and I could definitely see myself knitting and wearing some of the sweaters in the future.


You can't really see it in this picture (I don't have a scanner at home so had to resort to my digital camera for these shots) but this cardigan is knitted in a interesting textured stitch, rather like basket weave.

Part of the fun of reading period magazines is looking at the adverts. It gives you a glimpse of what everyday life was like at the time. I particularly love this one for the Rallie Health Belt which promises you a more slender and youthful figure if you wear it for 5 minutes a day. Oh if only it was that simple!



'A Girl in Winter' bought some lovely buttons and some beautiful vintage embroidered cloths, possibly to make into cushions. Then it was out into the pouring rain to walk, to a nearby Costa, for some hot drinks to warm us up and a bit of a natter. Although we both work in the same office things have been so hectic over the last week that we have hardly had time to talk to each other. It was nice to catch up.

Vintage Market

Last Saturday I went to the Boscombe Vintage Market with two of my friends. Both K and M (aka A Girl in Winter) had been before but I had not. My reason for going was twofold - I am always interested in vintage or antiques fairs, but more importantly M and I wanted to look at it with a view of having a stall in the future. For some time we have been talking about trying to sell our crafts online. We are considering setting up an Etsy or Folksy shop. M knits, crochets, makes cards and does cross stitch; I knit, sew and make beaded jewellery. I was really impressed with the Vintage Market. It has only been in existence for 4 months but I was bowled over by the sheer quality and diversity of the good being sold. It was extremely busy and there was a very warm and friendly atmosphere.

It was heartwarming to experience this as, you see, Boscombe has a reputation for being a tough area of Bournemouth. There have been attempts recently to redevelop and rejuvenate the area. It was hoped that the artificial surf reef would attract more visitors and money has been spent on Boscombe Gardens, refurbishing the pier and building new apartments on the seafront.

After a couple of hours exploring the Market we went to a local restaurant, Bosconova, for some lunch and to discuss what we had seen. After much consideration we have decided to rent a stall and see what happens. Life is too short for regrets and we both feel that we ought to try it once and see what happens. Hopefully we will be successful and sell enough to cover the cost of the stall. If not then we will set up an Etsy shop to sell our craft work. I personally feel that I want to take the chance or I will always regret it and wonder what would have happened. Who knows where it will lead!



The lovely things bought at Boscombe Vintage Market - two Liberty fabric remnants, a couple of vintage brooches, a handmade felt and bead dragonfly brooch, some purse frames and some lovely beads.


I couldn't resist this dragonfly. The designer Meninafeliz had a selection of hand embroidered butterflies, dragonflies and birds for sale as well as some beautiful flowers made from paper.



Another stallholder was selling vintage clothes and jewellery. Again I was drawn to a dragonfly brooch (do you sense a theme emerging here!).



There was someone selling beautiful beaded jewellery. She had large glass dishes full of loose beads on her stall. I was immediately attracted to them, they looked so pretty sitting there. I chatted to the stallholder and she told me that she was taking a bead needle weaving course herself and that she was addicted to beads. I had found a kindred spirit! In fact all of the stallholders were very friendly and only too happy to talk to us about their items and how they were made. The whole day was very inspiring and uplifting. I honestly did not realise that there were so many creative and generous spirited people in my local area. Plus I got to spend some quality time with two wonderful friends. What more could I ask!



Finally inspiration for all you men out there. My OH is constantly losing buttons from his shirts. I have to admit that mending and sewing buttons on are not high up on my list of favourite activities. In desperation last year the poor man asked me to teach him how to sew the buttons on, if I was not willing to do it for him. I happily got my sewing box and spent half an hour teaching him the basics. Last Sunday he asked me for a needle and thread and then proceeded to replace some missing buttons on one of his shirts. I felt a little bit bad for not doing it for him, but also very proud of him too!