Surprise!

  

I discovered yesterday that I have been nominated for the Versatile Blogger award by A Girl in Winter. Thank you so much. It is much appreciated and very unexpected.

The rules of the award are:

• Thank the person who gave you this award;
• Include a link to their blog;
• Next, select 15 bloggers that you follow regularly or have recently discovered;
• Nominate those bloggers for the Versatile blogger-award;
• Finally, tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself

Here are my nominations for the award, in no particular order -

Flossie Teacakes - she sews, quilts and creates patterns.She has inspired me to try making the Collette Beignet skirt, her version looks so elegant.

What's Up Cupcake - truly inspiring - she dances, plays the piano accordion, knits, crochets, sews and bakes the most delicious looking cakes. I am very jealous of her fabulous handmade wardrobe.

Rhymes with Magic - like me Heather is a Librarian. She is also an artist turning unwanted books into jewellery and sculptures. She also crochets and paints in watercolours.

Christen's Creations - Christen is an artist, designer, crafter and poet. She collects all sorts of treasures such as buttons, ribbons and fabric scraps and turns them into beautiful jewellery.

5 Precious Things - Ruthie is an artist, illustrator, sculptor and crafter. Her blog is full of beautiful images. She draws on the Scottish scenery around her home for inspiration.

Joanna's Blog - Joanna lives in Australia and produces the most amazing jewellery using bead needle weaving and bead embroidery.

Purple podded Peas - Celia hart is a designer, illustrator and printmaker. She also blogs about her beautiful garden

Bead Origami - Cindy Holsclaw is a jewellery designer and bead weaver and she also does origami. Her beautiful designs are based on geometry.

Patty the Snug Bug - Patty shows off her great sense of style on her blog and has created a beautiful wardrobe of handmade clothes. She has created very detailed and helpful sewing tutorials, she also knits.

Yes, I like that - sewing, art and design from a London based blogger. Beautiful sewing projects.


Non-plot Blog/Plot 50 - adventures in gardening and photography.

Did you make that? - inspirational knitting, sewing and crochet blog. Check out her beautiful vesrion of Colette's Sorbetto.

Beadizzy - Valerie uses beads, hand dyed threads and ribbons to create beautiful unique jewellery.

Moonlight and Hares - Alison is an artist, illustrator and woodcrafter. Her blog is full of stunning images of work and things that inspire her.

This is My Patch - not a needlecraft blog but contains glorious photos of gardening adventures. The images are a constant source of inspiration for me.

 And finally 7 things about me (I really struggled with this one!)-

1. When I was 9 years old I won a poetry competition. My poem was judged the best entry from the primary schools in my home city of Plymouth, in the 9 - 11 age group. My prize was a sewing box.
2. I love bluegrass and Appalachian music. Gillian Welch singing 'I am not afraid to die' always brings a lump to my throat.
3. I am addicted to chocolate in all of its forms, but my absolute favourite has to be Green and Black's Maya Gold.
4. My favourite film is 'Harvey'. (I think it would be great fun to have a 6ft 2 white rabbit as a friend!)
5. I suffer from claustrophobia. One of the worst experiences of my life was having an MRI scan in hospital recently. Sliding into that narrow metal tube was a total nightmare!
6. I studied French language and literature as part of my degree. I used to be a huge fan of the French film director Francois Truffaut.
7. I hold Level 1, Level 2, Level 2 Advanced and NCFE Level 3 certificates in Bead Needle Weaving. (That probably sounds like I am showing off but, by this point I had run out of things to say about myself!)

Well, that's me done for now. Thanks again to a 'Girl In Winter' for the award.

Brockenhurst

I had intended to update my blog at least once a week, but as usual real life intervened. We unfortunately had a family bereavement. Then I had an arthritis flare-up, possibly as a reaction to stress. So a few weeks have passed since my last post. I haven't done much sewing, knitting or beading, as the pain has made it difficult to sit for any length of time. However I have been gathering ideas and planning projects.

This Saturday we took a drive into the New Forest. Every April the New Forest Needlework Fiesta is held in Brockenhurst in the New Forest National Park. I haven't been to it for three years so OH kindly offered to take me to Brockenhurst, despite heavy rain and gale force winds.

The show is mainly aimed at embroiderers, which I am not, but it usually has at least one bead supplier exhibiting. We got to Brockenhusrt Village Hall around midday. It was busy but thankfully not too crowded.

There were lots of threads and fabric paints for sale. The clours were stunning.

And of course there was a bead stall. The lovely Fran from Crumpets Farm was selling gorgeous seed beads and Swarovski crystals.

I bought some ribbons and threads and one pack of beads. I will explain more about my plans for using them in my next blog entry.

Horses and cattle roam freely in the New Forest and OH spotted these cattle going for a stroll through the centre of Brockenhurst. Many people have installed cattle grids at the entrance to their driveways in a bid to protect their gardens.

We had a good day despite the appalling weather. I am hoping that I will be able to create some jewellery with my purchases. More details in my next post.

Devon, Glorious Devon!

I haven't had a chance to do any sewing or beading today as we went to Devon to see my family. We met up with my Mum and Brother in Topsham, just outside of Exeter. Both of us were born in Devon and we lived in Exeter for 13 years, so in a strange way it felt a little bit like coming home.

We had lunch in the Lighter Inn, one of our favourite haunts when we lived in Exeter. Then had a walk around. So little has changed since we moved away nearly ten years ago.

This sign has always amused me. The streets are so narrow only a lunatic would try to drive a car up here never mind a LGV!!


It was a beautiful day, if a little blustery and chilly. The scenery is stunning wherever you go in Topsham.



After a few pleasant hours in Topsham we went to Exmouth to visit 'A la Ronde', a stunning sixteen sided house, owned by the national Trust. We met a small furry friend near the entrance, who was basking in the sun.





The house was built for two cousins in 1790 to house the large number of items they brought back from a 'Grand Tour'. It has sixteen sides to make the most of natural light. Both cousins were prolific and skilled needlewomen (the house is full of their beautiful work). They would move from room to room as the day progressed, in order to make the most of every bit of precious daylight.

They were highly unusual for women of their time in that they were totally independent. When they died they stipulated in their will that the house should only be passed down though the female family line rather than the male. It is full of lots of beautiful and unusual things collected on their travels. The most famous of which is the 'Shell Gallery' which runs around the top of the house. Unfortunately it is so fragile that visitors are no longer allowed to enter it. You have to view it via remote cameras and computer screens. You can move around and zoom in from all angles.

If you are ever in the Exeter or Exmouth area I would highly recommend a visit.