Take a break

I am in a melancholy mood at the moment. Life seems to consist mainly of sleep and work and so I am reluctantly taking a break from updating this blog at the moment. There is just too much going on in my life, some not particularly fun things. I am hoping to start again at the beginning of December in a much happier frame of mind.

Grand days out

The past few weeks have gone past in a blur. I have been so busy that I haven't had time to update this blog. Work is hectic as always, with lots of teaching to plan and deliver. However I have been busy with fun things too. On 4th October I attended a 'Vibrant Velvet' workshop run at Walford Mill by Jane Venables, a very talented textile artist. I have experimented with dyeing cloth in the past but sadly don't have the space at the moment to do it. As soon as I saw the course advertised I knew that I wanted to attend. I have read several of Jane's books so jumped at the chance to be taught by her.

Getting to the venue in Wimborne meant that I had to get up quite early. I woke up at 6:00 am with butterflies in my stomach - excitement and nerves combined. When I arrived I was welcomed by Jane who then proceeded to show us some of her stunning work. Her technique involves painting dye directly onto the back of the velvet using a large brush - very similar to painting in watercolours. Because the velvet is dry, and the dyes are very runny it starts to spread and the trick is to paint quickly so that you have some control over it. I couldn't wait to get started.

I was the only complete beginner there. Everyone else immediately set to work and produced stunning works of art. To my embarrassment mine resembled the daubings of a three year old. Jane was very supportive and gave me lots of encouraging advice. So, undaunted I embarked on my first scarf length. Part of the joy of this technique is that you really are not sure how it will look until you are finished and can turn it over. To my immense relief the design of red tulips on a dark background looked quite nice. My next attempt was going really well until I accidentally dropped dye where I shouldn't have. I then had a go at creating my own devore using fibre-etch fluid. This was a bit of a disaster and will probably be relegated to the back of a drawer. I have one length of velvet which can be made into a scarf and one piece which will be used for my beadwork. I also ended up walking around with blue hands for a couple of days after picking up a piece of velvet which wasn't completely dry. The next day I got some very strange looks from the woman on the supermarket checkout. I wonder what she thought I had been up to! Despite my lack of artistic talent I thoroughly enjoyed my day and have signed up for the next one day workshop in June.

My feeble attempts at painting silk velvet

Last Saturday I went to the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace with my long suffering OH and three friends - M, P & K. I have been to the show before but none of the girls had so I was interested to see their reaction. It involved a very early start. I am used to getting up at 6:00 am but even I struggled to get out of bed before 5:00!! Once on the coach my OH discovered that, apart from the driver he was the only man amongst 35 women. Brave soul! I think that everyone had a good time. M gives a very funny account of the day on her blog 'Knitting Keeps Me Sane'. The highlights of my day were meeting Nicky Epstein, seeing the work of Takako Sako and the looks of complete wonder on my friends' faces when they entered the Great Hall for the first time. I bought a copy of Nicky's new book 'Knitting On Top of the World'. She was there at the show that afternoon and signed my copy. It was a real privilege to meet such a talented person. I rounded off the day by buying some gorgeous hand dyed sock yarn and a scarf pin. Then it was home again on the coach, happy but very exhausted.

Alexandra Palace (affectionately known as 'Ally Pally') in North London

Full sized kimono by Takako Sako - it contains over 180 colours and more than 2,000,000 beads

Scarf pin from Purlescence

Cherry Tree Hill 'Supersock' and Hand Maiden 'Casbah'.

Life's ups and downs

Life is a bit hectic at the moment. The beginning of the new University term is looming so I am spending my time preparing for the Autumn round of teaching. Last Saturday was a welcome break from this. I attended the inaugural meeting of the Priory Beaders. There are 20 members so far and we meet in Stanpit Village Hall on the outskirts of Christchurch. It is a lovely venue with great views across Christchurch Harbour towards Hengistbury Head. The Beadworkers' Guild are celebrating their 10 anniversary in 2009 and to mark this occaision they have asked each of their members to make a beaded bead. These will then be made into a giant necklace, with the aim of getting into the Guiness Book of Records for the longest necklace in the world. It will subsequently be auctioned for charity. As most of the Priory Beaders are members of the Beadworkers' Guild we decided to spend our first day together making beaded beads. For those of you who are wondering beaded beads are just that - beads made out of smaller beads. They can be hollow or have a wooden core. You can see some superb examples on the BeAdfinitum web site created by Gwen Fisher and Florence Turnour. I am in complete awe of their talent.

Some of my beaded beads

The weekend was also spent knitting a second Marsan Watch Cap for my Other Half. He liked the first one so much that he asked for another. I used differnt yarn this time and to my utter frustration it has turned our shorter than the first one. I will now have to partially unravel it and reknit it. Grrr!!


Spurred on by my good friend 'A Girl in Winter' I have cast on for the February Lady Sweater featured on Ravelry. It has an intriguing structure in that it is knitted in one piece from the top down. This has the advantage that you can try it on at any point to check the fit. I will let you know how I get on.


Finally after a lovely, relaxing weekend disaster stuck. On Sunday evening I bit into an oatcake and broke a large chunk off one of my teeth. It just goes to show that eating low fat food really isn't good for you. I am sure that it wouldn't have happened if I had been eating a chocolate digestive! After an emergency visit to my dentist yesterday I emerged with a temporary filling, another appointment on Monday and a bill for nearly £100. That was a very expensive oatcake!

Back again!

I have sadly neglected this blog over the last few weeks. I had some more time off from work - to recharge my batteries before the onslaught of the new academic year. I took the time to concentrate on my beading and my other creative work. I have decided not to post any pictures of my passion flower vase until it is finished, which hopefully should be quite soon. I have also been trying very hard not to be seduced away from beading by the knitting bug. For that last few evenings I have been obsessively knitting a scarf. The yarn is a beautiful skein of Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend which was purchased on a trip to London with my friends. The colours are gorgeous and I am really looking forward to wearing it. Every time that I do I will be reminded of that day spent with three wonderful women, 'Chesh', 'P.' and 'A Girl in Winter'. It was filled with laughter and friendship. I have never had a large circle of friends and I really cherish the ones that I do have. I am not really an outgoing person and I think that it probably takes people a while to get to know me. I am really glad that I have these three in my life.

My Other Half wanted a hat so I looked on Ravelry and found a great pattern to knit him one. It was fun to do and only took me a couple of evenings. However, he wants another one and a scarf and gloves too. I now have lots of knitting projects queueing up in my head. I need several lifetimes to get through everything that I want to do. If only I didn't have to go to work! I am just kidding - I love my job, but it would be nice to have some more creative time.

'Marsan Watch Cap' from Ravelry

And finally - Autumn is on its way. there is a definite chill in the air. Last weekend I glumly contemplated my sparse winter wardrobe and tried to steel myself to go shopping. I would normally rather stick needles into my eyes than shop for clothes - I absolutely loath it and usually end up totally depressed and disheartened. However on my way home recently I saw these boots and fell in love (virtually unheard of for me!) Now all I have to do is persuade my Other Half that they are worth every penny!

Serendipity

You never know where life will take you. I suppose that can sometimes be one of the great things about it. A chance meeting or a seemingly insignificant event can result in some surprising, occasionally life changing consequences.

Five years ago, just a few weeks after moving to Bournemouth, I happened to see a poster in the window of a quilting shop advertising an exhibition of work by local City & Guilds embroidery students. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed at the time, I had just moved to a strange town, started a new job, I had no friends or relatives nearby to talk to and to make matters worse my OH was working over a 100 miles away and we were only able to see each other at weekends. I have always loved looking at textiles and embroidery so I went along to the exhibition to cheer myself up. When I arrived I was surprised to see some amazing beadwork on display. Intrigued I chatted to one of the students who was acting as a steward. I had dabbled in off-loom beadwork but was mainly self-taught and so found it difficult. That afternoon a whole new world opened up for me. I immediately signed up for the Level 1 City & Guilds Beading course. In the past four years I have learnt so much and made some wonderful friends. I am blessed with a wonderful teacher who has given me constant inspiration support and encouragement. One day I would like to teach beading and she has given me the confidence to believe that anything is possible.

A beaded passion flower created by me and based on a pendant designed by American beader Laura McCabe

A detail from one of my necklaces inspired by a trellis covered in climbing roses. Four years ago I would not have had the confidence to design and make my own jewellery.

Recently another event has unexpectedly opened up a new range of possibilities and a chance to make more friends. A few months ago P, R and I attended a talk by Linda Harrold, a local medical herbalist, about the medicinal properties of herbs. The talk was very interesting and Linda proved to be an engaging and informative speaker. At the end of the session she mentioned that she was interested in setting up a local herb group affiliated to the Herb Society. P, R and myself volunteered to help. Last Thursday was the first meeting of the Dorset Herb Group. The aim is to provide an friendly and informal atmosphere where like minded people can discuss growing and using herbs. P gave a wonderful talk on how she grows and uses herbs in her garden. Every month there will be a 'Herb of the Month' spot presented by one of the group. This time I was asked to talk. After much deliberation I chose nettles, not an obvious choice. I think that they are very under used and under appreciated. They are often considered a nuisance by the gardener but can be useful for conditioning your soil, encouraging wildlife into your garden and are very good to eat. The whole evening was a great success. Yet again I have been able to get to know a whole new set of people and to expand my range of interests. As I said you never know where life will take you next!

As Promised - more holiday pictures....

My Other Half staring over the cliffs near Stair Hole. I couldn't resist taking this as he hates heights. I suspect that he is clinging onto the railing out of shot - the sign says it all!

My Other Half having a surrealist moment.

Armillary Sphere in the grounds of Kingston Lacey House.

Part of the Fernery at Kingston Lacey House



Temple at Stourhead




Abbotsbury Sub Tropical Gardens



Abutilon flowers in Abbotsbury



Chesil Beach as seen from the viewing point in Abbotsbury Sub Tropical Gardens. Another steep climb (oh, my aching knees!) but well worth it.




Lulworth Cove seen from the rocks above Stair Hole


Part of the coastal footpath leading to Durdle Door. I really am very lucky to live in such a beautiful part of Britain.

I am going to leave it at that for now as I am in danger of becoming one of those people who insist on boring everyone with their holiday photos. No one is interested but they are too polite to say so!

Holidays at last!

I have not been able to add any entries for the last two weeks as I have been on holiday. When I started my vacation I made a conscious decision not to log onto a computer, as I knew that I would not be able to resist checking my work emails. I needed a complete break from everyday routine. Plus my time away from work was actually very busy so I really didn't have time to update this blog.

The first week was spent preparing for and helping at the City & Guilds Exhibition - Textile Kaleidoscope. It showcases the work of City & Guilds Beadwork and Embroidery students. Also this year we have some work by the local branch of the Embroiderers' Guild on display. I was unable to display anything this year but was in awe of the talented people around me. Here are just a few pieces on display.

Gabby's necklace inspired by an old snakes and ladders set given to her by her brother.

Liz's lizard (affectionally known as Lily) inspired by Antoni Gaudi


Tricia's wonderful beaded lampshade inspired by Tiffany glass

Val's Cherry Blossom necklace


The second week was spent in Lulworth - about 40 miles from where I live. We have been wanting to explore that area of Dorset for some time. My Other Half had been told about the Castle Inn in West Lulworth and so we decided to stay there for a few days. It is a lovely 16th Century thatched pub which offers bed and breakfast accomodation. It is full of character - our room had a four poster bed and exposed beams.

On that first day my OH persuaded me to go for a walk to Durdle Door. It turned out to be quite an afternoon! The footpath is long and very steep. These pictures give you an idea of the scale of it. And no, in the first pictures those dots are not specks of dirt on my camera lense but people.




About half way up the footpath to Durdle Door. By this stage my knees were starting to hurt!

The footpath to Durdle Door seen from Stair Hole

Durdle Door

We then walked down into the village and went to look at Stair Hole and Lulworth Cove. The strange rock formations are created by layers of shale and limestone which have been forced up at an angle through the earth's crust. The shale erodes faster than the limestone creating dramatic ridges and folds.

The next day we visited Abbotsbury. The Sub Tropical Gardens are well worth a visit as they have so many exotic trees and plants. There is also a viewing point (yet another steep climb) where you can see Chesil Beach.

On the final day we decided to go to Stourhead. This was stunning as always although the weather had taken a turn for the worse. Thick unpleasant drizzle coupled with high temperatures did not make for a comfortable afternoon. We trudged on regardless. After all being British it takes more than a bit of rain to spoil our day.

On Friday we went to Kingston Lacey and wandered around the fernery and gardens. I will post more pictures in future entries. I really needed the break and will now return to work with renewed vigour!