2nd term week 1

Well, this week I started back at my art class. A strange week, as I had hoped to paint over Easter, but life just go tin the way. Anyway, for the first hour our tutor waxed lyrical about what we would need to take to the sessions we are going to do in the field. Then he put all of the kit on the table and told us to draw it.

Oh dear! Well, I found it very difficult. I kind of switched between rough and ready, hoping to get an outline of the whole, to trying to do detail of light and shadow, to working with the perspective lines, to focusing on the boots (oh, how I long to draw boots!).

Anyway, I was not at all happy with the output (but happy to offer the excuse that it was done in half as much time as usual!) - but no, really, it is poor. I was not going to post it at all, but then I got a request today from T-bird!!! A fan club!!!! So here goes "for better or for worse..." Excuse the wonky legs (mine and its!).

Other news... the shrug is off the needles... just needs blocking and sewing! I want to do a flower fastening with french knitted cords.

The baby blackbirds have been seen this week in the garden. They are nearly full grown. It's great to see them, and think of them as ours.

I have been working all week designing the user interface for an educational product to be used by teachers to analyse class test results. It has been very engaging, and I am pleased to now have clocked up input to 5 products for the same company. They are all small pieces of work, but they add to my CV and to the company books.

Also done major family events this weekend just gone including steam trains and engine sheds! Secured 6 foot teddy bear to open our school fete, AND I have volunteered to escort my boy's class on a school trip next week (whatever came over me!).

So pretty busy - hoping for a quiet week ahead!

Nest Watch UK!

Breaking news... the chicks have left the nest. (Picture of chicks a day before they leave the nest courtesy of http://www.shire.org.uk/news/200606/nest.jpg).

Yesterday the male and female blackbirds were feeding the chicks in the nest. I was replanting our herb garden, and saw them collecting worms from the garden and repeatedly visiting the nest to the accompaniment of noisy chirping.

This morning, I hear a racket coming from the garden, it sounds like blackbirds, so I go out to see what is happening. There is the mother blackbird hovering over one chick on the grass, the male is on the wall letting out a stream of alarm calls, and there is a cat in the flower bed. I rush to the cat, as a small, out-of-control bundle whizzes past my face and lands on the sloping roof of the garage. I didn't have time to see where it went, as I was rushing the cat, who obliged by shooting off into next door's garden.

I turn to look for the chick who must have slid down the hot glazed-tiled roof, but cannot find him. So I settle myself down unobtrusively in the garden and sit and wait. The parents are still in a state of panic, hopping around, the male clattering on, the female making that soft low call to locate the chicks. I listen out hard for the answering chirp of the chicks, but cannot hear anything.

I had not been able to see if the cat had already got a chick by the time I chased it off, and I am worried about the chick that had made a crash landing on the garage. I go round to the other side of the garage to see if it had gone all the way over and landed on the drive, and also to see if there was any evidence of the cat having taken a bird. Thankfully, I find nothing, and... by the time I get back into the garden, two little chicks are bobbing around on the lawn!!

I got a good look at them... they are at about the same stage of development as last year's chicks were after two weeks of leaving the nest (for that read two heart wrenching weeks of daily care and cat rushing from me - my husband still likes to remind me how I raided the compost heap daily to put out worms in a dish of soil to make it easier for the lone parent to feed the chicks!). They have all their body feathers, but only the merest stub of a tail, they can flap and get themselves off the ground, but only to perch, they cannot really fly. They are very cute, and I am so pleased to have seen them today.

Just like Christmas!

At breakfast time this morning, there was a knock at the door, and on my doorstep stood a courier holding out a parcel...



"How exciting!" I thought, "I wonder what it can be." The postal label gave me a clue...



My little chap was keen to share in the excitement, and gave me a hand to open the parcel.



And inside we found a whole host of wonderful goodies:



My wonderful secret pal had worked her magic again, with special treats for both me and my boy. Starting with the yarn, I found two skeins of this wonderful Ironstone "Mesa" wool. "Bright colours mixed in interesting ways" my Sp10 questionnaire said, and this fits the bill beautifully. It is already on my needles and is destined to become a spring/summer shrug so that I can wear these bright and cheery colours. There was also a replica vintage pendant yarn cutter in brass, and a wooden thimble with a flower design and the word "Texas" on it. Both of these will be very useful items. The yarn cutter in particular is practical and unusual.



There were some lavender organic bath products. I have a thing for proper hand made soap... it smells and feels great.

There was also a small box decorated with a kimono, which is now in my sewing and painting room, and will hold all sorts of little treasures and keep them close to hand. A woolly sheep which made me smile, and is very appropriate for where I live, and a hand made zipped pocket which now houses my small collection of crochet hooks.

Finally there was some polka dot "sidewalk chalk" and "Incredibles" action figures for the little chap.


He, needless to say, was delighted...

Thank you, secret pal, for spoiling us both so generously and thoughtfully! I shall keep you posted on progress with the Ironstone yarn. Those colours are wonderful.

Easter progress

Well, the cotton shawl is complete as far as the knitting goes, there are just the beads to add. I knitted it on 7mm needles this time and used 100g of cotton, but it still was not as large as I had imagined it would be. I have also found out how unforgiving cotton can be. I always thought my tension was very even, but you can see every slight irregularity in the shawl, although maybe this will settle down when I was it. I'll post a picture when the beads have been added.

Tonight I started knitting a handbag which I am going to felt. I have made a row of eyelets at the top of the side, and through this I will thread the Louisa Harding sari ribbon as embellishment... in fact, here we go, let's thread some through now to see what it looks like. I am not sure I should felt it with the ribbon in, though, so I will need some thick cord to keep the eyelets open during felting. I am pleased with the idea for this bag, and also very pleased to be using some of the yarn I got from my secret pal (by means of the gift voucher).




As well as the knitting, I am considering trying to alter a couple of old dresses of mine and turning them into skirts. I'm battling with how to do the waistband for them. My Mum gave me some dressmaking books, so I shall have to see what advice they contain on this matter. I am going to try out the process on the dress with the most forgiving fabric!

I have been spending some very enjoyable time researching yarns for the next package I send to my secret pal. I know she would appreciate yarns that are specific to the UK, and therefore that she is unlikely to be able to get herself. I have found some lovely alpaca from a UK herd! And also some hand dyed silk and a silk/wool mix produced locally(ish). It's a wonderfully guilt free way to purchase exciting yarns (i.e. for someone else)!

Little chap and I did our trial run at camping last night. We set up the tent in the garden, had a sausage and beans camp tea outside, then turned in and listed to the radio and told stories until it got dark. It all went well. He slept through, and I managed about 2 hours sleep due to louder than usual traffic noise, falling temperatures (5 degrees... brrr...) and having to check on the little fella every 15 minutes to make sure he was still in his sleeping bag and not too cold. Anyway at 6:00am this morning we decided to come indoors to defrost! But I am pleased we did it, and I now feel happy about the idea of taking him camping for real later in the year.

While we were decamping, we also noticed that our blackbird chicks have hatched (lots of chirping noises coming from the nest over the kitchen window). This is both a matter of delight and trepidation for me, given the saga of the prematurely fledged chicks last summer. I shall be keeping a keen eye on the matter.

So it has been a busy few days, but it has been so good to have my chap at home. I shall find it a wrench to take him back to school next week.

Rally thrill - 99/100!!

Aside from craft pursuits this Easter, yesterday I had a very exciting time going rally driving (a "red letter" experience day treat that I received for my birthday). It was GREAT!!! The event was really close to us at Prestwold Hall. We drove a subaru road car for the familiarisation laps, and then a truly awesome Mitsubishi 4WD Evolution V for the real laps. I had the most fabulous time, and my instructor scored me 99/100 on my score card and wrote "brilliant drive - excellent control and good speed." I am obviously quite thrilled at that.


It was such a great treat... I'd go again right now! I was really nervous the night before, and during the lining up and checking in, but then when I met the other people in my little group, we all got on really well. Our instructor (John) was very patient and made it clear that what he really wanted was for us all to enjoy the experience. He gave us instruction before the driving, and during it, as he sat next to each of us and gave us a running commentary, encouragement and instructions.


Here's a picture of my driver assessment card of which I am very proud (my husband, who is a 'see-a-bubble-pop-it' kind of guy, said that of course they mark everyone high to keep them happy... but even so I am happy!!!!!!).



The bottom box was the first drive I did (after the familiarisation laps driven by the instructor). This was in a Subaru Impreza (hubby was jealous at this point!). You drive 4 laps of a 1 1/2 mile track which has 32 bends per lap including 2 great chicanes!!


For this session my instructor wrote " Good drive. Nice control. Work on Acceleration:Deceleration all round. 96/100".


Then I got to drive 4 laps in the Mitsubishi 4WD Evolution V (see picture!!!!).





For this session (middle box) my instructor wrote: "Brilliant Drive. Good speed and control, working in line all round with braking. Clean Run. Well Done. 99/100"


It was absolutely great!!!!!!!! For anyone who might fancy trying this now... here is the link.

Easter fun...

I promised to explain a bit more about the yarn I showed in my last post... My fabulous secret pal found out which was my local yarn shop and arranged for a gift voucher to be sent to me so that I could start off my secret pal experience with my own choice of yarns. That in itself is lovely, but the extra effort that she went to in order to contact a UK shop from the US, explain all about secret pal, and get them to post out a voucher to me makes the surprise all the more wonderful.

The postman delivered the voucher at 12:30pm on Thursday, and by 1:00pm I was in the shop and making my choices. I got some Noro blossom (destined to be a very fancy and luxurious wool and silk scarf), some Louisa Harding sari ribbon (to use as an embellishment for a felted bag I am making) and some fabulously crazy yarn called Filorosa, which is hand knotted lengths of all sorts of textured yarns built up into a mad colour themed ball of loveliness which I think I am going to make into an eye catching, heart stopping cushion cover.

I have also been making another shawl. I mentioned that the one I did in Rowan kidsilk haze turned out smaller than I expected, and when I am honest it is more scarf size than shawl size. So I have started another one in some lovely cotton that my Mum bought me. I have not knitted in cotton before. It is lovely to work with, it glides on the needles. It's a simple pattern, but the slight sheen in the cotton makes the item look more interesting, I am also planning to edge it with some lovely glass millefeuille beads.

As soon as the shawl is finished (hopefully by Monday) I shall start on either the felted bag with sari ribbon embellishment, or the cushion cover which is destined for our newly decorated hallway.

My yarn basket now overfloweth with good things!

Thank you secret pal - you're great!

Today I got a fabulous surprise from my secret pal.

Take a look at this, and I will tell more later....

A Tale of Two Kitties

There once was foolish blogger who decided she wanted to join in the amigurami craze, but not being skilled in crochet, she decided to try to knit one. Just Jussie came to the rescue with a pattern for knitted fortune cats.


I looked at this pattern, and was glad to embrace some techniques that I hadn't tried before, and also determined to adapt the pattern to cope with my lack of dpns or circular needles.


So I knitted it flat and decided I did not mind having a seam up the back. I managed to put the stitch markers in for the arms and legs using waste yarn. I managed to pick up stitches from the cast on edge (as I did not have a crochet hook to do the provisional cast on), and battled valiantly to find them in the fuzzy wool I foolishly had chosen. I realised I had put the ears in the wrong place (through knitting the head as a flat piece rather than in the round), and figured a way that I would put a dart into the head to bring them into position. Then I borrowed some dpns, and picked up the stitches for the arms, but then it all just got too hard. Knitting so few stitches in the round on 3 needles just was not working for me (perhaps I should have done them more like an I cord?). It was all turning into too much of a struggle and the sparkle was wearing off the idea. So I just gave up. I wish I could say I had frogged it, but no, the whole thing just went in the bin.

However, I am pleased to have grappled with some issues, and "thought out of the box" at least a little bit.

I've never been much of a fan of knitted toys, but the amigurami cats were very cute. I don't think I'll try the fortune cats again, but since then, I have also found the pattern for a knitted "hello kitty" by Valerie.



So I might be brave enough to dip my toe back into the water.

SP10 - early days

A quick message to say thanks to my secret pal for all the wonderful messages she has sent me, and for the tantalising promise of something that should arrive early next week.

So far SP10 has been a lot of fun. I have also said hello to my matched SP10-er and have also posted a package off to her. So she should get it in a week or so (it's an international posting).

2 weeks of school holidays now start for us. I am looking forward to having my little chap home and being able to do things with him, but also know that the next 2 weeks will not have much time spare for crafty pursuits. The weather is supposed to pick up, though, and we hope to go camping if that is the case.

We took a family decision this year not to have Easter eggs, but to donate money to Oxfam. Through their wonderful gifts unwrapped scheme, we have bought 100 school dinners for children to encourage them to go to school and be fed and educated. Now every time I see that mountain of eggs in the shops, I can instead think of some good being done somewhere.

Happy Easter to everyone.

What do Bloggers read?

Two knights and maidens tagged me to take part in kailana's bloggers top ten books. It has been tough, and I have to say outright that Shakespeare's works and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales go without saying... but when I thought hard about it, these are the books that have shaped my life. I am sad to say that most of them were read when I was in my 20s... I really need to find another one to grip my imagination and make me think hard.

1. Saturday Night Sunday Morning - Alan Sillitoe
2. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist - Robert Tressell
3. The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat - Oliver Sachs
4. The L Shaped Room - Lynne Reid Banks
5. Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert Pirsig
6. Return of the Native - Thomas Hardy
7. Woman on the Edge of Time - Marge Piercy
8. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
9. The Diceman - Luke Rhinehart
10. Modern Poetry 1900-1975 - George McBeth (ed)

Just off the list are:
11. Surely You're Joking Mr Feynman - Richard Feynman
12. Godel Escher Bach - Richard Hofstadter

I will come back and add the whys and wherefores for each choice, but for now I am pleased to have settled on my list.

Puzzle

Well, I finished the shawl, and have even sewn the ends in (a stupid little job that can often take me ages to get around to!). I am pleased with the shawl, even though it has turned out a lot narrower than I expected. I find that odd as I used the same needles and yarn as the pattern suggested, and I thought my gauge was pretty much right. Oh well.

But the puzzle is, which beads to use to bead the edging. I have some delicious amethyst ones, some lovely grey ones, and some cool green ones.

Which to choose?


I have also been tagged by two knights and maidens to take part in a bloggers' favourite book list. I've been compiling my list (she has asked for 10) and shall post it soon. It is difficult to limit it to 10, and I found it difficult to have modern and classic all on the same list, it would have been easier to separate them out. Anyway, more of that another time...

SP10 questionnaire recap

I realised last night, that my SP10 questionnaire was buried way back in mid February, so now that SP10 has officially kicked off, I thought I would recap on the questionnaire...

1. What is/are your favorite yarns? - I like both fine and chunky yarns, and these can be natural or synthetic... but what I like best are yarns with different colours in them, as I love seeing the way the colours mix and build up when the yarn is worked.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? - I keep my needles in two earthenware jugs, one that I brought back from Portugal in 1986, and one that I received from an Irish relative as a wedding gift in 2000. I also use earthenware jugs to keep my paintbrushes in and also my button collection.

3. How long have you been knitting? - I have been knitting since 1979 when our school got everyone to knit squares to sew into blankets and send to Africa as part of Action Aid. I am probably still classed as a beginner... I do small, simple or quick projects, and don't do many fancy stitches.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? No.

5. What's your favorite scent? - Lavendar, lemon and nutmeg.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? I don't have a very sweet tooth, although I like milk chocolate but don't tend to eat much of it.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? I sew, draw and paint (watercolours). I like trying new things, and am a dabbler. I have recently bought some disolvable fabric and am enjoying playing around with it.

8. What kind of music do you like? - I like jazz and blues and folk. Also David Bowie, Simply Red, The Scissor Sisters, Chrissie Hynde, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. I like South American music. I love the sound of the clarinet and trumpet.

9. What's your favorite color(s)?I like purple, orange, green and gold. I like strong colours mixed in unusual ways.

10. What is your family situation? I am married with a 5 year old son and a 16 year old step son. We have no pets.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? - Yes! Especially hats and scarves. I have a woolen cape, but have never had a poncho.

12. What are your favorite items to knit? I like to knit small pieces that I then sew, embellish, cut up or otherwise work into other objects. Last year I knitted 17 hats as gifts for various people! In the last year I have also knitted bags, purses and journal covers.

13. What are you knitting right now? - A hat made from recycled sari silk, I am also using some fibres spun by a friend of mine to make lampshade. (late addition - I am now knitting a mohair/silk blend shawl.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? I love to give and receive handmade gifts. The love and care that they embody makes them all the more special.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? - I tend to use aluminium needs, but only because that is what I have. I have never used circular needles, although I once knitted a pair of socks on four double ended needles.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? No.

17. How old is your oldest UFO? I am ashamed to say it is 21 years old - it is a half made cross stitched tea cosy in the shape of a cottage. I don't think it is ever going to be finished. Apart from that I tend to finish items within a couple of weeks of starting them.

18. What is your favorite holiday? May bank holiday - the weather is nice, and it is the start of the season of garden fetes and country fairs which I really enjoy visiting.

19. Is there anything that you collect? Soda syphons, wooden fruit and ceramics decorated with fish motifs.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? I'm working my way through my mother's old set of "Golden Hands" - a craft series from the 70s, so I have not been looking at books and subscriptions recently.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? Felting, shibori stitching, machine embroidery.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? I have only once knitted a pair of socks - I was 14 years old at the time and the socks were fluorescent green! I take a UK size 5 shoe.

23. When is your birthday? 11th January.

Mother's Day

Why 3 posts today? Because I can!!

I had a wonderful day on Sunday. My husband, step son and son all spoiled me for mother's day.
I was cooked a breakfast of smoked trout and scrambled egg on bagel.

I was given a picture of a vase of flowers and homemade pasta brooch from my 5 year old, a card and bunch of flowers from my 16 year old, and a Sanctuary incense set from my husband.

Then they took me to an art gallery to see an exhibition I had wanted to see: Matisse to Freud - A Critics Choice. This is the collection of film critic Alexander Walker from the London Evening Standard which he bequeathed to the British Museum, and which is currently touring the country. The collection is a series of modern prints and drawings reflecting the major tendencies of British and American art movements from the 1960s onwards, and contextualised by a small number of early 20th century modernist pieces by artists like Picasso and Matisse. I had a wonderful time looking at them, and found some to be very inspiring, while others were just baffling.

Then home for a roast lamb dinner cooked by my husband.

What a wonderful day. I am very lucky.

Soft and fluffy

I have been meaning to post this for a week, but life in our house has been a bit too manic.

Anyway, last week I went on a girls' outing to a local yarn shop in Nottingham (yarn-in-notts.co.uk) ... absolutely brilliant! and run by a lovely and really helpful person.

Thankfully, I did the sensible thing and took my "one skein wonders" book with me so that I would only buy the yarn and needles I absolutely needed (oh so sensible!).

Anyway... I ended up with 2 yarns, some needles and a set of crochet hooks...


I am knitting the "sea foam shawl" from the one skein wonder book. It is in Rowan kidsilk haze... and is so lovely and light. It is going to have a beaded edge. I am dreaming of early summer evenings outside, when the temperature drops just a little, and what is needed is a pretty little shawl.

The other yarn (the turquoise one) is a mohair mix (Bergere de France - Symphonie), and was a very good price, so I am happy to experiment with it. I am hoping to try a shrug from this one.

In the meantime I knitted a flower brooch for my sister in fiery orange eyelash yarn with a crimson and orange button centre. It was a little thank you for her being such a good sister, and all the things she has helped me with recently.

Art class week 10

This week in my art class, we were invited to begin our own project and receive personalised help with the piece of work. The tutor also brought in an arrangement of glasses and bottles, which we could paint if we wished.

Well, I decided to fulfill my objective for this class, which was to paint a picture of my house. I am pleased with what I have done... I think I managed to keep it well under control, and there is only 1 piece of artistic license!!!!

The night before Christmas

It feels like the night before Christmas. The secret pal pairings are due tomorrow, and I am looking forward to getting to know my secret pal, and also becoming a secret pal to someone else. I have been saving small boxes in which I can post my gifts to my secret pal, and have had so many ideas of great things to send, but so far have resisted so that I can find out what she (or he) likes and what she (or he) is in to.

Someone gave me a great way to sum up a day... it is to answer 5 simple questions. I jot these down every now and then, it is amazing how much it shows about a day and your frame of mind... Here is today's:

1. If today were a colour what would it be? answer: orange.
2. What smell sums up today? answer: freshly mown grass.
3. What did you dream of last night? answer: dancing the flamenco.
4. Name one thing you will do tomorrow. answer: paint my hallway.
5. What is the best thing that has happened today? answer: going to my art class, and getting feedback on my painting of the riverbank.

There are no pictures to post today. The art class was mostly a demonstration on acrylic and oil painting, and I am waiting to buy a crochet hook before I can start my amigurami.

I got some nice reactions to my knitted flowers yesterday, and showed someone else the strange twisting thing you do to shape the petals.

Anyway... when you read this, hello secret pal, I am pleased to meet you.

Another attempt...

So, mid ground and background brush strokes, and to an extent colours, are still eluding me. But here is my latest attempt at a painting. I am pleased to have included trees, buildings AND a PERSON!!!! in this picture.

I like the fineness of the work on the buildings. I see all the mistakes in the mid ground trees, but am not sure how to correct it. But still, overall, I am quite pleased.

This was homework, so I will see what teacher says tomorrow....

Tomorrow's lesson is a foray into acrylics... Yikes!

Here we go... here we go... here we go...

Please excuse the completely out of character football chant, but I am feeling so pleased to have mastered the "provisional cast on" method from the one skein wonder book... with the help of a friend and the loan of a crochet hook...

I can now tackle the shawl I have been longing to try... and also one of the hard-to-find knitted patterns for amigurami (as opposed to crocheted ones).

Feeling very accomplished tonight! (A rare feeling!)

Art class week 7

The challenge today was to paint a picture in water colour from a picture or photograph of our choice.

Mine is of an Australian outback farm building.

I really enjoyed doing this picture, and I learned a lot about mark making in the foreground, mid-ground and background.

In my art class, I am sitting next to a young Muslim girl. She is very interested in drawing objects from her culture, and today she brought in an ornate brass coffee pot to do a painting of. It was lovely, she got the shape beautifully.

There is also an interesting fellow who sits the other side of the class from me. He looks like John Prescott, and is quite gruff. He likes to do Turner style pictures, and boasted that he took the same approach to painting with watercolour as he does to emulsioning. He is odd, because he pretends to be a beginner and declare that everything is too technical and too complicated for him, and yet he gives away, through his comments, the fact that he knows a lot about painting and art.

Anyway, a most enjoyable session today.

Half balls and scraps

My knitting needles have been busy this weekend. I have been trying some more of the patterns from "one skein wonder" which is proving to be a great way for me to try out new stitches and techniques.

I tried the tamashanta pattern this weekend. Something went a bit wrong though, as it is not wide enough in the main part of the hat, and not flat enough on top. My little boy likes it though, and has claimed it for himself. Athough I was disappointed overall, I was very pleased with my seed stitch, and the very neat way of decreasing at the top of the hat. I had also adapted the pattern to knit on 2 straight needles instead of a circular needle, so maybe that had something to do with it.

More successful were some knitted flowers which I intend to sew brooch backs onto and use to liven up my spring jackets (yes spring is here now!!). This involves a very strange twisting action which twists the entire piece of work around the needle, and then catches it in place with the next stitch.