Black and White

I met up with the girls for knitting on Friday, at our most recent regular venue in Hertford.  I probably shouldn't name it, but I did blog about it's beautiful decor a couple of months ago.  

It's just a shame that the service is not on a par with the wallpaper.  There were only the three of us in the place when we ordered breakfast, and it was a fairly simple order.  

1. Scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, no toast or muffins.  

2. Poached eggs on toasted muffins

3. Toast with a selection of preserves.

All these were on the menu, and didn't, on the face of it, push the chef's culinary skills to the limit.

First to arrive was number 1.  It was served on toast.  It was sent back.  Ten minutes later it returned, this time on muffins.  Sent back again.  Another ten minutes and finally it was right.

Number 2 - arrived on toast, sent back.  Probably only five minutes this time (easier to scoop poached eggs off toast, than scrambled with smoked salmon, maybe?)

Number 3 - I ordered the toast.  It arrived, on a plate, naked with no sign of butter or jam.  The waitress said "Do you want anything else with that?"  There may have been just a touch of sarcasm when I said I find dry toast a tad bland, and was there any chance of butter and jam.  It only took four requests for the butter to arrive.  Well, three requests, plus a "If you tell me where the kitchen is, I'll go and fetch my own butter"

The Manager did apologise and said that they were experiencing 'staff training issues' and that next time we have breakfast there, we can have a free Bucks Fizz.  I guess that will be to celebrate, in the unlikely event t hat they get the order right.

I've been doing a bit of printing 'homework' - still on the black and white theme, but this time on fabric, with a view to making a stitched sample.  

I decided to go for the fabric on the right, which is based around footsteps over a bridge (you'll just have to take my word for it).  I'd printed white on black fabric, and vice versa, and I've cut them up to patchwork them.

I've tried various arrangements ...

And I've settled for this one, which is now stitched together

And which, when I feel so inclined, I will quilt or stitch somehow, in time for the next Spectrum meeting in May.  All very well, but I'd rather be making a frock.

Do you ever find yourself with a long list of fairly important things you should be getting on with, but in fact, find yourself doing something that isn't, strictly, essential?  Yeah me too.  I saw a picture in a magazine of soaps wrapped in pretty paper.  Hence this now graces my bathroom.

Sometimes, you just have to do something because you want to.

There was a great programme on Radio 4 this week about protest songs, and I love this quote from Billy Bragg.  "For political songwriters, a Tory Government getting elected is like putting fat balls out for the birds on a frosty morning.  You just have to sit and watch and you know they're gonna come."

Black And White - ~Deep Purple

Every Time We Say Goodbye

Been a bit of a blogging gap I'm afraid.  It's the old story - either you are doing loads of stuff and have no time to blog about it, or you've got plenty of time on your hands and nothing to talk about.
The week before last I did a two day workshop at Art Van Go with Lynda Monk which I've written about on the Art Van Go blog, so if you'd like to see what we did, you can read about it here

Last weekend I went to Yorkshire with my sister's family, to say our final farewell to her at a beautiful spot in the Yorkshire Dales.  Linda went on holiday to Kettlewell last May, before she knew she was ill, and it was while she was out for a walk with her family and the dogs, that they just happened upon this place.  Linda said it was her perfect location, and that if she could build a cottage anywhere in the world, it would be on the bank overlooking this river.

I could see exactly why it would appeal to her, she always did love a stepping stone

It was an occasion with a few tears, but also a few laughs, because one of the other things that would have made it her perfect spot, was that it had a makeshift swing, and she was always partial to those, so she would have definitely have approved of this

and I must say Jess didn't take too much encouragement - although she was the only one tiny enough to have risked the insubstantial rope!  And, it was the perfect day for Linda too - sunny, but not too hot

And surrounded by lots of little lambs

Altogether, I just know she would have approved of her final resting place.

I also know without a doubt, that Linda would have told us not to mope around for the rest of the week, but to enjoy our holiday. So bearing that in mind, later on in the week I went to Salts Mill, in Saltaire, near Bradford.  I didn't even know the place existed until I went to the David Hockney exhibition and saw this painting...

Apparently the mill opened in 1853, having been built for Titus Salt who had made a fortune in textiles.  In 1987 it was empty, and was bought by young entrepreneur Jonathan Silver, who created the 1853 gallery to exhibit the work of his friend, David Hockney. 

It was definitely worth the drive from the Dales

I spent hours in there, with coffee and scone in the cafe, (there's a restaurant too) a browse (and a little bit of shopping) in the fantastic bookshop, and a good look around the gallery - especially the projection of ipad paintings - I must have sat there for 20 minutes and although the paintings changed about every ten seconds, I didn't see the same one twice.

These are some of my favourites

and, as the man himself says, 

all made on the iphone or ipad - not a brush in sight.

Very inspirational, which is why I went home and did this

Well, it's a start.

Every Time We Say Goodbye - Ella Fitzgerald

The Small Print

I've actually achieved something today.  I got up early (before 7am - on a SUNDAY!) and had a go at making some jam jar pincushions.  Two very mini ones, and one not quite so mini. They are a bit of a complete copy of Gina's here although not NEARLY as neat as Gina's, but I guess practice makes perfect.

And then I went down to my studio and got on with some of my Spectrum homework, printing with blocks taken from my sketchbook.  First I used the print block that I'd made in class, using coreboard, double sided carpet tape and funky foam

And then a different image from my sketchbook, using a Pressprint (polystyrene) block

That represents about an hour's printing - and two hour's cleaning up. I still have to print them onto fabric and make a stitched piece.  

All in all, it's been a fairly productive week - on Thursday I went to the Stitch and Craft show at Olympia and did a two hour workshop to make a zipped and lined purse - a technique I really wanted to learn and I was pleased with how it turned out - I think I'll be making more of these

I've also had a big kitchen clearout, after it was painted on Wednesday.  Lots of stuff went to the charity shop, and these little chicken egg cups only escaped by the skin of their teeth

Oh, and on the theme of birds - how about this visitor to my shed yesterday -

I'm glad I wasn't in there - it sounds bad enough when pigeons are stomping about.  Anyway, that's it, I'm about to start stitching a skirt I cut out ages ago. If it turns out ok I'll show you next time.

All Our Yesterdays

Apologies for the start of this post - it's mostly of interest to my Mum, and it's a bit like an episode of "Who Do You Think You Are?" but if you're only interested in 'stitchy' stuff, stick with it - there's something for you at the end!

Yesterday myself and some of my cousins (I have quite a lot) met up in London to have a look at where our parents grew up, and their Granny's house.  Thanks to a bit of detective work by a friend, who managed to track down my Grandad's WW1 service records (no mean feat as there are only about 20% still in existence), we were also able to visit the house where he lived with his parents, certainly from the time of 1911 census until he joined up in 1914.

This is Charrington Street near St Pancras (my great grandfather was a farrier at Euston Station)

It looks surprisingly grand - and there's a private square at the back of the houses -

Then we went to Grosvenor Avenue in Canonbury, where my Mum remembers visiting her paternal grandparents and an Aunt - it's the second one along from the corner, the first red door from the left. 

Mum recalls that they had a Russian lady lodging on the top floor, who spent all her time in the building opposite ..

but I bet it wasn't called the Snooty Fox in those days.

Next we went to Dalston, to find the Samuel Lewis Trust buildings where my Mum and her sisters and brother grew up, but it seems that they have been pulled down and new flats built 

Above the entrance, there are two dates - 1924 and 1998 so I'm assuming these were rebuilt in 1998

But it was definitely the right location as it was just around the corner to their old school - Sigdon Road

which looks huge ..

and also very close to the church where they went to Sunday School

which has the claim to fame of being the largest parish church in London, and was consequently referred to as the "Cathedral of the East End" apparently

It does look quite imposing -

 

Now for the stitchers among us....

While we were on our walkabout, we had a wander down Ridley Road market.  I've often heard my parents talk about it, but I've never been before.  It was really busy and vibrant, and this particular shop caught my eye, so after my cousins and I went our separate ways, I wandered back to have a closer look.  I assumed it was just a little shop with a few rolls of fabric at the front.

Until I went in a bit further .....

It is a huge amazing treasure trove, stuffed full of every conceivable kind of fabric, buttons, haberdashery and trimmings.  It was really busy, with lots of lovely helpful staff, and there was so much to look at, it was too much to take in at one visit. 

I didn't even get to go upstairs, which is where the lace, silk and brocade fabrics are stashed.  I am definitely going to sort through my patterns and go back there - it's years since I've seen this much fabric to choose from.  I urge you - it you sew - take a trip here,

And finally, my most recently completed project.  My knitting friends thought it was a hat - and it would make an ideal hat, just so long as you had one large ear and one smaller ear, placed at different levels on the sides of your head

But in fact it's a tea cosy. Looks a bit big, but I'm going to line it with old felted blanket to make it more efficient.

I would have done it already but I appear to have temporarily misplaced the blanket.

All Our Yesterdays - The Small Faces