A Right Royal Knees Up

There's an awful lot of Royal Wedding c*** out there right now but there are also some uber talented crafts folk and designers doing their bit for (future) Queen and Country.

1. Kate in a re-worked God Save the Queen by Zoobs at www.artipolis.com
2.Party invitations on http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/  3.Yummy iced biscuits from http://www.thebiscuiteers.com/ 4. Knit your own royal bus from http://www.thelittleknitkitcompany.co.uk/ 5.Cute stamp from Skull and Cross Buns on folksy.com 6.Sick of it already? You'll need one of these from http://www.lydialeith.com/ 7.Royal Parade prints and tape from http://www.belleandboo.com/. 8. Cross stitch sample from http://www.pearlandearl.com/ 

If I honest the only one likely to make into into our house is....

www.pieminster.co.uk

...cos I do love a Pie.

Nonetheless I  felt compelled to think about my own tribute to "Big Willie" and "Babykins."

As the mums in the pub seem to have talked ourselves into organising a "right royal knees up" in the Cricket Pavilion (please boys?) ....I have decided upon a big cake for sharing.

And upon that cake I shall have.......

drum roll please.......

.....Mini Union Jack Bunting with the gorgeous red/white and blue bakers twine from FollyandGlee. 

What will you be up to?

Homemade Advent Calenders or Calendars?

Well its the Ist December and you just know that real life has been getting in the way because I haven't made an advent calender (or is it calendar?). So far I've got away with it and no one seems to have noticed. A snow day with no school has provided the perfect distraction.

Somewhat starved of inspiration I've just had a look back through the last few years attempts and I thought I'd share. There is a flick set with a bit more information on each one. None of them are rocket science but if anyone wants some tips on a how to or where to get the supplies let me know. Divine Twine features heavily and so do recycled wool sweaters and blankets. Make sure they are 100% wool and just stick them on a really hot wash and you'd have the perfect felt. I both cold water dyes (in a bucket) and washing machine dyes to get a good range of colours.

Mini advent galvinised pails or buckets

Advent bunting with treat sized pockets

Mini stocking advent calendar

Matchbox advent calendar

Felted birdy advent nest

specials for the big day

Right now what can I do for this year before the wet and hungry troops arrive back? Help?

Autumn Dream Catchers

I was lucky enough to be invited to help out at my sons' former primary school on one of their "Break Out Days". I've probably got the official explanation of what these are all wrong but from what I can see they are joyous occasions when teachers and children dare to stray outside the boundries of the timetabled National Curriculum. Every member of staff put their activity ideas into a pot and, if they can be organised with parent and other local support, those ideas are offered to the kids. During my stay I saw bread making, a wetsuited group off for a canoe lesson, gardeners busy with some willow structures, amazing Giocametti wire and clay sculpture, pumkin carving....the list goes on.

My group of the sweetest 5 and 6 year olds opted in to make Giant Autumn Dreamcatchers-  the brainchild of the lovely Mrs Lamb. First we borrowed some hoola hoops from the PE cupboard and wrapped them in green and brown florist tape. Having decided to do 3 each a little different we had to think fast how to thread them. In the end one was knotted in the traditional way for dream catchers with some of my 4mm leather cord. The next looked amazing finished with garden twine woeven as a spiders web and then backed with some thin hessian. For the third and final hoop we used long strips of hessian in one direction and twine in the other to make a grid.

Bounty fron our nature walk

Luckily the weather was kind-ish and after what seemed an age (to a mum who hasn't had to do it for a decade or so) buttoning coats and finding wellies we ventured out into the beautiful grounds. The kids gathered all manner of gorgeous Autumn bounty - leaves in every colour and hue, conkers, acorns, feathers etc. Our safety briefing had forbid berries, fungi and politely requested that no dead birds or insects return with us.......shucks!

Having added our finds to the leather, string, ribbon and fabric strips already assembled the fun began.

The Dreamcatcher table fills up

Big and little hands got weaving

......and wrapping and poking and knotting!

Thank you every one - I had a great time.
I wasn't familiar with the  Dream catcher legends before -  the stories of how they can protect us from our bad dreams and choices in life. Sharing these with the children as we worked and hearing them re-tell their best dreams was magical.

Thank you every one - I had a great time.







Crochet Therapy

Why am I hooking away with my feet up at 10.30 am when there are a 1000 and one things I should be doing?

I am crocheting for my sanity! Being a newby hooker I wondered how such a seemingly fiddly process should calm the senses. I had read that it was so from those whose work I admire. And I had sensed a whiff of cheerfulness and serenity from those that hook regularly. But I had not experienced it for myself until now.

Our boys have started their summer in some style.

With one doing this....

and another doing this...

...it is perhaps no suprise that we might have already incurred an injury.

Always armed with dressings and my trusty antiseptic cream I am no stranger to scrapes and cuts. Sadly Big J's accident on Friday whilst dirt jumping was more serious. He has fractured his wrist in two places and needs an operation next week to "bolt" the break together. Oh my goodness .......typing the words makes me feel more than queezy. There is NOTHING worse than having your child suffer.

A difficult few days in and out of hospital waiting rooms has passed and J must now cope with the dissapointment and frustration of cancelling all those holiday activities with his mates he had been so looking foward too. We know we are in good hands for the operation to come nonetheless I am feeling somewhat anxious but at the same time VERY thankful that his injuries are not worse.

So that I'm afraid is my reasoning for why for a few moments the washing, cleaning and the business can wait a while and the hooking takes over. To have found the donkey brown Rowan cotton in a charity shop for only 50p helps lessen the guilty pleasure even more! And dear Anne (aka Cloonty) if you're reading this thank you so much for teaching me how to wield a crochet hook. I'd still be staring at written pattern instructions in total confusion without you!

For those of you who might be interested....yes I was sitting here first. As usual the Furry One is by my side and saw a photo opportunity plus a ready warm spot to steal.

Badgers, Biscuits and a Brainwave

Posts have been scarce this week. I've been blogging 3 months now and although I haven't yet established any kind of regular rhythmn or special time to blog I must say I do miss it if I don't. So a quick summary of my week would include lots of badgers, very few biscuits and a long awaited brainwave. Let me explain....

Images from BBC Wildlife

Far, far away in an ancient and beautiful land called East Sussex lived a portly couple with their two strapping boys. They had chosen to live in the countryside moving from the big shitty (London) as soon as they could (at the worst time for property prices which some would call foolish but so what) because they loved to walk and to enjoy the wildlife. 

The purchase of a large and very hairy canine friend was both a blessing and a curse in their pursuit of country ways. A curse in that being a sheepdog (of sorts) he had what the professionals would call "plenty of voice when working" which translates as a very loud and chatty bark when hearding his family. However, needing lots of exercise the furry one was also the excuse for dail, and sometimes twice daily, walks. Most of these walks might be descibed by others as stalks for they are often conducted in silence for fear of startling any deer. After something had been spotted the atmosphere is more relaxed and said portly couple  chat (or moan) about the days events. 

Over the years we've had some great spots -snowy owls, barn owls, weasles, stoats, hares, foxes, roe deer, red deer, fallow deer.....but oh dear NEVER a badger. Until that is this week. Because readers on 3 seperate evening walks at 3 different locations around these ere parts we have seen 5 yes 5 badgers. The 3 that crossed our path on Friday evening almost tripped us over and one actually brushed against the furry one and growled at him. What funny grumpy creatues they are and well worth the wait.

Sadly all this walking does not mean that the portly couple from the City are any slimmer. Drastic action has been called for and I've taken our weekly packet of Digestive Biscuits off the online shopping list. It has been 3 and a half weeks since I have eaten a biscuit of any kind. If temptation does become too much rest assured it will be Digestives I reach for first. True Brit blog puts i so much better than me as to why Digestives really are Michael Palin in biscuit form! I miss them.

And finally the Brainwave. Well I've been worrying,  as I do, about the propensity of fabric lovers - especially granny chic affecionados of doilies- to drape said textiles over their lampshades. Is this not a fire risk I fret? Well yes it is. 

What said doily lovers need is a professional lampshade PVC or vinyl that is properly fire retardant and is non flammable but which looks like lace and  can be adorned by doilies in all their glory. And so patient readers here is is....the first Folly&Glee doily lampshade.

7 of my favourite doilies were stitched on by machine. I'd like to try one with contrast colour thread next. What do you think?

Handrolling the edges to the lampshade frame takes ages but the end result is worth it.

I'm going to keep this one but they'll be a couple more in the shop by mid week. I'd would love your feedback.

So my 3 B's this week and now is time for b-----ed x

Heatwave delays Daisy Lamp tutorial

What is this?

Is it:

(a) Mum's mess on the kitchen table....again?

(b) An excuse for a cutting out job outside in the sun avoiding more necessary and useful tasks?

(c) A masterclass tutorial in the making for retro wallpaper Daisy Lamp as promised?

Of course it is all of the above. Alas the rather lovely heatwave currently hitting pale and paunchy Old Blighty has slowed even play work to a snails pace and I fear the tutorial may take a little longer.

Fear not I will get there.....even if I have now been somewhat distracted by the wonderousness of this patchwork fabric wall from the obviously uber talented  About Mo and Me.

Why is it so hard to just have one project on the go at one time?

Getting organised with sticky back plastic

Kitchen wall bravely attempting to look organised. In theory we all now have our own personal pinboard for urgent and or special reminders/invites. Plus everyone's got a file box for daily mail and general bits of paper. I used bits of vintage fablon or sticky back plastic to cover the boxes cos it so much easier being adhesive already.

Must admit I'm rather in love with old sticky back plastic. That's what we used to call it in the UK. Blue Peter fans will remember it making a regular appearance covering old cereal packets to make Dad a handy memo board etc. In France they call it Fablon and in the UK Contact paper?

I'm off to do some research......back soon.

Bohemian Dream at Charleston Farmhouse

We are very lucky to live on the edge of the South Downs in East Sussex. It is a truly beautiful part of the world that has attracted generations of artists and crafts folk many of whom have made it their home.

From 1916 a group of thinkers, writers and artists known as the Bloomsbury set (Virginia Woolf, Maynard Keynes, Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant, Lytton Strachey, T S Eliot and E M Forster) banished stuffy Victorian conventions and created a unique Bohemian lifestyle against the background of the stunning Downs. There are three magical places to visit close by where they have made their presecence felt. The Monk's House, Berwick Chruch and the amazing Charleston Farmhouse.

Photo from the 2010 Brora Catalogue

Charleston is very much alive today and attracts coach loads of visitors undeterred by the remote setting down a pot holed track. There is no surface left untouched - wals, doors, fireplaces, lamps you name it are painted in the most extraordinary colours. Oh and the textiles!

Photos from the 2010 Brora Catalogue

Its is hugely popular with fashion designers as a backdrop for their latest collection. Most recently I spotted the beautiful Brora cashmere girls in residence. Now that's my kind of house - where a girl is inspired to paint wearing fingerless yellow cashmere gloves and baggy linen whilst sitting on an amazing multicoloured needlepoint rug.

You must come and see. Its only an hour a from London by train to Lewes and then a 15 minute taxi or bus  ride through Firle to Charleston.

Lampshade love

It has been an exhausting week with all manner of ups and downs none of which would be unfamiliar to anyone with........teenagers facing exams, busy busy partners, a passing interest in the UK economy and our political future, youngsters with mysterious tummy aches, overweight pets, plumbing emrgencies, mild obcessions with retro 70s wallpaper, tadpoles who are getting worryingly big for their container, unruly hair that desperately needs a cut and some colour....I could go on.

A beacon of light was the sunny afternoon spent putting together another lampshade I've had in my head for some time now.

The best bit was sorting through the box of old vintage tablecloths, napkins and tray holders I've been hoarding away. None of them were perfect anymore. All had either a stubborn stain or just wear and tare. But everyone has something lovely still and it was my job to rescue it and show it off to the world once more...all be it as a lampshade!

Choosing who was to be placed where and next to whom was hard. Stitching them all together with the crazy patchwork stitch I found on the machine was harder. Fixing to the special fire retardant lamp PVC and handrolling the edges to the shade wires was down right difficult. I was really pleased with the result though and so it seems was its new owner who snapped it up yesterday. Hoping to get another done this week.