I have created this blog to share my interest in all forms of stitching, quilting, sewing, knitting, medieval re-enactment and costume making – particularly my love of historical embroidery. I also love travelling,especially when it also involves any of my other interests.
I took so many pics of all the beautiful buildings that I had a hard time choosing which to put up here. We only had one day in Venice plus our lovely first evening so just had time for a trip up and back on the Grand Canal which was just fab – I have always loved Caneletto’s paintings of Venice and to be there was amazing.
We spent the rest of the day in St Mark’s Square visiting the Doge’s Palace ( that has been on my ‘must see’ list for so long) and the Basilica which has to be the most amazing church I have visited (and I have been in a few) – sadly no pics of inside allowed but the whole of the ceilings are covered in the most wonderful mosaics. The slide show below shows a couple of the palaces along the grand canal, the Doge’s Palace and the Basilica in St Mark’s Square.
I also found a lovely lace shop in St Mark’s Square called Fabris – Venetian lace is made on one of the outer islands called Burano – one day I will go back for a visit and see that and also take more than a peek at this little museum/shop that the kids preferred going for ice cream to entering!
Just off St Mark's Square lies this pretty little place....With a couple of tantalising display cases ....Pretty, pretty things ....The handkerchiefs in Fabris
I did get a quick trip into the Fabris shop and bought some gifts – they had the most gorgeous table cloth and napkin sets – will go back and get some to go with my cake stand one day then we can have proper afternoon tea!
Lace and embroidery in the Fabris shop
Will post further pics from the Lake Garda section of the trip soon – am just sitting watching the good old Yorkshire rain now – trying to remember how hot I was on Sunday!
I have had a very nice weekend – a combination of social time, peaceful relaxing and garden pottering and some lovely knitting and sewing. I have finally finished all the clearing up, replacing dead things and generally detritus removing so as the post title says I can now relax and just keep on top of the weekly maintenance. I do love gardening I just hate that time of year when you seem to have so much boring stuff to do and this year there was so much frost damage it has taken about 2 months to get straight. But the clematis is in bloom and the lilies are just about to be so all is well with the world!
I had some people round for my own Jamie at Home party on Friday – it went very well and everyone enjoyed it. You may remember I went to my friend Cheryl’s party a while ago and bought some very nice stuff and decided to have my own party. As a party host you get commission in the form of free goods and so I have lots of lovely new cooking stuff coming soon that I will post pics of! Also ordered some Xmas pressies for people -never too early you know – it creeps up on you!
My lovely friend Kerry came round for a sewing day – she is doing some more goldwork – got no pics to show as we did more chatting than actual sewing but I got four more pairs of brais cut out for some of the guys in the medieval group. Just need to sew them up this weekend in time for the next show on the next Bank Holiday.
In between gardening and sewing we went to see Robin Hood with Russell Crowe which I thought was very good. My friend Darren was in it as one of the swordsmen (think I did spot him in a couple of scenes but it all was a bit fast and furious at times!). Costumes were very good – obviously Robin spends most of his time looking a bit grungy but King John was dressed very wonderfully – I got very excited at one point as the gown he wears in one of his early scenes is made of exactly the same material that I have in my stash – bought at one of our medieval markets a while ago. I couldn’t find any pics of that one but the pic below shows an equally lovely outfit. Will have to buy the film on DVD so that I can pause frames and study things in more detail!
King John - I know he was horrible (and played very well by Oscar Isaac) but he has fab clothes!
So that this is not an entirely craft pic free post I will show you some of my good friend Barbara’s work – I have been meaning to post these for a while. Barbara (no blog) does the most beautiful tea cosies and these are some of her works – in the style of Poppy Treffry.
The front of the cosiesAnd the back with very cute cupcakes!
Will also share with you some more pics of lovely Ellie and her social life (which involves far more dressing up and far less knitting than mine!).
Here she is on a friend’s birthday celebration as a Star Trek babe – ‘phasers to stun’ seems a very appropriate caption as she really does look stunning in the little red dress.
Self portrait with phaser (which was courtesy of Ebay)
She has now finished her first year at Uni (!) so went to the Summer Ball this weekend in a fab vintage gown that she bought last year in Spain. It is green taffeta with gorgeous beaded shoulder straps.
Ellen and Gemma at the ball
I am very proud of her once again as she has settled in so well – made loads of friends, is doing really well with her work and has organised a house for the next two years all by herself. She has also got two jobs – one doing voluntary work for the National Trust which will be fab for her CV and some paid work as a student ambassador where she will be involved in Open Days and Uni events such as September’s Freshers’ Week where she will be a very savvy second year! And she has managed to stay in budget all year and save money for her forthcoming holiday to Spain which is wonderful.
Jake has just started his GCSE exams – he came home today with writer’s cramp from his RE exam. Only a few weeks to go and it will all be over. We are going out on Sat to organise his suit for the Prom – limo all sorted and he is looking for a top hat on Ebay as we speak – I knew that giving them a dressing up box when they were little would be a good idea!
Hope you have a lovely week ahead – thanks for visiting.
This is hoping that you all had a very lovely day today. I would like to think that you all got some me time – possibly involving textile related crafts and even breakfast in bed , nice lunch or nice tea.
I had my Mothers’ Day pressies last week when we saw Ellie in Worcester – the gorgeous little hanging above was one of them and I was really pleased with it – I had admired lots of things from the designer Gisela Graham in a little gift shop we found in Worcester and the kids sneakily bought it for me. I also got two more boxed sets of Little House on the Prairie which I am saving till work gets less hectic and I can have some lovely me time!
I am constantly amazed by what the Mums in blogland do as well as look after their families. Obviously not all of the blogs I read belong to people who have kids and their work is just as fabulous but what really impresses me as a Mum is all those people (some with very young children) who manage to produce lots (and I mean lots!) of beautiful stitched and knitted goodies – often not only for their home and family but for sale as well. You are a wonderful inspiration to us all!
What I particularly like about reading blogs is the number of women who have chosen not to continue previous careers but who have started up businesses – I think this just shows how valuable the internet can be (sites like Etsy and Folksy) in promoting these ventures and I really admire those people who have taken that step.
A couple of years ago I was hoping to join them going part -time at work and setting up my own business but sadly a change in circumstances meant that I have had to put that on hold. Maybe one day I will but I gain an awful lot of inspiration and useful knowledge by reading about people’s experiences of doing this though their blogs.
Becoming a Mum was the best thing I ever did and I am thankful every day (not just on Mothers’ Day) that I not only have a brilliant Mum myself who has always been there for me and has always been such a good role model but that I have two wonderful kids. They have had a tough couple of years for lots of reasons but remain focussed, successful, optimistic and great fun to be with. Jake has just had his interview for sixth form college and has been offered a place on his chosen Graphics, Media and Games Design couse so I am very proud of him.
One of the things I never realised all those years ago when I had little babies was that they would be such great friends and we would really enjoy each others’ company so much. They are fab – thank you Ellie and Jake for being so helpful, thoughtful and generally lovely.
I have had a really nice day, a lie in followed by my favourite Sunday activity of a long bath involving reading a good book (have just finished Martyr by Rory Clements which was a very good read) and then 4 hours gardening (helped by Jake) which made a serious dent in the sadly neglected, snow damaged back garden. Lots has died off so we spent two hours just clearing out and replacing pots with new plants. It is all looking a lot better now.
I have also managed a bit of knitting , have finished the last of the teddy dresses and knickers and am now on the headbands. Should all be finished and ready to post by the end of the week!
We have had a very nice weekend away visiting Ellen in Worcester. As you may recall she is doing a degree in Heritage, History and Archeology so she has been getting to know all the historic sites in the area and took us on a little tour on Saturday. She has signed up to be a volunteer at a National Trust property in the centre of Worcester, The Greyfriars, a Tudor house so we went there first.
The central part of the houseMy sister Jacky with Jake and Ellie in the garden
As well as being a beautiful property dating from 1480 it was full of embroidery as the last owner (whose name I forgot to write down and Ellie has the guide book!) was an avid embroiderer and collector and there was a wealth of stitched work – particularly crewel work. It was difficult to take pics as the light was not good but it is well worth a visit if you are in the area.
These are just a few of the treasures.
Crewel work pelmets - there were also matching wall hangings Detail from a crewel work picture stitched by the house ownerA sampler labelled Hannah Smith 1851 - the colours were really bright given its ageAn over mantel flower piece designed especially for the main hallThe main hall still as it was left in 1985 when the last occupant died
We then went up the road to the Tudor House Museum which had displays of local life throughout the ages where I found these lovely old knitting patterns …
Lovely 1950s garments!and some for baby as well .....
There was also a display of replica wartime postcards for sale – sadly they had run out of stock of this one so pics will have to suffice.
Knitting for the RAF - what fun!
I have also been busy here at home (and on the train) with the last of the knitting for the teddy gift set. I have enjoyed the dresses so much am now on the third one. Just have the matching hairbands to knit and all the ribbons and bows to attach. Ellie is most impressed and wants one of her own complete with wardrobe.
Two completed dress and knicker sets plus a WIP in pink
I am particularly pleased with the lacy pattern on the purple dress – this pattern comes from Val Pierce’s 20 To make – Knitted Tiny Bears book which I recently bought from Amazon.
Look I can now knit lacy things as well as scarves!
Am expecting to be very busy in the next few days but hoping to have it all completed by the end of the weekend – this will be my Mother’s Day sit and knit project!
Hope you all have a good week – thanks for visiting.
Well sorry for the lack of posts recently – been very busy with work and have been away the last two weekends so have not been in regular posting routine. Lots of stitchy goodness to catch up with including the wonderful Knitting and Stitching Show last week at Harrogate.
34 of us went from our Embroiderers’ Guild club on a coach and had a wonderful day out. And yes I did succumb to the lure of Christmas stash even though I do have just a little bit of fabric already!
Who could resist - so pretty!
I also bought some more bits to go on Xmas baubles and some more cute little charms to go on my stitched gifts and exchanges. My justification is that though I have almost finished ornies for this year I have to start next year in about Sept and that is well before the next Harrogate show so I really needed to buy it now!
The two polystyrene cones at the back are a new idea from Sue Schofield of Springwood House designs – the very talented lady who sells the patterns and supplies for the baubles and cones I make. These she turns into Xmas trees using the same ribbon folding technique as for the pine cones. The instructions come from her new book Fun with Ribbons. I may just have time to try these for this year – we shall see. I had a very nice chat with her and told her all about the fundraising for Nepal I had been doing.
In the middle of the pic above are 3 very cute little knitted puds which are covering Ferrero Rocher chocs – I thought these would make a lovely table centre for Xmas lunch.
I am adding these people to my blog roll so that there can be permanent links as I know that lots of people access this blog looking for needlework info and these designers offer fabulous products to get started with historical stitching.
Have loads of other pics of the exhibitions at the show so will save those for another post. They were of course brilliant and once again made me want to give up the day job and be creative full time – or go and do a degree in embroidery and textiles like all those lucky students at the show. One day when the kids are through college maybe!
Also was able to give Barbara her blogaversary giveaway goodies – three ornaments with a holly theme and some Silk Mill threads in flower colours as I know she loves stitching bright flowers.
Barbara's orniesSilk Mill threads in very pretty colours
I really love using Silk Mill threads and despite having loads of Anchor and DMC in my stash I very rarely use anything else these days. They are so smooth to stitch with and so beautiful when finished and in so many colours – go check out their web site! Am just about to go there now to stock up on more greens for ornies as have run out of a particular shade.
It has been a very wet and windy weekend so I have spent most of it indoors creating ornaments and cooking. I did venture out yesterday as there was a vintage clothes and textiles fair on in town. Lots of lovely things – mainly 40s and 70s clothes but some lovely beadwork and embroidered bags.
I was looking for textiles I could use in my stitching and got a bargain with these two sets of old textile samples that I will use as backing on small ornaments/ pincushions etc.
Fabric samples
I don’t think they are very old probably only 1970s or 80s but very pretty.
I have been bauble and pine cone making all week and so far have these towards my fundraising efforts.
Christmas is coming ......
The pine cones are not in the aforementioned book – they are from Sue Schofield as before but I bought one of her kits to get the instructions for those. They are made from folded ribbon and lots and lots of pins ! I now have now have very sore thumbs as the one in the middle – the burgundy one – is made of very thick ribbon!
Have also been busy in the kitchen – have made pumpkin soup – as delicious as always! Have not done the lantern with Jake yet – he is very poorly at the moment with bad flu and cough poor lad.
My lunch - pumpkin soup served with olive ciabatta roll - how nice!
My children will probably be rolling their eyes in despair at me posting pictures of food but I am also going to post my breakfast as well. Have discovered a fab new blog (was a link off someone else’s – forget who – that I found last night) and is one on the theme of breakfasts. There were some really lovely ideas so thought I would try one of them today – this is a multigrain bagel and pesto topped with a fried egg with Lee and Perrins Tomato and Worcester sauce – lovely!
Sunday's leisurely breakfast
The blog is called Simply Breakfast and belongs to Jennifer Causey. I plan to try out some more of her lovely ideas – she has a total of 457 posts so that should provide some variety to my mornings (don’t worry kids will not be posting pics of them all!).
Please do go and leave a comment on the 100th post (scroll down the page) – I will be doing the draw in a week. Thanks to everyone who has left comments already.
Well here it is at last my 100th post complete with giveaway. Please do leave a comment if you visit and I will put all comments into a draw to be picked on Monday 2nd Nov. Please let me know in your comment if you would like a stitchy gift or a non-stitchy gift.
I started this blog about two years ago and in that time have met (virtually)some lovely people through blogging and my recent foray into exchanging through blogs. I find fantastic inspiration from reading all the blogs I visit and am constantly finding new ones (note to self – must add more to Blog Roll) to enjoy. So thank you to the wonderful blogging community for all the happy hours I have spent reading your work. Special thanks to the people who have added me to their blog rolls as I know I get lots of visitors that way.
The first post I ever put contained my Xmas ornaments so I thought it was fitting that I start off with a pic of one of this season’s batch.I have still got a huge stash of lovely stuff from when I first started making these to fund raise to go to Nepal so am making them again to raise money for the project.
Addicted to buying Xmas fabric - who me ?
This was my dining room table yesterday – I just love getting out all the fabric and beads, braids and cute charms and just going for it.
The first bauble of the 2009 season
I particularly love the little brass charms which I pin to the sides of the baubles – I get mine from Stitch Direct by mail order. If you are interested in details of where to buy the book that shows you how to make them then this web site is where to go. Springwood House Designs is run by the very talented Sue Schofield and the book ‘Decorations to Dazzle’ contains patterns for far more complex and wonderful designs than I can manage at present!
Am doing very well with Xmas crafting for presents but sadly cannot post pics here – unless I create a page marked ‘family do not look’ ! However have been doing a few other bits in between gifts.
I also made a card for a friend’s birthday. This is a pattern from an old copy of New Stitches magazine (which is available from Stitch Direct site above).
Blackwork flower card
I have also been venturing into unknown territory with my Creative Textiles class and trying machine embroidery! I use the machine for costume making though was always a bit unsure what to do but was experimenting the other week with my transfer painted flower and is has turned out rather nicely.
The appliqued flower with machined detail
I now plan to sew the organza petals over the top and hand stitch and bead onto them.
The organza petals pinned in place
Also finished quilting the fish we did by transfer printing on the first week. I have been doing some wholecloth quilting for one of my WIP gifts and am really enjoying it.
Am also rediscovering my inner domestic goddess and baking. Partly inspired by watching Economy Gastronomy on BBC which reminded me how much I really love cooking.
I did an O and A level in it but many years of providing family meals (and trying to remember who wouldn’t eat which food!) kind of dampened my enthusiasm. However it was one of the things I was always determined to do again when I had a bit more time. So here are two of my recent bakes.
My very first banana bread!Good old gingerbread - everyone eats this!
Am off now to make more baubles – happy crafting everyone!
It was a year ago that I went to Nepal with Scouts to build a hostel for the school at Melamchigaun village. Full details of that can be found under the Project Nepal and My Time in Nepal links at the top of this page and there is a summary of the project on the CAN website (including a pic of me – about halfway down taking a break from building – pink t – shirt and baseball hat!). To celebrate the anniversary I just wanted to update you with some recent pics that we were sent from the headmaster.
Shortly after we left the building looked like this –
The hostel complete with green tin roof!
In the last year the villagers have completed the build and it is now fully occupied. There are 4 bedrooms for the children as well as a room for the matron.
The boys in their hostel room
Although I spent most of the build sorting stones into piles and then moving those piles to the stonemasons and back to the builders (fab workout for the stomach muscles!) I did get to do some actual building – Andrew my stone team partner and I built a toilet and shower room.
The shower and toilet - behind these tiles lay my carefully laid stones and mud mortar!The water butt and solar panels for heating the shower water
The village have commemorated our visit with a plaque on the wall of the hostel.
The project plaque
I am immensely proud that I was able to be involved in the project and thanks to all those people at work and home who supported me practically, financially and emotionally to be able to do it. It was Gandhi (I think!) who said ‘ we must be the change we want to see in the world’ and I really believe that it is up to all of us to try and make a tiny bit of difference by being nice and helping others and all of that little stuff that added together can bring about bigger stuff.
I have thought a lot about the project and the people I met – both here in the Uk and in Nepal over the last year. Sometimes I can’t believe I actually was there – it was so remote and so different but in a way I felt very much at home there. It truly was a fantastic experience.
Sadly I can’t be part of Project Nepal 2 which has just started with plans to go and build next October but hopefully I can still be involved with the charity in the future in some way. I am planning to make some more Xmas decs this year and sell them to raise funds.
I do have some very lovely reminders of my trip around the house – as I mentioned in my page about the trip the textiles there are amazing and I brought back a beautiful wall hanging made from recycled garments which hangs above my computer.
Most of the hanging is made of beaded necklines from old garments turned into the most wonderful crazy patchworkDetail of the wonderful goldwork in the centre of the hanging
I also bought a Buddhist thanka – a religious picture which hangs in my hallway. The detail of the painting is wonderful.
The thanka painting mounted in silk brocadeDetail of the painting
I would love to go back to Nepal one day – hopefully with the rest of the family – and take them to the village. I am so lucky to have had this amazing experience and I really hope that the Project Nepal 2 participants enjoy it as much as I did.
The next post will be the magic 100th one with the giveaway and will be all about textiles! I have been very busy just recently – have finished the Noro scarf and have started another scarf with some wonderful wool that I got from the lovely new knitting shop that I have been going to for Knit and Natter. Can’t show you pics of that as it is a pressie! Also been working on my pieces for the Creative Textiles class and have just posted my latest exchange piece to Wendy Jo in the USA. As soon as she has got the parcel I will post pics of that – it was a new finish for me and I was pleased with the way it turned out.
I have had a very creative week so I thought I would share these projects with you. As I mentioned in my last post we were doing transfer printing on Monday in my Creative Textiles class. I want to do my City and Guilds Diploma in Embroidery sometime but I need to get better at the design process and build up a scrapbook of ideas and this is exactly what I have started to do with this course.
I took a lot of flower pics over the summer with a view to using them as inspiration so my homework last Sunday was to create a picture to use as inspiration for the transfer printing. Firstly I sketched this clematis from one of my pics and coloured it using pastels.
The drawing of the clematis with my ideas for layering with organza
Next I tried to create a clematis using tissue that I could then recreate in the transfer inks.
The two loose pieces are the flowers I created by painting transfer inks onto paper and cutting out petal shapes
I then ironed these onto my fabric – transfer inks work best with synthetic fabric so this is some shiny satin from my textile mountain stock!
Printed flowers and some other experiments with bags and paper cutters
You can print from the originals several times until they fade out as you can see they have done here. The colours when printed onto fabric are much brighter than the originals on paper. I am very pleased with these.
My next step is to cut out the petals in the purple and the pink colours, applique them onto matt satin backing fabric, applique organza over this and do some embellishment with machine embroidery and beading. As I have never done machine embroidery before my homework for this week will be to create a test piece that I can experiment on before I tackle the real thing. All very exciting stuff!
I have also been getting on very well with the scarf that I started at Knit and Natter last week. I went again this week and caught up with two friends who I hadn’t seen for a while which was very nice. I have changed the pattern for the scarf and am now doing this simple garter stitch one with a slit in it.
The pattern is called 'Tuck' and you create a slit in the knitting by dividing the stitches
I did realise after I had divided it and knitted the one side up for 4 inches that when using self striping wool as I am that means you have to start with the same colour when you go back to the other bit so that did involve a little bit of unravelling but it has not turned out too badly. It is all a learning curve!
The Noro scarf with slit - the self striping wool works very well
My scarf is a little wider than in the pattern so the scarf should bunch through the slit attractively I hope – will get Jake to model it when I am finished. The pattern comes from the book below – Funky Chunky Knitted Accessories by Jan Eaton.
The knitting book
This is a great book for an inexperienced knitter like me as it has lots of pics, clear instructions and lots of very simple patterns that have embellishments like pom poms and beads to make your very easy creations look fab.
I do like knitting over Autumn and Winter. The weather has been pretty nice here the last few days – quite sunny – but there is definitely a chill in the air and the leaves are starting to drop. I do like Autumn as a season – working in teaching it always means the start of things to me rather than the end – a new term, new students and lots of new projects. And I rather like snuggling with my candles and some mulled wine and my latest project of an evening.
I have also been doing some stitching but can’t post any pics of that as it is for my Autumn Exchange on the All Seasons Ornament Exchange blog. I have completed the stitching on the piece now just need to get some materials for the finish. I’m doing a finish that I have not tried before so that should be interesting. Then I can post it off to the USA! Am also signing up for the Xmas ornie exchange – can’t miss stitching my fave stuff ever!
Am planning a whole weekend of creativity as I have lots of Xmas gifts to make so will be stitching and quilting solidly. Really looking forward to a quiet weekend at home – the first in a while!
We have just come back from dropping Ellie off at Uni – it was a lovely sunny weekend – very warm which Ellie was very pleased about as she was hoping that moving down South would mean less Yorkshire rain!
She has settled in very well – we moved her into her hall on the Sat so here are some pics of her new digs.
Chandler Hall where Ellie is now living
Ellie looking out of her window
Not a very good pic but this is Ellie's room in hall
We took her to Sainsburys so she could do her first shop on her own as she is now fully self catering in her little kitchen below.
The hall of residence kitchen
She is having a great time – has made lots of friends already and has been out the last two nights at the Students’ Union. She has hall accommodation on campus which is only 140 paces from the union building so she has not far to come home after a night out! (she told me off for counting how far it was!)
We spent Sat afternoon shopping in Worcester which is a very pretty city – it has a lovely cathedral right by the river. Sat night we went for a very nice meal with my sister Jacky and her kids Sam and Sarah. Ellie is looking forward to being able to spend more time with her cousins, as are me and Jake when we go and visit.
Sam, Jake and Sarah
I am sure Ellie is going to have a wonderful time – I clearly remember leaving home and moving to college 27 years ago and I loved every minute of it so I am sure she will have an excellent time. We will miss her of course but I so pleased that she has got where she wanted to be. She really deserves it after all her hard work over the last two years and has not let anything deter her from her goals.
I have had an exciting new start as well as I have begun a Creative Textiles class through my local Adult Education Service. The first meeting was today and I had an excellent time in the company of a group of women who like me wish to improve their creative and technical skills and a lovely tutor called Brownwyn.
Today we did some transfer printing – I have actually bought some transfer paper but was not certain what to do with it. Bronwyn had printed some fish pictures which we colored in with pens then ironed on to fabric , sewed onto to a felt backing then stuffed. I now need to quilt and add beads to my little fish but I am very pleased with him so far.
My little multicoloured fish!
In the coming weeks we are going to do transfer inks, batik, machine embroidery and quilting. I have homework for next week’s class which I am planning to do on Sunday looking at some inspiration for my printing.
I am also planning to join a Knit and Natter group that meets locally which one of the other women at the group goes to so will have lots of lovely textile related fun going on each week!
Stitches of Time 