Red noses and Pajamas!

It's Red Nose day and the whole of the school came in their pajamas!
Teachers, support staff and pupils all donated and came to work in pajamas, dressing gowns and slippers, it was fun and we all had a giggle-especially the adults! we wore red noses-although they stopped you from breathing and smelt funny but lots of money was raised.
Tomorrow Shan and I are on yet another workshop-they are like buses-you wait all year for one and two come along at once!
This time it's in Manchester and we will attempt Mono-printing. It's only a 2 hour one but I hope to have something to show to you tomorrow.

Lazy Sunday

After such a fun and exciting Saturday, Sunday was very lazy here.








I tried to do some ideas for a bird applique but couldn't get 'into' it. I think starting anything is always hard, you are OK once you get going.























Hubby and I did talk quite a lot about our idea of building an extension onto the side of our house and we did some measuring and Hubby make some rough plans, but it won't happen till next summer at the earliest. I would get a bedroom to use as a study/workroom so I did spend a good deal of time arranging furniture etc in my imagination!







I found a load of plain fabric samples my friend gave me (samples of curtain lining, about 150cm x 120cm) I played around with them. Any ideas on what I could do with them gratefully received! I did want to make some spring bunting for my Easter Egg hunt when my friends and their children come but they look a bit small for that??





Then in between the showers I took some photos of the flowers in our garden-just to cheer myself up!




The pink Bergenia looks very exotic don't you think?


And I have a nice little collection of Heucheras now, their foliage is evergreen so are just as good as flowers this time of year.






and the witch hazel smells wonderful!



I did see a true act of devotion though- While I was doodling away I heard a bang from the conservatory and went to investigate. I found two birds sitting on the steps leading up to the patio. The female chaffinch had obviously flown into the glass and was a bit shaken and stunned and was having a little rest (you could almost see the little stars moving around her head just like the cartoons!) The male just sat on the step above keeping an eye out and waiting for her to pull herself together, they both sat there for about 15 minutes before flying off to resume their hunt for food. Now thats what I call devotion!

Woolfest.

Anyone living in the North of England-although the southerners are definitely not excluded! might be interested in this years Annual Woolfest.

It's a celebration of all things wool. Workshops, lectures, stalls, spinning and weaving, yarns, fleece and Sheep!

It's on 10am-5pm 26th & 27th June 2009. (link above) In Cockermouth, Cumbria.

Also as a footnote to yesterdays posting I recommend a book called Beginners guide to Needle Felting by Susanna Walllis for very basic tuition in the craft. Good simple instructions and pictures but if you fancy making some fantastic animals (where I got my inspiration for my Polar Bear) Then check out Little felted Animals by Marie-Noelle Horvath. Not very clear instructions at all but wonderful photographs and inspiration.

My BIG Adventure

The day didn't start off well. There I was 15 minutes before the train was due to take me on my big adventure to Leeds. I text Shan to tell her to look out for me. Ten minutes or so later the train for Leeds pulls up and I jump on with my bags and scour the first carriage where she said she was sitting (She had got on the train at an earlier stop).

No Shan, Oh bu***r, wrong train! Her train was 4 minutes behind this one. So instead of the half hour chat and catch up on the way to Leeds we both trundled along on different trains. My train then developed an engine fault and we travelled through the longest tunnel ever at 20 mph with no carriage lights-bit scary, but at last we met at Leeds Station. A short walk to Fabric-ation which is just behind this lovely building, the Corn Exchange (picture above).

There were 7 in our group plus Angela Barrow who was taking the workshop. First she showed us some of her work, explained what she thought we could achieve today and then how to needle felt a simple shape (mine was a heart) to make into a brooch. We then had a go at a felted ball. After eating our packed lunches and cake supplied by Dawn at Fabric-ation we got down to the wet stuff!


The above picture is the beginning of my flower, Angela had shown us some lovely felted flower corsages with beads, threads and felted balls and we all had a go at one. Three layers of wispy Merino fleece and then some yarn and wisps of pale pink fleece on top. Then much rolling and rubbing, but not as much as I thought we would need to do, which was a relief! Then after a bit of trimming and moulding it looked like this-









Mine is the front one and the others were some of the other learners flowers. They all looked great and we all talked about how we could embellish them when they were dry. Then Angela showed us how to wet felt balls, and a long tube of three different colours to snip into beads when dry and how to felt around a piece of suede to make into a necklace. The possibilities are endless! We were all sad when the afternoon came to an end and we had to say goodbye. We left smiling clutching our goodies and buzzing with ideas for future jewellery to make out of felt.

We didn't want to go home straight away so we walked around Leeds and had a coffee in Costa.





And we found some bargain books in Borders-


Then it was a mad dash for the train home. We only just made it in time and I got stuck in the sliding door on the train-thankfully there is no photo of this! Shan pulled me through but she did think it may of cost me an 'Arm and a Leg!'

I took some photos of my goodies when I got back but the light was fading so they have not come out very well. The flower has my dry felted ball in the centre and it's sitting in a small jar to dry to the shape I want. The beads are the wet felted balls and the ones cut from the long tube of three coloured fleece.

I had such a good day lots of interesting stuff, laughs and good company.

meet the polar bear

Well here he is, the as yet un-named polar bear. He is about 6cm tall and the photo isn't great because I wanted something white to stand him on and the light was fading a bit.

I wanted to put this on tonight because I will be busy, busy, busy tomorrow. Did I mention I was going on a felt jewellery workshop in Leeds with Shan? of course I did!

I had meant to tidy the house a little when I got back from work but after sewing on the polar bears eyes, watering my pelagoniums in the greenhouse, playing with Lucy, clearing the mess the birds have made with the seed under the feeders in the garden, and reading a few of your blogs....well time is ticking on, better think about what we will be eating tonight.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Potatoes, primulas and polar bears!

I have at last got round to putting out my seed potatoes to chit them (make the little shoots come) They are all lined up in the conservatory in egg boxes and one variety seems to be ahead of the other so we shall see what happens when they go into the ground. I am a little late with this as Clare at Summerfete had hers done ages ago! I had to go to the supermarket yesterday and while I was there could not help giving these primulas and iris a new home (I notice Lucy at Attic24 had rescued some primulas form drying up and being forgotten at the supermarket too). They were flowering their socks off and I brought them back, potted them into a wooden pot I had lurking in the shed and they make such a cheerful sight, I am moving them round the house with me to get the benefit as I am not sure how much longer the iris will last. My little planter may not look quite as majestic as Jane's at Snapdragons garden but I plan to follow her lead and in the autumn plant up lots of iris in pretty bowls.

The polar bears I refer to in the title is the latest felted animal I have made. I can not show you as he has no eyes as yet, I need to sew them on, but he is cute and I am quite proud of myself! I will hopefully finish him in the next few days and then I can show him to you. I will be busy all day Saturday though as Shan and I are off to a felt jewellery workshop in Leeds so I will have lots (hopefully) to show you on Sunday too. I am very excited!

I would not believe it if two months ago someone had told me I would be taking photographs of potatoes in spring-that's blogs for you!

These were being unruly and needed tying up!

Spring has sprung!

The sun was shining at 7am this morning (yes 7am, cats don't know about weekend lie-In's) and when I went out to feed the birds I had to pop back for my camera as the snowdrops, Christmas roses and primroses looked so pretty and made me feel that spring is here on the first day of March. Of course I won't count my chickens yet as they say, March can turn nasty and winter can soon make a come back.

I managed to 'doctor' the pancake photo I took and 'chop' hubby off as he requested so I could post it. I like to think the blurring is because it was an 'action' shot but think it more likely to be my bad photography!

I have been busy making some needle felted animals and find it so addictive! I am half way through a polar bear. I should finish him tomorrow so will be able to take a photograph to show you. I am still knitting my scarf- oh my, it's March, hope I get it finished soon! But today I am going to visit my mum and she will guide me through my bag pattern, mums do come in very handy!