dads local dialect videos

Gemma, my neice, the girl in the last bellycast pictures got my dad  to recite some of his local dialect poetry and the monologue Albert and the Lion made famous by Stanley Holloway, The Innkeeper, one of Arthur Jowetts (a local dialect poet), and put them on youTube. When I know how how to I will put it here, but if you are interested youtube Bob Wilkie, the older guy not the young sporty one ! Dad started writing poetry many years ago when his dad died, it gave him something to focus  all the memories on. He had his verses published in the local paper and was a regular on the local BBC Radio some years ago with something topical. Since then one of his poems would  be requested from time to time by a listener over the years, especially Colours of Hull, Grandmas Grub or Blackleaded Stove.
Below is a link to see the videos on youtube.

Click here to view the videos

sad news

Have just seen that Sarah of Craftynotions has died. Her stand was a must at any show to see what she had that was new and how to use it. She bubbled over with ideas and helpfulness. Often I couldn't get near her demonstrations for the throng of people just as eager as I to learn from her. I can hear her now..."just have FUN"  When I bought her products, I was served by her family, how they will miss her. She was such a character, as well as a great communicator, so willing to give out and full of ideas. Going to shows will not be the same without Sarah and her family to visit.

Angels and Christmas trees, folded books

I was asked to demonstrate how to make paperback Angels and Christmas trees. These are in the unfinished state. The top picture shows the basis of both Angels and tree. Simply fold the page, fold top corner to the spine, fold the folded edge to the spine, fold the bottom edge level with the bottom of the pages. Fold the book like that and you have a tree, Tear of the stiff front and back pages, For the Angel glue on wings, head, arms, hymn book/song sheet.

Bottom picture is my take on a Christmas tree. Fold page like first stage as above. Mark page under folded edge and cut to the middle of book. Fold half cut page to the bottom edge of the page and it will look like this.      
      
UPDATE...I have put a FLYING FOLDED BOOK ANGEL and WITCH and others on the July 25th 2012 blog post

I have been folding books in various ways, fascinated by the patterns the printed word made across the page and the way the gaps between words made tracks down the page. I investigated telephone books, TV guides, anything I could get my hands on. I wanted to combine stitching with folded paper by smocking the folded pages. In 2004 I won a place at uni for a practising artist to develop the ideas but left as my dad became ill and needed help with mum who had developed dementia. Still have the box of folded pieces.........one day....

bellycast with hands

Sometimes I do the cast with the mum standing and sometimes like this, sitting and leaning back on a chair. Gemma wanted to hug her bump and try to form a heart shape with her fingers and thumbs. The "bump" was affectionately known as Freddie. As you can see she is bound up in clingfilm (saran wrap) When I have finished and want to take it off I simply cut through the cling film at the back. The final cast was trimmed up a bit and painted white as requested to keep the look of the plaster bandage while sealing it. While dad was in hospital his grand daughter was also on the labour ward giving birth to little Freddie. (the name stuck) I had my first cuddle of Freddie last friday....lovely.......See May blog post for another belly cast.

sorry, life got in the way !

There's nothing like a whole bunch of problems to remind you that you are alive and kicking ! The winner of the giveaway (no I hadn't forgotten) is Jeannie. Hello Jeannie are you still out there ?  Congratulations, daughter picked you out what seems a lifetime ago........please get in touch so I can post it to you.
The builders came out of the blue and the plasterers.......
Dad rang in great pain and couldn't get a signal on his phone to ring for paramedics.......I rang for him, emphasising  where he lives and that I was ringing from a different address........the paramedic was here in minutes...... and sent away again.......neighbours were out like a flash to see if I was OK........ (it's not that long ago I was rushed into hospital)........stood 5hours in A&E with dad until they found him a bed..........
a week later father in law was rushed into A&E.......stood four and a half hours with him until they found him a bed. Usually has a black wallet on him with a lot of money in it.....had a BROWN one we have never seen before with only has a tenner in it .......mentioned it to the hospital staff....... search his flat for his money .....fear he has been robbed as we search his flat and things don't add up.  3 days later the staff tell us the hospital has his money in the safe.......Weeks later was checking out care homes for him........."best interest" meetings.........search his flat again, this time for paperwork.......mountains of it ! Father in law now in a residential home where he is settling in nicely and my dad is home misbehaving himself as normal......I just have to clear up after the builders and plasterers.........decorate........and put everything back......... empty father in laws flat...........and find out Jeannie's address to send her the giveaway..........

Free Giveaway

last chance to leave a comment to go into the draw for the free give away....... Over 150 people have looked at bits of the blog but only 4 people have looked at the give away..... So only 3 people in the draw.......

daughter's wedding

Daughter Angie and Nick getting married in Bali having a once in a life time experience, a fairytale wedding. 

GIVEAWAY open now !

2 pieces of vintage (unused) dress cotton and a used piece of vintage bark cloth (curtaining)  3 strips of space dyed cotton,a small piece of rust dyed silk, rust dyed cotton, piece of rust dyed old table cloth. Bulders scrim, coconut discs, some square shell buttons and 2 red heart beads.

Sitchcraft magazine March 1954 with transfer intact, colour picture on back of magazine. More vintage embroidery transfers including sweet little dutch children, borders and waterlilys.

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Vintage Dennisons Crepe (purple) assorted transfoils, vintage sheet music, vintage dress pattern made into sheets of paper (and a book made with some of this) and  a thingy for measuring angles on like a thick greaseproof paper. ( what is it called?) Its see through, great for mixed media.

Giveaway open for you to leave a comment on the blog until 31st August. You do not have to be a follower of the blog, although it would be nice if you were, and if you mention it on your blog let me know and I guess you should get an extra name in the hat if you did. Is that fair? Will post anywhere in the world. Always supprised at all the names of countries that turn up and sometimes have to check where in the world they are ! So guess is a thankyou to all who have read some of my blog at some time or other !

GIVE AWAY

My mate Lyn is doing a mystery give away over on her blog http:/liniecat.blogspot.co.uk. You just have to leave a nice comment, she is celebrating nearly 11,000 views.
I am still adding to my speculative giveaway which I will start on 1st August and pick a name......if anyone spots my giveaway..... on 31st August.
My giveaway is to see how many people read this blog in a month. I am just a baby in blog viewing numbers. Doesn't help if I haven't done much to blog about and I didn't want to blog too much about illness.
 My only daughter has been to see me before she marries her sweetheart. Next time I see her she will have changed her name. How I wish I could have been there. A while ago we sat down and discussed what would spoil her big day more......not having her mum there (her dad is dead) or mum being there and being ill and the upset and worry it would entail. They are getting married on the beach in Bali which will be very special for them. When I get back on my feet I will feel like I should have gone and risked it, but right now I know it is the right decision.

giveaway finds

found 1954 Stitchcraft magazine with tranfer embroidery print for a traditional English hunting scene. Lots of old adverts and patterns.
More old embroidery transfers including some sweet transfers of little Dutch children.
A vintage sleeve of Dennisons very best Crepe paper with some contents (purple)
A range of coloured transfoils. (stick onto drying off glue, irons onto fabrics, wonderweb/wonderunder/bondaweb and photocopies.
Some square mother of pearl buttons.
Will see what else I can find.
Have been busy enjoying seeing my eldest son and his wife and MY GRANDCHILDREN who have been over in the UK for a few weeks. Bliss

no prizes for guessing where I ended up !

Thought I might as well use the bits and pieces from the hospital and stick them in the book. The glue off the sticky ECG tabs was so o o hard to get off my skin. The Drs bless em said it was unstable angina and wanted to whisk me away to the heart wards out in the sticks for another angiogram. Its only a year since I had one.........So taking it easy for a bit.........
I have been pottering around trying to throw away/give away stuff I haven't got around to using. You know, less for the kids to do if I pop my cloggs before I think I should. So I've been thinking of doing a giveaway online of some of the things I have found. Will anyone be interested I wonder? Anyway I will post a picture of the stuff soon and see what happens.

altered book play again

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tried these dressmaking pieces on various backgrounds. they ended up on the only background that I didn't photograph it on !!

Altered book play more pages

more fun, painting, scrape some paint on, close book, open, dry, more paint. These have had Dulux BrushWood  painted on. Sample pot from Scrap Store.

altered pages

paint the page, close the book, open again, let paint dry. Add another colour, close the book, open again....... Thick paint, watery paint..... Now I know why these pages look dull and not vibrant...I switched the flash off on the camera..... I am painting the pages of a book I am altering. Somestimes I glue the pages together, sometimes I cut the pages, and sometimes I paint, and all of it is such FUN.

Altered book play

this is my fave page so far, the other page wasn't very interesting though.  Enlarge this picture to see waves, night skys, dreamy atmosphere and billowing smoke patterns,  ....all sorts spring to my mind.Having used some of this book I decided alter it and to start by obliterating the text and pictures on each page and I had a bottle of permanent black ink that needed using up as there wasn't much left in the bottle so I fun with it.

altering a book

I did this by wetting both pages with black ink  and closing the pages wet side to wet side and opening them again a little at a time and it leaves these marks. Its very seductive.... did more and more. The grey picture I covered a not so successful black inked one with white paint and closed again and opened straight away to get these marks.

rust in April

I showed a container with cloth rusting away that I was trying to not be impatient and leave for 24 hrs in April, well this is it. It had already been dyed with Daffodil petals and was a bit wishy washy. I over dyed it by wrapping in around rusty hair clips. This one has got black stains on it and I wonder what the chemistry is for that happening.  However some pleasing marks on it.

Birthday

this lilly bouquet was delivered by Interflora from my daughter. 30 blooms opened on it, perfume was everywhere..... lasted 12days. Impressed. ( I saved the stamens to dye with... as you do lol )

son and his wife who live in Italy had  this herb trough delivered from plants4presents and I would highly recommend it.

fire fire fire

Excitement not far away. Smoke pouring out of the roof of a house 6 doors away from me. I could smell it in my house that's why I looked outside....... we had 4fire engines, firemen in breathing apparatus and 2 ambulances, police.... smoke billowing out....hoses allover the path .....and still parents insisted on picking their way through it all to take their children to school..... no one was hurt and from the outside of the house you cannot tell it had happened.

belly cast

I do pregnant ladies belly casting, this one was covered in lace and trimmed with velvet ribbon and ruffled lace around the edges. Sometimes ladies say that they feel like a beached whale in the later stages of pregnancy so I make the cast look like a basque so show off their "mother earth" curves. This lady was delivered of a lovely baby girl, mother and baby doing well. Another lady covered hers in silk flowers which looked gorgeous. See  Novembver 6th post for belly cast with hands hugging bump and making a heart shape.

Hastings

These tall fishing net sheds are unique to Hastings, they look so strange clumped together.
I have a very ill friend who lives in this area which is why I had a short holiday in Eastbourne. I had a few days holiday and a few days seeing Helen. Her flat is on the top floor of the block and she can see the south downs through one window, the sea through another. Through another window she can see a fire station where the beefy firemen do a lot car washing ...for charity!

Mitz

Forgotton where to rotate the pics !!

I bought this in Brighton at the MITZ shop. Its made of M&Ms packets woven together by women workers at MITZ in Mexico. The women earn a living wage, give a percentage to a school to keep it going to educate the poorer children. Their own children get an education as well.
I bought it for my daughter forgetting that she is vegan.....it has leather straps.... SO I will just have to use it myself !!!! Well I can't let it go to waste, can I ??

Brighton

In the "lanes" shopping area of Brighton was this clothing shop. The windows, including the ones in the upper floors were FILLED with old hand sewing machines. Such an incredible sight, worth going just to see them !!

 The Royal Pavillion needs another trip to take it in. The onion domes have been painted with preservative so the wonderful verdigris clolour has gone. Shame.

Eastbourne beach

At intervals along the beach are areas of dark grey, made up of these shells. In amongst them is a lot of thin ones with holes in. I have an idea to use these in a small wall hanging but it involves felt and the suitcase with the fleece in is inaccessable at the moment.....

Just had a battle with computer to put these pictures on. I wanted the top picture at the bottom but the computer wouldn't let me. When I add a picture it appears on top of the previous one....so I thought....I would put the top pic in first so that the other on would appear on the top. Thats what normally happens. The computer it seems knew I was going to do that and refused to play ball. I deleted it to start again but it still did it. GERR

Eastbourne beach

No sand here, just large pebbles, remarkably all similar size and shape.  Each year the sea washes the stones down the beach and out to sea. Each year the sea is dredged for the pebbles which are redeposited on the beach. They are dumped at the top end of the beach but until the sea washes some down there is  high shelf and a big drop.

rust play 2

Lyn gave me an old sweets tin with hair grips, old fashioned clip rollars and these crocodile "marcel" wave clips in. These had got damp and were rusting away.....So I clamped the crocodile clips to some material,wet it with salted water, rolled it up and put elastic bands around it and dropped it into a plastic container....Too inpatient to leave them any length of time I unravelled them after a few hours with great results. I have one more which I am leaving 24hrs......well maybe.....

freeform everything

Another piece I found whilst rummaging, it should have a similar piece to go with it. Bits of knitting, crochet and felted jumper pieces mixed up together. I just had fun with no real idea of the finished piece in mind which is might explain why I never finished it  ! !

needle felt

I have been recovering from the effect of radio therapy for the last couple of months. The fatigue meant that I had little interest in doing anything crafty or looking at the books I'd been lent. I intended sorting out my studio but all I did was make a bigger mess. On the plus side I found this, the first piece of needlefelting I did some years ago. I remember being quite pleased with it for a first attempt.