Saturday, 17 May 2008

... "hello beautiful thing, maybe you could save my life"...

(from 'girls in their summer clothes' )

today's post:

Bruces_ticket

flowers

Chrisanthemum

painting flowers with the boys

Painting_flowers

felting

Droplets_on_scrim

and a spot of shopping: this skirt.

and counting the 'sleeps' till the date above... (13!!)

Wednesday, 14 May 2008

art quilts and toenails...

No 3 and I took a trip to a local museum to check out an exhibition of the Quilt Art group

As much as I can appreciate the talent/inspiration/craftmanships that goes in art quilts I feel somehow ambivalent about them.  I think quilt by definition should be 'used' and not simply hang on a wall... but that's just me.  And I'm happy to be convinced otherwise... I mean... they're definitively 'art'... and they're definitively 'quilted'... but are they really 'quilts'?

Anyway, we saw some really special and wonderful stuff:

Art_quilt_1

This by Sandra Meech.  Arent' those trees simply amazing?  I think they're printed on but then the quilting somehow makes them 'pop' out to you.

I love 'text' on fabric, this was part of the next panel

Art_quilt_1_detail

This one was the one in the advertising poster (which I tried to get... but they'd ran out... sigh)

Art_quilt_2

And this was my favourite (by Elizabeth Brimelow).  So many things going on

Art_quilt_3

so many layers,

3_detail

so many shapes

3_detail_2

so many stitches

3_detail_3

Apologies if the photos are not brilliant... it was really hard trying to take a picture and at the same time keeping an eye on a toddler who wanted to touch everything and kept asking "mummy made this?" "mummy made that" "that's wicked" "that's yucky"

Speaking of certain toddler... last night, under the cover of darkness, when his 'nana' thought him asleep he crept into my bathroom and gave himself a pedicure.

Yes, a pedicure.

Feet

And my bathroom carpet looks like the set of the chainsaw massacre.

Tuesday, 13 May 2008

eight years ago today...

at this hour I was putting on my wedding dress...

Eight

We've come a long way, me and you, Mr M, haven't we?

Inside_of_card

But I've never looked back.

Mis_card

Only forward.

Monday, 12 May 2008

that was the weekend that was

and what a fab weekend that was too!

It started with a train journey on Saturday morning

Coffee_on_the_train

and it finished with another train journey on Sunday evening

Knitting_on_the_train

and in between there was a lot of this

Table_at_the_gallery

and a gorgeous picnic under this tree

Picnic_tree

(these were divine... from here)

Strawberry_cupcakes

and whole day of learning knitting secrets  here.

The greatest thing was meeting in person other like minded girls:  Ali (again), Christina who doesn't have a blog and of course should..., Tracy, Val and the mastermind of it all Alice.  What a laugh.  Ali and Alice have got a much more detailed account of the event so head over there if you want to know more.

I can't stop smiling.  Do you know that feeling?

(A special thanks goes to Mr M without whom this weekend wouldn't have been possible!)

Thursday, 08 May 2008

cookies and flowers

is there anything nicer?

(well, there is... I've got ahead of me a weekend of divine crafting: on Saturday a workshop with Jessie Chorley and on Sunday a workshop at Loop.  And yes, Mr M is looking after the boys... and yes I'm in good company)

But a part from that I love flowers and I love 'cookies'. 

These ones in particular:

Cookies

Thanks to Nigella's super quick receipe... mmmm nice, especially with a glass of ice cold milk.  Needless to say they didn't last long.

And who says boys and flowers don't mix?  Check this out (thanks to www.kidscraftweekly.com):

Flower_pot

Colourfull muffin cases, some long wooden skewers, felt circles, sticky tape, glue, a pot and a couple of potatoes.

Potatoes

Voila'.

Saturday, 03 May 2008

a very simple quilt

No 3's new quilt is done

Folded_quilt

It's very simple

Folded_corner

Simply stripes/blocks of fabrics  (3 on the front, plus binding and one for the back)

All_4_fabrics

Simply quilted in straight lines one inch wide

Quilting_lines

It looks great on his bed ("I'm older now, mummy")

Quilt_on_sams_bed

And hanging from the goal net in the garden...

Whole_quilt

Have a great weekend.

Thursday, 01 May 2008

on my window sill you can find

mummy's cookie jar.  my biscuits. 

Mummy_cookie_jar

living lettuce

Living_lettuce

a card and flower from Mr M

Card

Gerberas

my mini cacti

Cacti

fossils from our holiday in Dorset and a Chinese money plant

Money_plant

What's on yours?

Wednesday, 30 April 2008

felted knitting basket

My latest felting adventure

Felted_knitting_basket

to hold my current knitting project

Handle_detail

and other things

Felted_basket

Tuesday, 29 April 2008

WIPs

I've joined Amanda's star quilt-along... c'mon do it too, there's still time!

Star_quiltalong

No 3 moved to a 'big boy's bed' on Sunday... this made rethink his quilt

Sams_quilt_fabric

And what are you working on? Do share!!

Saturday, 26 April 2008

Indigo dyeing (and the new kitchen)

Have you ever tried indigo dyeing? You should.

It's magic. 

You take a white piece of fabric, you fold it, stitch it, roll it, knot it.

Then you dip it.

And when you take it out it's dull green and  it smells  horrible BUT right in front of your eyes... it turns this amazing shade of blue... (something to do with the oxygen in the air)

this

Stitched_fabric

turned into this

Indigo_stitched_1

this

Folded_fabric

became this

Indigo_folded

and this

Scrunchy_fabric

surprised me with this

Indigo_scrunchy

But my favourite of all is this

Rolled_around_the_tube_fabric

which unrolled into this magic piece

Indigo_rolled

Magic or what?

Oh, and the kitchen... drum roll please...

ta dah!!!

Kitchen

So clean and white and calm and new and MINE!!!!

books read - 2008

  • Victor Pelevin: The helmet of horror
  • Sebastian Faulks: Engleby
  • Andrea Camilleri: Il campo del vasaio
  • Giovanni Allevi: La musica in testa
  • Andrew Taylor: The American boy
  • Patrick Gale: Notes from an exhibition
  • Jeanette Winterson: Weight
  • Michael Dibdin: And then you die
  • Margaret Attwood: The Penelopiad
  • Karen Armstrong: A short history of myth

cinema 2008

  • Made of honour
  • 21
  • Leatherheads
  • 27 dresses
  • The other Boleyn girl
  • The accidental husband
  • Be kind rewind
  • P.S. I love you
  • Charlie Wilson's war
  • The Golden Compass

films 2008

  • Elizabeth, the Golden Age
  • Run, fat boy, run
  • Catch me if you can
  • The N1 ladies' detective agency
  • Blood diamond
  • The good shepherd
  • Because I said so
  • Music and lyrics
  • Ten things I hate about you
  • The Bourne Ultimatum
  • It's about you and me
  • Bobby
  • All the kings men
  • 300
  • Midnight in the garden of good and evil
  • Perfume
Blog powered by TypePad
Member since 06/2006