Take it further challenge (February)

As my original idea for TIF February seems to have turned into a slow cloth, I still felt the need to complete a piece of work by the end of Feb. So here is ' I am old enough to remember when we used to have proper snow'
Woven from scraps of lace, different waddings, embroidery threads, silk and organza on a baby loom purchased at great expense from the nearest £1 shop!!
Measures just 4inch square but helps me feel that I haven't let myself down on the challenge.

Wedding Lace

Claire of Pinky and Boo is busy making wedding preparations and mentioned on her blog that


As I am making the crochet flowers to applique on the dress, I would like to make leaves from pieces of old lace, to kind of make them into corsages. This is the bit you guys come in - if you have any small pieces of old lace that you don't mind parting with, I would love to include it in my dress - I am looking for anything white or ivory/cream that could be made into a leaf, so it doesn't have to be a huge bit - a couple of inches will do just fine.


When I spoke to Claire at the Stitched Up meeting last night, she chose this Honiton Lace sample to include in her dress. I remember making this piece about 10 years ago and would love it to be used rather than be sat in a drawer forever.

Claire was also busy stitching lovely little needle cases shaped like baskets of flowers and cupcakes to sell on etsy.

Nottingham Earthquake

We were woken at 1 am by the rumble and vibration of an earthquake, 5.3 on the Richter scale (according to local radio reports), its epicentre in the next county at Market Rasen. Enough to bring people out onto the streets, fortunately no damage locally as far as I can tell. Check out British Geological Survey site for details

Nottingham Eye

Just to prove that we did have a trip on the Eye, here are a few photos.

OK, This is Nottingham Castle even if it doesn't look like it!!

Don't look down!!

We used to live in the tallest tower block, it is built on top of a shopping centre

Stitched Up

For a while now I have been looking for a craft/textile group to meet and stitch with, more for the chat than anything else as this is what I miss most from doing the C&G course. We would bounce ideas around and generally put the world to rights, all be it in a textily sort of way. A few weeks ago I found a group called Stitched up meeting in Nottingham on a Wednesday night and took myself along to a meeting. This proved to be a small group of girls meeting to stitch or work on whatever project was most portable. For myself, it is the perfect place to hand stitch ATCs or postcards in in pleasant company and I may even use it as an excuse to take out my lace pillow which hasn't seen the light of day for a few years.
My thanks to Claire, Vicky, Allison and Pamela for making me so welcome.
NB.they even have a blog which may be of interest to stitchers in the Nottingham area.

I found the floor !!

Workroom

This is what my workroom looked like this morning, now I wish I could say that it is now tidy and organised but no, it still looks the same only minus the coffee cups!! Guess what I'll be doing tomorrow?

Nottingham Lace

The workmen are busy building a new modern art gallery in Nottingham, due to open in 2009. The concrete panels are embossed with a Nottingham lace design found in a Victorian time capsule buried in 1847 and further details can be found here.
Whilst the building is causing controversy mainly due to design and construction from concrete, personally I am looking forward to visiting on a regular basis.

Weather stopped play

Todays plan was to go on the big wheel in Nottingham but when we got into town, you couldn't see the top of it. Have decided to try again at the weekend with Ian so watch this space for aerial views.
However, the day remained foggy with freezing fog and drizzle and the garden looked quite spectacular when I got home.

Click this one for full effect

Take it further challenge (February)

This is hopefully going to be the background to my take it further piece which is going to be loosely based on the memories previously listed. Design applied to fabric using bondaweb- Iron on face down then wet and rub off paper background.


I want to suggest a cigarette card collection, will transfer the deigns to T shirt transfer fabric

This will be a slow piece, it has developed from the thought that I am old enough to remember my sister as a baby

frosty morning

and I said it was ages since I had seen frost trails on the window, this is our porch window this morning

Time to chill

Once again, no stitching! reason? visiting friends, oggling bikes and chilling out in their hot tub. Pure bliss.

for some reason, these 1970's bikes seem so small now!!

and this just seems to be too much bike!!

We both remember when this was the bees knees.

Played with my camera on the way home, the air was cold and very still as the sun set behind the hills

I'm just such a lucky bunny............

............look what came through the letter box this morning. This is from Helen Cowans Textile Goddess as part of a swap we did early last year. Isn't it gorgeous?

Take it further challenge (February)

To be honest, I'm not much further down the line with this, thinking about using the small images as cigarette cards. Used to inherit cigarette cards from various male relative together with cards from packs of tea. Although they were designed to be collected, I used to cut them up!!

Motorcycle event dates

Just a few dates for your diary
24 February 2008 Mablethorpe Sandracing
24 March 2008 Red Marley Vetern Bike Hill Climb
9 March 2008 Mablethorpe Sand Racing
22 June 2008 Banbury Run

Banbury Run 2006

Banbury Run 2006

Sisters

These two will be going to their new home at the weekend.

Cyber Fyber Postcard

This is my postcard for Cyber Fyber, felted merino wool and silk, machine and handstitch, beaded. A metallic thread was used for the hand stitch.

Cyber Fyber Postcard

This is my swap from Susan Lenz for the Cyber Fyber exhibition, unfortunately its not the best photo.

Nottingham Light Night

Friday evening was Nottingham Light Night, Various buildings were lit up, street entertainers abounded and samba bands led people from one installation to another. Here are some of the highlights including the big wheel which has been installed on the market square.

Click photos for more detail

Click photos for more detail

ATC from Alis

Postie called again, this time with an ATC from the Art Nouveau swap with the unlimited textiles group. This one is from Alis

Take it further challenge (February)

spent a few minutes doodling last night, suspect I will be going down the small book avenue with this one.

Felting Fun

Seemed to spend most of today tidying up round the house but did find time to felt some silk and merino to use as backgrounds.

Memories

Thinking about what I can remember has reminded me how much I hated needlework ( domestic science in those days) at school. Vaguely remember making an apron with cross stitch on it and half a pinafore dress which I think may have been completed by my sister, not sure. Anyway I gave up the subject and took art instead. After finishing art o-levels I remember seeing work from the Domestic Science o-level or it may even have been textile o-level by then. It was a piece of free machine embroidery and I remember thinking WHY DID THEY NOT TELL ME YOU COULD DO THAT!!!!

Take it further challenge (February)

I'm not very good at putting things into words which is why this blog tends to be photos, so here is result of last night brainstorming, suspect the spelling deteriorates as it was written before during and after the wine!!

Anyway, I've concentrated more on things that I can remember ( with a bit of prompting from Ian) rather than family and I have no idea where I am going to go from here at the moment.

Cyber Fyber Postcards and ATCs

CYBER FYBER is an exhibition of international fiber art scheduled for January 8th through 20th, 2009 at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios, 808 Lady Street in downtown Columbia, South Carolina, USA. The brainchild of Susan Lenz, this exhibit will focus on the supportive, global community of fiber artists with whom Susan regularly shares new techniques, contemporary approaches to textiles, and finished work by Internet websites and blogs. The exhibition will include three primary areas: Fiber ATCs (Artist Trading Cards); fiber postcards; and the work of several invited artists. The exhibition will also include FIBER DAY and ATC trading day. From the beginning, Susan Lenz is documenting CYBER FYBER on a blog/journal.'

If you haven't already heard of Cyber Fyber Exhibition, Follow the link for further details as it looks really interesting.

8th International Classic Japanese Bike Show

OK, Its about 2C and what do I get to do this morning? go to a bike show which is indoors with part of the autojumble ourdoors! It was cccold. Anyway here some photos of classic early Japanese bikes, the sort of thing I remember from the 60s/70s

Also, Ian got to play with his new camera

We did some shopping, gasket set for the GSX and binders for Tansha, the Vintage Japanese Owners Club Magazine.

Take it further challenge (February)

Posted by Sharon B,

Since it is the first of the month it is challenge day! So without further fuss here it is. This month the Take it Further challenge concept is a question. What are old enough to remember?

How did I come up with the idea. As regular readers know I am hand stitching a charm quilt and the small fabric scraps have been triggering memories. As I stitch I am constantly aware of how the world has changed in my lifetime and I am not that old! (I turn 52 this month)

It occurred to me that some of these scraps are older than the invention of rotary cutters. As I write I realise that I learnt on to type a typewriter. Now I have WiFi and a laptop. I can remember when a portable transistor radio was a big thing. I was given one with its leather case for my 14th birthday and I took it to the beach every day. Of course I remeber vinyl records too. Now I walk, garden and do the housework plugged into an ipod! We used to write letters home but now it is email.

I can remember when ‘equal pay for equal work’ came in for women. My wage packet increased a third! I can remember the big things like man walking on the moon, John Lennon being shot, the fall of the Berlin wall but what about all the little things that changed our life so much? I can remember bread, vegetables and milk all being delivered to the door. I can remember the bottle man buying our bottles and scrap metal merchants buying metal. Who said recycling is a new idea!

Who else knows how to pack the wood on a wood stove that so that it will burn evenly long enough for a cake a rise? That’s right as a country girl I was taught to cook on a wood stove. Now I have a gas stove and a micro wave oven. In winter the warmest room in the house was the kitchen and we had hot water bottles to take bed now we have electric blankets, which to be honest I never turn on because I don’t like them - much to my husbands dismay.
I remember washing that involved a copper and hand wringers then in my teens I had a really modern invention - a twin tub washer! Automatic washing machines were the height of luxury. I also remember out door toilets and how in winter had to grab an umbrella to dash down the path to visit it.

So this month stop and think what are you old enough to remember. You do not have to declare your age - but simply what you are old enough to remember.

Here is this months palette should you choose to use it

I've decided that the best way to approach this is over a bottle of wine tomorrow night. Since Ian and myself are the same age, I thought we would trigger memories from each other. Many of the things mentioned by Sharon ring bells from my childhood so who knows what else may surface. Wait and see.