My 2nd Blogaversary

Yes, two years ago today I started this blog. It began as a record of textile makes a friend and I were preparing for craft fairs. As it happens, that particular venture didn't come to fruition, but I found I was enjoying taking photographs and writing a bit about this and that. So although the blog changed in content over time, I'm still enjoying putting my posts together and keeping in touch with other bloggers, and those of you who so kindly and regularly leave a comment.

With better techno skills I might have made a better job of organising this post into a nice chronological story, but I'm afraid despite spending hours trying upload from various sources the photographs are all higgledy-piggledy. But I hope you get the drift. Here then are some high-spots in the last two years of Textile Treasury. First up, some photos, including the one above, taken in June 2012 when our son Kit and his family came home from New Zealand for a long holiday. We all squeezed into our cottage, and the weather was dreadful most of the time, but we had some fun. You can find the relevant posts in the archive.

Krissie's 40th birthday party held at our local because there were so many of us! Dylan and Fraser.

                                               Beccie, Krissie and Kit THe Birthday.

January February 2013 - Jim and I flew out of a snow-bound Britain to sun-soaked New Zealand. This was our trip to Hobbiton, a scorcher of a day with some wonderful photographs to remember it by.

JIm and I on a day out with Kit and Krissie to a wonderful winery. Great scenery and lovely meal.

The day we all went ot the Sky Tower in Auckland. Standing on the glass floor was a challenge!

While we were there I made some small repairs to the Bible Quilt I had made for Dylan about five years earlier. Well loved and well worn!

Back home again, finishing off the quilt I made for Krissie.

One of the cushions I made with the vintage Sufolk Puffs purchased from A Mermaid's Tale.

A seaside cushion made, and sold. The craft fairs didn't work out but somehow things manage to get themselves sold!

Another cushion, made with vintage and re-purposed fabrics. I'm rather pleased with this one.

And who can forget the ongoing story of the Wild Garlic! I picked it, I wrote about it, I cooked with it, I froze it, and by gum we certainly ate a lot of it! Again, stories in the archive if you like.

 The Ouse Washes Molly Dancers - Musical Branch! This was taken up at Ely Cathedral just before the massed sides Processional through the City .

Stopping to dance in Ely. It was a very hot day and there was much more to come!

Very late one night at the Burwell Bash, just managing to keep up with the session. This is my annual music fix. More stories and incriminating pictures archived!

 On our way out to dinner for Jane's birthday, during the Burwell Bash 2013

Oh! Back to Ely, this is the Ouse Washes up at the Ely Festival site. In the middle of a field in temperatures of around 34 centigrade!

 A well deserved breather at Ely.

Ouse Washes at Welbourne Festival. Much cooler and wetter than Ely!

This was Folk at The Forge, hosted by the Harmonious Blacksmith Nigel - a great time was had by all!

My first forays into lino- printing, following a workshop by Amanda Colville. You can read about it - yes, you guessed it, in the ARCHIVE!

OH! Slipped back twelve months to a collection of items I made for the craft fair.

Here is the original "One Bird upon a Hill beneath a Star. I've now made and sold three of these, but this is my favourite still.

A spate of furniture painting! I painted them OUTSIDE, by the way, just photographed them here as it began to rain. Eventually I will finish the other chairs!

There was much bread making over the past two years, plain strong bread flour, spelt and rye, sour-dough, wholemeal, you name it, I baked it!

This spice corner of my kitchen references the Great Clear Out and Re-Organisation which took place in 2012. This extended to freezer sorting and recording, and menu planning posts and frugal food posts ....... habits which astoundingly have lasted into 2014!

Wild Garlic Pesto!

Wild Garlic Oil. I still have wild garlic butter in the freezer! It won't be too long before I start picking fresh supplies!

Lots of music making, dancing, festival going, family gathering, garden-photographing, textile viewing, caravanning, quilt making, bangle making, felt loving, friends gathering, food enjoying, and of course - BLOGGING! Sorry the photos aren't in order, and are woefully short of the whole story, but I hope you've enjoyed the memories. Two years isn't all that long in blogging circles, but it's been long enough to find some really good blogs which I enjoy regularly keeping in touch with, and some super bloggers, some of whom I have made friends with. Sorry, blogging does not confer upon you the inability to end a sentence with a preposition!

So however this blog evolves, I do hope those of you who have stuck it out so far will stick around for what's to come - I couldn't do it without you!

Great Times

Well now, I'm aware I'm a tad late with this post, and so much has been happening I don't know where to begin and as for choosing which photographs to include..... anyway, I shall just dive in. Here you see Colin, one of the Ouse Washes Mollys musicians, and Bryan's back, one of the dancers who plays a few instruments himself. We danced out last Monday night at the Ship Inn  at Brandon Creek, with the Coton Morris side. We danced outside the pub....

I gave my camera to a Coton Morris man at this point and he did warn me he was pants at taking pictures...... anyway, here's one of us musicians as we always get left out!!

You can just make out my hat and coat of many colours. Well, coat of a few stray bits of fabric!

And we danced inside the pub, then we had a bit of a session which was lovely. I packed my fiddle and my melodeon - I'll need a bigger car soon, or get myself a Roadie!

                                                                      Step Dancer

             
                                                                   Nicky on clarinet

                                      Bryan on mandolin and Elin on fiddle.

Last Wednesday - second in the month - was Stitch and Bitch which was lovely as some of us haven't seen others of us (!) for a while what with the holidays and such. I finally finished my wool/felt Bird and Flowers cushion cover.

And yes, they are pins which you see at the bottom, simply because this photo was taken before it was completed and I forgot to do one after I finished! But it is, honestly!

 And in the evening it was the Very First Kitchen Table Session round at our house. Nine of us sat round our table with a mixture of instruments and a brilliant time was had. It was a tight squeeze at times, so Jim has sorted out a space for us round the corner at our local pub. Next month, however, as I'm in Wales, the session will be at Rob and Marj's. We've been talking about this for quite a while and finally just got on and DID it. This Wednesday saw me zipping up the A47 - again - to Dereham for Folk Club at the King's Head, which is always a good night.

Today has been a REALLY lovely one. Jim took mum's shopping and did all the Saturday Morning stuff for me so that I could go to Norwich  - that A47 again! - to visit this :

 I went principally to see Amanda - Amanda Colville of Mangle Prints who you will have read about here before. I bought one of her beautiful prints but it's for a gift so I won't show it yet. And of course I bought too many cards! Then I went for coffee at a lovely little place called The Bicycle Shop, all old wood, pews and saggy cushions and great coffee. The sun shone in and Vivaldi was playing, a gentle whiff of incense and peace - it was wonderful.

After which I popped across the road to a very interesting little place which called to me:

Go on, you'd have crossed the road too, wouldn't you? And don't worry about the Closing Down bit....

             Gorgeous things to buy, and fabric, and oil-cloth, and cards, and prints, and..........

a big room at the back where the Proprietor, Kay Spalding, holds all kinds of workshops: printing, felt-making, knitting and crochet, sewing and textiles, silver jewellery-making....... what an amazing place!

Kay specialises in locally sourced vintage ad hand-crafted gifts and jewellery as well as running the workshops. Next month she closes the shop HOWEVER, after a short break she will be re-opening at new premises nearer to home, in Park Lane, in January. Nearer the time I will let you know the full address and you can pop along yourselves!

And hey, Go Me! I have finished another pincushion! Just so you don't think I have gone Off The Boil!

I'm quite chuffed with it actually. What d'you think? Soooo quick and easy peasy and fun to do.

So here are the three of them in all their glory - on a tray with Morning Glory! Ha! Set up or what! (It wasn't actually, it's only just struck me, but there you are, serendipity strikes again. I'm rambling.)

Definitely time for me to pack in! If you have lasted this long, well done for sticking with it! I must try and write more frequent, shorter posts, but then, I said this before and it never happens. Hope you all have a happy, sunny Sunday, looks like the weather is going to be kind again. Bye for now!