Festival of Quilts

                                                                     Story of the Earth

Yesterday Stitch&Bitch friend Lynne and I took the coach to the NEC to visit the Festival of Quilts. Lynne had a heck of an early start...she was running the dogs on Heacham beach about 5.30...and she is NOT a morning person! Jim drove us to the pick up point for 0700hours and we boarded a half empty coach; this was lovely for us all as we could spread out over two seats each, and have a good doze, but we wonder whether the company will be running the coach there next year, it can't have been worth their while financially.

We noticed fewer than usual cars and coaches - the recession is certainly biting. We decided to view the quilts together then split up to shop and meet up for lunch. Well, I don't know, unless we are both getting a bit jaded, or it is just that we've been around a long time looking at quilts, but we felt we had seen SO MANY of them before. Lots of lookey-likeys, and ....well, I'm not going to carp because I do think everyone should have an opportunity to exhibit and amateurs should be shown as well as the more prominent almost-pros and professionals. And correct me if I'm wrong, anyone who went also, but there didn't seem to be so many entries this year.

We thought this deserved more than Highly Commended. Lovely colour and design, and beautifully finished.

Now you know I like a bit of a basket, there were a few Baltimore-type quilts, but I wasn't terribly struck by most of them.

I must apologise here and now, as I have no idea who made each quilt. We decided against buying programmes at £6 just to be ale to put a name to each quilt. How mean are we?? Why can't they label the quilts? They put other information on them. I know the judges mustn't know the names but the labels could go up afterwards, or have a cover....or something. It's so annoying even when you DO have a programme, faffing about with your bag, your camera, your bags of stuff, your glasses...oh for goodness' sake!

                       Lovely wholecloth with stipple quilting.....only one of its kind.

             More hand stipple quilting.........oops, that's one of mine, how did that get there!!!

                                           Love the painterly effect of this one.

                                                              Juicy, juicy colours!

This was another Judges Choice, Vikings Beware, really lovely. Something to do with the sea holly thorns giving the Viking invaders sore feet. Or so I was told. They'd have thick foot-coverings on, surely? Anyway it was a great quilt.

                Masterful. Reminds me of C June Barnes  Dyeing to Quilt series.

                                                                     Impact! Precision!

                               

                      Simply.........

                            .............stunning.

                      I do find I am more and more drawn to the quite graphic designs these days.

                                                           Or outbursts of colour.

       I don't think this would have appealed to me 10 years ago. Ah well, you live and learn!

                                                           Just beautiful.

I stopped and spoke to a young lass called Sarah Stewart, who has just graduated from the University of Dundee, and was exhibiting in the Graduate Showcase....she was in fact the winner of the judges  Graduate Showcase Award. We liked her work best of all so were in full agreement! She has a blog:

intoaparalleluniverse.com  check it out. Wishing you all success in the future, Sarah. Here are some of her textiles.

           Beautiful colours, lovely linen; the embroidery reminded me of stitched collages.   

So, yes, I did take a few more photos but you have probably all dropped off to sleep and I'm getting mesmerised by the key board, so that will have to do! I stopped by to renew acquaintence with lovely Janet Bolton, she must have met a thousand people, all old students of hers, yet she always has time for a smile and a chat. I adore her work.

We found it quite pleasant being able to get to the stalls without fighting our way through several layers of other shoppers, but it doesn't bode well for the takings. We gave a nod and a wave to old friends, Magie at the African Fabric Shop, and Yvonne Brown and Annette Morgan, both members of Anglia Textile Works, old stitching pals, busy in their booths. 

We stopped for lunch at just after 1pm, and then sat and nattered til 3pm, quick look at Art VAn Go, which I had missed! first time round, then we went and got on the coach, we  were away by4pm and back in Kings Lynn by 6.30....very hot and tired out but having had a super day. And to make things even better, Jim had  bought an Indian takeaaway so no cooking!!!Yay!

Oh, and in case you wondered..........

This was what I bought! Yes, I know, how circumspect was I! Some hand-dyed felted wool from 21st Century Yarns, some variegated hand-dyed threads from Oliver Twists - lovely, lovely company, a few Kaffe Fasset fat quarters - just because - and some BEAUTIFUL journals. Can't wait to get into these. But they will have to wait as I am off tomorrow to Burwell in Cambridgeshire, to the annual Burwell Bash, a week of music, good food, late nights, music, laughter, more food, even later nights, more music and most of all more laughter. I'm meeting up with my 'other family'.  I will take LOADS od photos, and will see if I can blog while I'm there...though I seldom have time even to read a page of a book when I am there. I have to phone Jim before breakfast, because once the day starts ....it just goes and I never remember to ring after supper....no time....no time! I KNOW i am going to have just THE BEST time as usual.  Catch up with you soon.

Another Jaunt

         For no other reason than it looked great and tasted even better! Luxury bread and butter pud.

Yesterday was what I can only describe as a "PerfickDay". From start to finish. Well, actually it started off by raining in our neck of the woods, but by the time I had driven as far as Dereham - about halfway to my friend Sue's in Wymondham, the rain stopped. By the time I got to her's the sun was shining and it just continued improving all day!

Sue has a lovely garden - though she'd say it was getting overgrown and ...mutter...mutter...but really it is so pretty.

I love raised beds.........

Even in decay there is beauty..love-in-a-mist

...and giant allium...I have some to take home and disperse...

We had planned our day well, Sue and I. First we had a trip to Hobbycraft as Sue's daughter wanted some dyes...a throwback to the 60's Alice was about to tie-dye a dress. Sue and I picked up one or two odds and ends. No, no photos, and I'm leaving it to your imaginations what I came home with. Suffice to say black marker pens of several descriptions comes into it!

Then we drove across to Trowse, which now is just a district of Norwich but I suspect was once a pretty little village - I wish I'd taken more photos. We lunched, not here...

....it looked so attractive I had to show you........but here, right across the road....

I couldn't get a proper photo of the outside, but inside was very fresh and cool, just what we needed.

And here is one of its most discerning diners. Sue can always find a good veggie restaurant.We had:

and very god it was too. Then we headed back to Wymondham to the Arts Centre. We 'd popped in there a couple of weeks ago and noticed an upcoming exhibition which included a friend of Sues, Kerry Buck.

I love Kerry's work, and did come away with a beautiful print...though I was spoiled for choice. The light was poor this morning when I photographed it but you can see how lovely it is.What's that you say? ROOKS????? But you loathe and despise them, Lynne! Yes I do, but I love seeing the cordivae family expressed in paint...or fabric, come to that.

And the text is just perfect, as I spent years getting my husband to admit the noisy creatures at the bottom of our garden were rooks, not crows!

Just to rub it in! Not yet decided where it's to go, but it will settle in to the cottage very nicely indeed.
And coincidentally, I was chatting to Kerry and she knows Yvonne (of S&B fame) and has exhibited with her in the past. Expect a call soon, Yvonne! What a small world it is.

But that's not all! Feeling quite warm and in need of a restorative cuppa, we set off a  little way to visit the Egg Shed. Now this is a newish enterprise run by a young woman called Annabel Barber, who lives at Cavick House Farm. A fine arts graduate, Annabel works part time at the Sainsbury Centre,  but has Big Plans for developing arts/crafts and sociability on the farm site. (You can tell how much I was drawn to this, can't you? I must take the Stitch & Bitch girls, they'll love it.)

We found Annabel and her lovely mum Julie tending the front garden, and I do mean getting down to it with lawn mower and weeding bucket. The farm supports several breeds of sheep, pigs, and free-ranging hens. The ambience of the place is wonderful...helped of course by the brilliant weather we had yesterday.

The whole thing works on an honesty principle, and it works. While we were there several people drove, walked and cycled up to pick up their boxes of eggs, look aren't they magnificent, love the boxes!
So Annabel decided that people might just be needing a cuppa when they've popped in so she opened the Tea Shed. Sue and I checked it out and quenched our thirst in the shade with a generous couple of Earl Greys!

         The wonderful metal rooster looks as if he's creeping up on the thirsty chook! Love it!

Annabel has future plans for a barn which she'd love to present as an arts and crafts cafe. BLISS! and throw in some live music I said...... Anyway, check out their website www.annabelseggshed.co.uk

Second coincidence of the day, Sue's friend Max is a garden photgrapher -  see her article coming out in October's Country Living - and has asked Sue to model with her new Pashley bike (it's a little cutie, basket and all) actually at the egg shed - would you believe it?

Time to get back to Sues, then off I set for my melodeon lesson...love it! Nick's friend Edda was visiting from Sweden, along with another Nick. Together the three of them form Triette making the most fab music on fiddle, guitar, mandolin and melodeon. And at the end of my lesson Nick asked if I'd like to play a number with them all so we did the CEG which is a Swedish Polska. Fynn joined in on cello. Oh I could have cried, it was so lovely to be playing such a beautiful tune with such great musos. My day couldn't have got any better.

Gentle drive back home in the sunshine, little traffic on the roads. Back to regale Jim with the splendours of my day, bliss! Catch you soon, hope you had a brilliant Tuesday too.

Reasons To Be Cheerful

Two blogs in particular have given me a bit of an elbow in the ribs recently. Sue, on The Quince Tree quoted a poem by Grace Noll Crowell, called Such Joy in Simple Things, which pulled me up short as I had been in low-grade grumbly mode. Then I read Penelope's post, on L is for Love, where she was considering 10 Good Things Right Now.

Having a high level of intolerance for....well, all sorts of things, really, I can easily slip into an irritated frame of mind a propos of almost nothing at all. And it is annoying. Both for those around me, and for me, too. So without wishing to get too right-on and positive thinking, shoving my gratitude for life down folks' throats, I'm going to be considering some Reasons To Be Cheerful on a regular basis.

Now I shall be posting this on Saturday, when I've sorted the photos out, but I'm writing it now, on Friday. And obviously, it is a given that my family and friends are always souces of cheerfulness to me!

REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL

The sun is really shining today, and I'm basking in its warmth.

All around me Great Britons are allowing themselves to feel proud about being British!

The Garden is still looking quite good, lush growth and colour.

 I have been reading some lovely comments on the last blog-post.

I actually got down to organising the neccessary for my Baskets Quilt! Yay!

......and actually made a start!

My new business cards arrived from Moo, and I love 'em...thankyou Cathy (Potter Jotter)

I managed to work out the left hand all by myself chords and basses to the new tune I'm learning on my melodeon! I shall amaze Nick, my tutor on Tuesday! Love it! (It's the RSB by Andy Cutting  - who else? - in case you're interested.)

I bought this mag a couple of weeks ago, only got down to reading it today!

Reached page 15...the Feedback page and there I found..........

.......................my Angel! Yes, there she is, Gloria, in all her ........glory! What a surprise. And look at that total we raised.....fantastic!

I finished a journal page using my new Inktense Pencils...love 'em!

While rummaging for the Basket Quilt fabrics, I came across this.........

It's the Auntie Green's Quilt which I saw in mmmmmm, I think Australian Quilting Magazine ages ago. I got as far as the central appliqued panel and the first border of pinwheels. One day.....one day.....but it was great to look at it again and ponder.

We got into town early this morning and did the shopping before most other people were up and about - bliss!Today just meandered along, in quiet contemplation and harmony between us. Nothing wildly exciting happened, it was just laid back and gentle. And very, very cheerful.

Journalling Supplies

Now first of all I must do something which I ought to have done a few posts back, but events overtook me - as so often happens! A couple of weeks ago Ada Bea from Vintage Sheet Addict blog, awarded me the 'Lovely Blog Award' which was so kind of her. Ada has only been blogging a short while and has already got right into the swing of it...pop across and visit! So........

Big thank you, Ada, and I nominate....gosh this is hard.......and you kind of forget who's got which award so hope I don't duplicate anyone here........

Christine at A Mermaid's TaleA mermaid's tale...........Els at Fiberrainbowfiberrainbow........Wendz at 15 Coast Road15 coast road
Sue at  crafts@homecrafts@home and Penelope at L is for LoveLisforLove. I will try and do the linky thing but if it doesn't work, take some time out to visit these lovely sites, if you don't already know them.

Oh and.....a few things you don't know about me...that you don't already know....that I don't mind you knowing! Even more difficult!

1. I love horses and riding but have quite recently lost my nerve, which is hugely sad, but there you are.

2. I have wasted 6 months of a gymn subscription; partly due to a family bereavement and partly to the trouble I had with The Toe, but mostly because of sheer apathy. Smack wrist!

3. I am having difficulty getting back into my textile mode - this is not a Good Thing!

4. And because the other 3 have been mostly confessional and a bit negative I am going to blow my own trumpet and tell you that my usually non-commenting melodeon tutor made some ridiculously lovely comments about my playing the other night, I was beaming widely all the way home, 50 miles in the car! I have to say he is not a grumpy tutor - far from it, just doesn't make a fuss about progress etc. So such comments are highly prized, believe me!

That's your lot about me.  I was asked about the pens and markers I use for my journals so I thought it would make a good - and colourful - post. Bear in mind that I am not the fount of all - or even very much- knowledge on this topic, I am very much a beginner and it is kind of a side-line with me. If you want to know more there are LOADS of bloggers out there who really know what they are talking about, and some brilliant tutorials on youtbube.

So, starting back-to-front, really, the markers which I use for my favourite bit of journalling, the last bit, the writing and detailing. I do sometimes use them in the earlier stages, but mostly not.

These are Letraset PROMARKER permanent twin tip inks. They blend beautifully and the wedge and bullet tips are really useful. Yes, you can store them like this!

Ah, my lovely twin-tipped ink markers, various brands. Great for both coverage with the brush tips and fine detail with....the other end! I have  Marvy LePlume,  Tombow ABT, Zig Art & Graphic Twin, Zig Calligraphy, Berol, Stabilo `Write-all.I have a pack of Staeddtler triplus fineliners which are nice for detail, and can be found in supermarkets for much less than the full price. I think that's it, I will never turn down a new brand, and would LOVE to be able to afford COPIC markers which everyone raves about, but as a messer-abouter I am not going to take on a mortgage to buy markers which are definitely in the professional league.

I also have a collection of the most important BLACK MARKERS which I forgot to take a piccie of, sorry. Journallers will atest to the fact that a good black lettering marker is a special find and you choose carefully. I have various tip-sizes of Sharpies, a bog standard Multi Purpose Marker Pen, Faber-Castell Pitt markers are brill, various tips with them, Uni-pin fineline by Mitsubishi do a great pen, and I pick up anything I think will do the job.

WHITE MARKERS are less common and I use mine up quickly. I have a new uni POSCA white marker, also mitsubishi I just note. Pilot do a variety of tips but are a bit  over-emotional at times! Sakura do a BRILLIANT gelly roll white, I love it, and also I have a Hybrid Gel by Pentel. They use up at varying rates.

 Ooooops, I notice I also have some metallic markers which I use for small details - too much is....too much!

The surfaces these markers write best on also varies, some will cover almost any surface, others are a little more temperamental. As long as they are permanent you can varnish over them, but to be on the safe side I varnish (if I'm going to at all) before I add the lettering and final details.

I've also got some Derwent Inktense water-colour ink pencils which give a lovely saturated colour when you paint over them with water, and some Aquapastels which do a great finishing job, or as an all-over background which I then knock-back with a thin layer of white acrylic or white gesso, scraped down with an old credit card - a brilliant and simple technique.

I also buy large tubes of acrylic from discount stores which come in great for backgrounds, I love scraping a layer of in onto the page as well.

..............and I wouldn't be me if I didn't have a book or two on the subject!

These are my own journals....the top smaller one is one I am prepping the pages to take to Ireland with me.  Each page is ready with a background, some colour, maybe some collage, some barely-seen background stamping....so all I have to do is the lettering and final detail, which means I don't have to take a load of stuff with me.

 (Besides which I shall be stitching, playing and listening to some music, shopping, sight-seeing maybe..and just generally chillin'!)

Here are some detail shots of the page I made in response to the way I was feeling about the 'count -down' to the Olympics. I was quite angry with all the shennanigins, but I am now enjoying the stuff that REALLY MATTERS - sponsors take note YOU ARE NOT IMPORTANT.  I do not want to eat your disgusting beefburgers or drink your toxic brown liquid.  You do not 'own' the logo or the name or anything else. Stop spreading your noxious influence round the world and do something honest with your billions. There. I promised myself I would not rant on my blog and I just did. Get over it.

Phew, well, it's just between you and me, isn't it? Actually I felt we should have orchestrated mass civil disobedience and everyone worn 'illicit' tee-shirts or hats to the torch journeys through each town...let them try and sue everyone - hah! Anyway, the superb efforts by the real heroes of the events have pushed all of that to the background and there is true Olympic spirit being shown every day. Well done to them!

well, I think it's all I've got to say about my journalling 'stuff'. I have re-organised my space to better accommodate things near to hand. But I'm now feeling the tug of the textiles urging me to get my mitts on some fabric and commence stitching again. Thank goodness! I wish I could be an evenly balanced person....after all, I am a Libran...but I am a bit all or nothing...there, that's another thing about me! It's amazing, really, that I get anything finished at all, but I muddle through, somehow.

Hope you are enjoying your Olympic  weekend, and that some of you, at least, are having some continuous sunshine! Catch you next time.

MoonDance

Yes, it really was this big and round, taken at Newmarket Racecourse last night when I went to see Van Morisson in concert. My son Michael made it happen for me and his lady Vicki to go and see His Old Grumpiness....and he didn't disappoint! He may not be the cuddliest, audience-engaging performer, but by gum can he still pull it off! He must have covered every one of his Golden Oldies, which many performers don't like to do, as they want to give their latest work the exposure. It was great, his set lasted 2 hours and he didn't leave the stage - talk about stamina. And he can still cut it with the voice, something which I fear me old Mucca Macca can say theses days. The sun shone - til the moon came out - and the rain held off. Brilliant! My photography skills let me down, sadly, though I do have more from Vicki's camera.

I did manage this one, however. We were really well placed quite close. (I think we inadvertantly came in the wrong gate and should really have been right at the back watching it on the screens, but though I kept flashing my ticket, they just waved us through. Probably thought OAP's need to get close enough to be able to see without their binocculars!)

So yes, great night, wish I hadn't danced so much I am paying for it this morning! Ah well, at least I've still got me own hips!

See you soon with the next proper post!