Every cloud .....

Book covers

Although I thought this blog would be mainly about textiles it hasn't worked out that way as other interests keep poking their noses in! But I have made a few things this week, mainly book covers. Here are a couple of them -


The first one is made with "fabric paper" which was then quilted. The second has some embellished felt together with voile and foil, then burnt back, with a fme motif. The next one I made with chocolate wrappers (the smell was delicious! I get some strange looks when I swoop down on chocolate papers after someone has just eaten a choc! You have to be quick!)



Off to learn some more tips at the Camera Club tonight - another steep learning curve! but fun.

Harbour sights

I don't think these would pass muster at the Camera Club but they caught my eye and might end up as textiles!

All change

It's been a busy week since the last blog - lots of new things happening, like helping to get a new pink (pink!!) bedroom ready, taking part in a craft fair, joining a camera club and meeting new people. Today was a bit different too -


- not the usual sunday lunch (this one's for you Stu!), followed by a jaunt in the hills between Alnwick and Rothbury -



- followed by a quick visit to a garden centre -



How smart are these? Somehow they remind me of frogs ...

For all our heroes

A bus ride

Another bus ride to Newcastle with HO to see -




- some pavement barriers .... no, only joking, but I did like the colours and pattern.






- We went to see the Norman Cornish exhibition at the Northumbria University - his sketches and paintings recall a bygone era of mining and pit villages. We rather fancied buying one but the prices started about £8000! Instead we made do with some library books from the splendid Newcastle library which is due to be officially opened by Wor Queen tomorrow.

Bartering books

A visit to Barter Books ("one of the largest secondhand bookshops in Britain") left our bookshelves somewhat lighter - we came away with only one as a result of the "barter" but still have cash in the drawer so to speak. It's always a delight to go to this old railway station in Alnwick even if it's only to sit in front of the real fire with a cup of coffee and browse.



After that a quick visit to Morpeth station which yielded some peeling paint - a possible future textile?

Taking time to smell the roses ....

.... and hydrangea!

More hidden places

Clutching our bus passes, a friend and I caught the bus to Newcastle to go to an exhibition of photographs by Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen called "Byker Revisited" in the Side Gallery. This exhibition of portraits and landscapes comes 40 years after she came to the north-east to make the first photographic documentary of Byker. We still have the original book of photos so it was really interesting to see this "update" (and scarey to think how many years have passed!).

On the way to the gallery we found some hidden stairways, only a few of the many near the Tyne Bridge.

Back to explore some more one day!

Hidden places

We went for a short drive yesterday starting with a visit to one of our favourite places (and coffee shop!) at Kirkharle Courtyard. Lots of interesting workshops and a gallery (some of my work here!) and of course the coffee shop. Also the birthplace of Capability Brown.

A few miles further on -

we came to Great Bavington Church. We had driven past this isolated church before and had wondered why it was in the middle of nowhere with only a farm and a few cottages for company. Where had the people come from?

Later I googled the church (first entry for Great Bavington Church) and found that there was a fascinating history attached to it. There had once been a medieval village of 300 people; it is now a conservation area. In the 1590s the reiving Armstrongs and Elliotts had stolen oxen, cows and a horse (at least it wasn't the Robsons!).

Two "arty" pics to end - one from Kirkharle, the work of Dennis Kilgallon

and one from Gt Bavington

- the passage of time!

Have a heart!

A few hearts for hanging! These are for an upcoming craft fair. The black and white one is for a NU fan!

Embroidery

I find that one of the most fascinating developments in embroidery is the combination of photography and stitching, either by hand or machine. I took this photo in Inverewe Gardens in Scotland -


- printed it out, transferred it to fabric and added hand stitching. (This one's for you Julie!)

Seaton Sluice

In spite of the unusual name this small harbour between Blyth and Whitley Bay has a lot of history attached to it. The coal and glass trade flourished here just over 200 years ago - I wonder if the bottle in the bottom of the boat is an old bottle from this time?

Jigsaw

It's wet out there

The narrow way

Change of hats

I exchanged my various hats for my crafty one in order to make two Christmas stockings for some special little people. The heart is to hang up somewhere! More are in the pipeline ...