Ruth Brown talk at EYES and the stage exhibition

'I'll just check your diary Nannie '...... nine months already bless her.

a night stop at nannies lol

It was Ruth Brown speaking at our monthly embroidery club meet (EYES) last weekend and she humorously explained how she found her way after a busy career, into dyeing silks, cyanotype dyeing and digitally printing on fabrics.
Ruth was a club member but since weekends are her busiest days, she can no longer attend on a regular basis, since when she's not teaching at home, she travels all over the country giving talks and doing workshops these days. 
Ruth lives out towards Spurn Point here in East Yorkshire, where she has a smashing purpose fitted out barn and runs really interesting workshops.
I've attended one of her cyanotype workshops myself and really enjoyed the photographic process.
Ruth has also written the books 'Cyantypes on Fabric' and 'Digital Imagery on Fabric' and she sells cyanotype kits from Stone Creek Farm, link below ~
http://www.stonecreeksilk.co.uk/

As usual some members brought items in to display and inspire us all and I thought you might like this quilt ......... it was such great fun.
Made by Pauline Pope and I loved it!
I'm not sure if it's from a specific pattern, I didn't think to ask at the time, I was too busy oohing and ahhhing lol

 

 

I hope it's made you smile too lol

And EYES now has a new member and its a gentleman!
I meant to ask if this was a first for us but forgot. He's very brave when there are about 130+ female members LOL though they don't all come, every month to be fair.
All credit to him mind you and the club will support him all the way I know.
And below is the quilt he displayed and he has stitched it all by hand bless him!

Good on you Graham!
Loved this bag made by Paula Bell ~ (she made the cloth dolls of a previous post)

 

and Becky Parker, one of the teenage members had made this cute Smurf Lady, which was beautifully made.

Another interesting talk to listen to and some striking work to see and then there was the sales table, full of bargains!
Like I needed any more stash ~ but its rude not to buy the odd thing or two, right, in support of the club? Right.....?

2014 already : ) and some cloth dolls .....

Happy New Year folks and I hope you've all had a lovely Christmas, celebrating or relaxing in whichever way you chose.
Christmas arrived before I was ready for it and so has 2014!
lol
I'm getting much more sorted out in the new home, although waiting for my lovely son to finish various bits but I really like the house now we have improved her in so many ways.
Of course the garden will need tackling when the weather improves -
IF the weather ever improves lol and that will be a whole other story!

First some of my fabulous (recently hung) pictures.....on a wall papered with a paper that I adore!

The central watercolour one bought for me by great pal Mary and the other two multi media pieces I bought myself from the talented Lou of DrawntoStitch.
Her work featured on the cover and in an article in CPS and its well worth looking at her Facebook photo albums to see her stunning work.
Pieces come in smashing white box frames, incredibly well wrapped up too. And no, I am not on commission!

https://www.facebook.com/DrawntoStitch

 

During December at our embroidery group (EYES) meeting we had one of our own members, Paula Bell, talk about and display the dolls she had made.
I didn't stay for the talk itself, I had other things I had to do but did stay long enough to buy a few bits off the sales table and to take a few piccies.

There was a display on the stage ( as is usual) of things that members had brought in to compliment the talk itself and Jean brought these adorable little dolls that look old, but she believes were copies of much older dolls.
( for further details ask over at JeansMuse.blogspot.com )
They are only about 5" high.... and are oddly cute, infact
they remind me of Mable Lucy Atwell illustrations lol
Am sure Jean would welcome information if anyone recognises the pattern used.

 

Jean also displayed one of her alternative dolls which I think is great fun!

 

 

I thought Paula's genie in a bottle was a clever idea lol

and loved the feet on this elfish doll

 

and here are the others, most of which are just not to my taste, but their clothing and the hands on the mermaid especially, were so well made.

 

 

I have been doing a bit of knitting for Evie and some random afghan crochet, but having taken photos, my laptop is playing up and not allowing me to download the blessed pics.
Probably as well I'm back at work tomorrow so I can drop the laptop into the IT guys, it worked fine until I downloaded the last Microsoft update!
grrrr

I hope your all safe, warm, dry and comfy, despite the world wide  weather!

The new house and a stitchy fair

This Christmas lark has come round way too fast for me again!
I have finally got my furniture out of storage and the animals came to the new home 2 days ago too.

The local removals firm were a nightmare and they were so useless this is what they left in my bathroom, but didn't mention it before they left!

 

Its a king size mattress and bed base which they couldn't fit in the bedroom cos they'd left boxes and drawers spread about and not stacked more sensibly.

 

They were going at such a rate of speed I couldn't get up the stairs to see where they were putting things and I can see why they were in such a hurry to be paid and then leave!
Now it has to be said that almost all of what they called my " boxes of trinkets" is in fact, cough, craft gear!
It took me about 30 minutes to stack it all to one side enough to allow me to get the bed base and mattress in place.
( but then I used to load aircraft for a living lol and this 'crew' were dippy daft blokes!)
Now I have to admit, my de-cluttering before I left my other, larger house was pretty thorough I thought BUT - its going to have to be an on going occupation obviously lol
Im going to have to make things using what is in any box I open, rather than think what I fancy doing then look for the makings!
The chances of finding anything is frankly pretty slim!

One third of this boxed stash is now in the boarded loft and the rest is stacked in a quirky triangular 'dressing area' in that front bedroom ( oh and tucked under the bed too lol)

I have an almost fitted kitchen, got spotlights but no taps and a sink that's not connected to the drain lol but bonus! -the lounge is almost sorted!
The dining room has yet to be sorted out, where there are more boxes but they are mostly kitchen and garage bits.
The garage is full of building debris and book cases that came here but can't fit so are going elsewhere.
Oh and the animals are getting slowly used to the new place, although Hilly puss spent her first 2 hours here - under the lounge floor! 
Having wriggled through a 4" gap in the floorboards in the under stairs cupboard for whatever reason, we could hear her mewing beneath our feet - dizzy cat!!

Okay here's some bits of interest -
Evie is growing and a joy

 

Grandson Jack is still my number one boy -

 

 

here he is playing with hand puppets from the Indigo Moon Puppet Theatre group.

 

 

and here's a few things that took my fancy at the Harrogate show

 

 

 

by Mary Fisher

http://www.maryfisher.com/the-artist---her-studio.html

And I think the below are by her also

 

 

Loved these too - all very different!

 

 

by Margaret Nicholson (- many thanks Hazel !)

Stunning beadwork though.

 

     and this was taken whilst catching a little peace from builders in my house, down at Hessle Foreshore close to the Humber Bridge.
This was under water the other day as the high winds mixed with the exceptionally high tides!

Charity shop find pattern

 

I picked up this delightful pattern for 50p and its well worth it.
From 1975 no less!
It had never been opened up or used, the tissue paper pattern still folded perfectly and although I could make much the same without using the pattern anyway, what is so lovely about this is how they have used fastenings so cleverly in the design.
Credit where it's due!

I wouldn't have thought of making lions tail, plait- able for instance
or placing buttons just so on hippos ample mouth!
Aren't they fun!!

 

Elephant is on roller skates which made me chuckle, so if it pleases old biddies it must surely be fun for children!

 

So come on folks, do you remember this pattern, did you ever make it up for your bairns, have you ever seen it made up and used maybe?

: )

In a hotel - and Lucy Anne Harding The Milkman's Daughter

Well to keep myself sane I have booked into a hotel for an overnight but - wow aren't they expensive!!
But my house is a plether of dust from saws working, plumbers plumbing stuff and a painter lining walls and painting woodwork so I've escaped.
My hair is dry with dust although it keeps its shape better - go figure!

I SO need a bath or shower because neither do I have working at home. Nor do I have my ironing board or iron and I have a large bag full of ironing and few clothes to wear, so I can use the one in the hotel room - bonus!

The house is within striking distance of being sorted but I'm really struggling at living out of a suitcase in a bedroom and have had kidney and ovary pains, both on the same side, this week, which has gotten me down and I've had nowhere to simply lay down and relax - so here am I in a hotel LOL
and double bonus - I can also use my laptop with their WFI!!! yeahhh

Anyway I wanted to show you this work by a delightful young woman who talked to our embroidery group this month.
You may have seen her work in magazines, Lucy Anne Harding - is the Milkman's Daughter ...... although a Milkwoman in her own right too!

Lucy was a real breath of fresh air, since not only does she have a delightful Staffordshire accent but she's not yet one of those overly experienced, 'polished' speakers.
She was just her lovely self, modest, unassuming and really interesting because she's telling you about her family and their business, which happens to be that of delivering milk.
Something we see less and less of on the streets we live in here in Britain.

She's also telling you about the rural community in all manner of weathers and she goes on to mention a charity she supports that assists farmers who find themselves in difficulty too.

And its perfectly plain to see that she not only loved the Guernsey cows they farmed back in the hey dey of farm milk, but she loves the land and the rural community, that she now, her father before her and her grandad before that, served as rural milkmen.

Her textile illustration, because that is what she's making - and you know I adore textile illustration anyway is a representation of some of her customers and each has a story to it.

Given that not all her rural neighbours are tall and slim with no faces LOL
she has given them a unique physical form, whilst recording that she meets them as she delivers the milk.
The background fabric features a variety of drawings she has made of the doors of houses she delivers to, so its unique too.

See the text on the fabric backgrounds in some of her work?
These are original pages from the milk rounds delivery books/orders, further personalising her work.

http://www.lucyanneharding.co.uk/

Oh and I also wanted to show you this below which was sat on a table at Scrapstore and has made use of the broken bits of manikins that were donated by Next stores.
I will show you the finished model as and when its completed, because I'm sure there will be more done to it over time by one of the resident artists.
Cool eh!!