what a busy week that was...postal goodies and some flowers...

I can't believe it is over a week since I last posted...no matter how good my intentions I don't seem to manage more than 1 post a week, if that...still, I have a good excuse...it was a busy busy week.

Postal goodies came and were ooohed over...

from Marie as part of the lucy locket quilt swap I received this little beauty...



I oohed (and aahed) over the amazing stitching and will be contacting Marie for hints and tips (I dream of doing such beautiful stitches)




as well as a ball of deliciously soft cashmere mix yarn (I feel so spoiled - I love cashmere, how did you know Marie? did a little quilt fairy tell you?)

and last but not least, ooooh noooo, this delicious and delightful extra strong Lancashire tea, it comes in square teabags (it says so on the box).

No-one in the house is allowed this tea, except ME!!!

Thank you so much Marie...

I also received these two amazing photos in the Scent of Water photo swap. The theme this time was reflections...beautifully captured by Christine (for whom I have no blog address unfortunately).

Thanks Christine...

so, what else have I been up to...

why Chelsea Flower Show, of course...








all those lovely gardens inspired me to revamp our own the minute I got home...

Mr G (photographed here with his lovely helper Ms B) was simply thrilled, as I am sure you can imagine, especially when the rains began to fall

but I did make up for it with a proper afternoon tea...I even let him have a cup of Lancashire's finest...just that once...

(no sweet treats put out until tea was poured, otherwise the gannets swoop)

swap goodies, an exhibition and a meeting...

On Friday myself and Ms Bester met with the lovely Katy from imagingermonkey and her son, ginge ( obviously that's not his real name). We visited the Skin and Bones exhibition at Somerset House where I was delighted to bask in Katy's reflected glory....the woman was only wandering around the show with one of the exhibition items on her back...I tried to persaude her to hop up on the plinth and be done with it but strange as it may seem she managed to resist. The show was great. Lots of very sculptural fashion pieces juxtaposed with interesting architectural models, designs and photographs. I was most interested in the clothes: think Junya Watanbe, Yohji Yamamoto et al etc along with Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood from closer to home. Well worth a visit, if only to see Mc Queen's amazing appliqued skirt with leather bodice - I almost wept. Don't go expecting pretty floral prints and a fashion trends to follow for this season, this is serious stuff, imprevious to such paltry concerns...

We then retired to Gabriel's Wharf for some lunch and swapping of our sewn goods.

Katy produced a beautiful Astronoughty for Ms. Reva's fifth birthday in a couple of weeks time



and a great bag for all the child's bits'n'bobs...

how cool is that, it's even got a tag with her name on...she is going to love it!

and for me a really lovely little tea coaster...

Katy has obviously been paying attention to my interminable ramblings on the subject of that fine beverage. Ms Reva set up the following shot, to showcase both the lovely new coaster and my favourite vintage teacup as well as the teapot she helped me paint when she was two years old.

See that blob inside the lid? That's Reva Girl's thumbprint...

Thanks so much Katy - you are a star!

I mentioned to Katy previously that I was thinking of making an owl and pussycat mini-quilt, she said it was her favourite piece of nonsense verse and I didn't need any further encouragement...


here's the back:

difficult to see much with all that Michael Miller stripe going on but as I was making the quilt I reflected on the fact that I actually sometimes like the backs of such things more than the fronts. After I had done the appliqued front with the owl and cat on I just loved the wrong side with the stitched outline (before I added the striped backing). It reminded me that when at art school most of my drawings focussed on negative spaces rather than positive, there appears to be something about what is absent rather than present that attracts me...hmm, may need to give this a little more reflection...

other swap news:

sneaky peek of my actual Lucy Locket mini-quilt swap for Marie


I really hope she likes it...

and a finished Functional Felt Swap pincushion and needle-roll soon to be off to a surprise recipient

These are made from a thrifted felted scarf (the blue) and cashmere sweater (the pages in the needleroll) along with some really pretty vintage trims that were in my stash. I really want to keep them for myself as I need one of each (well, I actually do have a needle book but the cashmere pages in this one are just gorgeous so I want it!). The pincushion was inpired by this tutorial right here...I didn't follow the tutorial right to the letter (far too lazy for that) but the end result is pretty much the same.

next up - the doll swap...am nervous about this one I must say, never having made a doll before...wish me luck...no, more than that send me inspiration...

interested in knitting, sewing or the creation of open-source software? ...plus, news of a popster after my own heart

would you happen to be interested in knitting, sewing or the creation of open-source software? if so, I have just the exhibition for you ...Open Source Embroidery:Craft and Code

The blurb says: "The project was developed by Ele Carpenter when working as an artist in residence at Access Space in Sheffield and Isis Arts in Newcastle upon Tyne" and it sounds fascinating, in a geeky kind of way (I'm allowed to say that you see, as I've done my share of software crafting in my day and so consider myself a kind of latter-day geek). There is an evening preview on Friday 16th and some knitting and embroidery getogethers to be announced...

Other random news is that I donned my old punk-rocker hat last Friday night and went to see Vic Godard and Subway Sect (Mr G is a major fan, and our daughters request some Vic everynight as part of the bedtime routine so it's a bit of a family thing now)...they were playing this tiny venue "The Arts Theatre Club" in Soho...there were about 50 people and Vic with four musicians on a stage I wouldn't have thought you could fit four mice on...it was hilarious. The music was great and Mr Vic proved himself to be a man after my own heart by interrupting the set to request........." a cup of tea"....well, that knocked the wind from the bar staff's sails so much that my dear Mr G had to step across the road to Bar Italia to get the man a takeaway cuppa...so there you go, my brush with celebrity and fame couldn't have gotten much better really...


The rest of our evening out was pretty great too - we went to see Duchamp, ManRay and Picabia at Tate Modern. An exhibition I could have missed to be honest, all that misogynistic posturing of certain strands of the 20th century art scene leaves me cold (though I do admire some of the more conceptual work by Duchamp in particular), but we did fit in a very pleasant drink in the bar afterwards, followed by some conveyor belt sushi in Soho at a tiny place we used to frequent a lot, some espressos and a shared nata at the aforementioned Bar Italia, then the gig and the last train home.

Our aim had been to somehow recreate the aimless wandering around Soho we did so much of a decade ago, and by jove I think we did it...and 'twas just as wonderful as I remember it being...

right, here are some sewing pictures...English paper pieced patchwork technique - I love it. My craftastic sister Marion made a whole double quilt out of our old summer dresses using this technique, I remain in awe to this day. I managed something slightly bigger than a coaster...

...special people...tea bliss...swap goodies...

as I mentioned it was my friend Nich's birthday...we visited at the weekend bringing tea(bliss*) related gifts for Nich :

• one finished teacosy in Noro Silk Mountain - tick
  
• one tin of Fortnum & Mason Regent's Blend - tick
  
• one jar of F&M chocolate covered florentines - tick
  
• one copy of Tea Bliss (which will either make him laugh hysterically and wonder if I have lost my mind or will change his life forever) - tick
  

and a rather special little gift for his lovely wife whose birthday it was recently also...

"oldfingers family " by tenfingerworkshop (felted habitat by yours truly)

we spent some sunny days in their pretty country garden, enjoyed a bbq or two and a walk through the bluebells...unfortunately I forgot my camera so no photographic evidence exists and the only photo of the teacosy on the teapot is in Nich's camera as I write...don't fret, no doubt I'll post it (totally out of context) one of these days...

in other news on the milkwood front I received a beautiful parcel from Diane in the heart of Texas...we were doing a Vintage Swap exchange arranged by Meridian...and I was delighted to receive some vintage gloves (which Ms. Reva insists are so lovely they should only be used for a wedding) and a very pretty swarovski crystal necklace...I'll unveil what I sent Diane as soon as I know she has received it safely...

Thank You Diane!

*a lot of the bliss was mine I must admit as provided a perfect opportunity to spend a recent lunch hour in the glorious Fortnum and Mason foodhall - my god they do an overwhelming amount of beautifully packaged tea!