Testing

One two, one two.

Reading Cushion

A couple of months ago I had my first attempt at applique - a stylised Tree of Life - which I was really pleased with.  My second attempt resulted in me sewing my finger to the material, but that's another story!  Anyway, I decided I would use my 'Tree' panel as the centre piece for a new cover for my reading cushion which was looking rather tatty.  I like to read in bed and my reading cushion is the ideal size to keep me propped up and comfortable.

So here it is - I bought some dark brown faux suede material for the cover, machine stitched the panel to the middle of the cover - then machine stitched some velcro to the inside bottom and outside lower back of the cover to keep the cushion in place.

I've also been itching to have a go at making some small wall hanging panels using applique, and have been toying with various ideas such as hearts, birds and roosters.  I'm really loving the whole folk-art revival thing going on at the moment! 

On a DIY related trip into Chesterfield today, I managed to pick up some thin dowling which will be ideal for the hangers, and as I already have material and cord, there's really no excuse for me to not get started.

See you later ...

Feeling a bit overwhelmed by life, the universe and everything at the moment so here's something nice to look at:-

Happy New Year

Not sure why, but not feeling very 'bloggy' at the moment.  I would, however, just like to say this:

Grooving to ...

With bells on!

Mary at work set me the challenge of making her a card hanger to go along a wooden beam which spans her living room ceiling. At 11 feet long it was going to be a bit of a task, and I wasn't sure how to approach it at first.  I decided to make some Christmas bunting using red bias binding folded in half and some fat quarters of christmas material that I bought a few years back.  I got some small gold pegs off ebay which are perfect for hanging the cards onto.  Finally, whilst in Hobbycraft last week I saw some tiny gold bells which would make the perfect finishing touch for the points of the flags.

I'd cut all the pieces out a couple of weeks back, and damn and blast my sewing machine wouldn't work.  I had another go tonight and managed to coax just enough life out of the machine to get it finished. It's not perfect but not too bad as a prototype I thought.

Hope Mary likes it!

. 

It would be nice ...

to have some good news for a change.

Sadly today brought the news that my Aunty Margaret in Newcastle had suffered a stroke last night and passed away this morning after a massive heart attack. She had been a bit of a creaking gate for some years with chest problems, but nobody expected this to happen. Not now. Not so close to Christmas. Not so close to Sylvia's anniversary. My Uncle Malcolm will be lost, and their children Darren and Caroline devastated.

We will be making the journey north again next week sometime for the funeral. It's Micky's 21st birthday on 18th (the 1st anniversary of Sylvia) and we were hoping to go up there to spend the day with him and Les but I guess it will all depend when the funeral is going to be.

The 19th is Eileen's court case, so it's going to be a hell of a week.

I was so looking forward to having a peaceful Christmas this year, but it ain't looking like happening.

Much missed ...

London - Les Miserables

 23 November - Queens Theatre, London

It had been a long time trying to arrange a suitable date, but finally, myself and two work friends, Mary and Lesley trundled off on the early morning train to London to go and see 'Les Mis'.  Mary is a huge fan of the show, having seen it about 11 times, and had gone on and on (and on ... and on ...) about it so much that I said 'Yes, I would love to come to London with you to see it!!!!

London was a bit cold, but we hopped into a taxi once off the train at St Pancras.  The plan was to zip off to The Air Gallery on Dover Street to see the 'Art of Mapping' Exhibition, where the sister of my friend Lily had some artwork displaying.    London between 12 noon and 2pm however, is worse than rush hour.  The cabby even said that it wasn't looking good, would take too long and the pounds were racking up, so we made the executive decision to be dropped off at the theatre instead.

I wasn't sure what to expect.  All I knew was that the show was about the French Resistance ... erm ... how wrong can you get?   Once the curtain came up it all became clear that it was actually set during the French Revolution and not WWII!!!.  Before seeing it I didn't know what the story was about but was completely blown away by the tale of unrequited love, heartening grace, forgiveness and redemption, and how sometimes, we cannot escape our past.   I sat and cried my way through about half of it much to Mary and Lesley's amusement,  What a wonderful production though and fabulous experience all round.  I will be making a return trip with Jenny in the not too distant future, as she had hoped to come with us originally but couldn't in the end.

Afterwards we wandered off up Regent Street looking at the magical Christmas lights and stopped for some tea at Piccolino's which was yummy if a little pricey.   It was a long walk back to St Pancras and we stopped at the new and wonderful St Pancras Rennaisance Hotel for a quick drink (which wasn't forthcoming in the end) and just had a bit of time to do some shopping at the station before heading back to Chesterfield on the train. 

Billy Bragg & The King Blues - Left Field in Motion Tour

15 November 2011

I love the Leadmill, we always manage to get a spot to the left of the stage where there is a bit of room and a good view.   We walked in mid-way through The Sound of Rum's set. Kate Tempest was in full flow splattering the back wall of the venue with verbal shards.  On stage she is a force of nature, energetic and bold.  Off stage she looked a lot younger and more vulnerable as she stood near us watching The King Blues.

I first heard of the King Blues a few years back, liked them and even plugged them on The (now defunct) Hack, but didn't really follow them up, so I was intruiged to see them tonight. If The Sound of Rum are a force of nature, the King Blues are a force to be reckoned with.   In the best tradition of protest singers, they mix 'take no prisoner' lyrics with up beat melodies.  It was a pleasure.

An even greater pleasure was finally getting to see Mr Billy Bragg in all his glory.  He is one of those folks I wanted to see play a full set before either he, or I, shuffle off our mortal coil. I saw him once on the Red Wedge Tour back in the mid-80's but had just never gotten around to a proper Bragg Gig.  So tonight put that right and what a show.

As he has done in each town he's visited, he had attended the local Occupy camp earlier in the day and there were various protestors in the audience handing out manifestos.  As it's well over a week ago and my memory isn't what it used to be I can't remember all the songs he sang.  He did do a couple of new-ishly topical ones, most noteably 'Scousers Never Buy The Sun' and 'Last Flight to Abu Dhabi' along with some older ones like 'The Milkman of Human Kindness', 'Sexuality' and the very wonderful 'I Keep Faith'.