Ellesmere Port and the canal boat crafts.

When I was over in England a few weeks ago I went to the National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port. We're always walking along the Lagan towpath here in NI, reminiscing, but the canal boats are long gone.
It was a great day out. I thought I was just going to look at canal boats, not realising I would also see all the associated canal boat crafts.

There was so much going on.  I thought,  'I could really get in to this!'

There's a Waterways Craft Guild where you can learn all the traditional crafts and gain accreditation.

Boat building, painting and sign writing. Decorative and giftware painting. Costume, crochet, cabin lace and rag-rug making. Ropework and fender making.

It was a Sunday and, in the museum, these volunteers were demonstrating their various skills.

There was a lady working on a peg loom making blankets.

                                              You needed a steady hand for the painting.

                                                                                       

                                                          This lady was rag - rugging.

Her design came from this picture  below  of the Atlas mountains in Morocco.

I was really interested in this as my research & design work for City & Guilds was all based on Morocco.

I think it's a photo taken from space.

                                                        Then there was the costume.

             This lady, Mary Parry, was a Master in Costume and wearing her Boatwoman's Bonnet.

I bought a bookmark kit at her stall.
The 'Spider's Web' is the traditional stitch used for the Boatman's belt shown below.

There was also lovely patchwork and these pieces in the tins were cut from old clothing.

The right side of the quilt.

                                                                   And the wrong side.

Knot tying for beginners.

                                                        And advanced knots for the canal boats.

 This is what I bought for the Christmas Tree!

Which way?

Sometimes you just don't know which way to turn.

My mum fell recently (one of many falls) and ended up in hospital, with hypothermia and very confused.
Her usual carers, my sister and brother-in-law, were off on a cruise the next day.
Panic stations.
When I arrived the first thing she said was, "Did you get pulled out of a Mick Jagger concert to fly over here?!"


So I spent three weeks over in England. Back and forth to the hospital.
For the first week I looked out at this scene while waiting outside the ward for visiting time.
And while I was waiting at this hospital I met all kinds of people and listened to their life stories.

My mother gradually  improved and we were off to 'Intermediate Care.'

It was like a home for the elderly but in the middle of a housing estate.

My mum's room looked out on someone's back yard.

So I went back and forth, visiting and bringing treats, for the next two weeks.
Despite it's appearance this was a good place with good care.

Every day, as I was waiting for the bus back to my mum's flat, I looked over at this chimney and thought maybe I'll get time to go to that Hat Museum some day.

Then my sister and brother-in-law returned, and there were discussions, and this is where we're at now.

My mum is waiting while a care-package is being arranged and then she'll return home.
I hope it works.

It never rains but it pours.

A bit of a blogging break  for a few weeks. My 88 year old mum has fallen and is in hospital.  Thankfully she is alright but it means a trip to England for me to help get her sorted out.

One eyed Mr Owl will have to wait!

On and on and on with the owl.

I've been looking at some lovely photos of the long-eared owl to give me some inspiration and I discovered they don't all look the same!

                                                       I liked the look of the eyes on this one.

I started making this owl back in June  here and here - then it got stuffed in a bag over the summer and I got lazy!
Just lately I started working on him again,  putting in some running stitches where his eyes will go. I've been pulling out threads from this curtain material. It has a sheen to it and I'm using the natural colour trying to get a 'feathery' look. There's a golden thread there too that I thought would be good for his eyes.

So when I was stitching the eye I was thinking, 'That would make a lovely embroidered dandelion!  

Birthdays!

The Radio Times is 90 years old. Its been around for as long as I remember, it's been part of my growing up. My mum always bought the Radio Times and since I left home, got married, had children, I carried on the tradition.
My family laugh at me.  My husband says, "Why do you bother wasting your money on that? Use the TV Guide on the remote."  It infuriates him that I still buy it!
Well it's been my coffee table reading for as long as I remember and I'm not giving it up now.

Shame about the cover.

I love watching Strictly but I think it could have been a nicer cover for the Anniversary issue.

This June I had my 60th birthday, there's a picture of the Coronation issue below.

Yesterday it was my youngest son's birthday. He's a child of the 80's.

When he was little he did read children's books -  but he liked the Radio Times better!

From quite a young age he loved looking up the days and the times of his favourite programmes.

                                                   We had a Birthday Cake to celebrate!                                                    

                                      I wonder will the Radio Times make it to its 100th birthday?

Mine's a Babycham!

I like a trawl round the charity shops, mostly to look at the bric-a-brac, and I'm always on the hunt for old sewing books. I like a car boot sale too.
Over at heyhomewrecker I loved seeing the little Babycham glass, bought at a car boot sale. Can you still buy Babycham? I used to love it! There's a wee jingle going through my head.
I wish I had the courage to decorate and put stuff together in a 'retro' way.
Wait a minute, I was in the 60's & 70's, I've got some of that stuff lurking in my cupboards, I don't need to go looking for it! My house is already full of teak.

These are the two wine glasses I bought recently, £3.99  for the pair. They've got a very fine stem, I'm sure I'll break them!

Nowadays I think the charity shops are too manicured, all clean and tidy - they've become less fun.
It's that Mary Portas, I blame her!

There's a charity shop I go to in Saintfield - I like it the best because it's more like how they used to be, choc-a-bloc with stuff and you have to poke about a bit. I bought the two Edith Holden books there and they gave me lots of inspiration for the fabric book I made last spring.
I bought the two crochet doilies with the intention of dyeing them and cutting them up to add to my fabric book. Then I thought about the person who made them and how much work must have gone in to making them, I think that's Irish crochet, so I kept them as they were.

I just bought the three stamps in Ballymena last Saturday, 99p.

I'm not so keen on stamping but my little 4yr old grand-daughter loves to have a go.

I remembered the Babycham ad.

Babycham? I'd love a Babycham.

The Genuine champagne perry.

Doagh Island, Donegal.

                     This is Doagh Island on Inishowen. The sky was grey last Sunday morning.

We were here earlier this year and it was springtime.

The water is clear and flowing fast. I'm looking over to the Five Finger Strand.

"Flying, Daddy, we're flying!"

  My daredevil son drove on the beach all the way round to Ballyliffin.

I wouldn't recommend it......

A group of swimmers were in the water.

                                                                               *****    

   On the way home we stopped at a stone circle. It wasn't old, my son said it was made for a film set.
        The weather was getting better. I love the Donegal landscape and its ever-changing light.

  I came home with quite a pile of shells - already thinking of our 2014 craft group exhibition,
 'The World Is Your Oyster.'

  What could I do with these, I wonder?