New Books.

Four new books arrived today. I want to try out making a book sometime as I have lots of painted papers, left over from my C&G course, that I could use. This book by Sue Roddis is good value at £6 and looks easy enough to follow.
I bought 3 other books. Knitted Cakes, Knitted Bears, and Knitted Flowers. They were all under £4 and well worth the money. What will I start with? Cakes,I think.

Armistice Day

Todays date reminded me that I still haven't done anything with this silk painted poppy Judy gave me ages ago!

A former member of our craft group came in today and chatted about her past 'secret life'.
Mary Davis trained as a wireless operator and was part of a team which intercepted German radio messages during the Second World War.
Mary was really interesting and amusing and I think we all enjoyed listening to her reminiscing.

Mary did her training at Compton Bassett in Wiltshire, not too far from where I was born and brought up and went to school. Yesterday Prince Harry opened the first Remembrance Field at Lydiard Park,near Wooton Bassett in Wiltshire, dedicated to men and women in the Armed Forces killed during the conflict in Afghanistan.

Lydiard was the next village to mine and we would often walk there and back. So reminiscing for me too today!

Mmmmmmm...cupcakes!

Busy knitting cupcakes. Quite addictive!

Experimenting today with various ways to photo style our Souk... on Twitpic

Experimenting today with various ways to photo style our Souk... on Twitpic

One of these days I'm going to Morocco... and I'm going to visit the shop at Peacock Pavilions!

Form and Fabric

Today I went to see this collective exhibition of fabric, bronze and batik works at Castle Espie Gallery,Comber,Co. Down. I particularly liked Olive Clegg's hats.

The ducks at the Wetland Centre were good too!

Why did I buy that?

You know all those useless items you buy and never use? Well today was the day you could get rid of it all. Trouble is, you always bring home just as much as you went with! Here's what I brought home. Any ideas what I can do with a box of 2,300 words?

Then,one of our members,Janet,came in with an amazing teapot she'd made. My photo doesn't do this justice.

Vinyl beads

These are the vinyl beads I ordered - though I think I would describe them as matt sequins. They are just right.

Halloween

The Elements

This is the theme for next years Harmony Hill Craft Group exhibition. I stitched this piece, a background sample, as part of my C&G course last year. Would it be acceptable for The Elements?
My Research for Design was on Morocco and I was inspired by the colours --- the earth, the desert, the heat of the sun. I've decided to add some beads to this now and have ordered some Ghanaian Upcycled Vinyl beads from Spoilt Rotten Beads. I can't wait to see them as I think they will be perfect.

'Inspired velvet' demo

Earlier this year Angie Hughes held a workshop, arranged by the NI Embroiderers Guild, entitled 'Inspired Velvet'. Angie came over from England at the time the volcanic ash was disrupting all the flights, and determined not to let anyone down she came over by ferry instead.
Last Thursday a member of my craft group, who had attended the workshop, gave us a demo and brought in her samples to show us.
We all enjoyed seeing the sparkly effects you could make on the black cotton velvet using Bondaweb, foils, glitter and sequin waste.