Saturday 30 April 2011

A useful dress

 This Masai dress, which also comes in black is  most useful. It can be worn all the year round and can quickly be dressed up for daytime into evening events. It also seems to suit all figure types.

Royal wedding reactions

 picture taken from the television
What do you think? Were you wowed by the clothes, the service,the drive past? 

I think her dress and her bridesmaids' dresses were perfect.
 Her mother and Camilla looked good in shades of off-white. Note to self - pale grey, nudes and oyster look just right for wedding outfits.

 Fergie's daughters were ill-advised. They need a stylist to KISS them. (Keep it simple stupid!) They should make the most of being young. Keep it natural. Good skin, shiny hair and simple, classic outfits witness Pippa Middleton, who looked stunning.

I thought the best bit was the open carriage flanked by the horse guards in their splendid red, black and gold uniforms. The Busby hatted bands; the Yeoman of the Guard; the gilded coaches pulled by perfectly matched white horses.No-one does pageantry like the British.

Traditionally the bride's family bear the cost of the celebration. I really hope that nice looking Mr Middleton has not bankrupted himself!! 

Friday 29 April 2011

Collage addiction!

 One of around two dozen cards I've just made.  I love collage. I could happily spend all day cutting, sticking and painting. Fun.

Printing -easy and quick

 Get a plastic lino tile - eg. a pack at the 99p shop. Peel back the protective cover and stick your image directly to the sticky back. (Feather/ leaf/ lace/ whatever.) Cut around the object. Use masking tape to create a handle on the back as pictured. Brush on or roll on paint and get printing.Thank you Ann for telling me about this.

Thursday 28 April 2011

It's Iris time

 Those giant ghostly white iris have bloomed again in the front garden. They are so beautiful. Next to them is this David Austin rose.

I am making lots of cards but I'm not confident they are good enough. Also getting excited about a certain birthday trip abroad!

Wednesday 27 April 2011

Baby Sofia

This is my great niece, Sofia. I took lots of photos of her at our family get together on Monday. I have tried and failed to email these to her parents and grandparents. So I'm sending prints in the post today (Wednesday).btw she is ADORABLE!

Is anyone else irritated with all these bank holidays? I WANT to go to work on Mondays and with little public transport and no banks open and post taking far longer than usual it's just a pain! 
Today( Wednesday) I paid in a cheque and they said it will take 8 days to clear! How annoying is that?

Tuesday 26 April 2011

Old Home

 This is the house I lived in as a teenager. I saw it yesterday while visiting both my brothers in Sussex and Kent. I always thought it was haunted but no-one else thought so. There were dog graves in the garden (not our dogs) and it was  a human ghost, not a dog ghost. Because the downstairs was lower than street level we would see visitors feet walk past the sitting room window somewhat unusually.

Vintage needle case

 This was made by my Great Aunt and inherited by my mother. It could be 100 years old. The colours are not to my taste but they could have faded and changed over time.  I like the idea of something so useful - needles all threaded with different coloured threads - surviving and being used for that long.

Sunday 24 April 2011

Happy Easter!

 What did you do today? I hope you enjoyed the sunshine and had a relaxed, happy day.

I spent all day removing ghastly pink carpet, underlay and gripper rods from the hall, stairs and landing and taking everything to the tip. 

 The revealed wood stairs aren't perfect. Lots of nail holes and old paint. But I like the shape. Thinking that once wood filler and sanding is done I might paint them with a few coats of white gloss paint...


Roses from the garden

 I love David Austin roses. It's the scent as well as the look of them. The one in the centre is called Queen of Sweden, the others are called 'The Mayflower'. 

Pretty Fabric

An old piece of 'bark cloth'.

Saturday 23 April 2011

Hot weather white

 I can hardly believe it. This is my 500th post!!

Bee Mellor's work

 This is part of a hanging beautifully stitched by my friend Bee. You can see more of her work at a textile exhibition I am taking part in from October 22nd at Petersfield's Physic Garden in the High Street.
 http://www.beemellor.com/
 Ann Hutchins whose gorgeous textile art I will show in a future post will also be displaying there.

Bee's hanging is in my hall which I have been busy painting a lovely chalky lavender colour. So much better than the pale yellow that every wall was painted in by the previous owner.

Friday 22 April 2011

Nesting

This is the best chocolate in the world.(Another birthday present.)

Birds are singing noisily, building their nests. All lovely.

 Except when they decide to build their nest across my chimney pot.

A rain of twigs came down and as I watched Neighbours (yes, sad isn't it) there was a scuttle and a big bird tail ducked in and out of my fireplace.
I screamed and ran but saw a big wood pigeon fly out of the fireplace into my sitting room in a great cloud of soot. Shades of Hitchcock's film 'The Birds'... As I whimpered in the garden a kind male neighbour persuaded it into the garden and the bird flew off unharmed.

Wednesday 20 April 2011

Habadashery dreams

My house is full of pots of old buttons, snippets of ribbon and velvet/knitted/crocheted flowers.

Do you know I have enough bits to stock a small shop ....!

Traditional ticking and old lace

I found this ticking, which used to be used for pillowcases in a shop in Horsham.
A friend tells me that new ticking has the pattern printed on, rather than woven in.

The long length of old lace was being sold as a scarf in a charity shop in Petersfield for £3.

 My friend Ann has just been to Bruges. She says even the tiniest bits of old lace are sold there for lots of money so I want to use and appreciate old lace with more reverence.

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Tuesday 19 April 2011

Tricot Too's window

Pretty pale pink clothes by Lauren Vidal for summer in Tricot Too's window now.

Monday 18 April 2011

Birthday Happy !

Look what I got for for my birthday yesterday!
 The card is made from the current issue of Vogue by clever Amy.

 I was taken out to lunch at my Petersfield favourite Ask then a walk round the pond where we saw lots of tiny ducklings.
I even got a Hello Kitty balloon to tie on my front door!!

Sunday 17 April 2011

Tricot Too this week

In the window, navy and off-white. I especially like these pockets on the cotton and silk Out of Xile dress. 

Saturday 16 April 2011

Ingredients

I cannot believe how much bobbles cost per metre!
Yesterday my textile artist friend Anne and I got together to talk makes for our exhibition later this year.
We want our products to be varied with every last little thing completely unique - even down to handmade paper bags to put purchases in!!!

Friday 15 April 2011

Good things to make with

Save the Children's annual 3 day sale in Petersfield yielded all these treasures!
It's on til Saturday at the Festival Hall if  you want to  visit. One room for clothes the other for household, all brought in to be sold by the public. They get half, the charity gets half. Excellent opportunity to buy and sell. Btw remind me to show you what I make with these!

Top picture left to right:
lace tatting £1; crochet lace flower mat £1 and 6 assorted embroidered pieces £4. On the right a Liberty fabric shirt £5 and 5 waiter's cloths in fine Irish linen for £5

Bottom picture left to right:
A pair of faded velvet floral curtains £10; two for £3 silver plated bowls (v. Ralph Lauren I think!) a wide blue mohair scarf £4 and the rest as above.

Thursday 14 April 2011

Cabbages and Roses style

All white backgrounds and clean and simple style is what I admire. I don't achieve it. I just admire it.
Five years ago I moved to my house in Petersfield and said the two things that have to go are the ghastly pink carpet and the plastic front door. 
Yesterday I pulled up the carpet and took it to the tip. The floorboards are nice - under the paint splashes and dark stain.Slowly my house is improving!

Wednesday 13 April 2011

Orla Kiely Tesco bag

Bought this yesterday for £4 at Tesco.
The magazines have been talking about these bags for a while and I've been looking out for them.
Orla Kiely has a lovely shop in Covent Garden.
http://www.orlakiely.com/

Monday 11 April 2011

Cheat's gardening

I bought these at the garden centre near my Mum, who I visited yesterday.

 Regular readers of this blog will know I'm a bit keen on my garden especially when it can be eaten.
The picture below shows the planted out brocolli.

Sunday 10 April 2011

Procrastination


Reminder to self. What I should be doing right now is making more of these DOLLS!

Cheery Marimekko

I love this splashy bold design. I've had these pieces for many years.

 Imagine a guest room with this design bedding and accessories with brilliant white walls and white rubber floor.
Next London trip I plan to visit the shop at 16-17 St Christopher's Place,W1. If you like it too see www.marimekko.com

Saturday 9 April 2011

Blue sky thinking

I am just thinking how good it would be if every town had drop in craft sessions, sponsored by the council.
People could go and take a seat, free of charge and just make something,completely forgetting their troubles for an hour or two.

Friday 8 April 2011

Playing with Colours

This is an unfinished dress that I couldn't work out the neckline and armholes of. I love the colours. And I will finish it one day...

 I am having great fun at the moment selecting colours for crochet cushions.
 I seem to be making lots of these with Country Living in mind. And the change in mood you get by adding or subtracting a colour is fascinating. It's a subtle process and what appeals to me may not appeal to other people.


 I wonder if there is a university degree called 'The Science of Colour' ?

Knitting machine dreams

Here is the knitting machine I have been given.
 At the moment it is in pieces with a good supply of coned yarn.

With dreams of Ralph Lauren knitted throws still in my head I plan to build and use it this summer even if just to create little pieces for patchwork.
And that indigo patched throw I love so much? Amy sold it the following day...so I'll just have to create my own version!!!

Thursday 7 April 2011

Train deaths (update)

Earlier I said that 5 people this week had allegedly jumped in front of trains on the Portsmouth - London Waterloo line. I've now checked this figure and it appears that this is actually over the last month, not week.But as a spokesperson said, this is more deaths than usually happen over the entire year. A worrying statistic.  

Giant Pear

This ceramic pear you may have spotted in my frequent pictures of Tricot's window is actually for sale for £370!

Magnolia blossoms

Sunny spring is finally here in all its glory!

A Day out in Guildford

Hurray! I published this via email to blogger. It works! I'm back!!
This yummy cake is in Maison Blanc's window.

Guildford is a straight line of shops and yesterday, the weather being heavenly 'I Walked the Line'(!) 
Toast had nice necklaces. Jo Malone smelled wonderful but is so expensive. I love the Cabbages and Roses dresses in Jigsaw but ditto. I bought some Easter tissue from Paperchase with fat chicks on it and three tops - all shades of grey in the Gap sale. Heals is good for inspiration. 
There was a demonstration in Guildford and another in Petersfield. Many people are unhappy about current cutbacks. Someone had jumped in front of a train meaning horrible delays all day yesterday. Apparently it was the fifth fatality in a week. Can that really be so? I will double check today. Maybe I misheard...