Snowshill Manor

Snowshill Manor sits at the head of a Cotswold valley and has a long history. It was first recorded in 821 AD when the king of Mercia gave it to Winchcomb Abbey and was, at one time, given to Catherine Parr in a dowry by Henry VIII.

The purpose of my visit was to view a lifetimes collection of a not so regal occupant, Charles Wade. The aforementioned fellow bought the Manor in 1919 and restored it in order that anyone with an interest in design and craftsmanship could marvel at and learn from his collection and what a collection it is. The 20 roomed Manor house is packed full to the attic ceilings with anything and everything that you could possible imagine. Every craft is represented within Snowshill's walls , there really is something for everyone and more ....... in fact the staggering number of items is overwhelming. Interesting for me was a collection of instruments which included two French horns , one of which had a bell shaped like the head of a serpent  probably waiting to bit the hand off its player !!

 

For the textile enthusiast there was much to see. The collections of period clothing, hats, shoes and purses is one of the largest in the world , not all of it on display but enough to inspire. My favourite item..... difficult......but probably an embroidered jewelry box ....... beautiful !!!!

 

 

Snowshill manor is a busy place and alot of people crowd through the rooms, but the gardens offer a place of peace and tranquility...........

 

and the vegetable garden is immaculate - not a chewed cabbage leaf in sight !



For the children an attic room full of handcrafted toys, swords, armour and the chance to be a real life Samurai warrior !

Back on track

From time to time life gets a bit hectic, everything comes at you all at once and the clogs start grinding  out of sync. All the balls that you've been juggling start flying in all directions and you don't know which ones to let drop and which to keep in the air. The sensible people amongst us will say 

 " Don't juggle so many balls ! " but then I wouldn't be me and all the things that I am ...... to everyone !!!

 

It's amazing what time in one of your favourite places can do for the creative sole, clearing the mind of clutter and allowing space for creative and clear thought.

Ogmore beach in South Wales provides miles of unoccupied beach , the fast flowing Ogmore river spilling directly into the sea, rocks and rock pools, pebbles and a dramatic coastline...... no shops, clutter, traffic, or excessive noise (except for my children arguing over occupation of their sand holes which, in this area of  comfortable wilderness, is easy to ignore !!

 

 

 

Despite some  heavy rain moments  typical in Wales the sun came out enough for us to get down to the beach a number of times, much to the delight of the little people.

A large number of wet sand pies were made, some big holes were dug, sandcastles were made and destroyed and, in predictable fashion, the little people got very wet in the sea and blue with cold before reaching for the comfort and warmth of the car and the luxuries inside ........ warm, dry clothes !!!!



 

The New Machine

A few months ago the wee girl requested a sewing machine for her birthday but since then 'mean old mum' has not had the time to get it out and show her how to use it. Frequent requests and a big promise from me resulted in the aforementioned machine being lifted from its box today with great excitement and squeals of delight ( making me feel even more guilty than than I already had been!!) 

After setting up, Little Em chose some fabrics from my enormous stash and ,as a special treat, I let her play with a lovely variegated machine thread by Oliver Twist.

She set to work with great enthusiasm  practising first on some paper following some straight and curvey lines and then quickly progressed to the fabric (which was much more fun), cutting small pieces and sewing them on.



Not bad for a first attempt I thought.

As the wee thing got more involved and used to the machine my help and suggestions were no longer required. As usual she was doing her own thing her own way and I wasn't allowed to look !!!!!

Some time later the masterpiece was finished ......... a blanket for her little sister Hanni !







Making Progress

Having attended lessons at the dojo for more than a year I have now become an expert in white and red belt judo techniques and am now ready to progress to the next stage. I  realised, all be it a little late in the day, that while  the children were fully occupied with tai-otoshi and kesa- gatame  I had the luxury of two hours of totally uninterrupted craft time!!

A while ago now I bought myself  Laura Longs lovely book 'Knitted Toy Tales' with the belief that at some point I would learn to Knit and make some of the adorable characters inside....... that day finally came !

I armed myself with a 'how to knit'  book and all the necessary equipment (wool and knitting needles ) and got clicking. Over the past few weeks I have knitted, purled, undone, restarted, dropped, picked up, increased , decreased and finally........... followed a pattern (hence the distinct lack of blogging !!!!)

First off the needles was my new friend Pussy Cat and having completed this little fellow I was quite content to rest up for a bit and move on to other things on my to do list. However , after looking at Pussy Cat all alone I couldn't help but be compelled to reunite him with his dear ol' pal and sailing companion 'Owl'.

It was off to the Dojo again for some more clicking and, after learning some new techniques, Owl and Pussy Cat were soon reminiscing about old times and talking about their distant travels. Watching them there was nothing for it but to provide them with that all important missing item...... their Pea Green Boat.

Now complete Owl and Pussy Cat are ready for some new adventures, the little people are happy and I can happily move on to my next task.!!!!

Idea , design, end result !

Any design must begin with an idea and that idea can pop into your head at any time so it's always useful to carry pencil and paper to scribble down that ' light bulb moment ', sketch a shape or pattern that you see and like or note particular colour combinations or textures that catch your eye.

Brimming with excitement and anticipation it's over to the design stage........ and that is where all your troubles begin ! Every artist will  have experience those times when everything fits into place without any effort and it's almost hard to believe how the finished design could have come together so quickly , frustratingly though these moments don't happen very often.

Once a project is finished and you look back at all the drawings and samples one thing always surprises me and that is the simplicity of the idea and subsequent design work that eventually lead to the completed project.

With all that in mind I invite you on a short journey from idea to end result.

Idea.... Venice

The Gondola recognised around the world as a unique symbol of Venetian life both from the past and today.

Design idea.......colour ! Black, white and shades of grey (with some varied textured surface design thrown in )

Idea ......Venetian architecture.

Design idea ....shape and pattern. This brick work pattern is prevalent on many venetian buildings, an effective design. Many venetian windows are round and the circle is a major feature on many venetian buildings so much design work is centered on the circle.

Hmm...... things are starting to come together.

Finalising the design.......

Working the sample...in this case hand sewn cathedral window patchwork with hand quilting....

And finally the end result ... bedspread and decorative pillowcase !

Simple.....!!!!

Daisy Chain

 

Summer daisies provided the inspiration for a couple of cushions completed a while ago and it was great to experiment with a variety of sewing techniques to to make these two cushions that  linked to the theme in very different ways.

The daisy decorations are made using synthetic fabrics, sewn with cotton metallic thread and then cut out using a soldering iron.....the fabric edges are sealed by the soldering iron so no fraying and just to remind you , make sure you sew with natural threads ( which don't melt or burn ). The possibilities with this technique are really exciting but , like everything, requires experimentation and a bit of practise to get it all working exactly right.

Sometimes it is impossible to find the exact colour organza for your project so try layering different coloured sheer fabrics together to get the colour you want. Also, cutting fabric snippets and sandwiching them between two fabrics give a mottled , and more realistic effect especially for leaves and flowers.

Cushion two involves  fabric manipulation and patch work techniques. Jennie Rayment's book

 ' Creative Tucks and Textures ' is a great book to  have a look at if you want to make anything using this imaginative work . For this cushion it took a fair bit of working out to fit all the pieces together but if you're not to happy working out your own designs the book takes you  through many ideas with clear instructions and measurements.

And for something different why not use your new found techniques to make your own unique buttons for cushions or furniture.

The possibilities are endless...... just need the time to get experimenting !!

Summer's coming

Sunday was a beautiful day in the kent countryside, Riverhill Himalayan gardens to be precise , and for those not in the know its the  house and gardens in Sevenoaks that appeared in the 'Country House Rescue'  program a couple of years ago. Hats off to the family for the work they have done so far in providing a tranquil and safe place for their visitors and also for providing a lovely little cafe with homemade food and lovely coffee ! Works are still in progress with garden developments due to be completed this year and next but it is a great place for craft inspiration, or just a day out in a beautiful place with stunning views of the Kent Weald. Lots planned for the coming season, March - September, with something for everyone so if you're in the area it's well worth a visit.

Couldn't resist taking a picture of this old gate with its tantalising glimpse of the once ,well kept kitchen gardens currently being renovated ..... for me there is always something lovely about old rusty wrough iron gates in their brick work  frame which draws you to take a peek at what lies within.... a sort of secret garden thing ! Looking forward to seeing the finished garden complete with its plants, flowers and water features.

Celebrations

It's been a busy week of presentations, awards ceremonies and celebration with friends.

First off it was down to Morley Gallery for the opening of the wonderful textile exhibition and the presentation of my City and Guilds Gold Medal and WOW was I surprised to  see this ....isn't it lovely !!! Very shiny and very Gold looking, and just in case I forgot it was for me it has my name on the back with details of what it was for and the very important date...... well, it is London 2012 and Olympic year .... there's going to be quite a few gold medals flying around soon and this one is just for me !!!

Must just mention though that I could not have done it without the support of all my friends and class mates at Morley over the last 6 years and , of course, my very special teacher Dani Atkinson. If you want to get sewing and be creative then the Monday class at Morley with Dani is for you !

After presentations , impromptu speeches and chat with some very nice crafty people it was off to celebrate with the girls . A great evening catching up with all the exploits of my very clever and artistic friends was the perfect ending to a happy day.

Next it was off to the City and Guilds Lion Awards where the requirement for the evening was to look glamorous. Nothing for it but to head off to my very talented friend Gina to perform the near impossible .....just one hour later she had performed her magic.... I didn't recognise myself  !!!

It was a lovely evening with Dani and Hubby, with the best food I have ever tasted...now I know what it's  like to be Gregg Wallis and John Torode ! As for the Lion awards....I made it into the top three for ' Craft Person of the Year ' so not bad at all !!!!

A very big THANKYOU to everyone who voted for me in the people's choice award, all your voting efforts on my behalf was greatly appreciated.

Celebrations over it's time to get back to work !

End of the day

It's late as usual.The day has flown by with the normal rush and managed chaos but now all is quiet. Three small people are snoring away in the land of nod , hopefully until tomorrow morning, and taking advantage of the calm I have been getting down to a bit of unfinished business....my first knitting project.

Will reveal my efforts soon and am happy to report that all is well so far which , for me means that I have something on my knitting needles that resembles  the picture in the book, that I have the right number of stitches according to the pattern and most important of all.......no holes !!!

Those who know me will know that I don't do ' big ' on the knitting front so my latest ,on going creation, is something small but rather appealing. Lets hope it still looks that way when finished .... and whilst practising with this little number I am hoping to take my newly learnt skills to another level for future project ideas which have been forming in my head for some time.  Watch this space !!

Now, where would we be without  the Glasgow school and Charles Rennie Mackintosh ?

Thanks to these artists I found the inspiration for my two City and Guilds diploma cushions. Just couldn't resist the black and white theme of the Willow tea rooms against the glorious pink of the Glasgow Rose. Hope you like.....

Time for the land of nod for me now......speak soon !

Getting the Gold

January 2012 was a great month. After studying City and Guilds courses for six years I learned that I had been awarded the Medal of Excellence for my diploma work in design and soft furnishings. Now I find myself in March , about to receive my medal at the Gallery at Morley college, followed by the City and Guilds Lion Awards ceremony next week. All very exciting for me and the culmination of alot of hard work and several years of very late nights.

After the course I took a much needed break but am now feeling the desire to get back to the table and start creating again. I have alot of little projects to get me going but the usual day to day work and needs of the home and family inevitably interupt the creative flow ! It's time to get my head down , ignore the piles of washing and never ending list of things to do and get back to the creative space....at the moment a small dining room table surrounded by everything and everyone else !!


For those interested I will post pictures of my diploma work over the next few weeks with anything else that might be of interest to my fellow crafters out there !!

First off, two pleated lampshades inspired by the blackberry bushes growing through the fence at the local allotments.