Author Archives: pennygj

Not amber, but blue…

These days I get a very early start, with an alarm clock which goes ‘WUFF’ rather than the traditional buzz or ring. At this time of the year every glimmer of sunshine is precious so I bounded up stairs with a cuppa for Tim, not quite with a ‘Hi-de-hi, campers’ but to suggest a trip to the beach to enjoy the early morning brightness. The baleful eye that glowered from under the duvet made me realise that not everyone does the ‘lark’ thing. However it was even more off-putting to get back from the shower to find a second pair of eyes peering out from under the covers, just as determined to stay snug and warm. Given a choice of whom to wrestle out of bed and get into the car I went for the eight inch tall option rather than the six footer.

It was worth the effort. Coming up over the dunes, out of the shadow and into the bright blueness of the sea, sky and crisp air and on to the deserted sand was an exhilarating feeling.

The North Sea has a reputation for being wild and cold, but catch it in a benign mood and it’s as lovely as any far flung ‘Paradise’ shore.
As I’m sure is the coast of the Baltic, where my sons have been staying. From their description all the wildness usually associated with this time of the year has been there in full force. Thomas talked about amber, and the petrified forests under the sea, and on investigation I found the amber found along the Norfolk coast comes from those very same forests, brought here from Scandinavia by the glaciers.

So as we walked we looked for amber too, my little sea dog and I, and we didn’t find any either!

Christmas Garlands

Our Knit and Stitch group got together over cake and wine this week to work on the finishing touches of our joint contribution to the Crib and Wreath Festival at our local church. We have been allocated the font which is great as it gives us a focal point, but it has to be quite a statement as the font is directly in front of the main door. The final decision was to create a set of Christmas Garlands which could be draped around the font, and then split up into 6 pieces to sell separately as a fundraiser for the Church.

It was a bit of a challenge to come up with a design for something eye-catching but simply made, which could be shared amongst the members, worked on at home and assembled at the meeting, but I was pleased by the final design. Although the final wreath will encircle the font, it will dismantle into four individual parts which can then be hung over a fireplace or door as a swag. I think the rich deep colours will look lovely against the old stone in the church, but I want to adapt the design using red and white, stripes and gingham to give it a more Scandinavian feel. Just thinking about it makes me feel Christmassy!

Christmas Garland in fireplace

It’s a really simple construction which I will endeavour to pass on. I used an assortment of fat quarters of christmas fabrics which I partly unfolded and then cut into strips using a cutting wheel. My strips were about 2″ wide.

I then opened all the strips out…

and cut them in half…

Take each piece and fold it sides to middle, overlapping the edges in the middle by about a centimetre. Make two rows of stitching each side of the centre, making a channel for threading.

The quickest way to do this is to feed the folded pieces through the sewing machine one after another in a continuous line, without cutting off between each piece. When you get to the end, feed them all through again to do the second row, then cut them apart. There is not going to be any strain on the stitching so you don’t need to tie off the threads.

Then thread the pieces on to a thick piece of yarn or piping cord.

You need it to be thick and fluffy so it grips the fabric and allows you to gather up each little ‘bow’ section and fluff it out

To finish it off, make ‘berries’ by cutting out circles about 2″ across from a plain fabric, running a gathering stitch round the outside, stuff with toy wadding or cotton wool, pull the thread tight and stitch to close.

I stitched the berries in groups of three on to a ribbon which I then tied at intervals on the garland.

Christmas Garland detail

This is not the best tutorial as I rather worked backwards and it assumes a degree of sewing knowledge, but if you are sewing novice who needs to know more, please tell me and I will be more explicit. I will definitely be making more, so I can improve on the instructions.

I am really looking forward to photographing the finished wreath in situ, all around the font, with the christmas crib knitted by one of the Knit and Stitch members in pride of place on the top.

It’s been raining…

…quite a bit. This time last year I would have been happy to turn my back on the weather and find things to distract me indoors, but that was before I was a dog owner. So while I was happy to park myself on the sofa with a DVD (‘Batman Begins’ – I’ve never seen it – very good) and my latest woolly project (cue tantalizing glimpse…can you tell what it is yet?)…

…I was very aware that I had a small energetic bundle of fun to tire out before bedtime. In the middle of the afternoon the room was filled with that lovely golden light that comes when half the sky is a clear washed blue and the other half is inky with passing rain..

…so it was time to press the pause button and put on the wellies. Poor Higgins, it’s bit rough only being three inches off the ground when the puddles are four inches deep! As it is the house training takes three steps forward and two back every rainy day. I wonder if you can get umbrellas for dachshunds?

We compromised by splashing down the road and walking back through the grass at the edge of the field to wash the mud off Higgins’ tum.

Although it didn’t go entirely to plan…

Once we got home all that was required was a warm dry towel…

…and a nice cup of liquorice tea…

All Booked Up

I’ve just spent the weekend sheltering from the wild wet November weather with a lovely group of ladies making books. Outside the wind raged and the rain lashed down, but inside the atmosphere vibrated with concentration as everyone wielded rulers and scalpels and flexed their mathematical brain cells with varying degrees of success. It’s painful for textile practioners to get to grips with the unforgiving nature of paper and card. There’s no scope for cunning little stretches, or a few discreet gathers, and while there is no point trying to make a handmade book look as if it’s been machine made, a degree of accuracy is essential if the finished piece is going to work.

I go through agonies of self doubt in the run up to teaching a course. Even my years as a mature student haven’t erased the self doubt left by my schooldays. Miss Marshall has a lot to answer for! Although I’ve been doing it for a while, I’m suddenly struck by the fact I may have a degree to say I can do things, I don’t have a piece of paper to say I can teach those things to other people! As I draw up the lesson plan I have visions of everyone saying ‘Well, I knew that already’, of having exhausted all my ideas by midday of the first day or of everybody falling asleep with boredom! I’m pleased to say, that hasn’t happened yet!

Once we’d worked our way through the accuracy thing, which happened remarkably quickly, the atmosphere soon lightened into enthusiasm, and that feeling we had all escaped from the daily round to do something just for ourselves. Having mastered the basics of accordion folds and simple pamphlet stitching we moved on to a ‘wrap’ book,which needs very little glueing, and even makes a good cover for a little purchased notebook.

What is lovely at this point is to see all the different directions in which the same basic instructions will take people. Once all the’ bits and pieces’ bags had been upended everyone had a amazing variation of materials to realise their individual little books, and as they chatted and compared notes all sorts of new ideas came into being.

By the end of the day, even a visit from Higgins hadn’t distracted the students too much, although Joy inexplicably thought he was gorgeous and adorable and wanted to take him home…if only she knew! As I left for home Alison, who was staying over at the centre, was still at her desk, and was there the following morning when I arrived. I was assured she had gone to bed at some point!

After the second day, when we had covered stitching signatures into a codex, different types of hard and soft spine covers and Origami books and folded pages, the room was a frenzy of activity. Despite a brief hiatus when the torrential rain, coupled with a howling wind came in through the Victorian windows of the old school and had to be stemmed with an entire drawer of teatowels, by the end of the second day I counted well over 30 completed books, and a pile of stitched pages ready for working on at home.

Usually when a course is over I, and my trusty sidekick Kit, have so overdosed on the course subject we want to go home and do something completely different – bunjee jumping anyone? This time we are both full of even more ideas, and as we saw everyone off it felt more like the end of a party with friends than a working weekend.

Next year we are taking the whole thing further, with coptic binding , Japanese stitching, slip covers and book boxes. I will take a copy of the positive things written in the visitors book home to look at when I get my wobbly moments and the spectre of Miss Marshall hovers threateningly…

If winter comes…

Soggy. Dark. Windy. It’s the first day of November. But I found these in the garden! A line of poetry has been running through my head,

‘…if Winter comes can Spring be far behind?’

Thanks to the wonders of the internet I found it’s from ‘Ode to the West Wind’ by Shelley. Thank you Percy, those words are going to keep me going for the next few months!

A Colour Infusion

I try so hard this time of the year to convince myself I like autumn. I look at all the beautiful photographs in Country Living of autumn leaves, and snuggly coats and interesting things to do with sweet chestnuts. I read articles about the joys of crisp mornings and hot chocolate by a roaring fire and, while I like all these things, nothing can make up for the shortening of the days, and the prospect of the colour gradually leeching out of the surroundings as winter approaches.

Today has been glorious and I took the camera out to capture the last few flashes of colour in the garden

So while it’s sunny outside I make the most of the colour left in the year, and when the weather turns, I, and my studio assistants, Henry…

…and Higgins…

…(Oh dear, you can’t get the staff!)… get stuck into the dye bath and making our own colourful landscape. Using the microwave has been a revelation as far as dyeing is concerned. I’ve never really used it it much in the kitchen apart from defrosting things, heating up my wheat bag and exploding custard (don’t ask).

dyes

Using the Easifix dyes I’ve been able to work out a foolproof method of mixing the dyes, getting reliable results and not ending up with multicoloured hands and splashes all over the walls. I had the most wonderful time experimenting with mixing the powders and the amounts and have been really excited by the variety of hues possible just using the four shades, Turquoise, Golden Yellow, Ultramarine and Magenta. I have been so organised! colour swatches