These images are taken from a book whose title and author I've temporarily mislaid (doh!) but I'm pretty certain it was called 'Lost London'. It's a photographic record of London as it was, a city blasted by second world war bombs and much of its glorious architecture destroyed. If the Luftwaffe didn't get it then narrow minded 20th century city planners did. Just imagine what the city would've been like had glories like this fantastic gateway survived?
When I was a young 'un I used to love Gwynedd Rae's books about a bear called Mary Plain, but I haven't come across anyone else who remembers this small bear from Berne who has fantastic adventures and becomes famous.
It's amazing what a lasting impression the books we read as children have. I know they're politically incorrect in lots of ways but I still think Enid Blyton's Famous Five and Secret Seven books were terrific stories, real 'ripping yarns'!
On a completely different topic - and more craft related - this is just a very basic collage of images that appealed to me.
I find tearing these sort of images out of magazines and just putting them together on a sheet of paper or card is good for helping inspire sewing projects. You see colour combinations or patterns, and they can spark off needlepoint designs or quilt ideas. I love that little image of spices on sale in a market - the mix of pale blue containers and warm earthy spicy shades. Lovely.
A mixture of things today ... I thought I'd start with a couple of gorgeous fashion pages ripped from a recent Sunday supplement. I love the layed look of this first picture, and the dramatic colouring. That scarf is amazing. I'm not usually a fan of grey, but these muted shades look great with that berry coloured chunky cardie. I also love the skirt in this next image, those floaty feathers. Also the sheer incongruity of high fashion in the veggie patch!
Next up - we're moving on to literature. Yes, it's a highbrow post today! I've over halfway through the mighty Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, and still loving it. The way the writer conveys that world of Henry VIII and his court, it's stunning, the power of her imagination is so deep and the story compelling. I hope if there's a TV adaptation it manages to strikes the right note, I'd hate it to be a disappointment.
Still on books, I bought Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens, having not read that particular Dickens yet and having loved the Andrew Davies BBC adaptation on a year or two ago. He's an author who suits winter afternoons and evenings. There are some books that are definately winter reads, aren't there?
Finally, still on the subject of writing, I used to do a lot of 'creative writing', mainly short stories, but that kind of stopped when I got so into crafting. But I want to get back to it, and pictures are often a good way of generating story ideas or characters. I found this intriguing picture of a girl writing a letter at the Sphinx by the river Thames. What's she writing? A love letter? To whom? There's a melancholy air to the picture, you get the feeling things aren't going to have a happy ending.
Yesterday, like many people I felt I needed a Boxing Day constitutional. After Christmas Day I think we all get a bit of cabin fever and need to walk off some calories and breathe some lungfuls of fresh air. I took my camera as there were a couple of shops I'd noticed and wanted to take a few sneaky pictures.
This is a shop selling prints and cards, but what I really love is the painted wall. The fireplace isn't 3 dimensional, it's purely a paint effect. How fab is that?! If I was skilful enough I'd do the same in my bedroom. I love the quirkiness of it and the impact it makes.
This is another lovely shop, full of handmade items - ceramics, softies, brooches and that very enticing cake stand. I love the mix of things and the artful way they're displayed, and have a hankering after a shop of my own. I'd sell craft supplies - luscious hanks of wool, lengths of patchwork fabric, needlepoint kits, that kind of thing. But at the moment it seems an impossible dream, the stumbling point being money and my complete lack of any retail experience. That doesn't stop me looking at other peoples shops for inspiration though.
I've always liked cutting out images that catch my eye, and have a couple of spiral bound notebooks I keep them in. They're great for leafing through when inspiration has run dry. You can always find a colour scheme that will kickstart a needlepoint design or something that compels you to pick up a sewing needle or knitting pin. Here are a few pages from one of my notebooks.
Anything there catch your eye too?
I think we've all looked at childrens books at one time or another and thought 'I could write one of those'. They look deceptively easy, don't they? Simple words, often not many of 'em! Nice illustrations. A catchy title. Job done .... hmm, maybe not. The best childrens books are stories that don't go stale, they continue to entrance young minds for years to come, and they take a real talent to write. One of my favourites is 'The Tiger Who Came To Tea'. It's the sweetest story of - well - a tiger who turns up at teatime. He very politely knocks on the door and says 'Excuse me, but I'm very hungry. Do you think I could have tea with you?' Who knew tigers had such good manners?
I love not just Judith Kerr's text but the gorgeous drawings. That intense orange fur, the sleepy tiger's eyes and his contented smile. One of these days I want to make a needlepoint cushion based on him. On a different subject, I ordered some fab Moo stickers yesterday. I love their stuff, and had some cards featuring my needlepoint, knitting and felt softies made some time ago. It's fun to treat yourself every once in a while, and the mini cards make great gift tags at this time of year.
A Moo card with some knitted creatures of mine all snuggled together.
I stopped by Yarn Forward's website to see how their knitting installation is going. At http://artyarn-yarnforward.blogspot.com/ they're documenting a project at The Manchester Craft & Design Centre . Knitters have been asked to subsmit strips of knitting to add to this glorious example of craft work.
I sent a knitted piece of my own and I think I can just about make it out in one of the photos on the site. Some of the pieces are so intricate, so well made, it's lovely to think of being donated for no other reason than goodwill and the fun of making something.
Maybe I'll make it up to Manchester some time so I can see the installation close up.
If you're looking for an original and colourful present for someone, why not take a peek at Felicity Hall's needlepoint kits on www.felicityhall.co.uk. She's offering a 10% discount if you quote the following code 135638FHCN (just key it in on the order confirmation page of the website).
I love those moody blues and metallics.
These are brilliant too, so vibrant.
I haven't even given any thought to buying gifts yet, having stubbornly refused to 'do Christmas' until at least December 1st. I know what I'd love - a subscription to Selvedge, lots of fabric for my stash, lots of gorgeously coloured Rowan wool and endless pieces of Emma Bridgewater china. Santa, are you listening!!!???
Finally, this is an article that appeared in The Times recently, it's about Loop, the North London knitters haven. How fantastic does that place look? If that shop was in my neighbourhood I think I'd practically live there!
Thought I'd better write something as it's ages since I did. The 2009 Art Trail has been and gone, and it rained for virtually all of the weekend. That may've meant numbers were down a bit, and people - including myself - definately thought that visitors were spending less. On the plus side though I did get to have a wander round some of the open houses, picking up a few reminders on the way ...
The standard of work you see is so high, it's a great yearly event for Totterdown and long may it continue! Since the trail, I've been to my book group where we discussed Bruce Chatwin's 'Songlines' (most felt it was rather detached, interesting but not entirely satisfying, perhaps more of a man's book?) and seen a fantastic performance of Richard III. The play was held at the Alma Tavern, a tiny theatre space over a pub with a stage the size of many peoples living room. There were 19 people crammed onto this stage, and it was just terrific. Sometimes Shakespeare's language can get in the way of you enjoying a play, but this time - maybe because of the small, intimate space, maybe just the skill of the actors - it felt real and immediate. A great evening.
Finally, as a keen needlepointer I like to enthuse on the subject, so if you want to buy a contemporary needlepoint kit take a look at www.felicityhall.co.uk. Her cushions are a far cry from needlepoint's usual image of twee floral patterns that your granny used to sew. On my next post I'll include some images of her work and give a code that'll enable you to get a 10% discount off her work. Just in time for Christmas.
Meanwhile, here's a lovely mosaic I did of my own stuff. Flickr, what'd we do without it!
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