Inspiring

I was at an inspiring workshop yesterday, hopefully the start of something exciting.  There was certainly a great deal of inspiration, a wealth of talent and a buzz of enthusiasm in the room and if all of that could be bottled and put to good use, then how can it result in anything less than amazing?

We heard of great things which have already been achieved and plenty about what we might do ourselves, but for me, one very stylish and beautifully dressed woman stole the show as soon as spoke about people who put a button in the fruit bowl, who feel they have to pick up that pretty pebble and take it home. 

Erika Knight  was one of those names which seemed familiar as soon as I saw it on the agenda.  I knew it from knitting books, but felt I'd heard it elsewhere too.  For sure I had, for when she introduced herself and what she has done, I think that anyone interested in craft, fashion and textiles in the last twenty or thirty years must have encountered her work in some form or other.

Her current work (above) hits the spot with me.  More important, it was clear that her words resonated with the other women there in the room as she identified a shared personality trait amongst us and described so accurately what characteristics set us aside from other people.  It's that beautiful button which we pick up and roll around in our fingers, the one which we want to keep, to cherish but yet don't have a use for.

The button we put into the fruit bowl.  The pebble which stays in our pocket or finds its way onto the bathroom windowsill.

It explains why there's a small Vietnamese coin and a little wooden cross from a friend who went to Jerusalem in the paperclip dish on my desk.

Why there's a few odd shells, seeds and pods in the drawer where we keep the paper napkins in the sitting room

and possibly why there's a bit of Christmas ribbon, a green Waitrose charity token and a hat* from an Innocent drink in the kitchen basket where we put all kinds of oddments.

Or perhaps that's simply that I haven't had a clear up for a while? Definitely can't excuse everything away by simply saying I have a creative mind!

Have you got a button in your fruitbowl?  A collection of what my Mum would have called "odds and sods" in the corner of a drawer?  Would you have been there nodding with agreement as you recognised yourself?

Another first for me later in the day as I sat and listened to someone with experience to share.  The name was sort of familiar, her background seemed to fit...I gradually put two and two together and identified a fellow blogger!  I have met other bloggers before, of course, for some brave souls have come and introduced themselves to me at AllyPally and such places, but that's always been prompted by a mutual friend or somehow been less of a suprise than this time, where we were both there in a more professional capacity.  I must say that although it felt a bit strange knowing rather more about each other than normally would be the case on meeting someone for the first time, it was lovely to meet the warm and friendly woman who tells the stories and who creates such interesting bits of knitting and stitching.  I still felt a little bit like a stalker though!!

*  I might have answered my own quesiton when I found the link to Innocent above, but  does anyone know if Innocent recycle these little hats for next year?  Can I send these back to them?

This and that

Quite a bit of activity here today

A few bits of family history ephemera have turned up, including Mark's Grandfather's marriage certificate and some newspaper clippings about his Great Grandfather's death.  Great Grandfather John was Mayor of Lincoln and the obituary makes for interesting reading.  So, a few more pieces to add to the family tree and as a result, a few more leads to follow - a useful and warm activity to do on a chilly February morning.

It might be freezing cold outside but the clear sunshine is making the colours of the tulips on the kitchen windowsill sing.  Glorious colour.

There's a heady scent coming from this little bunch of Cheerfulness too. I find it amazing that such a small flower can have such a powerful perfume.

This might not look much but it represents a first for me - my first go at making crumpets!  We've been on the natural starter sourdough bread road for quite some time now and really hate throwing away the excess starter that accumulates over a couple of weeks in the fridge.  Thanks to Clotilde of Chocolate and Zucchini, we now know what we can make with it and though these first attempts don't look particularly pretty, they taste authentic enough. Practice needed!

Last but not least, thanks to Sue who shared a link to the 7day shop I've now got my pile of brightly coloured USB sticks, ready for filling with holiday pictures and memories of lovely days in exciting places.  That's the job for this afternoon!

For Home and Country

Anyone who knows me will know of my passion for the WI.  I've been a member for 26 years this month and joining Avening WI was one of the best moves I made.  I couldn't have imagined quite where my involvement of the organisation would take me, nor the wealth of amazing friends I would meet along the way.

 

I'm thrilled to watch as the organisation goes from strength to strength, as relevant to life in the 21st century as it was when it was started nearly a century ago and take every opportunity to talk it up, to correct the frequent misconceptions and encourage women to try it out before dismissing the idea that it's not for them.

So, imagine my surprise when I opened my post this morning to find a copy of the new Joules clothing "catazine", which has a very WI focus to it.  How surprising - I'd never have associated this particular company with the WI and yet what they've done is really very clever.  My first reaction was that they had seized upon one of the new, urban groups which have formed and taken what I consider to be a rather cliched approach to the organisation.  But reading further, the focus of the story is set firmly in the middle ground, not solely amongst the young and hip but more in the world that the vast majority of us inhabit.

  

 OK, so they've taken the obvious route with some of the styling, and googling "Joules" and "WI" took me to a comment on Mumsnet which went along the lines of "Never did like their stuff anyway". 

But I think it's great to see such a grand organisation taken seriously. 

 especially by a company who offer such beautiful wellies (amongst other things!)

(The gorgeous stitched images are close up shots of The Country Wife, now undergoing restoration thanks to the National Needlework Archive)

Where have all the Singers gone?

We came home via a city we both used to haunt from time to time, and yet somewhere we'd not been in years.  It''s a fine city in that grand, Northern style: I bought my wedding dress here and used to think it a great place to shop.

We think the last time we were here could have been the first day of the UK lottery, when we came for some kind of industry dinner.   

 

This morning, we took shelter from the chill wind in the arcades which are somewhat smarter than we remembered.  We smiled as we spotted that the city centre has been styled into "Quarters".  Hmmm.

The shops in this "Quarter" were pretty smart, with prices not quite in keeping with the Monday morning shopping crowd, most of whom like us, we simply taking the warmest option on a February day, not stopping at all.

The fantastic market hall was bustling though and hadn't changed much from what we remember.  Good to see one of the early traders here is now successful enough to sponsor the market clock.

Having one of the arcades almost to ourselves did mean that we could stand and stare a little at shop windows on both sides which were full of old sewing machines.  With at least twenty in each of four or five windows, we were left wondering where on earth they got them all from?   Now, I've googled AllSaints and find that other stores in the chain have a similar theme going on and clearly I'm not the only one to worry about them cornering the market in antique Singers.

It does appear that I'm one of the last people to blog about those sewing machine displays though!!

Off again

Dear me, that snow in January meant that all kinds of plans had to be changed and so we find ourselves in Yorkshire this weekend, following through arrangements originally planned for the first weekend of 2010.

First stop was Thirsk on Friday, where I had the privilege of working with some very talented embroiderers whilst Mark took a look at a few railway engines.  We both really enjoyed our day and met up late afternoon to continue on towards Helmsley and Harome, where we looked forward to spending a comfortable couple of nights.

A short stagger along the village street is all that's needed for a pretty good supper (not that we couldn't have enjoyed a great evening staying put at The Pheasant)  A table at The Star is to be coveted, however and does not disappoint.

We woke to a misty Saturday morning and after an hour or two in Northallerton, we headed for Barnard Castle, to the Bowes Museum.

How amazing is that?  This incredible combination of sun and mist, of blue sky and low cloud was magical

However, what lay inside was better still.

Brand new textile and costume galleries where exhibits are displayed in the most marvellous way

So clever that its possible to see all around and even a little way inside these exquisite creations.

Where for a small fee, permission is granted to take photographs so that the smallest details can be saved and brought home with me.  Beautiful goldwork, for example

 or, in the next gallery, a close up shot of Napoleon III's boots.  How clever of the artist to create the glossy shine with a mere flick of his paintbrush.

The metal galleries have also been remodelled, here showing a table setting laid out vertically, in a most attractive way.  The transparent materials and clever lighting show off the metallic shine so well.

The star of the show here is undoubtedly the Silver Swan, an automoton which is allowed to perform once a day.  At 2pm a crowd gathers to watch the 40 second performance - magnificent!

What a great way to spend a foggy February afternoon.  Definitely somewhere we'll return.

Today, we've explored another masterpiece for the first time.

The Ribblehead Viaduct is as amazing in real life as it is in pictures.  One of those feats of engineering which left us in awe of the men who dreamed they could achieve it.

Standing here at the foot of one of 24 immense arches in this vast open landscape, we felt very small indeed.

No steam trains puffing over the viaduct today, sadly, but a great cup of tea in the kitchen of our friends down the line in Long Preston!

Not to mention a delicious supper and a comfy bed tonight in another favourite haunt.