Catching The Thread

Do you have a thread catcher? Quite often I sit watch TV with a small sewing task in my hands [providing it isn't a Russian programme where I have to concentrate on subtitles] I seem to generate lots of short lengths of trimmed thread. I attempt to pile them neatly on the coffee table, or drop them straight into the wpb. But it does not work - they drift round the bin, falling like confetti on the carpet, or catch on my clothes and travel round the house. When I saw these little "collapsible thread catchers" I decided they would be ideal for my purpose. Not just for sofa-sewing but for when I'm stitching on the train, or out and about anywhere.

They are also useful for holding a folding pair of scissors and a tiny spool of thread. They are little cylindrical buckets about 3"high and 3" in diameter, but flatten away when not in use [holding the thread inside for later disposal] Making one takes a small piece of fabric, some scrap card, a bit of wadding, thread... and a ring from a Pringles tube.

If you go to this site you will find an excellent tutorial, so I am not going to write my own here. I've made 3 now, and will leave one here at Cornerstones and take the other two back to Dorset. I think they'd make lovely little gifts for people who enjoy sewing "small projects"
I have done two other sewing tasks since we got here - mending a cotton tote bag for Liz, and altering a bridesmaid dress for my niece Lucy. That's been fun - there is amazing pleating on the bodice, and down the back it fastens with lacing which pulls into a neat fishtail. 

She's bridesmaid for her friend on Saturday - hope the weather will be kind... 

Then And NOW

I keep forgetting to post the pictures from my trip to Liz and Steph on the weekend before Kids' Club. On the Saturday we visited the NOW Gallery in Greenwich. The current exhibition "My Opera House" is by an Argentinian artist called Kinska, who has a studio in Hackney. Last year, she had a ceramic hip replacement, and spent her time in bed working in her sketchbooks.
This installation "looks at healing, courage and play through imagination" and also acknowledges the medical staff who helped in the process. There is a little house filled with hundreds of hand made ceramic objects, many tear drops hanging from the ceiling, and sketchbooks and pens for visitors to contribute their thoughts.
Lz and I both found it fascinating - and Rosie was utterly enchanted. 

She loved the little glass case containing "Doctor's stuff" - pills, syringe, thermometer etc. She lay on the bench and marvelled at all the stickers on the ceiling. She kept pointing out new things she had noticed. We spent a long time looking and talking and working out the stories... Do check out the website for more information and pictures. 

There is a wealth of opportunity out there for children to explore and learn about the world around them. Admittedly Ro lives in London so has more "on her doorstep" than a child in mid Norfolk. But this gallery is free to enter and so pleasant - helpful staff, space to park the buggy, child friendly... 
After lunch we went to the Naval College and did some historical stuff. 
Greenwich [like Chelsea] had Pensioners... retired seaman could apply to live there
We had lots of fun dressing up in the replica costumes provided. We also saw a model of the bedrooms occupied by the pensioners - tiny, and tidy little cabins with room for few personal possessions. Rosie checked out the bed. She spotted the bird picture - correctly identifying it as a blue-footed booby. I had no idea what it was, but Liz says the BFB frequently appears on one of her CBeebies programmes.

What a lovely day we had together. I'm very proud of my family, and glad that Liz & Jon take time to find these good experiences to help Rosie to learn and develop. It's hard when you work full-time to fit in such activities, but Rosie is blessed with thoughtful, caring parents. She is such a cheerful, generous little character - chatty and charming. I'm sure she will grow up to be as wise and kind as her Mum and Dad. 

Holiday Blessings

Cornerstones is so restful, we are having a wonderful time. This morning Bob and I will be leading the service at the little Chapel. Some might consider that a "Busman's Holiday" - but we are looking forward to worshipping with our friends. This a great place to be, and we are truly grateful... 

Cod Moving In A Mysterious Way

We saw a notice in Dereham Library saying "Printmaking Workshop for adults and children. No need to book" So we went along, and spent 90minutes having enormous fun learning to do lino cutting.
We chose from a stack of images [Bob had a hare, I has a fish, and two others opted for owl and mermaid] We transferred the image to the lino with carbon paper, then began carving out our designs. That was harder than it looks.

Basically you cut away anything you do not want to be inked. It seemed to take ages. Bob had prepared his hare and got to the inking stage and I was still carving away at fish scales...

Finally it was all done. Our tutor was very encouraging, and helped us print onto paper and card. 
We got to keep our lino rectangles. 

Here is some of Bob's work - the original black and white image he copied, and below it the link block. To the right, a print of his hare in brown ink on blue card.
Clearly you can see the hare in the moonlight. 

My fish was OK. I think I should have had more waves around it. And his open mouth gives him a surprised expression. But I'm happy with my first attempt at a new craft and would like to do it again sometime.
Thank you to the staff at Dereham Library for arranging such a fun event. It was a shame that so few turned up. 

Sparking, Standing And Sniffing

Seeing how tidy someone else's wardrobe was recently made me decide to re-evaluate mine when I get back from holiday. I borrowed Marie Kondo's second book "Spark Joy" from Dereham Library. If ever there was a 2nd book written on the back of the 1st, with hardly any fresh material, this is it. People apparently wanted diagrams to help implement her method. 

Three pages on how to fold knickers seems little excessive to me! But ideally in the KonMari method, everything should be stored "standing up" if possible. "Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus" is one thing, not sure if I want my underwear to stand up for Ms Kondo. She also suggests sniffing items if you are unsure where they should be stored. She claims that electrical items can be identified because they "exude a pungent tingling odour". If my electrical stuff smelled, I'd check it is safe to use. [bizarrely, her definition of electrical includes earphones and printer cartridges.]
The book does seem to be much more relaxed than her first tome. Tidy Joy is more important than Ruthless Decluttering. She mutters about her Mum's excessive crockery collection, even though she only entertains once a year - but goes on to admit that she herself has nineteen sets of chopstick rests! This very week Ms Kondo has been in the news admitting that she has changed her approach. Yes, I will tidy my wardrobe. But I will not turn my bathroom and toilet into "a joyful theme park experience"
Getting back to Sniffing... This week we have discovered the craziest crime show on Netflix. The Sniffer. It's about a guy with an amazing sense of smell, who literally sniffs out the criminals. It is in Russian with subtitles but it is great fun. Sort of "CSI meets Jo Malone with Oligarchs". Binge watching rubbish TV is proving good relaxation in the evenings. 

So-Fa So Good

It's truly wonderful being here at Cornerstones just relaxing. Yesterday we spent a bit of time assembling the new sofa bed. If you follow the instructions, IKEA stuff usually comes together quite efficiently.

Lay out all the components, read through the booklet, and work systematically, and there you are... 

We had a cup of tea, admired our handiwork, then went off to Norwich. 

The ramen noodles we had for lunch on one of the market stalls were particularly splendid. We had a good stroll round the city - but I'll blog about that later. 

A Gift For The Nation, From Norfolk

If you travel to the western edge of Norfolk, you come to The Fens. This flat, low-lying, marshy agricultural region was drained many centuries ago. Going north into Lincolnshire, and westwards into Cambridgeshire, this fertile area contains 50% of England's Grade 1 agricultural land.

In 2012, a farmer near Downham Market planting potatoes unearthed a massive tree trunk. He recognised it as Black Oak. It was the biggest and best piece of ancient subfossilised black bog oak ever found.This tree died standing in water and fell into the silt. For nearly 5000 years it lay there, the iron in the silt reacting with the tannin turning the wood black, and lack of oxygen preserving it. 

Recognising the importance of the discovery, and knowing it would rapidly disintegrate if exposed to the air, the farmer covered up the trunk, and called in Hamish Low [the top man in the world of Black Oak] You can read all about it here
How they built a drying kiln in the field, to extract the moisture and preserve the wood. 

How the trunk was sliced into planks, each one requiring 18 people to carry it. 
How the decision was made to turn this wood into a gift for the nation - a massive table for Ely Cathedral - that Great place of worship right in the centre of the Fens. 

It will stand on bronze supports - and be used at many of the events which take place in the Cathedral.
It is a truly amazing story. 
There is only a finite amount of black oak left, and it is our most ancient native hardwood - and the densest, blackest Wood. It is so important that this wood is preserved. 

Because the project began in the 60th year of the Queen's Reign, Buckingham Palace has granted permission for this to be known as the Diamond Jubilee Project. Do visit the website to learn more about this great project. I have found it really fascinating. 

Fine Dining

This was a new one for me - I've seen "buy a pizza, get a free bottle of Coke" on advertising flyers. But never "Pizza easily digestible without fizzy drink" before! Clearly this pizzeria in Elephant and Castle has an unusual USP. I've been puzzling over it since my return from London, and can only conclude that it's a sneaky way for them to actually offer less to the customer. We arrived safely at Cornerstones on Sunday evening - just in time for Bob to collapse in front of the TV and watch the Grand Prix highlights. Well done, Lewis! 

On our last trip, I made sure there was food in the freezer for an easy Sunday night supper. It had to be easy, I knew I'd be too exhausted to prepare fancy cuisine. I asked Bob for his choice of vegetables, but my befuddled brain jumbled the words... "Do you want Frozen Peas, or Brocketty Frolics this evening?" His answer is not repeatable here. But I'll definitely call them Brocketty Frolics now. 

Sainsbury's delivered our groceries at 7:15 Monday morning, and we enjoyed coffee, orange juice and freshly baked croissants for breakfast. Then I went back to bed and Bob cut the grass. So grateful for the opportunity to relax.

You can tell I'm very tired. I read Sue's blog yesterday about her produce in the Village Show. I misread it - and actually wondered why my friend was entering lidl cherry tomatoes instead of her own home-grown ones [which are, in fact, Ildi variety] Oops! Well done on all the richly deserved prizes, Sue

The Great Escape

Kids' Club is over for another year. 
Baby Moses floated happily in his basket
The snakes slithered...[although some of the youngest children threaded rather too many bottletops on their strings]

The Pharaohs were stern and grumpy...[and the popularity of Forky from Toy Story 4 meant they loved making them]

The frogs hopped and croaked - look how hard the team are working to cut them out. The frogs with party-blower tongues were a great [but noisy] hit!

The flies landed everywhere. On the windowsill, and the table, and on big banners.

My much travelled Palm Tree [now 14 years old] made yet another appearance

After a very tiring morning, Bob took me for a splendid, but somewhat belated, sandwich lunch in the Flying Teapot- but as so often happens we were interrupted by a phone call
And many, many prayers were offered - and answered.

The age-old story of Moses and the Exodus was told again
The children were incredibly well behaved
The staff all worked like Trojans
The crafts were remarkably successful 
Saturday's Family Day was well attended [and mercifully not too hot]
An average of 125 children each day [plus evening sessions for the older ones]
100 children plus their families came on Saturday.
Am I exhausted - yes
Is Bob exhausted - yes
Was it worth it - YES!!

...and Ang and Bob's Great Escape starts today!

THINK Before You Speak

Despite the busyness of the last few days, I took a few moments to do some cardmaking this past week. I've recently picked up 2 secondhand dies for my BigShot diecut machine. 
I had some plain purple card blanks, so I made this one with a typewriter on for my Aunt.
She was a secretary from 1943 - 1988 - starting with the old fashioned manual typewriters, and finally becoming an audio typist using electric models. She was Very Fast, I cannot remember her WPM score [words per minute] but it was impressive.
I thought I'd write her a proper note next week whilst I'm relaxing on holiday, and I am sure she'll appreciate the picture.

My second die is a rather intricate house design. This is a Welcome To Your New Home card for a blog friend who is moving a long way south - and will be living almost round the corner. I am so looking forward to getting together in person for coffee and chats.
These are not over embellished cards- I like to keep things simple and let the intricacy of the die be the main feature.
A chatty note will cheer my housebound Aunt, and the House card will welcome my friend who is moving in whilst I am away on holiday.
A few kind words - whether written, typed or spoken can be a real encouragement to someone, wouldn't you agree?
But the emphasis must be on kind. We should always think before we speak. The acronym may be trite, but it is still wise - are the words I am about to say

• True
• Helpful
• Inspiring
• Necessary
• Kind

????
Because if they aren't, then maybe I shouldn't be saying them.

Martha Stewart She Certainly Ain't!!

"You should read this, Mum" said Liz. She was absolutely right [as usual] In between stifled giggles over the antics of other train travellers, this was great entertainment for 3 hours on a train on Monday.
First published in the USA 30 years ago, it was printed in the UK in 2012. Laurie Colwin died suddenly in 1992,aged just 48. A prolific writer, she contributed to many magazines and published various collections of short stories.
"Home Cooking" is a glorious collection of anecdotes about the joys of cooking and home entertaining, interspersed with recipes and surprising non-recipes.
Forget the Martha Stewart Counsel of Perfection, where everything must be just right, made with the correct tools and the perfect ingredients, and served at the optimum temperature to your carefully chosen, well-matched dinner guests. Ignore Martha's rules about pristine white linen, sparkling sets of crystal, china and silverware.  Just relax and enjoy!
Her chapter titles alone make the book a delight, here are some of them...

• Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant
• Feeding the Fussy
• How to Disguise Vegetables
• The Same Old Thing
• How to Avoid Grilling
• English Food
• Stuffing: A Confession
• Repulsive Dinners: A Memoir
• Stuffed Breast Of Veal: A Bad Idea
• Black Cake

She shares her favourite recipes and generously credits those who have passed them on to her. Some of these I am hoping to try out over the summer. She delights with stories about abysmal failures in the kitchen, as when "quivering pieces of red matting with the texture of socks were offered to guests."  "One of my pies was so odd looking that my husband took a picture of it" [remember this was written pre Instagram - I have no idea what she would say about the popular habit of photographing everything you eat] 
She declares that some of her best dinner parties were those where the shoe leather meat and soapy greenish potato salad being left untouched, and one guest saying "Let's leave all this and go out to a hamburger joint!"
Jewish by birth [but one who did not 'keep kosher' in the kitchen] she talks about many traditional recipes and her ways of serving them - and wonders about the rest of us ["Is it in the genes of Episcopalians to want to barbecue?" ] She loves Trad English food - and also Scottish stuff like Neeps and Tatties. Her description of eating her first haggis is wonderful.
She talks about her involvement in the kitchensd of a Manhattan Project for Homeless Women and the amazing cooks who produced fantastic meals for huge numbers with minimal resources.
This lovely article sums up Laurie's style much better than I could.She had such a liberating approach to life in the kitchen and the joy of eating with friends

But do beg, borrow or buy this book, I give it a resounding *****  Thank you Liz for lending it to me.
The final paragraph of her first chapter, written in New York in 1987, ends with words which sadly still ring true. 
"These essays were written at a time when it was becoming increasingly clear that many of our fellow citizens are going  hungry in the streets if our richest cities. It is impossible to write about food and not think about that. I hope that those who are lucky to be well fed will find this book useful in feeding family and friends."

How Have I Missed That One?

Tuesday was World Embroidery Day. 
Did you know that? My only excuse is extreme busyness plus fatigue and sleepiness.
But I shall definitely watch out for it next year - this initiative was started by Swedish stitchers eight years ago.
They say

“We want to draw attention to the embroidery as a free creative act, which can lead to free, creative thoughts and ideas. We want to tie our embroidery threads from a northern privileged part of the world with stitches sewn by embroidery sisters and brothers around the world. We want to be part of a lively creative peace movement. Make July 30 a creative day for peace, freedom and equality. "

Here is their MANIFESTO

Textile reflects our world; embroideries can show the expressions of our time. Embroidery and textiles can focus on the social injustices between countries. 

By the means of embroidery we can draw attention to the necessity of engaging in the force of textile in global trade and with it in world peace. Textiles is a power and let us use embroidery as an inspiration for people to engage in creativity that leads to a better understanding between countries and between people. 

To embroider is a peaceful occupation. It can be traditional made from a common remembrance, drawn designs, from a pattern, or from your own imagination. You embroider for joy, beauty, decoration and for the creation of identity. 

Stitches can be decorative, beautiful, comforting, repeating, healing, telling, pleasurable, rebellious, caressing and perfect. 

People embroider out of joy, as a hobby, professionally, for the bare necessities of life and as an act of freedom. You embroider together with others or in meditative solitude. 

We want to acknowledge embroidery as an act of free creativity, which can lead to free, creative thoughts and ideas. We want to tie our embroidery threads from the privileged northern hemisphere together with stitches that are sewn by embroidering sisters and brothers all over the world. 

We want to be part of a joyfully creative peace movement. 

The initiative came from Skåne Sy-d, a local group of Broderiakademin, the Swedish Embroiderer’s Guild. The first World Embroidery Day took place in Vismarlöv, 30th July 2011. "The importance of embroidery must be made known and World Embroidery Day will spread around the world. Make 30th July a day filled with creativity"

for the sake of Peace, Freedom and Equality.

Let The Train Take The Strain?

Do you remember the lyrics from 'Red Dwarf' ?That crazy  space comedy which began 30 years ago, and still has a cult following. Even the AA has taken it up as the basis for their current TV ad.

…Let me fly far away from here

Fun, Fun, Fun, in the Sun, Sun, Sun

I want to lie shipwrecked and comatose

Drinking fresh mango juice

Goldfish shoals, nibbling at my toes

Fun, Fun, Fun in the Sun, Sun, Sun

I am so looking forward to my holiday next week, and hoping there will be a chance to lie comatose in the sun [not shipwrecked, but in a sunlounger at Cornerstones]

This week has been unbelievably crazy and we are both in real need of a proper break.

On Monday I returned from my trip to London. There were some lovely, and some less happy moments. I will put up some pictures later when I have sorted them. 

I got a slow 'stopping train' - mainly because the ticket was half the price of the faster one. Liz had lent me a book [review to follow] which was brilliant laugh-out-loud stuff [suppressed, in consideration of my fellow travellers] and I figured it was the right length to occupy the whole journey. 

The South Western Railway staff were affable and helpful. There was a lady at the front end of my carriage who had a walking frame and a folded wheelchair. As we left Waterloo, she checked with the guard [or whatever title he had] that when she reached her destination, someone would lift the chair onto the platform, and help her out of the train. He reassured her that this service had been pre-booked, and someone would be there for her, not to worry. On his return later to check tickets, she asked again. Yes, it will be OK he said again. Then at Southampton, he left the train and we got a new chap. The same conversation ensued. Twice. I decided that either she'd been let down on her journey up to London, or maybe she'd read recent stories about disabled people stranded on planes. As I say, the staff could not have been kinder.

Those of us further down the compartment - who could not avoid hearing her, smiled at each other, and we all hoped that she would 'de-train' happily.

Then things took a distinct Monty-Pythonesque turn. There were less than a dozen of us left in the carriage, and one guy got up to use the loo [directly opposite her seat] He went inside- and shut the door- which swung open again. He shut it, it opened. "Turn the switch!" she yelled. He shut it, it opened. "No the switch on the other side!" she yelled. This process went on for about 4 minutes. Open-shut-open-shut-open...and she got crosser and crosser - I cannot bring myself to type the language she used. "You stupid idiot, the other side!" was one of the milder insults. The poor man- I felt really sorry for him - the rest of us looked on bemused. He finally managed to secure the door in the closed position, and presumably did what he needed to do. But she went on shouting at the door "People like you are so *****stupid, you should not be allowed on trains! Can't you ***** read? *****Idiot"

Now I should say, this gentleman had not spoken a word in the whole encounter- I do not know if he even spoke/read English. After about 5 minutes the passenger opposite me whispered "he's not come out yet" I said "He's probably scared". 

He did eventually emerge, and scuttled back to his seat, head down, clearly embarrassed by the whole debacle. I decided I'd wait till I got home for the loo - and did not drink the remainder of my coffee. I got into a fun conversation with the couple opposite me.

Then we got to Brockenhurst. The train was due to stop there for an extended period [to allow faster trains to shoot past on the other line] Bournemouth passengers were invited to go to the opposite platform if they wanted a non-stop connection. "We should do that!" said the chap opposite. He and his companion gathered up their stuff, offered me their Waitrose magazine [thankyou] and left. As they got off the train, he turned left. "No the other way!" yelled Mrs Busybody. He turned to look back, then ignored her "The other way you silly fool!" she yelled. He grinned broadly, and continued in the way he had been going [the same direction as the other passengers] Eventually she gave up yelling. I do hope they did take her and her wheelchair off the train at her destination - I'd hate to think of the other travellers enduring her foul-mouthed harangues all the way to Weymouth!

Bob collected me from Christchurch station and we came home. I spent a couple of hours in last minute Kids Club Prep at the church [a clutch of 'late-bookers' meant I needed to prepare some more craft sets] I was in bed by 9.30. 

Tuesday's Club went well and after a sandwich lunch at the Flying Teapot, I came home and slept for 2 hours. I am learning to rest when I can. Kids Club is important, and I am glad to be involved, but this year I'm finding it much more tiring than ever before. 

But next week...fun, fun,fun, in the sun, sun sun....