The Glass Mountain

The excitement of the King Harry Ferry

2011-05-04T10:03:00.000-07:00

It's really a floating bridge pulled across on a chain. It crosses between Trelissick and the Roseland peninsula in Cornwall saving about 26 miles of driving, it is the King Harry Ferry.

You're only on it for about ten minutes but it's so beautiful, even on a grey day like this one

this is the ferry

and this is a strangely beached looking HUGE ship in the river, I have no idea why it is there or whether the high tide brings in enough water for it to leave.

I like to think that these are the ferrymen's cottages and not holiday cottages for a change

it's such a lovely ten minutes out of a busy day

warm thoughts

2011-05-01T03:57:00.000-07:00

what to do if you're 10 (or 43) and have just watched the scariest dr who ever before bed

take one warm thought, available here, and squeeze very very tight

and if you wake in the night from a 'silence' related nightmare then press his belly button

and if all else fails go through to your mum and dad's room (this only works if you're 10) with your warm thought so you and mum can hug him together

Is there anyone else out there who suspects that dr who isn't and never has been suitable for children (or nervous adults)?

a folksy/etsy easter

2011-04-27T06:30:00.000-07:00

just look what annis found in our garden

a pink fluffy bunny puff!!! he (because apparently he is a he, despite all that pinkness) is utterly loved and the easter bunny who left him behind had been doing a little shopping on etsy at kitty pink stars where there are all kinds of glorious creatures

a gold rabbit provoked quite a lot of smiling too

and look! Is that what I think it is! A gorgeous zombie bunny bookmark from fiona t, so gorgeous we have had to order a second blue skulls one for middle boy

the boys did not want to be photographed in their pyjamas for my blog (I can't understand it) but they allowed their balaclaved bank robber eggs to be photographed instead (well one of them) they loved them and what's even better is that they are from folksy at TamaraJayne.

Ok, I know you're wondering, is that a shot glass that their eggs are sitting in? In all the excitement of easter we didn't realise that we no longer have any egg cups, I don't know where they've gone but they are no longer in our house so we were madly running around in the early hours of Sunday seeing if boiled eggs would sit in espresso cups (they wouldn't) then Jason remembered my dad's old shot glasses... perfect and even a little bit retro.

Hope you all had a wonderful easter, with plenty of chocolate

the inconsistant blogger!

2011-04-23T02:56:00.000-07:00

It's true, once the sun shines we tend to drift far away from the computer, forget to take the camera out with us, and forget to blog. We have been enjoying the sun, I'm sure you all have too and we decided that this year we would bake our own hot cross buns

I've done it once before, a long time ago all alone but this year I had a little helper (who did most of the work). We used the recipe from this book. My copy has a few errors in it, half a pint of milk and water was translated as 125mls which is only a quarter of a pint. Stupidly I suggested we go for half a pint and see if it worked!! So we were adding extra flour!

but they tasted delicious and worked despite our messing with the recipe

MY knitted hat was finished and immediately stolen! I love it though, it keeps my ears warm and feels very 1920's. It was from this lovely book

and I have begun some very scruffy crocheting with some gorgeous gorgeous Manos del Uruguay wool classica. I am sort of aiming at something like this but need more luscious yarn so a trip to St Ives is in order, once the holidays are over

Hope you're all enjoying the sunshine and maybe getting a little crafting done too.

Wednesday walks

2011-04-13T01:23:00.000-07:00

a bit of a longer break than I had intended, but life just takes over sometimes!
Now the weather is more beautiful we have decided to do some proper walks. We used to do these a lot when the children were smaller and we lived out of town but in recent years not so many so we have decided to revisit some of the beautiful places in West Penwith and do some lovely long walks with picnics. We won't necessarily walk on Wednesdays but I think we'll post the walk on a Wednesday (it's the w w thing!) So without further ado here is walk number one, a walk from the merry maiden standing stones down to Lamorna cove along the coast to St Loy woods and back up through fields to the merry maidens, we think it's about six miles so not too far for someone who's been sitting sewing and drawing all winter!

a little bit of cooking

2011-03-31T04:18:00.000-07:00

things have been very hectic here lately so we've slowed up in the evenings to do a bit of cooking.

not from this book but from the tv programme on 4od

I really want all the children to be able to cook for themselves by the time they leave home and these meals are even uncomplicated enough (but interesting enough) for my seventeen year old so I'm going to buy him the book for the next time he's home alone (he can cook meat to his heart's content then!)

we cooked this.

I should point out that this is a picture of Jamie's pie not ours as ours was eaten too quickly for us to photograph it

It was utterly delicious, the best recipe we've tried (we had to use puff pastry as we had no filo, so not authentic but delish anyway)

and today classic school cookery, rock buns, I don't think I've eaten these since I was school age! We used the recipe from this book which I love despite all the meat recipes. She just has some great ideas for people like me who are never organized!

We're away celebrating J's sister's 40th this weekend so we will have to wait until next week to make Jamie's mushroom risotto! Yum!!

Teaching each other

2011-03-29T12:48:00.000-07:00

Teague has just started piano lessons. It was something he suddenly decided he wanted to do and he seems to be really focused on practicing

Annis would also like piano lessons but we can't really afford two lots at the moment so Teague has started teaching her, and he is a wonderful teacher. More patient than me (that might not mean a lot!) and they don't seem to bicker at all while they're learning together.

I think this is one of the nicer things about home learning. Sharing their skills with each other seems so much more meaningful than simply showing me what they can do.

and we don't have to pay for a second lot of piano lessons yet ;o)

Annis on gardening

2011-03-22T09:28:00.000-07:00

i'm Annis and i'm ten years old and i'm guest blogging.

we have been doing some gardening at a friends house.

she has a BIG garden and four cats and two dogs.

we had to move some top soil (below) down a hill in

a wheel barrow.

we are sharing everything we grow. these are our seedlings we have

quite a lot of seedlings and are biggest is kale (eurrgh).

this is Tulouse she is sausage dog cross jack russel.

she is very friendly.

this is kitsie pitsie he's very friendly but a bit clumsy.

this our little plot and the poly tunnel with rased beds in.

Perfect stitching, but not mine

2011-03-16T04:49:00.000-07:00

I am slightly astounded by the perfection of this stitching. Not least because it's my 'I don't like hand sewing' daughter's perfect stitching.

when Annis asked me if she could make a purse for her auntie's 40th and I suggested she find a pattern to embroider onto it she said she'd changed her mind because dad was taking some metal poles apart with an allen key and she'd rather do that

Not to be defeated I brought out the exciting iron on transfers (it feels like magic!) and she came back (after playing with metal poles for quite a while) and chose a pattern that's definitely too big for a purse and proceeded to stitch far more perfectly than I ever do!

I know this bird will look beautiful when she finishes it but I don't know what we will make it into for her auntie. Oh to be able to move from metal work to perfect stitching! Oh to be ten years old again!!

flowers without gardens

2011-03-14T11:45:00.000-07:00

Because we don't have a garden, more of a yard with lots of steps, we have to use our town parks for garden stuff. The kids and Jason do grow food with some friends on a plot of land, but this time we wanted flowers

so this is Morrab gardens, full of beautiful flowering magnolia trees at the moment

and of course daffodils, we sketched and sketched, there are so many beautiful flowers there.

we photographed too

We feel lucky to have such a beautiful garden a five minute walk away

we did have some crocuses in a pot in our yard but they died so quickly

and I just love magnolia trees when they're flowering. It feels like summer is on its way...

sporty days

2011-03-10T01:28:00.000-08:00

I have never been a very sporty type, I enjoy swimming but am not too much into running around but my whole family seem to love running around. In fact when they can't run around they do get a little stir crazy and bickery.

so, a little bit of sun over Marazion beach and

french cricket, which I think is a vicious game but the children love (perhaps because it's vicious).

I escaped lightly with a bat bashed finger but I have to admit we did have a lot of fun and we really needed a bit of outdoors, it was definitely tooooo cold to stand around.

and my inventive sport obsessed children have created a sort of table tennis court behind the sofa. Are those library books?!! So I am going to have to learn to love sport! Or sit and knit on the beach once the weather's warm enough.

Falling like dominoes

2011-03-03T02:45:00.000-08:00

that's what is happening to the peeps in our house at the moment

first one then the next then it all seems to start again. So much coughing!!

We're all stuck in the house on sunny days driving each other mad

So I took a trip around the house

Annis's disturbing and yet sooo cool gallery. I wish I could paint like this I just love them

a post card from friends we miss living far away from us

Teague's strange little stage with a solitary actor

a gorgeous cake plate my nanna has given me because she doesn't really bake anymore, which is sad because my nanna's baking is part of my childhood

a lovely sandwich plate from J's mum because she had too much pottery

two pretty fairtrade glass bowls that Annis and I bought before christmas to make the table look prettier

and three men in a boat, reminding me that summer is on it's way and we won't be ill forever, even if it feels a bit like that right now.

And now soup making is called for

first spring picnic

2011-02-26T08:16:00.000-08:00

just when we were feeling Februaried out

the sun shone, the skies were blue, the catkins are out

at an old mine working near Godolphin

no-one was feeling up to much walking after lots of bugginess so this was perfect, a picnic just out of the car in the sunshine

french bread mozarella and avocado so we could feel the approach of summer. Tomato soup as well because it's still a bit chilly!

"but you can't put a bookmark in it" or "my american sister"

2011-02-21T01:56:00.000-08:00

My American sister (I only call her that to annoy her) is a kindle pusher and this week she had a success because she convinced my (not the most technical person in the world) mum to buy one. We have been arguing the pros and cons for a while now.

cons (as I see them)

I like books

I buy second hand books which are cheaper than kindle books

I use the library which is free

pros

it has an amazing screen that is a dream to read and therefore I don't need my (extremely annoying) reading glasses

did I say pros plural, I meant pro because that's the only one there is.

My American sister says she still buys books and proved it by buying about thirty from a library sale recently so in her opinion books and kindle are not mutually exclusive

but now I think I have her

Bookmarks! You can't use a bookmark in a kindle, in fact it would be pointless

and just look at this beautiful bookmark that I bought from carol's crafts. There's no question it would scratch your kindle but it looks beautiful in my book. I already know what her answer will be... You can still buy books.

I have added punctuation to my title because my lovely partner insists it doesn't make sense. All I can say is it makes sense inside my head!

Just reading

2011-02-16T06:49:00.001-08:00

and so quiet

diversions and evasion

2011-02-13T07:44:00.000-08:00

or where I've been and what I've been thinking about instead of writing my essay

the gorgeous gingermelon on etsy how could you not want to make one of these cuties

Annis bought me a ring from silk purse sow's ear and my son recently bought one for his girlfriend for valentine's day and now she's tempting me with another!

and I just love this fabric from fabric rehab, the pots remind me of some childhood cups and bowls

oh and flickr, just look at the beauty of these valentine cookies from freestyle girl's photostream

I hope you are all diverting yourselves in such lovely ways today

hmm perhaps I could do some baking, after all I've written 1061 of the 4000 words...

books and books and more books

2011-02-10T07:44:00.000-08:00

Reading is just about all that's happening in our house at the moment. The weather has turned grey and cold so all we want to do is snuggle up and read

I should be writing an essay on Orlando but instead got caught up in Hermione Lee's biography of her.

This is our book club book. The children voted to have book club once a fortnight so I tend to read the book to them, otherwise we would have to get two copies. And I am enjoying this one.

Annis is reading the time wreccas which she has just started and says 'it's funny and I like the names of the characters, snot and scratch and killjoy'. Ours is a library copy, for some reason the copies I found on the internet are hugely expensive but maybe it's awaiting a print run.

Teague who cannot be photographed is reading Clive Cussler The Chase which is an adult's detective story set in 1906. He really likes the historical aspect of it and finds it exciting.

Did I miss two days? So early in February? Hmmm I think so.

New Books

2011-02-07T10:57:00.000-08:00

Today our new books arrived from amazon.

I had seen these books several times over the last year on Angry chicken. She uses them as starters for enviable home ed projects. So, in need of a kick start, we ordered four of them last week. They are suited to younger children, my ten year old is happily reading them. There is a lot of information in them and they do make a good starting point for a project. We just ordered the non fiction books, we didn't bother with the story books as they seemed a bit too young.

I let Annis choose three of them, she has a fascination for ancient cultures, especially the Egyptians, so we went for Romans, Greeks and Egyptians. I also ordered Leonardo da Vinci for my son who doesnt' like to read, the language is quite young but the information is interesting. Some good comparisons of Leonardo's inventions with modern equivalents. I'll post more as we work through them and create our projects.

A day late!

2011-02-07T03:11:00.000-08:00

but with good reason, the poorly blanket has had to come out

this scruffy merino and blue faced leicester slightly felted, well worn, well loved blanket is a sample of my distant spinning. I have friends who can spin a kilo of aran weight to make a jumper, I only make blankets or throws because there is no consistency to my spinning. It has a home made quality to it!

a (bad) picture of my lovely, and very old, ashford wheel, as proof of my spinning past. In fact I even belong to a spinning group, we don't actually spin anymore, we knit instead and I sometimes embroider but we still call it our spinning group so ssshhhh don't tell anyone we're not spinning!

but back to the blanket and my missed post yesterday, there is a little child under the blanket who was feeling very sorry for herself and distracted me away from the computer yesterday. She is still feeling sorry for herself this morning and has got out of bed to lie back down on the sofa under the poorly blanket. After all, how would I know she was poorly if she wasn't under the poorly blanket?

MICMACS Official Trailer!

2011-02-05T11:23:00.000-08:00

This is one of the most wonderful films I've ever watched. He made Amelie and just has a way of creating the most beautiful stories. Almost like an animation. Maybe it's the way forward for getting rid of arms dealers

A bit of late night art

2011-02-04T14:26:00.000-08:00

just when I thought we weren't going to have a picture for today a sudden late night art attack created three

sports night

2011-02-03T10:12:00.000-08:00

badminton night for the younger ones and J which means 'being human' for the teen and me

New hairslides

2011-02-02T03:36:00.000-08:00

Gorgeous gorgeous hairslides from supercutetilly She photographs them so much better than we have this morning here on her totally gorgeous blog

February swim anyone?

2011-02-01T08:35:00.001-08:00

Yes, she really did!

beach golf and a February plan

2011-01-31T08:48:00.000-08:00

What else to do on a cold bright winter's day but play beach golf?

This may look like golf tuition but that well wrapped up adult in the picture hasn't got a clue

Requirements: one very large, very very empty beach. We chose Mexico (because it has such a romantic name)

and icicles on the beach

and the bluest sky ever

but it was so very very very cold

a view of Godrevy lighthouse (well, just about)

more strange and wonderful rock formations

and the plan

For the month of February I will try (very hard) to put one photo on a day with just a sentence as a record of our home ed life.

The coloured cave

2011-01-24T08:05:00.000-08:00

My blogging has been a little sparse recently, not least because we keep forgetting to take a camera out on these beautiful sunny but cold days. So we have been out for walks in the cold and drinking lots of hot chocolate (on occasion laced with brandy)

This weekend we were lucky enough to be offered a guided walk to the coloured cave at Cape Cornwall. I say walk it was actually a boulder clamber. This was quite a feat as I am not known for my bouldering skills, but it was worth it when we saw the cave.

Unfortunately the camera didn't capture the subtler pinks further in but it is amazing. The colours are simply from the minerals in the constantly dripping water

It really looked as though someone had painted the walls. Well worth the clamber. I hope you had a beautiful weekend too.

A challenge was set!

2011-01-15T01:58:00.000-08:00

Karen from the most gorgeous Contemporary Embroidery was maybe, just a little, showing off her computer skills with her stand-alone page (which is rather beautiful) I left a little comment and was issued a challenge in the comments on this post. So, never one to refuse a dare, I have done it, this morning, despite only about four hours sleep (or perhaps because of). The only problem was I didn't actually think about what my stand alone page was going to be so after some thought rather than a blank stand alone page (which might just be construed as showing off for the sake of it) it is the beginnings of a gallery. So thankyou Karen, without your help/push I might have forever gazed at the wonder of other people's stand-alone pages without ever attempting my own. Of course, by the end of the week I may have ten stand-alone pages!

I have also messed with my backgrounds, ending up with a simple grey as I don't really like the templates and at the moment am far too lazy to accept my son's offer of help to create my own.

Post

2011-01-14T08:03:00.000-08:00

I have been spending a lot of time posting things recently, (which is a good thing), so it was lovely to receive a parcel for myself today. My partner bought me this beautiful locket for christmas (just after christmas really) when we saw the work of this wonderful artist on Etsy. The name of her shop is LavennzOsy and I just love her whimsical illustrations, especially this one

The locket is made by Polarity and she makes lockets from other lovely illustrators too. It is a recycled car part and has three interchangeable pictures

this one

and these two (the written one is a definition of the word cherish)

and I have been posting out my own parcel and letter (yes I did say letter, handwritten and all) to my sister in America

I had only intended to pop a quick note in but writing really is very enjoyable so she's getting a full three page letter, whether she wants it or not!!

I think I may take up letter writing and just maybe one of my relatives or friends will actually, eventually write back to me and I can get some more post

winter walking

2011-01-12T02:33:00.000-08:00

A sort of new year's resolution, not set in stone or anything, was to walk more often because we have gotten out of the habit of walking. We decided a grey, possibly rainy day was not a good enough excuse to stay indoors all day

Do we look cheery in the cold? And look at all those other walkers with good intentions! It's surprising how many people you bump into on January beach walks. Maybe we're all starting to feel a little claustrophobic.

Well the children are always cheery once we get out, and always find something to do

jumping rivers is always fun

and we even managed to drag a teen out with us. Now I'm glad we forced ourselves, because sometimes it really is a case of forcing ourselves it only takes one or two dissenters to weaken our resolve. The last couple of days have been truly horrible weather but it's nice to use them to do some indoor things, maybe even some education!!!

featured seller on folksy!!!

2011-01-10T01:31:00.000-08:00

I am quite excited today, we returned from a beautiful walk yesterday from Land's end to Sennen (we forgot the camera of course!), I switched on my computer to find a message saying that I am one of folksy's featured sellers for the next fortnight!! Here is the link. I haven't been sewing for a week or so because I seem to have damaged my back but I will have to get back on with it now!

There are three other featured sellers

O' blue thrashion

Ooh miss Fou

and

Mellor ware

All making gorgeous stuff

A White Christmas

2011-01-05T08:56:00.000-08:00

We were so lucky

A white christmas

All because we went up to our families in Lincolnshire

Unlike the rest of our family, who had been suffering with the snow, we loved every minute of it

Christmas card scenes everywhere

Sparkles for christmas

Sledging

Cousins together, sadly one was at home poorly but she got better in time for christmas dinner!

Family, snow, lovely food, gorgeous presents

What a beautiful christmas

christmas

2010-12-20T10:43:00.000-08:00

Photography conditions are never great in our house even on the brightest of days but we love this scrappy garland so much that I had to show it

old decorations have come out

for some reason we do have a pink giraffe on top of our tree rather than the more traditional angel or star, blame it on father and daughter doing the tree decorating!

a feathery home made angel

still writing christmas cards, crocheting snowflakes and a little bit of amigurumi which will hopefully become a snowman

We're going back past the wicker man for christmas so my blog space will be quiet for a week or so.

I hope you have a wonderful christmas, (I'm hoping for a white one but I understand that not everyone feels the same way!!) See you in the New Year

Kate x

thrifting

2010-12-17T19:18:00.000-08:00

We have a plan for next year, well ok it's my plan (thanks to Dottie Angel) but I have agreement from two children and one partner, the third child is too much the teenager but he may join in eventually. We are planning to attempt the Dottie Angel challenge to only buy hand crafted or second hand for our home and ourselves for the coming year.

and it has begun quite wonderfully with a typewriter from one of our many local charity shops. this has been a resounding success, with two children who previously would not put pen to paper without many threats sitting together all day typing a joint story.

and we also found some appropriately orange and yellow fabric that Annis and I intend to turn into a Dottie Angel style garland in the new year once the decorations come down.

I am really quite excited by the idea and will blog our progress on a relatively regular basis.

Kate Rusby - Sweet Bells - 02 - Sweet Bells

2010-12-15T05:14:00.000-08:00

We are just loving this cd as a change from the usual christmas carols!

Button, button who's got the button

2010-12-10T00:57:00.000-08:00

I realised this morning that I had run out of my favourite wooden heart buttons so I am going to have to take a trip to Truro tomorrow. But this gave me the idea for a folksy friday theme, and what a lot of gorgeous buttons there are out there. Here is just a selection of the loveliness of buttonsClick on the image to be taken to the shop

BlondesbackyardShopstitchmelaneAmandasatticLilleyCWTCHThedotterypottery

winter surfing

2010-12-06T08:17:00.000-08:00

It seems strange to me that just when it's cold enough to wear all our clothes, scarves,hats,gloves...

all some people want to do is get in the sea

and so the magical moment of father and son body boarding together

December elves

2010-12-05T10:24:00.000-08:00

This is a little post for the folksy December elves, still listing one a day. I have been very poor at blogging recently but will try to remedy that this week. Here are a few of my listings this week

and here's some lovely elvish stuff

Gaia NoirSteam Punk StormDawitchiAlicia's StonesDiddybearJust K Jewellery Click on the pictures to be taken to the shop

it's cold outside

2010-11-30T02:14:00.000-08:00

so I'm thinking about knitting. Of course I'm getting ahead of myself as I am still knitting my socks but they are almost ready for the grand tadah! and I can start dreaming about my next project, which will be from this lovely book

I have already knitted a few pairs of wrist warmers and one pair of fairisle gloves from here but now my daughter has asked for something a little more complex, isn't that what daughters are for (and sons for that matter)?

fingerless gloves with little hats for the tips of your fingers when it gets really cold

the only problem is that I would like to make these with all that lovely cable and those bobbles

and I only have one ball of luscious wool from Loop. I was quite worried about this when it occurred to me that I could order another ball!!! and then we can both have our luscious gloves. Am I being ambitious?

Is this really likely to stay long enough for me to finish my socks and knit two pairs of complicated gloves? Oh well, mine will fit next year I suppose

winter beaching

2010-11-24T13:31:00.000-08:00

The last master of the Biram

2010-11-21T05:20:00.000-08:00

Oh I wish I'd taken a camera. It's always the way, it didn't even occur to me! Last night we went to Mount Pleasant Ecological Park to see Mamane Barka play the Biram, the last instrument of it's kind. If I'm honest I didn't really know what we were going to see, there were free tickets for the children and we just booked it. But it feels as though we spent an evening in Niger. Barka spent as much time talking about Niger and the stories around the Biram as he did playing and it was wonderful.

It is a five stringed instrument that is shaped a bit like a boat and comes from a fishing community on lake Chad. It was played whenever there was sickness or other bad things happening in the village to call for protection from the spirit of the lake. Barka (who is from a nomadic tribe in the North of Niger) came upon the instrument when he was researching the instruments of his country. The old man who had the Biram had not played it for fifteen years because the villagers had become (in his words) 'modern' and no longer needed him to play. As a result there was no-one to take over and when he died that would be the end of the Biram. Barka was so moved by this that he spent four years finding funding to go and learn from the Biram master. The old master has died now leaving Barka as the last master of the Biram.

Barka is touring Europe to talk about the instrument but also to talk about the incredibly rich cultural history of Niger. He is a fantastic speaker and we all loved it. We came away wanting to visit Niger and the museum of musical instruments that he and his drummer work for.

His drummer Omar was incredible too, he is a griot which wikipedia describes as a 'repository of oral tradition'. He played two drums, the douma or talking drum and the calabash below

He played the calabash using his hands and his foot to get different sounds. While Mamane is an excellent talker and his instrument is interesting because of its history Omar's drumming was just amazing. I feel as though the children (and us adults) learned so much in those few hours. Stories of spirits and old ways of living were brought to life. We all want to go to Niger although he didn't talk about any unrest there. Failing that perhaps WOMAD next year.

One final thing he told us was that the village where the instrument is from has a market full of fish and the fishermen are not allowed to take money for fish so the people in the village will never go hungry. Sadly the village he described is a dying way of life. One where everything is natural and they fish and farm their own food, selling fish outside the village when they need money. Barka and Omar live in the capital city and do not live such a natural life. The master of the Biram used to be fed, housed and clothed by the rest of the community because his value was recognised. The idea of not charging for food in your own community seemed so moral, a community where everyone has their role to play and everyone gets fed.

long time no blog and folksy friday/November sparks

2010-11-19T08:36:00.000-08:00

I have been a bad blogger recently. I may have underestimated just how much time essay writing really takes. But I have sent my second one in now so a little break and a little blog. Some gorgeous dark choices from some of the November Sparks just click on the images to be taken to the lovely shops

Gaia NoirJust K Jewellery and giftsGifts ShackGew GawsNorthfield PrimitivesDiomo Glass

stuff we're enjoying right now

2010-11-16T09:31:00.000-08:00

I have been very slack with my blog recently. My laptop is utterly unreliable at the moment and I may have underestimated the ammount of work needed for a level three literature course! But I'm starting to organize my time a little better and all of a sudden I find I have a few minutes spare to share some home ed stuff.

I wrote about the scientist cd in this series a while ago, we are still listening to that one. We are often distracted, and rarely do anything in any kind of order. I like to think that this leads to interesting connections in our learning! Anyway we love this explorers cd just as much as the scientists one. It's great for those mornings when we all just want to curl up on the sofa, I can feel as though we're learning while we're lazing.

Annis is obsessed with fashion, she absolutely wants to be a fashion designer. We saw this great book on fashion illustrating by Bethan Morris in the Tate St Ives at the weekend. Unfortunately it was about £7 more in the Tate than it is on Amazon so we will be ordering it for christmas.

Back to essay writing and sewing after this brief interval.

starting to think about christmas shopping with November Sparks

2010-11-08T09:29:00.000-08:00

Well, this year I'm going to be organized. I've already done a lovely swap with Anicca (she has a folksy shop too) for some gorgeous earrings for J's mum Now it's time to start thinking about everyone else. The only problem is that when I go through folksy I keep seeing things that I would definitely like to keep all to myself!

for example this beautiful locket from Mia Scintilla

and then there's this beautiful charm bracelet from whimsical wren

the wizard of oz is our halloween film. My partner finds the witch very disturbing, along with the childcatcher in chitty chitty bang bang. But he'll happily watch halloween! And I've just always wanted red shoes, and the shoes on this charm bracelet are perfect.

I also love this scenic jasper pendant from Unique beaded gems . It really does look like a landscape, just beautiful

and there's this gorgeous rasberry beret (yes it is a reference to the Prince song) from NOfkants curios

and it even has matching fingerless gloves to go with it.

Oh I suppose I'll have to go and start thinking about other people's christmas presents now. There are just too many boys in my family!

The Athena book club

2010-11-03T10:43:00.000-07:00

Now my children would have called it 'Penzance book club' or 'home ed book club' but there was some lateral thinking at the first meeting of this children's book club set up by our very efficient and lovely friend Jojo. 'Is there a god of books' said one bright spark, to which another replied 'Athena is the goddess of wisdom' and so their book group was named, 'The Athena Book Club'. I especially like the fact that Athena is a she and the book club is all boys apart from Annis.

The first book was a difficult choice because at least one of the children had already read whatever was suggested but in the end they all wanted to read Teague's suggestion of Stormbreaker, a spy book. But Teague has already read it so he is starting the second book choice

Eragon, which sounds like fun. They decided most things between themselves and it was a joy to see a group of boys getting excited about books or at least being in a club. Teague managed to drag one of his book shy friends along and the library have asked if they will hold occasional meetings in the library. I think this is a fantastic idea, they were very supportive and have offered to get hold of extra copies of their book choices so we don't have to buy the books.

We do love books in this house. Books form the basis of our home education, and as long as they are reading or being read to I feel happy that they are learning. So I am so so pleased that they all enjoyed the book club, in fact they were so keen they want to meet up in two weeks rather than the usual month. Better get them reading!

November sparks days 1 to 3

2010-11-03T10:22:00.000-07:00

Yes! I am back to daily listing and this time I am determined to see it through to the bitter end. But there has been some lovely stuff already on the Folksy November sparks listing thread and here is a taste of it.

Oh I love love love this baby elephant, he is just gorgeous and looks as though he needs a home! He's (I've made a bit of a gender assumption here!) from Northfield Primitives and I'm so happy to see Sarah's shop filling up again in time for thinking about christmas

I have a bit of a thing for hairslides, I have done some lovely swaps on folksy for them. I have actually just had all my hair cut off so I'm not sure where to put them but I still love them. These pretties are from Miss Bohemia and there are other gorgeous gothicky (is that a word?) purple and silvery bits and pieces.

Love this chicken, even if it does seem a little cruel to stick pins in him! He's from swirly arts and has a fair few bigger friends to hold your doors open.

pants and paper is already on my christmas list, I love the old photographs and the flowery fabric and the lace... Annis knows what I want but I might have to supervise the order!

happy hallowe'en

2010-11-01T10:55:00.000-07:00

Hallowe'en was a rush this year (in the sense of being hurried). What with bugs and homework and essays and sewing and all the rest! So here are the only two pics we managed to take (a little fuzzy!)

the crafting! There were bat biscuits made for trick or treaters too but no photo.

and an evil princess, I couldn't catch the boy in his faceless hoodie costume. Lots of goodies were collected and a lot of fun was had. Then after they went to bed we watched Urban Ghost Story which was a really good film about social issues but not very scary and then listened to 'The turn of the screw' by Henry James, on the iplayer. Definitely scary! To be listened to in the dark, maybe not on your own though!

a very windy day

2010-10-31T02:52:00.000-07:00

We took a walk on the prom yesterday, it was so windy!! But we saw the starlings coming in to roost around the church tower, a truly amazing sight, the whole group swooping and curving round gathering more and more birds as they go. Teague managed to capture a little bit of it on video. But if you have starlings near you it's really worth going to watch them roost.

On the way back we took the sheltered route to avoid the wind and popped into Penlee Memorial Garden, one of our favourite places for flowers. We're thinking of going back in the week, on a less wild day, to do some drawing. But this time Teague took some lovely photos of what's blooming at the moment

we have no idea what this tree is, the fruit are actually quite small, smaller than apricots so if anyone knows...

folksy friday dance

2010-10-29T04:54:00.000-07:00

Today I've listed a ballet dancer pouch so I thought dance would be a nice theme

here are my dance beauties

I couldn't resist this flora dance painting by artbymimi as we go to the flora dance most years and love it

this lovely wooden ballet dancer brooch is by gossamer wings

this delicate dancer bookmark and lavender heart are by sykesssillysite

I'm not sure which I love more the cute baby or the electric blue tutu from eccentric ella

I have always loved wrap around cardigans, every dancer needs at least one pink one with satin ribbons, this lovely is from Buzybee

This beautifully appliqued pink towel is by sweet pea embroideries

a trip to the lizard and a new embroidery pattern

2010-10-26T03:41:00.000-07:00

We took a wintry trip to Kynance cove on the Lizard last week because I have only been once at high tide (there is no beach at all at high tide, so a pointless trip really!). Of course we packed our camera for this gorgeousness but did we check the batteries? Of course not. So these strange photos were taken on Jason's phone. The light is very strange in them, it was actually a bright sunny day but I think I like these photos more, they make me think of memories fading.

that hat is not mine! But my ears were cold.

this is the walk over to Lizard Point (which for some reason was never photographed). The ponies are sort of wild ponies brought in over the winter to graze. This is to encourage the choughs that have been reintroduced here, and judging by how many choughs we saw it's working well. I do love choughs.

It really is a very beautiful walk, one we will be doing again.

And I have also managed (being a superwoman and all that!) to finish a pattern and list it in my folksy and etsy shops. Considering my unpredictable laptop and an essay to write and hand in (my first in two years) I think I'm quite on top of things!

Anyway the pattern consists of cute little boy and girl rabbits with umbrella, kite and balloon. It can be found here and here

more autumn

2010-10-19T09:52:00.000-07:00

just when I think it's time to cosy up and start the bookish learning the sun comes out. After years of living in Cornwall I have learned that if it's dry we must leave the house because there are no guarantees that it won't start raining tomorrow (and not stop until next spring!)

So off to Trevaylor woods today

Teague and Annis love the woods and could happily spend all day there. They take penknives, camera and sketchbooks (we rarely actually take the sketchbooks out but we could!) and everything else they need is in the woods

today such strange mushrooms, again we're assuming they're not edible.

and leaves to swish our feet through

and a stream for pooh sticks (which I never win)

and I'm messing with my template, can't seem to make up my mind but it's fun so maybe a new one every day?!

Botallack

2010-10-17T08:39:00.000-07:00

It was an absolutely beautiful day yesterday but, instead of the beach we crossed the peninsula to have a saunter around Botallack. This is my favourite stretch of coast, it's so dramatic and I love the remnants of industry. I think they remind me that nature always takes over again in the end.

these are old mine workings

this is the arsenic labrynth where arsenic was collected (from roasting the tin), apparently Victorian women used to eat it and rub it into their faces and arms to make their skin look paler so they didn't look as though they worked in the fields! But it seems to have had a myriad of uses, including fly papers and eczema medecine. The poor man who had to collect the arsenic would (ironically) cover his face and arms with clay to protect them and stuff cotton wool up his nose.

These are the engine houses and there is the most stunning sheltered spot down there to enjoy the sun and watch birds. Yesterday we saw a peregrine falcon (we don't see too many of those), two choughs (which I love) and a raven.

I wish I knew more about mushrooms or, at least in this case, toadstools. I could guess that these examples might be poisonous!

and relaxing in the sun enjoying the beauty of it all.

Stuff we're enjoying right now

2010-10-15T13:15:00.000-07:00

Every year around this time we seem to get a lot more reading and bookish learning done. Today in particular it has turned colder so we don't mind staying in and cosying up with a good cd

and this is a great one, it's entertaining and informative enough to make us want to find out more. Today we listened to the piece about Galileo and it has inspired us to look for a galileo telescope kit so if anyone knows of a good one please let me know

I have begun my Open University course and am back to reading and then reading again, oh and then reading in a bit more detail! But I'm enjoying Chekhov ( I can't say I have ever read or seen his plays before).

and Annis has bought a fabulous Julie West embroidery pattern from Sublime Stitching that is so cool and funky, that coupled with gold thread... who could resist.

oh and there's nothing I like to see more than a teenage reader. The oldest (now at college) enjoyed reading but it's been a bit more of a struggle with this one. Percy Jackson and the lightening thief seems to be doing the trick though.

and Annis has been crafting all by herself (poor thing) with her autumn finds from a lovely walk this morning in Morrab Gardens.

What are you finding to do now it's getting colder?

We love this book

2010-10-10T13:35:00.000-07:00

J read the adult version of this book and recommended it, he even tried to read bits to the children but, even though it was funny, they couldn't really engage with it. Then I saw this children's version of it in Smiths.

We've only just started it but we love it! Even I understand it. Bill Bryson is a funny man.

He begins by talking about a school text book he was given as a child which he thought was going to be amazing because of this image (he does admit it was because he imagined cars driving over the edge of the removed wedge and crashing into the burning inner core!)

but when he got the book home he was utterly disappointed because it was dull and didn't answer any of the questions he wanted answering (he now knows that they didn't know the answers then but being a school text book they didn't let on that they didn't know).

His enthusiasm bursts out of the book, I feel that he is just as excited now about the idea that there is a burning ball in the centre of the earth as he was when he was ten. This is perfect for my thirteen year old who is going through an 'I'm not interested in anything except sleep' phase at the moment.

The book is Bill Bryson's A Really Short History of Nearly Everything and we thoroughly recommend it to other science phobics (like myself rather than my children!)

A Rainy Folksy Friday

2010-10-08T01:30:00.000-07:00

I've been working on a rainy day embroidery

she's getting there.. and in the mean time I've been browsing folksy with rain on my mind. So here is my Folksy Friday

some lovely rain inspired goodies, I couldn't choose between the tshirts!

Glasses

2010-10-05T03:42:00.000-07:00

My books were getting further and further from my eyes, my embroidery was making my eyes sore so I had to give in! I had my eyes tested. I still actually thought they would tell me I didn't need glasses yet, even though I couldn't actually hold the book any further away... clearly they told me I did need glasses.

A helped me choose them, while she laughed her socks off! I'm pretty sure most of the ones she asked me to try on were for her own entertainment but we found some lovely purple ones that didn't make me look too pale or too yellow

I do still have to read and sew in secret on my own because every time I look up from a book I catch J laughing at me, he hasn't been for an eye test yet so we'll see if he's still laughing next week. Despite the entertainment value of glasses I have to admit they are wonderful, the text in books has gone back to being the size it used to be and my eyes don't stream after ten minutes of sewing so I have accepted the inevitability of aging and am enjoying seeing properly again.

The party's over

2010-10-04T11:13:00.000-07:00

Well it was the longest journey we've ever had on Friday but we got there for the party.

Middle sister is 40

fancy dress was worn by most

and tears were shed when littlest sister returned to America at 5 o'clock this morning

Folksy Friday paper

2010-09-30T07:49:00.000-07:00

I saw some beautiful papercut notecards on Sam's blog which inspired me to do a folksy friday on paper.If you click on the images you will be taken to the lovely shops on folksy. paper flowers Sherbert Ice designsblue tit Rae Welchcat paperweight Millicentorigami sculpture hello konnichiwapapercut Suzy TaylorRed monkey polkadot Sundays

that autumn crafting feeling

2010-09-29T09:13:00.000-07:00

Annis has got the knitting bug, she has three of these dolls but apparently that's just not enough! The difference is that this time she wants to knit it herself from one of these lovely books

Then we remembered this sad half finished monkey that she got for christmas and began two years ago. As far as I know grandma asks her if she's finished it yet every time we visit. So, I put my foot down and said the monkey has to be finished before we move onto purl stitch.

See the speed she's knitting that monkey in her cheery mish mash home ed tshirt which she adores!

and in the dining room (I thought it was quiet) whole armies are being created

painting warhammer (another gift from two years ago that has just sat around half finished!). All this leaves me a little time for blogging and...

a little time for embroidery. I love autumn!

motorways and celebrations

2010-09-28T04:45:00.000-07:00

this seems to be all we have seen for the last few weeks. It's one of the problems with living 400 miles from the rest of our family! Especially when they all have major celebrations in the same year.

we have passed the wicker man six times since mid August and still have another trip to go.

lots of bad indoor party photography

and the lovely old (literally after her 40th) friend that we surprised at her party. Her scream of delight at seeing us made the whole trip worthwhile.

So one more trip to one more biggie... and this time it's a sister

September Stars

2010-09-22T14:05:00.000-07:00

I am a failed star, I am finding it impossible this month to list every day but I can blog the gorgeousness that is on Folksy. So here is a taste of what I love from today's Stars

These luscious items are in turn from

JAusten jewellery design

The little bead box

diggi wood turning

pants and paper

Family

2010-09-21T08:50:00.000-07:00

Ok, I've been missing again! We have never had such a busy year for family events. This time these two people are the culprits.

my sister who lives in America

and my nanna

We travelled to Lincolnshire for my nanna's 90th birthday (if I could put numbers in capitals I would have done). More importantly the whole family managed to be together, for the first time in years and years, to celebrate the occasion. Nanna loved it and I can only hope that I am as bright and healthy as her when I get to ninety (you'll notice I didn't write 'if I get to ninety).

And Clare and I spent a lovely day at the Harrogate flower show the day after the party. Drinking pimms in the rain (what could be more English!)

Looking at (and photographing badly) flowers

giant vegetables

tiny trees

and our favourite judges comment on the flower arranging 'good use of cabbage'.

But the partying doesn't end here, I am going back up to Lincolnshire to visit Clare again, to celebrate my oldest friend's 40th and then my other sister's 40th. I will try to pop in again in between all the celebrating.

Embroidery pattern giveaway

2010-09-17T00:27:00.000-07:00

I have a second blog that is more focussed on embroidery over at http://lilipopo.blogspot.com/ and am having a giveaway of this embroidery pattern

which is also this embroidery pattern

and this one ( the girl remains the same but the final image is the actual pattern). She is (hopefully) a quite simple embroidery, so if you might like to sew her up then hop over to http://lilipopo.blogspot.com/

for a chance to win the pattern.

A September Stars Posting

2010-09-12T05:31:00.000-07:00

I know that today I will not get anything finished and ready to list because it's so sunny outside. I feel a real need to make the most of sunny days in September, it's already a little bit autumnal here. So to ease my conscience I am doing a September Stars blog on some lovely stuff before I go back out and enjoy the sunshine

I am going to start with this gorgeous scarf from jandjalpacas. I adore alpaca (and have even been known to spin it) but I do not have the patience for this kind of beautiful intricate lace knitting, this really is beautiful

My next choice is this pair of skull earrings from odd girl creates

I just know my daughter would love them if only she was allowed to have her ears pierced (to be honest I don't know what age is the right age to have your ears pierced, and she is slightly scared of the idea!)

I have a feeling that I may have featured this before, but I just can't help myself with Diomo Glass

I love dandelions, and so I love this gorgeous dandelion necklace from Ali Bali

and I've also been loving these little owl necklaces from Esme Dodsworth design

and finally lovely cards from chloedancer99 this one is my favourite

celebrating the diversity of home education

2010-09-07T11:27:00.000-07:00

This morning I saw a link on our local home ed list to this article all about the proud success of a fourteen year old home educated boy having been accepted at Cambridge. After reading about this great acheivement I went through to see what my thirteen and ten year olds were doing

this is what I found

and no the banger is not in his mouth

I tried to upload the video but it just wouldn't work so I'm afraid you will have to imagine the end result

now, I and most other home educators know that we can pass this off as science, explosions, experimentation, animation, modelling, sculpting, art... But I don't expect a letter from Cambridge in the next year or so!

folksy friday of the September Stars

2010-09-03T10:54:00.000-07:00

Here is my Friday selection of lush stuff from the September Stars. I haven't followed a theme although things are all looking a little silvery and old fashioned (apart from the fairy doormat but who could resist a fairy doormat!!)Click on the images to be taken to the lovely shops

Here are the makersThe gorgeous polished fossil is from the lovely Natalie of NOfkantsCuriosThe irresistible fairy doormat is from Made By ValThe christmas decorations that remind me of a Victorian christmas are from clairezcardzand more Victorian feel with these lovely hair slides from STEAMPUNKSTORMThat beautiful ring is fromunique beaded gemsand finally the simple exquisite silver bangle is fromDeborah Jones Jewellery and here is my listing for today

Knit a year

2010-09-02T15:57:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow my lovely friend is casting on for her knit a year challenge at St Pancras Station in London. She is intending to knit two rows a day for a year using upcycled or gifted ... yarn. This is all part of the E17 art project, more details on her website. She will keep a notebook with a scrap of each yarn used and notes which she will also blog daily. So wishing her good luck with such a lovely art project and if anyone has any yarn to pass on then please contact her.

not back to school

2010-09-02T02:43:00.000-07:00

I don't know how I managed to do it but I have just missed a home ed giveaway! But I will promote cheerymishmash's lovely shop because I can't think of anything more opposite to a 'back to school' uniform for September than these gorgeous bright cheeky t-shirts

there are lots of other lovely batik dyed things (not just home ed!) so go take a peek

bits of late summer

2010-09-01T09:13:00.000-07:00

time spent on Penzance beach, not the prettiest beach, it's kind of industrial with the railway running just behind and the heliport (although the heliport is moving to make way for a Sainsburys). But we love this beach, not too busy, and I just love that it takes us ten minutes to walk to it

sea life,

sea, sand and seaweed,

a view of the mount,

muddy sand (the best kind for building even if it does take days to get it off your skin!

and did I mention seaweed, this beach really would be heaven for a permaculture gardener with a big wheelbarrow!

circus skills

2010-08-31T07:17:00.000-07:00

I've been a little fascinated by the idea of circus skills lately. Not so much clowning but definitely balancing acts

little girls practicing their skills so they can run away and join the circus

balancing and tightrope walking

and sprinkling fairy dust

I'll be listing these little coin purses over the next few days on folksy

Blackberrying

2010-08-28T04:22:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love this time of year, when the blackberries are out and we can pick our own pudding for free!

how ridiculous that there isn't more fruit for free, we get elderflower and berries for wine and sloes for gin but really that's about it for West Cornwall. Perhaps there is more in other parts of England, I hope so

it's not just the blackberries, everyone's up for going out for a walk and the insect life is so abundant that Teague gets to use the macro setting on his camera

to startling effect! Now I know where all those science fiction creatures come from.

and crickets are happy to land on a pair of fuschia leggings, and stay there for quite some time

and we still have flowers. In fact it almost feels like too much, a last burst before autumn. Time to get our dusty nature diaries out again I think.

Folksy Friday

2010-08-27T10:13:00.000-07:00

Apart from the fact that I love reading and am always putting my book down and losing my page, I am about to embark on an Open University 20th century literature course to complete my mish mash of a degree! So today's Folksy Friday is bookmarks to keep my place in all the books I have to read...as ever click to be taken to the lovely shops on Folksy

Warning: this is a bit of a proud home ed mum rant!

2010-08-25T09:25:00.000-07:00

He's going to college to do his 'A' levels

For sixteen years Cain followed his own interests, sometimes (many times) those interests seemed to be lolling around, we didn't follow the curriculum, we never had a timetable, we spent an awful lot of time on the beach... all in all he has had a very free childhood.

Last year he decided he wanted to follow an academic route and so went to college to do a fast track gcse course, he could only study four gcse's but we were told that because he was home educated he would be accepted with four passes rather than five. The course was a steep learning curve, it was meant for people who were retaking rather than someone totally unfamiliar with exams and formal study.

Yesterday he got his gcse results, four B's and today he was accepted onto his A level choices, english, history, photography and film studies.

When we began home educating we didn't know what kids did when they got to sixteen, especially if they were really academic. We tried to trust our instincts, we knew we didn't like the national curriculum and we were hopeless at being formal about education. There have been times of stress, definitely times of 'should we be making him do ...' . Today I feel as though it was all worth it. We are still home educating our other two children but it feels so much easier now.

I think it's helpful for other home educators to know that children don't need 13 gcse's to get into college to do A levels and that it is possible to do what's needed in a very short time if necessary.

Our other two may not choose college, each child is a different journey, but right now we really feel that our children can do anything they want to do, with or without school.

away for a few days

2010-08-18T16:59:00.000-07:00

we're off to the north to visit family and to drop my oldest with my sister, they are flying to San Francisco on Sunday to stay with my other sister (I am extremely envious!). My shop will stay open (as I can still send orders out) but I won't be blogging or uploading until next week. Hope you have a lovely long weekend.

rainy days and djeco

2010-08-18T10:40:00.000-07:00

this blurry picture is showing the most gorgeous craft sets that Annis received for her birthday from this shop. There is a stamping set, a stencilling set and a paint by numbers set.

the stencilling set comes with a book of suggestions

and cards showing how to make patterns starting with a single motif

or you can totally do your own thing

it feels like a lesson in textile designing. And there are plenty of the images to work on. In fact, I think once you finish the images you would be ready to make your own. The set comes with the most high quality double ended felt pens with a brush pen at the other end. I can't recommend it enough!

The second set is a stamping set. Again the images are beautiful (my favourite is the tightrope walker above) gorgeous stamps and red, gold and purple stamp pads.

This also comes with a book of suggestions, but you don't have to follow it. I was worried that this wouldn't entertain us (how could I resist trying it!) but it did, it's just as delightful as the first set and we took an hour to complete one picture each. Annis also got a paint by numbers set from the same company and again the images are beautiful and the paints good quality but she hasn't tried it yet so I will blog about it when she has.

needle books

2010-08-17T12:26:00.001-07:00

needle books 001, originally uploaded by glassmountain.

I really love little purses and cases for all those little crafting bits and bobs. Needle books and pincushions are particular favourites, so today I've been making needle books.

these have a little button closure at the back (my favourite kind of closure for some unknown reason) and do you see my new printed label there. I'm not sure how I feel about the font but it does look so much more professional (well maybe!)

these pages are linen and cotton ( I ran out of felt and had to rethink, but I like these pages.)

and the embroidery is a little rabbit picking flowers, I got to use my gorgeous red linen thread from fog linen

for the flowers and around the edge. I have made another with a little girl embroidery and felt pages. Both are listed on folksy.

this could be seen as a little showy offy but...

2010-08-16T09:36:00.000-07:00

...it rains in Cornwall such a lot that sometimes we're left wondering why we live here. and then a day like this arrives, out of the blue

and we remember why.

this particular beach is our favourite, we used to live nearer to it, now we have to drive for half an hour and i can't remember the last time we went to it ... until today

we actually ummed and ahhed, we only had three hours (and there's a half hour walk down after the half hour drive), it's a long way...

but i'm soooo glad we made the effort (we stayed longer and were late back, but who wouldn't!)

and there was a seal (can you see him?! he is there, honestly) and he swam with two surprised swimmers for half an hour, circling them and playing (seals are curious).

the path back is teeming with wildlife

and plants

and even the first blackberries.

notebook cover

2010-08-15T10:27:00.001-07:00

notebook cover, originally uploaded by glassmountain.

here is the notebook cover in all it's glory. Still need to take pics of the green dotty lining.

orange girl in green wellies

2010-08-15T10:20:00.001-07:00

orange girl in green wellies, originally uploaded by glassmountain.

i may have got a little carried away with this one. i can't quite believe that she has come from a (very) dark smudgy drawing, that i can't find to scan in right now. I don't know where the orange hair came from (it was going to be black). i may have been influenced by my red haired little neice who came to stay last week! Anyway she's a notebook cover and will be listed on monday in my folksy shop.

Gorgeous new books

2010-08-15T02:28:00.000-07:00

i have been meaning to write about this lovely new book that I received for my birthday, the new alabama chanin book

i loved her first book and have used the handsewing techniques she describes on many of the things i make. sadly i still haven't made a skirt from it (time?) but i am about to begin a camisole top from the new book.

there are quite a few more recipes in this book but there are also lots of things to sew and the ones that grab me the most are the place mats and doilies

i think these are just beautiful and am searching for old grey and white tshirts, but too many tshirts have things printed on them these days!

i also love these mats, the stencil for these is included in the book (precut) there is another stencil used throughout which is much more complicated and needs enlarging called angie's fall, a flower and leaf stencil. i have to say i would rather have had the second stencil ready made, i don't like having to enlarge from books and am nervous of my cutting out skills! but i can see that this might have presented practical problems.

the thing that has excited me the most, though, is this method of applique. the appliqued piece is cut larger than the shape it's going to be sewn on to and then scrunched, i love the effect and am going to try to give it a go this week (i will blog about the difficulty/ease, success/lack of success!). all in all this is a beautiful book, as a lover of handsewing over machine, i find her writing inspiring and the gorgeous stitches can be used on non jersey sewing. this book has left me desperate to make 'put-up tomatoes' so i can make proper southern bloody marys, has anyone got a canner?

folksy friday a-teamers

2010-08-13T03:28:00.000-07:00

A lovely selection from the folksy A-teamersjust click on the image to be taken to the shop

Beautiful hats from Raffique i remember wanting one of these spiders so badly for my birthday. i did get him and he was black and utterly loved for years. this gorgeous yellow one is from cheery mishmash this beautiful elephant is from woolly lakes there was another gorgeous elephant but i think he's gone! i love this sweet pretty spotty purse from moody cow designs I love the colours of this lovely slouchy hat by creativeknits and finally a bit of beautiful romance in the form of this necklace from WallpaperRose Such a lot of gorgeousness on folksy at the moment

two new embroidery departures

2010-08-11T05:59:00.000-07:00

i have made my first removable notebook cover (with a notebook inside to start you off) using one of my designs that was popular at the craft fair and I am pleased with the result (blowing my own trumpet perhaps!) what's more, it's all hand sewn, so I can work on them when I'm accompanying children out and about (which is often) and I rather like the look of handstitching.

and this is a really new departure, drawing and sewing onto (gorgeous) Indian handmade paper that's made from recycled cotton rag.

it's a little picture (it is little, i do like little). i have just listed these two on folksy and will begin work on more...

sun and noise

2010-08-10T14:59:00.000-07:00

ok, i know beach photos again!! but these are an important memory aid. my sister comes down with my nieces twice a year and it rains. but not this year

this year we could have been on the med! and no i wasn't drunk when i took this photo but it is just maybe a little wonky.

it's been a glorious fortnight

if a little noisy (what? three nine/ten year old girls noisy?

missing from my blog duties

2010-08-09T09:24:00.000-07:00

Oh gosh i have been neglecting my blog, we have had lovely sister and nieces down for two weeks and then a weekend of craft fair at a lovely local house and gardens Trereife house. it was such a mellow fair, i thoroughly enjoyed it and two beautiful girls from a shop in St Ives appproached me to supply them. i am very excited and slightly nervous about it all. i also managed to get a little bit of embroidery done.

she's a little lavender bag embroidery based on my parisienne girl (which sold, yippee)

and i am repeating my favourite image (which also sold) for a zip purse.

broken laptop and a-team

2010-08-04T11:28:00.000-07:00

i had intended to show some lovely summer in cornwall pics today but my laptop just won't turn on and all the photos are on there!! so i've got some lovely stuff from folksy...

i just love this card from konnie kapow and it is the kind of card i need many times over during the year

i just love green at the moment, which is odd because i've never really been a big fan (bottle green school uniform) but this is not print from ialbert your uniform green, it's delicious and bicycles remind me of the Smiths

i'm a sucker for dragonflies, butterflies and moths and this dragon fly from whimsical wren is so gorgeous and those flowers remind me of fruit gums, yummy

i just love everything in sarah's shop (have i mentioned this before?!) but this circus dog is just so perfect i love him to pieces

working on a new design

2010-08-03T00:57:00.000-07:00

does she look a little parisienne? i hadn't intended her to be parisienne but her stance and facial expression and slightly beret looking hat made it impossible to see her any other way

i'm not too sure about her foxy little dog! although i do like the idea of a little dog, or maybe a cat...

i stitched her in a light grey, as a change to my usual black thread

this photo is a little faded, her dress is actually a stronger green and blue, i'm quite pleased with her black bob and i was happy with her stringy legs but then j said he thought her legs were too thin which put a seed of doubt into my mind and now i'm just not sure...what do you think? perhaps i'll have to sew her with fatter legs as well and compare.

a birthday party

2010-08-02T01:28:00.000-07:00

i can't quite believe it but it's true, she's ten! i shed a little tear at losing my last little one to double figures but you can't stay sad when she's so happy to be ten!

it began as a mad hatter's party but it was hot and it's difficult to do a three legged race in full costume, so costumes were abandonned and three legged races abounded, not to mention piggy back races and energetic forfeits! i should mention that this was all held in the park because we only have a teensy tiny yard. so i watched the weather nervously for three days leading up to the party but it held just long enough.

the party was the day before her birthday so all (my sister and neices are down for the celebrations) were a little droopy on the day. but we did make a trip to the bumper cars, which they loved, and a ghost train, which made them scream (as it should!).

and though she had many lovely crafty presents, this is the one i'm most excited about, a clothkits doll and dress kit for her to make. i will certainly be blogging the progress on that one.

girl on a swing

2010-08-01T04:07:00.001-07:00

girl on a swing, originally uploaded by glassmountain.

a new little embroidery of a little pixie girl on a flowery swing. I've embroidered her onto a heavier linen (a furnishing type) which is surprisingly nice to work with and makes a more solid coin purse, which is what this embroidery has become. She is for sale on my folksy shop.

J found me a beautiful copy of Peter Pan and Wendy from 1935 with Mabel Lucy Atwell illustrations, so my obsession with little girl drawings is likely to continue for now!

little green girl

2010-07-30T12:59:00.001-07:00

little green girl, originally uploaded by glassmountain.

this is my newest embroidery of a little girl in an appliqued green dress, I've embroidered the dress with little pink stitches. This embroidery is on a zip purse in my folksy shop.

a folksy friday

2010-07-30T04:28:00.000-07:00

i saw these lovely teacup fridge magnets from The needle works while having a cup of tea this morning

this gorgeous beetly pendant is from kettle of fish

some pretty silver flowery earrings from alibali jewellery

a delicious heart from JAusten jewellery design

and i love this gorgeous owl mirror from gifts shack

just one more day of jesting to go.

Inspiration

2010-07-27T15:40:00.000-07:00

i was going to title this British museum, but my V&A are mixed in with my British Museum, such organisation! Anyhow these are just a few (of so many) inspiring objects, i think this could be a few days of inspiration so i hope you are inspired too

there's something about the white semi circles that i love on this bird

he is just the cutest little thing i have ever seen, he reminds me of moomin characters

which makes him the second cutest!

and A and i just loved these babies they were sort of tied to her wrists a bit like mittens used to be threaded through your coat when you were little.

Oh how many miles we walked

2010-07-26T01:03:00.000-07:00

i've always loved walking in cities, getting lost often means you find new things and so we walked and walked in London. At the beginning there was energy, towards the end of ten days we flagged a little.

we saw familiar (but new to us) sights, the changing of the guard. We love this picture, because the guards in grey seemed to have a different height requirement to the traditional guards in red.

we saw the familiar (even to us) but it was no less spectacular for being familiar

the children queued up to be photographed with the lions

T took unusual pictures of very familiar places

and we walked (the entire length?) the Thames

seeing incredible buildings casting amazing light into the river

and yes we visited (and revisited) Liberty's, which has to be my favourite shop in London (or is my favourite Pollock's toy shop? i'm just not sure)

the stairs in Liberty's were only one of many many sets of stairs that we climbed (and reclimbed)

and we visited Hamleys, the children were not disappointed but i was. In their desperation to sell sell sell the magic has disappeared

for anyone wanting a little toy magic i would definitely recommend Pollock's toy shop in Covent garden and their museum on Sala street (near Goodge st. station) which also has a shop

Now the familiar is done, tomorrow i will show the curiosities and inspiration we found in the museums

some lovely folksy bits and bobs

2010-07-25T12:41:00.000-07:00

Whew! Back from a busy, interesting, stimulating, exhausting, exciting, did i mention exhausting ten days in London. Lots of photos (i believe we topped one thousand! They won't all go on my blog though). So just for today i'm going to blog about the lovely july jesters on folksy and tomorrow (hopefully?) sort through the photos and write about London.

So here is some yummy stuff from folksy

i can't help myself, i love northfield primitives, and as soon as the children stop spending my money i will shop there. This is today's lovely offering

i love this cute little dancing robot from accidentalvix

i seem to be going with cute today with this cute little mouse pincushion from madebylolly

and a cute glass snail sun catcher from diomo glass

and there we go, a cute july jesters blog today.

we're going on a trip

2010-07-14T13:30:00.000-07:00

we are all rather excited, because tomorrow we are doing a house swap for ten days

we are leaving the seaside behind us (rather topsy turvy for the time of year, i know)

i am particularly excited about this...

and this...

and absolutely this which we will hopefully be visiting on my birthday!!!

and so I will be back after our adventure

july jesters day 14!!!

2010-07-14T13:11:00.000-07:00

Just some of the lovely yummy stuff listed today on folksy

just click on the pics to take you to the shops where these yummy things live I could have listed so many more things but I can only do six at a time! And I was going to include Sarah's lovely bag but she sold it before I could!

clogs,lost comments and lavender bags

2010-07-13T08:13:00.000-07:00

the clogs have arrived! Strictly speaking i am not supposed to see them until my birthday but i had to try them on, just to make sure. And they are truly wonderful. They fit like a glove but no pics of that because i have to wait until next week!

i'm afraid blogger is playing games with my comments, i tried to publish your lovely comments poppyart and Sam and it just took them away, it might bring them back but just so you know i didn't delete them!

i have been making lavender bags recently and when i went to sort through our bedlinen i noticed how damp it gets (we live in a very damp house) and that we have no lavender bags at all. So i sat down to make some

using odds and ends of fabric. but before i knew it i had little sewing helpers

speedy annis on the sewing machine

and thoughtful teague on the hand sewing

not to mention oldest boy accompanying us on the piano.

Now before you are overwhelmed by the perfection of our household i should say that all i could think was 'is this really our house? No arguing, no shouting, no computers, no dvd's! i must preserve this evening on my blog, just to remind myself it really did happen. Even if the photos are a little dingy!