What Katie Did

'What's going on upstairs?'

That is what visitors to the shop have been saying all weekend as the happy buzz of many people working and chatting has filtered down from the workshop above the shop. Cat Moore led a workshop teaching people to 'Get Started With Felting' on Saturday 

This was an introduction to the marvelous medium of felting. Cat led them through the basics and beyond and everyone made several pieces of colourful flat felt. Very satisfying!

And so MAKE has had it's busiest workshop weekend since we opened. On Sunday Aimee and the girls met together to make party bunting, paper flowers, badges and much more for her wedding in August.

(that's Aimee with the bunny ears of course!) So much creativity in on place! 

miles and miles of paper bunting!

And see there in the corner? My badge machine used to make 100 badges with characters from the Muppets to be worn instead of buttonholes! Classy! This is going to be a wonderful wedding! 

Paper chains too - start 'em young I say!

I am so pleased with the way the workshop is being used by so many different groups - Open Workshop Thursday was a joy last week - my first day open until 9.00pm - which I will do on the Second Thursday every month now in addition to the weekly sessions in the day time - very friendly - with homegrown strawberries and home grown cake (thank you Anne, Jayne and Jan) 

This week I will get the place tidy and ready for Pauline and the Patchworks girls on Friday!

Working on the School Holiday Crafting Fun Programme now - could do with a better title than that!

Commiserations to Holland and well done Spain - and how that bloke evaded a red card for that kick remains a mystery - does that look like football to you? 

Finally - a felted horse has come to join the rest of the team - Apple - a subliminal message to the Universe for Owen 

Have a lovely week!  

Swan Lake

Yesterday was one of those days that just unfold in an unexpected way and when you are open to what is possible, all manner of treats can follow. So, after a bit of this and then a bit of that, Geoff and I found ourselves in Newcastle where we saw a poster for Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake, the one with the male swans - the last night at the Theatre Royal. Sold out of course, but we sat in the foyer with the newspaper to read and a drink and waited to see if we might have a chance of a couple of return tickets. I am really sorry for the people who didn't sit in our seats for whatever reason - but really grateful too.

Mounting Excitement

Really great seats, in the Grand Circle! I suppose if we had booked weeks ago we might have chosen more modestly priced seats in the gods, but having to take what was offered meant sitting in really good seats.

though you can never choose who you sit behind I suppose. Just a suggestion to people with a lot of hair - wear it DOWN when you go to the ballet please? However, I found a big cushion behind my seat and sat on that and got a perfect view!

What a sensational performance. I can't find words to describe it! I will just urge you to go and see it if you possibly can - even if you have to work three weeks overtime or sell your grand piano(?) or whatever - just go! They are on their way to Bradford next! Then Athens, followed by Seoul and then Tokyo, then back to the UK to Norwich, Wimbledon, Leicester and Glasgow. Are you reading this from any of those places? (I hope you are!) We were first on the list of people waiting for returned tickets - second on the list had come to Newcastle from Belfast especially! 

Such an evening! 

(this image from the Theatre Royal Flickr site)

So - a break from all the other stuff - which continues to grow and gather momentum! A truly welcome break with images and music that will stay with me for a long long time!

Open Heart Surgery ... for my house!

We have been without electricity for nearly a week and today our friendly electrician came to diagnose the problem.

the arteries and vessels of our little house were exposed

all of them laid bare and tested several times

the fault found in the very last bit of wire, between the last two sockets in the whole house

I made an unhelpful comment. If we had started going round the other way, would we have found it straight away? 

well .... of course we would, but would we have had so much fun?

Visiting Foreign Parts

Just back from a weekend over the Border into Scotland and I feel like I have had a proper holiday.

First stop Godfrey Smith the shoe maker to order another pair of boots for my weird sized feet. They are only weird in one direction - quite a normal size seven from heel to toe, but nearly as wide in the other direction, so a pair of handmade shoes are in order.  The last pair according to Godfrey's records were 17 years ago, so I can't be accused of being extravagant in the footwear department. 

We stayed on a farm with this sheepdog to keep Poppy company

They didn't get on - territory issues.

Too much breakfast - we want to introduce the idea of Breakfast and Bed, rather than Bed and Breakfast, this would work very simply - give us the Full English (Scottish in this case) in the evening and just a small bowl of porridge next day - I always need a sleep after so much food, or at least a lie down! 

Lovely September weather, blue skies and fluffy white clouds. A game of O's and X's anyone?

 

Whenever we are in the Borders, which isn't that often, we go and visit Samye Ling, the Tibetan Monastery at Eskdalemuir. This family of House Martins have taken up residence there.

three little ones being fed tirelessly by two parents, we watched for over half an hour, every two minutes or so one or other parent flies back for a second and then back for more insects. Lovely.

We found our very own motel for the night - a great place to stay if you are ever visiting Samye Ling. 

Next to see Lindsay who was doing the Crossing Borders event - a bit like the Art Tour we do in the summer. It is always lovely watching someone working.

blending, carding, making a rolag - why is it called that? 

spinning using a lovely wheel with two foot pedals

Nice shoes - normal feet you see - Lindsay can buy shoes from a shop lucky girl! The wheel is Canadian - a Lendrum interesting design.

Lindsay had some lovely things for sale, and if you wait till the end of the week, the ones that were left after Crossing Borders was over will be listed on her Folksy site - a treat for all of us to share! Lucky us! Except for the wool I bought, that is waiting to be turned into fingerless mitts for winter!

Back home now to a full on week of this and that including the auction for this exhibition that both Geoff and I have pieces in (the reserve price is the same number, but the decimal point is two place to the left in my case!)

And this afternoon, for no reason I can fathom, I am taking the official photographs for a wedding!!!!! Check back here for pictures of bridesmaids paddling in the sea and the best man flying a kite - so - Tynemouth here I come!

Happy week all of you!

That Autumn Feeling

This morning, for breakfast, Geoff and I shared the last of the peaches, a good crop this year, never very sweet and quick to go mouldy, but tasty stewed and added to porridge.

it feels really autumnal here as August gives way to September, it was dark so early last night. But now I am going to enjoy September, which can be a really surprising month, full of mellow light, fruits and vegetables a-plenty. Another good crop of courgettes. These chocolate and courgette muffins appear and disappear regularly hereabouts!

Sunny start to September here after thunderstorms for the last of August.

Owen has a new kitten - Puma. Named after the cat not the sports wear.

We have had rain, thunder and lightening and then blue skies. It's quite exciting weather! But not if you are planning an outdoor dance production. Like my friend Tim. The sun shone on the righteous. And the sun set on the lake outside my house.
 blessed

Caerlaverock Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust get a visit from the Jacksons - snappy title eh?

I love living on an island, albeit a very big one. It means we have a lot of coast and plenty of places to see amazing things. The Caerlaverock Wildfowl reserve is about and hour and a half away and at this time of year has thousands of barnacle geese and a great many whooper swans. They don't get on at feeding times

but left alone they make some great shapes with their necks!

and who doesn't love an upside down swan?

On the home front, more tidying and painting and even a bit of wallpapering are all making the shed look wonderful and my new iPod is rapidly filling up with great music to play in there - any suggestions?

Here's a tiny sneak preview... more to come

Autumn Sunshine

These two girls watched as I climbed to the top of Herbie's Hill the other day when the sun was so gloriously autumny.
Rewarded at the top of (the quite small) hill with views like this

It's another day like this today so I am off to sing in Allendale Village Hall with this bunch - we heard them sing in Hexham Abbey last night so we are in for a treat today when we get to join in. I might cycle!

I did cycle, it was a treat - shape note singing, African chants, Georgian love songs and even song with its own dance! If you get a chance to hear this group please do! Northern Harmony from Vermont, check the link for the schedule.

I didn't cycle back though - its all up hill. I cadged a lift from the chior's coach driver who put my bike in the boot, took me to the top of the hill then let me off to free wheel all the way home! A perfect day!

Oh how I love Oxfam!

As I have said before, I work one afternoon a week in the local Oxfam shop. I sort the children's books and restock the shelves. And I buy so much stuff! Yesterday, I deliberately didn't take any of my cloth shopping bags as I was sure I wouldn't bring anything home. But I didn't need them because the huge assortment of old plastic flowers came in their own enormous suitcase.
Just the thing for winter!

As I have also mentioned, Geoff laughs like no-one I have ever known - so completely and sometimes I think - dangerously.

Yes - He is watering the plastic flowers, though the nasturtiums are real.

Here is a jam update - Owen and Geoff made crab apple jelly

Lots of crab apple jelly - it set really well and Owen is so proud of it!
And I made a tea cosy and had a trip into Corbridge to buy a matching tea pot - picture of that to follow because it's dark and I can't get a decent picture.

Looking forward to tomorrow!

Big Shed Tidy Up

I forgot to take my camera to the knitting day we had yesterday at Annie's house so you can't see great pictures of everyone rolling felt balls, eating great food, enjoying Annie's wonderful (tidy) house, learning how to knit cables (thank you Anne) and generally adoring baby Angus!

Sorry, but thank you for your hospitality Annie.

But I had a big shed tidy day today and here are some photos of the 'after' effects - I would have been too embarrassed to show you any 'before' ones.

Have you gathered that I like pink?

Here is the sewing machine corner - lets take a closer look at that fantastic cotton reel rack shall we.....

I asked my Dad if he could knock together a bit of wood with some nails in to hold a few of my cottons - I should have known that he would create a fabulous design and expertly crafted alternative! Exactly what I wanted! Thank you Dad!!

one of my many 'works in progress' this is rug wool, knitted up quite loosely then washed on 60' with the jeans - originally meant to be a throw - looking like being a cushion - how often does that happen!

Finished this the other day Ali - its about 8'' by 8'' - needs finishing - of course - with some nice backing and a hook. Anyone like to suggest what they think it is? It isn't supposed to be anything in particular - but what do you see?

And finally - by popular demand - one of the 'things' I made at the Julie Arkell weekend from the last post. I hope it makes you laugh as much as it did my boys - all three of them - Geoff quite spectacularly - in that way you know he does Martha.

Looking forward to Tuesday when my girl comes home.