Friday 17 October 2014

Five on Friday - old and new

1. Old habits die hard and yes, I did visit the Knitting and Stitching show last week. But this is new - at about 3pm I stopped looking. Needed a sit down and a cup of tea. Age?!


New things did come home with me, and while I consider myself largely immune to passing fads and fancies, I did buy a gelli plate. Otherwise I was very constrained, and stuck diligently to my shopping list and usual colour and texture palettes.


2. A visit to an old favourite on Wednesday, for a possible new venture. I await news, so you must too I'm afraid (there may not be any after all). Cryptic, huh?! Hedging my bets...

3. A new creative group for Uckfield Newtown.


Last night we held the third meeting for the Newtown Art Collective. We all participate in Art Trail but wanted to continue the collaborative spirit and general supportive vibes beyond one weekend in July. We hope to have a stand at the school Christmas fair, and we have arranged to exhibit members' work at a local care home, on a monthly rotation. Allana was very brave and volunteered to be first, and then it's my turn to be Miss November! We have ambitious plans, no budget and zero experience of organising anything remotely like this, but you only learn new things by trying!

4. Old and new, I have continued to investigate and experiment with my long-held love of all things knotty and sea-y! I have been finishing up pages in my (now very old and well-travelled) holiday sketchbooks


and I drew these knots while waiting to donate an armful on Tuesday afternoon.


This morning I started gathering more colours and textures


and I painted these mountboard strips, and inadvertently painted yet another seascape!


I'm going to wrap them in my fabric, papers and fibres, creating a kinda inspirational swatch sort of thing...

5. Old. Beautiful. Slightly scary. For one day, out of a three week holiday, we ventured beyond the Pays des Abers and Pays d'Iroise, and waddyaknow - an embroidery exhibition! Cue much rolling of eyes from family, but I managed to drag the Girl around with me as the alternative was a hearty walk along the Nantes-Brest canal in the drizzle. 

I learnt the difference between Bigouden




 and Glazig


loving the colours and patterns....


but a little disturbed by the Barbie-doll heads and mannequins



which amused the Girl so she forgave me for loitering and taking zillions of photos.

The old black and white photo at the top of this post shows ladies at a Breton wool market, but could very well be the scrum at Knit and Stitch last week! I've been waiting two months to use that photo...

5 comments:

  1. Oh, spooky ladies (with the exception of the Girl, of course!) but great patterns. I remember having to have a sit down to catch my breath at the K & S a couple of years ago, so hot & so much to see, you lucky thing. Fab stitching from your girls, in the last post, too.

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  2. They are creepy! I went to the K&S show on Sunday and it beat me. I ended up needing 2 afternoon tea breaks......and bizarrely bought a Japanese's oragami wreath kit (no thread, needles, fabric,yarn,pins or fabric needed)

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  3. Lordy - the stuff of nightmares ( those mannequins - some one has a nasty streak to have dug those out of the store cupboard).

    Never ventured to K & S - really ought to as I'm more an embroiderer than a quilter!
    Good luck with the gelli. I've got one but not found it actually addictive - yet!!

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  4. Decided to try for the K&S at Harrogate this year to see if it any less of a scrum. very distracting mannequins.

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  5. Love your sketchbooks. I never get more than two pages in with holiday sketchbooks. Wednesday was definitely the day to go to the K and S show. Decidedly quiet although I can't imagine that will last.

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