We have been away for a couple of days looking after our 3 grandchildren while Mum and Dad went to see the Hockney Exhibition at the Royal Academy.
Super time, they were all so well behaved, the weather was brilliant and now I am shattered and will probably need to sleep for a week!
This is Eva - isn't she just great?? !
My passion for cushions and throws has returned with a vengeance and this is a piece I completed a week or so ago.
It is called my Seashore Cable Cushion as the colours - turquoise, sand and white are so reminiscent of the coastline, the cables are like pieces of rope and there is also a stitch which really reminds me of a rope ladder on a boat - the sharks teeth buttons just finish it off.
Here is some more detail:
and a little more:
This with many other items will be for sale at my next Craft Fair at Brigstock Village Hall on Saturday 14th April from 11 a.m to 3 p.m. and also at http://www.folksy.com/ from my shop - Liz Lancaster.
Do come and have a look.
The sun is shining and the garden and lunch call now!
I am feeling full of the joys of Spring today and surprisingly awake after a long, but super day yesterday visiting the Ideal Home Exhibition at Earls Court with my sister-in-law.
An early start as we picked up the coach from Milton Keynes at 7 a.m. following the almost 30 mile drive to get there. The journey was comfortable and uneventful and we arrived at Victoria at about 9.30 a.m. and so arrived at Earls Court just before 10 in time for opening.
Our day began with bacon rolls and coffee to set us up for our exploration and we made a beeline first for the show houses - there is something fairly surreal about going into a house inside a building don't you think.
My personal favourite was the Arts and Crafts House and another we really enjoyed was the Hunting Lodge fully kitted out with tartans, log fire, stags heads etc., and a very comical oversized bear climbing the railings, balancing cushions on his head and generally making everyone chuckle!
We attended the talk on the Home of the Future in an arena surrounded by water where we were introduced to such amazing things as a microwave where you can actually see inside the food you are cooking, a system where you only have to wave your hand or speak to a gadget to make it work e.g. "kettle - boil", finishing with a sleeping pod filled with soft coloured LED lights and a sound system to send you off to blissful sleep - my only thought (as one who sleeps with windows open and no curtains across the windows) was that it looked rather claustrophobic!
We felt we managed to see just about everything at the show - some things wonderful and really interesting and others just over the top, and we rounded the day off with strawberry and cherry yohurt ice creams before making our way back to Victoria for the coach home and arrived back around 9 pm.
We both came home with lots of ideas - a real treat.
By the way my pic is of some very sweet smelling narcissi and the hens are obviously laying early for Easter!
Well, my son has now gone home and I have spent a pleasant afternoon cleaning, photographing and making notes on the Britains toys which were in the loft. My next job will be to put them on ebay to see if any will sell.
As I was sorting them out, I had many memories of the boys playing for hours with these super little toys and though they are now both 30 odd - it seemed like yesterday that I was stepping very carefully over them spread out on the floor.
When they had train sets out they used to, very thoughtfully make a 'chicaine' in the track in front of the arm chair so that it I wanted to sit - I had somewhere to put my feet without disturbing them!
I am really proud of my boys for really looking after all of their toys and keeping them in such good condition.
Happy days guys.
The picture is not pretty, but shows an inkling of the reason I have been silent for several days - my younger son is home for a week and we have been CLEARING OUT THE LOFT!
25 years of mostly debris - it has taken us 4 days, countless trips to the recycling centre and charity shops and the residue is for me to try to sell on ebay. I can't help thinking this will take quite a time and am really not sure how successful it will be, but I have to say my boys were excellent with their toys - they didn't break things and most items were put away in their original boxes - in fact, more harm has come to them in the loft with fluctuating temperatures and the odd intrusive bird, than happened to them while they were being played with.
It is really hard getting rid of things that contain so many memories, but really we had forgotten so much of what was up there, including so many old clothes - why???
My husband hates to get rid of anything and so he made himself scarce while the carnage was going on, but now it is done I do feel lighter of heart and we really MUST NOT fill it up again!
Well, Sunday arrived and after so many really spring like days it dawned cold and wet - very wet and as we gathered at Stanwick, I and the other stallholders wondered if this would mean no one would come - or maybe they would come because there was nothing else to do!
The village hall is brand new and very pleasant - nothing like the cold, draughty halls of old and the only downside was that there was no car park and so unloading had to be done from nearby streets - which wouldn't have been so bad - except for the rain !! However, it made for chat and camararderie between everyone and helped us all to get to know each other.
The rain didn't keep people away, and everyone who came seemed very interested in what we were all doing, had we made things ourselves, where did we get our inspiration, and did we spend a lot of time on our pursuits - Yes! Unfortunately, after lots of praise, people often then just go away - visitors to Fairs often don't seem to realise that we are there for them to purchase from us - I think many people think of them as interesting places to have a look around, meet some people and have tea - which is great, but it would be nice if they bought a little more.
I wondered if I was alone in thinking this, but chatting to other crafters at the Fair, they agreed.
We also find that it is very difficult to gauge what people will be keen to buy - the lady on the next stall to me said she had been taking the same cushions to fairs for the last 18 months and sold none - and on Sunday she sold out and my other neighbour had put together some plants in really nice pots suitable for Mother's Day presents - and sold none. It is a conundrum, and one which keeps us on our toes and ready for the next Fair - the next challenge.
Anyway, a good day is had by all, we make new friends, new connections and make plans between us for future events.
See more info and pics about the fair at http://www.mid-fair.com/
Following my slight digression in yesterday's post about my great dislike of plastic carrier bags, I thought I would just take the opportunity to show some of my alternative bags which will be available at the craft fair on Sunday at Stanwick, and some of which can be found on http://www.folksy.com/ at my Liz Lancaster shop.
The fabric ones are all made from recycled and vintage fabrics and these three are unlined as I wanted them to be fine and light weight enough to be rolled up and carried in a handbag for those odd spur of the moment bits of shopping when you would normally be offered - Oh no - a plastic carrier bag !!
The fourth one is hand knitted in a yarn comprised of 80% cotton and 20% polyester which gives it some stretch and it is constructed in a loose drop stitch which means it will expand as items are put into it.
Aren't they so much prettier and more practical than those HORRIBLE PLASTIC CARRIERS?
Join me on my mission to oust them from circulation.
