Holiday???????

I took Kezzy to Braintree so that she could go swimming. It is a lovely pool there, well worth the drive, and she was swimming for two hours! This gave me a chance to sit on the side and watch her while doing yet more school work and then some more schoolwork while she was having her art lesson at Barleylands.
This evening it was the monthly get-together with my daughter and friends to do some scrapbooking. I will post a picture when I have completed it and of the completed birthday card which I finished this morning and posted.
Spending the day in school tomorrow while Kezzy goes ice skating in Chelmsford.

Started off today once I had done the usual chores, by baking a Farmhouse cake as Delia and Diana were coming round for tea and cake this afternoon, it was still warm as we ate it. I then completed Rhodri's cushion, now installed in his bedroom for him to see when he gets back from his holiday in Cyprus, next week.

I finished the frame and background for the fairy shoes, I did a bit more paperwork for school,

and almost finished a birthday card for a lovely member of our Embroiderers' Guild who is 80, I shall pop it in the post tomorrow, after I have added the finishing touches.

Visiters

As I was getting lunch today I saw an adder in the garden, I rushed for my camera but it had already disappeared. The garden had lots of butterflies flitting around and as I had the camera I manged to get this image of the Meadow Brown. Later while doing a bit of weeding, ............. this frog made me jump.

I decided that as I had done a lot of paperwork yesterday, I was going to do some playing, so I had another go at trying to draw with charcoal and chalk, I lined some curtains for my son Rhodri ( he has been waiting since Christmas for me to do this job) and........

made this cushion from two of his designer shirts, that he had done an 'Incredible Hulk' impression in.

Yet more school work!

I had a phone call from school today to go and do my CRB, I spent ages trying to find all the relevant bits of paperwork. I then spent this afternoon and more time this evening on updating all my assessments - still got a quite a bit to do by Friday.
I have started painting a box frame to put my fairy shoes in, I hope to do some more to it tomorrow.

This and that.

I spent Friday shopping and cooking as we were having 4 of Alan's relatives coming for the day on Saturday. I always like to try different recipes and I shall be doing this one again. I found the recipe last weekend at my Mother's, it is called apple sablee. I had a job to get the orange blossom water to go in the cream but found it in the end at Waitrose.

Today, Alan and Kezzy went to Duxford to see the Spitfire's flying, so I decided to go to the boot fair at Barleyland's. Sam wanted an Action Man for Josh but couldn't find any in the shops-success I found a couple so he will be a happy little boy. I also bought some lovely books for school and........

this baby doll.

Over the summer holidays, I promised myself I would make time to practice my drawing. I have been working in charcoal and chalk.I need a lot more practice.

This afternoon I finished stitching my fairy shoes, tonight I will work out how I am going to present them I hope.

:(

A busy day at work, sorting out stock (only 350 exercise books to unpack today instead of the thousands that I had the other week), planning and loads of paper work. When I got home I took Kezzy for her art lesson at Barleylands, and was able to have an hour stitching while waiting for her. Saw and chatted to Denise from Craft Arena as well. I am in the process of making a pair of fairy shoes for a Schoolhouse Arts workshop that we are going to be running in October. I am spending this evening doing more school work :(

P.S. Check Serendipty 's blog as she has a lovely book for a give-away.

Ladies that lunched

My first job today was to ring Basildon Court to see how my Small Claims is going, as I haven't heard anything since June. The hearing will now be 1st October, providing they can track down the dodgy dealer!
It was then off to Bicknacre to have lunch with friends from work. Though I have been to Bicknacre many times, I have never been down this particular road, and when I got out of the car I found this wonderful ruin.

Yvonne's son cooked all the wonderful food as he has just finished training as a chef and will be starting work in a new restaurant opening in Marks Tey later this month. ( Another girlie night being planned to visit it!)

George the cat joined us as well. I didn't get home until gone 5.

This evening it was round to Nickie's, so that the four of us involved with Schoolhouse Arts, could plan the workshops for the forthcoming year.

Tomorrow I am spending the day at school getting ready for the new term. We know that we will be inspected anytime within the first month by I.S.A.

Rust dyeing samples

Popped to Craft Arena at Barleylands, to get Q.A's and some thread. While talking to Dean Smith (this is where Kezzy goes for her art lessons) I found out that he was the local artist who helped the children at my school in Activities week make the shark out of paper. Lots of photos follow of my rust dyed fabric.
This is a piece of my own dyed fabric that has had wire wool tied into it with wire, and also I did some stitching with wire and pulled it up to form pleats.

Opened out and washed

These samples are wire wool and salt solution.

Cream calico

Evalon

White calico

My own dyed fabric, not much rust on this sample.

White calico

Scrim, though scrim was used in every batch of samples, this was the only piece of scrim that didn't end up looking like a very dirty floorcloth!

The following samples were with vinegar solution and wire wool.

Cream calico Evalon

White calico

Own dyed fabric

White calico

These samples were made with wire wool, salt solution and tea.

Cream calico Evalon

White calico

Own dyed fabric

White calico

These samples were soaked in vinegar solution and tea with wire wool.

Cream calico Evalon

White calico

Own dyed fabric

Calico Samples using different bits of metal.

This 'axe' I got from the Caretakers at school when I was on the hunt for things that were rusty, the top fabric was folded over the fabric sandwich too obtain a ghost image. Salt solution was used.

Metal objects stitched and pinned to fabric ala Gwen Hedley, in a salt solution.

All the photos were taken while the fabric was wet, not too keen on the rust smell when I opened all the different bags, but it is worth it to get such interesting marks on the fabric. the axe and the pins and washer samples dried out while I was away as they weren't in a bag, just wrapped in parchment, could have been rustier still. Just got to decide what to do with all the samples now.

Back home!

We arrived home safely last night, a good journey a the M25 was clear. We had a nice relaxing time at Mums, went to Borders Book Shop, and Olney (LB Crafts), visited my Great Aunt in Norwich, a wee bit of gardening, did some stitching and reading, though not as much as I had hoped to do and lots of talking laughing and eating!!!!
Today, first thing, I made a list of jobs that I need to get done a.s.a.p., but before I did anything this morning, I had to see how my rust had cooked while I was away. There are some very interesting patterns. Our instructions were to dry the fabric first, after removing wire wool or metal objects, and then wash it in the machine. As my machine has been working flat out with washing our clothes and all the clothes my son wants to take away on his holiday on Friday I will have to do that tomorrow. (Load number 5 finished not long ago, thank goodness it has been a good drying day) I will then post pictures of my samples tomorrow night.