Frogs and Control

This little frog is in our back yard (our garden is made up of a tiny yard, then up some steep steps to a decking area, then up three more steps to the grassy gardeny part-the wild part at the moment!) There is a pond at the back and during the rain the little frogs and slightly bigger ones like this, make it down to the yard. Then I spend ages trying to catch them and take them back to the pond.

This is a felty green man, made for Joan, my Dad's wife after she saw my felty face. I have control over needle felting which I like. I don't have control over computer software, or people supposed to be delivering that software, or the council and their recycling sacks, which I don't like. So today I choose felty faces and painting.

Weird Portrait

Here is my first mixed media layered portrait. It has been an interesting process although I am not sure about the end result! She looks very serious and sombre. Amongst the layers are graphite pencil, coloured pencil, ink, acrylic, textured paste, watercolour pastel, and acrylic ink. I have sandpapered quite a lot in between layers and I really like the weathered effect this gives. I like some of the in between stages more than the final one but I think I will stop and have a go at another one now. I have also started my sketchbook from that exhibition project I mentioned a while ago. Not got far yet though!

Thanks for the comments on the new layout. I really liked my old one but fancied a change! I fiddled around for ages trying all the different options(not that many!)

Thanks!

I was pleased and happy to receive this from Steven last week. It was a lovely surprise to find on the hall floor and now has pride of place in my newly organised creative space! Thanks Steven-and I completely agree with the sentiment! Visit Steven's Etsy shop here for lots of goodies to brighten your home.

Shadow Shot Sunday

Shadowy beach.

Shadowy Kelly Kettle.

Visit Hey Harriet here for more shadowy shots!

Stories and Magic

Everywhere we went, I was reminded of fairy tales, ghost stories, myths and legends. Northumberland is a truly magical place.

A Lion, A Bookshop, Kippers, A Flat Cap And Blue Sea

By Friday we had done so many things we wanted a more relaxed day. First of all we popped to Alnwick. When you drive into the town from the direction we did, you can't help noticing this lion on a monument. He is the symbol of the Percy family-Earls of Northumberland.

The two linked articles have different stories to tell-who knows which is true-not me that's for sure. Anyway, the lion is famous for his straight tail, though pictorial representations have curly tails. There is a famous one on the bridge where there is a good view of the castle-used as Hogwarts in Harry Potter.

Here is loads of information about the bridge should you want it! I am trying to find out why the tail is straight but so far no luck! This could be it! This is the fabulous Barter Books-a huge second hand bookshop where you can barter should you wish-well-you hand your books in, they give you a price and you can spend that in the shop. I just spent money though as I did not know the system! It is a heavenly place if you have a weakness for books, especially old and strange books which I do! Andy bought two books about Northumberland by his neighbour from when he was growing up and his donkey Jack is mentioned! I bought some children's books-I have a small collection of old children's books so had the perfect excuse in my mind! I bought one called 'The Book of Vision'-not as exciting as it sounds-it is about vision in the sense of sight rather than foresight. I also bought 'Getting To Know The Birds'-beautiful illustrations.I did not buy this-it may be fascinating but the title tells me not!
A lot of the shelves look as tempting as this so we were in there for quite some time. It has a cafe and a toy train running round the second room you walk into. It also is the source of that poster-'Keep Calm and Carry On' which you see everywhere. Apparently it was found neatly folded at the bottom of a box of books and it grew from there. I suppose it can't have been the only copy but a lot have been copied from it.Here's the train!When we finished in Alnwick we decided to go to Craster-it is famous for its kippers. We parked outside the village as instructed and shunned the kipper in a bun next to the carpark and toilets. We would come to regret that. We walked into the village, looking for food-we had driven a long way to get there and thought the place would be bursting with delicious kipper related snacks. We ended up in a horrible pub eating greasy chips and a stottie cake(a big bread roll) pizza-mine had an added hair on it. Needless to say we left there and headed back to the kipper stall as there was nothing else. We had a kipper in a bun but that was horrible too! Craster was the only bit of the holiday that we did not enjoy!As some sort of compensation there were loads of butterflies on some buddleia bushes near the carpark-they were a very popular photographic subject.The view from the pub. Dunstanburgh castle.

We left Craster for Low Newton-a much nicer place. The sea was blue, I paddled and we had a cup of coffee at the lovely pub there!
Andy in his new flat cap! It really made me laugh when he appeared in it in Alnwick but actually it quite suits him!

To The Borders

On Thursday it was time for our visit to Anne and Malcolm. Anne's blog, 'Frayed At the Edge' is full of lovely things she has made as well as all sorts of other interesting bits and pieces. Anne invited us over when she read where we were having our holiday-reasonably close to where she lives. We arrived about 10.30 and, after the initial nerves at meeting, had a fun and packed day. Anne and Malcolm had worked out an itinerary that took us to many of the major attractions in the Borders, an area I did not know at all before. It was a lovely day.

This is the Trimontium.

Our first stop was to look at this view.

Smile please!A big and unidentified bird-probably a buzzard-I love seeing them whirling round on the wind. Look out tiny rodents.
This is the Leaderfoot viaduct-a fact I am afraid I did not remember but google helped me! It is a lovely colour don't you think? I am sure that was not the leading factor in its construction but still...
This place was a very posh seller of fancy woollen clothes and other country type items. Everything was very soft and finely made and way out of our price range! Lovely to look at and touch though. Actually Andy did buy a McCallum tie for a reasonable sum.

This is in the Baxters shop-I couldn't believe that you could get a whole chicken in a tin. I don't think you can now-this is a historical artefact!A dress made from Baxters soup labels. Perhaps I could make one from wine labels.
We had our lunch in a lovely wooden cabin near a mill. After a stroll down to the weir we were back on the road, off to visit Hawick. This is the Hawick webcam! This is from a textile museum being developed in the town's oldest building.
I love those boots and socks. There were even some woollen knickers with a big silk bow on the back. Not sure about those!

When we got back to the house I had a guided tour while Andy and Malcolm had some wine! I loved the house and all of Anne's quilts-she has made so many and they are great! They have travelled widely for Malcolm's job and their home is full of interesting things and stories to tell.

Then Anne took me to show me her studio. It is lovely-filled with fabric goodies and more of her beautiful work. And she doesn't just keep it all to her self-oh no-she has a group of like minded ladies round once a week to use the lovely space to knit, patch, felt and chat. What a great thing-I have to say I was just a little bit jealous! It really is a great space to work. It did inspire me to have a little go at tidying my back room(again!) where I keep all my materials. The trouble with dabbling in so many different arty activities is that it generates a lot of stuff. I have done it though and if I can just manage not to buy any more it should be fine!
When we had finished our studio tour Anne showered me with gifts! All hand made, all lovely, thanks again Anne! She also shared some choice pieces of fabric from her stash!

Aren't those wine glass coasters clever? No more wine rings!Pretty wrist warmers.

My very own mug bag for trips and courses!

Some of Anne's felty things!

The weather was really warm so we sat in the garden to eat the delicious dinner that our hosts had prepared. What a lovely day!
I will leave you with Anne, looking like a true blogger with her wireless laptop!

Thank you Anne and Malcolm for a lovely day which we both enjoyed. Hope we can entertain you too/two some day!