Tess & Will's new house

Today we went to visit Rob & Robyn (except Robyns' in South Africa) for Ricardo to do some boat windscreen work. I took some photos of the house that Rob is building for Tess & Will. It's a straw bale house. It has a truth window (no picture yetI'm sorry) that shows you what it looks like inside the wall of straw. The photo of the stove is for Tess & Will because after today it will never be this pristine again.
The Man's house is pretty damn nice too, so here are some pics of it as well..

East Anglia Children's Hospice

Here's a photo of the humungous house Ricardo is working on. A balcony with French doors on top of a bay window. How good is that. Don't try this at home....


Here is a very very cute web site. Check out this wonderfully clever cat (although not a patch on the Squeaky cat)

I worked today as a volunteer at the East Anglia Children's Hospice not the actual hospice but their distribution centre where all the donations stuff comes in. I loved it, thanks to Shazza & Cazza. Sorting clothes in a big warehouse. Looking for lampshades. Laughing at each other trying on stupid green wigs. It's good to be out of the house & it works.... to do something for someone else.

Yesterday I went to Braintree (yes thats right Braintree) in Essex to meet a woman called Siripan Kidd with my new friend Heather P. Heather & I went to the museum to view an exhibition of fabulous Chinese textiles from Siripan's collection. They were like this Hmong embroidery only a million times better.

Hidden Southwold

Went to Southwold, Suffolk, UK. (This beautiful photo is not mine, it comes from a site here.) There was a lovely girl at Craftco who we had seen at the Insect Circus who worked there. We had some lunch at the Crown Hotel & went for a walk down the blustery streets of Southwold. She showed me the Sailor's reading room... a fabulous high ceilinged, wood panelled room with all sorts of faded artifacts about the sea & sailing.

Insects & no cushions

The insect circus was good & not so good. It was in a tiny old saloon-style Victorian music hall built in 1863 in Shoreditch. It felt like going back in time. The insects were mostly people dressed as such, with one ladybird about 80cm long made to sit on a remote control car, that wizzed about the stage. This weekend just gone was the first time Mark & Sarah had put the show on. It was an amazing amount of work. They'd done all the costumes & sets, promotion, poster & everything. Still..... I'd like to see it again in 6 months time. There wasn't enough drama in the show. It lacked Circus Oz's early days hilarity & political satire. The best part was the finale which was a trapeze act with a girl in red & white polka dot outfit & a guy in a blue leotard with pink short satin pants with pom poms over the top. They were very skilled & created a little story of flirtation around the performance that somehow drew you in. It's a hard premise for a show though as people are big & insects small... do you try to make them look like insects or an anthropomorphic version thereof.
We did have a marvelous time in Hampstead though staying with our darling buddy Vicky, and her dogs George & Gracie.
There's a house up the road from her place which is covered in ivy, with an old wrecked scooter in the front yard. Who lives there??? Any one??? Lookout.

Some success

Just after that last post, the woman from "Craftco" rang & said they liked the pale blue pointy eared square cushion & could they have 3 for Easter. Phew at last... a break.
Here it is hot off the press. Now I better go & make some more cushions........

Grey day

Today is a grey day. Yesterday was grey too.
I went all the way to Southwold yesterday, 3 and a half hours of driving. I took some cushions to the "Craftco" shop there which I've mentioned in a previous blog. The woman there was pretty blase about them. She kept saying how well made they were. Seemed like it was all she could say.
So now I'm trying to get motivated again to try again. She said she'd ring today to let me know what they all decided at their monthly meeting last night. Can't wait (can a computer detect irony???).
On a brighter note, we are going to see the insect circus on the weekend. Staying next to Hampstead Heath with our friend Vicky. Should be nice to get away from it all. I have no idea what it will be like.

Diss auctions

Went to Gazes auction in Diss yesterday.. they had a large musical instrument sale on.
Quite a few amazing things I'd never seen before including a harmonium & a plastic saxophone. I went with Kate & Cuthbert. Cuthbert was fascinated by the puddles & what it fellt like to get your foot wet right up to the ankle. He was also fascinated by this mini house & its easily opening (& closing doors), an endless game of peepo ensued. The giant chicken was fascinating as well, another instance of small things looking great if made large. Just like the giant pineapple or the giant sheep or the giant prawn in Oz.
Richard was inspired by the saxophone having always wanted one, so we went to have another look after work. Unfortunately it was broken in quite a few places, so not the bargain we'd hoped for.

And some more cushions.....

For the "mer person" in all of us... This, just in from cushion land.

Cushion(s) of the week

This week we have a cushion I've made for Heather P for one of her step grandaughters'. Hot pink Thai silk in the center with some gorgeous pink & orange wool twill on the 'not so pointy' bits, some shot silk on the pointy bits & velvet buttons pulling it in. Cheekee monkey thought it was a bit of alright.
There is also another cushion, hot off the press I've made out of the Sudbury silks. It's to take to a craft gallery in Southwold in Suffolk.

Sudbury silks

Last week I went to Sudbury in Suffolk UK.
Thomas Gainsborough, the famous artist, was born in the town in 1727 and the town hosts the world renowned Gainsborough House museum.
For centuries it has been a silk spinning & weaving town & there are 3 or 4 mills still making silks there.
One has a shop. Uh oh.
They make silk for ties & here are some of the sumptuous textiles I bought when I was there.
I thought they would make up beautifully into lampshades so I bought an old one at a local charity shop, stripped the old fabric off it & will re cover it as soon as I can decide which fabric to use. Perhaps you could nominate one for me in the comments section.

I also bought what I thought would be a great base.... a birdcage. Very Chinnoisserie.
I just looked up Sudbury silk on 'google' & got a link to Ralph Lauren. They have ties there made in Sudbury that sell for $95.00. Crikey I'm in the wrong market.
Here too at Old town clothing, they make beautiful ties from Sudbury silk.