Spring….

 

Spring has finally arrived here in the far, far north of England.

Its been a very, very long winter.

Spring?

Today was THE most glorious day.  Chilly with a frost this morning, but what a blue sky.

I was at Berwick upon Tweed and took time out on the way home to stop and take these pictures.

These two were taken on the IPhone using a Panoramic app, first attempt was a bit wobbly, second much better.  I LOVE this!

The pictures show Berwick's town walls.  They are only intact Elizabethan town walls remaining in England - built around 1558 by Henry VIII and then Elizabeth I.  Berwick changed hands between the English and Scots 14 (yes 14) times in the 200yrs prior to 1482.  Each time the population was slaughtered. 

You’d be a bit miffed after that wouldn’t you?

Btw Berwick finally ended up in England – though I think it wishes it was in Scotland.

Photo catch up

Finally I have caught up on the “Almost” A Photo a Day for February.

You can see them here on the NE71 2011 blog

http://ne71-2011.blogspot.com/

or here on BlipFoto (they are nicely set out here and captioned)

http://www.blipfoto.com/NE71

 

Can’t believe it is March tomorrow!

According to the weather forecast the old saying;
“March winds will blow and we shall have snow…” could be true…. hope not!

Still catching up

Half term straight after Grasmere seems to have taken my time and energy.  Time to take it easy for a few weeks.

Here are a few more pics from the week away.

Some wonderful African Charms – they belong to Maggie Relph of the
African Fabric Shop

This was my bedroom “The Stables” complete with stabling construction!  Apparently used by Wordsworth’s horse….. I hope the horse was as comfortable as I was.

Snippets of some work ….

And back in Northumberland the sun has started to shine (though no way am I trusting it to be Spring yet!)

This is the entrance to the Ingram Valley with the medieval furrow lines still very much in evidence.

DS is growing up.

….and we had a visitor this week…..

A busy life….

Life seems to have been so busy since I returned from Grasmere…. I haven’t even downloaded the last few photographs and that's unheard of. 

I must do that and I must bring my BlipFoto journal up to date.

I am enjoying half-term with DS, but am also starting to get into a bit of “panic tizzy” about the exhibition….. it’s because I’m not doing anything, if I’m working I’m OK!

A quote from a friend which sums up life atm;

I wish I could find a way of doing everything on my wish list – including being in two places at once!

 

I must “Zen out” and remember being here…..to calm down!

Keswick

Stitching this morning and Keswick and Castlerigg stone circle this afternoon.

This is the Guest House

The room and fellow stitchers

Castlerigg Stone Circle

Derwent Water

Back to Grasmere

The (wet) Lakes

Misty tree.

I have disguised the raindrops. 
Yes it is raining as only the Lake District knows how to.

Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny so I will be out with the camera having fun.

I am also having fun stitching, but I can do that at home…. I am enjoying being in the lakes more than anything.

Even if it is lashing with rain.
Nothing changes here …… thank goodness

A change of scene….

Next week I am off to the Lakes!  I am going to Grasmere with a small group from the Contemporary Quilt Guild (a sub-group of the UK Quilters Guild).  There are no tutors, simply stitching in the mornings and evenings, afternoons to explore or more stitching.

I love the Lakes so this is a wonderful combination.  Not least because I won’t have to tell anyone to put their shoes on, pick their coat up, do their homework or remind them to brush their teeth.

(Talking of teeth the tooth came out yesterday, but is sore today, guess it will take a while to settle).

Will certainly be spending time here….

and here…..

I’ve been told that there is a limited internet connection so I hope I can blog every day.

Exhibition details

Here are the full details for the exhibition, let me know if you will be visiting and I will post these details again closer to the date (I have a feeling it will come very quickly!)

Hayloft Gallery Paxton House - 9^th -29^th June 2011

Paxton House (TD15 1SZ) is 4.5 miles from Berwick upon Tweed and is described as “perhaps the finest example of 18th century Palladian Country houses in Britain”.  Beautiful for a day out with guided house tours and walks along the River Tweed.  Mainline train station at Berwick.   http://www.paxtonhouse.co.uk/

Title; “Translations”

Description;

Landscape impression paintings and textile collages in transition from landscapes to feminine thoughts.

Artist in residence dates;

11am – 3pm

10^th,12^th

17^th,19^th

24^th,26^th

 

Following details off the web site;

Opening Times

Open daily from the 1st of April to the 31st October.

House: 11am - 5pm (Last tour 4pm)
Shop & Tearoom: 10am - 5pm
Grounds & Gardens: 10am - Sunset

Guided Tours of the House

Tours last approx 1 hour and leave from the waiting room adjacent to the courtyard.
Please book in at reception, last tour is 4pm (April & October 3.30pm)

Admission

House and Grounds:
Adult: £7.50
Concession: £7.00
Children: £3.50 (5 - 15, under 5's free)
Family Ticket: £20 (2 adults + 2/3 children)

Grounds Only:
Adult: £4.00
Children: £2.00 (5 - 15 under 5's free)
Family Ticket: £11 (2 adults + 2/3 children)

Lots of family offers throughout the season.

Group Visits

Group visits to the house and grounds may be arranged for any time of the year and packages tailored to suit your particular group interests are available. Please contact us for any further details.

Study days and specialist tours are available for students and adults with emphasis on architecture, furniture, social history and/or costume.

Access

Paxton House welcomes visitors who are wheelchair users, with dedicated parking bays close to the Reception. However, bearing in mind that Paxton House was built in the 18th Century, access is only available to the main floor via a passenger lift for wheelchair users.

The main floor contains the principle rooms - the entrance hall, morning room, dining room, drawing room, bust room, library and picture gallery. The Hayloft Gallery - exhibition area is also available via a passenger lift. The 18th century kitchen, the Ellem Fishing Club Exhibition, Stables Tearoom, gift shop, toilets and waiting room are all on the ground floor.

Paxton House has a wheelchair available for the use of visitors.

Guide and Assistance dogs are welcome.

Hard at work

I am working hard in advance of my meeting with my mentor on Thursday.  This will be the second meeting and I am very much looking forward to it.

Though I have not felt like blogging much in the evenings…..

I am also working hard to take my mind off this tooth – yet another infection, yet another set of antibiotics (4th in 3 months).  My dentist is very much of the mind to try and save the tooth by waiting for an appointment at the dental hospital where they can complete the root filling.  However this could take months of waiting with no guarantee of success.

Last night I went to see an Oral and Maxillofacial surgeon who took an X-ray and discovered the latest problem.

I was in such pain yesterday, it had really starting hurting SO much and I couldn’t take the full set of painkillers because of driving.  I burst into tears and couldn’t speak for a few minutes.  Poor guy.  He gave me a shot of local anaesthetic for the pain, nice thought. 

The X-rays show the tooth has moved away from the bone and I have a large abscess.  So I am paying privately to have the tooth extracted (don’t ask how much, could get a flight to India for the price).

Then I am finding a new dentist.

This morning I took my basket along to the studio, set the embroidery machine off with a few designs ….

…. and started another fabric painting with these wonderful new brushes that arrived today.

Pleased to recommend Artifolk, two orders placed recently arrived next day and P&P is free >£40.  Try them.

This afternoon I went to Paxton House to review the gallery where I have my exhibition in June.  Its large, very large…..

The house.

Entrance to the tearooms and gallery

The house opens 1st April… today there was just my car in the car park.

Machine digitizing

I have finally been getting to grips with the Bernina Design software, really enjoying this.

Below is a palm leaf design repeated and flipped.

This piece is square really, the binding needs finishing and it needs a good press. This is Februarys Journal Quilt for the contemporary quilt guild’s 10x10” challenge.

Machine embroidery, hand stitch on hand dyed cottons.

1st February 2011

30th January 2011

Embroidery Module

Spent a lot of time today working with the embroidery module.

After spending the first hour or so of the day learning how to create lettering I transferred the designs to the machine and stitched them out.

After spending much of the day pressing the restart button (really, every 2 minutes or less) I switched off the thread sensor and life was much easier.

My sketch of the Venus of W stitched really well.  I digitized this a few days ago and have completely forgotten how to do it!

Adding circular lettering and a few prehistoric animals and an Indian sun completed the machine stitching.

Despite the frustrations with the thread sensor I’m very happy with this result.  Now I’m adding some hand stitching and beads.

Sunday rugby

When its less than 3 degrees C (and feels –1C), watching rugby training for two hours is not the best way to keep warm and sane.

The clubhouse room was closed so I headed back to the car and spent the time listening to an audiobook and stitching.

What else do you do?

Venus and the first strawberries

 

I’ve spent most of the afternoon painting Venus images, now left to dry completely before painting the background and border.

Yesterday my veg box arrived with the first strawberries of the year.
Wonderful!