A trip to London

Darling Hubby bought me V&A membership for Christmas and yesterday I took advantage of this and went to London with a friend to see the exhibitions that were on at the V&A for free. There were 3 separate exhibitions on and they were all good but for differing reasons.

Firstly we went to the Ballgowns : British glamour since the 1950's exhibition. I found this absolutely fascinating and loved all the different styles and fabrics on display. Photography wasn't allowed so I have purloined some of the pictures from the V&A website instead...

I was lucky enough to be given the book that accompanies this exhibition for Christmas from a friend and the pictures in it are equally great and will remind me of our visit.

 All of these gowns were on display along with a whole host more. We had some fun deciding which of our friends would suit which outfit! 














And after the ballgowns we had coffee and a cake in the Members room to give us a rest. Initially we headed for the normal cafe but it was so busy there was nowhere to sit and the queues for food and drink were so long that we decided to find the Members room up on the 4th floor. It was much quieter, although still pretty full, but certainly far more relaxing than the cafe down on the ground floor. If you go though and are fortunate enough to be a member be aware that the food in the members room is very limited - tea, coffee (no latte) and a snackette! As you can see from the picture the members room isn't very large...

Once rested and ready for the fray again we headed off to the Hollywood Costumes exhibition. There was lots on display, but, and it is a big but, it is so popular and so full of people you have to queue all the way round and it takes ages. It is a great exhibition though I have to say as throughout it explains the way costume designers work and how they have to fit the costumes to the character, even when it doesn't appear that much work has been done. I found all that side of it fascinating but got thoroughly fed up of the crowds and the queues. Anyway, once again no photography so once again I have purloined photos from the V&A website...

There were costumes from every era and every kind of film. Some were far better than expected, some as expected and even one or two that weren't what I expected. I suppose without the characters in them they are only clothes when all's said and done!

Dorothy's shoes from the Wizard of Oz sparkled, Captain Jack Sparrow's pirates costume was as expected not as exciting without Johnny Depp wearing them, but the most disappointing outfit for me I think was Marilyn Monroe's famous white dress. It was really nothing special at all. Aside from the outfits being famous it was fascinating to see how the outfits were developed by the costume designers.

After the Hollywood Costumes a rest was needed, feet were hurting and we were thirsty. This time we braved the main cafe and were rewarded with 2 lattes, a chelsea bun and a scone with cream and jam. Sitting at a table across from us there was a young man who had what appeared to be a sling round his neck, and yet both his arms were fine and in full working order. On watching closely it became clear that the sling wasn't for his arm, but for a tiny dog, maybe a chihuahua, that appeared to be quite young. He was obviously very attached to it, stroking it a lot, but we did wonder if a very noisy, very busy area was the best place for this young dog. 

Our final exhibition of the day was Light from the Middle East : New Photography, which was a selection of photographs, some in black and white and some colour images too. This collection of images with the information alongside them made for some serious thought about the middle east and it's people, it's image and it's culture. An exhibition worth visiting, even though it is relatively small.

A final visit to the book shop and we then wound our weary way home via the underground and Paddington station, very tired but thoroughly happy with a great day out...

UFO's...

Yesterday I talked about finished projects. Today I'm going to list and review my UFO's. I believe that all crafters, whatever their craft speciality is, have UFO's - that's UnFinished Objects to anyone who doesn't know. I guess we collect UFO's for lots of different reasons. In my case it's mostly because I have so many ideas going round in my head that I want to do, and also I guess the other reason to a degree is that I lack confidence in doing things as well as I want to, and so I stop short of finishing things in case they "aren't good enough". Not sure what that says about me, but I'm sure a psychologist would have a field day!

Anyway back to my UFO list.. I actually went up into my tiny sewing room and consciously went through all my stuff to see just how many unfinished projects I had. I was amazed and to a degree embarrassed too. So I thought if I listed them honestly on her it might give me the push to finally complete at least some of them. I have also promised myself that I won't start anything new until I've completed two unfinished projects. In theory this means that I will gradually unclutter a very cluttered workbench!

So here goes....

An African textile doll (started summer 2011!)
A feisty old lady doll (started winter 2011)
There are two other doll heads - nothing specific in mind
Willowy stump doll
Gold 50's wiggle dress
Textile art seaside picture with a difference
Three different miniature teddy bears
Felt Christmas decorations (winter 2011 - not even this christmas just gone!!)
Steampunk groom to go with the goth bride
Steampunk cuffs
White on white embroidery of a unicorn
Applique horses to an old shirt
4 or 5 cross stitch pictures
A knitted jumper
3 pairs of knitted fingerless gloves ( they all need the thumb finishing!)
Pony - complete with saddle, bridle, rug, feed bucket
Rider doll - to go with above pony
Two everlasting advent calendars (were supposed to be completed for Dec 2012 for my nephews)
Flamingo - present for a friend
Blinds for kitchen and garage windows
Handbag and matching Tote to use for work

I'm sure if I rummaged around more I could find more, but that list will do for now...
And a photo of the workspace to give you some idea of what it looks like right now!!

So as you can see there's not a lot of actual working space right now, but over the next few weeks that's going to change... And I'll post photo's of the UFO's both when I start them and when I finish them. This weekend's aim is to complete the pony, although I only have Sunday as I'm going to the V&A on Saturday to see the both the "Ballgowns" exhibition and the "Hollywood costumes" exhibition so I may be being optimistic about getting the pony completed but I'm ever the optimist.

Things I made in 2012!

Well I thought as a starting point for the new year I would look back at the things I managed to complete making last year, so here is a list (and pictures of some!)

I made dog coats (towelling inners, fleecey outers) for when we've been out walking and they're cold, wet and muddy (or sandy if on the beach) and they work really well, although the hoods don't stay up very well - mostly because they use the hoods to grab hold of each other to play!!

I made dolls....

 Meet Miserable Maud! I had fun making her when I was away on holiday in the summer!

 And then I brought her home to over see the gardening! She's away on holiday now trekking through the jungles of Madagascar (have you seen the children's film? She's the lady with the handbag!!), before coming back here to take over as Prime Minister.

 This is my Goth bride - she's a secretive one. So secretive she hasn't even told me her name. She has a spider and web over her bouquet, and she's waiting for her groom to arrive. She was fun to make and get to know. She doesn't like too much "fuss" when it comes to her outfits - but loves to show off her hair!

And just for fun I also made a rabbit....

Why you ask, well just because I could really! He's only 2" tall sitting down (not including his ears) and normally he sits and watches me sewing. I love his slightly scruffy look and his names Seaside. Don't ask me why it just is!





 What else have I done?

I've made a set of sofa covers for my sister, shortened 6 pairs of trousers for my brother, made a bag for a friend, knitted gloves (sadly the spaniels got to them before they were finished - and then they were well and truly finished!!), made a window cleaners belt pouch, embroidered 6 pillowcases for Santa and started a whole load of other projects which will be the subject of tomorrows blog - my UFO's!

Aims for 2013...

Two blogs in one day, must be a miracle! 

Today has been a beautiful sunny blue sky day. As I walked the spaniels on Salisbury Plain I had time to think about what comes next and where 2013 will take me. I had decided not to make any New Year resolutions this year as in the past I haven't managed to keep them very well. 

But I have promised myself that the one thing I will do is finish the things I start. I have any number of UFO's in the sewing room that I really need to finish. I started to play the saxophone, but I can still only play one tune. I began learning Italian, but I only managed one term at college and haven't spoken a word since. I started to train the spaniels, but only got as far as the basics. So that's my aim for 2013...

The only other thing I have promised myself is to be grateful and to say thank you more often, to appreciate what I have and the people around me...

Oh and last but not least to make more dolls!!!

An update and new year...

Well it's January 1st 2013 already. Another year over, another one just begun as the song goes. So here's wishing the happiest and healthiest of years to all. 

New Years always make you look back over the past I think. It's fair to say that 2012 wasn't the best year for me and mine, but we'll bounce back and 2013 offers all sorts of things...

First an update however after the last rather depressing blog!

My newest spaniel has recovered from whatever ailments he may or may not have been suffering from thanks to the wonders of steroids and has turned out to be one of the most loving and loyal dogs ever!

My son is now residing in New York with his wife. His visa finally came through in November and he was on the first plane out!! The photo on his facebook page of him and the daughter in law shows just how much he loves and missed her and it is fabulous to see them together again. Even better we now have somewhere exciting to go on holiday! 

And my husband earned major brownie points for taking me away to a cottage in Cornwall for Christmas as he knew I would miss the family christmas times. So Christmas day on the beach was fabulous!!

So all in all things have turned the corner. 

And 2013 is the year that I finish all those things I started, so here's to a great year ahead.

Is life fair?

Sometimes life seems unfair, and we feel that someone somewhere has it in for you. At the moment life in my household seems to be one piece of bad news after another. As I said in my last post I lost my Mum. We have 3 Springer spaniels - or at least we had 3 Springer spaniels until this morning when my oldest spaniel lost her fight against pneumonia/chest infection when we had her put to sleep. My youngest spaniel is currently residing in the vets fighting an unknown infection that we can't identify. My American daughter in law was refused entry into the UK about 5 weeks ago following a visit to Germany to visit friends. Amazing as she has lived in the UK for the last 3 years and her and my son have been living with us since last February. They are now separated while they wait for his American Visa to be sorted. I'd say that all of these things mean we've been having a tough time and right now I don't think life is fair, but I know that time will soften these hard times and we will get through it. 

In the meantime I'll cry tears for those I have lost, and hold onto hopes that other things improve. If  you read this - please also hold onto hope when things get tough...

On Sunday September 9th my Mum died peacefully. She is finally at peace. I will miss her, have missed her since the dementia reduced her to what she became.

They say life goes on and it does, but intrinsically changed nonetheless.