grump alert.

I'm no good at new year round ups... I get too nostalgic and sad, it gives me a very slight feeling of panic, like I've forgotten something and I can't think what... In fact I think it would be right to say I don't really like New Years Eve at all...

A whole year. Another one gone. Like I said yesterday, time makes no sense to me. I have a sneaking suspicion its not real at all...

On a happy note, I got a new origami book for Christmas; 'Marvelous Modular Origami' by Meenakshi Mukerji, and I intend to spend at least some of tonight folding units to make one of her beautiful floral balls...

This is a day lilly (folded by Mukerji) and I think it certainly makes up for the grumpy tone of this post... (at least I hope so!) 

thoughts

Sometimes, when I'm feeling quiet, I like to look back through my old note books, have a good old read. I like how ideas come back to me, fresh as the day I wrote the words, as if I'd pinned them there.

I used to write notes to myself, specifically to read in the future. I still can't get my head around time passing... 

And sometimes things seem clearer now, things I couldn't understand at the time. They slot into place, and perhaps even make sense. It comforts me, and I try and remember that in time things happening now may fit into place that way too. 

Anyway, this particular note book I was looking through the other day is from about 5 years ago. An unhappy and unsure time in my life, I was doing a lot of traveling backwards and forwards, feeling disjointed and spread too thin. I was studying on a course that deep down I felt wasn't right, a course I eventually left (and few months of my life that taught me to try and listen to my heart, although thats easier said than done isn't it...) The course made me feel like I didn't have a clue, and I wrote this in my note book...

when you make people feel stupid for not knowing things they start to pretend they do, and then they begin to make others feel stupid in the same way, because they don't know either

And it really rang true to me. (I hope it makes sense outside the context of my head...) I want to keep this in mind when I go back to work next week. I think its sometimes hard to remember that just because you know something inside out, that others may not. I think this is especially important in an educational establishment, where people are there to learn, and I don't ever want to make someone feel stupid for not knowing something...

And its sunny today.

3 books

It's funny weather today, all raining and windy, blustery, leaves flying all over, then all of a sudden sunny, clouds blown away and everything golden... It's inside out umbrella weather, and rain down your neck. Which is why I'm extra glad I can appreciate it from the cozy warmth of my armchair... 

I've been having a nice break (despite a christmas cold, don't you love those!) and doing lots of thinking... (and eating, don't forget the eating) I got lots of lovely presents for Christmas, I'm sure I don't deserve them all...  

3 round cornered books from 3 lovely friends...

First, a Moleskein with a difference...

An accordion moleskein! How perfect :) But I'm sure I will never dare write in it, it's too nice an object on it's own... 

'Wayside and Woodland Trees' by Edward Step, published 1940. Beautiful illustrations... (and it smells nice too!)

And when I unwrapped 'A Field Guide to Weeds' by Kim Beck I thought it was a coincidence; another plant identification guide (and that wouldn't be a bad thing, trust me) but on turning the pages...

The weeds grow and spread with each turn of the page. Beautiful.

Hope your days have been relaxing too x

branches and stuff

I thought I would try and fit in one more little post before I give in completely to the upcoming festivities... Life is still hectic (I'm sure you know how I feel!!) and I don't think it's going to calm down for a few weeks yet :)

Still no pictures of what I've been up to; still too dark and dreary, just some branches I walk past in the morning light. Snapped on my way to the bus stop...

Frosty mornings. 

Happy holidays!

6 days later...

Saturday. Already. I think I need to accept that I won't be able to post on here as frequently as I would like (which would be every day in an ideal world..) A few things seem to be conspiring against me; the dark nights are no good for photography, no good at all, and the fact I don't get in from work until half 9 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays seems to leave me not much time to spare...

But I shouldn't complain, should I. I'll just have to save up the things I've been up to and splurge them all out (with daylight lit photos!) towards the end of the week.

This week I made some monoprints. I won't subject you to them all (far too many, about 50, wouldn't want to crash any one's computer...) but here are a few of my favourites:

See more on flickr. Oh, and 7 random things, coming soon! (Thats if I can think of any...)

slow day

Rainy day. A good excuse to stay warm indoors and do a little bit of sewing (and knitting, and drawing, and watching the crows pick things (moss? insects?) from between the slates of the roof opposite my window) 

Sewing machine on the dining room table because everybody is out....

Tutorial here

And the finished gloves (well, glove. But the other one is there, I promise, making itself useful and holding the camera). Sunday.

catch up

I say catch up, but  I wonder, where should I start? My first full week of work has flown by, and I feel like I've been there much longer, which I suppose is a good sign! I've realised I have to throw myself into it, and not wait to be told, as the three men that work there are very gentlemanly and seem to be keeping all the dirty jobs for themselves :) 

But seriously, they have made me feel very welcome and there has even been a little time to have a play...

I also finished the gloves... I pulled back the original one and knitted it again,  making it longer as planned. But there was still something not quite right, it was too baggy. I knit the next glove slightly smaller and it definitely fits much better, so I bit the bullet, pulled back the first one for the second time and knit it up again to match. At least I know the pattern off by heart now!

I don't have any pictures of the new gloves. In fact I don't have any pictures of any of the things I want to show you, because it's got to that time of year when I leave the house in the dark in the morning and return home from work in the dark in the evening. All my photos are yellow tinged and which ever filters I twiddle in photoshop I can't seem to do anything about it. The photos still look like they were taken in the Seventies (which is not necessarily a bad thing, just not the look I'm after...)

But tomorrow is another day, and hopefully it will stay light long enough for me to take some snaps. How long 'til Spring??!

knitting experiment 2

Today I have been knitting. I managed to get up early (perhaps my body clock is finally adjusting to winter time...) and decided to attempt knitting in the round. And cables. 

I think sometimes I get too comfortable with what I'm able to do. I find a level and sit there, carrying on with what I know, with the thought at the back of my mind that anything else would be too hard. And then one day I'll suddenly think 'actually, I should have a go' and my brain pleasantly surprises me. It's just a case of having a go isn't it. It also makes me wonder what else I take for granted that I can't do, when actually, if I was just to try...

 Anyway, after trying about 5 patterns for fingerless gloves I decided on this one (I haven't made the thumb here as this is just a test run to see how the pattern works). The others patterns I tried were lace and the wool I had was too chunky, it just looked a mess. I'm pleased with he simplicity of this one, a good introduction to 4 needles and cables I think! 

All I need to do now is pull this one back (sob!) extend the cuff so the gloves go up my arm and make the distance between thumb and fingers shorter (I've only got little fingers :) ) Oh, and not drop any stitches and pick them up backwards; that really ruins the look!

phew

I started my new job this week, and I feel like my feet haven't touched the ground. It's great, and a massive learning curve, and I feel like there's a real purpose to it. I think I'm a bit overwhelmed actually, I think perhaps it hasn't sunk in yet that it's actually real, but the days are flying by and (although my feet hurt) I think it's going to be good.  

And they got me a teflon bone folder as a welcome present. I think I'm going to like it there...

buttonhole binding

From Keith Smith's 'Non Adhesive Bindings Volume 1'. My first attempt made with pages made from old file dividers, salvaged from my old office...

Nice and bright but a bit scruffy!

Second attempt was much more successful, I used plain white paper for the sections and glued strips of tissue paper to the edges to make the coloured spine...

I love learning new bindings, I think this one might become a favourite :)

another experiment

When I read a while back that Amisha could knit and read at the same time I was very impressed. Now the more knitting blogs I read it seems like that is the normal way to go about things and I decided I wanted to be able to do it too! 

So the other day, when I decided that I was fed up with crumbs in my ipod and that I should knit it a little case, it seemed like a good opportunity to try a 'knitting but not looking at the needles' experiment...

Well. It felt very odd at first, like I didn't trust myself to do it right at all without looking. But the more I forced myself to look away (at the wall in fact, my brain is not ready for reading quite yet...) the more I realised that I had known all along what to do, I just had to do it. I mean, it's only garter stitch, but it's a start!

Now this little ipod holder I knitted does look distinctly like the first thing I ever made when my mum taught me to knit when I was little; a little stripy case to hold my tooth fairy money; but I suppose that's quite apt considering I'm kind of learning all over again...

pay it forward

I've been an admirer of Rhonda's books for a quite a while now; they're so skillfully and carefully made and beautifully finished, and she seems so passionate about her work, I couldn't believe my luck when I saw she was joining in the pay it forward exchange and still had one place left!

I think this pay it forward thing is a great idea, and the fact every person to receive a gift sends out three means there are plenty of opportunities for everyone to get involved. So, if you fancy receiving a little handmade something from me here's what you have to do...

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment (and email address so I can contact you!) on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

Right, I'm off to get my thinking cap on...

experiment

Single sheet coptic binding across the spine, from Keith Smith's book 'Volume IV Non-Adhesive Binding: Sewing Single Sheets.' I bought this book a few years ago, and all the bindings seemed way too complicated then. In fact I never completed one...

A few days ago I picked up the book again, dusted it off (literally!) and decided to have another go...

This is my first attempt at the first structure in the book, and it's definitely much more complicated that anything I've sewn before. When I look at the diagrams of the sewing path I think I will never be able to follow them, but taking each a step at a time I have at least come up with something. Practice is in order I think...

I like this structure. It allows single sheets to be bound together and yet still open flat. Lots of potential...

Yes. Practice.

another new technique

1. I almost always pick up feathers when I see them, laying on the floor, discarded.  There's something about the way a feather moves through the air in my hand, it makes me feel like, just for a moment, I might know how flying feels. I found this feather a while back (it's from a wood pigeon I think) and it's been stuck in a plant pot by my door ever since. It was the first thing that sprang to mind yesterday when I was looking for something to draw...

2. A warm up drawing...

3. Then on to the vacuum forming plastic to have a go at drawing with a machinist's scribe to make a drypoint plate...

4. The finished plate. I found it hard to draw because I couldn't see the lines I'd just made without squinting, perhaps next time I should cover the plate with something to scratch through...

5. Anyway, I'll show you the print when it's done :)

birdies!

Well, here you go... some of the bird prints printed from the collograph plates I spoke of a few days ago... (If you click on them they go bigger I think :) )


It was good to get back in the print room, and straight away I did that classic thing of first inking up the plate too much (print so dark I could hardly see a thing) then totally over compensating the next time and polishing the plate too much...


Its amazing what you forget isn't it! By about the third time I felt I was slowly getting back into the swing of things. I know I have so much to learn and re-learn, but it was a big relief that things started to come back to me. I could feel my hands getting back into the rhythm of mixing and scraping and wiping, and I have to say, it felt good! Like riding a bike I suppose (I hope!)


So, although I'm not overwhelmed by these prints; there is much to be improved on here, I'm happy that I've done it, got back in the saddle and had a go. And (as usually happens) I think I like the messy inked up worn out plate the best...

and another...

Matt said this one looked scary, I was going for inquisitive...


It's all in the eyes I think...

Anyway, either way I'm off to print it tomorrow :)