TizDuster

Flying bird cards - and chickens

My friend at Bailey Hill Bookshop sent me four of these birds cards as a thank you for some Facebook work I did for her and because I admired them so much. They arrive flat and you just fold their wings and tails out.

I liked them too much to part with, so I've used them as decorations in our dining room. They gently turn around with the heat from the woodburner. I'm not sure if I'll take them down when we put the rest of the Christmas stuff away or not.

On closer inspection I found they come from a company in Norwich called Art Angels and are by Mark Hearld. Art Angels looks like a good place for those print makers among my readers as it claims to be currently considering new works and invites submissions.

....and chickens?

Well I think finally 2012 may be the year I get some chickens again. I have earmaked a shady space at the bottom of the garden that is redundant now I have moved the compost bin. So If I spend the next month or so clearing it up then I should be ready to get some feathered beauties in the spring.

It had to be done....

Along with many other people (including Miriam at 77 Belle) I got a kindle for Christmas. One of my children is ashamed of me and I just have to hope that two of my friends who own bookshops don't read this post! Sshh don't tell them.

And today I just had to make a cover for it. Luckily (or unluckily, depending how you look at it) I had a scarf that had gone wrong. 

Doesn't it look cute? A bit girly though.

I've enough scarf left to make a couple more. So lookout Folksy!

 

It's nearly Christmas

The tree is decorated.

The cake is iced.

Let the festivities begin.......

Happy Christmas everyone!

Wasp nest

Look at what we found in the loft when we went up to get the Christmas decorations.

Isn't it beautiful? Gives me some ideas for felt vessels.

And on a Christmas note we still haven't decorated the tree. Today's the day! 

Christmas tree

Today we got our Christmas tree. It was one of the two remaining for sale in the village. Because the weather is so wet we decided not to look any further. It's a bit bottom heavy, but where else would we get a six foot tree for £12?

Here's Dave carrying the tree home (we live just round the corner). He loves doing this. I think it reminds him of his family Christmas times in Oregon, where they used to go out on the farm and cut down a tree to bring inside.

The root system looks healthy so we've put it in a wheelbarrow of water to try and keep it fresh till we bring it in next week for my daughters to decorate. They both  come home on Thursday.

Hopefully next time I post up a picture of the tree it will look more handsome.

 

Dark Matter

My reading record fell by the wayside back in April. At that point I hit a bit of a slump and somehow didn't get back into recording what I read.

However recently I have been through a renaissance and read some wonderful stuff. A couple of which I mention here.

Dark Matter by Michelle Paver is a really gripping ghost story. A period piece, it is set in the Arctic just before the start of World War Two. It is full of threatening terror and not to be read late at night when you're home alone.

The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan will be available in the UK in January. I was lucky enough to get my hands on a proof copy. It is a coming of age novel telling the story of a young Polish girl's experience of coming to the UK. 

It is written in blank verse which at first I thought I wouldn't be able to cope with, but it is as intimate as a diary and absolutely compelling reading. 

I heartily recommend both these books. The photograph is of a tree I pass on my daily walks and I thought I'd put it in here to add a bit of atmosphere.

 

Taking Pity on the Birds

It was so cold and windy here yesterday that I was was worried for all the little birds out there. I decided to convert one of my felt pods into a bird house.

I sewed up all the holes except the main one and snipped out the hanging decoration inside. Then I sprayed in lightly with Scotchguard as added waterproofing - lucky I did that as it's pouring with rain now. On the advice of a friend I tucked it into some bushes in the garden.

It's a bit of an experiment really. One, to see how it weathers, and two, to see if any birds actually use it. Because the pod had a 'tail' it made it easy to attach securely into the bushes. If I were to make a purpose built one I think I would make the felting a bit thicker, though. I'm not sure about the size of the hole either. But we'll see how it goes. 

As a bonus I was able to make a brooch from the hanging bit inside.

Now onto the next project - Christmas cake I think.

Silver bracelet

I stepped outside my comfort zone on this one. I was asked to make a bangle-type bracelet as a Christmas present for someone. She wanted one with an open back and she also wanted it to be a statement bracelet.

She tried on one a friend had made at Aldborough Creative but she said it was too 'scratchy'. I decided that making it out of thick silver wire would be the way to make it most comfortable. So I made all the circles. Then flattened them slightly so there was a  bigger contact between them to solder. Then I dinked them to add a bit of interest and bent the whole construction into a bangle.

It was a bit of a sweat to get together and solder neatly as my skill level is not great. But it worked and I'm pleased with the result. It's very comfortable to wear and I think will stand up to rough treatment. One solder snapped as I bent and hammered the bracelet to shape but I managed to re-do that. I feel that any others that were going to give would have done so by now.

I've posted it here as I'm pretty sure she doesn't read my blog.

Ali's Hat

Another commission. This time it's for someone with a smaller head than I. It felt strange not being able to try it on,  so I do hope it's ok. At the moment it is waiting to be delivered to her to try on.

She asked for purples, blues and maybe a touch of dark pink. This is what I came up with....
I'm now working on a silver bangle, another commission. It's a bit of an ambitious design for me but hopefully I'll pull it off and finish it today and then I can make another hat.

Meanwhile Christmas is approaching fast. I love Christmas Rachael and Louise will be coming home, Louise may bring a friend and Alan, Claire and Rudi live just 5 miles away - I feel blessed.