My first love

As some of you may know (or may not know) I’m highly interested in anatomy, indeed its my first love. Its what i studied at university and what, if i had to teach anything, i'd be quite happy teaching.

I can’t help loving it and I blame my mum for letting me watch quincey as a kid. How bodies work is completely fascinating but then so is the history of the anatomists and the resurrection men who helped fuel the science, getting paid for providing bodies and body parts, abit like cash for gold but with bigger envelopes!

 I think the most well know of these chaps has to be burke and hare who turned to murder to supply the body trade and after being caught, burke was hung and dissected too! I believe that they tanned his skin and made things from it (very crafty but not something I’ll be trying soon, despite thinking that I should add more science to my makings!). They are alot more careful about the use of bodies these days, lots of new rules and regulations, loads since i dissected too (we'd never get away with some of the things we got up too now!)

          

It all come to mind cos my chum is putting science into her pottery. Shes been making ceramic molecules which are rather cool (and i'm hopeing may be on my christmas list hint hint!) but also nodes. These are part of an earth network, A way of using ceramics to link people by location, freindship etc (do go join in if you fancy it!)

So if i add more of my anatomical love to my sewing what should i sew? an eye ball? i have been promising myself an antibody! And just where will i find the time when i've half a table to fill for a craft thngy in novemeber (i know its a way away but everything in my life takes 14 times as long as planned due to procrastinatory or child or work or other calamities!)

Should i sew anatomy into fabric or fabric into anatomy? (i mean should i make a fabric eye ball or quilt with my toe nail clippings?)

The gallery - World photography day

Well, What to put for 'world photography day' in the gallery, i could go for something showing the beauty of landscapes

Or how beautiful nature can be

Or i could just use a picture that makes me laugh every time - daddy, why can't i cuddle the lemur?

Book review - Knits to give

Knits to Give

30 Knitted Gift Ideas

by Debbie Bliss

Once again i have been asked to review one of Debbie Bliss' beautiful books (by the loverly Quadrille Books). This book, Knits to Give, has 30 projects designed for knitters to give as gifts although i'm sure you'd agree the book itself would also make a fantastic gift for avid knitters.

As usual the layout, design and pictures with in the book are coffee table material, something to keep out and admire. It contains the usual list of wools and what else could be used, fantstic for those with wool stashes just waiting to be used up. It also has a lovely section on gift wrapping and suggestions on popping extra buttons and/or washing instructions into the package, a fantastic idea! It doesn't have any basics on knitting and so is not aimed at the new to knitting and i wouldn't recommend it to learners.

The projects them selves are split into 5 sections, for her. for him, for baby, for kids and for home.

The for her section has some loverly items in ans well as some that are more unusual (pill box hat anyone?). The shug is fabulous and i really fancy one for myself!

For men (the ever hard to come up with a gift idea group) there is knitted ties,  a hansome scarf and a doggy coat (although i'm not sure that is strictly for him!).

Its the babys and kiddies sections where once again, debbies designs come into their own. I have fallen in love with some bunnie booties and dungrees from the kids section and adore the ladybird bag in the kids. My mum, who as usual i have shared this book with as she knits far more than i do, thinks ths kids lion scarf is fantastic. I'm sure she will have her needles out soon and i'll update this when i have pictures of her work. 

All i can say is If you want to knit for presents or know a knitter, then this book would be a fantastic addition to your/their pattern collection.

Something new.

Hidy ho,

Well i want to show you something new and different that i tried. If you remember a couple of weekends ago i went on my friends hen do. While at her house she gave me and one of the other girls some clay to play with. My friend has just bort a kiln and is now making lots of intereting pottery things - including an earth network if anyone fancies it.

Anyway, i played about and made a small clay item which was amusing, fun to make but generally abit rubbish. My loverly friend, fired it and has glazed it and here it is, what do you think?

I also used my new cupcake skills to make some little cakes for Tinys nursery leaving party. she's not leaving just yet but they hold one every year for all the kidds that have just left or are leaving. I let tiny decorate them with sprinkles, as you can see she decorates in the same way she looks at the contents of my parcels!

Such fun winding it all up neatly again!

and here is what i bort......

well i should show you what i bort at the festival of quilts

sorry the pictures are rubbish, i was having a worse than usual photo day!

 Some loverly ribbons,

And a mix of fabrics, The grey splodgy stuff is what i've used for my secret project which i'll be able to tell you more about in september. 

I loved the tea pots and just could not resist the pants!. I have plans for the fabric with coffee related words all over and the other one with words on is christmassy, being that it has reindeer names all over it. 

In the top left corner you can just about see the reddy fabric i won in a lucky dip and the black 'frog spawn' fabric was a pressy from my friend who bort so much fabric she got some free, and as i like this she got it for me!  (what a fab chum).

I can't remember is i mentioned it but i went to the festival because i won tickets via the loverly sewing directory  so a big thank you goes to fiona. 

On friday i ended up at Ikea! Depending on which way you look at it, its lucky or unfortunate that its next to the ice skating rink in coventry. As me and my small ones are now regulars at the ice rink we end up at ikea for some food afterwards as it cheaper (and more healthy) than ice rink burgers! it does however mean that i am forced to go past the ikea fabric section and more often than not i have to buy some!

I don't have plans for it all, but its a good price in there so had to get some. The only problem i had was with my lad. I asked his sister which was the prettist fabric (pink and flowery sorts) and not him so he had a huff! in futre i'll ask him about the flowery fabrics (bet we end up with roses on blue next time!)

Golden Mum

Although I love my kids dearly, I know this summer holiday is going to be hard work (although not as much work as next year when they have both been at school!). Trying to organize who is having which week off to be with my lad and who he’s visiting when has made my head a jumble. I'm still at work over the holidays and having used up lots of my days off looking after ill kiddies and going to Easter assemblies I'm short on days. The school isn't running its play scheme this year as only 7 kids were interested! (what do all the other parents do????) All i can say is THANK YOU MUM!

My mum is being totally gold this summer, not the sort of gold you pop in an envolope and send off to a cash for gold website (although if someone wants to offer me her weight in the stuff i'd be jamming it in an envelope faster than my kids can shove sweets in their mouths!).

The sort of gold that a wonderful mum who says they'll have your son for 2 weeks even though she’s not all that well these days and she'll be exhausted at the end of it.

All I can say is hooray for Grams. I know my dad (grandpuff) gets lots of mentions on here but my mum is an unsung hero and today I want to big her up. Thank you mummy X, we love you.

This is a sponsered post, A donation has been made towards the cause my mum has been supporting all this year, having raised nearly £500 pounds with her baking and knitting for doing the electirics at the listed church that she attends.

More from the festival of quilts-the science view!

Well i have been meaning to blog over the weekend but didn't get round to it (like a loy of other things).
So here are a few more lovelry quilts with my thoughts on them which i think are very different from the quilt makers in some cases!

 This one is representing festival but to me its a large piece of galndular tissue (think salivary gland or lung tissue!) while the one below was called pots and pans but me and my friend thought it was a very beautiful illustration of skin. There are hair folicals (the pans), with skin cells surounding them, connective tissue beneath and shedding cells above!

 Here are trilobites, more geological than biological and below a very loverly anatomical heart.

 The skulls are obvious i think while the one below is obvioulsy (to me anyway) fat cells!

 This one is either plant cells or muscle cells, depends on which you want it to be!

Well that was a trip into quilts from my science perspective, Maybe its time i made a quilt!

Festival of Quilts - taster or teaster

HI,
after that really bad poem in my last post, i thought you deserved to see some snaps of quilts on display in the festival of quilts. I have lots more but these will do for now to wet the appitite of those who are going and those who are not.

Some dreadful poety.

I'm off at the festival of quilts today so i'm leaving you with a dreadful poem i wrote about a creature tiny told me all about:

The Boka Woca
The Boka Woca, its a curious beast,
on blackboard and green chalk it does feast,
and chocolate balls are its favourite treat,
or so i'm told, by someone who knows.

It walks with its knees bent and its arms thrust back,
It finds its way with a purple map,
around its island of this and that,
or so i'm told, by someone who knows.

Its green from its head to its toes,
it has no fur so it has to wear clothes,
a bobbly jumper is what it shows,
or so i'm told, by someone who knows.

When it moves it goes sideways,
and runs very fast when it plays,
which is all the time or so she says,
she told me, shes someone who knows.

the gallery - Water

I've gone for water in one of its other forms - ice
Last week me and my lad went skating evry day - yes EVERY day! we had a 30min lesson everyday and learnt so much. we can skate backwards and stop and do little jumps! i'm very proud of my lad and he just loves being on the frozen water!

Tuesday

Well, I didn't see the news till late, ondon looting and the same in birmingham. i don't want to say riot cos i don't think it was anyting other than a chance to rob and theive and break things. Lots has been said on other blogs about whats gone on so i'll change to something nicer.

The picture i've put on my tinys thank you cards for her birthday (yes its play doh!)

A doggy keyring i tested for rosablue

My cute new badge (from coventry transport museum) and finally a picture drawn by tiny of a lobster!

Hope you all have a good day and keep yourselves safe. x

I'm Back

Well i'm back. I've been away (well, not away but otherwise occupied) for the last week.
Its odd, i have things to write about but my heads a complete jumble and so i'm sorry if this is abit all over the place.
Last weekend (end of july) i has a fantastic weekend at my chums hen do.
We slept in tipis

We ate cake, climbed trees and had a fab picnic at witney court

The next day (after much camp fire singing!) we decamped to my chums house and she showed us all how to ice cupcakes -

All i can say is yum yum yum!!!!!!!!!