Here are my purchases from nostalgia day.
The fish cruet which is actually 2 salt pots. My dream find has always been the cat cruet in this style and as yet I've only found it on Ebay but it goes for silly money.
The Contrast range February mug which I have bought to use. I love the illustration with the valentine heart pancake image.
Finally the muramic trinket dish and small egg cup from the Cinnamon range.
I have just returned from the nostalgia day up at Freeport. I was surprised how well attended it was, there were plenty of stalls and people selling their treasures. You could pick up a full tea set on some stalls and the museum had a display area with surplus stuff they can't display in the museum so I saw things I hadn't seen before.
It all seemed to go very well and generated a lot of interest with visitors. I think you'd be hard pushed to see so much good quality Hornsea on sale together again. I made a few small purchases, a birthday mug, an owl cruet set and a muramic trinket dish.
Ok I've just gone mad and baked a couple of my favourite things as it's a bank holiday weekend and the last one before Christmas.
We have a traditional Gypsy Tart, otherwise known as caramel tart, deliciously sweet and you only need a small slice to satisfy that creamy toffee craving.
And, a slab of my white peanut butter chocolate and dark chocolate swirl which is nice to have a small piece with espresso.
Let me know if anyone wants the recipes, the tart is dead easy as I used a bought flan case and only has 2 ingredients.
Its been a while since I photographed my veg and the tomatoes are ripening nicely, the peppers are producing fruit, lettuces still going strong but far too weird looking for a photo and 2 lots of beans on the way.
I seem to have a real problem with wasps getting in the house. I am catching on average 4 a day with no windows open (they look to have been painted shut for a few years!) I suppose I shouldn't be that surprised by the wasps as a few weeks back it started to look like they were building a nest in the tree just about 3 metres from the kitchen door and what with the big gaps at some of the windows and doors you can actually see them flying at a window pane and then slipping in where the sash bit should slide open.
So far I've only been stung once.
This summer has also seen much more ants than last year, infact I haven't sat outside once with an ice cream. I think last year I only managed to sit outside a couple of times for a few minutes and that was with my legs and feet in the air due to the ants on the patio.
I'm starting to feel like summer has passed me by and I've not really done anything summery like take the kite out or go to Spurn Point and now its getting dark on a night I'm starting to feel autumn is on the way.
Maybe I'll put the kite in the car for when I go to the Hornsea Pottery nostalgia day tomorrow!
The other day I had reason to visit the train station in Brid and I couldn't believe how lovely it looked with all the flowers on display.
It was literally festooned with flowers in every nook & cranny providing a really nice welcome for the visitors arriving by train.
My friend tells me that the guy who does the flowers is nothing to do with the station, he just does it cause he enjoys it, good on him, we need more people like that.
I've been making a new style of pouch purse in preparation of building up stock for craft fairs. I have to say that I'm not brilliant at putting zips in things so I wanted to make some pursey type things which didn't involve zips and that I can do quite quickly.
This is what I've come up with, it is sort of a pouch which folds over like an envelope and button closes.
I've used a thick unbleached cotton for the exterior, done a design on the front, embellished & machine embroidered and then lined them with a contrasting patterned fabric.
It's arrived, that little bit of paper I had been waiting for which says I've passed the exams,.... yay!
The bit of paper itself is a bit confusing as it refers to studying GCE which I didn't know they still did and I have been following an AS level course.
Ah well, the main thing is I stuck it out after many thoughts of packing it in so I'm pleased with the outcome. I just need all my work back from the course and then that's me done and dusted with it.
I think we are having a late burst of summer with the warm weather this weekend so I'm cooling down with one of my favourite ice lollies, a FAB.
I have always loved FAB's, I'm sure it was the 100's & 1000's which drew me to them as a child and I still like that segment best.
Not sure many of my other favourite lollies from the 70's still survive. Who remembers Funny Faces, Strawberry Mivvies, Dracula lollies, Rockets, Cider lollies & Sparkling Lemonade lollies. Wow, its enough to get you salivating just thinking about them!
Whilst on the subject of ice lollies have you heard of the wonderful new gadget to make the most amazing flavour combinations of ice lollies in a matter of minutes, and not exactly in the fridge either. It is the Zoku, sounds great and I'd love one if I had a spare 40 quid!
http://www.zokuhome.co.uk/
It has arrived, the metre of Spoonflower fabric printed with my design. I nervously opened the packet as this was my first attempt and it's always a learning curve seeing what the colours come out like on a different print process.
I'm happy to say I am pleased with the result. It may be a bit more subtle a colour for the background than I planned but I like it all the same and the cotton is a lovely quality.
I probably won't want to cut into it now I've got it but I'm sure it won't be long before I make something!
Haven't done much walking this week so decided on a mooch around Scarborough last night just to stretch the old legs. Hadn't been there long before the weather changed and turned to a heavy drizzle.
It wasn't the nicest walk, the beach was quite disgusting with the amount of litter left from the days visitors. I nearly took a picture I was that surprised by the mess, but then the seagulls started circling as people were sat in their cars on the harbour and chucking food onto the path. It was dreadful, seagulls and pigeons everywhere fighting for scraps so I changed direction and walked at the quieter end near the Spa.
Much better idea and just before the light faded I got a few nice pics of the beach huts.
I sneaked outside and got a pic of the moth from the front, he looks to be one of those with tree bark camouflage.
He stayed on the window all evening but has gone this morning, hope a spider didn't get him.
Hey I'm just preparing tea and I spotted this mega huge moth (fortunately on the outside) on the kitchen window. I had to get a ruler to it as it seems to be about 4cm in body length. I like to look at it from here but I don't want to go outside and see it as I'm not keen on things that size and of the insect variety flapping round me!
Just look at the big fluffy body on it! Scary or what!
Wonder what sort it is.
I had a meeting at Skidby Mill yesterday which involved forcing down this piece of lemon cake which was rather nice!!
I decided as I'd come more than half way to Hull that I needed a few craft supplies. I called at HobbyCraft and found some half price stamps & ink, and what I went in for were the textile pens. I hoped to find Derwent Inktense pencils but they don't stock them so I bought some Faber Castell Aquarelles to try.
Also went to the Range and found this fantastic russian doll oil cloth which will make a nice table cover and perhaps a pvc shopper.
Something has got to my beans so I've had an early harvest, the leaves have gradually been going yellowy and the few pods which appeared seemed to be the extent of the crop. When I looked closely the bottom of the bean stalk has come away from the base and roots. I don't think rabbits could get in the bag to do this so I'm wondering if it's ants as I've seen them crawling on it. I don't even think rats would get in the bag and do it as I think I'd see the droppings.
Anyway I've pulled what beans I could (8 pods!) and they are a lovely colour. As you see there was less than a handful so I've boiled them to sample right away and they really are tasty.
My second batch, last picture, are coming along fine and I've just planted some more in the hope its not too late to get a crop.
Yippee the prize has arrived for the fabric cupcake I made.
We have 3 lovely books, the bag making one is particularly to my liking. Then there's the rather interesting shaped, spring loaded scissors which I'll look forward to trying as I'm finding some left handed scissors I bought last year seem no better than my right handed scissors. And then there's the craft holdall which is filled with plastic trays which will certainly come in useful for organising some of my stuff.
If you haven't come across Spoonflower before it is a US company who print small runs of fabric for the crafts person or textile designer. The great thing is you can design your fabric, upload it to their site and have as little printed as a fat quarter. I have currently got my first design in the pipeline and I think it should be back in about a week so I'm really excited to see how it comes out.
As a first trial with their service I submitted one of the designs which I created whilst on the textile course. I will see how this comes out before I get more ambitious, I'm just having one metre printed. Will give a preview when it arrives.
Spoonflower also have a weekly competition where they give you a subject and sometimes a colour palette and you create a design. The contest this week is to design some fabric along the theme of Surrealist Fruit, here is a sneak preview of the design I have submitted. It is called A Slice of Magritte. If you are feeling generous with your time have a look on the Spoonflower site and if you really want to be a lovely person you could vote for my design!!! I think the Surrealist Fruit designs will be visible for voting from Aug 11th.
www.spoonflower.com
I bought this wool recently, isn't the pinky blue 'Poem' wool just a delicious colour. The Freedom wool has an opulent velvet feel to it. I hope to knit some small jewellery pieces with them.
I've got a few friends & relatives birthdays coming up so have rattled out some fabric flower cards in a few spare moments.
As far as making crafty things my thoughts are starting to turn to christmas as I've had the details through for the christmas craft fair at Driffield School and I did quite well last year. It's going to depend on how much stuff I can get made in the spare time I have left during summer because once it gets cold again I know it will be difficult being industrious.
Yesterday I met a friend for her birthday outing and being as we both enjoy art & ceramics we visited Tracy Savage's studio in Hornsea which neither of us had been to before. I was familiar with Tracy's work which I love for its nostalgia and quirkiness so it was great to see huge canvasses of the little vintage caravans perched on cliff tops.
You can't help but smile when you see the artwork and the humour which is hidden in some of the pieces. I was unable to afford anything much more than a few greeting cards but I did treat myself to a couple of birdie coffee cups. I could have gone mad with the lovely ceramics and the prices are quite reasonable buying direct from the artists.
http://www.tracysavage.co.uk/
The afternoon was rounded up with a visit to Wassand Hall where we had a delightful afternoon tea in the conservatory in the walled garden, mine was the lemon cake seen here, the homemade cakes are delish!
After refreshments we did the woodland walk which was spoilt by the amount of flies and bugs hovering in the humid air yesterday.
Hadn't noticed the wonderful statue of Pan before with the wicked glint in his eye!
