This month has been a wonderful time with family visits and outings. Early August meant that my daughter, who lives in Germany, visited with her husband and daughter Lucy. We had a couple of days of catching up and a day at the seaside. My dogs were thrilled to see the sea again and learned a new game, that of jumping the waves as they came in. Digger has such short legs that he spent most of the time in the shallows where he could keep his head above the water, but he is a great swimmer so I didn't have any concerns for his safety.

I had booked a short coach holiday to York to see my middle son and his family - another two granddaughters - the youngest I hadn't seen. I spent the first day with them and we took a trip to Helmsley, a small market town outside York. I had also wanted to see Whitby Abbey and Harrowgate, both places I hadn't seen yet, but the first trip was taken up with a detour to Pickering and travel on a steam train which meant we only had 2 hours to see Whitby; and I decided to skip Harrowgate because of all the walking I'd done had made me exhausted. I found out it was the best decision because it was very cold in Harrowgate and most of the shops were closed, it being Sunday. What I did do, was to take the time to see Phil, Wendy and the poppets and visit a local craft warehouse - much fun - and have lunch in York.

Unfortunately for some, the coach wouldn't start for our trip home, so we had an extra morning in York whilst it was being mended, I spent it with Phil and Edith in the local park, then a leisurely stroll back to the hotel. We started out at 13:00 and it took me til 22:00 to get home, very tired of travelling. I wonder if I will ever go on holiday again?

This week I have Bert here, and we did say we would have a week's holiday and not do anything to the house...but...Bert is a person who cannot stay still for long, and after a couple of days, he talked me into preparing the walls in my workshop for boarding and skimming. This has meant scraping off old plaster and painting the bricks with a damp proofing paint much like bitumen, horrible stuff that sticks to anything it comes into contact. After two coats we are waiting for it to dry so we can put my tables back; hopefully before he goes on Friday.

Tomorrow I see the surgeon at the hospital to see whether my wrist has healed. I hope so because I have had so many people phone up and request waistcoats, that I really need it to be fully functional.

New doll

Here is my new doll and it is MINE. It is the result of all my learning whilst making other dolls and I do thank the tutors for their time and patience. Topsy grew from an idea I had but she is not what I imagined at the beginning which is why I called her Topsy - she evolved, due to the fabric and embellishments I had at the time. Funny but I had more trouble with the maraccas than the dress, the trims would not stick to the painted baubles without loads of glue. As this is a prototype I hope the next Topsy will be even better. I have hopes for a bride and maybe a Japanese lady (much research needed for that one!)

This next piece was made at my scrap club and shows a picture taken by my friend Patty in the USA. She was holidaying in the south and found this stagecoach apparently abandoned. It makes a wonderful focal point for the papers we were given at the club. Unfortunately I won't be able to go this month because my wrist is still in a splint and I can't drive, not that I would be ableto keep up with everyone once there, so I'll have to wait until next month.

Next Monday my daughter and family arrive and I have much to do to make them confortable. On Thursday I head for York and my middle son and his family. I'm going on a coach trip so I'll be seeing Whitby and Harrowgate too, and that is something I've wanted to do for a long time. So, lots of fun next week, I just hope the weather keeps sunny so that I can take lots of lovely photos.

fun on a rainy day

I had some more fun with my More Journalling class and made the last of the journals - a piano hinge book. Needless to say that when I found out we were doing this type of book last week, I went out and bought a proper piano hinge. BUT, of course I didn't need it. Does anyone know what I should do with it...don't answer that!

Here is the book, by the way, more for display than practical use, but the hinge could work on other journals such as a pocket book or scaled down and using painted cuticle sticks, or a wedding book with pockets and pages - lots of ideas to explore.

I have also had a go at making hobgoblins for my granddaughters in York. I went through my loft stash again and found bits and pieces and with a little experimenting, made these little fun guys. Bert is here this week, creating mayhem because of the rain and he can't get out to do stuff. It keeps showering on him whilst he tries to work.

We spent a sunny Saturday in Plymouth taking Ed out for a birthday bash. The train journey down was eventful because at Exeter 50 spanish students got on the train along with two cyclists and their cycles and as the train only had two carriages and no guard's van they clogged up the aisle so that no-one could get by. At the next station 50 french students crammed onto the train, then a troop of scouts were squeezed in at one end. We spent the next hour amidst this mass of bodies all shouting in their different languages. All of us got off at Plymouth and soon disappeared into the town and Ed was there on the station platform ready to take us home to meet the family and then out to enjoy ourselves...and we did. We got home at 20:00 very tired but extremely happy.

A quick blog

Bert is here tomorrow so a quick blog is in order before I get sidetracked. I made some journals using techniques from various articles I had come across in my books and magazines.

The first two photos are a journal using cotton batting as the main fabric. I stencilled leaves onto it, quilted it and made up the journal, but found the batting very delicate and had to cover it with an organza to give it more durability. I intend to use this on my holiday in August when I go to York, so I've spritzed the pages in readiness and added all the pockets and paraphanaelia needed for the trip.

The second two photos are of a crazy quilting technique using some pieces of fabric I had stashed in my loft. I just love the sunflowers on the paper covers inside. This was fun to do and gave me ideas for more of the same.

The last two are of a brag book I made for my granddaughter's arrival. My daughter, SIL and GD are arriving in August and I wanted a little present that would keep Lucy occupied. This brag book has 6 plastic pockets for photos of her holiday and two little booklets to write in and collect ephemera in the envelopes and pockets attached inside. I also added a map so that she could see where she was staying. I just hope she likes penquins...

multicoloured

Well, this week did not start well, because whilst taking out the dogs for their walk on Sunday last, I managed to fall and injure my left wrist and hand, smack my face on the pavement and graze my knee. A visit to the hospital A&E put me in a temporary caste and allowed me to use my bus pass for the first time to get back home. However I learned you can't use them before 09:30 so I had to pay up, to my disgust! A follow up visit to the surgeon the following day meant that my caste was substituted for a splint and I was able to move my hand somewhat.

I was really impressed by the speed of the A&E and was in and out within the hour which is a miracle when judged by the length of time I've spent in the hospital in Cheshire waiting for attention.

So, I had to learn how to get about using one hand, no easy task, and as I was unable to carry anything, I joined the online delivery service of our local supermarket. This service is not as expensive as I had imagined and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is housebound. It also concentrates the mind on what is actually needed and not on the 'would like to have' items that you fill your trolleys with whilst browsing round the aisles; so I have also saved money too.

Yesterday, after a hairy week, I had some pain free time so I set to and made my Friday's lesson from Sue Bleiweiss, learning how to make a hand bound notebook and a 3 fold journal with pockets. Very taxing and I'd had enough by the time the dogs came back from social club. However, they were very wet as it had rained heavily during their outing and extremely muddy. I then had to get them both in the shower and wash them off so by the end of this I was in deep pain and could only sit whilst the painkillers started to work...very sorry for myself...

Well, enough of this, today I'm back on track with a multicoloured hand that is now useable, and looking for things to do; I can feel another doll coming on and as I have been trawling my books (like you do when limited), I am thinking of new ways of making journals too.

At last, some time to myself!

I have been working like a demented dervish for the past two weeks, trying to finish all the work from the market and keep up with my new course. Yesterday I actually could say I am now on holiday and can take things easier, however the weather is not good so I can't sit out, my house needs cleaning for when my daughter and family arrive soon, and I have the added worry of Bert's latest xray showing a tumour on his liver!

Am I downhearted...not a chance.

Here are pictures from my lessons from More Journalling:

The pink book is made of board and exposed signatures that have been attached with thick thread, as is the larger black book, but this one is made with fabric around the signatures and much more fiddly. I used openweave floppy linen and won't do that again! It was quite an art getting the fabric to line up with the pages and to remain stable, maybe they should have been sprayed with a starch beforehand. The horse book is a great little envelope book - 6 envelopes attached to separate spines within the folder and six mini journals in each envelope. This was the most fun one to do up to now, and didn't take all that long to make and brings me up to date with my course lessons.

Today I made a present for my 7 year old granddaughter, a pocket monster, in which she could hide little things from everyone once she has found the pocket herself...I must make two more for my other granddaughters, but I want to design something a bit different.

Not a happy teddy!

I'm supposed to be on holiday, but it seems to be rather elusive. I just spent the past week working like crazy to get all my orders done, but I forgot about my phone being on my literature and I'm being pursued in supermarkets, whilst driving, and beating a path to my door. Still as the weather is going crazy too, maybe it's not such a bad thing. I'm also taking Sue Bleiweiss's follow on course 'More journal making for the fibre artist' and only just caught up today with lesson 1 - two trifold journals. I had been ferreting around in my attic for some lace and came across loads of lovely quilting fabrics which would be great for this course. The first I called Serengetti and I cut out African animals and used them as masks for the inside pages, spritzing over them with moonshadow mists in teal and silver. The little button closure is supposed to be a lion's head and the tie is plaited raffia.

The second is a series of pictures of Egyptian gods which I used for my Luxor journal - I printed out a picture of the pyramids at Luxor and fused it to the front so that when you opened the journal up you saw the gods as you would when entering one of their tombs. The signatures were cut to shape the inside too.

Bert was here last week too, and he finished the block paving across the kitchen and up the side of the workshop. He also put up a wall mounted washing line for me which has made life easier as well as saving electricity for the dryer. Now I'm about to sit in my lounger and read two books that have just arrived 1) Maggie Grey's Stitches, straps and layers; 2) Lynda Monk and Carol McFee's Stitching the textured surface. Just a wonderful feast for the eyes and imagination.