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I had a bit of a Couture thing going last weekend and ordered half a dozen books on Haute Couture and Historical Fashion from the library (God bless public libraries).
BTW did you know the difference between Haute Couture and Couture? For a fashion house to call its garments Haute Couture it must follow the rules laid down by the Paris Chamber of Commerce which are –

1. Design made-to-order for private clients, with one or more fittings.
2. Have a workshop (atelier) in Paris that employs at least fifteen people full-time.
3. Each season (i.e. twice a year) present a collection to the Paris press, comprising at least thirty-five runs/exits with outfits for both daytime wear and evening wear.

When selected they then become members of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. What an excellent way to keep skilled embroiderers, hat makers etc in work. I wonder if British couturiers do the same sort of thing.

Anyway, back to the books. Whilst leafing through them and salivating over the beautiful outfits I came to the conclusion that modern fashion designers could learn a thing from the old Masters. I fell in love with this coat (made in 1919) from Paul Poiret.

It’s stunning. The cream design down the front is leather filigree and hand sewn to the coat. The collar is fur which is not so nice. I was thinking that something like this could be recreated – machine embroidered design on the front with a thick man made fleece fabric for the collar. The more I looked at it the more I felt the urge to make a tribute coat, so now I am looking around to source fabric and suitable designs for the front………watch this space.

Elsa Schiaparelli also knew a thing or two about embroidery. At the height of her fame in the late 30s to early 40s she was producing beautiful pieces like these. My favourite is the Elephant Embroidery. She was a designer ahead of her time.

Must go now before my sweaty palms ruin these lovely books. Also I’m just about to take delivery of the book “The Collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute.” Be still my beating heart!

Slàinte Mhath xxx

You know at the beginning of Shakespeare’s Macbeth when the evil Witches are seated around their cauldron and chant “When shall we three meet again” with a bit of cackling and overacting thrown in? Well I’ve been experiencing being the victim of a coven of witches recently or that what it feels like! It’s happened a couple of times – I go into the bedroom and there they are – 3 pussycats in a huddle surreptitiously looking over their shoulders at me. Are they keeping warm or planning something? It’s hard to tell.

Mouse Fondue Party

They have such pretty names – Daisy, Lily and Poppy, but that Daisy one could give Einstein a run for his money she’s so intelligent. You can see the cogs going around as she works things out. She is usually the ringleader as she’s the one who knows what the words fish and ham mean, when she hears either of those words she gets excited and goes off to round the other two up, so I end up with three very vocal puddies in the kitchen all yelling for their treats.

The ‘Look’

As I write this one is lying on the radiator side of table dangling her paws over the edge  to take advantage of the warm air rising. The other two have me hemmed in on the sofa, one either side of me. It might be some time before I get up as any cat lover will know you try and avoid that pitiful look they give you if you try to move them. With Merlin a huge Tabby I had a few years ago you had to judge it so you got up in that brief window before he realised you were getting up and when he sank his teeth into any exposed body parts. I could really get off the sofa in super quick time when he was around, nowadays it’s been diluted to plea bargaining.

Paw Dangling Practice

I am afraid, very afraid!!!

Slàinte Mhath xxx

I first made this jumper back in the 80s and then lost the pattern. I was thinking about it a year ago and regularly checked all the online second hand sites to see if I could track it down as I remember really enjoying making it (and it was easy!!).

The Original Pingouin Pattern

No  luck until on a whim a couple of weeks ago I had a look at Ebay and lo and behold it was there! Never has the “Buy Button” been pressed so quickly! The seller sent it off straight away and I got clacking and here it is – the 2016 version! I used the Womens’ Institute Soft & Cuddly yarn. It seems to be sold only at Hobbycraft, I may be wrong but I haven’t seen it anywhere else. Great value at £3 a ball and on sale at the moment at 3 for the price of 2.

Pink Pingouin Sweater

My embroidery machine has been revving up for 2016 and the result is this knitting bag I made for my friend Gladys’s birthday. She sent me a very clever ‘thank you’ poem in return. 42,000 stitches! Gulp!

The Gladys Bag

And for those days when you wake up and think I really need a pair of jeggings with a giraffe wearing a scarf embroidered on one leg (and I can’t even blame the chemo drugs!)

Giraffe Jeggings

I had a follow up call from the Radiotherapy Centre to see how I’d coped with the side effects (apparently the peak of the side effects comes 2 weeks after the end of treatment). I was so happy to tell the radiotherapist that I haven’t suffered any side effects at all. The redness over my wound and neck has almost faded away and I haven’t suffered from fatigue at all. In fact I think my energy has increased which is good as Clarkson my beloved bicycle (I do miss Top Gear) and I have been giving my legs one heck of a work out up and down the beautiful country lanes around here.

Clarkson

Slàinte Mhath xxx

I laughed and cried a lot in 2015. In January it was basically a case of
“Happy New Year, you’ve got Breast Cancer.”

The things that made me laugh which I’m glad to say far outnumbered
the crying bits. I will be for ever grateful to the wonderful lady who set up
the FB group March Marvels. The love and support from that group of Super Hero
women kept me going during my darkest hours.

The brilliant friendly group of dog walkers in my local cafe who were with me
on my journey through the year, always with words of support and available dogs
to pat!

Wonderful neighbours who turned up at my door with kitchen towels, bags of
apples, excess fruit and veg from their gardens & allotments, just
incredible.

Having various pieces of writing published including having my work read by
Stephen King. What an honour!!

The ladies at the radiotherapy centre who made everything soooooo easy to get
through. I have a phobia about masks over my face and the treatment involved
wearing a noseclip and breathing through a tube and holding my breath for over
30 seconds five times per treatment (I had 15). I did it and as a by product I
am now considering learning to snorkel!!

My cats who instinctively knew when I needed cheering up and would keep me
company when I couldn’t get up from the bed or sofa.

Friends who treated me to fab days out, the odd bottle of wine, encouraged me
to keep up with the writing, made me laugh till my sides couldn’t take it
anymore.

Online friends who through their lovely messages of support on this blog have
a special little niche in my heart.

My local crafts shop where we would have in depth discussions on the merits
of Dr Who and Sherlock (of which there are several!).

A bit of a short summing up I know, but Wishing You All a Fab Chrissie and
the Most Wonderful of New Years in 2016.

Slàinte Mhath xxx

I never thought in a million years that I’d get so much pleasure from dragging my razor up and down my hairy legs!

As you know from previous posts chemotherapy ate all my body hair and I mean all of it   So, although I was pleased not to have to shave my legs during the summer (remember those 2 sunny weeks we had in July?), and to be able to expose them on the beach without fear of censure from the body police, no hair was a constant reminder of the traumatic chemo treatment.

But now as the brave little heroes are popping up on my limbs, it also means they are doing the same on my head. It looks like my hair is coming through as a dark brown with lovely white Badger stripes above my forehead. I was hoping for silver all over but I’ll settle for the Badger look as they are one of my favourite animals. Although my head hair is just a gnat’s armpit above a quarter of an inch long it’s doing wonders for my morale that very soon I’ll be able to come home one day and chuck the wig on the sofa for the very last time.

I will spare you the photos of my hairy bits but I thought you might like to see a pic of the owner of the hairiest limbs ever

 

and my hero, author Terry Pratchett with the inspiration for his famous Librarian of Discworld’s Unseen University.

 

I’ve managed to knit a few more tea cosies and I’ve come up with a new design based on the House of Hufflepuff at Hogwarts School of Magic. The house colours are yellow and black and the mascot is a Badger so I combined all the elements to make this!

 

So far two Hufflepuff cosies have gone to Australia and another one has just gone to Sweden!

 

I’m also trying to stop myself from being turned into a chemo couch potato and I’ve got my eye on one of these

I have a Mountain bike already but I have this weird fear of getting my legs trapped in the frame if I fall off it. A step through bike would be perfect. I used to have one of these when I was a teenager and I loved it. It was painted blue and grey and I cycled everywhere on it. I don’t think it had any gears so I did get a bit of a workout on it. Only just over a couple of hundred cosies to knit to raise the money to buy it!!! Better get knitting then!

 

Slàinte Mhath xxx

A couple of days ago I found a till generated coupon for 84p on the ground in my local Tesco car park. I picked it up and filed it away in my purse for later use.

 

Later I had an idea that I’d give myself a project to see how much food I could buy for that 84p so in theory it would be food for free. Last night I nipped out to Tesco about the time they start reducing their food and slapping yellow stickers on the perishables. I was hoping that I could get a few reduced loaves of bread as I was running low on bread for the peanut butter sandwiches I put out for the foxes every evening. I was in luck, I managed to find 8 loaves (no fishes) with the most expensive ones costing 8p. Then I joined a little group of people who were waiting for the reduced veggies to come out. I got talking to a lovely old man who was waiting around and we had a great discussion on which supermarkets had the most discounts. He had been doing this for a long time and was definitely an expert in yellow sticker hunting. We were interrupted by a man standing close to the swing doors. With a big grin on his face he announced “Game On” and sure enough a few seconds later two big bins full of fruit and veggies were wheeled out and we all went diving in. I got parsnips, cauliflower and cucumber and two big bags of fresh veggie soup mixes. The soup mix bags weren’t that popular and it made me wonder if people didn’t want to be bothered to do the necessary cooking to make the soup. I was in my element as I love making soups.

 

I left then as I’d no need to wait for the meat to come out. I wished the old man happy hunting and with a big smile on my face set off for the self service tills. A couple of mins later with everything scanned and totted up and the 84p coupon applied I reached into my purse for the money to pay the excess which came to the grand total of 10p!!!!  Yes 10p!! Was so chuffed to get all this food which will keep me and the foxes going for some time for virtually nothing. Mission accomplished!!!

 

 

Slàinte Mhath  xxxxx

What is it about cats that so many people down the ages have wanted to capture them on canvas or on film? I always remember my art tutor saying that in olden days if you were painted with a dog you were regarded as a good person but if you were depicted with a cat you were a bit of a wild woman!
If you Google “Cat paintings” you might as well lay in blankets and supplies as you will be looking on screen for a very long time.
One of my favourite cat illustrators is Louis Wain (1860-1939). I liked the fact that he didn’t do chocolate box kitties. I used to have these two large prints on my wall side by side. They were there for years and I swear that each time I looked at them I would find something new in them. I eventually donated them to a cat charity!

Louis Wain “The Good Puss” (note mouse skewered on fork!)

Louis Wain “The Naughty Puss”

Slight change of style here. This is “Kip the Enchanted Cat” by Adrienne Ségur (1901-1981).

Thinking about it she must have been a contemporary of Louis Wain. I love the idea of being cuddled by a giant pussycat even if it is an enchanted one! This beautiful illustration is from The Golden Book of Fairy Tales originally published in 1958 and eventually reprinted. This is Puss in Boots from the same book.

Isn’t he glorious? Adrienne also painted other animals, her attention to detail and the characters she created were just phenomenal.

The pen strokes here are sparse but I like the way Lynton Lamb (1907-1977) uses them to capture the cat’s character.

He’s also famous for producing this charming illustration of The Owl and The Pussycat

And now to bring this small collection of cat art up to date – the incredible work of Fiona Scott. This is her painting entitled “Black Cat”

I think this is the only cat painting she has exhibited publicly to date, but I’m going for quality here not quantity. I look at this painting and I swear if I offered it a saucer of milk the cat would come right off the screen towards me, it’s so lifelike! Check out her farm animal paintings – the sheep is adorable!
I wish I could capture my own cats as well as these amazing artists captured theirs. At the moment I’m just capturing my feline images via the camera but with enough practice maybe one day I’ll have a worthy painting to post here.

Slàinte Mhath xxx

Just recently I’ve rediscovered my love of The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. I was around 8 when I discovered it the first time round. The brilliant illustrations of Arthur Rackham were the first thing that attracted me to the book. A talking Badger, Mole, Rat and Toad – totally appealed to my childhood fantasies! My favourite character was Badger, he always seemed so wise and all knowing. Not at all like Toad who always seemed to be totally scatter brained and a bit of a cross cross-dresser (remember the washerwoman episode?)
I’ve done a bit of searching around regarding the illustrations for the book. There have been over 50 different illustrators down the years. These are my favourites –

A big regret a couple of weeks ago was finding a vintage copy of the book in London and not buying it! What was I thinking! Still I’m sure I’ll find another copy somewhere and it’ll be the only thing I’ll happily break my New Year Resolutions for. Did you know there’s currently a  First Edition on sale at Abe Books for £12,500!!

Over the years I’ve managed to take a few photographs of these cute protagonists and these are two of my favourites. This is Ratty who in real life is a Water Vole. In the second pic if you look carefully you’ll see a small droplet of water on the end of Ratty’s nose!

I wonder how these dear little animals have fared during the recent flooding of so many riverbanks here in the UK.

So this is an animal themed post once again. I’m sure I must be the long lost love child of Sir David Attenborough or at least distantly related to Chris Packham. I actually met Chris Packham once when he judged my photo of a Blue duck the winner in a WWT photo comp. Not only did I like him because he picked my photo he was genuinely funny and had some great tales to tell about the naughty nature of the Blue duck. Apparently one in a territorial fit of rage grabbed his trouser leg and wouldn’t let go. I’m sure there are a few women also eager to grab his trouser leg!

Maybe I should add ‘Meet Sir David Attenborough’ to my list of goals for 2014.  I’d probably let myself down if I met him and mumble or dribble or giggle uncontrollably or curtsey. If anyone reading this could get me into his holy presence I would be very grateful and I promise I would take Social Skills lessons prior to the meet! I wonder if he’d like one of my animal tea cosies????

Slàinte Mhath xxx

Just recently I’ve rediscovered my love of The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. I was around 8 when I discovered it the first time round. The brilliant illustrations of Arthur Rackham were the first thing that attracted me to the book. A talking Badger, Mole, Rat and Toad – totally appealed to my childhood fantasies! My favourite character was Badger, he always seemed so wise and all knowing. Not at all like Toad who always seemed to be totally scatter brained and a bit of a cross cross-dresser (remember the washerwoman episode?)
I’ve done a bit of searching around regarding the illustrations for the book. There have been over 50 different illustrators down the years. These are my favourites –

A big regret a couple of weeks ago was finding a vintage copy of the book in London and not buying it! What was I thinking! Still I’m sure I’ll find another copy somewhere and it’ll be the only thing I’ll happily break my New Year Resolutions for. Did you know there’s currently a  First Edition on sale at Abe Books for £12,500!!

Over the years I’ve managed to take a few photographs of these cute protagonists and these are two of my favourites. This is Ratty who in real life is a Water Vole. In the second pic if you look carefully you’ll see a small droplet of water on the end of Ratty’s nose!

I wonder how these dear little animals have fared during the recent flooding of so many riverbanks here in the UK.

So this is an animal themed post once again. I’m sure I must be the long lost love child of Sir David Attenborough or at least distantly related to Chris Packham. I actually met Chris Packham once when he judged my photo of a Blue duck the winner in a WWT photo comp. Not only did I like him because he picked my photo he was genuinely funny and had some great tales to tell about the naughty nature of the Blue duck. Apparently one in a territorial fit of rage grabbed his trouser leg and wouldn’t let go. I’m sure there are a few women also eager to grab his trouser leg!

Maybe I should add ‘Meet Sir David Attenborough’ to my list of goals for 2014.  I’d probably let myself down if I met him and mumble or dribble or giggle uncontrollably or curtsey. If anyone reading this could get me into his holy presence I would be very grateful and I promise I would take Social Skills lessons prior to the meet! I wonder if he’d like one of my animal tea cosies????

Slàinte Mhath xxx

 

I prescribed my self a giant dose of colour saturation today. I’m fed up with grey skies, muddy grass and beige borders. So I took myself off to the local garden centre for a coffee, free wifi and floral eye candy and I wasn’t disappointed. The Polyanthus were amazing, so vibrant.

 

 

 

And then I found these two little chaps in the corner. So adorable.

 

 

And these were so tempting, but I resisted. I loved the Bunny peeking out.

 

I’ve also been making my own colour therapy blanket. I chose two main colours for the flowers – Fuchsia and Orange. Totally clashing but they make my eyes happy.

 

 

I’ve made all the squares and now I’m in the making up process. I’ll edge it in Fuchsia and Orange as well. More pics to come when it’s finished!

 

Slàinte Mhath xxx