I'm very excited to be taking part in this next month. See the website for more details. It's going to be a really interesting mix of experimental improv., film and art. How will my ceramics sit alongside all that!?

UNWHITSTABLE

a day of improvised music and art

2 July 2011 : St Peter's, Whitstable

featuring

Vicky Hageman

Neil Henderson

Robert Jarvis

Aleks Kolkowski

Mat Manieri

Liam Noble

Evan Parker

Polly Read

Mark Sanders

John Russell

Roger Turner

Matt Wright

* * *

St Peter's Church, 66 Sydenham Street, Whitstable CT5 1HL (map)

Doors open 2pm-5.30pm and 7pm-10pm

Tickets available at the door
£6 for afternoon or evening concert (£5 concessions)
£10 both concerts (£8 concessions)

Refreshments will be available

90 minutes direct train from London St Pancras or Victoria

* * *

"Evan Parker has made no secret of his enthusiasm for the acoustic warmth and fidelity of St Peter's, an 80 year old church in the Kent coastal town of Whitstable. It has become his performance and recording space of choice, and this relaxed day of music making, hosted by Parker, made it easy to understand why. St Peter's is spacious but sounds intimate and free from distracting echo. Light and airy and close to the sea, it was just right for a six-hour event on a warm summer's day that celebrated improvising as a mode of sociality, while delivering some of those magical experiences reached only through open and spontaneous playing" - Julian Cowley, The Wire, October 2010

bunting dress

A sweet little dress made from baby cord with applique bunting and Liberty print bias binding. The Pattern is NewLook 6692. Part two of my Kids Clothes Week Challenge.

KCWC

Last week was Kids Clothes Week Challenge. An idea thought up by Meg Spaeth, author of the lovely blog Elsie Marley. Along with many others I pledged to sew for an hour a day to make clothes for our little ones. Well, I wasn't quite as committed as others were but I did manage to get a few things done. Here's a little skirt; a simple made-up pattern with an elasticated waist.

I've nearly finished a cute dress too which I'll post on shortly I hope.

new knickers!

I have been lusting after the liberty print knickers (below) from the Brora catalogue for a while now. Trouble is, they are £19 a pair, and I wouldn't just want one, I'd want half a dozen! Way out of my league. So from rendering walls one day to sewing knickers the next, I thought I'd have a go!

Ta da!

Here's how I did it....

(I am no sewing expert, so excuse the lay person terms).

*Buy cheap pair of cotton knickers in non stretchy fabric. These are from Topshop.

*Deconstruct them by removing elastic and unpicking side and crotch seams.

*Lay out flat on paper and draw around for pattern.

*Cut pattern from chosen Liberty fabric.

*Join front to back at crotch, incorporating crotch piece so seam is hidden inside. (Lay knicker front right side facing up. On top of this lay knicker back right side facing down. On top of this lay crotch piece right side facing down. Line up edges and sew).

*Overlock the opposite edge of the crotch piece.

*Sew side seams together and overlock edges.

*Fold over edges and attach elastic to waist and leg openings using a zig zag stitch and stretching it as it goes through the machine.

*Congratulate yourself and pop them on!

new found skill!

I can do plastering! We built this brick raised bed last year and have had to wait until good weather to finish it off. After long phone tutorials with my Dad and watching youtube videos I got stuck in! I fixed beading for neat edges and then mixed up a rendering mix of 1:1:5.5 cement:hydrated lime:builder's sand and slapped it on! Just look at that professional sausage shaped blob on my float! Really not that hard to do and lo and behold it was still stuck to the wall the following day!

Only half done so far. Will have to finish it later this week.

gentleman's shooting socks (for me)

I finished these socks a couple of months ago but it's taken me ages to photograph them. The pattern is from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush, and there's a whole load more socks in there I'd like to do, only I get so bored by the time I get to the second one. There must be some kind of sock club where you could be paired with a person of similar sized feet and taste in socks. You would each knit two different socks, one for yourself and one for your sock buddy, and then swap.

Anyway, they are very comfortable and I've been wearing them with sandals, which I think can just about be pulled off, but only if you are female and the socks are hand made!

The yarn is Lorna's laces Shepherd Sock Solid in Douglas Fir, and Jawoll Solid Superwash by Lang Yarns. (Which comes with a reinforcement spool of yarn to double up with on the toes - genius!)

knitted royal wedding

I was vaguely surprised to find myself getting drawn into the excitement of the Royal Wedding last week. Lots of the local shops have been going to town with their window displays and this knitted Royal Wedding has been on show in the local haberdashers. It's from the book Knit Your Own Royal Wedding by Fiona Goble which has been a best seller, even briefly knocking Dan Brown off the top spot. I'm loving the Queen in pink! A free Corgi pattern from the book can be found here.

tour of the north

We've spent the last week on a busy tour of the North. Spending Easter visiting various family members in Lincolnshire before heading up to Leeds to visit more family. I combined business with pleasure and dropped off work at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park which is just outside Wakefield. It's well worth a visit. We spent a lovely day exploring the country estate. There are the sculptures of course, a lake, galleries, two very fine cafes and a well stocked shop.

Here's Betty in a Barbara Hepworth.

We spent a day in York where we couldn't leave without having lunch at Bettys Tea Rooms. Really tasty, and our little Betty was on her best behaviour.