the patchwork dress

broad beans

I never used to like broad beans... but with the horrible tasting skin peeled off...YUM!

meetings with extraordinary trees...

waiting for master...

"and I'm not budging 'til he comes out with my sausages..."

...seen at lunchtime today.

good friday

...seen at lunchtime yesterday, someone's Easter Bonnet didn't make it home.

angels over Glasgow

I love this Glasgow building at an intersection, (or fork), in the road. As you drive toward it the angel is a dramatic presence and always makes me feel there are protective forces overlooking the city. Reminds me of
this film by Wim Wenders. Three extraordinary things have happened whenever I have watched this movie. The first time was a day or so after I'd had an extraordinary dream where an angel spoke to me - freaked me out a bit. The next time I invited N, soon after we met to come and watch it at the flat I shared in London. The third time was just a few miles from here at a friends house who was screening the movie. Before it even started some friends of hers came round unexpectedly. During the course of the conversation they began to talk about the aunt of their son's girlfriend who they'd visited in London, as the conversation went on I realised they were talking about one of my best friends Barbara.

I've an idea for a short film about 'angels over Glasgow' and this image would be key!

red sky at night

sunday walk

...the view from Duncryne back to Killearn on Sunday. The moon was up in the sky, even at 2pm or so in the afternoon.

..a tree on the way back has become part of the fence.

fair spring fair

Yesterday was the wee green fair at Killearn. I went for a sort of spring-like Easter theme on my table. I haven't quite got the right hang of displaying my wares - I really don't like cardstands, and I feel if I put them stacked in boxes you can't really see the individual cards. But I'm working on it.

You wouldn't think I once had a stint as a store designer!, "height" being the mantra of getting it all nicely stacked up and full looking.

I dressed up a couple of old egg boxes with some chocolate eggs, and they made quite fun stands. I did a few more of those photo notebooks, and although popular on the blog, I didn't sell any to the Killearnites - so plenty left if you'd like one!

It was a nice fair. I wouldn't say it's the most I've ever made financially, but certainly not the worst (Suzanne, Portobello? where I didn't even make the table fee!). There were lots of stalls selling lovely cakes, bread and eggs - and for a small village it was a good standard of stall and a reasonable turnout. By 10 o'clock in the morning I'd demolished a cream meringue.

Here's Jane with her lovely wares (against the village hall colour scheme!). That's the edge of my stall in the background with the pink rose, and although Suzanne couldn't make the fair to trade, she was there in spirit with her old curtains covering the table in blue check. Now I don't feel so bad about driving around for weeks with them in the back of my car!

It felt very sociable, and it was lovely when friends Susan, Pat and Suzanne all dropped in. There were a few connections, so it became more of a social than financial do. N's measure of a 'good' fair is to ask "did you sell anything to people who weren't your friends?" Er...yes, I did. Anyway I now have a bowl of Easter bunnies to wade through.

Spring is definitely in the air today, we sat out in the garden at lunch, and for the first time in 8 years...

...I was able to hang some washing out. I ran in the house to get my camera with this pink against the sky!

Going back to some full-time work tomorrow and have another course assessment due on Friday, so posts may be a bit short next week, so I may do a bit of a photoblog to document my happenings for a while, while my words are busy elsewhere.

some perspective

What strange weather we've been having. In 5 minute intervals we seem to get squalls, hail, then a bit of sunshine, gusty winds... it's all over the place.

I have a friend who said recently that she gets anxious when the trees start to sound like the sea.

This was the view from Duncryne this morning. About half an hour earlier it was raining horizontally. Luckily it stayed dry enough for this quick excursion. I've never seen the loch with white horses on before. So it must be windy out there. The trees were, indeed, sounding like the sea.

I loved being up high, getting some perspective, and watching the shadows of the clouds move across the land.

Jane recently challenged me to one of these '4 things' me-me's. So here I am getting round to it!
4 movies I'd watch again: Adaptation, O' Brother Where Art Thou?, Close Encounters, The Graduate.

4 places I've lived: Barcelona, Crystal Palace, Epsom, Dundee

4 tv shows I watch: (I don't have a tv at the moment! but I do watch on dvd/or would watch...): Northern Exposure, Springwatch, Crufts, Friends (see why?)... I would like to see a bit of that 'Madmen' show that's on about the advertisers from what I've heard about it - need to get an I-player...

4 places I've been: New Mexico, Gran Canaria, Berlin, Seville

4 people I email: Melissa, Barbara, Susan M, Suzanne amongst many others!!

4 things to eat: cooked breakfasts, cakes, winter puddings, raisins

4 places I'd rather be: New Mexico (specifically the diner in Alberqueque on Route 66, or Michaels Kitchen in Taos, having aforesaid coffee and cooked breakfast), India, 'the four corners' in Arizona, Orkney

4 things to look forward to: next cup of coffee, finishing my course, a holiday, warmer weather... getting a new apple mac that can take I-player.

4 people to tag: Hah! sorry guys...
Suzanne, Susan, Carolyn, Ginny

phew! now that's over - a muddy footnote...

There is a Wee Green Eco Craftfair this Saturday 15th at Killearn Village Hall 9.30am-2.30pm. I will be there selling my cards and any other wee bits I can muster, inbetween finishing my first assessment for college on Friday!!
Jane and Suzanne will be there, and I have a feeling it will be a nice way to spend a Saturday morning.

in stitches at the SECC

Yesterday mum and I met up and went to the Creative Stitches show on at the SECC (6-9th March).

I must say it was much better than I'd expected. You can never tell with these things what they might be like. There were, of course, a lot of mass-produced and cheaper end stock being flogged...

...such as this Wool Dive, as I nicknamed it, which made me giggle. It reminded me of those soft-play areas you get for kids, but this version for an older generation, who showed no qualms about diving in and surfacing with a bargain!

In amongst it all there were some gems such as these beaded tassles...

which were part of a larger display about beadwork.

But the highlight for me, and well worth seeing was the National Needlework Archive's exhibition of work created by the WI. Most of it was retrospective from the 1920's, 30's and 40's and was really expertly and beautifully done. There was crewelwork, beautiful embroidered banners for each WI district, table runners and a variety of other pieces - some of which were almost Pre-Raphellite in style.

What struck me was not only the skill and artistry, but the colour choices - and the themes so often of nature, leaves, woodland animals. There were some unusual pieces as well, such as sweaters for seabirds which had been knitted for a bird sanctuary, and a 1922 pattern for Thrift Gloves which were beautiful hand-made gauntlet style ladies gloves, from what looked like flannel or blanket material.
Unfortunately no photography was allowed, but I thought of many people (Melissa, SallyAnne) who would have loved this exhibit. You can also catch it in Birmingham, the dates on this link.

The SECC (Scottish Exhibition Centre) is a funny world. It's one of those places a bit out of time, like an airport, where suddenly all these strands of life who wouldn't normally meet are thrown together. In the areas outside the halls are all sorts of Corporate style people in suits having power meetings (or something), mixed through with gentle grey haired ladies from the Isle of Skye who have come to see some stitchery. Chefs walk by in full whites and tall chef's hats.

Outside Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders were having a photoshoot as a promo for the Glasgow Comedy Festival. A team of paparazzi shouting across to them. Doormen were hanging outside having a look. Across the river the new BBC and SMG buildings...

In the distance is the tower to the Glasgow Science Centre another Armadillo style building just tucked round the corner. Below the bridge the Waverley steamer sits in dock (you can just make out the red and black of the funnel), waiting for it's new season of excursions out down the Clyde to the Kyles of Bute and beyond. The masts of the Tall Ship are just visible on the right.