On shyness...

painting - Catrin Welz-Stein

So many people are shut up tight inside themselves like boxes,

yet they would open up,

unfolding quite wonderfully,

if only you were interested in them.

- Sylvia Plath

found on - imgur.com

Pamela Zagarenski...

The beautiful paintings and illustrations of Pamela Zagarenski

winner of several awards for the illustration of children's books

more of her work can be found at www.pzagarenski.com or www.sacredbee.com

      

Find me these slippers!...

These are my dainty trotters feet...

and those tartan / plaid pom pom things on my feet are slippers.

I've been wearing the same slippers since I was about eighteen

well not these actual slippers obviously!

I mean the same style of slippers

(except for a couple of years when I defected to some plain black Japanese looking ones)

anyway...

When I was younger I liked being a bit kooky wearing what were basically 'old ladies' slippers

(that 's fashion students for you)

but they were / are also really comfortable

so much so that I often wore them driving to pick up my son after a late night out

(usually wearing pyjamas as well but we'll not go there)

In fact... I've been wearing these style of slippers indoors and outdoors for mumble mumble years

and have bought so many pairs I must have practically kept them in business

Obviously not! because they've stopped making the dam things! 

What am I going to wear now?

these slippers are part of my life history I kid you not!

so much so, that when a couple of weeks ago we were watching films of my son's christening and birthdays which I'd recently had transferred onto dvds, the man and son were in fits of laughter, as all you ever saw of me were shots from the slippers to the waist, (usually in a dressing gown on Christmas morning) wandering into shot asking if anyone wanted a cup of tea.
It was like watching one of those fantastic Tom and Jerry cartoons they showed at 6pm every evening before the news years ago, remember that?

and I had the part of 'Mammy Two Shoes' (no I didn't know that was her name either - thank you wikipedia) the maid who you only saw from her slippers to her large bosoms, bustling around the house shouting "Jaaaasper!"

  

The slippers are / were made by Pirelli and have gone through a few changes, this well loved pair found online from jowaterhouse.blogspot.co.uk is how they looked for years, with little eyelet fastenings.  

Below are the incarnation I own at the moment, note the removal of the eyelets, what's that in aid of? trying to save costs, or perhaps the ridiculous 'health and safety' brigade we have in this country declared they were dangerous as we might swallow them? yes of course I often sit watching television with one foot in my mouth chewing my slippers! 

After finding out Pirelli aren't making them any more I've tried desperately to find a new pair, a search online brought up these horrible copies and even those were marked 'sold out'

So here's the deal...
FIND ME SOME OF MY SLIPPERS  PLEASE
(obviously these are only going to be found in the UK)
There have to be a few old fashioned shoe shops left out there with a couple of dusty boxes of size 6 'old lady slippers' tucked away on a shelf somewhere

photo - http://www.shaggybevo.com/
 If you know where there are some or find any can you please let me know? x
    

Red sky at night...

After the rain tonight's sky was spectacular

    

Is it a bird? is it a plane?...

photo - teamconfetti.nl

Black dog treasury...

all items from etsy - storm clouds - AnaPontesPhotography / hand - LupenGrainne / girls face - carydrexl / window - next2hector / shadowed girl - unknown / blurred girl - jenipenni / water - GordanaPhoto / man - RetrogradeAmnesia / girl - EmmainWonderland / pills - TKDART / hand - TheBrightHeart / phone - SeaLilyStudio  / pendant - lyricallady / figure - 1000crows / sunrise - observingnature / doll in hand - MonkEyGstudio

Sashiko stitch...

Sashiko... meaning literally little stabs, is a Japanese form of simple decorative stitching traditionally used to repair cloth, but often used for purely decorative purposes in quilting and embroidery.

photo - from Mai on Flickr.com

I close my eyes and I can fly treasury...

all items from etsy - clouds - AnaPontesPhotography / flying birds - HelensJournal / rain - BreeMadden / sea - FrancesPhotography / grey clouds - dorataya / head - Fairiegoodmother/ umbrella - StaticMovement/ painting - AndrejaHojnikGallery / eyes - Indounik / shawl - Shovava / birds - LaMiaCasa / swallow bird - artsdesirable / diver - Fairiegoodmother / leaping figure - hopeimages / feather - moonlightphotography / landscape - SeeWorldThruMyEyes

quiet...

and

all

at

once,

summer

collapsed

into

autumn

The knitting and stitching show 2014...

A bit of a late post on the knitting and stitching show at Alexandra Palace

Last Friday I went to the knitting and stitching show with a friend. This is the third or fourth time we've been, and there's so much to see we always split up to look round at things that personally interest us, then meet up for lunch to show each other anything we've bought.

We both like the exhibition hall which this year seemed to have fewer exhibits on show and more sellers, but some of the displays were absolutely stunning.

Jo Beattie's 'Precious Memories Exhibition' was so beautiful I bought one of her smaller works, although I won't be getting hold of it until November as it's off to a show in Dublin. 

'Memories are those precious moments that tell our story'

Her work is a reflection on memories of people we love and how we associate them with what they wear. Their patterns and colours are embedded into our memory and become inseparable from our image of them. Our patterns and colours determine not only our character and how we want to be perceived by others but define us in a time, place and culture.

Her most recent work uses shadow to reflect the image of our patterns and identity. She is interested in the way her artworks enhance the idea of a memory by having a shadow of the image reflected onto a plain background a distance away from the actual work. This enables the shadow to become larger and more defined. The work is produced in anyway that best creates the atmosphere she is trying to evoke, predominantly using machine stitch with see through backgrounds such as wire mesh to allow shadows to become an integral part of the work.

 'The Playground'

'Separation' is a homage to soldiers and their wives separated from each other by war. 

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Some beautiful Julie Arkell figures...

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Body Knowing... 'Heads' - Jean Bennett

'Contained' - Jean Bennett

'Scapegoat' - Jean Bennett

'Shame' - Jean Bennett

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'Eynsham Morris' - Sue Latimer

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Digital imprisonment: 'Life on the inside' - Molly Williams

A woven, layered and felted textile.

Time for tea 1939...

A bed maker enjoys a cup of tea at Cambridge University

photograph - Gerti Deutsch  

R.E.M...

Solitude...

Inspiration comes to us slowly and quietly … prime it with a little solitude - Brenda Ueland

painting - Nella Marchesini

Breakfast in Britain 1976...

The inimitable Morecambe and Wise breakfast sketch 1976

Este MacLeod...

Have you seen my donkey?

Midsummer

Melting snow

Mother goose

I've just come across these wonderful paintings by Este MacLeod

and would be very happy with any of them!