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Category Archives: sewing

Not All Fairies can Fly

06 Aug

I first fell in love with Samantha Bryan’s Fairies in the early 2000s when I saw an exhibition in the Craft Centre and Design Gallery in Leeds.   The invention, the humour, the whole premise and the beautiful construction  entranced me and I bought my first Fairy. Who knew that fairies don’t simply fly but have to learn? That they wear L plates to warn others of their inexperience? That they need various intricate contraptions to help them learn to fly? That they do stretching exercises before setting off on their roller boots, or with a lifting device, under an air balloon or with a propellor? That they need special protective equipment? My quirky collection of ‘Brains Fairy Aiding Inventions’ shows all these and more.

My first Fairy

Fairy doing an exercise designed to strengthen leg muscles in preparation for impact during landing

Fairy doing an exercise designed to strengthen leg muscles in preparation for impact during landing

Waiting for repaired wings and looking a bit sad 2004

Air balloon assistance

Beautiful detail

I love her pleased expression

Brain’s revolutionary V.T.O.L. Apparatus (assists fairies in vertical take-off and landing) 2003

Improved pedal powered fairy vehicle

All the Fairies have labels typed on an old typewriter adding to the quaintness of the whole.

 

When I retired from teaching in 2006, I was also mentoring student teachers and commissioned Samantha to make me a Fairy piece showing a Fairy being encouraged in her efforts to become fully fledged and ready to go out on her own.  Samantha sent me four beautiful designs that she had sketched and  this is the one I chose.

Mentor with fairy in training 2006

It’s time I added to my collection!

 
5 Comments

Posted by on August 6, 2020 in art, craft, Happiness, Postaday2020, sculpture, sewing, Uncategorized

 

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Fairy Wings, Garden Colour and Singing

24 Jul

I fitted the repaired wings to two of my Fairies today and am delighted with how they now look and that now they will be able to fly, albeit that they are learners!

We are delighted with the serendipitous odd pops of colour in our garden. Both the Poppy and the Crocosmia are self-sown.

In the last few days, members of The Inglehearts’ Singers have recorded themselves at home singing new words to Trelawny, the Cornish anthem,  words designed to encourage people in Camborne to wear their masks and to help each other in these uncertain Covid times.

ttps://www.facebook.com/CamborneTown/videos/280043376609260

 
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Posted by on July 24, 2020 in art, community, Cornwall, craft, environment, garden, nature, Postaday2020, sculpture, sewing

 

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Fairy Wings, A Feather and Macro Delight

23 Jul

Some time ago I mentioned that a couple of my beautiful Fairy collection, made by Samantha Bryan, had poorly wings. See here for that post. I wrote to Samantha to explain the problem and she wrote back telling me how to remove the wings and to send them to her for repair. This I did, with the beautiful feathers given to me by my dear friend, Nicky. The repaired wings arrived in the post today along with two tiny bits of leather in case any further repair is need. Just look! Aren’t they beautiful? I shall show you when I have attached the wings in a day or two.

Feather wings from Samantha Bryan

Our eggs arrived today, one with a feather attached – seems just serendipitous for the day!

I love my new camera and the macro facility. I have missed it so much! Here, some Rose petals and an Alium.

 
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Posted by on July 23, 2020 in art, craft, environment, garden, nature, Postaday2020, sculpture, sewing

 

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Swaps, Cherries and A Spider

23 Jun

A brilliant trade happened today! One of our choir friends runs the lovely cafe at Chapelporth, renowned for its Hedgehog ice creams, Croque Monsieur and homemade Flapjacks.  She and her staff, who have just been allowed to re-open, were in need of some masks so several of her friends have made some. R came this morning to collect the three I have made and brought us some of her delicious Flapjacks.

Chapelporth Cafe Flapjack
SeaSalt fabric masks

Another lovely choir friend does extra bits of shopping for us and today found a big box of cherries, a bargain!

We found a very small green and yellow spider on the Peony today, busy spinning a web.

 

 
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Posted by on June 23, 2020 in Chapel Porth, Cornwall, garden, nature, Photography, Postaday2020, sewing

 

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L R Knost, Sewing and Gifts

08 Jun

A friend shared these words today and they strike me as very pertinent. They are the words of award-winning author, feminist, and social justice activist, L.R. Knost who is the founder and director of the children’s rights advocacy and family consulting group, Little Hearts/Gentle Parenting.

“Do not be dismayed by the brokenness of the world. All things break. And all things can be mended. Not with time, as they say, but with intention. So go. Love intentionally, extravagantly, unconditionally. The broken world waits in darkness for the light that is you.”

Be that light.

I have been sewing hard for a week, making two little fabric books for a friend’s one year old son. We’ll deliver them to their doorstep tomorrow.

A dear friend called by today with some shopping and we sat in the garden for an hour or so, catching up and being together (in a socially distanced way!) Lovely J brought with her some scones she had made this morning with a pot of Cornish Clotted Cream and a beautiful posy of Suffragette colours. What a gem, what a very thoughtful and much needed gesture of solidarity and friendship.

Cornish cream tea
Lavender with Love-in-a-mist and Philadelphus
 
5 Comments

Posted by on June 8, 2020 in baking, friendship, Kindness, Photography, picture story books, Postaday2020, sewing, Uncategorized

 

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Bee, More Masks and Greenham Women

22 May

The bees are busy, we are glad to see. This one was moving around all the Lavender pots.

Bee on white lavender

Our eldest was due to come from Exeter for a couple of hours this afternoon to fix my Beetle. In exchange I made her a couple of fabric masks. I had not anticipated how hard it would be to see her but not be allowed to hug.

Elastic is running short

My spirits were lifted by a wonderful zoom session this evening, Greenham Women singing songs of the time, all led by my lovely choir leader, Claire. In between singing the songs, people shared their stories of being at the various gates, all given colours and each with a very distinct personality. A couple of the participants had been there with their Mums as very young children. One Mum and daughter were there together from their different parts of the UK; participants came from allover the country and were really inspiring. It was a brilliant session.

Posted with permission from all the participants
 
7 Comments

Posted by on May 22, 2020 in community, environment, History, nature, Photography, Postaday2020, sewing, singing

 

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Bee Day, A Bee and Some Masks

20 May

It is World Bee Day today and we had some in the garden where we have been working most of the day as the sun has been shining again.

Bee almost buried inside a Nasturtium

I’ve finished one set of masks for the Barcelona branch of the family -one each for Mum, Dad, LiveWire no 1 and twin LiveWires 5 and 6. I expect you can tell which fabrics the little ones chose. I hope that, having chosen their own fabrics online from our local shop, Redruth Sewing Studio, they will be willing to wear them. There are other fabrics to be made up in the next batch.

 
2 Comments

Posted by on May 20, 2020 in Grandchildren, nature, Photography, Postaday2020, sewing, Uncategorized

 

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Bias Binding, A Thank You and Unknown Plant

15 May

The masks that I am now making need bias binding so I raided Mum’s haberdashery box again and found it full of treasure – of course – lots of different colours and widths, some brand new like this one!

A thank you card arrived today, such a beautiful, happy card with a painting by Carl Lawson entitled “The Boy With The Knot ” Thank you, Ti, it’s lovely.

Our walk often takes us along Church lane where the wild flowers abound. This one has grown so very  fast, now at least 3ft high but I don’t know its name. It looks like Angelica but that may be a fantasy!

 
4 Comments

Posted by on May 15, 2020 in Beauty, environment, friendship, nature, Photography, Postaday2020, sewing, Uncategorized

 

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Three Trunk Tree, Hedgerow Flowers and Scrub Caps

04 May

We love this moss covered tree with its three trunks as we go up the lane to the Flat Lode Trail.

Cornish hedgerows are so lovely in Springtime.

I’ve sewn 24 buttons onto the scrub caps (for the wearers to attach  their masks and so avoid the soreness that elastic can cause behind the ears) and they are now ready for collection.

 
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Posted by on May 4, 2020 in Cornwall, Cornwall Scrubs, environment, nature, Photography, Postaday2020, sewing

 

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Another Lane, Bird Song and Sewing

02 May

We walked early today and it was absolutely delightful, flower filled lanes and  sunshine and almost silent except for the beautiful bird song. 

For a couple of hours this afternoon I sat in the sunshine, pinning and tacking the next six scrub caps. Machine sewing tomorrow and they’ll be almost ready for collection.

 
10 Comments

Posted by on May 2, 2020 in birds, Cornwall, Cornwall Scrubs, environment, nature, Photography, Postaday2020, sewing, Uncategorized

 
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