I sent photos of the new masks to Barcelona last night and this morning had a call – teenage LiveWire doesn’t want beads this time, please can I make another with elastic? Of course! That makes a total of 50 and today I have cleared away all my sewing stuff ready to get my glass out again.
Patterned lining so it’s different from her Dad’s
Lunch was mini pizzas made with part baked rolls, some reduced passata with herbs, pomodorino tomatoes and cheese – scrumptious!
Coming up from town, we noticed a warning sign, kindly put out by someone along our lane.
Monday night is choir rehearsal. I really miss my singing and the people with whom I sing.
The beautiful Autumn day saw us just take our local walk where there was a surprising amount of colour – and lots of blackberries still to snack on.
Much of my day was spent completing the next set of masks for our Barcelona family. That’s 49 I’ve made altogether, for us, family and friends and I think that’s enough!
Masks for Mum, Dad, teenage daughter and three year old twins
A week ago I made some masks for a friend and her daughter who is about to go off to University. I Â made plain black for the student and prettier ones for her Mum.
Masks for M’s daughter
Masks for my friend, M
When M collected the masks, she brought me some beautiful Carnations and Freesias all in bud to say thank you. Â Now they are open and just beautiful. Thank you, M!
Thank you flowers
I read an old Cornish recipe today for Autumn Cake. The recipe came from an old Cornish Women’s Institute booklet and sounded good despite the fact that I didn’t have all the ingredients. I had the cooking apples and one eater and all the basics but substituted the cherries with ginger pieces and the nuts with fat raisins. It’s a success!
We chose a different route into town today and walked past a garage where they have planted Sunflowers on the grass beside the pavement, such a delight to see them!
Yesterday, after visiting friends in Truro, I went shopping for more embroidery silks and now I have all I need for the special wall hangings I’m making for Christmas!
I’ve made myself six more masks in the hope that choir will start again before too long. Research says we will need three per rehearsal so I have pretty ones, ones for Christmas and musical notes. I am so missing singing with my choir pals. I live in hope!
Lunch today was our version of a Portobello Mushroom Pizza , mushroom with passata and basil with halloumi grilled on top, very tasty!
It’s been a day of wind and rain and stormy weather, the garden getting blown to shreds though no doubt the roots are loving it all.Consequently, I have been indoors doing a bit of therapeutic embroidery, starting on another wall hanging for Christmas.
A quiet day today, pootling around the garden catching up with dead-heading, weeding, and some pruning after days of hectic family fun!
Butterfly mask made for Daughter No 1
Collected from the garden
The lovely Mr S spotted this Grasshopper on the slate terrace but it didn’t hop anywhere. We think it was trying to lay eggs but the slates were not the right place to be.
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.
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, Â words designed to encourage people in Camborne to wear their masks and to help each other in these uncertain Covid times.
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.
