Posts Tagged jelly
I made banana loaf
I made banana loaf – it’s delicious – enough said really.
And whilst I am eating it, it’s reminding me of last week and yellow things and cake and knitting and how I never got home at a reasonable time any night (not because of tripping the light fantastic but work and meetings and openings, although the openings are good). I wish I could come home at a good time one night this week, just the one at least but I know it’s a rollercoaster of a week. Then I remember that 3 weeks from today I’ll be packing to go and visit Mae and Pai with thing 1 and thing 2 and a suitcase of yarn to make up projects, and some christmassy things.
This is them, my Mae and Pai looking younger and we are all looking very yellow loving in our home made dresses. I’m the one not looking at the camera.
My gorgeous younger brother is not in the picture, he wasn’t even born then, he arrived with orange hair when I was 9. I know he’s been reading things I witter on about here and there as he asked what he was getting for Christmas (I had mentioned if you were female and related it would be knitted) well last night I got him a handmade present, not by me but handmade so that counts right?
Back to last weekend, which was a parents evening followed by X Factor Dress Rehearsal and then with the knitters at the afternoon tea party. Ysolda was launching her new book and the outcasts were the hostesses. Skeinqueen and the talented Emma Bradbury were showing their wares too. There are more photos here courtesy of Ysolda and even more here .
Then Sunday night was lovely, knitting with company who also were knitting and chatting and staying up way too late for the week that was to follow. I’m all for an 8 day week then I might have a chance of doing everything I want too – the week that followed contained workshops deliveries, covering someone else’s workshop, meetings, teaching at knit class, two exhibition openings and working on two projects, sunship and Open for Art. Open for Art is nearly ready to reveal…
I’ve one commission to finish this weekend, before on to a major knit commission for someone and some test knitting (hopefully photos next week). So I’ll sign off and think of yellow things whilst the sky is grey outside.
4 comments November 21, 2009
paper dolls, teachers reports and the judges view
So the paper dolls is finished, it was very quick to knit and was just evening time easy knitting slotted in round everything else but I had a target that I wanted to wear it to thing 1 & thing 2’s first parents evening at their new school. Not sure why, maybe to take the teachers off their guard or as a kind of apology for their madness by showing it’s their genetic stock? But it made me feel good, many people commented on it and it kept me chirpy during a long evening. The other half wasn’t there for the first 2 hours, he was building something for Parliament and it was hard juggling twins and teachers and slotting everyone in. My downfall came when one teacher was running substantially late…. anyway, we were home eventually at 9.30!!
So that is done and this morning I have been up preparing for our house guests, Ysolda and Sarah. The launch of Ysolda’s book tomorrow is at jelly and I have been baking fairy cakes and banana loaf, tidying the house, changing round the sleeping arrangements – it all seems a bit rushed this morning an dthat is becuase we are out today and I’m worried that I’ll never catch up.
We’re off to the dress rehearsal for X Factor, my other half works on the show and we’ve never gone (in fact there are many shows we never see that he works on). The X Factor is incredibly over subscribed so there is a more chance of flying pigs then for us getting tickets but today we are going to the dress rehearsal. This is significant that we will all see my OH (sometimes I see him when the children are at school), we don’t get to see him often in daylight….
So we will see the rehearsal, have a chat with the OH then have the excitement of tomorrow to contemplate too.
4 comments November 14, 2009
new kits, new week, new aspirations
So I couldn’t make a choice and above is a picture of my paper dolls, as referred too here, I made the gorgeous Poppy from the knit a poppy for Remembrance Day project, did another 13 rows on my unfortunately large snicket blanket and began work on one of the commissions. By the way, this is all free time knitting as my working life is quite chaotic at the moment. I have been involved in an organisation for the past 16 years of my life (I am the founder) and at the moment the workload is heavy.
I don’t want to fill up what is my personal/ knitting/ other life blog with info about the things that are going around and around in my head but I am finding that the surplus of projects on the needles is helping me have some thinking time out of the *office*. Part of the problem is that the organisation and me are so intertwined and I have a sense of responsibility but like many arts organisations (we are not alone in Reading where we are based) we are facing uncertainty and if we will have a home.
We are just about to launch some empty shop window projects at the same time as knowing that our present landlord wants the office/ workshop space back in March so our project delivery and the other arts organisations we look after including arjeea21, outcasts, The Voice Studio, hang-on artists and various individuals who we support will no longer have a physical bricks and mortar building that we can all grow from.
This takes up so much of my thinking time, how the organisation will look, how we can safeguard the other groups that we work with, how can we continue to deliver our education and one to one work whilst at the same time delivering activities and providing a positive buzz. One of my fellow artists n the town has just posted an interesting question on the hang-on forum (I’m not sure if you’ll be able to read as a non-member but here is the link).
When I set up jelly it was to show my work as an artist, work with other artists in a co-operative way and the jelly has always been a non profit-making organisation. What do we need? A benefactor would be wonderful but we have always survived on the goodwill and commitment from fellow artists, who like myself do this because we believe in it, it is not a paid job. The immediate future? – today I will be delivering one-to-one workshops with adults with special needs, then organising the artists to go into the 3 empty units and working on the press release and copy, followed by covering the after school art club and then an evening strategy meeting ~ a light day in the office then. (office is a loose word as where I work is more a creative workshop, with yarn, colour, glitter, art, paper, paint…).
Some of the best things about jelly? Meeting other artists and being able to provide opportunities for other artists and events. So a few days from now we will be prepping for the book launch on Sunday with Ysolda, Skeinqueen and the outcasts and thinking about painting walls next week and installing three shows.
It is because of jelly that the outcasts came about, that I got to meet skeinqueen and the fabulous kurlyknits who designed our labels for our kits. Below is the newest kit to join the family, it is for the johnny rotten handwarmers (anarchy in the UK) ~ the pattern is viewable here and in the kits we provide you with the hand dyed yarn and full instructions.
I am excited every time I see someone making a pair on Ravelry or at knit night – it feels odd to see someone making something that you have designed, odd in a good turning of your tummy exciting butterflies way and even better when they are finished. The outcasts were fame-moose this week, in December’s edition of Knitting Magazine and also Skeinqueen and my Mitten Kits were in their essential Christmas Gift Guide, as one of the 18 best kits knitting has to offer. That made me smile.
Random other magazine moment, my family are in Cosmopolitan Bride Dec/Jan – amazing you may think but it is my gorgeous Sister-in-Law and her beautiful wedding this summer – you may remember, the Sari wearing one.
2 comments November 9, 2009
