Overheard: Just shooting the Bries.

Hi hi.

It's been a while since I shared an overheard so, what better way to jump back in than with a snippet of conversation about one of my favourite major food groups ... cheese ...

Just shooting the Bries.

When: Sometime this summer [uncharacteristically for me I didn't record the date of this one]
Where: my housing estate

What:  I was walking through, up, and out of the housing estate heading towards the shops one sunny afternoon this summer.

A few metres in front of me two elderly men stood chatting, their shopping bags on the pavement between them.

Well, when I say they were 'chatting' ... that might have been an overstatement.

An exaggeration.

There wasn't exactly a bubbling back 'n forth happening.

In fact ... I rather got the feeling that I'd approached them just as they were reaching that point in a conversation where you realise that you have ab. so. lute. ly. NOTHING left to say!

One of the men was standing silently, ever so slightly nodding in agreement, while the other [somewhat resigned to the desperate turn the conversation had taken] declared ...

"Cheese ... cheese. Cheese. You can't beat cheese."

Here's a photo of cheese. Enjoy! [p.s: Jean - does this count as a mention on my blog? You ate some of that cheese! ;-) ]

Part of me wishes I'd heard more of the conversation ... so I'd know exactly what the question was ... for the answer to most emphatically be: cheese.

But another part of me is glad that I'm now free to speculate!

Had the other one asked: 'What's the best toastie filling?' OR 'the best mouse-bait'?

Who knows?

What do you think they were talking about? I'm sure you've got some creative interpretations!

Julie :-)

Blog book tour: Kirsty Neale's 'Hoop La!' [Or: my friend wrote a beautiful book, come look!]

Hello, ahoy and welcome.

You've reached another of the stops along the book tour celebrating the launch of 'Hoop La! 100 Things to do with Embroidery Hoops' by my good [and oh-so-talented] friend Kirsty Neale:

While you're settling yourself in here, I should probably just mention that, if you've been following the other posts along the tour, then this post is a tiny bit different to some of those. Let me explain with one of those 'you-know-I-like-to-be-honest-with-you' disclaimer-ish type statements:

1. Kirsty's publishers didn't send me the book for review purposes :: Kirsty sent it to me, pre-release - simply as a gift to a [very proud] friend.
2. I didn't make one of the projects from it just so I could take part in this blog tour :: No, I made something from it long before the book tour was organised and purely because I needed to make something to take on a crafty holiday where friends and I planned to exchange handmade gifts. And, with a beautiful book containing 100 gloriously fresh ideas sitting on my desk, it seemed perverse to try to think up something of my own!
3. I was not paid to take part and none of the links in this post are affiliate links.

So, now the official bits are over and done with, how about we just look at the prettiness?

Here's what I made:

I fell in love with the 'Christmas Wreath' [which you can find on page 105 of Hoop-La!] so settled myself down in front of Elementary one night and made a start on recreating it.

[It really is a wonder that I got anything done while Jonny Lee Miller vied for my attention on TV. But, hey, that's crafty-dedication for you.]

Like many of the 100 ideas in the book, this project was easy to adapt to suit the supplies I already had to hand. Apart from the hoop itself I didn't need to buy anything new to make this.

While I followed the design pretty closely, when it came to wrapping the hoop I did substitute Kirsty's original 'white yarn' for some fine parcel string I found a while ago which I'd been saving for the perfect project, and this was it!

[Yes, you heard me correctly, I did just admit to saving some string for 'best'.]

And, naturally I used beads from my own stash, but I did keep them to a very similar selection as those in the book as the project was already so nice I saw no need to reinvent the wheel hoop!

As for the actual 'making of' part ... I actually followed Kirsty's instructions to the letter!

This included gluing the beads as well as wrapping them on to the hoop: a step which I'd omitted at first ... until my carefully placed beads began migrating. Then I realised just how important and useful* it was ... which is when I went back and did as I was told!

[*The lesson being: Kirsty knows best. 100 times.]

All of which, as I'm someone prone to going off-piste [or even of wandering off down the road before we even get anywhere near the piste. And what is a piste anyway?] and doing my own creative thing without following the instructions, trust me, should be taken as a recommendation in itself!

In short: I had a lot of fun making my version of Kirsty's Christmas Wreath.  I've long harboured a desire to try my hand at dry-stone-walling ... and this, with the way you get to arrange different shaped beads close to one another, was the next best thing.

And I could do this not on a windswept hillside but indoors while watching Jonny Lee Miller.

Which was a bonus.

And finally ... those of you who've been visiting me here from the start won't need any explanation of why I'm beyond happy to be sharing details of a book by Kirsty Neale.

You'll know that together we hosted a creative blog: The Copy & Paste Project [we never did decide which one of us was 'Copy' or who was 'Paste'] for two splendid years during which we shared all kinds of ways in which you could take inspiration from external sources to create wonderful new things of your own.

And while we let that go a few years back I'm just thrilled at the way things have now come full circle [no hoop-based pun intended] ... 

... and now I get this chance to 'copy and paste' Kirsty!

So, this stop on the book tour may not come from a place of complete and utter objective professionalism [heck, when we shared a blog we referred to one another as 'blog wife'!!!] ...  but you should know this:

Being her friend and talking to her while she was making the book has made me keenly aware of the level of time, care and attention to detail she put into it.

And the finished result certainly reflects that.

 But you don't need to take my word for it, to see for yourself you can:

• watch the adorable promo video Kirsty made which features many of the 100 hoops
• read more about 'Hoop-La!' on the publisher's site 
• 'Look Inside' the book via Amazon
• visit Kirsty's blog where she's been linking up to all the other review posts on the book tour [where none of the other participants ever refer to her as their 'blog wife'. At least I hope not ... Kirsty will have some serious questions to answer otherwise ...] ;-)
• and visit the full list of all blog tour participants via the Stitch Craft Create site.

Thanks for spending some time at my stop on the tour today. I'll see you soon.

Julie :-)

 

Storytelling Sunday: A Three Zebra Day

Hello you.

Yes, I do know it's not Sunday. But Sian [who hosts Storytelling Sunday over at From High in the Sky] insists it's OK to share a post up to a week after the official '1st Sunday of the month'.

And anyway, some of you may well be reading it on a Sunday ... and it's definitely a story ... so I'm going ahead with it ...

The Three Zebra Day

Date: Friday 6th November 2013

Imaginatively called 'Zebra', this little chap has been faithfully watching over me for more than 15 years now and occasionally his skills are still called upon:

His origins are a long story [which, handily, I wrote all about here explaining where he came from ... and why] but, in short he's been a friend during some tough times in the past but also a pocket companion on all kinds of journeys and he's accompanied me, and those family members I've thrust him onto, through a whole range of life experiences.

He's a talisman; a totem; a touchstone.

And for much of the year he gets to relax his splendidly striped self on top of a picture frame in my bedroom ... but there are times when he's still called upon to carry out his protective duties. Like last Friday.

James had to go into hospital for the day for a minor operation [he's fine, no need to worry] and so, after packing his bag with all the things he might need [pyjamas, dressing gown, book to read] I also zipped Zebra into a small inside pocket; because, if you're going into hospital you need a zebra too.

Then, as a 'belt-and-braces' approach ... I also made James wear his zebra socks too [you'll never guess who bought him those in the first place ... ahem ...]

Now then, I'm aware that this could begin to look like I'm rather superstitious ... and honestly, I'm not really.

But there are times, when you're feeling helpless; and you know you can't be there every minute; and you know someone is going to cut into someone you love ... when I think it's OK to put your focus into a few black and white stripes. Which is what I did.

And, thanks to the stripes ... and the good old NHS ... 11 hours later James was back home, safe and sound and sitting on the sofa with tea, biscuits and me which is when ...

... he rolled up his sleeve to reveal the identity bracelet he was still wearing from the hospital and he said ...

"Have you seen what's written on this? I noticed it when I was getting changed to go down to theatre."

And I looked ... and I saw:

... and the smile spread across my face and I couldn't quite believe my eyes.

Just a coincidence? Most certainly.

But as coincidences go ... it's a good one.

---------------------------------------------------

Thanks for reading my story today.

Catch up with the latest selection of tales from bloggers across the world over on Sian's latest Storytelling Sunday post here.

And I'll see you back here soon.

Julie :-)

My month in Numbers 2013: Communal Count #5 - November

Hi, hi.

As it's the 1st of the month it's time to dust off the abacus and wipe the calculator clean ... because we're about to start totalling up some fresh numbers for November.

If you already do join me by keeping track of one or both of the Communal Count prompts, or if you'd like to start right now then here's what to look out for during November:

I'm just waiting now for someone to tell me they've already received a Christmas card ... !!!

Julie :-)

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As always...

you're welcome to respond to both, either or neither prompts it really is entirely up to you

you're welcome to interpret them however you like

You can combine this with your usual full Month in Numbers post OR just join in with your responses to these shorter prompts. Anything goes!

• you can respond in a blog post / an Instagram / a tweet / OR simply in a comment on my Month in Numbers post [a link back to my blog somewhere would be lovely if you do blog it.]
• OR ... join in with your response on my Facebook page
• OR ... any other creative way I haven't thought of!
• then - if it's 'pinnable' I'll pin it to the My Month in Numbers Pinterest board.

You can then check back at the end of the month [and into the coming month] to compare notes with the others who've joined in, and once again we can see how we're similar ... and where we're a million miles apart!

If you'd like to share the question on your own blog / social media so your friends and readers can join you - then you're very welcome to. You can simply save and use the image above [all my details are on there so you don't really need to link anything up].

My Month in Numbers 2013: October

Hello you.

I feel OK about mentioning this because [1] the layers of yellowing leaves on the floor and [2] the fact that it's now dark by the time you eat your tea has already given the game away: it's now the end of October! Scary isn't it? [And not just because it's Halloween!]

But, as another month disappears from the calendar like a vampire's reflection it brings with it another statistical summary of the days it left behind ...

Let's begin with my results for The Communal Count I set us all. [As usual I'll answer both, you're welcome to pick one or none!]:

9 = the number of items of mail I received which were directly addressed to me. While this doesn't seem like very many it was definitely a case of quality over quantity! Many of those were parcels containing lovely things such as: a free and entirely unexpected gift from a fashion brand; my mail art swap card; a postal themed gift in a fabulous envelope and the largest order of scrapbooking supplies I've treated myself to in a long time! I'll take a handful of deliveries like that over mounds of junk mail and letters addressed to 'The Occupier' any day!

The second Communal Count prompt suggested we share any weather-related statistic and I chose this:

20 degrees C = the temperature on the way home from a crafty weekend away:

Just like the summer, our Autumn here [N.E England] has been pleasantly mild ... so far. There've been a few awful grey and chilly days, but interspersed with real mini-heatwaves like this one. And I'm not sure if that's helping me ease into winter gently ... or just prolonging the inevitable frosty agony!

Oh and while we're on the topic of my crafting weekend let's take a closer look at its vital statistics.

On the way there we stopped off in Harrogate where I had my first sit-down meal at the famous Betty's tearooms ...

30mins [approx] = the queuing time to get in:

But at least we weren't the party of 10 who  had to wait for enough diners to leave to create a big enough space for them all to sit together.

4 = the number of us at the table and 4 = the number of us who couldn't resist taking photos of our meals [if you look carefully you can see two other photos being taken at the same time I took this one!]

3.5 days = how long we spent at our now traditional twice-yearly 'Crafting in the Country' retreat. Other numbers include:

• the 6 friends I met up with there;
• the converted 17th Century farmhouse we stayed in;
• the 5 bedrooms inside with 3 of us having a room to ourselves with the 4 others shared 2 twin rooms;
• the 2 craft shops we visited over the weekend.

I was a little bit under the weather sat the time so spent a good deal of time over the weekend doing nothing ... apart from picking out the eyes of the Muppets.

No, wait ... that needs explaining ...

1000 = the number of pieces in the Muppets jigsaw we began ... but didn't finish:

And I trawled all 1000 pieces seeking out any pieces of jigsaw which had a Muppety eye on it, so I could begin to put all the characters in place.

At the end of the weekend, when it came to packing up to go home I was more than happy for the half-complete jigsaw to be thrown back in the box ... but my friend Jean had other ideas.

Off she went to the kitchen and returned with a fish slice ...

Which she then used to lift up big completed areas sliding them carefully into the box so we'll have a head start when we unpack it all at the next weekend away in the spring! 

28 = the number of antibiotics taken. Least said soonest mended.

40 = the number of tags made + 20 = the number of gifts wrapped as my contribution to a gift-per-day-for-40-days-until-'someone's'-turns-40 surprise birthday 'thing' I organised for someone this month!

As I explained to the birthday girl herself : "think of it like an Advent calendar only it’s 16 days longer ... and it's not in December".
6 hours = the time spent getting painty with 10 others at the Kate Crane workshop organised by 3DJean:

Photo borrowed from this post on Kate's blog.

I made 2 sheets gelli plate print and 2 art journal backrounds. One which I like and one which makes me wonder what on earth I was thinking when I chose the colours. It's almost like I've never met me!

And speaking of colour ... after the workshop James, who'd collected me, had to go into his office so  while he got on with something important at his desk ... I was left to  my own devices in the store room ... which led to ...

 

200 = the number of reels of flooring weld I arranged into colour order. Here's the 'before':

Either you 'get' the need to put things in colour order ... or you don't.

If you do then I'm sure the above photo alone, with its jumbled shades all thrown together on the poles, is enough of an explanation as to why I did it! And, although I stupidly didn't take an 'after' photo of all 200 in their happy rainbow, I did take this 'during' shot:

That's better isn't it?

If you don't 'get' it then you probably just think I have [a] 'issues' and [b] far too much time on my hands. To which I reply ... the next time you're in a life or death situation which can only be resolved by something being arranged in perfectly shaded gradations ... you'll be sorry you mocked! ;-)

[Now, let me confess that the '200' is only an approximate number because, surprisingly I didn't count each one. I think pandering to one of my obsessions at a time should be quite enough for one afternoon.

Arranging things in colour order in a warehouse is one level of weird ... but going on to then count them all up so I could mention it in a number themed blog post ... well .. that would just be ridiculous ...

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So, that's how my month's statistics added up. To share your own then ...

• please visit the full 'How to join in My Month in Numbers' guide here.  
• There aren't many 'rules' as such - they're mainly a few ways in which you can help me to keep the Month in Numbers community running happily.
• I'll gladly visit you, comment and save your post to the Month in Numbers Pinterest board [currently followed by over 700 people] but this takes time, so there are a few simple things I ask in return. All of which you can find here in the guide.

I'll look forward to reading your memory-keeping-by-numbers and in the meantime ... I'll be working on the next Communal Count prompts.

 

See you soon.

 

Julie :-)