A visit and starting my willow basket.

Yesterday, it was ridiculously hot for England. The temperature reached 38.1 Celsius. As a result everything I did was at a snail's pace. In the afternoon I just sat and read, and every so often I ran to the fridge for iced water. At some point the weather has to break and I am so looking forward to rain! I did manage to get the neck band sorted out for the red blouse I'm making but I didn't start on the sleeves. I was hoping to have finished this today but it will be done by the end of the weekend - hopefully.

This morning, John and I braved the underground again and went to the Courtaulds Gallery to see the Barbara Hepworth exhibition. Dame Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth (10 January 1903 – 20 May 1975) was an English sculptor.  Along with other artists she set up a colony of artists who lived in St Ives in Cornwall during the Second World War.  Her work fits under the Modernism title and she is mainly known for her sculpture. The Courtaulds Gallery is well laid out and is a beutiful space for viewing art.  The sculptures on display are her smaller works. I have only included 4 of the works on view but you can find more online.

This first one is titled Sea Form (Porthmear). It was created in 1958 and is Bronze. I love the colour of this piece.

This second one is Tides II made with Plane wood and paint. I really like the colour of the wood and the shape is fun.

The sculpture on the left is titled Single Form and was made in 1937 - 1938 and painted around 1963. It was plaster and paint. The motif is of an upright figure and was originally exhibited as a white sculpture in an exhibition held in Paris in 1939. It was eventuually returned to Hepworth in 1961and she had it cast in bronze and painted in mottled blue tones.

The piece on the right is titled Oval with Black and White, it was made in 1965 using Swedish marble and paint.

This last piece of Sculpure with colour was made in 1943 using wood, paint and string. This piece was saved from going into a private collection by major support from a range of organisations and individuals. It is on loan for this exhibition from Wakefield Permanent Art Collection (The Hepworth Wakefield.)

Having finished the exhibition we decided to go home as the day was getting very hot and I was not enjoying the heat. We walked back to the underground station via Embankment Gardens. I don't ever remember walking through these gardens before but I might have done. I've lived in London for 54 years so it's easy to lose track of where you've gone walking.  As we walked through the garden we came across two more of the Lion trail. I'd seen a third earlier but it was further down the road and I didn't have the energy to walk that far.

The petunias in the borders were beautiful.

There was a fountain with colourful impatients planted round it.

This statue was to commemorate Robert Raikes who is known as the pioneer and founder of the modern Sunday school movement. In 1780 in Gloucester he organised free weekly classes to teach poor working class children to read and learn the bible. This helped to reduce juvenile crime and provided the children with a basic education..

At the station we had to use the stairs to get down to the underground as the escalator was being held due to a medical emergency on a train. Once on the train the journey was quick and we were soon back home.

Today it is time to start my willow weaving. The kit comes with a video showing and telling you exactly what to do.  Yesterday I had to check that the willow had the right amount of bend and then I could drain the water. It needed to be left for a day and so today it is ready to start the weaving. The first stage was to pull six wands, 3 to make the basket rim and 3 to make the handle. There is a video shows you how to complete each stage. I collected up 6 wands and sat and made the two hoops. They have been drying in a very cool oven and are  now ready for the next steps. Here is the start of my first hoop. It looks wonky but it was a nice circle by the time I'd used the 3 wands.

In a short while I had created two hoops,one to be the rim and the other the handle. Well that bit was easy but now I needed to learn how to fasten the handle to the basket rim. This was more fiddly than I would have liked but at the same time it was fun to do. The join involves  weaving using the thinist rods in the batch. Having watched the video I found this fairly easy except an extra pair of hands would have been useful when I did the first side. The second side was much easier. I'm enjoying this trying something new!

Tomorrow I'll start inserting the ribs of the basket and I'm hoping I'll be able to finish it in a day. 

Today has been a fun day but I'm really tired. I'm finidng all the heat very difficult to deal with. When I had the chemotherapy back in 2017 it unfortunately damaged my body's ability to keep my temperature properly regulated. Sometimes I can cope with the heat but this morning I was having major problems. However we managed to visit the exhibition, travel on the tube and generally enjoy the day.

A long day but a fun day. I now need to sleep. 

Take care

Lyndsey

Summer exhibition a walk and tea.

Yesterday, John and I had a tiring but enjoyable day out in central London. We tend to only head into central london for exhibitions, the theatre, Christmas lights or some other important activity. Particularly at this time of year, London is crazy busy with lots of tourists from all over the world. When we do visit we sometimes play a game of how many different languages can we hear being spoken. Lots was the answer yeaterday! We had ventured out to visit the Summer exhibition at the Royal Academy of Art and to enjoy afternoon tea at a London hotel. The day was very hot and the A/C on the underground wasn't really coping but we managed the trip without overheating too much. We arrived slightly early for our timeslot which was good since security has been ramped up recently. As we entered the courtyard this sign was facing us. It was so bright and cheerful I have no idea how I stopped myself bursting into song.

The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, which is commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) is a London based organisation. Every year it holds its Summer Exhibition and we tend to visit every year. Anyone can submit a piece of artwork for display and the exhibition coordination and team will chose the works that will be exhibited.

I have found over the years that cats are very popular as a subject for art work. Most of the pictures in this corner were cat based. Since quilters are known for liking cats I thought we'd start with this theme.

This piece by Laura Ford is titled, Tailchaser 1 and he certainly was getting a lot of attention. Some people were a little shocked at the pose but this just reminded me of our old cat Casso. He would sit in this position to groom his front fur.

My other favourite cat exhibit was this one. Titled 'Thus Regard Palmerston' by Freufian Typo. Quite a few people thought it was a live cat just sat very still. It was made using mixed media. he had a very bossy stare.

There were three pictures by the same artist that I liked. Somewhere - William Morris and Co. arriving at Kelmscott. Engraving with hand colouring by Chris Orr RA.

Britannia and Company (Restaurant) Mumbai. Watercolour and mixed media . Chris Orr RA

Sur les Rooftops de Paris Avec You. Colour engraving with hand colouring. Chris Orr RA.

There were several textile exhibits. Fruits of my Labour, quilted cotton and recycled hollow fibre by Jess Littlewood. This piece was so well done that people thought it was a real cabbage!

Behold Humanity, a tapestry by Sir Grayson Perry RA

Field (Cantharellus Tubaeformis) by Andreas Ruethi. It is a carpet, hand-tufted, hand-spun wool.

This next piece won the Sunny Dupree Family Award for a Woman Artist. The Listening Thing, made of wood, glass eyes and oil paint by Annie Whiles.

I had to include this Little Owl, its so adorable. Painted in oil and acrylic on wood by Lesley O'Mara.

and finally the most expensive piece in the exhibition (that I could find) . Double Take , oil on shaped canvas by Allen Jones RA. The price tag in the guide is £165,600. Most of the art works on display are for sale and the red dot indicates it is sold. More red dots indicate that there have been a number of prints bought.

As we left the RSA we needed coffee to revitalise ourselves. We had planned some sight seeing for the afternoon before we enjoyed our afternoon tea. We headed towards Piccadilly circus and then on to the Mall and into St Jame's Park. It was nice to find some shade under the trees. The grass in the park was very dry but the flower beds were pretty.

The pelicans get feed at about 2:30 each afternoon and this guy was already waiting as we walked past.

Unfortunately I didn't have the right lens with me to get a picture of the rest of the pelicans on the rocks.

This is a bar headed goose.

We also can across this very elegant creature. The information about this is in the next photo.

We left the park and walked the short distance to the hotel arriving in perfect time . By the time we arrived I was very ready for afternoon tea. The waiter was very helpful and offered to take a photo for us.

Later we made our way home on the underground. The journey was very quick and I was very happy to be home. My feet were tired from the day but it had been a very good day out. 

My plan for today is to get as much sewing done as I can manage on my blouse. I'll let you know how I get on tomorrow.

Take care

Lyndsey

Sewing and cross stitch.

Yesterday, after making a summer trifle and doing a couple of household jobs I settled down to a day of sewing. Quite a while back I cut out the fabric to make a blouse. The fabric, a beautiful red is satin or satin type fabric and as such is slippery and sliding all over the place when trying to sew it. It was a nightmare just cutting out the pattern pieces and I knew sewing it would be a pain. I put the project bag away for a time as I knew from previous experience I needed to be in a calm and relaxed mindset to work on it. The pattern is from Vouge and I really like their patterns. They give very precise instructions and split the sewing into nice small chunks. I've made this pattern before and it is a delight to wear. I'm happy with this blouse so far.

It was slow work putting the front and back together. As always I pressed each seam as I went along, that is except for the last two, the side seams. By this time I was feeling tired  and when I pick this up later in the week, I'll start by pressing the side seams.  I have the sleeves and neck band left to do.  Currently my manniquin in sporting the unfinished blouse and there are a couple of pins holding the placket top and bottom. I must remember I need some small red buttons. These won't be seen so no need for any fancy buttons.

In the evening I did some cross stitch on the Star Trek piece. I was originally going to work downwards and complete each page of the pattern. However, I decided to do some stitching vertically to put off stitching the little craft  and the start of the schematics.

Instead I put on my big girl pants and started work on the small craft. It was really causing me issues and I undid my stitching at least four times. In the end I decided to just stitch to the best of my ability. I'll finish this part tomorrow when I get home.

I'm still not sure why I agreed to stitch this piece but it is fun to do (so far). I have no idea how long it will take me to complete it.

Today is a visits day, first the Summer exhibition, then a little window shopping and finally afternoon tea. The weather is not supposed to get higher than 27 Celsius today but central London will be hotter. We should have a fun day. I just need to check I have the tickets etc in my phone  and I must give my camera battery a quick recharge.

Take care,

Lyndsey

Trying something new.

This week I am trying a new craft. A while back, possibly in May my son showed me a company that sold kits to make willow baskets and he thought I might like to try it. As a child I had done some weaving using yarn but not using willow sticks. This sounded fun so I ordered a kit. It arrived in a long heavy black plastic bag and has sat in the corner of our dining room since waiting for the right time.  Yesterday I lay the bag across our dining table preparing to start the process.

The kit also comes with a video, helpfully divided into sections to help you get the willow ready for weaving and of course instructions on how to make the basket. First job get the willow out of the bag and get it ready to be soaked for 4 days. The only two items in the black bag were the willow and a clear long thick plastic bag.

On end has to be folded up and held with pegs or clips. I used pegs at first as I couldn't remember where I'd put the bulldog clips. I soon remembered and switched the pegs out. The bundle of willow was tightly help by plastic ties but I removed them easily and put the willow in the clear plastic bag. The willow is four foot long and there is a lot of it.

The next job is to soak the willow. The instructions tell you that for each foot of length of the willow it has to be soaked for a day, so four foot equals 4 days. So far so good. I took the willow outside and set it on the ground, having decided this was the only suitable space. Now to fill the bag with water. I used a watering can as we don't have a hose pipe. I needed to twist the open end of the bag and put a brick on top when I had to refill the watering can. Next came the difficult part. I had to remove the large air bubbles. If there are large air bubbles the willow doesn't take the water onboard and won't bend properly. This looked really easy on the video but there weren't two dogs eager to help. After several attempts I managed to get the big air bubbles out and twist the bag to seal it and put two heavy bricks on top of the twisted end. At this point the two dogs lost interest and went in search of something more fun to play with. so now, just outside our patio doors I have a plastic bag full of willow soaking in water for the next four days. I started the process at about noon on Sunday and so it should be finished by Thursday afternoon. I'll check then that the willow will bend the way it should. I hope it won't need to soak any longer. If all is well I'll start the weaving process on Friday. The kit makes a small foraging basket. I thought this would be useful when working in our small garden.

Earlier today I did the ironing that had accumulated. In the current heat I like to keep on top of the ironing as it's not a job for hot weather. I'm going to make a summer trifle for dessert this evening and then I will get on with some sewing. I have some dressmaking I want to finish and then I can continue stitching on the Star Trek cross stitch. Whilst today is an at home day tomorrow we are going to the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts. Anyone can enter a piece of art into the exhibition and it is fun to see all the different styles. In the afternoon we are going for afternoon tea at one of the London hotels. This is a present from a friend. I'm looking forward to our day out.

Take care

Lyndsey

Sewing and a visit.

The last two days have been fun. On Wednesday I copied out a pattern for some summer trousers, got them cut out and I've almsot finished them. Just the waist band and the hems to do. As this was a new pattern I was using I needed to make some adjustments to make them fit me perfectly. Adjusting patterns always takes a little time especially if there isn't anyone to help with feedback particularly with trying to view the back of the garment. Having two long mirrows does help. I also did some reading in between and a little gardening. At the end of the day I prepped my machine for a trip to the spa. By the end of the day I had a pair of trousers that were very incomplete.  These will get finished at the beginning of next week as I have plans and committments .

On Thursday I needed to drop my sewing machine to the repair shop. The repair man is authorised by Brother to work on their machines unlike the man who told me he was and who did a service on it at the beginning of the year. Unfortunately he hadn't passed the training for my model of machine. Anyway it's all water under the bridge and I felt happy leaving my machine at the new shop. 

John and I got  back in the car having droped my machine and set the satnav for Wakehurst Place. Kew Gardens, the National Botanical Gardens has a wild botanical garden in Sussex (Wakehurst Place) which also houses the Millenium Seed Bank. We visited a few years ago, well when I say a few years ago I actually mean 24 years ago and we have been meaning to visit again during that time. The drive was easy and enjoyable. We decided to get coffee and a bite to eat before we looked round the garden. 

Heading out from the cafe we checked out the map to decide where to go.

We decided to follow the path on the left and go to the lake at the top of the map. There were some beautiful trees and views on the way. This tree is a weeping sequoia, I like its slender trunk

This tree was so tall, I only had my phone with me so had to keep stepping back to get all its height in shot. A couple of young children thought it was the Faraway Tree (Enid Blyton) and wanted to climb to the clouds and see what world was at the top.

The grass was completely parched and there were notices telling us that they don't water the grass but prioritise the botanical plants to water.

We went close to the stables and mansion but carried on to the outer path. I didn't read the notice that would have told me who these characters were. 

There currently are 4 Henry Moore  sculptures in the garden. This was the first one we came across. This one is called Relief No 1.

As we were walking we had been climbing . Soon we could look down on a small pond feed from a water fall. There wasn't much water flowing but by the side of the pond everything was slightly greener.

I was having fun enjoying the shapes and colours  and the blossom.

Walking further up the hill we were on a level with the tree tops from lower in the valley.

Whilst walking we came across the labyrinth, laid out using bricks. we decided to stop and find our way to the middle. Although it didn't cover a huge amount of ground there were a lot of loops twisting back on themselves. It took us 15 minutes to get to the middle. As we were leaving a family arrived and we had to explain the labyrinth to them. The children were excited to follow the brick path.

Looking back down the path we had walked up we saw this side path which looked intersting but we decided to continue on to the lake.

I thought at first this was two trees but I'm assured it's one tree with a lot of trunks.

At this point we had reached the Wetlands Boardwalk. We met several of the staff who had come to check the water level and they told us that normally at this time of year there is a lot more water and it usually covers the main area. Unfortunately there has been no or very little rain in the South East of England since late June.

As we walked along the boardwalk there were flowering plants due to the small stream running through. The stream usually covers more area.

There were a couple of mallard chicks swimming around. I completely forgot to take a photo of the ducks on Westwood Lake. We walked back along the Humalayan Glade and from there made our way towards the Mansion. We decided we didn't have time to go into the house if we wanted tea and cake. You have to get your prioitise right when out and about!

We spotted another Henry Moore sculpture off to the left of the house so we went and had a look. In fact there were two. The first on is titled Reclining figure.

The second is called Mother and child: Block seat.

Somewhere in the garden there is a fourth scilpture but we didn't find it. We'll hunt for that when we next visit.

Thursday's visit was a lot of fun and we need to visit Wakehurst again. They had a great variety of seeds and plants on sale and Iplan on buying some new plants for your garden. 

Take care

Lyndsey