Hello. Wow, it's blustery outside, hope Storm Doris passes over by the end of the day. The lengths I go to, to save a few pennies, a lot of people would laugh and think I am bonkers.
I'll tell you how I saved 34p by buying a dented tin of condensed milk. It was reduced from 55p to 25p, so I have saved already. But I look at this differently. I normally buy soya milk at 59p a litre carton. I always look for cheaper alternatives to keep my spending low, and I will sometimes buy a similar product to save money. I quite like condensed milk but I don't buy it at normal price.
No fancy tin openers here, a bog standard stab it and lever it around the edge. These openers last hundreds of years, ha ha.
The measuring jug tells me it is almost half a litre. Now what, not much saving at 50p a litre. Aha, now here's the trick, I am going to dilute this with water, giving me double the quantity. I will keep it in the fridge, put half the amount I normally put on my cereals, and top it up with tap water. Bingo, saved 34p. I shall be spending some of my savings soon on a trip. I have a train ticket, and one night in a hotel booked.
Another look in the skip revealed a set of curtains, just need a wash, and a metal ornate lampshade. Good eh! I've had a word with the owner and she said I could have anything I wanted. The skip is full with mostly garden rubbish at the moment, it is due to be collected in the next few days. I do hope they bring it back empty because I shall be watching it if they do.
Progress report on the Woodland picture. Not giving much away at the moment, a lot more stitching to be done, but because it is a smaller picture it shouldn't take months like the big ones do.
That's all for now, thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon. Toodle pip
Hello. I've had a morning sitting in the warm Village Hall with the Crafty Club, have to take some layers off when I'm in there. I'm still working on the woodland picture, such a lot of stitching to do.
In the meantime, the jigsaw puzzle is finished. I couldn't find the exact size frame for it, so a little bit of the edges are lost. It's eleven inches square. I think it's superdooper, and the bold colours really stand out against the black frame.
I used a jigsaw as a template, removing the pieces one at a time and outlining the shapes with a thin liner pen. Once painted I went over the black lines again.
Two shopping bags made. I gave three away last week in Tesco, so I keep making some more. The one on the right is fabric from one of the beds my friend was throwing out. I stripped them down and rescued as much fabric and wood as I could.
It's a bit blustery but dry, so I'm off out to walk. I'm aiming for another 100 miles this month, so trying to fit in a little extra walking. I have a day out on Friday with my walking buddies so that will boost it a bit.
Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon. Toodle pip.
Hello. All my own work. I thought I would go for abstract this time, it's 8 x 10 inches. It's so easy, draw a few straight lines, use objects as templates, draw round them, then colour in. These tester pots are going to last me ages. Frame from a charity shop for £1, not sure if it suits the picture, I might change it.
Blurb.....My relationship with my artwork is pure passion. A blank canvas whispers to me and share's it's secrets. My hand is guided in a trance like state to follow the voice in my head. What appears in front of me is a notion of calm, of orderliness, and perfection. I am enthused by colours, they fill me with life, with with hope, and a yearning for a beautiful experience. I am never disappointed.
And if you believe that you will believe anything. Thanks for popping on, I'm off to the library to change my books. We'll catch up soon. Toodle pip
Hello and Good Morning on this wet and dull day in February. 2017 is the Hull year of Culture, and in the city centre is installed a massive wind turbine blade. I went to see it on Thursday. This is my first sighting of it as I walked towards it. Oh wow, that looks big, can't get all of it in one picture.
The wider end sits on a cradle quite low to the ground. Close up you can see the the big bolts that fix it to the main tower. It will be a delicate operation when the crane suspends it while the holes are lined up with those on the main tower. It's amazing that those bolts will support the blade however fierce the wind is blowing.
When you look up to the top of a wind turbine it looks as though the blades are straight, they aren't, they are curved. Several seagulls have taken to using it as a resting place.
It is lying at an angle, corner to corner, across Queen Victoria Square.
The narrow end is supported by a cradle, protected by a wooden surround at ground level.
People can walk underneath it. It looks as though those blocks were put there to stop people bumping their heads as it's a bit low on that end, health and safety and all that.
Fascinating how the cradle works. It rests on some kind of webbing, with rubber buffers each side to clamp it into place. The legs are bolted into the ground, it's all very stable.
Here is a little video, found on yooootooob.
Some have disputed whether this is a work of art. I tend to think it is, because of the surrounding location which has been chosen for it. While it is up in the air sitting on top of a tower, it's a piece of machinery doing it's job. While it's down on the ground and can be viewed at close quarters, with a backdrop of ancient buildings, I see it as art. What do you think? Is it art?
The weather was not good for taking photo's, I snapped a couple as I was walking around the Marina.
I went into the Ferens Art Gallery, but sadly there was a 'no photography' rule, which was a shame, because the Open Exhibition which covered three large galleries, and had several hundred artworks, was fantastic. The talent of these local and amateur artists was very awe inspiring, I really enjoyed looking at them. The Open is on until the 12th of March. I highly recommend a visit.
It's still raining, I'll have lunch, and maybe a quick trip to town later. I've had an email I need to reply to in a post, so that's next on the to do list. Sorry to keep you waiting.
Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon. Toodle pip
Hello. I don't think I will ever understand how a piece of art is valued. I was in The Ropewalk Gallery yesterday at Barton, the exhibition was by artist Gillian Ross Kelsey. I like the colours and the geometrical shapes, but what is it that makes the pictures so expensive? This is one of life's biggest mysteries for me, I can't get my head round it.
Maybe it's because I am a bit of a skinflint, maybe I don't see art as a must have, maybe I am not passionate enough about it. Who knows.
I tend to look at art in a simplistic way, I either like it or don't like it, or maybe it's just ok, or maybe I get really excited by something absolutely amazing. There are lots of maybe's in art. What I don't understand is what is going on in the artists brain as they create their masterpieces. Yes, I read the blurb alongside the picture, either on the wall or in the catalogue, or on their web site, but I am non the wiser as it is all waffle to me. When does any artist say I made this picture because I like it? Or I was excited?
I am in no way criticizing Gillian's work, I just wondered how the price is set. If you want to buy any, go to her web site.
Twelve small canvases at £100 each, £1000 for the set of 12.
The edges have been deliberately left drippy to show the layers of paint.
Larger picture, £850.
Prints are cheaper.
This picture has been sold, it's only a few inches square.
Reading up about the artist, she has years of experience, lots of qualifications, has studied art at all levels, and is well respected. Maybe it's the name that people buy into, and as art is so subjective, maybe anything would sell as art. It's all a bit bonkers to me.
I went on to the Ferens Gallery yesterday in Hull. They have an open exhibition over three galleries, a wide range of a couple of hundred or more artworks by local and amateur artists. I must say that the standards were very high, some fabulous works there. If money was no object I could have picked out a dozen or more for myself. The exhibition is on until the 12th of March, definitely worth a look if you are in Hull.
I'll be back tomorrow with some pictures of The Blade, but for now, I want to get on with my own art. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon. Toodle pip
Good morning. I had a smashing day yesterday with relatives in Nottingham. A time to catch up with the news. Thanks Auntie and cousins.
Just time to put on these pics from the Arts Centre before I go to Crafty Club. There is my picture, Three Trees, hanging proudly with the rest of them.
This is an interesting textile picture. There is a second layer behind the tree at the front, which has been stitched onto fine organza. Lots of machine stitching.
I love the skill and detail in this stitching, all done in cotton on fabric.
A free standing sculpture. A mosaic made of fused paper and painted, supported by lots of fine wires with beads threaded onto them.
Must dash, I need to get ready. We'll catch up soon. Toodle pip
Hello. Thank you everyone for your kind and thoughtful comments. It's a great comfort to me that I have so many understanding readers. I am grateful for your support, through the good times and the sad times. There is now a big empty table in front of me, and a sadness in my heart which I hope will ease as time goes on. Some things we have no control over, life changes all the time, and all we can do is get used to new situations.
Garcia comes every morning, he is waiting at the back door and comes into the kitchen and jumps on the worktop looking for food. He is in his own house overnight, but is let out when everyone goes to work, so he comes straight round here. This morning he didn't find any food in the kitchen so he did what he normally does, comes into the living room and jumps on the table to finish off Bugsy's food. He looked a bit confused, nothing there, everything gone. I have a few sachets left so I opened one for him. Then he settled down on the easy chair next to the table. He is gone now, back home for the night. His owners know he comes here, they don't mind, he commutes between the two of us.
Here are a couple of pictures that I was going to post yesterday. This little bag is a smaller version of a shopping bag. Inside is Helen's birthday present. I thought it would be better than wrapping it in paper which would be thrown away. The bag can be used again. The gift tag is cut from an old greetings card.
The band that played at the party on Saturday night. They were very good and everyone was up dancing, including me.
Today I've been keeping myself busy. I woke up at 5am, and made a coffee and went back to bed. I am half way through reading a book which is quite good. It's a true story about a man who gave up his job to travel the world.
Before breakfast I finished off sewing three more shopping bags. I went to Crafty Club this morning. Not many of us there, one member is away on holiday, and another is having an operation. We still had a nice chat though.
I did my three mile walk this afternoon. Only one day left of this month. I made a target of 100 miles for January, and I will hit that when I have done the walk tomorrow. I hope you are all doing well. I will post up a list of Walking Group names on Wednesday the 1st of February, then you can post your comments on there, how you have done, and your mileage for January.
I have painted this frame today, it was gold, and didn't really suit the picture. The black frame looks a whole lot better. I love the picture even more.
The best thing for me to do is keep my mind busy. Waves of sadness come from nowhere. It's early days, it should get better. Bugsy is buried wrapped in a piece of patchwork that I made nearly fifty years ago. It has fabric from a couple of dresses I made for myself in it. A little bit of me has gone with him.
Got to go, crying again. We'll catch up soon. Ilona
