Once again, a very busy week for me. Here's what I did
Work
A madly busy week at work, with a trip to Brussels at the end of it. I was most impressed with the Eurostar service out of St Pancras, which was much quicker than the old service out of Waterloo and as an added bonus it didn't stop at Ashford, which is the gateway to hell. I stayed at the highly recommended Noga Hotel, a quirky but reasonably priced hotel with a gorgeous white cat, a sweet little dog, and the most spartan rooms going, outside of prison.
Where I went
Highlight of the week was the trip to Brussels - not that I saw much of the place but I did get the chance to pick up some relatively cheap cigarettes and chocolate at Midi station. It was so nice today (Sunday) that I went for a walk to the park in the afternoon, and sat there basking in the sun and reading my book for about an hour.
What I made
I did some more work on the crocheted lattice scarf, the floral filigree beaded scarf and the black heart bracelet. I couldn't go to my metal clay course because of the trip to Brussels, but writing this has reminded me that I still need to do my "homework" and sand down the ring I made last week in preparation for firing it this week. I made a crunchy-top lemon cake on Saturday, which was troughed down in record time by my husband, two daughters and myself.
What I read
I finished the "Kings of Albion" by Julian Rathbone. A mixed bag of a book - I really enjoyed the descriptive bits about 15th century England, but the discussions of religion and science left me cold, and I think that even Mr Rathbone was a bit sick of the book by the end, because the last 50 pages were of much lower quality than the rest of the book. Still, I loved his final summary of what it truly means to be English, which I'll repeat here (if you'll indulge me):-
"They are a nation of individuals who yet can combine and behave with ferocious bravery under leaders they respect; they are skillful and ruthless traders with few natural assets of their own to exploit; they are foolhardy sea-farers; they are inordinately arrogant; they are ruthless, unforgiving, cruel enemies. Unfettered by morals or a common religion they take an empirical, practical view of life, adapting their beliefs to circumstances, though always favouring an approach which leaves each individual the captain of his own soul. They enjoy and even live for camaraderie. the company of their fellows, physical prowess, hedonistic if simple enjoyment shared with others, strong drink and rough, speedily concluded sex. They have an incredible capacity to suffer pain for a short term, and will face death willingly. But they will not put up with pain or toil as a life-choice. They hate boredom. They will cheerfully accept individuals of other creeds and races as individuals, especially if they take a personal liking to them, while continuing to despise all foreigners in general. They are mad. One day they will conquer the world."
I also started to read "Out of the Blue" (or possibly "Into the Blue") by Robert Goddard. It's like every other book that Robert Goddard ever wrote - they're always a good read, the pages virtually turn themselves, but six months' down the tracks you can't remember what it was about, the names of the characters etc etc
What I learned this week
Sitting through an episode of "Lark Rise to Candleford" is a horrible experience, but not as bad as you think it's going to be.
Sunday, 15 March 2009
Sunday, 8 March 2009
My first publication!
A great week for me - one of the bracelets I designed was published this week on the website of American magazine Bead and Button. The pattern for the Art Deco themed bracelet "Diamonds and Chevrons" can be downloaded for free, but you'll have to register with the Bead and Button website to get hold of it - the link is below. It was also on the front page of the website....brag, brag, brag!
www.beadandbutton.com
Work
Another busy week. A trip to NHS East of England in the wilds of Cambridgeshire on Monday, and a trip to the Brook conference at the Oval Cricket Ground on Thursday.
Where I went
I had my non-working day on Wednesday rather than Monday, and so I decided to go for a walk in North London. I took the tube to Golders Green and started to walk South, along a road which cut across Hampstead Health to Hampstead itself, where I poked about the little streets and posh shops and got some organic bath cream. I then walked to Belsize Park where I managed to pick up a real bargain in the Marie Curie charity shop - a ghastly 70s necklace, which had 10 extremely large turquoise lampworked glass beads. Other than that I haven't been anywhere else this week.
What I made
More work on the floral filigree beaded scarf, and more work on the Black Heart square stitched bracelet. In metal clay class we started work on making a ring. I won't be able to go to the class next week - more of why not in next week's blog - so I have to do quite a lot of the filing and smoothing at home.
What I read
I'm reading "Kings of Albion" by Julian Rathbone. It's a story about how a price of Vijayangaran (in South India) travelled to England together with his guides and entourage in the 1460s in search of his long-lost brother, and stumbles right into the beginning of the Wars of the Roses. Some amusing insights into what noblemen from a civilised empire made of the dirty, stinking, filthy countries they found in Northern Europe.
What I learned this week
The Oval Cricket Ground is nowhere near as big in real life than it looks on the telly.
www.beadandbutton.com
Work
Another busy week. A trip to NHS East of England in the wilds of Cambridgeshire on Monday, and a trip to the Brook conference at the Oval Cricket Ground on Thursday.
Where I went
I had my non-working day on Wednesday rather than Monday, and so I decided to go for a walk in North London. I took the tube to Golders Green and started to walk South, along a road which cut across Hampstead Health to Hampstead itself, where I poked about the little streets and posh shops and got some organic bath cream. I then walked to Belsize Park where I managed to pick up a real bargain in the Marie Curie charity shop - a ghastly 70s necklace, which had 10 extremely large turquoise lampworked glass beads. Other than that I haven't been anywhere else this week.
What I made
More work on the floral filigree beaded scarf, and more work on the Black Heart square stitched bracelet. In metal clay class we started work on making a ring. I won't be able to go to the class next week - more of why not in next week's blog - so I have to do quite a lot of the filing and smoothing at home.
What I read
I'm reading "Kings of Albion" by Julian Rathbone. It's a story about how a price of Vijayangaran (in South India) travelled to England together with his guides and entourage in the 1460s in search of his long-lost brother, and stumbles right into the beginning of the Wars of the Roses. Some amusing insights into what noblemen from a civilised empire made of the dirty, stinking, filthy countries they found in Northern Europe.
What I learned this week
The Oval Cricket Ground is nowhere near as big in real life than it looks on the telly.
Sunday, 1 March 2009
No, really, I couldn't
A good but very busy week
Work
Horrifically busy at work leading up to Thursday, when the latest figures on teenage conceptions were published. Luckily the frenetic pace knocked off a bit after that.
Where I went
Well, I haven't been to very many places other than work and by metal clay class this week, but that's fine because the last couple of weeks have been very hectic. Today we went to Sidcup Place - a restaurant at (you'll never guess) Sidcup - and I completely stuffed my face with all manner of good things.
What I made
Much of the week has been devoted to making a leaving present for an old colleague. I decided to make a silver pendant using my new metal clay skills so over the course of the week I made, fired and polished a stippled silver disc pendant, and the strung the pendant on a double length of beading thread using a mix of black, whit, silver and grey seed beads with clear, black and grey 4mm fire-polished faceted beads occurring randomly along the strands, and finished the piece with a silver coloured toggle clasp.
In metal clay class on Thursday we finished the syringed shape from last week's class in the kiln, and then polished it in the barrel polisher, but it didn't come out particularly shiny.
I also worked on the crocheted lattice scarf, the floral filigree beaded scarf and the black heart cuff. Bead magazine have decided to prepare an e-newsletter and it was gratifying to see that my forthcoming project was mentioned in the newsletter.
What I read
I'm still reading the "Short Life and Long Times of Mrs Beeton", a journalist who died following childbirth when she was 28. I'm enjoying the book. I don't think the book really gets to grips with her and her character, but its fascinating to read about the world of magazine publishing in Victorian England.
What I learned this week
That quite a lot of people hold extremely strong views on the subject of teenage pregnancy - and some hold quite disturbing views on what should be done about it.
Work
Horrifically busy at work leading up to Thursday, when the latest figures on teenage conceptions were published. Luckily the frenetic pace knocked off a bit after that.
Where I went
Well, I haven't been to very many places other than work and by metal clay class this week, but that's fine because the last couple of weeks have been very hectic. Today we went to Sidcup Place - a restaurant at (you'll never guess) Sidcup - and I completely stuffed my face with all manner of good things.
What I made
Much of the week has been devoted to making a leaving present for an old colleague. I decided to make a silver pendant using my new metal clay skills so over the course of the week I made, fired and polished a stippled silver disc pendant, and the strung the pendant on a double length of beading thread using a mix of black, whit, silver and grey seed beads with clear, black and grey 4mm fire-polished faceted beads occurring randomly along the strands, and finished the piece with a silver coloured toggle clasp.
In metal clay class on Thursday we finished the syringed shape from last week's class in the kiln, and then polished it in the barrel polisher, but it didn't come out particularly shiny.
I also worked on the crocheted lattice scarf, the floral filigree beaded scarf and the black heart cuff. Bead magazine have decided to prepare an e-newsletter and it was gratifying to see that my forthcoming project was mentioned in the newsletter.
What I read
I'm still reading the "Short Life and Long Times of Mrs Beeton", a journalist who died following childbirth when she was 28. I'm enjoying the book. I don't think the book really gets to grips with her and her character, but its fascinating to read about the world of magazine publishing in Victorian England.
What I learned this week
That quite a lot of people hold extremely strong views on the subject of teenage pregnancy - and some hold quite disturbing views on what should be done about it.
Sunday, 22 February 2009
Hmm......where does that bit go?
A busy week and weekend
Work
Hellishly busy week at work. A colleague showed me her contraceptive demonstration kit and if that doesn't put you off sex for ever then nothing will. Of particular note was one of the diaphragms - it was almost completely rigid and the thought of trying to insert it really made me wince!
Where I went
Went for a walk round Surrey Docks and Rotherhithe on Monday What a very strange place it is. Some parts, particularly those round the old docks, have been gentrified and now it's all quayside apartments with views over the docks and the river, but the apartments are very, very small indeed. Away from the dock areas it's still old council houses and flats which are quite tatty and also very,very small indeed. There are very few amenities - no newsagents shops, supermarkets, bars and restaurants. It looks like it's trying very hard to be Docklands, and failing. Still, it is an interesting area with a lot of history.
On Saturday I went shopping in Tottenham Court Road. That is to say, I hadn't entirely intended to buy anything - the true purpose of the trip was to have a look at various laptops and netbooks to look for one that would be suitable for internet browsing on the move, and also suitable for watching DVDs while crafting. I decided to go for a Samsung NC10 netbook (and also bought an optical drive for the DVDs) and spent most of Saturday evening setting it up.
On Sunday I went to the Make It! craft show at Farnborough "International" Airport (honestly, who do they think they're kidding). The round trip was extremely long - I spent just over 6 hours on various buses and trains.I went primarily to see if any of the many papercraft stalls could sell me anything for using with metal clay and the answer, in a nutshell, was no. I did buy a texture sheet and some cutters from the single, small metal clay stall. I bought a couple of bits and bobs in the paper line, and some black and red delica beads. It was a useful day though, because I now know what this particular show offers and can make an informed decision on whether to go again.
What I made
Further work on the crochet lattice scarf. Further work also on the floral filigree beaded scarf. On Sunday evening I cut up my first attempt at the Black Heart cuff, which I'd made with seed beads, and started again with the delica beads I'd bought at Make It!. This was the first time I've used delicas, and I must say that the stitching experience wasn't as smooth as I thought it would be. In metal clay class we had great fun covering our cork clay shape with some swirly patterns using clay paste in a syringe, and that will be fired in the kiln next week. The rest of the lesson was devoted to finishing off the layering project. Polishing a small piece with lots of crevasses and twiddly bits was difficult, and I wish we'd had access to a tumble polisher.
What I read
This week I read "Darkly Dreaming Dexter" by Jeff Lindsay. It sorts of covers the same ground as the first season of the TV series, and the TV series has a much. much better plot I have to say. But there is some good writing in the book, and Dexter on the page is a more believable character than Dexter on the screen. I'm currently reading "the Short Life and Long Times of Mrs Beeton". More of this next week.
What I learned this week
That the sorts of people who make cards and scrapbooks are - perhaps unsurprisingly - just the same as people who knit, embroider and make jewellery. That is to say, for the most part they are white, female, middle-aged and middle-class.
Work
Hellishly busy week at work. A colleague showed me her contraceptive demonstration kit and if that doesn't put you off sex for ever then nothing will. Of particular note was one of the diaphragms - it was almost completely rigid and the thought of trying to insert it really made me wince!
Where I went
Went for a walk round Surrey Docks and Rotherhithe on Monday What a very strange place it is. Some parts, particularly those round the old docks, have been gentrified and now it's all quayside apartments with views over the docks and the river, but the apartments are very, very small indeed. Away from the dock areas it's still old council houses and flats which are quite tatty and also very,very small indeed. There are very few amenities - no newsagents shops, supermarkets, bars and restaurants. It looks like it's trying very hard to be Docklands, and failing. Still, it is an interesting area with a lot of history.
On Saturday I went shopping in Tottenham Court Road. That is to say, I hadn't entirely intended to buy anything - the true purpose of the trip was to have a look at various laptops and netbooks to look for one that would be suitable for internet browsing on the move, and also suitable for watching DVDs while crafting. I decided to go for a Samsung NC10 netbook (and also bought an optical drive for the DVDs) and spent most of Saturday evening setting it up.
On Sunday I went to the Make It! craft show at Farnborough "International" Airport (honestly, who do they think they're kidding). The round trip was extremely long - I spent just over 6 hours on various buses and trains.I went primarily to see if any of the many papercraft stalls could sell me anything for using with metal clay and the answer, in a nutshell, was no. I did buy a texture sheet and some cutters from the single, small metal clay stall. I bought a couple of bits and bobs in the paper line, and some black and red delica beads. It was a useful day though, because I now know what this particular show offers and can make an informed decision on whether to go again.
What I made
Further work on the crochet lattice scarf. Further work also on the floral filigree beaded scarf. On Sunday evening I cut up my first attempt at the Black Heart cuff, which I'd made with seed beads, and started again with the delica beads I'd bought at Make It!. This was the first time I've used delicas, and I must say that the stitching experience wasn't as smooth as I thought it would be. In metal clay class we had great fun covering our cork clay shape with some swirly patterns using clay paste in a syringe, and that will be fired in the kiln next week. The rest of the lesson was devoted to finishing off the layering project. Polishing a small piece with lots of crevasses and twiddly bits was difficult, and I wish we'd had access to a tumble polisher.
What I read
This week I read "Darkly Dreaming Dexter" by Jeff Lindsay. It sorts of covers the same ground as the first season of the TV series, and the TV series has a much. much better plot I have to say. But there is some good writing in the book, and Dexter on the page is a more believable character than Dexter on the screen. I'm currently reading "the Short Life and Long Times of Mrs Beeton". More of this next week.
What I learned this week
That the sorts of people who make cards and scrapbooks are - perhaps unsurprisingly - just the same as people who knit, embroider and make jewellery. That is to say, for the most part they are white, female, middle-aged and middle-class.
Sunday, 15 February 2009
A New Start
Not much to report this week....here it is
Work
Started a new job and felt pretty much like a spare part - and probably will do until I know more about the subject matter.
Where I went
Unfortunately I haven't been anywhere much this week, apart from going to work. Went shopping on Sunday and bought some stuff from Crabtree and Evelyn and Neal's Yard.
What I made
Continued with the crochet lattice scarf, and did some rows of the mohair scarf while watching Battlestar Gallactica. At metal clay class on Thursday I made a cork clay shape for next week's class (when we'll be using the clay syringes), and made the shapes for and constructed the diamonds and stars pendant which I'll be firing next week. The class pretty much packed in at 9pm when people noticed that it had started snowing, and wanted to drive home before it got too bad. My car wouldn't start at all, but luckily one of the security guards helped me to push start it before I had to call out the AA. I also took a break from the Floral Filigree beaded scarf and started my Black Heart square stitch cuff. But the variations in the size of the seed beads I'm using means that it is all over the place, and looks far too wonky. So I'll have to cut it up and try the bracelet again. I'm going to buy some delicas and make it using them.
What I read
In the spirit of reading something a bit different from my usual reading material, I read The Painted Man by Peter V Brett. It's a fantasy novel set in a world where the darkness is ruled by demons, and the vastly reduced human population cower nightly behind magic wards. Towns and villages are few, and hardly anybody travels anywhere. Will this state of affairs continue, or will a few brave souls take on the demons...and win? Well of course they will! The first of a trilogy, it wasn't at all bad for a fantasy story, and I will probably read the next two when they come out.
What I learned this week
That latex "dental dams" can be put to surprising other uses.
Work
Started a new job and felt pretty much like a spare part - and probably will do until I know more about the subject matter.
Where I went
Unfortunately I haven't been anywhere much this week, apart from going to work. Went shopping on Sunday and bought some stuff from Crabtree and Evelyn and Neal's Yard.
What I made
Continued with the crochet lattice scarf, and did some rows of the mohair scarf while watching Battlestar Gallactica. At metal clay class on Thursday I made a cork clay shape for next week's class (when we'll be using the clay syringes), and made the shapes for and constructed the diamonds and stars pendant which I'll be firing next week. The class pretty much packed in at 9pm when people noticed that it had started snowing, and wanted to drive home before it got too bad. My car wouldn't start at all, but luckily one of the security guards helped me to push start it before I had to call out the AA. I also took a break from the Floral Filigree beaded scarf and started my Black Heart square stitch cuff. But the variations in the size of the seed beads I'm using means that it is all over the place, and looks far too wonky. So I'll have to cut it up and try the bracelet again. I'm going to buy some delicas and make it using them.
What I read
In the spirit of reading something a bit different from my usual reading material, I read The Painted Man by Peter V Brett. It's a fantasy novel set in a world where the darkness is ruled by demons, and the vastly reduced human population cower nightly behind magic wards. Towns and villages are few, and hardly anybody travels anywhere. Will this state of affairs continue, or will a few brave souls take on the demons...and win? Well of course they will! The first of a trilogy, it wasn't at all bad for a fantasy story, and I will probably read the next two when they come out.
What I learned this week
That latex "dental dams" can be put to surprising other uses.
Sunday, 8 February 2009
Goodbye to all that
The week has been very much dominated by the snow. The south-east of Britain shut down on Monday - no buses, no trains, no flights and I think there was widespread disruption on the tubes as well. My daughters' school was closed until Thursday, which was pushing it a bit, I think. I also had to apologise in advance to one of my Etsy customers in Australia for any delays in getting her purchase to her via airmail.
Work
Big news of the week is that I have left my job at the Department of Health......for another job at the Department of Health. Had an excellent leaving do on Friday.
Where I've been
Well, I haven't been anywhere this week apart from to work and to the shops. My precious metal clay evening class on Thursday was cancelled as well, due to the bad weather.
What I made
Continued with my crocheted lattice scarf, my knitted mohair scarf, and my "floral filigree" beaded scarf. I have completed the 20th row, which means that I'm just over a quarter of the way through the scarf, and that also means that it's time to take a short break to work on something else in the bead line. Worked on my cross-stitch picture of Jane Austen's house on Sunday.
I made some choc-chip cookies on Tuesday. It's not really extending the boudaries of my baking knowledge, but they did taste good.
I spent quite a bit of time on Saturday creating my new website - see link on the sidebar.
What I read
I read two books this week. The first was "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman. A reasonably good book for children - though not one of his best - which nevertheless had me blubbing at the end. The other book was "Self-Made Man" by American author and journalist Norah Vincent who spent just over a year disguised as a man, partaking of particularly male experiences such as joining a bowling team, going to strip clubs, joining a monastry and attending a men's group. Like most women (I suppose) I've wondered from time to time about what my life would be like if I was a man rather than a woman, and that's what prompted me to read this book. It's a surprisingly thought-provoking look at what motivates both men and women, why we behave as we do, the support we can guve to each other and the damage we can do as well. Highly recommended.
What I learned this week
Snow and ice can - perhaps unsurprisingly - be very slippery.
Work
Big news of the week is that I have left my job at the Department of Health......for another job at the Department of Health. Had an excellent leaving do on Friday.
Where I've been
Well, I haven't been anywhere this week apart from to work and to the shops. My precious metal clay evening class on Thursday was cancelled as well, due to the bad weather.
What I made
Continued with my crocheted lattice scarf, my knitted mohair scarf, and my "floral filigree" beaded scarf. I have completed the 20th row, which means that I'm just over a quarter of the way through the scarf, and that also means that it's time to take a short break to work on something else in the bead line. Worked on my cross-stitch picture of Jane Austen's house on Sunday.
I made some choc-chip cookies on Tuesday. It's not really extending the boudaries of my baking knowledge, but they did taste good.
I spent quite a bit of time on Saturday creating my new website - see link on the sidebar.
What I read
I read two books this week. The first was "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman. A reasonably good book for children - though not one of his best - which nevertheless had me blubbing at the end. The other book was "Self-Made Man" by American author and journalist Norah Vincent who spent just over a year disguised as a man, partaking of particularly male experiences such as joining a bowling team, going to strip clubs, joining a monastry and attending a men's group. Like most women (I suppose) I've wondered from time to time about what my life would be like if I was a man rather than a woman, and that's what prompted me to read this book. It's a surprisingly thought-provoking look at what motivates both men and women, why we behave as we do, the support we can guve to each other and the damage we can do as well. Highly recommended.
What I learned this week
Snow and ice can - perhaps unsurprisingly - be very slippery.
Sunday, 1 February 2009
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow
It's been snowing for the last six hours and there's about 4 inches of snow lying at the moment. The girls are convinced that the school will be closed tomorrow and they'll get a day off, but I'm not so sure.
Work
A so-so week at work. Unfortunately the most talked-about event of the week was the murder of a homeless immigrant who had been living in the disused office block next door. A power failure meant that - tragically - we all had to go home at 3.30pm on Friday.
Where I've been
Went to a truly excellent exhibition on Saturday at the Women's Library (in London, near Aldgate) about the history of women's magazines over the last two hundred years. I now know why the writing on the cover is so important, and why most magazines use a picture of a women looking straight ahead on the cover. The exhibition is on until April - more details if you click the link below.
http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/thewomenslibrary/
Went to the London Bead Fair at Kempton Park racecourse today. The economic downturn must be beginning to bite because it was a lot emptier this year. My first visit two years ago was like a descent into hell. I hadn't been to a bead show before and, given the nature of the people who do beadwork and jewellery making, I thought that it would be quite a civilised affair. Well, I was wrong. I walked into a melee of white, middle-aged middle-class women quite literally fighting each other to get to see the stalls and buy stuff, with a few dazed looking husbands standing about. This year was very different, and the minor injuries I sustained will have cleared up by the end of the week. I also got home before it really started snowing in earnest, which was a bonus.
What I've made
I continued work on the cross-stitch picture of Jane Austen's house. I didn't make a great deal of progress with the mohair scarf I've been knitting on the way to work because it's just been too damn cold for me to be bothered getting the needles out. The lattice crocheted scarf had another four inches added to it. It's made with some gorgeous sock yarn I bought from Babylonglegs's shop on Folksy - see link below:-
http://www.folksy.com/shops/babylonglegs
I also plugged away with my Floral Filigree Beaded Scarf. This is a mammoth project which, based on how much I've done so far, will take about four months to complete, and will need about 150g of size 15 seed beads and 400 4mm crystal bicones. I've completed 16 "rows" so far, and I started it on 3 January. Once I've completed 20 rows I'll take a short break and bead something else, to make sure I don't get bored. I had the third lesson (of 11) of my precious metal clay course, which was devoted to finishing the pieces we made last week and designing our next piece using polymer clay (before replicating it in sliver clay). My first piece was a tiny flower-shaped pendant which I have since made into a necklace - photo to follow.
What I read
One of my New Year's resolutions was to read more widely, so this week I've been reading "The Shrine of Jeffrey Dahmer" by Brian Masters. (Jeffrey Dahmer killed 17 men in Milwaukee in the late 1980s and early 1990s before he was caught in 1991). All tribute to Mr Masters for taking a serious rather than sensational approach to the subject, but it was nevertheless a disturbing read and I didn't feel I knew very much more at the end of the book about why Dahmer murdered all those men than I did at the beginning.
I also plan, during the course of 2009, to read all the national daily newspapers published in in UK. So last Friday I started by reading the Daily Mail. I have never in my life read an entire copy of the Daily Mail before. My impression of the paper before I read it was that it was aimed at and reflected the views of middle-class Conservative voters living in the South of England, and I wasn't wrong. "What kind of monsters would steal children from their grandparents and give them to two gay men?" ranted columnist Richard Littlejohn. His story about two children, who couldn't be left in the care of their recovering heroin addict mother and who were being taken away from their sick grandparents to be forcibly adopted by two gay men, tended to make the reader think that there was lots of information that Richard wasn't giving us because it didn't quite fit with what he wanted to say.
What I learned this week
Gas-fired blowtorches - perhaps unsurprisingly - can get very, very hot.
Work
A so-so week at work. Unfortunately the most talked-about event of the week was the murder of a homeless immigrant who had been living in the disused office block next door. A power failure meant that - tragically - we all had to go home at 3.30pm on Friday.
Where I've been
Went to a truly excellent exhibition on Saturday at the Women's Library (in London, near Aldgate) about the history of women's magazines over the last two hundred years. I now know why the writing on the cover is so important, and why most magazines use a picture of a women looking straight ahead on the cover. The exhibition is on until April - more details if you click the link below.
http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/thewomenslibrary/
Went to the London Bead Fair at Kempton Park racecourse today. The economic downturn must be beginning to bite because it was a lot emptier this year. My first visit two years ago was like a descent into hell. I hadn't been to a bead show before and, given the nature of the people who do beadwork and jewellery making, I thought that it would be quite a civilised affair. Well, I was wrong. I walked into a melee of white, middle-aged middle-class women quite literally fighting each other to get to see the stalls and buy stuff, with a few dazed looking husbands standing about. This year was very different, and the minor injuries I sustained will have cleared up by the end of the week. I also got home before it really started snowing in earnest, which was a bonus.
What I've made
I continued work on the cross-stitch picture of Jane Austen's house. I didn't make a great deal of progress with the mohair scarf I've been knitting on the way to work because it's just been too damn cold for me to be bothered getting the needles out. The lattice crocheted scarf had another four inches added to it. It's made with some gorgeous sock yarn I bought from Babylonglegs's shop on Folksy - see link below:-
http://www.folksy.com/shops/babylonglegs
I also plugged away with my Floral Filigree Beaded Scarf. This is a mammoth project which, based on how much I've done so far, will take about four months to complete, and will need about 150g of size 15 seed beads and 400 4mm crystal bicones. I've completed 16 "rows" so far, and I started it on 3 January. Once I've completed 20 rows I'll take a short break and bead something else, to make sure I don't get bored. I had the third lesson (of 11) of my precious metal clay course, which was devoted to finishing the pieces we made last week and designing our next piece using polymer clay (before replicating it in sliver clay). My first piece was a tiny flower-shaped pendant which I have since made into a necklace - photo to follow.
What I read
One of my New Year's resolutions was to read more widely, so this week I've been reading "The Shrine of Jeffrey Dahmer" by Brian Masters. (Jeffrey Dahmer killed 17 men in Milwaukee in the late 1980s and early 1990s before he was caught in 1991). All tribute to Mr Masters for taking a serious rather than sensational approach to the subject, but it was nevertheless a disturbing read and I didn't feel I knew very much more at the end of the book about why Dahmer murdered all those men than I did at the beginning.
I also plan, during the course of 2009, to read all the national daily newspapers published in in UK. So last Friday I started by reading the Daily Mail. I have never in my life read an entire copy of the Daily Mail before. My impression of the paper before I read it was that it was aimed at and reflected the views of middle-class Conservative voters living in the South of England, and I wasn't wrong. "What kind of monsters would steal children from their grandparents and give them to two gay men?" ranted columnist Richard Littlejohn. His story about two children, who couldn't be left in the care of their recovering heroin addict mother and who were being taken away from their sick grandparents to be forcibly adopted by two gay men, tended to make the reader think that there was lots of information that Richard wasn't giving us because it didn't quite fit with what he wanted to say.
What I learned this week
Gas-fired blowtorches - perhaps unsurprisingly - can get very, very hot.
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