Quilt for Baby P

 This is a quilt with my first attempt at the log cabin pattern - and I like it! OK, it turned out a bit wonky, but not bad for a first attempt, and I quite like the effect. This is for a friend's baby, and we don't know whether bump is a boy or a girl (although they have quite a gruff voice).  I enjoyed buying some new fabric for this quilt, especially the one with park land. It's probably my geographer instincts. Educate them early I say!

This quilt is the first one that I have sewn on my new machine and I love the machine... It is so easy to use and so, soooo quiet.

Advent season

We don't normally celebrate advent. Sure we put up a tree, eat mince pies and indulge in a glass or three of mulled wine, but as a rule advent is a non-season in this house.

This year is slightly different. Perhaps it is because of an unexpected trip to Berlin where we saw the preparations for the elaborate Christmas markets. I think it was definitely partly due to the purchase of this Christmas Pyramid that I bought in the only Christmas shop that I could find. It came flat packed and my husband and I (with the help of google translate and some pva glue) put it together. I loved that it was something we did together. I love watching it turn round and as I watch the manger scene spin my thoughts inevitably turn to the meaning of Christmas. This year, I at least, am celebrating advent.

Silent House

This is a recent translation of an early work by Orhan Pamuk. It reminded me of My Name is Red, as each chapter is told from the point of view of different character.  Silent House is the story of an extended family, who are all brought under one roof when they visit the graves of some relatives. Set in Turkey shortly before the coup of 1980, each of the characters has a different take on the new and old version of Turkey, their family and friends.

Farfield Mill

I have just returned from a trip up north where my grandma took me on a trip to see Farfield Mill. This was a fascinating trip to a former woolen mill (I'm told the looms still run on weekends). The picture above is a picture of the mill run. Inside the mill there were a number of artists and artisans. I met a lady (former maths teacher) who made beautiful quilts. I regret not taking any photos of her quilts. One of them was a fairly traditional design, but the quilting was done in the design of a celtic cross, and is certainly something that I want to remember. She also made a cute children's quilt, using plain fabric sewn over patterned fabric to create little pockets or envelopes which kids could hide little toys in, or unwrap to look at the pictures. Lovely idea!

My new toy

Happy Birthday to me! This is my new toy, a Janome 525S. Easy to use and so, sooo quiet. I look forward to playing with it and improving my skills over the years to come.

Great Expectations

Great Expectations is one of those books that I always thought I must have read at some point, the story was incredibly familiar. However, I think it was probably one of those books that English teachers referred to occasionally at school, and of-course it seems to be a book that is adapted into a TV series every 5 years or so. So, when I started up this book, I was surprised to find that I hadn't read it before. Sure I knew the story was about a boy called Pip, and of-course I knew about Miss Haversham, and I knew about the storyline (boy gets rich by an anonymous benefactor, moves to London to become a gentleman etc) but what struck me is the depth of character that Dickens created.

I think I have avoided reading Dickens in my adult life due to being subjected to reading the entirety of A Tale of Two Cities by some well meaning but completely bonkers teacher, when I was far too young to appreciate the depth of language and the skillful layering of characters. I'm glad that I've dipped back into Dickens though as I really enjoyed reading Great Expectations, and thoroughly understand why his books are constantly listed in top 100 etc lists of books to read. What was a pleasant experience in reading this, however, is that despite watching a BBC adaptation fairly recently, the ending in the book was completely different to the TV adaptation - Dickens wasn't trying to be family friendly and sometimes there isn't a happy ending.

Lolita

 

Lolita - an intriguing read, but a difficult read given recent events in the UK. A middle aged mad finds a young nymph incredibly attractive and sets about trying to seduce her. I think the story is well known - but it was uncomfortable to read. The book never uses crude language and never particularly describes anything, and I think this is what makes the book more sinister. Humbert Humbert, the middle-aged literature professor is the narrator of this book. He has been caught, and is being tried for murder - this book is his confession.  This novel is a disturbing psychological exploration of desire - and something that I possibly found even more disturbing in my new role as a teacher.

The Road

A very interesting read. Cormac McCarthy writes in a very interesting style. This is a dystopian novel set in an unknown place, at the end of the world which seems to have occurred after a natural disaster of some kind that has covered the world with ash. The reader follows a father and son who have somehow survived. They try to travel south to anticipated warmer and safer climes, existing on found food and trying to avoid the danger of other human contact.  This book has a very dark and sinister undertone which doesn't let up. It is not an easy read, but it is a quick one. I think I found it a difficult read partly because of the content of the book dealing with the survival of a child.  Apparently this novel has been made into a film - I can't picture it - its such a dark novel, and I don't just mean the content. In the novel, the characters often refer to not being able to see in the night, and not wanting to light a fire for fear of being seen but I'm sure that would make a visually stunning scene to watch! (Perhaps I'm wrong...)
  

A Quilting Update

This post is a little bit of an experiment as I am posting direct from my mobile phone for the very first time... Will it look different? I'll find out tomorrow when I look at this on my laptop. (oh and hello to tomorrow's version of me!)

I thought an update on my quilting progress was necessary. See the picture with lots of quilted squares? Well that marks my half way point in the quilting saga. 60 nine-square patches covered in hand stitched doodles of loops and swirls. The close up photo will hopefully show this better but as its white thread on white cotton, maybe not. Flip the quilt shown in the large scale picture over and that (and binding, she whispers in a timid voice) is all that remains of this labour of love.

The more I have quilted the softer and more pliable my quilt has become. I genuinely love it and am incredibly proud of it.

Oh and I have actually done slightly more quilting than I stated above. It's technically only 55 squares to go (and the binding)...

Rebecca

I've seen the movie, stayed in the town where Daphne Du Maurier used to live, seen the outside of the house which was possibly used as inspiration but never read this novel. I loved it, couldn't put it down. There is a dark and sinister undertone that threads throughout the novel. The story follows a young unnamed narrator who marries Maxim de Winter. She returns from their honeymoon in Europe to become the mistress of Manderley, the beautiful home of the de Winters.  Mrs de Winter tries to live her life, completely in love with her new husband, but feeling like she is living in the shadow of her husband's recently deceased wife, Rebecca. The furniture in the home is Rebecca's. The servants love Rebecca. Maxim's grandmother adores Rebecca. Will she be throwing the parties like Rebecca did? This book turns into a psychological thriller and a whodunnit.

Although I have seen the movie, I couldn't remember much of it which is why I found the book so thrilling and enticing. I now need to re-visit Hitchcock's classic to see how close to the book it is.

Goldfinger

It is a fortunate thing when you cannot remember key aspects of a film if you are going to read the book it was based on after watching it. Elements of the plot are still likely to surprise you.

I'm not sure why this book was included in the 1000 novels that everyone must read... I've now read 2 other James Bond novels, which are much better than this one. Perhaps I struggled with the female characters being there as the token gesture to beauty, completely dependent on the male characters for income or protection. Even the female baddie relies on Bond to help him! Argh! Frustration!!! Not a novel I will be going back to... and who on the Guardian panel let this one slip through?

(Cool cover though!)...

Animation Number 2

As promised - the second animation made by my brother. Please click here to visit his site.  All sets and props made by my him with a little help from my mum on some of the costumes.

Breakfast at Tiffanys

Breakfast at Tiffanys - a definite feel good movie and one that I turn to when I feel like I need a little pick me up. I was a little worried about reading the book - the images from the movie were too familiar and I felt like that would influence my imagination. I was right. To be fair to the film, the plot of the story is closely followed, although a couple of the key scenes from the film never occur in the book.  Holly Golightly is a fascinating character, sweet, innocent but equally cunning and manipulative.  She is aware of her charm and uses it to gain money and status from her male admirers. Her life is fascinating and reminds me of the modern day fascination with WAGS and reality TV stars' attempts at fame and fortune - Holly looks for her name in the papers. The book that I read had a few other short stories in there, and I enjoyed them all - especially 'Diamond Guitar'. I would recommend these stories by Truman Capote - they weren't a challenge to read, but the more I think about them, the more I realise that there is a large amount of subtle comments on society, wealth and politics.

Baby girl - quilt

I made this baby quilt over a couple of evenings, using scrap fabric that I am using in my own quilt and some other fabric given by a friend. I prearranged the fabric on the floor but had to add a few lines to the quilt as seam allowance meant that the quilt shrank in size and didn't look in proportion. My pastor and his wife are having a baby girl and this is the first time that I have been able select some pink and purple fabric. The quilt is lined in some lilac fleece and feels very soft to the touch. Measurements are roughly 1 metre by 70 cm. I gave this quilt last night during the baby shower and I have to say that from personal taste, I think this quilt is my favourite baby quilt so far.

Animation 1

A stop-frame Animation made by my brother

I'm not sure how to embed this video, but please click on the link to have a look at this video made by my brother a couple of years ago. He made all of the puppets, sets and combined a mixture of real life and models.  Will be posting the link to another one of his videos soon.

Toby and the Secrets of the Tree

I finished this book at some point last month. The follow up to Toby Alone, this novel was a very quick read. Toby returns back to the tree to rescue his people the the novel follows his adventures on the tree. He brings with him some of the grass people and the story explores some of the racial tensions and misconceptions that happen when two different 'races' mix.  I enjoyed the series, but did feel like this particular novel was rushing to finish the story a little bit. I would recommend this story to competent readers who are tweenagers to early teenagers. Its a good way to introduce children to ideas about environmentalism.

Wives and Daughters

I thought that I had written a post on this book, but clearly not... I finished this book a little while ago. As far as I can tell, its completely unrelated to Elizabeth Gaskell's other book, Cranford, but it is based in a little village. Molly Gibson is the village doctor's daughter. Her mother died when she was young, and Molly's life changes when her father marries again in attempt to ensure that Molly has a significant female influence in her life and to protect her from unwanted male attention. Molly also gains a step-sister in the form of Cynthia. The novel follows the stories of these young girls as they become more aware of male attention, and the attempts of Molly's stepmother to ensure suitable marriages for her daughters. Its a sweet tale, with a little intrigue added. Molly's character was a little sickeningly sweet and perfect for me, which is probably why I enjoyed reading Cynthia's story a little more. The novel finishes abruptly and as I was reading a freebie electronic copy of the story, I initially assumed that maybe a part of it hadn't downloaded properly. It turns out that Elizabeth Gaskell died before she was able to complete the novel. A quick internet research tells me that apparently she had discussed the ending of the novel with a friend, and apparently (and unsurprisingly) the plan was for a happily ever after... perhaps the abrupt ending actually left more up to the imagination.

Toby Alone

Right, the first thing that I am going to say about this book is that when you buy it or borrow it, you may as well pick up the second one and add that to your basket/loan as well. I didn't, I read this, and ordered the second book within 24 hours of completing the book.

Second thing that I will say is that even though this is a children's book, it was an exciting read for an adult too. I read it with a future class in mind, I thought I should find a book that I could read out loud during those occasional five minutes before lunch time or home time. But the thing is - this might be too exciting for that - or maybe its perfect as it has so many cliff hangers?!!

Toby is one and a half millimetres tall and lives on a tree. His life is idyllic, friends to play with and the whole world of the upper regions of the tree to explore, until one day his life changes forever. His family are banished to the lower regions of the tree and Toby's life is suddenly filled with danger. We follow Toby on his adventures, and at the end of the book we find Toby about to start the second part of his adventure (in book 2). The story introduces the idea of environmentalism, climate change and dealing with people who look different to yourself in a very subtle way. The story is accompanied by some adorable greyscale drawings, and as I said at the beginning, as soon as I finished it, I had to order the second book. I have to find out what happens next?...

After Dark

A collection of short stories. After Dark is a combination of stories told by a painter who has collected interesting stories from different people who have sat for his portraits. Each story is given a context by the painter, who introduces the person who told the story. The person sitting for the portrait may just be re-telling the story themselves, and the painter has brought on their reminiscing through commenting on a specific object or building. It is an interesting book, again one that I was able to dip in and out of on the train as I went to and from school. Some of the stories were more interesting than others, and I especially enjoyed the final story 'The Yellow Mask'.

The Sense of an Ending

My second time of reading a Julian Barnes novel, or should I say a novella. This book won the Booker prize but was considerably shorter than I had imagined it would be. The book follows the story of Tony, and his description of childhood and university experiences. It provides details of close and significant relationships. The second half of the book revisits some of these relationships when Tony is in his retirement, and having to re-examine some events with a different perspective provided by the passage of time and through various revelations provided by other characters and their versions of stories and events. All in all, this was a quick read, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I think it was a quick read partly because of the length of the book, as I didn't identify with any of the characters, so certainly wasn't particularly looking to read the book quickly to find out what happened to the characters. In my opinion, I would have chosen 'Pigeon English' over this book to win the award. I just wasn't particularly bothered or enamoured with this book... maybe its just me?...

Gulliver's Travels

Another train journey, e-book venture. A childhood classic that I had yet to read. The story of Lemuel Gulliver and his two mis-adventures resulting from a shipwreck. Lemuel arrives in Lilliput, where the residents are tiny, making him a giant, and his later adventure on Brobdingnag where he kept as a curiosity by the giants of that land. A fun read, that was easy to pick up and put down. Not really that much to say about it - although I think that most children would struggle purely due to the old fashioned language. If I was concentrating on it more, I'm sure that there were some interesting philisophical points that I could have drawn out of it.