October writers group

Wow what a turn out!  Its amazing what a little bit of advertising can do.
So on one hand not so good as less people got to read their work out - an hour isn't very long; but on the other hand we had some really good discussions, which I think can sometimes be more helpful.  After all although the group is here to help writers write better it is also here to help writers not feel quite so lonely.

The best past of the session, after all the good writing, was the comment from one lady who said she was stuck writing the big thing she's working on and starting to hate it.  But after the last session she started thinking about the homework and all these ideas came to her so she wrote them down and remembered how much she enjoys writing.  Hooray!  Now that is what the group is all about.

This months homework:  Use the following as either the starting line or the inspiration for a story or poem: And the blood red poppies flowed from the window and filled the moat…

Onion skin bookbinding

This weekend I did this year's craft course - Onion Skin Bookbinding.  I've promised myself that I can/should have one craft course a year, be it a day, a weekend or a week and this weekend was a real treat.

It look place at Otter Bookbinding where the lovely Marysa looked after us, while Ben of elbel libro bookbinding showed us how to create these amazing bindings.  With a small group of 4 and with everyone else being professional bookbinders I could have felt a little out of my depth, but everyone was lovely and happy to help if there was something I was unfamiliar with.  I even got to have a go with the beautiful guillotine - it made trimming the books effortless!

I had a brilliant weekend and as you can see produced some lovely little books.  I've learnt so much and its given me lots of ideas on how I can continue with my own books.

The square binding is my favourite and I can feel a project coming on - although I think I'll need a bit more practice before its good enough for that.

It's a shame it's back to work again tomorrow - I would happily stay home and make books...

Things to do with carrots

On Saturday 'im outdoors dug up all the carrots which have been busy growing all summer.  There were a lot and it felt like it took me all day to scrub them clean!
First I made myself some sweet carrot chutney although I cut this recipe by half as I wasn't sure how it would work out.  It smelt wonderful as it simmered, but I will have to wait a couple of months to try it at its best.

The rest have been turned into soup, an old recipe from one of my Dad's old cookbooks, or they will be by the end of the week.  Even my huge vat couldn't deal with all the carrots, and to be honest there isn't room in the freezer either.
There is something very satisfying about cooking with your own grown food.  You know exactly where it has come from, what has gone into it and it just tastes better.  I would have used home grown onions in my soup but we'd already used them all.  So one bag of potatoes and some beetroots left.

Running4Women Windsor 10k

This weekend I ran my 4th race this year, the Running4Women Windsor 10k.
I was due to run this with my sister but she had flu so I ran alone.
It was actually a really lovely little event.  We ran round Windsor Great Park on smooth paved roads and only the odd cyclist to content with.  The sun shone and in fact it was a little hot in places.
As I had been expecting to run with my sister I had not trained as hard as I should have, so to come within 18 seconds of my 10k pb isn't bad - 0:55:55.  Maybe with the correct training I'll beat it!
With less than 700 ladies running and a well marshaled route the whole race had a brilliant atmosphere.  I'd certainly be happy to run here again; maybe next time sister will be well enough to join me.

September writers group

After a break for the summer it was great to meet up with the writers group again.
With lots of new faces we had a full room!  A little bit of advertising over the summer helped I think.

The last homework was to write about a celebration and it was great to see, once again, the great range in what was celebrated or not as the case may be.  I loved the story of a girl trying to win her last sports day race; although the lady who wrote it doesn't do much running, it felt like she'd captured all the things I think and feel when I race.

And I actually had something to share this time too, although it had nothing to do with a celebration.  Early morning writing really works for me.  I might have to start getting up at 5am and going to bed at 8.30pm!!  I think 'im outdoors might complain. 

With a little time left at the end we had time for an exercise, so we had 10 minutes to write from 'And then the lights came on...' which put some of our new writers under pressure, but created some intriguing starts; I hope they will revisit them and take them further.

This months homework:  Use the following as either the starting line or the inspiration for a story or poem:  A young girl walks down the High Street.  Clutched to her chest is a pair of bright red, extremely high heels...

Knitting patterns

If you've been following this blog you will know that I have just started knitting.  I feel I have mastered simple patterns so thought I would try something a little more tricksy.
The first part wasn't too bad - I have now made three button holes and they seem to have worked well, but then we got into a part of the pattern which needs me to decrease and increase stitches, but just says things like 'Cast off 2 sts, patt to last 3 sts'.  I can understand why they don't go into full detail - the pattern would be pages long, but it does leave me feeling a little lost.
Being quite a visual person it occurred to me that if I drew it out then I would know exactly what I should be doing and when.  Out comes the white board and 40 minutes later I have my pattern.  Assuming everything goes to plan I should have something to show for it soon.

Salisbury Contemporary Craft and Heritage Fayre

This weekend we went to the Salisbury Contemporary Craft and Heritage Fayre. We weren't really sure what to expect but there was a really nice selection of crafts and some cool heritage stuff too, althought I would have liked to see more. I think the chair maker and the chap making metal arrow heads were my favourites. 
In the craft marquee there was an amazing selection of jewellery, glass, wood, leather, wool and other things. Part of me was there as a customer, I bought a silver ring and a pair of leather ear rings, but a part of me was there absorbing everything and saving it for inspiration later. 
As always I was surprised at the lack of paper crafts. There seems to be a huge gap in the market, but I don't know if it's because no one is interested, so people don't buy it, (or they can't compete with Smiths) or if it just hasn't been tried yet?  I did see a really lovely book but it was the note pad of one of the exhibitors so not for sale. 

On the way home we stopped in Stockbridge and after watching the ducks and trout went to Broughton Crafts. I first visited this shop in 1991 and as a child I wanted everything in it, so it was a pleasant surprise to find that as an adult I still wanted everything in it, but now I have the money to spend if I want to!

A grand day out, I look forward to seeing what it inspires me to do.

Zen and the Art of Knitting

I've just been reading Zen and the Art of Knitting by Bernadette Murphy, which I was given for my birthday.  Its an interesting read, but the thing I found most interesting was that quite a lot of the knitters featured in the book, knitted because they enjoyed the process of knitting, not because of what they made.  Most seemed to give the finished article away either as gifts to loved ones or to charities.  

I found this so interesting because I love to make things too, but it is the making I love the most.  I don't mind what I am making as long as I am making something, but I also hate waste and a house full of rubbish, and so I either make things as gifts or to have a purpose.  I guess that's why I love bookbinding and paper making so much and why I've just started out on the knitting journey - at the end of all three processes you should have something of use.

I wonder what that means about beautiful works of art or things like my little hare?  Does the beauty of the item cancel out the need for it to have a use?  Its beyond me, but I know that I will continue to make stuff for as long as I can.