Aunty Social

Yesterday I went on a day trip to Blackpool as I was invited by Linzi Cason to take part in a press event in The Old Rock Factory on behalf of Redeye - The Photography Network. More about that later in the week but as Linzi showed us around the building she took us to the meeting place of Aunty Social, a community group that creates opportunities through craft, art, music and plenty of other cultural activities. 

I didn't think I would ever say this, having had a dubious experience living in Blackpool for six months about 10 years ago but I would quite like to be there right now and be part of Aunty Social. One of their groups Knittas with Attitude look like a bunch of fabulous crafts people, meeting in a fabulous place and look at the things they produce!

Girls to my own heart really, pompons and bunting, how much better does a studio interior get? 

I absolutely love this bike. That is yarn bombing at it's best! I heard the bike had been "exhibited" in the town centre and the reactions from people where truly fabulous with one woman remarking to her daughter that it was covered in yarns so that drunk people wouldn't hurt themselves! Classic! 

An awful lot has changed in Blackpool in the last 10 years. The Old Rock Factory is fabulous, the town centre is unrecognisable with many newly paved streets, street lighting and some sort of of music/light/arches installation. But one of the most memorable things is the comedy carpet but as I mentioned more about the day later. Just couldn't resist to post these shots of this wonderful group.

Bunting & banter

I am not sure if it was the wet winter months that caused a flurry of bunting making parties or whether people are still in the party mood following the Royal Wedding and the Diamond Jubilee but there is definitely a need for jolly flags around. 

With a suitcase full of red and purple I went to a lovely 10 year old who was very keen to do a sewing party for her birthday. The "Little Miss Sew & So" package can be tailored to any age (even to those who cannot handle a needle) and a popular activity is bunting making. 

The girls at this party were fortunate enough to have a sewing circle at their primary school. Not many schools have that luxury and I believe it is crucial to keep these skills alive, I have come across too many girls in their 20's and 30's who literally cannot sew on a button.

There are of course many ways to make bunting but this jolly troupe went for the traditional triangular flags.

     


Some of them had not done any sewing before but got the hang of it really quickly and decorated their flags beautifully with hearts and flowers. I did bring some felt stickers, so I suppose I made them cheat a little but we are pretended they were put on using Bondaweb and I promised not to tell anyone!

Afterwards the party girl's mum sent me a lovely letter:


"Thank you for a lovely party on Saturday. Some of the girls who had very limited experience of sewing were really inspired by the party and their parents have come up to me in the playground and said how they haven’t stopped talking about it and they have been sewing and finishing their bunting at home. So it inspired some girls and my daughter loved it, showing her friends her talents."

Thank you, this cheered up my day! 

Something old, something new...

.... something borrowed, something blue.

That is exactly what I packed in my suitcase to take to a hen party in Manchester city centre this weekend. The hens had decided on a crafty afternoon and I was asked to bring green and blue fabrics to make bunting. The bride did not know anything about me coming or what the girls were going to do, which was very exciting.

When it comes to bunting making for a wedding I always like to bring vintage fabrics along, I think it adds a romantic touch and of course it is the "something old". The new were the other fabrics, the blue well that was one of the colours and for the borrowed we had some scissors that were in the hotel apartment.

The bride was very excited and after some deliberating as to whether they were going to make individual bunting to take home or something together, the girls decided to make a long line of bunting for the wedding and made a lovely design, each decorating two flags with some plain ones at the ends.

I am looking forward to seeing the finished result in the wedding pictures and will post them when they come in. Unless of course they appear on the Busy Betsy Facebook page. Please 'Like' if you haven't already. 

And if you'd like to do some bunting making, do get in touch info@busybetsy.co.uk. 

Granny's Little Helper

In a usual start of the year attempt to get my craft room tidy, I have been going through a big box of bags of bits and bobs. On this journey I have found many small bits of fabric that will need to be turned into brooches and hair clips and I have found a large amount of colourful dk yarn. As it is the end of winter (well feels more like the start) I didn't feel like knitting some girlie scarves but fancied a bit of crochet.

Now I can make all sorts but crochet has never been my forte. Crochet in my crafts is a bit like risotto used to be in my cooking, a bit stiff and not very successful. Fortunately I have found the perfect risotto recipe so I master that one now and was quite keen to get another skill mastered in 2012. Off I went to the library as the web wasn't much help. Lots of people trying to sell their patterns but no-one explaining how to make a granny square. That was the one I wanted to learn, I could do basic but that's a bit dull. Lucky for me I found the oracle on my local library shelf.

I tried a couple and settled on the one that I felt would work best for a throw on the sofa (or girl monkey's bed as she confiscates anything I make).

I was quite chuffed that after a few nights of working on these I had a basket full of colourful grannies set in white and started to sew a few together.

Boy monkey was equally chuffed with the squares and played with them to make lovely patterns. He's seen me doing knitting, sewing, embroidery and now doing something with one hook so he was most intrigued. And bless him as I went to get myself a well deserved cup of coffee he'd laid them all out, made a nice pattern and ..... cut off the little threads as neatly as he could.

Imagine the look of horror on my face. And then on both monkey's faces. They'd realised quickly that something had been done that shouldn't have been. I clearly didn't master the "Oh aren't you a good boy helping mummy" but instead went into a panic checking if any of them had become undone, as I hadn't finished them properly. Ungratefully I then gave away those that could not be salvaged. Don't think I've encouraged the little man to take up this craft. Think I will have to make it up with a lovely knitted scarf.....

Global Art Project for Peace

Every two years the Global Art Project for Peace organisation encourages people around the world to create a work of art for peace. By signing up you'll get partnered with someone from another part of the globe and the idea is that all messages of peace are being sent simultaneously at the end of April/beginning of May to create a movement of peace. I was a little late in sending mine, due to circumstances beyond my control (the former Mr B is really the cause of the havoc in my life but let's not go there), but the message was there nonetheless.

I really love the project and this year I took part for the second time. It was only about four years ago that I found out about the project, but then it was too late to register, so I got my first 'taste' in 2008.

I love the anticipation of receiving something from somewhere at some point. All that is known is that it is a message of peace. Although I had the contact details of the other party, we had not been in touch so I had absolutely no idea what I was going to get this time. I couldn't have been happier though. The parcel that arrived was beautifully wrapped and addressed. The letters of my name were individually cut out and stuck on the outside; a work of art in itself.

After that first layer of paper I found this box:

.... girl monkey was very intrigued; she had no idea what a double zipper was and looked concerned a the picture of steaks on the box. When we unwrapped what was inside, we found this beautiful collage on panel:

It is beautifully executed, with lovely messages and in my favourite colours! It is going to have pride of place in my new home.

With love and in peace I have sewn this cushion for my partner. I hope she will enjoy this token for her home.

UFO's ready to go

No I am not involved in extra terrestrial activities (not even extra curricular for that matter) just finishing some UnFinished Objects. Earlier this year I said I wanted to use up all my fabrics before buying new ones and I am still sticking to this principle. I keep finding all kinds of lovely fabrics and ribbons in my drawers. Hoping to move house soon I am trying to get everything organised in neatly labelled boxes and if I find a work in progress I will put it aside to finish.

Today I had a very productive morning. The scarf I only started last week though but I finished some brooches, some egg cosies, mended girl monkey's NEW mittens (not worn yet, why the hole?) and finished this knitted bag that had been in the making since March....

I hope to get a lot more items done in the next few weeks so that I can start afresh in my new abodes (shop & home!).

Spring has sprung

Finally after a long and very cold winter we've had the first days of Spring! I had my washing out and went to the park without my coat. I just love that smell when I take my clothes of the line, keep sniffing them; I would be a perfect candidate for an advert. 

Oh my, just noticed that I haven't posted anything for over a week. Several excuses (of course!) one of them being that I had my lovely friend Katinka to come and stay with me for a few days and of course spending all that time outside this week. 

Another reason is that a lot of my time was taken up making curtains for a customer from this beautiful piece of silk that she brought back from India years ago. It really was a pleasure to make them. Silk does that to me, especially when it is embroidered. 

I did make some bookmarks too ....

and cut the fabric for pincushions and beanbags.

The laminated bookmarks I made from old UK road maps and bits of decoration (glitters, bits of gift wrap and fabric). 

On my way to the fabric store yesterday I found these red, white and blue clothes hangers for the monkeys. I bought them a set each, they'll love that Dutch touch in their wardrobe. It's nearly Queen's Day (30th April) so we'll be having lots more red, white and blue things as well as orange around the house. 

Planning to go to the Manchester Craft Mafia opening at the Craft and Design Centre tomorrow, sounds fabulous. 

Wanted: Pompom ideas

To kill a few dull hours on our trip in Holland I made a basket full of pompoms. Some have disappeared into and onto monkeys' belongings but there are still a fair few lying around. I found them strangely addictive as it was a good way of using up all the left over yarn, some of which had been lying around for a good 30 years. I have no idea though what to do with them. Any ideas gratefully appreciated!

I had a pretty productive day on the home front (more about that in the next few days hopefully). This is what the monkeys' room looked like yesterday :

This afternoon it looked like this:

They were very happy with their new storage cabinet and have promised me to tidy everything away each night. The House Fairy will be thrilled.... Please do sprinkle some fairy dust on my bedside table too ...

Busy Betsy starts blogging

After a lot of persuasion I am finally starting a blog!! I am very excited about this and hope to share a lot of fun things with you all. Just to let you know what I might be blogging about: my crafts, my hundreds of ideas that never get put into practice, my WIPs and UFOs, plenty of those but I am hoping this blog will help me getting my act together. There might be some news regarding the little monkeys (a boy and a girl), the absent but soon to return husband (working crazy hours, many miles away, bless him), books I am reading, things that caught my eye, life in the north and the odd recipe.

It is getting a little late and dark to put toget

her black bead-ball necklaces but I just managed to make one for my artist friend Rosana. She is a fabulous painter of women and I am thrilled that she really liked my necklaces. Here are some in other colours that I sell (my Etsy shop should be up and running soon too, I am getting there in cyberspace!).

Admire the works on her website www.rosanaibarrola.co.uk. I won't make any more today but will have to tomorrow. I have a long list of things to make and take to the stall I booked on Thursday. I did finish a wall hanging though today. The theme is Under the Sea (photo to follow) and was created for an exhibition organised by the Embroiderers Guild earlier this year. My girl monkey made the design and gave me a list of objects she wanted in the hanging. As I was misinformed about the required measurements it ended up as a 4 panel piece but I have now finally mounted them on a backing. I hope she'll be pleased. 

Another reason to start this blog is that I need a tidy house. Many blogging friends show lovely pictures of their homes and I always feel rather embarrassed. There is too much stuffer everywhere. EVERYWHERE! Though I have never had a problem with living in organised chaos now that I am nearly hitting the big FOUR O I am fed up with the mess everywhere. The monkeys are big helpers at the moment. A few days ago a friend came round to buy some cards and told me about the Housefairy. Apparently she comes and checks the children's rooms and if they are tidy she leaves a surprise and if not just some fairy dust. Apart from the fact that the monkeys wake up very early every morning to see if she has been I am thrilled with this recommendation. You can find this fairy of fairies on www.thehousefairy.org. Obviously I need to so some work as well to keep up with the kids so my task for tomorrow will be to tidy this up: 

In case you are wondering what this is it is the kitchen cabinets. On it are my useful paper shredder (just out of sight), a retired bread making machine, an unused 'pass the parcel' from my boy monkey's pirate party about a month ago, some monkey drawings an other art work, a picture frame in progress, diva lights from a wedding we went to about 6 weeks ago and a bottle of Moet & Chandon (don't ask!). I hope to show you the difference soon. However I have to hand in my final assignment for a "Working with children - arts & crafts" course tomorrow, crazy-craft for the stall this week and take the monkeys swimming. Luckily I will be able to keep them entertained when we get home with cornflour paste. I made this today as a little science project for them and they liked it so much they want to play with this again tomorrow. I didn't measure what I used but it was about a cup of cornflour, a couple of table spoons water and some food colouring, it should be a pva like consistency. Mix it in a low container (baby plate, tray) and it makes a fabulous paste that feels really sticky but the good thing is it isn't. If it drops on the floor it dries immediately and you are able to brush it up. The monkeys loved creating patterns that disappeared immediately.