May Happies

Hello there! I was tempted to title this post 'The End of May' but was worried that people might think I was getting all political, so went with 'May Happies' instead. I hope you all enjoyed the good weather last week. With my usual impeccable timing, I had dedicated the week to decorating the study. It's quite a small room overlooking the back garden and I sweltered away, looking out at the glorious sunshine longingly. Now that I've finished it, of course, it's pouring down again. Hey Ho. R decided that he wanted the same colour on the walls, which made it relatively easy in one respect - it covered really well. The problem was remembering which colour we had painted it last time! I finally had a flash of recognition in Homebase and so found myself painting the walls in Farrow and Ball's 'Theresa's Green' on the very day in May that our Prime Minister announced her resignation! 

Apart from the decorating, the last few weeks have seen a few happies:

There was a local macrame workshop. Here are some of the examples that the tutor brought in for inspiration:

She taught us a few basic knots and then allowed us to design our own using a choice of coloured cord and pots. Here is mine. I am rather pleased with it, even though R declared it very 70s. I enjoyed the process so much (although it is quite tough on the back and upper arms) that I've bought some cord online and plan to make more.

 Enjoying the sight of my crocheted blankets on the washing line:

Attending a free ceramics workshop with R at our local college. There were various classes that you could try. After finishing my pot, I tried my hand at needle felting and made a small rabbit. It's currently living in the car and I forgot to take a photo. R made a jug - he didn't like the handle shown here and the finished article is much smaller.

 I made a slightly wonky thumb pot:

 ..... and a small tile. As we have enough coasters I thought I'd use it as a spoon rest next to the cooker. I'll show you the finished articles after they've been fired.

 The rhubarb is galloping away, so I made a batch of jam:

 I finished my Sockhead Cowl. The yarn is Hedgehog Fibres' 'Copper Penny' which I bought at Stephen and Penelope's in Amsterdam:

Here is the one remaining duckling from the flock (is that the collective noun for ducklings?) that I showed in my last post. We named him 'Archie' after a certain Royal baby. His parents are completely hopeless and he is pretty much left to fend for himself, poor thing. I thought that something had eaten him after I hadn't seen him for a while, but he turned up last week looking a bit bigger so I'm hopeful.

 Finally finishing my 'Garter Breeze Shawl'. This is a pattern by Stephen West and it took me ages. It was only when it was off the needles and blocking that I realised why - it's huge! 

 A trip to the local Arts Centre to see Gyles Brandreth. I never used to like him when he was a politician, but E and I saw him when we went to see an episode of Radio 4's 'Just a Minute' being recorded and he was lovely. This show was all about the theatre and was hilarious. 

A trip into London to deliver L's bedside table. R did a couple of DIY jobs for her whilst L and I rearranged the furniture and fitted a bird feeder to her window - easier said than done threading the string up through the sash window of her 2nd floor flat! We also paid a return visit to the Van Gogh Cafe - yum!

I picked up an Open Studios brochure from the library. Every year, they advertise free workshops (or cheap ones where you just pay to cover the cost of materials) and I signed up to a glass fusion one at a nearby village hall. Here are some of the tutor's pieces:

We had to come up with a design beforehand and I had decided that I wanted to make a simple rainbow hanging to go on my cherry tree by the kitchen door - it has wind chimes and various twirly things hanging from the branches and I thought a rainbow plaque would fit in well. I hit a slight snag though on the day - probably because it was cheap, the samples of glass were all quite small and ............there was no red! That made a rainbow quite tricky! Luckily, I managed to find one tiny piece and she also had some thin glass tubes (I forget the actual name) which look white, but (I am assured) turn red in the kiln. So, here is my attempt at a rainbow:

 

 Again, I'll show you the finished product in a few weeks after firing.

A trip to the Watermill Theatre to see this:

It was absolutely brilliant (do go and see it if you are local and get the chance). The butler stole the show proving that the old adage 'there are no small parts' is true!

Finally, some vegan chocolate chip and pecan cookies. I don't tend to bake much when the girls aren't home but R was complaining about the lack of biscuits in the house, so I dusted off my pinny!

Well, that's it for this week. Good luck to all those who have children currently coping with exams - I recommend lots of comfort food for the offspring ...... and alcohol for the parents!

Toodle pip for now. x