Thoughts from the Bus Stop

Vintage 'Venice' fabric... and the cream of Manchester

Found this fabric in the Martlets Hospice shop on Blatchington Road. I really shouldn't have - I have a whole bed drawer stuffed full of fabric waiting to 'come in useful' but this is the first time in ages I've fallen off the fabric wagon! It's a satin weave with motifs of Venice.

 

What sealed the deal was the shop's label (must have been a remnant), still affixed : 'Anderson & McAuley of Belfast - East Street and Old Steine, Brighton' - I love a bit of local history. If it had entrances on both Old Steine and East Street, there are only a few buildings it could have been in, but I can't find out anything about it, except some photos of the former flagship store in Belfast. I'll have to ask one of the older ladies at church if they remember it.

The 'pounds, shillings and pence' prices date it before 1971 but the Venetian motifs make me think it could be earlier - 1950s? There's nearly three yards of it so I might make myself something to wear - a pencil skirt maybe, or a cheongsam-style top - and still get a bag or two out of it to sell on Etsy/Folksy. Even the reverse looks good so that's something else to play with. Hmmm, thinking head on...

All images (c) Kristen Bailey, 2009

And now, for some Venetian-style refreshment, via YouTube...

The Mice on the Mouse Organ make do and mend

Clip from Bagpuss (c) Smallfilms. Via YouTube

The other day I saw a clip from my childhood favourite, Bagpuss, of the mice from the mouse organ singing their little song, and it struck me that they would make great poster children for the credit-crunch era - being very into 'make do and mend':

We will find it
We will bind it
We will stick it with glue glue glue
We will stickle it
Every little bit of it
We will fix it like new new new

Clip of Bagpuss (c) Smallfilms. Via YouTube.

You can buy a CD of songs and music from Bagpuss, which was written by John Faulkner and his co-writer Sandra Kerr, who also voiced Gabriel the toad and Madeleine the rag doll (did anyone else always assume that Gabriel and Madeleine were a couple?)

The Smallfilms website has info about Bagpuss and all the other wonderful series made by Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin, and even shows you how you can make your own Bagpuss pyjama case!

Bjork doll for Plums

Back in September 2001, Plums and I went to see Bjork at the ENO. It was a fantastic night - even better than we'd imagined. For part of the gig Bjork was wearing a bright red Alexander McQueen dress with a sequinned bodice and feathered skirt. It must have had bells sewed into it, because you could hear them every time Bjork jumped and landed - she was her own percussion!

 

A few weeks later, wondering what to do for Plums' birthday, I was in Primark and spotted a little doll with long black hair, wearing a red pinafore, for £1. So I bought her, sewed sequins on her top and feather trimming round her skirt (and bells under it!), cut her hair and sewed a tattoo on her arms. And she went off to live with Plums.

She came back to me recently for a little TLC - the passing years have not been kind to the feathers! So I've tarted her up and got a shadow box from IKEA which I've lined with silver holographic paper and painted black -a little home to live in where her delicate costume will be protected.

Torchwood is here!!!

Very excited - three Torchwood plays this week on Radio 4 just to whet the appetite - and then... Torchwood: Children Of Earth over five nights on BBC 1 next week!

I understand that this might be hell on toast for the unconverted (I wouldn't fancy five hours of Star Trek, for example) but I do love this show, and I'm not normally a sci-fi fan. Doctor Who is pretty good but what I love most about Torchwood is that extraordinary things happen in very ordinary settings (no offence, Cardiff).

Owen and Tosh are no longer with us, and it'll be weird without them, but interesting to see what the new dynamic is. Gwen's husband Rhys is more part of the team, Jack and Ianto are now together, and we meet Jack's daughter!

Ooh and until I saw this bus stop poster, I'd forgotten the new Harry Potter film was nigh - hurrah!

Thread Wrapped 'Temari' Ball

Found this is a charity shop and thought it was just a homemade Christmas tree bauble, but I did some Googling to find out what the technique was and it turns out it's a temari.

Temari are tradional Japanese decorations or toys given as New Year gifts, originally made from waste scraps of fabric and thread. You can learn how to make one here and here, and or cheat - buy one on Etsy!

Thicker Than Water

   
Bronze Medal from the Royal Life Saving Society (c) Kristen Bailey 2009

This is my Nanna's medal from the Royal Life Saving Society, which she was awarded in 1937 when she was 16. (The Latin motto reads 'Quemcunque Miserum Videris Hominem Scias', which means, 'Whomsoever you see in distress, recognize in him a fellow man.') My lovely step-nanna found it in a drawer recently and gave it to Mum, and I framed it so she can have it on her dressing table. She says it's nice to have something her mum worked really hard for.

Mum told me that when Nanna left school aged 14, she went to work at the big Reckitts factory in Hull, and that she belonged to the staff swimming club. I went online to see if I could find out more about Reckitts in the 1930s, and found an eBay listing for a 1937 edition of Reckitts' staff magazine - a special issue commemorating the visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

The listing mentioned a photo of the swimming club, who had done a display for the Queen! I bid and bid but didn't win it - and in a 'who dares, wins' moment I contacted the vendor and asked if he would email me a scan of that page of the magazine before sending it off to the buyer...

...and he did!

When I got it I thought I recognised Nanna, but I wanted Mum to pick her out too, so I knew it wasn't just wishful thinking... and she did! We compared it with how she looked in her wedding photo four years later, and there she is, in the front row, last on the right. Isn't the internet marvellous?!

  

I don't need to go to Chelsea

  
  

Hydrangeas of Hove (c) Kristen Bailey, 19 June 2009

Watching all the recent coverage of the Chelsea Flower Show made me really want to be there in person. But I have to be realistic - I couldn't cope with the journey to London and a whole day on my feet in a crowded showground (plus it's really expensive to get in!).

Then, as I was doing my regular tour of the streets in my neighbourhood, camera in hand to snap the latest blooms, it occurred to me that all around me are lovely gardens which I can look at for free, which are constantly changing. Now I'm in the habit of taking my camera with me everywhere I go, I'm looking at everything I see more closely, and starting to read up on what I photograph. I don't need to go to Chelsea.

* SONG OF THE DAY: Elvis Costello and The Attractions: I Don't Want To Go To Chelsea *

Gimme a sign

I love the old ceramic name tiles many of the streets in Hove near me have. I can't find any info about how far back they date from but I'm guessing they're Victorian.

Some of them are a bit worse for wear but I'm glad they've not been replaced.

Some have even been remounted on new walls.

So good they named it twice...

* SONG OF THE DAY: Teenage Fanclub - I Need Direction *

Twist

   

Dead passionflower vines (c) Kristen Bailey 2009

Casting Off: A Coat for a Boat

Via the Simply Knitting newsletter: A traditional wooden boat in an unusual knitted coat will be on display at The Customs House, South Shields, from 12 Jun - 21 Jul 2009. Artist Ingrid Wagner worked with Esen Kaya, visual arts development officer at the Custom House and lots of knitters to create the fabric to cover the boat.

School children, college kids and knitters of all ages and abilities have been busy working on all sorts of accessories for the boat. Over 300 knitters have been involved with the project, both locally and from around the world. The boat was built by the Northeast Maritime Trust. On 12 July it will be launched into the Tyne!  More...