Art in the Pen at Thirsk.

That's better, I'm more awake now. I've been to North Yorkshire. Sunday I went to Thirsk to visit Art in the Pen, and then on to do two days, hopefully, walking in the beautiful countryside. A perfect combination for a short break. 

The Auction Mart at Thirsk is turned into a big exhibition hall, where all kinds of artist show and sell their wares. They are all hand picked to a high standard, with a wide variety of arts and crafts. Here are photo's of the displays. I chatted to some of the stall holders. People were so nice and friendly.

Glass. 

Ceramics.

Metal.

Painting

This wall of old saws got my attention, what a novel idea to make signs with them.  

Old woodworking tools.

Old kettles, and any old bits of metal can be turned into anything arty.

This is Brett, the master craftsman here responsible for all these ideas. He has a
Facebook page.

More glass

Textiles and painting.

I have mentioned Sue Hawkmoon before. She is local to me and I have been to her wet felting workshops. Lovely display as usual. Sue's Facebook page.

Ceramics which look like wood, with a sea theme.

The exhibition closed at 4pm and I was till wandering around looking. Time to leave and find the B & B I have booked for two nights at Kilburn a few miles down the road. I had an hour or so to kill, don't want to get there too early, so I had a look round Thirsk. Photo's of that in the next post.
Toodle pip.  ilona

A quick one.

I've been away, now I'm back. The brain is not functioning properly at this late hour so I'll make this quick. I went to North Yorkshire to see an Art and Craft exhibition in Thirsk. Then I had a couple of nights in a B & B and did some walking. It was blooming hot, had to cut it short today, far too hot. I've taken loads of photo's so I'll start writing up the blog posts tomorrow. Ready for bed now, I'll say goodnight.   ilona

Weaving with Lana

I've just come across this artist who makes incredible woven pictures and wall hangings. She takes weaving to a whole new level, adding stitching to make a beautiful tapestry. This video shows a very simple creation that anyone can make. If you can't speak Spanish you can turn the sound off for this. It's easy to follow by just watching.



Then when you have mastered the first one there are many more to try.



Have fun.  Toodle pip.  ilona

All washed up

What else can you fix to a 8" x 6" piece of ply board to look a bit arty? I know, have a rummage in the tool box and find all the washers I have. Play with them, re arrange them, when satisfied with the pattern decide how to attach them. Poke holes through with a map pin and sew them on with strong thread.   

Tie off the threads at the back.

That's number four done of the little boards. I'm on with the next one now, a bit of weaving going on.
Toodle pip.  ilona

Holding on to the memories.

I like this teeshirt, it looks blue-ish in the picture, but it's purple. I bought it when I visited the CN Tower in Toronto, must be about fifteen years ago now. As you can see inside the neckline it is quite worn and faded. The edge around the neckline has frayed and looks scruffy. 

The rest of the teeshirt is quite good quality, I would like to carry on wearing it for a bit longer, but something has to be done about the fraying. 

Simple solution, fold the edge over and sew it down with a row of blanket stitch. I thought pink would look nice, and it does. 

I might get another two or three years out of this, so I'm chuffed. The teeshirt has memories of happy times with my then boyfriend. We went on a roller coaster trip to the USA, 17 theme parks in 15 days. It was ace.

Here I am. at Cedar Point in Ohio. wearing a different teeshirt, on the same trip. And blimey, look at the date, 2001, so it was 18 years ago.

Toodle pip.  ilona

Can you afford a cat?

hi I wonder if i could ask a favour ? we are looking into getting a cat from a rehoming place and i wondered if you could do a blog post on frugal cat ownership for example is insurance worth it sort of tips as i know you are an experienced owner...your lovely readers might be able to chip in...i know your a busy lady thankyou Tessa

Hello. Tessa asks a question about frugal cat ownership. I'll jot a few notes down, and if anyone else has any frugal tips, please feel free to add your comments.

I am assuming you have already discussed this new addition with other family members, and the adoption might go ahead. The best place to get a cat is from a rescue/rehoming centre. You will have another mouth to feed so there is food to buy. Cats are fussy eaters, I have three and they all eat differently. I have dry food out 24/7 so they can graze when they like. Water next to it. I look for out of date cat food at the market, if I find it cheap I buy several bags at a time. At the moment they eat Whiskas dry and Perfect Fit dry. What I can't find in the market I get from the discount stores and look for offers. Home Bargains, B & M, Poundstretcher etc. It doesn't matter if they go off the dry food that you get, it can be put away for a while and brought out at a later date, in the hope that they might start eating it again.

Wilko's are generally more expensive except if they have an offer on. Supermarkets are expensive as well, unless on offer. I would never buy cat food from a small local shop, or small Co op, or any of the smaller convenience stores. Too expensive.

Wet food. The cheapest way is probably buy it in tins, but if you only have one cat the food will go off before you get to the bottom of the tin and you end up throwing it away. I don't buy tins for that reason. Pouches are more convenient, though not good for the environment. My cats won't touch the cheap own label pouches. Some cats will, though in the beginning it's trial and error.

Try your cat on the cheaper food first, all well and good if it eats it, but you might have to go up a level and get something better. There is a bit of snobbery around cat food, some people will only buy the most expensive. If you do that be prepared to pay more. My new boy Oscar is getting picky, he is turning away from Whiskas and Felix. I feed mine indoors so he has to come in for it. He sometimes sniffs at it and walks straight back outside again. He will do this several times until the food has gone off and I bring something else out. Sometimes I don't offer an alternative so if he is hungry he has to eat what is there.

Vet fees are expensive. Ask around for recommendations from friends. Some people routinely get their pets inoculated, I don't. I might have been lucky with the cats I have had but they rarely show signs of illness. Except of course Heidi, but her problem is under control and thankfully the tablets are not expensive.

The rescue should have neutered the cat you are getting. It will need flea treatment, again I don't do that routinely. It depends if your cat is going to roam around the neighbourhood, how likely is it going to come in contact with other cats who may have fleas. Shop bought flea treatment is not much good, the vet will have more up to date stuff. More expensive but it works. I do spot on, on the back of the neck, as and when I think they need it.

Cat litter. I have three trays in the house, in the winter they all get used. In the summer not so much because they spend time outdoors. I prefer the clay based clumping litter and get the cheapest from the supermarket Value or Basics range. I scoop out the poops, and scrape the clumps of pee stuck on the bottom and add a bit of fresh. Every so often I wash the whole tray outside in the garden and start afresh.

What are you going to do when you go on holiday? Check out cattery prices. If you are going to go down this route have a couple of short overnight stays first and see how the cat copes with it. Or make friends with your neighbour to come in and feed it.

Some people may prefer to take out an insurance to cover vet fees. My Bugsy was insured for 15 years of his 20 year life, I never needed to claim from it. I consider any years after 15 are a bonus, and if an illness is age related you have to make the decision about whether to treat, or not. Then quality of life comes into it. I now have no insurance for my three, I keep enough money aside to pay for any emergency. I know I would have to make a decision if one of mine were involved in an accident with a car. I will cross that bridge when I come to it. Hopefully will never have to. A cat across the road got run over it cost them £2000 for a broken leg. You just have to be aware that it might happen, and have a plan in place in case it does.

My carpets are ruined by cat scratching, all three do it. I have a scratching post but they don't use it. You have to live with a scruffy carpet, or contain your cat to only rooms where they will not do any damage. No need to spend money on fancy toys. Scrunched up balls of paper thrown about will amuse them. Drag a long piece of string along the floor and the cat will chase it. Be careful that you don't leave any string or thread lying about as they tend to chew on it and might swallow it.

That's all I can think of at the moment. If any readers have any more frugal tips for keeping a cat let us know in the comments. Thank you.

Button it.

Here's another board wot I have made. I have quite a lot of buttons, most of them oddments, some of them I have bought. Arrange them into a flower shape, mark the holes with a map pin. Poke right through to the back and wriggle the pin so the hole is big enough for a needle and thread to pass through. Wire on the top to hang it. 

Keep it neat on the back, tie off the ends. 

Make sure the stitching is neat.

I quite like this one. Next...…… playing with washers now, see how that goes. Experimenting with materials and layouts. Trying to keep it simple and not over think things. Sometimes less is more. Toodle pip.  ilona

Sculpture walk at Patchings

I finished my visit to Patchings with a walk in the grounds. This area is also a magnet for artists to sit with their easels and paint, or with a pad and make a few sketches. It was very quiet and tranquil when I was there. Lovely to walk around, or sit on one of the benches to take in the beauty of it all. 

There are 24 sculptures dotted around, an outdoor gallery with small plaques naming the artist who created it. Anyone with the app on their phone can scan the code and get additional information. 

There is a path to walk around the lake. 

And tucked away in the corner is a Monet bridge. So dreamy and romantic.

A lovely walk in a magical place. Patchings Arts Centre. 

https://www.patchingsartcentre.co.uk/

Toodle pip. ilona

Crafty day out

Patchings Art Festival is a four day event just outside Nottingham. I went last year and fancied going again, if I have time. Thursday I was busy, started the newsletter deliveries. Friday also busy, delivering newsletters. Saturday I was at the Bowls Club coffee morning, which only left Sunday, so off I went. 

Patchings Art Centre is open all the year round, but on this festival event they put up huge marque's to house the many traders who come from all over the country to make, demonstrate, and sell their wares. There are a lot of artists who paint. It wasn't too busy early in the day, but the tents were buzzing later on. 

The bonsai man was there again, he hasn't far to come. Their business is virtually across the road from the venue. 

I didn't stop and listen to his chatter, I've heard it before. I bet he tells the story a hundred times a year at the events he goes to, as well as the customers visiting his business.

I stopped to watch the glass demonstration. They make some beautiful arty pieces.

The Nottingham Concert Band was jollying things along, a nice place to watch and have my pack up lunch. 

I can't resist chatting to a nice young man, and this one caught my eye. Joseph has a business in Ireland making beautiful decorative pieces out of local sourced timber. Check out Against the Grain. If I had pots of money I would buy some of this, I particularly liked the mirrors.

Outside in the yard was the man with the wood cutting machine, he was here last year. These pieces are for sale in their raw state. Some of the grains are beautiful.

I wandered into the main part of the site. There is a café and seating area in the courtyard. 

Also shops and galleries.

I'm going to stop here. After seeing everything I wanted to see of the exhibition, I took a walk along the Sculpture Trail, through the woods and around the pond. I'll do another post about that. 

looks like another sunny day, so I'm going to do a bit of trimming up in the garden. I've finished another little board picture and it looks quirky, another blog post for that later. Toodle pip.  ilona

Sticky fingers

Here's the second of the little 8 inches x 6 inches plyboards, I am aiming to decorate. Trying to think of ideas, trying not to use glue, but I have to confess I did with this one. After varnishing I wrapped thin wire around the board, three verticals and three horizontals. I didn't measure the distances apart, just guessed. This made a grid, then I secured the wire to the board at the junctions where they crossed. 

I looked through my cotton fabric stash and chose a mix of patterns and colours, and cut them into postage stamp sizes to fit squarely within the grid. The first plan was to sew them to the wire, but then I realised that the four corners would only be fastened on two sides, and the outside ones on three sides. That was not going to work. Solution, glue.

I used Hi Tack School Glue. It comes in a small plastic bottle with a narrow nozzle, to put the glue exactly where you want it. It's a bit like PVA glue. Spread it on both surfaces and press down. Work from the centre easing out the air bubbles around the edge. Wipe excess glue off with my fingers.

Fastening the wires at the back.

I think I might add those silver buttony things in each corner so that it matches the slate one. Also I've put pink wire for hanging, think it should be silver, not coloured.

Now starting the third board, I'm going for buttons this time. I have eight boards altogether, if I can think of enough ideas to decorate them. Now there's a challenge. Toodle pip. ilona