Thursday 28 February 2008

My Dolls Houses






I signed up to Yahoo Regency yesterday and found tre first posts I had to read were about dolls houses I felt right at home! So I decided I would post a few pictures of my own on here as it is meant to be about me and mine
I've been collecting and making houses since the seventies, when there was only one shop in London and evrything had to be made from whatever I could scrounge.I even spent hours while in America searching out doll house shops with my lovely old aunt (long since gone)
Since then I have passed a couple of houses on to my grand-daughter and my brother's grand-daughter as the space has become limited since we moved to the cottage but I still have three good sized ones and quite a lot of room boxes - and there is another room box sitting on the bottom of the stairs waiting for 'someone' to cut the shapes out for the walls!

Saturday 23 February 2008

The First Emperor meets Mills and Boon

Today I trundled up to London to add my contribution to the 100th anniversary of Mills and Boon by lending the British Library items for the centenary exhibition of M&B at Manchester Library in June. Typical of never throwing anything away! I had gift items and even old rejection letters! It was also a chance to see the fabulous Terracotta Army assembled by the 'First Emperor' of China 2000 years ago and they were awesome. I was really taken by the painted replica of how they would have looked at the time glistening with brilliant colour in their thousands round his tomb. What an amazing sight they must have been!
The downside of the afternoon was then walking down Oxford Street to get to my favourite haberdashery store just off Bond Street. OK from Tottenham Court Road tube to Oxford Circus has never been exactly smart but it is more like a third world street than modern London, filthy pavements and tacky stores and not one person looked even faintly smartand most simply didn't look clean. I was very pleased to reach MacCulloch's premises. That place has not changed in the forty years I've been going there! I swear it hasn't. And it is still full of fashion students bumming samples for their projects (London School of Fashion is just across the road) Happily I found just what I was looking for - and a few bits I really wasn't but simply had to have - well - I have sold off a lot of stash so of course it needs replacing!

Thursday 14 February 2008

Why Anna Melinda?

Some people have asked why Anna Melinda? Well it's the name I use on my dress labels when I make clothes for other people as well as myself. I prefer a label as the dry cleaners take the item seriously! I put a size tag in as well (and no - I don't cheat!!) I had the labels made some time ago I think they will last for years, great excuse to make new perhaps?

This week I have been selling un-used fabrics on ebay and making up some my daughter had going spare. I now have yet another dressing gown and another nightdress, neither of which I need but whatever... The fabric was sitting doing nothing! I am getting quite a tidy cupboard - for the moment.

Tuesday 12 February 2008

Memories of things past



I found some very old banners in the cupboard today - made for the TV production of Antony and Cleopatra which Trevor Nunn did for ATV in the seventies. I made them as my ex was the designer and he didn't know anyone else daft enough to tackle them. Now I am wondering what to do with them!

Sunday 10 February 2008

Mixed media







Had a great day yesterday and spent a day off visiting the Thames Valley Sewing group at a get-together in Reading. We all took lunch contributions and bits of stash(in the hope of slimming it down) and gossiped all afternoon. What a treat to talk sewing without anyone's eyes glazing over! Needless to say I brought back more than I went with! Some great silk dupion from Gabrielle and Jap silk from Pat, navy velour and loads of magazines too.


Today I thought I would take some pictures of my various hobbies and here are the results. I haven't included knitting or the cross-stitch box I have just finished, or the crewel work chair covers I have just started - those are for another post!
I started the dragon in the seventies (from Golden Hands) and never finished it. My daughter (then a baby) finally finished a year or so ago, so it was a UFO for thirty years IS this a record?!!!

My books I have postedto remind me to get going on High Kicks and Harvest Festival, because I have booked myself onto the course dear Annie Burgh is running at the Watermill at Posara in Tuscany. I have until late August to get a respectable amount written and edited into shape - more later...