Crafting and crafty days out

It's been quite a crafty week although paradoxically I don't have a lot to show you because it's mostly been putting time in on existing projects.

I delivered a workshop to my dollshouse club one evening this week, so had to spend time the past week putting together 30 kits, writing instructions and making a sample.  I was worried because of the wide range of skill level but people seem to enjoy themselves on the day. I'm glad it's over with though.

I've put a lot of time in on my project to build a travelling lace pillow.  I've now got a complete central box holding the roller pillow with two lidded storage compartments flanking it.  It's extraordinary how long it took to get this far, there are multiple layers of matboard glued together so it's fairly sturdy. But my hat goes off to people practicing the art of cartonnage (box making) because it's really difficult to accurately cut all the box pieces and think about how they are going to fit together and be covered with the finished layer of fabric.  I've used up quite a lot of my only jar of Aline's Designer Thick Tacky Glue which appears to be either discontinued or just not available in the UK, but it's the best thing I've found for gluing fabric to cardboard.  I've ordered a replacement jar of Aline's Super Thick Tacky Glue from America which I gather is not the same product and is a bit runnier, but we'll see.  I've been trying to decide what I want to do for the working apron surface that the bobbins will rest on.  I was originally following the French example I posted about last week until I realised that unfolded it was going to be wider than my lace pillow currently, and since the whole point is to come up with something more portable, that didn't make sense.  I've done a mock up of an apron using old sheeting fabric to experiment with how I will close the sides in, I think I'm going to stiffen the front and back aprons with card but have floppy sides so I can tuck them out of the way when using the pillow.  Here is the main box and roller so far:

The main evening project this week  has been my knitted doll. I finished all the body pieces and steam blocked them, and I've been assembling them according to the directions in the book. This is the first time I've knit a toy in cotton yarn. It's more difficult to knit with (for me anyway) but the finished knitting feels and looks much nicer, it's firmer than acrylic yarn so holds the stuffing shape better without stretching so much.  In commuter knitting I am now tackling her clothes, starting with her dress.

I've done several more passes on the quilt frame, passing the halfway point on the Blue and White China Quilt and I even forced myself to do an hour or so of sit down quilting on the Snowman quilt last weekend. I've been evaluating what's left in the queue, only two tops left on my hanging rack.  One is a Lone Star which really deserves to be quilted on the sit down machine rather than have an all-over design on the frame, but I could baste it on the frame.  The other is the vintage top I bought at the European Patchwork show and I need to think about whether I want to quilt it this time (it may need borders adding on to it) or leave it until the next quilt frame cycle in a couple of years. So there is a real chance that the quilt frame could be coming down in a month or so.  It will be nice to have the dining room back.

Yesterday I spent a pleasant day making lace at the Crafty Bobbins Lace Day in Rushden. All attendees were given a gift on arrival of a felt needlebook embroidered with the club name, which was a nice thought, and there were two suppliers selling bobbins and spangles, refreshments, a raffle, quiz and of course cake.  I got lots done on my Bucks Point hexagonal edging while enjoying the company on my table,  One of the suppliers had brought along a suitcase of their personal antique lace and textile collection and was showing it to interested parties.  She had some gorgeous antique fans, some antique lace parasols, and many examples of different kinds of lace. It was a real treasure trove as she has been collecting for years and I really enjoyed seeing and handling some of her finds, especially as I just finished reading the book on Identification of Lace that I bought in Brackley a few weeks ago.

Today I headed down to London to visit the City of London dollshouse festival, held in a hotel conference room right next to Tower Bridge.  So I had a lovely walk around the Tower of London and out to the Thames to admire the iconic bridge before heading inside.  At first I felt rather like an imposter, I haven't done much dollshousing since the summer, and nothing was really catching my eye.  But then I found two stalls that I really liked. Michael Mortimer had some unusual furniture pieces, including a few variations of this attractive Moorish Cabinet.  I bought the corner cupboard version.  He also had an exquisite bobbin lace pillow on a special table with its own upholstered footstool which he said was by a Spanish maker, but out of my price range unfortunately. The other stand was Chriser Miniatures from Barcelona in Spain, with some really interesting suitcases, steamer trunks, and vintage marvels such as a suitcase containing a foldout camp bed, or a trunk with a fold out ironing board.  I chose an aged trunk with hangers, and a battered suitcase. I'm not sure where I'll put them yet but I really liked their work.  I bought a little oil lamp from Country Treasures to go on the table in my Gamekeeper's cottage, and from CJ Miniatures I fell for a 1:48 scale kit to make a scene in a book - in this case a Regency scene from Pride and Prejudice.  Because I needed more kits....

After the show I headed along to the V&A museum for my annual pilgrimage to educate myself while getting some value out of my membership.  I've stayed a member even though I don't work in London anymore, and I probably did get the cost back today as I visited three exhibits:  Opera, the Power and the Passion, which gave an interesting insight into the origins of opera while you enjoyed an operatic 'soundscape' on headphones created especially for the exhibition.  There was even a piece of 17thC Venetian needlepoint lace in one of the cabinets about the origins of Opera.  The Balenciaga exhibition had many beautiful garments but also interesting films and display boards about how they were created and the artisans who worked on them.  I came away with a free template for making his famous one-seam coat which reminds me of the Baby Surprise Jacket and I'm wondering if you could do something like it in knitting.  My final visit was to the Winnie the Pooh Exploring a Classic which was mainly about the collaboration between the author AA Milne and the illustrator EH Shephard. This was labelled 'sold out' but they still let members in, but it was packed and hard to look around, not to mention all the small children treating it all as a big playground - which it did seem to be designed to be, with special children-only playrooms and doorways. I was interested to learn that many of the illustrations were drawn from life, in places where AA Milne was living with his family.  Afterwards I had a cup of tea in the new members' room which I didn't think much of.  The old members' room, although shabby, was a quiet haven where you could take a relaxing break from the effort of museum visiting, and it was up to you if you wanted to enjoy a cup of tea while you sat or not.  The new members' room is entirely a busy, noisy cafe, you can only sit if you buy an expensive cup of tea, it was packed, and the tables are close together - no more relaxing sofas.  It seems pointless, if you want to be crowded into a noisy cafe, you might as well do it downstairs where there is more choice, the whole feeling of benefit and something special is gone.  I filled out a visitor's comment card but I'm sure it will achieve nothing.

On the way back to the station I stopped into Loop knitting, in Camden Passage.  I wanted some metal straight needles for knitting the doll clothes but they didn't have any, only wooden straights or dpns.  I did pick up a few balls of yarn for a future project, but I've had trouble with their service before and it was much the same this time.  Although I didn't have to stand there with money in my hand while two shopclerks had a nice chat about their weekend like on one of my past visits.  But I did stand there with my wallet in my hand and my basket on the cash desk for several minutes while the woman faffed about with her computer till and ignored me.  Eventually she looked at me and asked if I needed any help?  I suppressed my immediate sarcastic impulse relating to why else would I be standing there with my basket on the counter, and just asked if I could pay now please.  Guess I'll have to try local charity shops for metal needles in the 2.5mm size I want.  Afterwards I walked along Camden Passage and was a bit sad at how gentrified it is now.  I visited several times in the 90s to pick up bits of vintage crochet from amongst the many antique stalls and shops, but those are almost all gone now.  They've been replaced by lots of upmarket cafes, a sushi bar, a sofa shop and the building that used to have lots of dealers in it is now a Reiss clothing shop.  There were still a few shops and outdoor stands clinging on - perhaps there are more on another day that isn't Sunday afternoon? Anyway, it was nice being back in London, it seems so long since I used to work there and it's such an amazing city.