Taking time to smell the roses ....

.... and hydrangea!

More hidden places

Clutching our bus passes, a friend and I caught the bus to Newcastle to go to an exhibition of photographs by Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen called "Byker Revisited" in the Side Gallery. This exhibition of portraits and landscapes comes 40 years after she came to the north-east to make the first photographic documentary of Byker. We still have the original book of photos so it was really interesting to see this "update" (and scarey to think how many years have passed!).

On the way to the gallery we found some hidden stairways, only a few of the many near the Tyne Bridge.

Back to explore some more one day!

Hidden places

We went for a short drive yesterday starting with a visit to one of our favourite places (and coffee shop!) at Kirkharle Courtyard. Lots of interesting workshops and a gallery (some of my work here!) and of course the coffee shop. Also the birthplace of Capability Brown.

A few miles further on -

we came to Great Bavington Church. We had driven past this isolated church before and had wondered why it was in the middle of nowhere with only a farm and a few cottages for company. Where had the people come from?

Later I googled the church (first entry for Great Bavington Church) and found that there was a fascinating history attached to it. There had once been a medieval village of 300 people; it is now a conservation area. In the 1590s the reiving Armstrongs and Elliotts had stolen oxen, cows and a horse (at least it wasn't the Robsons!).

Two "arty" pics to end - one from Kirkharle, the work of Dennis Kilgallon

and one from Gt Bavington

- the passage of time!

Have a heart!

A few hearts for hanging! These are for an upcoming craft fair. The black and white one is for a NU fan!

Embroidery

I find that one of the most fascinating developments in embroidery is the combination of photography and stitching, either by hand or machine. I took this photo in Inverewe Gardens in Scotland -


- printed it out, transferred it to fabric and added hand stitching. (This one's for you Julie!)

Seaton Sluice

In spite of the unusual name this small harbour between Blyth and Whitley Bay has a lot of history attached to it. The coal and glass trade flourished here just over 200 years ago - I wonder if the bottle in the bottom of the boat is an old bottle from this time?

Jigsaw

It's wet out there

The narrow way

Change of hats

I exchanged my various hats for my crafty one in order to make two Christmas stockings for some special little people. The heart is to hang up somewhere! More are in the pipeline ...

St. Mary's Island

A short walk from New Hartley takes you to St. Mary's Island which you can find in any book on Northumberland. The causeway is covered at high tide and many are the tales of unsuspecting visitors being caught out and having to spend about 6 hours waiting to get back. I used to go to school with a girl who lived on the island and she often rowed herself to and fro in a small boat.


It's a good place for bird watching - we came across several people with binoculars. ..... Now it's back to making a few Christmas stockings!

Take two

Today I completed a piece of work which I started several months ago -


- it was a flower image displaced with another image (I can't remember which one, I should have made notes) and printed out onto scrunched up tissue paper on a vilene and felt backing. The second was my first attempt at encaustic wax "painting" which I did with the group of "textile" friends who generously supplied the wax etc.


- and I must admit it was more by accident than design! You melt the wax onto a smooth iron and spread it onto special white card making marks with the tip and side of the iron. I like this image; it makes me think of Cheviot.

One fine day

Spoke too soon - summer has thrown a curved ball. The sea and the harbour beckoned ...

Summer evenings

It's nice to look back and remember the warm summer evenings but it's also a time to look forward to the next summer! What changes will have taken place by then?