Lace Making, its bobbin' along nicely in Bucks.

For my column in Vale Life magazine I decided to do something I've been meaning to do for many years. When we were house hunting to move out of London we stumbled upon this area of Buckinghamshire by accident and on our many outings we would pop into craft fairs, church events, fetes and all other sorts of countryside activities. One of the first people I met was a lady called Rosemary Masters, she won't remember it I know, but she was showing her handmade lace at a church fair and told me then about how she teaches it at the local Art Centre.  This was one of the catalysts in us moving here, the thought that it would be possible to learn new art and skills outside of the big smoke, with ladies passing on their knowledge and keeping traditional arts alive and kicking.

So finally, after six years, and thank goodness too, I saw that Rosemary is still teaching at the local arts centre and so I popped along to pay homage to this champion of lace making in my monthly column.

If you look at these photos I think it may look too daunting as these ladies have been doing it for a while, however, you are never to young or old to learn, what a great craft to have under your belt and one where you can create a family heirloom.

So basically heres a very simplified version of how its done.

You have a pillow, a rigid flat based padded cushion onto which you work and pin.

To this pillow you pin your design/pattern.  The bobbins have thread wound around the tops which you tease out as you go along.
The lace is formed by crossing these bobbins over each other, creating a twist in the thread and at certain intervals you pin into the work to hold it in place.

The piece that I had a go at (above) was worked like so:
Working with four bobbins at a time only, the bobbins are numbered from left to right 1, 2, 3, 4.  When you cross them over each other they remain numbered in that order.
For my pattern I crossed them thus: 

2 over 3, 4 over 3, 2 over 1, 2 over 3.  When this was done, I took the two bobbins to the left and placed them out of the way. Then you take two bobbins from the right hand side to make up to the four you need to start again. And so you work your way across.

When you reach the end on the right you twist twice and pin, then work back in the same manner. 

Lace making is a traditional craft in Buckinghamshire dating back to when religious refugees from the Low Countries and France fled to North Bucks bringing this skill with them. Winslow and Olney have particularly strong associations from 1588 but it was at its height from the mid 1700s to the mid 1800s.  Lace schools were set up to teach children this lucrative trade, however these were not great places and the children were not the ones to benefit financially.  

I thought some of the bobbins were so lovely I could see myself wearing them as jewellery.  The ladies in the class told me that these are still made and usually to commemorate events and dated.
I imagine they becoming quite an obsession to collect and am stopping the urge to look on ebay for exotic ones made from bone, inlaid with patterns and colours and  with antique glass beads on the end. 

Theres a big summer long lace exhibition coming to Waddesdon Manor from the 26th March, featuring antique and new work.  I really hope to get along and blog about it as its looks to have some new styles of work featured.  If you click here this will give you info. If you haven't been before the house is AMAZING its like a fairytale castle set in acres of beautiful gardens. 

Rosemary Masters teaches at the Queens Park Arts Centre so if you can get along to Aylesbury on evenings or weekdays, then you too could have a go. 

Urban Exploring

Urban Exploring was a term I hadn't heard of until I told a friend about an abandoned factory that my Other Half took me to. 
It seems that Urban Exploring or Urbex is the exploration of man made structures not often seen and is quite a well known quest for some, I can understand why now that I have taken part.

My small scale venture found me wondering all sorts of things about this abandoned place. What was the building used for when it was a fully functioning factory, a place where now nature and youth have claimed a footing and made it their own. 

So what lies beyond these doors ...

Are these reels of white wool an indication of what happened here before? 

Nature has started to infiltrate, the roof has holes and where the water falls through new life springs up. The climbing tendrils of plant growth are all intertwined with while wool which has been trailed over the high beams by its invaders.

Is this artists name really FARTY, or FARTA ?

Some very talented artists have made these stunning artworks on the walls, was this their secret hideout, I can imagine a cool group of kids using this as their special place.

This plot has been sold for development of a "country house" and I really hope that someone with unique vision manages to make a cool space here and not some faux country mansion. I would try and keep the walls and maybe even retain some of the artwork on them but that is probably unlikely to happen. Who knows, maybe we will see some inventive visionaries making this space into something spectacular on a t.v. show.  Well here is my bit done for recording this urban type decay in a setting which is far from Urban.  

Happy New Year to one and all, may we long continue to explore our surroundings with an open mind and and open eye.

Swedish Christmas Market

I'm sure we all have a pretty good idea about what a German Christmas Market has to offer now that they also seem to pop up around the UK. So, whilst it's probably not radically different, I thought some of you might like to see a traditional Swedish Christmas market.

This one was held in the Medieval town of Sigtuna. This lovely town is on the shores of a big lake and is the oldest town in Sweden. Narrow shopping streets are filled with welcoming cafes and shops and the main street leading up to the town square is where the market was held. A very popular event, the town was rammed full of people. On the whole the market was predominantly hand made goodies mixed with food stalls, the cake stall drew our attention and I do believe we 'had' to buy one of each type of cake, just to sample them all.

a huge variety of different types of wreaths

The little gnome figure can be seen a lot. He is called Tomte and is a mythological figure from Scandinavian folklore associated with the winter solstice. He is three foot tall and is a gift bearer, rather like Father Christmas.

yes, we will have one of each please.

Apologies to this handsome chap for an unflattering photo, he became known as "my future husband" for the times when I dream of marrying a Swedish Viking and run off to live in the mountains. 

these hand felted boots are very similar to the Russian Valenki boot.

Knitwear aplenty, and so lovingly made.

straw ornaments are a very popular feature, either these hanging ones or a horse figure. 

hot nuts anyone?

And then to round off the bright cold day, a sunset to be proud of.

So as they say in Sweden, God Jul to you all, lots of love to everyone who found my blog which I started this year, hope to see you again soon. 

Swedish Windows

This could be rather a long blog, photo-wise, as I saw so many beautiful things in Sweden. As I mentioned before, everyone, and I mean everyone, puts lights in their windows at Christmas. Even shops, offices, you name it, if there's a window they put either a star or an advent light in it. Sometimes one or the other and sometimes both. If this sounds a bit uniform, then I hope these photos will show how individual they can be. I also wanted to show the lovely colour combinations of traditional houses and they way the old houses are painted, I hope this inspires you to do a Swedish window in your house, it cheers up a rather dull and grey time of year, if only everyone in the UK would do it too, lets start the fashion eh?

My first outing was to the cute little town of Sigtuna, there was a Christmas market in the town centre, a separate post will have to cover that so I can go into more details. This little city is the oldest in Sweden, founded in 980, and a prettier place you could not imagine. It has a Medieval town centre with a gorgeous shopping street full of cosy cafes and also a place where you can get big knitted pants !

So onto the lights, here are some pics taken around the area where I was staying just outside of Stockholm. 

apologies to this lady who was watching tv but here windows were fabulous

We had a photo shoot at our favourite backdrop, the hotel called Gorvalns Slott near Stockholm. If you want to treat yourself it is superb, every room decorated in different styles. They had opted for just the star decoration for their windows, very classy.

And yes, it snowed, the first snow of winter for Sweden, so with their winter tyres fitted, their cars plugged into a heater and their snow boots purchased (from Canada funnily enough), the Swedes are set for the white blanket to follow. Yes, that will also have to be a separate post. 

I found and always do, many wonderful things in the charity shops, so I brought back some crochet snowflakes, a cute crochet window valence and some vintage candle lights. Most houses not only put the lights in the windows but drape the inside frame with Christmas curtains and a little valence along the top. Here is my Swedish window. 

In the meantime, off you go and get your windows lit up, you know it makes sense. 

Winter Solstice

The winter solstice is usually on the 21st December but I do believe that this year it's the 22nd December. Its the shortest day of the year and is celebrated because soon the light and warmth will return.  If you have ever wondered why we decorate for Christmas the way we do, well it dates back to our Celtic, Nordic, Pagan roots and heres some history behind the things we recognise. 

The tradition of bringing evergreens inside are as a 'symbol of life' through winter, a period of terrible hardship for your average Celt.
The wreath, yule log, holly and mistletoe decorated the houses of our ancestors during the winter solstice and these traditions run across the whole of northern Europe. 

the colour in the background is Annie Sloan Chalk Paint - Provence.

You can learn to make your own wreath at florist workshops all through December and when it starts to look a bit droopy, just pull some bits out and add some fresh. Heres one I made with things I found in the garden, primarily rosemary and bits off the pine tree. The dried oranges were bought from my local garden centre (Waddesdon Plants). I don't hang mine on the front door because then I don't get to see it very much. Instead I put it somewhere in the lounge.

It seems that the wreath dates back to Roman times, when winners were crowned with a laurel wreath. They would hang it on the front door to show their victory in ... whatever it was they were doing. It went on to become another symbol of fighting through the winter.

The scarf in the background is from Folkski.

The Yule log is not just a cake you know ! It was traditionally something a family would chop down and bring inside on the winter solstice, it then was doused with cider or ale, sprinkled with flour and burnt. It should then smoulder for 12 days and was the highlight of the solstice festival.  I shall not be dousing mine with my precious home made cider, but in true Blue Peter fashion, heres one I made earlier.  I got hubby to drill me three holes and voila, tied on a few garden bits, a homemade candle holder.

Paints used here are by Annie Sloan - Provence in the background and on the table its Aubusson with a stencil of white and red. The candelabra and hanging came from charity shops in Sweden.

So I'm off to Sweden this week for a photo shoot and heres some traditional Swedish Advent lights I bought on previous trips in junk shops for a few pounds. The advent lights are displayed in the the windows of every Swedish home, primarily its thought because its so dark there during winter that it would light the streets for passers by.  It has no religious significance and the candleabra come in various sizes from 3 to 7 candles, always an odd number but just for aesthetic reasons. The electric advent light came to Sweden from Germany in the 1930s and the man behind H&M was the first to import them. 

Other traditions regarding holiday decorations are that bringing inside some mistletoe, holly or ivy would invite Natures Sprites in the home. I like this idea. Holly kept by the front door all year invites good fortune.

I love to make an event out of tree shopping and its all made possible by the wonderful Ingrid at Claydon Christmas Tree Farm.
They are growing their own trees which will be ready in 2015 but in the meantime they bring trees from Wales up to us in Buckinghamshire and they are truly great quality.

But I haven't told you yet the main reason why I go there, its because (ssshhhh now don't tell anybody) Santa leaves his Reindeer there to be looked after by Ingrid. Here is Tatiana from Folkski with Sophia.

A real life Reindeer can be a formidable creature to meet you know. Poor little Sophia had to hide inside her mums Babushka scarf. The Reindeer are so well behaved but those antlers are huge.

I've been decorating the house to fit with the winter season and found some things to paint. This wooden carved 'thing' was found in a charity shop so I painted it up with Annie Sloan chalk paints and stencilled with my own hand cut stencils. The colours used are Graphite, Emperors Silk, Antibes Green, Greek blue and old White.

I made the little felt Dala horses by doing a mini version of the one in Mollie Makes issue 32. The wall behind is my chimney breast which is now Aubusson blue. 

So as its time to climb into the loft and find where the hell we put the decorations last year, I wish you all happy hunting and will catch up on my return from Sweden.