And here is Phylisss. She is very excited by the news.
A tale of crafty endeavours, garden battles and feline intrigue
Monster News!
Hooray, I can now sell my monsters worldwide! If you're outside of the EU and have been wanting to adorn your house and clothes with monstery goodness, now is your chance (obviously, you lovely people inside the EU can still buy them!). To celebrate, anyone can now get 10% off in my Etsy shop (except my Halloween pattern) using the code WORLDDEC14 for the rest of this year.
And here is Phylisss. She is very excited by the news.
And here is Phylisss. She is very excited by the news.
Sorrento
Last week I went to Sorrento with Em (purveyor of the finest Mexican-inspired bottlecap jewellery). It was the first time I'd been to Italy and I had procrastinated too much on learning tourist-level Italian so I wasn't sure what to expect.
Once we got out of Naples I was blown away by the views of the Bay Of Naples - mountains everywhere and I was very excited by my first glimpse of Vesuvius! This photo is of the gorgeous view from the cliffs of Sorrento. We tried walking down to the beach and ferry terminal but gave up through laziness and used the lift.
Didn't think much of the tiny tiny beaches!
This ruined saw mill (Il Vallone dei Mulini) was in a ravine in the centre of Sorrento. At night it is lit up orange and is pretty spooky. It was still quite atmospheric by day.
While wandering around Sorrento, we came across this monastary (Cloister of San Francesco) which was incredibly peaceful away from the taxis and mopeds in the town centre. We were trying to see a Pompeii exhibition but ended up following strange music up to an exhibition of antique music boxes (the sort with the metal disks with holes in) where the curator made us dance with him to a waltz - probably the oddest part of the holiday...
On the second day we visited Pompeii. I've been fascinated with Pompeii and Vesuvius since I was a kid so it was amazing to finally go there. We downloaded the Rick Steves' podcast (much embarrassed laughing when he told us to don our imaginary togas and played electronic trumpets at us) and map which was useful as there were no maps available and we only found one sign when we were actually in Pompeii (we still got a bit lost). I now have a new appreciation for the National Trust. The stray dogs were friendly (and seemed to adore one of the tour guides) - from this month they are being microchipped and getting any vet care they need, according to a sign near the entrance.
I'm fairly sure this is the Temple Of Jupiter near the Forum. You can see Vesuvius in the distance.
I can't remember what this arch used to be, possibly something to do with a water tower, but I love this picture as the roads lead towards Vesuvius.
This is some of the ceiling decoration in one of the baths. A lot of the artwork has been stolen or moved to the Naples Archaeological Museum but there was still enough to be really interesting. I was more affected by the body casts than I thought I would be, even though we only saw a few. I guess it was because you could see the pain some of the people were in when they died by their positions and expressions - it upset me in a way I wasn't expecting from just having seen photos.
I climbed a volcano! We got a bus from Pompeii station up to the car park part of the way up Vesuvius, and walked the rest of the way up. I thought my heart was going to explode from the exercise (when I got back to the car park the ambulance workers asked if I was ok! I guess I had gone purple). The views were incredible and it was all worth it when I got to the crater.
After spending the evening eating far too much and trying to stop my legs seizing up, the next morning we took a surprisingly rough ferry trip to Capri (no I didn't vomit, but lots of people did). At the Sorrento ferry terminal we found a stray cat colony, including these adorable kittens. They all seemed quite healthy (they're got their eyes shut here because of the wind), and the plates lying around suggested that the local restaurants kept them fed.
The photo doesn't really do justice to the hills of Capri near Marina Grande. We took a tiny bus up the scary windey roads to Anacapri as Em wanted to go on the chair lift. It was pretty terrifying on the way up Mount Solaro on the lift (my brain kept trying to convince me to jump off) but the way down was lovely. I especially enjoyed the interactions with the people going up the mountain at the same time as I was on the way down (and amused by the woman filming herself crying while on the chair lift...). I didn't take any photos as I was too scared of dropping my camera, just concentrated on the views. It was a bit weird going over peoples' gardens, I appreciated the one that had lots of ornaments and plastic toys on the route of the lift.
The plane trip back was Not Fun but I was very excited when I realised we were flying over the Alps!
Knitting And Stitching Show
Wow, this is a late review. I've been struggling with procrastination when it comes to writing and crafting, I guess the gloomy rainy weather isn't helping :(
This was the third year I've been to the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace. This year I went on the Friday after the insane crush of last year, and it was much calmer. Apparently the Wednesday was even better. Somehow I only had time to see most of the exhibition and about half of the shopping stalls.
The Knitted Flower Pergola was the first exhibit in the foyer - I loved all the details like these budgies! It was a community knitting project to raise funds for Livability John Grooms Court, a home for disabled adults in Norwich.
Just like last year, I was drawn to Ann Small's exhibit. Her "A Walk On The Wild Side" collaboration with Sue Walton included several flying beasties which I wanted to take home. She uses potassium permangenate to colour her fabric rather than tea as it can be bleached back with lemon juice - I mostly remember potassium permangenate baths as a kid for my eczema so am glad there was a happier use for it.
This was the third year I've been to the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace. This year I went on the Friday after the insane crush of last year, and it was much calmer. Apparently the Wednesday was even better. Somehow I only had time to see most of the exhibition and about half of the shopping stalls.
The Knitted Flower Pergola was the first exhibit in the foyer - I loved all the details like these budgies! It was a community knitting project to raise funds for Livability John Grooms Court, a home for disabled adults in Norwich.
Just like last year, I was drawn to Ann Small's exhibit. Her "A Walk On The Wild Side" collaboration with Sue Walton included several flying beasties which I wanted to take home. She uses potassium permangenate to colour her fabric rather than tea as it can be bleached back with lemon juice - I mostly remember potassium permangenate baths as a kid for my eczema so am glad there was a happier use for it.
Another highlight was Caren Garfen's exhibit "She Was Cooking Something Up". This consisted of a stitched kitchen showing stats and messages about women's body image - it was pretty hard-hitting at times.
I spent quite some time in the felting exhibition (including laughing at the giant genitals of the "Lust" figure from the Seven Deadly Sins). One of my favourites was the teddy skull (Ursulus Teodorus Ruxpinus) by Stephanie Metz.
I'd seen pictures of the Hobbit knitting by Denise Salway ("The Knitting Witch") all over Instagram so ran around at the end trying to find it. Denise was really friendly and Smaug was so cute in his tiny knitted glory!
I think next time I'll try to go for a couple of days so I can do some classes, spend more time looking at the exhibits and do some leisurely shopping. I'll need to catch up on lots of my UFOs before then to make space in my craft room...
Donkeys!
On my recent trip to Somerset/Devon, I was determined to visit The Donkey Sanctuary near Sidmouth. I have always loved donkeys, and despite living near-ish the New Forest I rarely get to see any. The Donkey Sanctuary has several centres in the UK and works worldwide to to help working donkeys and the people that rely on them, as well as arranging donkey-assisted therapy.
There are several walks around the Sidmouth centre, I obviously chose the shortest one with the most donkeys. We met several mules that were quite excited to see us (and tried to eat our shoes) and many, many donkeys in the fields, most of who ignored us but a few came up to nuzzle us.
There are several walks around the Sidmouth centre, I obviously chose the shortest one with the most donkeys. We met several mules that were quite excited to see us (and tried to eat our shoes) and many, many donkeys in the fields, most of who ignored us but a few came up to nuzzle us.
This is Freddie from Ireland. He's 11 years old (most of the donkeys at the sanctuary are much older) and was one of the donkeys in the barn area who were interacting with the public. He was finding this bench very useful for awkward itches.
I had a lovely relaxing time strolling through the countryside stroking donkeys and can highly recommend a visit!
I've rounded up some cute donkey items from Etsy....
Isn't this needle felted donkey from Swan Quarter House Creations adorable? I love his little garland and his expression. You can keep up-to-date with Jodi's newest creations on her blog.
The donkeys in this print from Cath Ward look very eager to meet people (or are trying to get food). Check out her other lovely watercolour prints and laser-cut wood animal charms, brooches and necklaces in her shop.
This cute donkey brooch is from Oneiroxora's shop where she sells gorgeous handmade jewellery. You can also follow her on Facebook.
Awww, look at Arthur's soulful face! You can make him using a pattern from Patchwork Moose (I'm also very tempted by Otis the bat). Find out more on her website and Facebook page.
If you want more fluffy cuteness, why not take a look at my alpaca visit from earlier this summer?