a trip to Masham

a lovely Masham house

so there I was on Saturday morning, frantically taking product photos whilst the sun shone (blazed actually but that's just being picky) and my other half says, fancy a night away?

I was fairly non-committal in that 'we haven't been getting on well this week and actually can't you see I'm really very busy?!' kind of way, and kept on with my snapping.

Fearby

About an hour later he was back suggesting a trip to Masham, by which time I'd warmed to the idea a little more (the picture taking was going great guns) and had actually warmed through myself - there's nothing like the warmth of sunshine on your skin to raise a girl's spirits.

beautiful gateway in Masham

Next thing I know, he's found a bargain B&B deal on late rooms and I now realise that it would, frankly, be churlish to say no and pass up a trip out on a day like that, to be, instead, sat indoors editing photos!
So that was it, night booked, stuff quickly chucked in an overnight bag, shades on, tunes blasting, roof down and away we went.

tree tunnel!

It was perfect! Just what we needed to shrug off the nowtiness of the previous week.
We stopped off on the way at a pub with one of the most fabulous beer gardens I have ever had the pleasure to sit in...a tiered affair down to a river view. Gorgeous!

what a glorious view

Next stop, Fearby...home of our, erm, home for the night and The Black Swan pub. Now if you happen to go there and then drive round the back to find a g't field full of caravans, fear not! They are very pleasant caravaners☼ creating a lovely, happy atmosphere in the beer garden and pub as you sup and scoff.
We got shown to Room 1 which was luverly and new and clean and biiiiig!

huge bed

We then oohed and aahed a bit before dumping our stuff and heading back out for a quick hour or so mosey around Masham.

What a delight!

Such a pretty, pretty village with beautiful homes and buildings, good pubs, a sweet shop, wine shop, butchers oh and, erm, a brewery or two.

The first visit was paid to The Gallery - with a fabulous exhibition currently showing called Impression: "An exhibition of work from 5 printmakers. Impression showcases extraordinary talent in different areas of printmaking as well as a range of striking images. Artists are: Hester Cox, Janis Goodman, Helen Peyton, Angie Rogers*, Catherine Sutcliffe Fuller"
*I was really very taken with Angie's work. Really.

The Gallery

The Gallery also have a regular stock of pieces, some of which by lovelies you may have heard of...Leigh Shepherd and Helen Russell (Mercury Arts) to name but two.

snicket

After perusing and drifting away into creative nirvana, I was quickly snapped back by the need for cash...the Co-op is the place to go!

full to bursting window box of joy

which quickly lead to us wandering down a snicket and ending up at Theakston's Brewery, with half a Lightfoot. Well, it would have been rude not to.

rusty old barrels

More wandering was the order of the afternoon along with another sunshiney beer garden and then it was back to The Black Swan for us.

There we sat in their beautifully scenic beer garden, reading (him the papers and me Mollie Makes), chatting and plotting & planning for our future before disappearing inside for a slap up meal before bed.

view from our spot in the Black Swan beer garden

A leisurely drive back the morning after, passing many vintage cars all out for the day, stopping off a Pateley Bridge & calling in to see rellies finished it off perfectly.

the market square, Masham, looking skyward

And then it was back to the photo editing, feeling happy and content and loved. I am a lucky bird.
x


PS ☼I have nothing against caravans or caravaners at all...it's just that, when you've booked a night in a remote pub and you tip up and find a (big) field full of caravans and motorhomes and not just the 12 en-suite rooms you'd heard of, well...it's a shock!

Pinterest Pretties

I recently pinned this to my Quilting board but thought I'd share it with you non-pinners
It was sadly sold in December 2010 by Splendorfalls28 on Etsy...beautiful nonetheless, don't you think?

how about this for a paper cut!

i followed the trail back to discover that it is the work of Julene Harrison and you can see her work here

A day trip to Clitheroe Part I

Hello!

I took Mum & George out for the day today - a day of being more tourists. So off we set in the sunshine along the A59 to Clitheroe over t'other side of the border (& the entirely wrong colour rose) into Lancashire.

First stop - The Emporium! (of course!)

This is a favourite haunt of mine (though I don't get there nearly as often as I'd like ...every weekend would be good, no?!?!)...a converted Methodist chapel which is lavishly filled with dark wood tables and chairs, big squishy sofas, over-sized mirrors and huge globe lights. Oh, and the fretwork frame around the mirror behind the bar even had George awestruck there for a while!

A pot of tea for her, a massive whipped cream hot chocolate for him, and for me? Why, it was the strong dark hit of an Americano to give me the oomph to hit the town!

And off we went on our merry way, moseying about, oohing over buttons and ribbon, delighting over charity shop finds (more about this another time - delighted I was! Yoda, I sound like) and spending longer than is indeed proper in a butcher's shop! No ordinary butcher's mind you, but Cowmans with their award winning sausages and my, oh my, so much choice!

We went with - Pork, Stilton & Port; Moroccan Lamb and Hot & Spicy aswell as...Garlic Butter Chicken Thighs, Cajun Chicken Thighs and Lamb Kebabs. A veritable meat feast!

Then it was a leisurely climb up to pay Clitheroe Castle a visit - stunning views

and some beautiful old buildings...

and time for a photo opportunity with my ma and my boy

[what is it with boys and either cheesy grins or crazy face pulling]

then it was back to the Emporium for a delicious lunch and a lazy, scenic drive home in the glorious sunshine.

Oh happy, happy day!

(oh and then the internet and my laptop were playing silly beggars and it's taken my around 2-3 hours to actually post this...hey ho, at least I posted tho aye?! x)

Wednesday Words

found on Pinterest but originally from Tumblr


I've been having a shop makeover this evening, want a peek..?
x

Friday working

Friday working
Originally uploaded by DitsyBird

Morning folks!
I'm say at my desk with the window open, birdsong floating in, stitching away and enjoying this beautiful Friday.
What's everyone else up to today?
I'm doing my first not-sharing-a-table craft fair for a long time, a week on Saturday. So, I am plodding through some current makes, trying to get them finished...plus thinking about packaging and display (and trying not to worry).
I hope you're day is relaxed with much ticking off of those dastardly To Do's
x

Lazy Sunday

Good Sunday morning friends! Today is another 'get on' day but in a fairly relaxed manner... •I need to tackle making a strap for a handbag •Sort the mountain of clean clothes...iron/put away •And pack! as we're off for some sunshine on Wedsnesday Plus try and get as many things prep'd to sew between here & Weds! I love that my head is full of new ideas but it's teeth-grindingly frustrating at just how long it takes to get them onto fabric & made up. I'm sure it will all be worth it in the end. Right, I am off to slurp my tea & then crack on with the 'To Do' ticking X

plotting & perfecting

I’ve had a big ole change of direction recently – moving slowly, but firmly away from the painting the card making side of things. It wasn’t a premeditated change but rather, something that occurred naturally…organically.
For me, these are the best form of changes – they require no forcing, no inner battles and no trying the refresh my style based on what I think I should be doing. Forcing a change only results in (for me, at least) a design style that just doesn’t sit right. That doesn’t sing.

You may already have read my previous post, where I introduced you to my Doodle design – Well, I’ve become doodle obsessed! Mainly because I have hundreds of the devils…in sketchbooks, on scraps of paper and a whole army of them in my head, scratching to get out!

Without consciously choosing to, I have almost completely (bar a couple of commissions) moved over to the textile side of my designing and making.
Truthfully, that’s where I’d love to be…in the land of felt, fabric, thread and beads &, of course, my beautiful Bernina. I’d like to empty my house and life of canvases and cards, and concentrate solely on my Doodle Designs –
  • expanding the range of designs
  • growing the range of products in each design
  • honing my machine sewing skills (I am very (Very) new to zips and seams, planning & pattern making)
  • venturing into fabric printing with embroidered detailing
In essence, developing a whole family of designs that appear in various textile forms but, that all have the same spirit…and a style that is instantly recognisable as my own.

The big stumbling block is to achieve all that with designs that appeal to potential customers and, at a price they deem fair.
Big stumbling block!

You see, just because I happen to think my beaded teapot brooches are the bee’s knees, doesn’t necessarily mean that others will feel the same. Although I may be enamoured with Scruffy Dog, it doesn’t automatically follow that I’ve tapped into the ‘Bingo!’ spot of the children’s market. Same goes for the warm, fuzzy, nostalgic glow I get when I see my ‘99’ cornet brooch – who’s to say other folk have happy memories of the seaside, or of the ice-cream van, driving around suburban streets on warm Summer evenings, music tinkling from afar (there I go with the nostalgia again).

But then I suppose I could ponder and fret about this for so long that it would, in time, become wholly debilitating.
In the end, it has to be a leap of faith…faith in my gut design instinct and a belief in the things that make my heart sing. I will make things that I like, in the hope that others like them too! After all, where is the fun in making something you don’t truly love or believe in? Surely that lack of love will show in the finished product…in the soul of the design? If all else fails, I shall use the absolute joy I glean from creating my work as my selling tool! (Cunning plan, though not entirely fail-safe. Mmm.)

So here I am, developing designs & products, tackling zips & seams & patterns, creating prototypes, tweaking, redoing and planning. Planning big.
I want to see my name in print one day, with the words “A textile based designer from North Yorkshire” next to it.

:: oh how I wish there were more days in the week, so that I could just get things made, and in my web shops, and on my website and then…da da da…the terrifying job of finding a stockist or two [cold hand of fear grips stomach, face blanches and teeth clench in an unbecoming manner]. So watch this space, though not literally as this may take some time. As in weeks, rather than ‘same time tomorrow’ time haha! ::

Sarah
x