Thursday thoughts.......

Morning,girls.Have had a jolly hard time uploading photos so in desperation I turned everything off and now it's working so I thought I would post this litle photo and hope you will all do as you are told at least for today.We spend so much time doing stuff we dont want to do and stuff we do want to do foe other people that the stuff we do need to do for ourselves gets continually squeezed.

So,have a manicure,read a book,crochet/knit/sew all day.Pluck your eyebrows or in my case your chin(another menopausal delight.)Kick the leaves.leave the housework and do something lovely just for you.This is especially for my sister Jules who has been very run down lately and needs to be very good to herself from now on

http://julessewpretty.blogspot.com/)....

Anyway let me know what you do to be good to yourself...

This one is for me as I have to go to the dentist again today.Orthodontic cleansing and scraping yesterday-don't you just hate that! Dentist today......Im also going to tidy my sewing room which looks as if a cyclone has hit...see you later girls -have a good day.

Anne x

Bags and bags of up-cycling...

Well it was a wet Sunday.What's to do?Cosy up in the sewing room..

Take an old, felted woolly jumper, an faded tea towel, a pair of curtains(car boot bargain) a selection of needlecord dresses also from car boot collection,ribbon,buttons and a little bit of crochet and you have some really cheap and cheerful  not to mention unique Christmas presents.Jules and I had a lot of fun making these bags and feel pleased to be making pretty rubbish at very little cost......a splendid way to while away a rainy day.We also rediscovered our love of sherry which we love to drink at this time of the year..

The jumper and the tea towel and a lovely crocheted flower...

Curtains made from this gorgeous 1950's barkcloth.I really love this.... a few vintage buttons and the green ribbon was used as a cakeband last Christmas.

A patchwork of needlecord clothes and lots of little bits,ric-rac,lace,crochet....

Not to be out done Mum has been making gorgeous hats for gorgeous babies....

It was a great Sunday,Hope yours was good too......

Anne x

Infant Art...

One of the most rewarding things about teaching infants is their total lack of inhibition when it comes to being creative.They don't faf around or agonise over colours or wonder about the end result..they just do it and I am always amazed by their ingenuity.I treach both year one and two (aged 5-7yrs) and as art is one of my huge loves we do a lot of it and I always try to incorporate a creative angle in all that we do...bon voyage cards for migrating swallows...sleep signs for hibernating hedgehogs..They are always making and cutting and sticking and love designing...so I thought Id show you some of our recent seasonal work..The pictures aren't the best as the light was not great but  it gives you an idea....

This is a handprint hedgehog by a five year old.

This is a collaborative efffort.All the children painted and cut out letters spelling autumn then I just let them loose with the pritt sticks and this is what they did...I love ..love ...love it.

This was a colour mixing exercise witht he five year olds..We displaed them altogether like an autumn patchwork blanket..

These are sunflowers based on Van Gogh's interpretation...They had a lot of fun making these and then used pastels and acrylics to give the flowers somr depth..They look so effective and the whole exercise incorporates a lot of different skills...

This is my favourite.These blackberries are again a collaborative exercise where each team had to make huge blackberries after sponging lots of different shades.It isn't finshed yet as it needs a spider and a web and some much bigger leaves..I will show the final result after half term...I love it as it's sculptural qualityis really effective.The photo doesn't really do it justice.Anyway thought you'd enjoy a glimpse of my world, at school.

1943...

This is the calm before the storm.Jan and Jen watching the parade from thr tea room.

My Mum's famous tea cosy available in the shop...love those colours or perhaps you prefer.... this one...

Me and Jules looking like Hinge and Brackett feeling  very chilled...

Jules on standby ready with the cakes.I think she suits the 1940's look.SOme of the outfits worn by the ladies are stunning.You really need a 16" waist to be able to get in to some of the dresses.But it was such an elegant era and manners were so much better.

Two happy customers...

Look who popped in to see us...Hen and Munchkin looking verymuch the part....

No Anne you cannot sit on that sofa....not until you've made a million cups of tea and coffee and slavishly buttered a hundred crumpets.....I haven't any photos of how busy it was, as I was too busy to take any but it was a huge success and we must have washed up all my tea sets about fifty times over the weekend.

These pictures give you an idea of how busy the town was.It really is the most wonderful weekend and if you have never been, you really should add it to the list,

Post work sherry....Jules is still smiling...yes Anne now you can lie on the sofa...

Thanks to everyone who supported us.See you next year...

Anne,Jules,Jen,Jan and Dawn xxxxx

Pickering at War: The Best Cuppa in Pickering Award 1943

Pickering at War: The Best Cuppa in Pickering Award 1943

Thank you

Thank you so much or all your loving wishes and concern about little Kanga.I know Vera is especially comforted by all your comments.She kept saying "I know it's daft to be so upset about a kitten thats so young". However we know, girls, that our fur babies, big and small are simply heartbreak on legs.........On a brighter note ,yesterday by holding a cuddly toy sale and selling cakes we raised £400 for the RSPCA.....its the small things....

Anne x

Sweet little Kanga..

Well, we are all totally devestated as our little Kanga died in the early hours of yesterday morning.Vera had taken her to the vets as she had stopped eating and her stomach was quite swollen.The vet was very optomistic and we all breathed a sigh of relief.Vera had everything crossed and I was praying all night to the god of small animals but it was not to be.We are all so sad, as she had become a fixture in our daily lives and sitting in the staff room will never be the same again.Poor Vera worked so hard to help her survive.She is now on a mission to trap the mother and her two older kittens who live with Vera's horses.The kittens are called Hissy and Spitty because that's what they do most of the time.They all need neutering.There have been a lot of tears shed but we are grateful for the joy little Kanga brought to all of us over this half term.

R.I.P sweet little girl.....

Kitten Love...

This little kitten is only three weeks old and was found by my friend Vera in the hedge near to where she keeps her horse.The mother had abandoned her as she was the second litter in only a few months.Vera is going to try and catch the mother and take her to be spayed.Anyway this little sweetie is presently living in the staff room during the day and Vera has been bottle feeding her during the night.She has lots of mummies at school flapping and fussing over her.We are all besotted with her and she is getting very spoilt.The vet who I consulted said it is unusual for a kitten of such a tender age to survive after abandonement.We take it in turns to feed her and do her ablutions, fill the hot water bottle,warm her milk and generally love her,so we are all proud that she is thriving. 

She loves to have her tummy stroked and has just started purring.

Proud Mummy Vera.

Homespun style..

It certainly has been a day for sitting in front of this....It has absolutely poured down all day here in N.Yorks. I am really hoping that next week is a better week as every Monday seems to bring along another catastophe or ailment.Two weeks ago my crown fell out and I looked like Nanny McPhee for several days...last Monday I bent down to retrieve my planner from my school bag and out popped my disc and I have been in mortal agony ..It's easing now but still very sore so I have been fairly useless all week-had so many things I wanted to do but really haven't been able to get comfortable.However today has been a better day and I have started one or two little projects which I will show you soon.Sister Jules is back from the States so we may be able to motivate each other.I have a tale to tell about an abandoned kitten but in the meantime I love the Homespun style articles in the November issue of Country Homes and Interiors..here is a quick peep....

Hoping your Monday is kind to you....

Anne x

Really love the throw..

The towels are pip studio and the crochet one is from Rice at clothkits

Hoping your Monday is kind to you....

                                                       Anne x