For the last few weeks, I’ve been away from the screen a lot.
I’ve been jotting down ideas for blog posts, and in some cases getting them nearly ready to go. I knew I had loads of posts scheduled, so I didn’t need to worry.
But it was ages ago when I did all the posting, and I hadn’t spotted that.
Bother.
So now I’m having a session of finishing off posts and scheduling them. And while I do that, I thought I’d post a picture of a partially finished quilt.
When I told my friend I was going to see the Sistine Chapel this morning, she said “How are you going to get there in time?”
So she has missed Hull Minster’s publicity campaign then. The exhibition, officially licensed by the Vatican, allows you to see Michelangelo’s paintings without craning your neck to look at the ceiling. Or bothering to go to Rome.
The reproductions are on easels around the minster, and on the floor of the choir, with an enormous Last Judgement in front of the high alter. I managed to go when there weren’t too many people around, and it was well worth the trip. If there are more people, there will be a certain amount of waiting for a turn to look at each picture. I have heard some people say that they couldn’t see some pictures because three or four people were standing in the way. I must say that if I had been organising this display, I don’t think I would have started with a series of A3 size pictures on low easels. That caused a bit of a hold up, and doesn’t give a good impression of the display to come.
The display is open from Monday to Saturday until 18th November tickets 2019. Free tickets are available from Hull Minster so you can choose your time slot.
Here is a collage of some of my pictures. Unfortunately, the reproductions have a glossy finish, so you can see the ceiling lights reflected in those that are on the floor. You can also see the scaffolding as the sun shines through the Last Judgement. Which might be telling us something…
This scarf has a history.
In about 1986, I was in a production of The Boyfriend with the now defunct Moseley Operatic Society. I was issued with a costume for the fancy dress ball scene: a seriously bright yellow peasant top, with a matching yellow and black striped skirt, to represent a Mexican bandit. No headgear. In the 1920s? I don’t think so.
So one lunchtime, I rushed round Birmingham city centre and managed to find a lovely soft cotton scarf in exactly the right yellow. It was really cheap in the sale (nobody else needed such a loud colour), and tied round my head with the long ends trailing it was just what I needed.
I kept it, because the cotton was so nice, but it just wasn’t my colour. So I never got round to wearing it.
Then in 2001 I was in the chorus for La Traviata with West Riding Opera. Could we provide our own gypsy costume? I had one of those multi tiered skirts which I never wore, because white skirts just attract muck when I wear them. So the skirt and scarf went into some bright red Dylon to make the costume. I expected a red skirt and a toning orange scarf, but they both came out the same bright red.
So now I have dunked it in the indigo vat. I might just wear it now!
My experiment with Zazzle has come to an end. It seemed like a good idea, but it hasn’t really worked.
The principle is sensible. I upload a picture, and “place it” on one of their products, and then the article is ready to be purchased by anyone using their shop. They print to order, and despatch it straight to the customer. When they sell one, I get a commission.
But there are various problems:
If you are on Twitter, have a look at @damienkempf. He has put together a series of New Year resolutions based on medieval paintings.
My favourite is this one: be more fashionable.
Whether that is a good idea or not depends on what the fashion is at the time.
As the picture demonstrates.
I like using natural dyes. The problem is that a lot of them are rather smelly to process. And that process takes hours, so the whole house gets to share the smell. In warmer climates, people set up some form of camping stove outside, so that they can enjoy the weather and avoid the smell.
In a Yorkshire winter, cooking outside isn’t so appealing.
I’ve got a studio attached to the house, and the connecting door is very convenient. But any smell in there will find its way into the rest of the house. So I’m setting up a dye house a separate garage. There are various bits and pieces that I need to have handy when I’m out there, and of course there are some things that need to be kept in the garage anyway. So I need a storage unit.
I saved the pallets from the recent building work, and I’ve seen lots of ideas on Pinterest for turning them into furniture. Of course, my pallets don’t seem to work for any of the plans I’ve seen, so I’ve had to use my initiative. With the aid of a jig saw, some cable ties and a bit of MDF, this is what I’ve made. 
I’m getting low on the embroidered scarf rings, so I’ve been making some more.
I like the flowers best, but the green swirls were fun to do.
I’ve got a bit behind with my scarf packing. It is partly because I’d rather be making than packing. It doesn’t help that I do like having all the colours about the place.
But that can’t go on for ever, so I’ve had a packing session.
And here are all of them spread out, ironed, and on their way into bags.
My studio has been a work in progress for a while. I have been using the garage for its new purpose for a long time now, but it has been a dark and gloomy place.
But this week, there was a big step forward. The old garage doors have gone. They were beautifully made wooden ones, but as the opening is nice and wide, they were very heavy. They had sagged on their hinges.
That meant that on the rare occasions I opened the doors, it was very difficult to lift them enough to move them. And there was usually a howling gale coming in over the top of the door. And if the wind was coming from the north on a rainy day, the puddle went about a third of the way across the floor.
So something had to be done. After a lot of thought, I’ve gone for single garage doors, with windows in the top, and windows down the side. Light is flooding in, and it is actually warm now. As this is side of the house faces north, that light is the ideal sort for a studio.
Once the lads have finished sealing round the outside, I will be emptying the greenhouse into tubs to go across the ramp in front of the windows, which will cheer the view up considerably. Assuming my carefully selected windproof plants can settle down, so fingers crossed there.
And then there is a list of things to sort out before the place is how I want it. A sink needs to go in, I need some curtains for when I’m in there after dark…
But I’m well on my way now!
