OH DEAR! ROSEMARY....

......concentrated so hard on counting her stitches that her eye balls popped right out of her head.......to make your eyeballs pop out of your head like Rosemary's this Halloween, crochet a ball, working the rounds in black for the pupil, blue, brown or green for the iris, and white for the rest of the eye ball.  Add red veins in chains and then stick the whole thing to your face with double sided sticky tape, and look suprised.

TINA'S RED SLUB SHRUG!

Congratulations to Tina who has made a lovely red armed shrug in Tate and Style Check Red Slub. 

Tina actually finished this in the Spring, but it has taken me this long to develop the Lomo photo. 

THE KNITTED FIREWORK!

Our Felix knitted a firework. It is so much friendlier than the ones that make the puppies frightened. Are you coming to visit us soon Felix? I do hope so...

You can visit Felix at www.myspace.com/littlesongboxmusic

THE POSTERS CAME FROM THE WALLS.

There perhaps isn't a lead singer in the world who has the kind of following that Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode enjoys in Russia. Jeremy Deller and Nick Abrahams have made a film about Depeche Mode fans, by travelling from Europe to North America, to Mexico and Russia. 

In Russia 9th May is Victory Day, a national holiday, but the date coincides with Dave Gahan's birthday, so it is also known throughout the country as 'Dave Day'. There is beautiful footage of young Muscovites, joined in a mass sing a long to Depeche Mode songs. To be able to gather and to celebrate their favourite band, provided some kind of emotional release after the hardships of communism. 

In Eastern Berlin and across FUSSR, there is no band merchandise. The posters come from the walls as soon as they go up. Fans work hard to get the Depeche Mode look. They get together to make badges,  T-shirts, cartoons and shrines. Depeche Mode has become a religion and a hobby.

Even if you are not a DP fan we strongly recommend this film. It has had it's first screening at BFI and should be out on Mute soon. 

SUNDAY SERMON COLLECTION BAG.

The School of life, ( www.theschooloflife.com ) is holding a series of Sunday Sermons, and Louise has been busy knitting a 'Grey Area Collection Bag' to collect confessions and questions. 

In the old days, most of us looked to religion for direction on how to live.  Now we spend our Sundays reading the papers or surfing the net, finding little in the way of good council.

The School of Life have asked maverick cultural figures to tell us what they see as the virtues to cling to and the vices to be wary of. 

Sermons will be on Punctuality, Seduction, Pessimism, Curiosity, and Loving Your Neighbour.

To book, e-mail info@theschooloflife.com or ring 020 7833 1010.

All sermons will take place at 11.30am at the Horse Hospital on Collenade.

CELIA'S DARN DAY 4.

It was lovely to have Celia back in the shop last week. On her forth day of darning, leaving fear and indecision behind, she attempted to darn the gaping hole across the back of the jumper. The horizontal lines were a useful guide to fixing a a gap which had been bothering her for some time.... she still has a long way to go.... which delights us. 

TAILORED ADVICE.

Thank you to Mrs. Ursula Munro of the Enfield and District Embroiderers' Guild for her delightful letter and a charming snippit of advice from a Singer Sewing Manual from 1949, which reads as follows...

"Prepare yourself mentally for sewing. Think about what you are going to do.... never approach sewing with a sigh or lackadaisically. Good results are difficult when indifference predominates. Never try to sew with a sink full of dirty dishes or beds unmade. When there are urgent housekeeping chores, do these first so your mind is free to enjoy your sewing...

When you sew, make yourself as attractive as possible.  Put on a clean dress. Keep a little bag of French chalk near your sewing machine to dust your fingers at intervals. Have your hair in order, powder and lipstick on... If you are constantly fearful that a visitor will drop in or your husband will come home and you will not look neatly put together, you will not enjoy your sewing as you should."