NEW BIRD TABLE.

Last weekend I was delighted to go to Louise and Gavin's house where Gavin and his brother were building a table out of an old piece of stable wall. Some of the pieces they disguarded were completely rotten and very characterful, so I had to use them. 

I'd thought for a while, that if I devote my life to textiles,  it's important to grow a beautiful garden and feed the birds. My garden is a roof, with lots of pots and a strip of astro turf. A Blackbird, a Wood Pigeon and some butterflies have visited already, but I figured that if I wanted to attract the Blue Tits etc, I'd better build them a bird table. 

The wood was soft and easy to work with and somehow the bird table seems remarkably strong. I plan to give it a turf roof at some point.

The wood pigeon has tucked in, but I'll have to be patient and wait for the little birds. 

SOPHIE MADELEINE - THE KNITTING SONG

AMAZING MAZES.

My parents have been lost in mazes. They are a good team with Dad drawing designs on canvas and Mum stitching. This is a cushion  based on a maze in Williamsburg, made in green and cream carpet yarn, in loopy rug stitches. There are more mazes on the way and we will be selling them as kits once I have printed the designs onto the canvas. Mazes are amazing. Some of them are quite spiritual places and designed for pilgrims to crawl around on all fours in deep prayer. However hooking with wool could be a lot more comfortable, and a wonderful way to loose oneself. 

LOUISE'S EMBROIDERY.

Kool, psychedelic embroidery transfers coming soon.....

HOW WE MET MARY JANE.

Thank you Miriam Zadik Gold for introducing us to all the Mary Jane's. It is lovely having them a to stay in our shop window!  There is a Mary Jane for every mood, and our customers have been grooving with the headphones all week. Here we see Louise grooving to Nick Drake's Mary Jane and Linda grooving to Mary J Blige.  Each scene gives us a lot of detail, many clues, all beautifully crafted, sometimes on a minute scale. Miriam had the idea after her aunty found and gave her six doll's heads. Miriam was crocheting her daughter some Mary Jane shoes and the six dolls heads looked down from the shelf and said 'Who Is Mary Jane?" 

I have a different favourite every day, but here is Nick Drake's for you to enjoy.

WHO IS MARY JANE?

Miriam Zadik Gold has been exploring this question since she sat down to knit her daughter a pair of 'Mary Jane's'. Who is Mary Jane and why does she appear in so many songs? 

Miriam has made six scenes where you can meet Mary Jane, complete with MP3 players for you to listen to the appropriate  song.

Our friend Polly describes the show very well on Amelia's Magazine site.

Please come for a Mary Jane drink between 6.30-9pm tonight where you can groove to the play list atatched below.

The Monkees – Mary Mary  ***   Run DMC – Mary Mary ***  Mary Jane Girls – In My House ***  Mary Jane Girls – All Night Long *** Mary Jane (All Night Long) – Mary J. Blige ***  Mary Jane – Rick James ***  The White Stripes – Now Mary ***  The Beatles – What’s The New Mary Jane ***  Creedence Clearwater Revival – Proud Mary ***  The Faces – Sweet Lady Mary *** Janis Joplin – Mary Jane ***  Ike and Tina Turner – Proud Mary ***  Everly Brothers – Take a Message to Mary *** Nick Drake – The Thoughts of Mary Jane ***  Del Shannon – Mary Jane ***  Kasentetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus – Quick Joey Small *** Jimi Hendrix – The Wind Cries Mary *** Supergrass – Mary

 

RHUBARB AND CUSTARD.

Juice of 2 oranges,

6tbsp golden caster sugar

1kg rhubarb, trimmed, split down middle and cut into lengths

500ml double cream

1/4 vanilla pod seeds scraped and set aside

6 egg yolks

1. Put orange juice in pan and add 2tbsp sugar and rhubarb. Stir and bring to simmer. Cover remove from heat.

2. Make custard. Heat cream with vanilla pod and allow to simmer 5 mins. Meanwhile, beat egg yolks, 3tbsp sugar, vanilla seeds until pale and thick. Pour hot cream into egg mixture, strain if its got lumps, discard pod and whisk together.

3. Return to gentle heat in a clean pan. Stir constantly until thickens, keeping heat gentle or it will curdle and turn to scrambled egg and you don't want that.

4. Serve with rhubarb.

5. Cast on in PYF hand spun angora mix rhubarb and custard yarn.