Tag: Etsy

How unseasonal can you get?

Only two months late. Lots going on, that’s all. Main memory of January – grey, grey and more grey. And some difficult moments, of course – four years now since everything changed.

Moving swiftly on. Some intimations of spring, for sure – violets, daffodils and even tulips getting going in the gardens opposite. And – at last – a bit of time for spinning again. I have a lot of plans for this. But first, finishing off some fractal spun art yarns that have been cluttering up my wheels for some weeks now. Feels good to have caught up – and I know of at least one person who will be glad to get some of it into a weaving project! The rest are heading for my Etsy shop.

That time of year…

Brighton Pride, in August!

In all the years I have lived here I have only once seen the procession, because we spend as much of the summer as possible in France. As it happens, that particular weekend is also the closest I have ever come to attending a festival, which you may think is rather tame. I do remember the crazy colourfulness of the parade though – and the good humour. I am told that the spirit of Brighton Pride is now endangered for all the usual reasons – uncontrollable crowds, transport and parking issues, the cost of clearing up staggering amounts of litter, the inevitable commercialisation….It is true that the impact on residents, especially in the St. James’s Street Kemp Town area, has to be deplored. They are understandably protesting against the conditions imposed on them for over three days when the council authorities close public streets to enable the event organisers to make money by charging for entrance tickets.I have no idea what deal the council have got into over this, but as well as putting up with the mess and late (all?) night loud noise, residents in a very wide zone (25 densely populated streets) are required to register for wristbands, which they must then collect from a box office, with id and proofs of residency. They then have to wear them – just to access their own homes if they dare to step outside! The standard issue is 4 wristbands per household – so don’t even think about inviting any of your own visitors for three days…Apparently many residents just can’t stand this weekend and so are effectively driven away to stay elsewhere. No wonder they feel nostalgic for the old-style friendly (free) Pride street parties of not so long ago….

I will restrict my own Pride ‘commercial opportunity’ to something much less controversial. I have made precisely three crazy Pride items for my Etsy shop. Not in themselves exactly low-key, but definitely not intrusive.

In praise of cowls

I have been making lots this winter – great fun! I have even produced kits. And on Etsy they sell – to the USA and to Europe. But not so much here, in the UK. This I really don’t understand. Cowls (neck warmers, snoods in the States) are warm, super practical (stuff one in your pocket, plus no tails to get in the way, especially good for outdoor sports). They are also obviously less expensive than the time consuming hand made traditional long scarf. So why are they not catching on? Are we just being a bit slow?

Grateful for any suggestions!

Passing time

In not very original ways

Walking by the sea and over the downs, travel (pictures from Vienna, Paris, Sussex and Scotland), reading by the fire (currently a book in French called Boussole – much more exotic travelling East than I have ever managed!), visiting National Trust places and pretty churches and – these days – sorting out china from the attic spaces. For many years I collected art deco and 1930s hand painted china. I still love it – but it raises the same issues as the old photographs – what is the point of stashing it away in the roof? I’m happy to use it exclusively and ditch the modern stuff and I’m not too precious about it getting smashed – but it can’t go in the dishwasher (comes out plain white!) etc etc. Same problems with the stash of hand embroidered linens I have also picked up – because I couldn’t cope with the fact that nobody loves this domestic art any more – but I am not about to iron it every day!

So, fairly traditional ways of passing the time. Maybe not exciting (apart from the travel) but a satisfying way to fill the (ever diminishing!) time slots between family, Etsy and almost full time work. And there is always the spinning and associated fibre processes which are a little unusual – I count this as half way between work and hobby but it will always remain a passion.