A FEW SHARES

Hello my dears - thought I would very quickly share a few bits with you before school pick up.. 

Not much happening really.. I've made a few patterns, found a few friends making things for Xmas markets.. 

Thinking of having a few bits made. The problem is that I can't think or organise beyond next week Friday and lots of these things are booked, paid for, and organised like a year in advance. A whole year. Who in the blazzers is that organised,? not little ol me for sure. I can only just organise a dentist appointment in advance, so there is no way I'm going to get that organised. Alas - I won't let it kill me, I will try and do something. 

Our dishwasher machine thingy decided that enough was enough the other day. Obviously not to be undone, you sort of convince yourself, ha, that's no problemo, we can eat out, wash up - or just not eat... but no.. !

With 5 people in our house, we all went into melt down mode. For a start our kitchen is not designed around washing up being a pleasure - the sink is for used tea bags and that's about all - no flies on us.

After three days even our 3 year old started to complain his milk didn't taste right. We cave in and pay a man 250 shinys to retrieve a kids car part from inside somewhere. Thanks. Felt quite sorry for the man - I mean he could hardly get to the thing for all the dirty pots over taking every surface in our kitchen. Gross. The acid test was he accepted a cup of coffee which you never do if your in someones house you think is filthy. 

So what else, oh, yes I made a few patterns for the latest brief in Moyo Mag issue 5. I don't normally do them because I either forget or think - hmmm what to do. Then I move off to something else and again forget..

But this time - I went back to basics, thought about the brief, what colours came to me and took a few pics. 

I'm loving grey and orange right now - 

Anyway - recently I've been taking a class in Nicoles Classes, they are of course on line. ( as practically everything is these days) - You can find the one I took here. 

So one of my ideas was to use the snowflake I had made and sort of use that as a basis for the 'Winter theme'. 

Anyway I know there is some room for improvement - but not bad for a days work. A fixed dishwasher too.. we can eat again. xxx

STYLISH GARDENS

Hello peps..

Gosh have I been busy, busy as Larry, busier than you can imagine.. you see I have 3 little ones, actually one if them is almost as tall as me and she's only 9 - but they do take up so much time. Time I just don't have - I so want to be doing lovely things with my time, but nope, I don't - I do washing and homely things, I break the dishwasher, I tidy up, tidy up tidy up. I've done so much tidying over the past few weeks, I'm like the Tidy up Queen.. you see nothing ever ever stays in the same place that I put it around here. Like NOTHING. You would think that 28 people live in my house. Or just 5 very lazy ones. Perhaps we could just buy a new house and sort of spread out the messiness so it's not so noticeable.? I'm sure everyone who has just completed the illegal marathon of stress called the school holidays will agree.. or at least part agree. 

Still - I have been on a lovely holiday - note picture above, I took at a NT place called.. Lanhydrock   Lovely place, big gardens. I like big gardens, makes me feel much more relaxed when I'm outside doing stuff.  Took some fabulous pictures too. Saw my friend the 'Wood man' who brings our wood, amazing who you meet when on holiday - the world is getting smaller, or I'm getting older and sound like my Dad now.

Anyways today my title is Wind Sock - I just can't control myself. I think I know what I am doing with my patterns and indeed am taking a fab course at the moment with Nicoles classes called Embelishments. Here are a couple of things I made in the first day - (more to follow).. 
I've always wanted to do Damask - well at least since I saw them on this site in fabulous fabric - I've wanted to do Damask.. 

So -  that's all for now. 

Trina x

p.s I've added a little pin button if you would like to 'pin' me. (obviously not literally pin me but pinterest me - well you know what I mean). Thanks.

PINTEREST I GET IT

OK, I get it, I get it, I get it.. 

Pinterest is amazing - I've been so blown away at what this platform can do - I've discovered so many new ideas on how to use it and what it should be about it. How? I've been watching a free webinar. (what's that? ) a 3 day workshop on Creative live - video format of teaching. 

I think I'm going to become a Pinterest fan of all fans. Here is my first test.. I took the picture above at a flower show last year. Believe me if you want to run out now and buy a blue poppy - well I'll tell you, they are 'tricky' to say the least. 

So lets see if this pin - which follows the advise of make your pictures beautiful.. 

I think this is beautiful, do you?

You can find (and follow I hope ) my board here.. 

Thanks for looking. 

Trina 

DAYS OUT - CALKE ABBEY DERBY

Well, had a little visit with the family last week. Mainly to get a break from the kids, or at least try to off load some of the telling off to my parents in Derbyshire. 

Whilst there I took the opportunity to visit Calke Abbey in Ticknall. A wonderful place - lots of things for the kids to do and a big old house for the grown ups. It helps if your Mum is a volunteer.. (Does that mean I'm middle aged - when your Mum is volunteer at the NT?)

(image credit National trust)

I took a few pics whilst I was there of the patterns in the house and quickly dropped them into a collage for you. Hopefully some of them will inspire me to make something great in the future. (or you) - It amazes me how they made such wonderful intricate patterns without photoshop or Illustrator.

I'm finding it quite hard at the moment to get going - which direction etc. I have opened an Etsy shop selling printable downloads in an effort to get some of my patterns noticed, alas this is proving more difficult than expected.. the market is quite saturated.

So - do I now get a few things into Spoonflower? - but a friend suggested that sales are so low, (I guess because the site is so big) - that it's quite a lot of effort to get them in there, plus are unlikely to make a fortune. (glum face) - Perhaps it is better to look at it as more of a notice board to getting noticed..?? But, I'm not totally away with the Fairies, I do know you have to start somewhere.

Talking of notice boards - I'm starting to fall in love with Pinterest. To begin with I thought well, what is the point of it, but now I see why it is - it's kind of addictive! I see so many things I'd like to try, paint, draw - redecorate etc. Here is my page if you would like to see it. I've noticed quite a bit of traffic too from there to here - so that is good.

Well hopefully I will have more time to devote to my project once the kids go back to school. 

I hope you like the pattern above, I made it supa quick one morning - out of necessity more than anything as I needed something fresh for a directory.. shhh... more about that later.. !

Bye for now..

COLOUR FOR THE MASSES - AM I 12?

Of course I'm not 12, but I might be.. I might want to be 12 again. Given that I feel 12 when I see this new book sat  on my desk. Yes, what kind of book is that I hear you say, some kind of picture book.. er no.. it's a colouring book. Not just any old colouring book, a book for people to colour in - yes, but why the hell would I want one? Given that I'm now 40 (cough cough)...???

Well I'll tell you peeps, it's because I'm still trying to draw each day, I'm still trying to draw something of reasonable quality and yes I want to be good at colouring in. Especially on those days when I can't draw a flippin circle even. You see my patterns need colour and where do you get that from? No, not from years of slaving away in the back room of a colourist, or taking a textile degree, or from dyeing peoples hair.... its by experimenting with your own colours. I'm not talking those 20 pencils ya mam got you in Wilko when you were 10, (because you'd been good all morning and not taken any of the plastic square toppers from M&S coat hangers honestly Mum... ) I'm talking about Copic markers, Sharpie markers, Faber -Castell and Zig loveliness.  If they were shoes, we're talking Jimmy or Vera here. (perhaps not quite so expensive, but really quite good) 
I was listening to this the other day and I just love the way Khristian A Howell can use colour.. she is amazballs. I mean she has the full package, colour, pattern, everything, and looks like a super model too.. ! Darn it.

So my intention is to grapple my way through the hell of his Tax Return, (why do men seem to be able to do big things, but none of those little hit you in the eye this is a crap job for Monday) jobs??? - Not that I will add any colour to THAT but at least at the end - I shall be able to colour something in. 

Haven't started yet, but that the fact that I'm writting about it, means that 
A) I will in due course, 
B) If I don't I will have wasted an hour writing this and 
C) I will look a ninny). 

The book is called Secret Garden - by Johanna Basford and here are few more pics for you..

Hopefully after I've done a few pictures I'll let you see them. (I recently got aquatinted with Instagramenes (that's Instagram) for those failing to keep up - I'm Surface Hug if you want to follow me.. and maybe I'll follow you back.  

So what have you been colouring in lately? 

Currently I'm listening to The Potato Factory - which is a sort of historical fiction book about a real life pick pocket in London in the 19th century.. some say is the character Fagan in Oliver Twist. 

On the T.v.v.. I'm still watching and waiting each week for the next episode of The White Queen. I have to say I didn't really like the what I'd read about the Woodvilles but I am now warming to them (and I love the name Jacquetta) I would pay the BBC dearly if they made the drama of Mary Queen of Scots.

Bye for now.. 

(ha 2 posts in 2 weeks - getting better)

Trina 

x