In The Pink!

This scarf has been on the needles for a few weeks now - I couldn't understand why it was taking so long to complete. It is a lace stitch but it was easy and repetitive, so not much fiddling about there.  Then last night I blocked it and the usual magic happened when the yarn got wet and flat - it grew!

It is now a whopping 6ft. 6 inches long!  No wonder it took a long time to knit!  This has been knitted in hand-spun pure new wool in bubble-gum pink.  I see on Yahoo today they are saying that's the colour people are buying their jeans in this season -  now they can have a scarf/wrap to match.  It wasn't intentional - I just have a weakness for bright pink.

It's going on Etsy if you fancy it!

Phew!

After yesterday's devastation, thank goodness a tried and true procedure worked.  The painting spent the night underneath the heavy weights and when I looked at it this morning, the paper was 99% flat once more.  There is a definite weakness where the big crease was and from the back it is perceptible but luckily from the front (unless you look really close) it has gone - once the painting is framed and under glass, it will look as if nothing has happened.

I have roused myself from the apathetic resignation of yesterday and will definitely be making a complaint to Royal Mail - the more I look at my original packing, the plainer it is that something extremely heavy was placed on the parcel with blatant disregard for the large 'PLEASE DO NOT BEND' written on both sides. Not good enough chaps, just not good enough.

A Right Royal Rant.....

This week I sold one of my jellyfish paintings, but also had it returned by the customer as it wasn't exactly what she was after.  That is neither here nor there - these things happen (although it's a first for me!)  What puzzled me was that this lady also mentioned a crease mark across the centre of the painting.  Now I am pretty meticulous when I package up anything that I sell, so I was interested to find out what she meant when I collected the package from our mail depot today.

It seemed the return journey had not been without mishap - even though my customer had added extra packaging, it still arrived cobbled together like this as the postal service had ripped the outer layer.

They'd torn the bottom part too.....obviously being asked not to bend the parcel didn't prevent them from using it as a football at some point.

Is this what 'Special' Delivery means? 

So if this was how it had been delivered back to me, it gave me an inkling of how it had been delivered to the customer.  Nothing prepared me for this however:-

...and from the back....

...and the thick piece of mountboard that was only half of the packaging I had used.....

...nice.  Do they employ elephants to compress the mail into lorries these days?  I think the customer was pretty darn restrained in describing it as 'a slight fold line' - I just cannot believe this is how the Royal Mail treat items that we pay them to deliver.

Now, as there is another buyer waiting with anticipation for this painting, I have to do something to rectify it's condition as there is no way I will let it go anywhere looking like that.  So I have tried the method used when watercolour paper cockles from not being pre-stretched then painted on.  The painting is thoroughly wetted on the back with clean water until the paper is pliable, placed on a flat surface, covered with a few sheets of newspaper and something heavy.

Or in this case, a lot of heavy somethings!  Then it has to be left overnight to dry and flatten (hopefully).

I am amazed that I can send paintings to the USA and Europe and they get there unscathed - 30 miles up the road and it's more battered than if I'd run over it with my car.  Next time, there will be a sheet of hardboard enclosed!

Oh yes, and if any of you think I should try and claim some insurance out of the postal service.....I really don't have that many months to waste on what I know will be a fruitless task!

Incredible Journey

This brought a tear to my eye - but in a good way.  Make sure you watch the video.

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/195708/

Don't you just love a happy ending?

How Does Your Garden Grow?

For those of you who enjoy a bit of vicarious gardening, here's an update on how things are growing here in Hampshire.  The tomatoes are getting bigger and I have started to put them into their big pots.

I lost a few today due to the sudden heatwave and me forgetting to unzip the plastic greenhouse this morning - they were not just wilted, they were crispy!  This hanging basket variety survived though.

Not many flowers as yet, but what there are are sumptious colours.

Or quite spectacular - these grow every year and are such attractive plants...but they stink like crazy!  Imagine mouldy garlic garnished with dog poo and you get an idea of their aroma.

A fellow dog walker gave me some rhubarb roots which are already sprouting like mad...mmmmm, rhubarb crumble!

We shall be having plenty of currants.....

...and even more blueberries.  There is nothing better than slopping in your slippers down the garden in the morning to gather fresh blueberries for your cereal.

The cucumbers are shooting up, as are the strawberries.  The broad beans nearly had their chips in the greenhouse incident today but I think they will recover.

I cheated with the courgette and bought a plant - the three squash are from seed though.

And the fruit trees are blossoming - this is cherry, and the pear and apple trees are not far behind. 

I still have to plant out the runner bean seeds, and there are flower seedlings still awaiting pricking out when they are a little bigger.  Let's hope this good weather gives them a kick start rather than frying them!

Be thankful that by gardening vicariously, it wasn't you that tripped up the concrete step to the patio and fell over, grazing your knee and bruising your hand....

Nothing to show craft-wise - the double dog portrait continues slowly and steadily, as does a bubble-gum pink knitted lace scarf/shawl.  As is always the case during the last week of term, exhaustion is setting in and I have trouble concentrating due to tiredness.  One more day and then it is the Easter break, whereupon I can be as arty-craft as I like for a fortnight.

Dogs!

Thought I'd try a Jack Russell this time, using a combination of the pattern in Best of Breed and my own interpretation.  He's a cute enough little chap - I'm a bit worried about the size of his head though!

 Or is it the size of his body?  Either way, he's still got loads of character and is waiting for his bed to be knitted so he doesn't have to sit around on the cold concrete all day!

The first dog in the double portrait is nearly finished - I have really enjoyed this one and have to stop myself from dragging it out to make it last longer!  I'm sure her companion will be just as much fun to draw. 

Disappointing Result.....

For the past fortnight I have had a display of some of my paintings for sale at work, with the idea that all profits would go to the Artists Help Japan fund.  Sadly, despite living in the town that boasts the most expensive housing estate in Britain, I sold a grand total of..........£5 worth.   Hmmmmm, not sure what to say about that.

Anyway, nil desperandum and all that - I've brought the paintings home and am offering them here.  They are basically works that I cannot really sell for my own profit as I have used photographs from books or magazines for reference, and they are just sitting in my portfolio gathering dust.  Others are exercises in still life or en plein air painting and not really of gallery material.  So here they are - if you see one you fancy, get in touch and we can thrash out the details.  I promise that 100% of profit will be donated to the Artists Help Japan fund.

 Still Life - Watercolour.  A3 size
£30

Mevagissy Harbour, Cornwall - Watercolour A3 size
£35

'Blossom' - Watercolour. A3 size
£20

Essex Castle, ALderney - Watercolour  9 x 7 inches
£10

Macaws in Flight - Watercolour   15 x 18 inches
£30

'Camouflage' - watercolour  A3 size
£40

Lemon, Mango, Apple, Apple, Tom - watercolour pigment sticks   16 x 10 inches
£30

Basingstoke Canal - watercolour    12 x 18 inches
£50

'Remembering Alderney' - watercolour   A4 size
£30

Hippo - mixed media   14 x 9 inches
£10

Mawgan Porth, Cornwall - watercolour  A4 size
£15

Still Life - watercolour   10 x 7.5 inches
£10

Sea Holly - Pen & Wash    9 x 7 inches
£10

'Watching' - watercolour   8 x 12 inches
£20

'Finders-Keepers' - watercolour    8 x 8 inches
£30

Prices are in pounds, but I can convert them to dollars if you ask me - please note they are also knock-down prices in order to appeal to any budget and also in an effort to make some cash for Japan.
The pictures have been photographed in their cellophane wrappings, so images may be a little unclear.
What has been going on in Japan has been vastly overshadowed in the media by what's been going on in the Middle East, but that doesn't mean the situation has gone away.  Let's see if we can give a bit of help to our fellow human beings in adversity.