tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12604111620829834832012-02-10T09:11:34.686ZKnitting, drawing, painting, patchwork and other lovely thingsSamgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.comBlogger501100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-61822137972760673712012-02-05T20:28:00.001Z2012-02-05T20:28:24.176Z

I finished the dining room curtains the other week. I am reasonably pleased with them, but they are slightly too long on one side, which I think is due in part to my inaccurate measuring (I did rush these a little...) and the fact that the wall is unlikely to be straight. It's great to have curtains up in this room finally, and to have got rid of the ugly vertical blind, but I feel like whatever

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-63432970899215292662012-01-20T17:09:00.000Z2012-01-20T17:13:00.635Z

This will be a post of few words, as I have a boy on my lap who wants to do everything his mummy is doing! But I just wanted to to show some photos of my hat, which I finished the other day. I saw some on ravelry which looked like they hadn't been blocked, so I found a salad bowl the perfect size to block it over, and it's come out nice and slouchy. Here it is... I'm really

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-35685544197269052672012-01-12T14:55:00.002Z2012-01-12T14:57:44.263Z

We've been blessed with an incredibly mild winter here in Britain; we haven't even had frost here in South Wales. We had a delivery of four tons of logs a few months ago, which I think I mentioned a while back, and we've barely used any of them. As January runs into February, I'm hoping that the mildness will remain, and give way to the new life of spring without any rude interjections of

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-87755126755472174762012-01-03T15:55:00.001Z2012-01-12T14:58:10.519Z

I wish I had more time to blog. I'm finding myself to be quite productive lately, although I do seem to be starting projects rather than getting them finished. I started Kim Hargreaves lovely hat, Moon, over Christmas, and thought I'd easily have it finished by now, as its a quick knit even for me. But before Christmas I'd bought curtain fabric for our dining room to replace the horrible vertical

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-60940904167741343522011-11-13T20:10:00.001Z2012-01-12T14:58:41.549Z

I can't deny it. I love making things for myself, or for my home. I know why it is; it's because I'm slow. I'm a slow knitter. Consistent but slow. I'm less slow at sewing, actually a reasonable pace, and I suppose if I was going to make something for someone, it would be better for them if it was sewn rather than knitted, if they ever hoped to get it. But the thing with this speed problem is

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-2181229610665204692011-11-01T15:51:00.000Z2012-01-12T14:59:56.632Z

I've been doing some baking experimentation recently. I love cooking, and have no problem working from different recipies and am confident that they will work and be tasty. Baking however, is another story. Last year at my baby shower, my friend Ruth and I tried to bake. I made muffins which were supposed to to contain half fresh blueberries and half dried fruit. I thought how much nicer it would

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-44070387449482965152011-10-02T22:48:00.001+01:002011-10-02T22:48:34.857+01:00

I like to cut out and keep images from catalogues, postcards or anything in paper form that I find inspiring. The thing is, most of the images I like are from magazines which I like to keep intact in general so I can come back to them and flick though without having to hold them together or hold loose bits of paper in place as I read. So I only cut up a magazine if I know I don't want to keep

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-45392060268962475452011-09-11T22:21:00.001+01:002012-01-12T15:00:29.791Z

Ugh, why is the weekend always such an anticlimax? We'd planned to go on a bird walk in the Forest of Dean on Saturday, but Marno had ordered a log store and logs from a company in West Wales, who ended up delivering it on Saturday morning . The guy told Marno the store would take one person two hours to fill with logs, so there went the morning. Then there wasn't time to go anywhere far beyond

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-34342957846607213302011-09-08T23:20:00.000+01:002012-01-12T15:00:50.406Z

Oooh, how exciting; blogger have updated the options for designing blogs so I've given myself a little makeover. I adore the leafy background, and the font I've chosen for the blog title... mmmmm :) So I'm planning on a major increase in my blog usage. Actually, my new design has inspired me to do something I meant to do ages ago. When we moved into this house I documented a reasonable amount of

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-10691881234761421782011-07-06T16:32:00.000+01:002012-01-12T15:01:16.254Z

Oh Wow! Its so long since I've sat down at my dining table to write a blog post that it feels rather unusual and exciting. I even have something to blog about, which is a bit of a rarity at the moment, but I finally feel like I want to be making stuff again. I've been having so many ideas lately, which I've been quickly sketching so I don't forget them. I've even been doing some actual sketching,

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-16254536691571449712011-04-14T21:36:00.000+01:002012-01-12T15:01:38.616Z

Considering interior design is pretty much my absolute favourite thing, I'm surprised at myself at how little I write about it. We've pretty much finished redecorating our "new" house (ok, we moved in a year and a half ago so not entirely new) and although I wrote a fair bit about it to begin with, eg here and here, we'd hardly done anything at that point and I have so much to write about now.

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-91923566275045330312011-03-26T16:28:00.000Z2012-01-12T15:01:59.022Z

... here is Noah's gorgeous little cardigan which I finished the other week. Its Baby Sophisticate by Linden Down, which is a free pattern on Ravelry. I used Debbie Bliss EcoCotton Aran, which had a slightly smaller gauge than the recommended yarn, so I just added extra stitches when I cast on to make a total of 40 stitches, which added one stitch to both fronts and sleeves, and two

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-11124936557896219832011-03-05T20:46:00.000Z2012-01-12T15:02:25.807Z

I planned to blog this ages ago but having little boy means I have to find a little spare moment to do it. The evening is best, but by that time I don't feel like thinking up what to write as my brain is a little turned to mush! But I've just been totally inspired by some Christadelphian friends on facebook who have started a craft collective and I realixed I shouldn't give up on my blog, even if

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-76646476693197367472010-10-12T19:14:00.000+01:002012-01-12T15:03:03.543Z

I said I'd write about the lovely handmade gifts we received for Noah in my last post, so here we are. We were given three lovely cardigans, specifically handmade for Noah, and one handmade but purchased, by my sister along with some little booties. The three cardigans are what may be referred to as typical baby knits, but knowing what has gone into them just makes me love them. The stitch

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-17911237819490607422010-10-10T16:12:00.000+01:002010-10-10T16:12:41.908+01:00

I wasn't sure I wanted to put any photos of our little one on here as anyone can see him, but I decided to go with just one because this blog is to document important things and I can't not talk about this wonderful event! Having a baby is the most incredible thing I've ever experienced, and being a mummy is the most important job in the world. You're the centre of a child's life and they look

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-21890563486557024742010-09-07T18:17:00.004+01:002010-09-07T18:57:34.578+01:00

Well today I am officially one day overdue. I can't imagine what it will be like to begin labour - I mean, I suppose it just starts pretty suddenly and you have to wait and count the time between contractions etc to work out if it is actual labour or not, but I haven't had any Braxton Hicks, or if I have, I haven't felt them, so I reckon when it does start it'll be the real thing. Its funny,

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-76022254470336083522010-09-01T11:58:00.006+01:002012-01-12T15:03:27.788Z

I think I mentioned this project in my last post and that I would elaborate on it. Since we got into birdwatching I've been trying to think of ways to incorporate birds in my work. There are so many designers and artists who use birds so I really wanted to think of something original, which is pretty hard. I started by messing around with some applique ideas, making different layers for different

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-18819178486310098882010-08-10T11:21:00.011+01:002010-08-10T12:55:51.040+01:00

Well its been eight and a bit months since I wrote here. Thats not to say I haven't been thinking about it or doing any work, but being pregnant and having to push on the house so its finished for when the baby arrives has just taken up a lot of my time. Thats fine though. We've really enjoyed planning and decorating the house and I'm so pleased with how it looks now. Its so different from when

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-12011791198685540552009-12-02T11:27:00.004Z2009-12-02T12:08:20.131Z

"The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us."Since moving house, I've been thinking about the Arts and Crafts movement as our house was built in 1930, although this was definitely

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-26394882772582421932009-12-02T11:15:00.003Z2009-12-02T11:26:33.617Z

Well I managed to make a little gift for my sister in the end. Its a little bird which can be a brooch or can be attached to a bag or anywhere really. Its not particularly amazing but I don't make stuff like this usually and learned a lot even from this little project.It is different on each side but on the red side the wing fabric started to split from where I had sewed it to the body. Next time

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-79942818842227255092009-11-30T13:16:00.007Z2009-12-02T11:27:12.138Z

I'm sure I must get a prize for taking so long to finish this cardigan. I mean, it really is ridiculous. However, I hope I can be forgiven since I do in fact have legitimate reasons for such a lull in productivity, such as moving house... spending a week in London after my father in law was knocked over by a motorbike ( a terrible experience and we are all blessed in that he is recovering well)..

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-25398844043230105642009-10-06T16:55:00.004+01:002009-10-06T17:17:11.828+01:00

The living room fireplace is now installed.It looks lovely and will be so cosy in the winter. Check out the teacup cushion on the blue chair as well. Makes me happy to look at it as its so pleasant.Here is the progress of the middle one.The builders were here all day yesterday, and some of this morning, coming again tomorrow, Thursday, and we're finally having the wood burner installed in the

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-71103830321189886712009-10-05T11:48:00.005+01:002009-10-05T12:08:03.796+01:00

Here are a few photos of our new house. We've only decorated the living room so far and are having a couple of fireplaces installed. An open fire in the living room and a wood burner in the middle room which is kind of a second living room.View from the back patio.Dining area with paint samples on wall and freshly cladded lower wall, to be painted.The middle room, aka the Africa room. This will

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-46372776263267249682009-09-09T10:49:00.005+01:002009-09-09T11:12:43.412+01:00

We've been staying with my parents since 1st July as we're moving house but had to wait to exchange and complete. Hence I've had loads of time this summer to do loads of work. I did a lot of knitting at first, but got more and more frustrated as the exchange on our house was taking so long and couldn't concentrate on anything. My poor cardigan has been neglected for some weeks now, with a

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-65820413281663252002009-07-16T15:06:00.006+01:002009-07-16T15:38:42.552+01:00

Oh dear, I have already sustained an injury from my sudden running enthusiasm. I have been very surprised to find that I actually really enjoy running, after years of mocking runners and thinking how dull it looks. Don't get me wrong, I've always been into sports, very much so in fact, although as often happens when people leave school and sports clubs are less convenient to go to, I have badly

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-30781889087052214142009-07-09T14:45:00.005+01:002009-07-09T15:33:03.376+01:00

After weeks of not being able to do anything creative, unless you include artfully arranging things in boxes to be put in storage, I finally have time to get back into it, and also to post on here. You may have understood from what I just said that we're moving house, in which case you would be correct, but we are staying at my parents until we complete. Goodness knows how long that'll be! But

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-51328638140585689982009-05-27T14:04:00.006+01:002009-05-27T16:35:16.634+01:00

I haven't felt like writing much here recently. I've been really busy with life, which I'd rather, but I also haven't had any finished projects to show. Then I remembered I hadn't posted my spinning yet, which was rather exciting and I'm really looking forward to having another go.I'm planning to knit a hat with it, as I thought I should knit something with my first effort.The mohair cardigan is

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-21422282380955272802009-05-18T17:03:00.006+01:002009-05-18T17:32:13.786+01:00

I made this little purse one day last week when I should have been working on my patchwork.The fabric is a delightful print called Mother Goose and Friends and is covered in sweet little images from nursery rhymes and childrens' tales. On the purse is the goose who laid the golden egg, four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie and inside on this sweet little patch are the butcher, the baker and

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-64697018480781720062009-05-16T13:38:00.004+01:002009-05-16T13:51:32.915+01:00

This is the quilt I've been working on to finish for the exhibition in a couple of weeks time. I have so named it because although I love the combination of fabrics it is rather sweet looking, and nostalgic because my mum gave me all the patterned fabrics I have used in it.For the binding I made strips out of the remaining fabrics. I was originally going to turn the back over to the front but

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-66704049121657549912009-05-12T14:20:00.005+01:002009-05-12T14:41:40.021+01:00

On Saturday we went to the Forest of Dean again and had the excitement of seeing three new bird species. We went first to Nagshead nature reserve in the hope of spotting some Pied Flycatchers. Apparently quite a few people had been out looking for them and waiting a long time. We were strolling down a path through a bluebell spotted forest to the lower hide and there was one, just sitting on the

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-55760541293606953302009-05-08T10:41:00.005+01:002009-05-08T10:55:40.932+01:00

I'm currently at an annoying stage where I want to get on with knitting the cardigan, which I have now cast on and knitted a few rows of...It looks rather like a sunflower in that photo.And this is the photo of it in Knitting magazine. I really like the dress the model is wearing as well! Talking of dresses, I've just been looking at this stunning dress on Kate Davies' blog and it has really

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-80626715952382160392009-05-05T10:13:00.009+01:002009-05-05T16:36:01.342+01:00

Yes, I've finished the small little jumper. Just going to block it and somehow get it to our friends. I'd rather give it in person as I'd like to see their reaction.I'm pretty new to this giving of hand made knitted gifts so its rather exciting. I did find the sleeves a bit of a pain as they were knitted on dpns. I have no problem with socks and I find knitting in the round easy, but I had a

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-35476577566441482742009-04-28T16:13:00.004+01:002009-04-28T16:29:17.863+01:00

I've been working on this for the last week.Its a baby jumper for our friends who had a baby in February. (The pattern is from purlsoho.com and is by Joelle Hoverson. This is such a lovely website, loads of good tutorials and it looks generally beautiful). Just knitted in Sirdar Snuggly as its washable and will hopefully stand up to being worn by a little person. I've knitted it for age 6 months

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-86350656688338539132009-04-27T13:46:00.009+01:002009-04-27T15:39:19.221+01:00

What an absolutely lovely day my husband and I had on Saturday. We went to Wonderwool Wales which was an extravaganza of beautiful colours, lovely friendly people and bucketloads of inspiration. I don't know where to start as I have so much to say about it, so I think I'll begin with Sarah at Bigwigs Angora. This was one of the first stalls I came to and I was immediately attracted to the

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-12395208944362306212009-04-20T13:13:00.010+01:002009-04-20T14:19:50.610+01:00

For me, the weekend begins when my husband gets home from work on a Friday as he finishes early. This Friday he was home extra early and the first "first" of my weekend happened. He asked me if I wanted to go to the driving range. Haha yeah right, lets go, that'll be fun... NOT! Since we've known each other I've teased him about liking golf, that it's not a sport blah blah blah, but anyway I

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-20461061333926804442009-04-16T10:52:00.006+01:002009-04-16T17:06:23.697+01:00

I spent a lot of last weekend slaving away over this dress, with some help from Ma.I finished it yesterday but am hopefully going to take some photos of me wearing it on Saturday in the park, as the fabric I've used is really pretty and spring like. Its a Laura Ashley fabric. This was supposed to be an "easy" pattern, but I've only ever made one other thing which is this top I made a few months

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-77164560539515469132009-04-08T17:27:00.005+01:002009-04-08T17:42:48.983+01:00

Well I certainly knit like the wind to get these finished and I'm so happy I have. I thought I'd still be doing them tomorrow as well so I was very pleased to finish them this morning.Now I have to wrap them and make them look lovely in order to "present" them tomorrow! I only say that because Ma (my MIL) is amazing at wrapping and presenting things - she could make a potato look beautiful! She

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-75414435272718369142009-04-07T10:09:00.004+01:002009-04-07T16:30:44.564+01:00

Yes! I've been slaving away on Ma's second sock - I pretty much knitted half of it yesterday so only half left to do. However, my hands are a little uncomfortable and I'm not sure I'll be able to knit for five hours today! They have to be finished by Thursday morning so I'm hoping to get them done. Besides, I have other projects bubbling away in my head to get started, such as this jumper for

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-58899695579978381242009-04-01T10:37:00.005+01:002009-04-01T11:08:13.817+01:00

Its funny, since we've been interested in birds, we've taken to referring to them as "guys". I think its because when you start to look at them in more detail you realise they all have such personalities. My favourite personalities at the moment are Robins and Long Tailed Tits, which are just too sweet and are little balls of fluff. Anyway, here are my finished Blue Tit and Robin.They probably

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-83793747036228149052009-03-29T17:18:00.010+01:002009-03-30T14:56:14.434+01:00

...to tell you about what I finished on Friday. This knitting needle roll which I started about, hmm I can't actually remember now I come to think of it, but a couple of months ago anyway. I started it before I got a sewing machine so it's all hand sewn, except sewing the three layers together round the edge which I did at my class.The hand sewing of the blocks wasn't actually that slow, the

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-60038629359861596562009-03-26T15:06:00.003Z2009-03-26T15:26:09.111Z

Just a short post today to give an update on my painting progress. I'm curently working on four small bird paintings, two I'm more pleased with than the other two. Its funny because even though I haven't painted in about four years, as I've got back into it the old things I used to like and dislike have come flooding back. For example I always used to paint portraits and make the backgrounds very

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-90430377479508779242009-03-23T15:50:00.009Z2009-03-23T18:22:09.406Z

Well I've had a pretty busy weekend, but its not been particularly creative. We had some dear friends for tea on Friday evening and I baked a Clementine Pudding Cake and I used a lovely cut glass cake stand that I haven't used before which was a wedding present (we got married nearly two years ago!)It seemed to go down well and was good with Creme Fraiche! Ohh I also meant to post a photo of

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-5059288148833397202009-03-18T17:53:00.004Z2009-03-23T18:17:45.043Z

I've been sketching a little yesterday and today, some birds in preparation for starting to paint. Here's what I've produced so far.Female Chaffinch with a sunflower seed in her beakRobinMale ChaffinchI've made them a bit darker in photoshop so you can see them better. I'm really looking forward to getting into this project. I've also primed my boards for painting today. They're a mixture of

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-35910332160428330022009-03-16T18:03:00.001Z2009-03-23T18:21:00.585Z

I find Mondays generally quite annoying because I have all my plans for the new week but I have to go to big tesco to get food for the week (which is preferable to walking up the road to local tesco every day), which means I have to plan what to have for tea every night before I go. So by lunchtime I'd planned our food, been to tesco, put the food away, made soup for my lunch for the week, done

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-83551855986991048992009-03-16T17:28:00.000Z2009-03-16T18:02:23.999Z

Wow, what a weekend. It feels like we've crammed so much in. We went for an all you can eat chinese on Friday night in Cardiff Bay, followed by cinema - we watched Marley and Me and I can highly recommend it. It was really lovely, not crude, and a sweet but also believable story.Went to Cosmeston Lakes on Saturday morning... well actually from about 10am til 2pm so a bit longer than just the

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-42304797740880705922009-03-13T11:50:00.001Z2009-03-23T18:19:36.007Z

Since I'm not going to have much finished new work to show for a bit, I thought I'd post some old work to inspire myself. This drawing of a buzzard I did when I was 14 and I guess is a link to what I want to do now, though a very old link!We're going to Cosmeston Lakes tomorrow and I'm planning on taking my sketchbook to draw some birdies. My husband has got really into birds which is great for

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-59007448906943156342009-03-12T13:32:00.000Z2009-03-12T13:46:18.945Z

I've been finding I'm having so many ideas for a new project, so many media to use, like drawing, painting, textile printing, knitting, sewing... that I need to properly concentrate on it and plan it out. I've decided to finish the two patchwork projects I'm working on as one of them is dragging a bit anyway, so I can properly concentrate on my new ideas.I just bought Country Living magazine

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-11525190563752585272009-03-11T12:36:00.000Z2009-03-11T13:18:33.854Z

I started going to a patchwork and quilting class back in October which is when I left my job. I've really taken to it and I'm particularly interested in using traditional techniques with modern fabrics to create a juxtaposition, though I think that's something I'll come to as I've only really done three patchwork projects so far, only one of which is finished!The first project was these cushion

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-67409588097245818622009-03-11T11:37:00.000Z2009-03-11T11:55:54.512Z

Since I started knitting I basically discovered blogging and have got so much inspiration from other people. Something that's important to me is getting comments from other creative people, as not being in an environment where you are constantly evaluating your work and getting feedback from others means you can sometimes get stuck in a rut or maybe not see other options or routes. I'm very

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260411162082983483.post-56784857339954975642009-03-11T11:07:00.001Z2009-03-23T18:20:00.137Z

Although I have a degree in Fine Art, I think the pressure to produce a load of paintings for my degree show took its toll on my love of painting and drawing and I purposefully distanced myself from doing anything art related for a long while. After a few years (!) had passed, I really felt the need to do something creative again and decided out of the blue to take up knitting, because it was

Samgoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02387593161972794260noreply@blogger.com0