Sunday 1 May 2011

Maytime

I had such a pretty postcard from Chrissie yesterday as part of our Postman's Knock fun. My theme is windows and Chrissie has created a perfect little Boulangerie window, complete with awning, lace curtain and a selection of breads. The card came in this lovely wrap and I must admit that my first thought at the red, white and blue tie was with Friday's goings on rather than the Tricolore.


 The lace curtain is even on a rod.

It has been a busy week where I seemed to achieved little.  Last Bank holiday Monday I did an hour or two at the local country fair promoting the Artists Network Bedfordshire's open studio event in June.
This is Jo, a very active member behind our stall which drew lots of interest. The info is not all there on the website but I will let you know details later if you are in the area.
On Wednesday, Sally  and I got together to do some planning and I have made a list of 'things to do'





On Thursday I did something completely different.  I visited a group of alpacas which are kept as 'pets' by the couple here - I realise now that I don't know their names.  I went with my U3A Natural History group - although not quite 'natural' to our local surroundings I did learn a bit about these animals which are domesticated in Peru.



The alpapcas were very friendly as demonstrated here!
They are shorn once a year and the owners usually donate the fleeces to local spinning groups.  In fact a couple of the ladies at 'Nutty Knitters' were spinning some last month.  The fleece is incredibly soft and thick and has no lanolin so does not need to be washed before spinning.

a couple of examples of  knitted yarn from the alpacas.

When down loading these photos which I took with my 'point and shoot' I found this one of Marvin taking a bit of time out on the bed, something which is not encouraged, but tolerated in dry weather. Here he is trying to prove to me that he has been keeping up with the dry cleaning. 
At the moment like most pets, he is moulting like mad and could be a rival to those alpacas!

It is also that time of the month AGAIN, and as I only seem to be managing one post a week, my calendar pages appear rather too quickly.  I hope you are not getting bored with them.

April seems to have been sunshine all the way. The lack of rain has meant a lot less snails this spring so although the young veg hasn't been eaten, it does needed a lot of watering.  However even the lawn (moss patch) is beginning to turn brown, so a bit of evening rain would be useful.  I also find it difficult to be creative this weather.  I want to be sitting stitching etc, but the outdoors is calling.  I try to ration my gardening time due to dodgy joints, but even after a spot of weeding I haven't been able to settle at my desk or sewing machine. However I did enjoy creating my calendar pages.

May is rather flamboyant.  I bought some metallic and pearlised acrylics so had to give them an outing. The squares are cut from pearly paper.
I hope you are able to enjoy this holiday weekend and I will try to put in some extra 'comment' time.
Have a good week.
Jill

22 comments:

flutterbycrafter said...

Oooo you've had quite a week. Love the alpacas, one of our neighbours has some and they are fantastic. Our dog is moulting, really annoying. Love both pages, wonderful colours and the pearl effect on May is gorgeous. xx

Lalabibaby @ Dreaming of The Simple Life said...

Those Alpacas are wonderful .... I've never been up close and personal with them and they looks so soft and cuddly ... gorgeous colours too. Marvin is looking quite contented and the dry weather has had the added bonus of no mucky animal paw prints indoors. Let's hope May continues to be bright and sunny with just a little precipitation while we sleep x

Su said...

There's an alpaca farm near here too - initially it was quite startling to see them in the field but now they're aprt of the landscape! Love the pic of Marvin on the bed - looks as though he's enjoying it!

thekathrynwheel said...

Ooh those alpacas are very pretty :-)
I love your flamboyant may page - lovely colours and I do like your background. I actually did my May page today and will blog later (I never got round to April - shame on me! April disappeared in a haze of school holidays and bank holidays)

WrightStuff said...

My cats have perfected the stealth move of sneaking up to the bedroom. Sometimes I'll even meet one half way up the stairs and we perform a dodge maneuver to try and outwit each other.

Slugs and snails are the bane of my garden too - if only they liked moss, nettles and herb robert... but no... pretty and edible stuff only!

Leenie said...

Like you new header's windows of color and fun. Laughing at Marvin getting in some time on the soft bed.

I've wondered how well kitty sheddings would spin into yard. We have plenty here as well. Maybe not as soft as alpaca, but much more useful than the loose stuff attaching itself to men's suits and the curtains above the sofa.

Jee said...

Alpacas and Marvin, how lovely, Jill. May pages are very pretty too.

webb said...

Years ago my mom had a friend who gathered her dogs' shed fur and spun it to knit. I am serious! sounds disgusting to me, but... peoples is funny.

Hope May is a good month and your joints aren't do dodgy!

Beverley Baird said...

You've had a busy week! Love your May calendar!

ju-north said...

Love seeing what you have been up to! Very busy by the look of things - all great!

Kimberly Gruber said...

the shimmer on your pages is wonderful! Your pictures are amazing, keep it up!

menopausalmusing said...

May already! Where is it going Jill? Good to see that Marv is still doing well and up to naughtiness. Alpacas look very, very soft and the wool just looks divine.....

Crafting Queen said...

Great pages for May. Love your ginger and white cat!

Siobhan Brignull said...

your pages are great, love the colour and the detail on May, Siobhan

Poppit said...

Groovy May page! :-)

aprilmariecole.blogspot.com said...

Very wonderful journal pages, wow!
Thank you for sharing your work, it had got a "groovy" retro feel to it :]
Love it.

harmony and rosie said...

So much lovely stuff has been going on since I departed for the holidays, I can see there's a lot of catching up to do. I hope you're well and you all had a wonderful Easter break. Good to see Marvin laid back and content!

Emma said...

Lovely pics & that stall looks like it's got lots of interesting things there. Such a sweet window, too.

My banners are twice a postcard in size, so diffficult this pricing thing!

Nicky Stevenson said...

I love the shimmer and have always liked the effect of a black outline, great May page.

Sharne Gregory said...

What acrylic paints did you use. I like the shimmer. Hope you have a creative May.

Linda Vincent said...

Its always such a pleasure to visit your blog Jill ...I love everything you do.
The heat tool pieces are very interesting; I'd like to have a go at that.
And Marvin is SO like Peachy!! (Except the facial smudge is in a different place ;-) )

Laura said...

i love alpacas reminds me of being back in Peru :) gorgeous art journal pages xxx