New studio snaps

'Mollie Makes' calendar with the clean, fresh sheet of January beckoning.

One of Jack kangaroos, before he was boxed off and sent to America.

Some of our peeled hallway wall seen beyond the door.

 Much nicer - treasure.

Toy making books and badger skull.

 Lovely  1920's cocktail cabinet, perfect for displaying the 'Puddletown Tales' toys.

Everything piled up because there is never, ever, enough storage space.

Favourite cards and ephemera.

I am having a work overdrive, so watch this space for more shop updates, new designs and news of my March workshop in the forest of Dean (or click here for more details).

Kangaroos & birdy things

Just before we moved (again) last year I created my most complicated pattern so far - 'Jack', a kangaroo for the Australian magazine 'Felt'. I had to make an initial one to work out the basic pattern and then a second one in order to do the demo photographs. Haven't had anyone contact me yet to tell me they've made one though! You can buy the magazine as a back issue here, if you want to try making your own.

Jack one *SOLD*

Jack two *SOLD*

 Another couple of little things left over from last year, a little button wheel goose -(*sold*)

- and a vintage style owl clip. Despite their small size, each one took around four hours to make. So for the first time in ages, I've been able to update my shop with needle felt, not art. 

 

A little folk

We are delighted to discover that our favourite Shropshire pub, the Bottle and Glass at Picklescott has reopened under new management and has kept on the 48 year old tradition of a Christmas singing session. Many people choose to walk to this event, (which is in a tiny village miles from anywhere) so there were lots of red faces and waterproofs.

It was a wonderful afternoon, full of song and laughter, not to mention beer - for the non-drivers of course. With a log fire, stone hearth and old beams, this is the increasingly rare English pub at it's finest - no pomp or ceremony, just a warm welcome and a well pulled pint.

 

Although everyone knew each other and we knew nobody, we didn't feel at all left out, certainly not after belting out all the verses to the folk version of 'the Holly and the Ivy'.

The oldest there was in hearty voice and gave us some fine accordion playing too. 

 

The last seven months of upheaval and moving to a strange county have been very lonely and I admit now that I have struggled with an aching homesickness for the Cotswolds. That lovely afternoon in good - if unknown - company and a few hours of singing gave me the happiest time I have had since moving here and I can almost believe that maybe next year I might feel as if I can settle here at last. 

So for anyone not lucky enough to have a fine old English pub nearby, here is the very nice folk version of Auld Lang  Syne. In the manner of all amateur home movies, there is the inevitable 'noises off' as a tanker driver intervenes because he can't get his tanker up the lane. So forgive the brief appearance of Andy's head as he goes to move the jeep. And as they say at the end, a Happy New Year to all. 

Gisela Graham circus

We aren't decorating this year, so I will inundate my blog with images of the toy circus decorations I designed for the Gisela Graham company a couple of years ago. I've not been to any shops, so would love to know if anyone in the UK has seen them - or even has bought some.

A peaceful Christmas to everyone from Bodge Cottage.

Bodge Cottage Visitors

  

Our first was not so much a visitor but very welcome all the same. Stephen Grogan, our new chimney sweep, who swept out our crud filled flue. This is one of the flues that we were assured by the previous owners were regularly cleaned: indeed the last time they was serviced, the company had said they barely needed cleaning! Had we known just how bad a state they really were in, they would have been the first thing to be sorted out. As it was, we used the main burner for a few weeks before Stephen cleared it of a large amount of very flammable residue, which could have caused a chimney fire.

Last month we had proper guests, our dear  stalwart friends from Cinderhill Farm drove up from the forest of Dean to be our first visitors, despite the deplorable state of our decor. These good people are storing my various letterpress treasures and helped us with the big move. They stayed for supper by the fire.

This time they brought local Severn cider, farm cured bacon and four precious winter eggs, two duck, two hen from their own flock.

In a great bit of recycling, their own two breed sows have enjoyed the leftover cider apples used to make the Severn cider - here is Lady Penelope with a big smile on her face. (Neither of them are the bacon above).

Also welcome visitors this month were Valerie and Sue, two bloggers I've known for  a while, who are now a little nearer to me. Valerie of course, is 'Acornmoon' and has written about her visit and Sue is 'Mouse Notebook'. They too brought lovely gifts...

 

Sue had brought us both one of these delightful little chapbooks from the Incline Press, who we visited recently - I met the people at the Incline Press before I knew that Sue knew them; what a very small world it can be.

As you can see, we all got on as well in real life as we have done online - Sue on the left, Val in the middle, both looking glamorous and me on the right looking rustic but happy.

Latest attempts to drag this cottage into some kind of habitable state - the bathroom was hiding this rather twee plastic floral paper behind a mirror.

Andy has begun stripping out all the ghastly trappings, including the cheap dado rail. One day we will get the walls fixed properly, but as funds won't stretch that far, he is just filling in the holes and painting the walls with a nice vintage-y turquoise. It can only be an improvement, but it will be a few years before I get a bath. Showers just don't do it for me.

I now know I am  finally growing up...I want to wake up on Christmas morning and find that Santa has fitted a new damp course, re-plastered and painted all the walls, re-floored my studio, fitted a new bathroom with bath, ditto kitchen with a range, re-landscaped the garden and levelled the drive. Oh and a proper bed would be nice. Bit of a change from a Tintin book and a magic kit.

Mollie Makes - chicken brooch

It has been one heck of a month. I think we've been walloped with so many life events this year - some good, others dreadful -  that we are just reeling from it. However, there is always needle felting and I am so pleased that 'Mollie Makes' have used another of my patterns for their latest issue - a chicken brooch, easy and quick to make, with written and photographic instructions. It's in issue 21  which is in shops now,  available to buy online here or as a digital download  here.

It was also lovely to be in the same section as my online friend, Debs - 'Imagination of a Ladysnail' who has her sweet character brooches featured. We've followed each other's progress for years, and it's so nice to be celebrating a bit of success together. Deb's blog is here.

Latest order to be finished; eight Christmas Cottages for one lucky  person's tree. I'm all cottage'd out for the moment, but you can find the pattern in 'Mollie Makes Christmas' and make your own - I'd love to see pictures of the results.