My 21 days of Christmas: ringing in the new year!

This new years eve brought with it a surprise: my friend Sabina booked last minute flights and came down to Bristol to see me. In preparation for the night of dancing we had ahead of us, we had to build - and save - our energy, so we started off her visit with a trip to Tart for breakfast (the fluffiest pancakes with maple syrup), then strolled home where we spent hours catching up and watching Twin Peaks. After an afternoon of ogling Special Agent Dale Cooper, we headed to Cox & Baloney for tea (Catherine of Braganza) and generous heaps of lasagne, before stocking up on Archer's, vodka, elderflower cordial and lemonade. In a splash, we had the most refreshing cocktail and soon we were dressed in our gladrags and on the way to the Cube cinema.

Catherine of Braganza tea @ Cox & Baloney

Dressed in my finest

The Cube hosted a 99p NYE party and as we arrived I could hear "Rapture" by Blondie playing and knew the night was going to be a good one. After meeting Lori and co, we guzzled ginger beer all evening and shook our tail feathers to a brilliant soundtrack of hits. Lori couldn't wait until the "unwanted gift swap" (did that ever happen, anyway? I don't recall it happening!) so she persuaded a girl to hand over her foam "BOO" hand for the princely sum of four party poppers.

Lori, me, and Sabina booing.

 As the all-important hour came close to striking, everyone piled into the cinema itself, squashing into the gilded red seats, to watch the countdown on the screen: film scenes and numbers flashing across our retinas as the excitement bubbled towards its climax. Lori had brought enough party poppers for our little group and we perched at the edge of the room, ready to unleash streamers over the heads of the other gleeful Cube-goers.

Party poppers!

Countdown ft. Lori

 Suddenly, the place erupted: it was 2013! The year you learn to unicycle, put a deposit down for a mortgage, finally learn how to use that fancy coffee machine your girlfriend got you in 2010, get a fringe cut in, take up yoga, learn to knit, find true love, eat a lot of cheese on toast. Or just be yourself.

We streamed back towards the bar, learned they'd run out of ginger beer (Sabina and I shared the last bottle, sorry everyone) and resumed dancing like it was 2012. Around 3.30 our feet protested and we made our way home, singing the praises of garlic sauce (something Southerners just don't get).

The next day, we walked for over two hours to get to Lori's house and the feast she had waiting for us. And you know what? The start of this year may be worlds away from the life I had at the start of last, but I wouldn't change a thing.

A Very Making Things Club Christmas

Lori and Chris must love Christmas at least as much as I do, because in the weeks leading up to the big day we were treated to a two-part Making Things Club Christmas bonanza! Back in November, we met to make cute little snowmen and wrap up the handmade goodies we had crafted at home for our contemporaries in the Manchester Craft Mafia. I had spent the morning making a plush Christmas pudding from felt, beads and, of course, a little bit of glitter. Chris showed me how to make an adorable snowman and I sent him up to Manchester as a present too.

Felt Christmas pudding in progress

The gifts I sent to Manchester - isn't the snowman's little hat adorable?

Because the gifts were to be sent up to Manchester and opened by the Mafia a few weeks after we'd wrapped them up, I've had to keep these photos under wraps (see what I did there?) until now.

From Bristol with love - the presents we sent to the MCM.

A few weeks later and we reconvened for more festive crafting fun. Cafe Kino was awash with Christmas jumpers and jangling songs. I taught a new friend how to finger knit and felt quite some pride at having done so - I've never taught anything at MTC before, only learnt. We scattered around tables and made Christmas decorations that looked good enough to eat.

Of course, we still had the gift swap to look forward to! An exciting box had winged its way to us all the way from Manchester and was full of handmade goodies, all beautifully wrapped.

Chris with the presents from Manchester Craft Mafia

The Craft Mafia had been so generous that those of us who had contributed more than one present to the swap got an extra present in return! There were so many beautiful gifts, some of them quite inspired. A favourite of mine was the pin cushion ring. What a perfect idea!

Presents and a feast!

I received a gorgeous floral brooch and some re-usable chocolate decorations: four cute and festive drawstring pouches to hang on my tree, each containing a Lindt d'Or. They fit perfectly with the mainly red theme of my trimming and I've even managed not to eat them yet!

Re-usable chocolate decorations.

Of course, they say it's about giving - but receiving feels pretty special too!

Merry Christmas, Manchester!

Making Things Club: spooky edition

Glitter glue bat

I love hallowe’en so when Making Things Club announced that the October meet would be hallowe’en-themed I got very excited! My best friend Heather planned her first visit to Bristol to tie in with it and we arrived promptly (okay, early – twenty minutes early) to receive spooky goodie bags with those plastic fangs I always insisted on wearing all day as a child, candy bracelets and little plastic bats. Chris was back this month and Lori was sporting skeleton tights.

Upon entry, we were directed towards paper templates and felt and each sewed ourselves a bat bow tie. I added sequins and little eyes to mine and Heather made hers yellow so that she could wear it with a black shirt and channel Batman. I felt a little lost this time in terms of what I wanted to make, once I was done with my bat. I played around a bit more with my felts, did some drawing on a photo from an encyclopaedia, started making another bow tie. Heather started making herself a little felt doll. I added some glitter details to my plastic bat.

Bat bow tie, made from felt.

There was also face-painting and creepy-themed music this month – and an announcement! Making Things Club will be opening a shop in Cabot Circus. Read more about their plans over at their blog. It’s all very exciting!

Lori as an adorable kitten.

The next Making Things Club will be on 11th November at Cafe Kino.

Making Things Club: lucky dip, xerox transfers and Joyce the Librarian

Look what I made!

After a little under a month (although it felt like much longer), Making Things Club at Café Kino rolled round again at the beginning of September, and I bounced along, ready to get my paws on the pile of treasures and see what I could make. Sadly, Chris was absent but Lori was there to rally the crafting troops and bring us together to forge new friendships.

Music this month was a solo set from Martin of the delightful Joyce the Librarian (who have just released their new single, Follow Me I'm Right Behind You), something he's not done before but he pulled it off splendidly. Thanks to Lori for introducing me to another band I'll be keeping an eye on around Bristol, and again, one who are perfect to cut, stitch, thread and stick along to.

Martin from Joyce the Librarian

My friend Steph and I also agreed to have our tea at Kino, but in my usual scatterbrained fashion I was running a little late so we ended up ordering at the beginning of MTC. I had a Kino burger with sweet potato fries and coleslaw. I've never been able to stand coleslaw - until now! Over the night I also treated myself to a soya decaf latte (I'm one of those) and a banana soya milk. Yummy!

Kino burger

I'd had an idea earlier on in the day, thinking back to when I was planning my birthday party in June and how  my friend Holly and I (whose birthday falls only a day after mine and with whom I was throwing the party) made moodboards of ideas and bounced photos and tutorial links back and forth between eachother. We had a lot of bunting at our party (crocheted, collaged and shop-bought) and had toyed with the idea of banners. I decided that what Making Things Club needed was its own banner, a little thank you to Lori and Chris.

I rifled through the box of paper and found some pastel leaves to cut the letters from, then decorated each letter with felt tips and, finally, strung them all from a piece of thread and hung the banner from the bench along the end of the room. It took a lot longer than anticipated but was worth it! Naturally, I then wanted something to take home as a fruit of my efforts, so I knocked together a quick name banner for myself from old encyclopaedia pages (as can be seen in the photo at the top of this post).

Hard work pays off: my Making Things Club banner.

Aside from a glittering smorgasbord of crafting materials and Martin's sweet and gentle voice, MTC had a couple of other treats in store for us! Firstly, Lori taught us the art of the xerox transfer. My first attempt was rubbish, but I managed to rescue it (just about!). A xerox transfer is a method of - you guessed it - transferring the ink from a photocopied design onto a rigid surface, such as a wooden board. I had a design I wanted to use but was too scared to sneak it into the photocopier at work, so lucky for me, Lori had brought a selection of kitsch images which she'd photocopied at the library.

As if we weren't being spoiled enough, there was also a lucky dip! Upon entry to MTC we drew a slip of paper from a tray and later on in the evening we were invited onto the stage to find our numbered prize. Some absolutely adorable treasures winged their way into our possession, including the sweetest cake bunting set! As for me, I became the proud owner of an adorable little bird figurine to decorate my room a little more. He sits on my shelf with other cute bits and pieces.

Lucky dip!

What'll it be?

My prize: little birdy

All in all, I had another wonderful evening with my new pals and can't wait for the next meet! The next Making Things Club is on 14th October and will be a spooky extravaganza in honour of the halloween month! I for one LOVE halloween so I'm already brewing up some spooky craft ideas. Perhaps I'll see some of you there!

In the time being, why not check out Joyce the Librarian's new video (single out now on Folkwit Records)?

Making Things Club: broderie anglaise and Turkish apple tea

Whilst browsing various blogs and websites last week, I stumbled across the events listings on the Café Kino website. Kino is a non-profit workers' co-op and vegan paradise (I'd guess: I'm not vegan myself but I am lactose intolerant so it's always great to find tasty, dairy-free options when eating/drinking out) in Stokes Croft. A cute banner advertised Making Things Club, a monthly craft meet where, for a measly five pounds, you have access to all the craft materials you could dream of and can make things to your hearts content for a few hours with like-minded folk, and, this month, very lovely live music from the Weary Band.

 Delighted by the idea, I put a fiver to one side and went along to Café Kino for the very first time yesterday evening. The day was hot and sticky and the baking heat showed no signs of abating so I ordered a fresh orange juice, watched it being squeezed, then made my way downstairs to the basement where the club is held. On arrival, a friendship bracelet was knotted around my wrist and I was presented with a goody bag by Lori, one of the founding partners of Making Things Club. I joined a little round table and introduced myself to the women sitting at it, and soon we'd all drifted to the back of the room to rummage through fabrics, sequins, paper and other treasures, deciding on the spot what we were going to make of our finds.

I found a large swathe of broderie anglaise fabric and decided to sew myself a headband from it. I grabbed a heavy, pale blue cotton to line it and a couple of pipe cleaners to give it some structure and allow me to mould it and twist it around my head. Other people had turned up with their knitting, some people began to paint and we all clamoured to have a go on Steve, the badgemaking machine. An encyclopaedia of cats provided lots of cat badges (internet gold) but my favourite source of photos to make into badges was an old beauty magazine from 1979. I also made a broderie anglaise badge to match my headband.

The Weary Band, with Chris making badges in the foreground.

Once we'd all got into the swing of making things, the Weary Band took to the stage and filled the room with dreamy, soft folk music. The atmosphere was wonderful, tucked underground away from the unrelenting heat of the Bristol summer; quiet chatter and excited dashes to the table to find sequins whenever a new idea struck. The band paused for a brief interval and someone put a Field Music record on; I felt very much at home with familiar voices from Tyne and Wear making their way into my ears. I was beginning to worry that I wouldn't finish my headband in the three hours we had at the club- all my sewing things, sadly, had to stay in the Northeast without me- but I managed it! I sipped a Turkish apple tea as the band made their way back onstage. The evening stretched on deliciously and soon there were only a handful of us left, chatting away to Lori and Chris, the founders of the club.

Top: a few of the badges I made; Above: my headband.

Lori runs Tenderfoot, a gift shop and gallery in Brislington (a part of Bristol I have yet to venture to) and Chris is better known as Lazy Crafternoons, providing workshops and craft parties throughout and around Bristol. They make a wonderful team and I for one cannot wait for the next meet, on September 9th!

Perhaps I'll see some of you there!

Rebirth

After announcing my arrival, I've been somewhat absent. I faced perhaps the hardest part of my journey: finding it in me to accept change and free myself. I have been swallowed whole by this beautiful city and its balmy evenings, whizzing cyclists, "funny accents" and bars spilling out cider, laughter and live music onto the streets.

A week ago, I struggled to think of change as a good thing, a new chapter of my adventure. My pillow became salty and streaked with make-up and I turned to a friend for help. And she gave me it. She rushed in from the wings (London) to hold me and remind me I'm here and I'm alive and I'm going to make this city my own story.

The Bear Pit

Bristol is its own paradise and I have tasted only a moment of that paradise. Stokes Croft is overflowing with bars and cafés and possibilities. On my pressing list of things I simply must do in Bristol: Café Kino, which comes highly recommended by a new friend of mine; Cox and Baloney's Vintage Boutique and Tearoom, which is only open on the days that I work but doesn't shut until 6pm so might get a flying visit from me; an evening stroll along the harbourside and perhaps a trip to the Apple; a day in one of the many lush parks, with a book and some time; anything and everything this city has to offer me.

It can be easy to curl up in the groove you've worn for yourself and mourn the places and people you've left behind, and the people you can't hold onto after all. This past week I've unpeeled myself from that rut and hurled myself into Bristol face-first. I've not been too shy or proud to tell people: "I'm new here, I need help." I've been lucky and people have been friendly. I ambled into a party held by some colleagues I'd never actually met, hair wired up into "Pippi Longstocking" pigtails (fancy dress, beginning with 'p'), merrily befriended all the night-shifters, lost my shoes and laughed and danced and found the person with amaretto (a talent of mine, I feel). I broke the ice and, in the last week, I've been to the cinema and to restaurants and to explore the Park Street charity shops. I'm feeling more at home. I'm feeling like I will have friends. I'm feeling like anything could happen.

I'm feeling on the cusp of rebirth.