Artful Readers Club May in June!

We've had a manic couple of months so despite reading both my May and June books for the Artful Readers Club in May, I didn't manage to get the art done.  I'm slowly catching up.....

May's book was 'I left My Tent In San Francisco' by Emma Kennedy.

 

I read Emma's first travel book, 'The Tent, The Bucket and Me' a while ago. That book follows Emma's family and their disastrous attempts at camping when she was a child.  It was a book that I really enjoyed and had me laughing out loud all the way through.  When I realised that there was a follow up book, I hoped for more of the same and was not disappointed.

 

In 'I Left My Tent In San Francisco', we follow Emma and her friend Dee as they leave University and spend the summer in the USA working and then travelling.  Despite being assured at a 'Work America' meeting that there would be plenty of work, when they get to the USA, this proves not to be the case. These girls are left to rely on very little money and the kindness of strangers in order to survive their time away and to get home. Just as in the previous book, bad luck and hilarious incidents seem to be the norm.  Again, I was laughing all the way through.  Actually at one point, I was bent over double and nearly dropped the book! There were also times reading this book when I was cringing and thinking 'WHY'?!!

 

While Emma is in the USA, her parents are also travelling around Europe so we also get snippets of their continued hilarious travel adventures which also adds a lot of humour to the tale.  At times it can all seem a bit exaggerated but I don't really think that matters because it's such a laugh, and sometimes people really can have that much bad luck.

 

The book is a quick, light and very funny read and I would definitely recommend it to anyone needing a bit of light relief. It was highly entertaining :)

Here's the artwork I ended up with after a couple of false starts....

 

Hopefully I will catch up and have June's book review and art done in the next few days!

Owl Hat ~ Sophie

 

A present for a friend's baby, due any day.  The pattern is from Repeat Crafter Me.

It was really quick to make and I'm pleased with it.  I may do more......



Artful Readers Club - April

My book for April was 'The Wood Wife' by Terri Windling.

I really loved this book.  I couldn't even put it down to make a cheese sauce I was so entranced :)

'The Wood Wife' was inspired by the artwork of Brian Froud who's work I really enjoy. I did not know this when I chose this book back in January!

The plot centres around journalist and poet, Maggie Black. Maggie has been corresponding with poet, Davis Cooper for several years and inherits his property in a remote area outside of Tucson, Arizona, after he dies in mysterious circumstances.  We follow Maggie as she gets to know the mountains and its mysteries.

There are several layers to the book and I will probably read it again at some point.  The things that stuck out for me were 'relationship to land'  (the author has lived in both Tucson, Arizona and Devon which is reflected in the novel), land and environment influencing art, and the arts influencing more art.  This made it a great choice for the Artful Readers Club although again, I didn't know that when I chose it!

It was a quick and enjoyable read and I would definitely recommend it, particularly to those who enjoy magical fiction.

For my artwork, I chose to draw one of the animal characters, whom Maggie names as 'Thumper'.  I added a border of Mesquite leaves to reflect the trees in Maggie's environment and Oak leaves to reflect the influence of Dartmoor, Devon and my own environment, Somerset. 

 

 

Yarn Along ~ Sophie

My Goodreads page says I'm currently reading 5 books.  That is not quite true.  Those are the books that I was reading before I started more books.  I wish I could just read one book at a time but I can't.  Besides there being many ordinary books to be reading at the same time, there are now kindle books and audio books.  So, the real book I'm reading is 'I Left My Tent in San Francisco' by Emma Kennedy. This is my Artful Readers Club book for May.  I am ahead! The kindle book I'm reading is 'Crazy Sexy Diet' by Kris Carr and the audiobook I just finished was 'Eat, Pray, Love' by Elizabeth Gilbert.  I'm not sure what to make of that one. I started off hating it, then thought it was ok, then it just kind of ended. 

 

Here is my current knitting and audiobook...

 

 

 

...'The Universe Versus Alex Woods' by Gavin Extence. I started this today and it is hilarious so far.  I've been laughing out loud in the garden :) The knitting is my third piece for Wool Against Weapons.  The pattern is the Ten Stitch Zigzag .

 

I finished this piece last week.  A granny square with some extra rows added on at the ends to make it the correct size.

 

Linking up with Ginny's Yarn Along a bit late!

Pink Peace Crochet ~ Sophie

First piece for Wool Against Weapons finished....

....second piece underway....

I have plans for a 3rd one which will be knitted.  My pink wool supply is increasing thanks to some donations from my mum :)

 

http://www.woolagainstweapons.co.uk/

Recent Lifebook Paintings ~ Sophie

I'm still pretty much keeping up with Lifebook this year and feeling rather pleased with myself as a result.  There is a monthly theme and February was courage/bravery.  I got a lot out of this and my pages are really all about life with disabled kids....

 

 

 

....March is about Celebrating Connections. To good things......

 

 

......and bad!

 

 

 I loved doing this one, it was really good fun!

 

I've also finished this doodle mandala from last year...

 

Artful Readers Club February ~ Sophie

I have no idea what possessed me to think it was a good idea to read my longest Artful Readers Club book during the shortest month of the year when half term was also going to be happening! I finally finished 'Game of Thrones - A Song of Ice and Fire' by George R. R. Martin on Saturday.

I wasn't sure how I would get on with this book.  I have watched the first season of the TV series and loved it so I thought that might influence my feelings about it.  I was pleasantly surprised to find the book and TV series very very much in alignment - it does annoy me when TV/films change plots!

So the actual book.....'Game of Thrones' is an epic fantasy, set in a land which has similarities with ours and yet is also very different.  Seasons are long, lasting years and their is a hint of magic and magical creatures which I imagine will be expanded upon through the series.  This first instalment introduces us to many characters and the prominent families to whom they belong.  There is also a lot of extra information in the form of maps at the beginning and family history sections at the back of the book to help understand the different characters and families' relationships to each other and status within the kingdoms which is helpful. The book is structured so that each chapter is focused on a particular character.  I liked this as it helped me get to know the characters but I think there was also a downside in that I would start to get into a particular characters viewpoint and story and then the book switches focus and at times I found myself losing interest because of that.  The last part of the book however became much more enthralling so I raced through it at the end.

 

What I enjoyed most about the book was how much understanding I gained about different characters motives and intentions.  Almost all the characters have good and bad in them and although it's a fantasy of Kings, Queens, Lords and Ladies, there are no heroes as such.  The behaviour of a lot of the characters can be seen to be a direct result of their own experiences which in turn leads to bitterness and pain for other characters and I ended the book thinking 'what a mess this lot are in!' All the time they are fighting amongst themselves and we are being shown that the real threats are elsewhere.  I did really enjoy reading this and will probably go on to either read or listen to the audio books of the rest of the series at some point.  At the moment I'm waiting for the second TV series to land on my doormat so will probably cheat with that for a while!

 

This is the artwork I ended up with....

 

 

 

....I wanted to show the dangers being shown to us from 'Ice and Fire' and the families somewhere in between. In the end, after a few messed up attempts at trying to get all the family banners drawn small enough, I cut them out of the information sections :)
 

Wool Against Weapons ~ Sophie

 

I have started doing some crochet for this amazing pink peace scarf.  If you are a knitter want to join in you can find more details at

 

http://www.woolagainstweapons.co.uk/

 

Here's my first piece, just over half way done.....

 

 

....it is pink lol, dodgy photo! I'm doing this one plain but I think I'll get a bit more adventurous for the next one - I could become a little obsessed with this project!

 



Creative Pay-it-Forward

I'm joining in with the Facebook creative pay-it-forward which was going around last month.  I have 5 friends to make gifts for and this is my first, a ruffle scarf.

I've haven't knitted with this type of yarn before and whilst it is easy, I think it's also not easy if you are a long term knitter. I found I was knitting much slower with it than I would with normal wool. I think the colours of this scarf are lovely and I'm pleased with how it turned out. Hope my friend likes it!

Lifebook January ~ Sophie

I have been managing to pretty much keep up with Lifebook so far this year. Here's what I've done for January's lessons...

 

 

There's another lesson which I was going to pass on as 5 seemed a lot to get done, but then I watched the video and I'm tempted as it looks fun. 

Rocking Your World Friday ~ Sophie

It's been a bit of a frustrating week here, what with snow and illnesses so I'm having to think hard today! What are the positives this week....?

 

A lovely afternoon watching The Hobbit with my mum and Gaby.

 

Living directly opposite a supermarket. I do hanker after having a little country cottage but on weeks like this, living in a town centre does not seem like such a bad idea.

 

Comedy.  Things can get a bit intense here at times, caring for 2 autistic children.  I like to watch something funny to lighten things up a bit.  This week it's been 'Mrs Brown's Boys' and 'Wanderlust' that have had me laughing out loud :)

 

The Levellers.  These guys have been rocking my world in their own folky punk way most weeks for a long long time, 20 + years!  One of our boys is particularly fond of their music at the moment, so I can get 5 minutes peace with that playing in the kitchen.  Definitely something to be grateful for when stuck inside with restless children! I love that our whole family loves their music too.



My cat, Sasha.  This time last year, Sasha had a broken leg and we were being told that she needed £1000+ worth of treatment and operations which we could not afford.  Thankfully that turned out not to be the case and after 4 months of cage rest and her leg in casts, she recovered.  The rest of my family are not that bothered about her but she is truly my cat (we have 3) and is just one of those pets that 'knows' when you are ill or down.  Here she is on my lap this week :)



That's it! Linking up with Celtic House

Artful Readers Club January ~ Sophie

Well, despite 3 snow days and 2 days of a poorly child being home, I have finished my first month's review and artwork on time....just!

 

The book I chose for January was 'Boneland' by Alan Garner.  Boneland is said to be the conclusion of the adventures of Colin and Susan which began with 'The Weirdstone of Brisingamen' and 'The Moon of Gomrath'.  The Weirdstone of Brisingamen was fist published in 1960 so Boneland has been long-awaited.  I, on the other hand, only read it last year!  I decided to read it after coming across an article on the forthcoming publication on Boneland.  It caught my attention because although I really did not read a lot as a teenager (school put me off!), the one book I do remember reading and enjoying was another of Garner's books, 'The Owl Service'. I loved 'The Weirdstone of Brisingamen' and read 'The Moon of Gomrath' straight afterwards.

So what about Boneland? Well the first thing to note is that the first two books are written for children but Boneland is aimed at adults which is unusual but works very well in this case.  I'd imagine, most fans, unlike myself, would have read the earlier books as children and now be long grown up.  This book is wonderfully mysterious.  There is not a lot happening and everything going on at the same time.  The writing is beautiful and eerie and I loved it :) It is about science and mythology, time and space, and our relationship to the land we inhabit.  There is layer upon layer of meaning (not sure that is the right word actually but can't think of a better one!) and at the end of the book you are none the wiser and left to think on. 

Since finishing Boneland, I have read a lot of articles and reviews to see how it had been received by others.  One of the main things that I came across from doing that was that although Boneland is the final book of 3, it really relates to a lot more of Alan Garner's books than just those so of course I now want to go and read all the rest. I knew this challenge would increase rather than decrease my 'to-read' list!

 

In terms of my piece of artwork, I decided to keep things quite simple as a really don't think I'm anywhere near to understanding what Boneland is about.  I picked a few things from the book that I felt drawn to and just played about with them.  Here is what I ended up with....

 

I realise this is quite a vague 'review' but I would definitely recommend Boneland.  It's an experience and I'm still thinking about it :)

 

I've already started my book for February, 'Game of Thrones' and I am quite pleased after this month to find it much more simplistic and have a couple of straightforward ideas for artwork already!

 



Friday ~ Sophie

 

'Rocking Your World Friday is the moment to step back and take stock of your week, to work out the positives, the things that have made life more bearable and to celebrate these facts.'

Linking up with Celtic House

 

 

Snow - it's pretty and I get to wear wellies :)

 

The Ford Dagenham Women who's strike led to equal pay for women. We watched 'Made in Dagenham' at the weekend, those women are definitely rocking my world this week.

My new ceramic travel mug.  I have to get to my son's school quite early to get parked (this is related to their autism and behaviour and not just because I'm too lazy to walk)!  As a result, I have 20-30 mins wait every day.  I don't mind this as it gives me a little time each day to sit still and read, however, on weeks like this it can get quite cold.  A nice hot coffee warms me up and it tastes so much better out of this mug than the metal one I had before.

 

 

House plants.  Living circumstances have kind of dictated that we haven't had any house plants for 7-8 years.  Prior to this (the arrival of children basically) I had rather a lot and I've missed them.  The changes we've made in our house this year mean that we now have windowsills and shelves near light so I now at least have some plants in the kitchen. 

 

 

Crow Pose.  I did this for the first time today.  I always think I'm going to fall on my face.  Something made me just give it a random go this morning and it worked. Twice.  I have tried several times since and now nothing.  At least I know I can do it!

 

Comfort food.  Pies, mashed potato, plum crumble and custard, yum :)

 

That's it....a quiet January week here!

Rocking Your World Friday ~ Sophie

I'm joining in with this lovely link up today with Celtic House, discovered through the Artful Readers Club challenge. 

 

 

'Rocking Your World Friday is the moment to step back and take stock of your week, to work out the positives, the things that have made life more bearable and to celebrate these facts.'

 

Firstly it has got to be my lovely husband who has dealt with a lot of night disturbance from our boys this week.

 

A beautiful early morning sunrise.

Stargazing live.  We've thoroughly enjoyed the TV show but also went to the local event, which despite cloudy skies was great. We particularly enjoyed the talk on comets by Nick Howes.

Some dry days for getting out with the dog and doing a bit of treegazing.

Rainbow plates arriving in the post :)

 

Charity shops. Today I bought 3 tops and a bookcase. The tops are great, the bookcase needs a little attention but it's size was the important thing. I plan on revarnishing it with a black stain to match the other bits in Gaby's new room.

Yoga and pilates. I'm a yoga regular but decided to try pilates in addition this week. I liked it....who new?!

Artful Readers Club ~ Sophie

Last year I kept a note of all the books I read throughout the year.  I managed 25 which I'm really pleased with.  I still have more than a few in my 'to read' pile and a rather extensive and ever-increasing amazon wish list. 

 

So.....I've decided to join in with Darcy's 'Artful Readers Club' challenge at Art and Sole.

 

The challenge is to pick 12 books to read through the year and then each month read one, write a review and make a piece of artwork inspired by the book.  My list is....

  

1. 'A Game of Thrones' by George R. R. Martin

2. 'I Left My Tent In San Francisco' by Emma Kennedy

3. 'Planet Walker: 22 Years of Walking, 17 Years of Silence' by John Francis

4. 'The Wood Wife' by Terri Windling

5. 'The Gift of Rain' by Tan Twan Eng

6. 'The Loop' by Nicholas Evans

7. 'Borrowed Light' by Joolz Denby

8. 'Boneland' by Alan Garner

9. 'Lady of Shades' by Darren Shan

10. 'Solar Storms' by Linda Hogan

11. 'Wave Hunter' by Beth Webb

12. 'Daughter of Smoke and Bone' by Laini Taylor

 

I think I'm going to start with 'Boneland' on audio.

Lavender Sachets ~ Sophie

Today I've been hiding from the rain. It's been constant and there are floods everywhere so I thought I'd stay home and start to make a few things for the fund raising event that my mum is organising for the Harriet Davis Trust.  We holiday in their house in Pembrokeshire with our boys and it's great :)

 

So in between allowing a lot of time for the school runs today, I've made lavender sachets and a scrappy bookmark.

 

 

 



A Little Different ~ Sophie

 

I'm knitting and reading things that are not my usual choices this week.

 

The knitting is a mesh triangular scarf which I'm doing with a yarn which my mum bought back from one of her crafty outings.  The colours in it range from browns, yellows and greens into turquoise and lavender.  I like it but I would have never picked it up myself as it's not a combination I would usually be drawn to.  This is excellent as my collection of greeny/purple scarfs is probably in danger of getting out of hand!  When I am knitting it up against my turquoise cardigan it looks great. 

 

I am also reading books which are a little away from my usual choices.  I tried a Terry Pratchett book years ago and couldn't get into it.  Someone recently suggested I try, 'The Wee Free Men' so after having it sitting around for ages, I'm giving it a go.  I'm still not sure to be honest!

 

The audio book I have on the go is called 'The Garden of Evening Mists' by Tan Twan Eng.  I am very excited to say that I chose this from my library's free audio book service which has been going for a while but I have been unable to access.  They have updated their system and it's now easy to use.  I am really enjoying this so far, it is incredibly atmospheric.

 

I also just finished listening to 'The Woman Who Went to Bed For a Year' by Sue Townsend.  'Nuff said!!

 

Gaby and I started listening to this at the weekend......

 

 

 

.....I love Jacqueline Wilson's books.  We found this and more whist having a mooch around the charity shops the other day.

 

 

I was really pleased with myself until I got home and realised that I got rid of the cassette player in the kitchen!  We do have one in the house, just not where I'm usually listening to books, but they were a bargain!

 

I'm linking this post to Ginny's Yarn Along

 

Back Again! ~ Sophie

Half term finished,  poorly children all back to school, new laptop purchased.  Finally a bit of time and decent equipment to actually post on our blog :)

 

So a few little random things we've been up to....

 

Going to see Gaby's favourite author, Darren Shan, talking and signing his new book, 'Zom-B' at our local Waterstones....

 

 

Using up my mum's blackberries.  I made jam and blackberry vinegar this year (and crumbles of course)!

 

 

 

I have got into the Lifebook course I started at the beginning of the year again and have also joined another Art Journal/Mixed Media Group, Wild Soul Arts.  I don't know why as I'm really behind with Lifebook, but it seems like my sort of place!  Here's a few random pages I've done this year. 

 

 

 

 

 This is the first 'art' I've done since leaving school so my confidence is not great but I feel like I've learnt a lot already.  I'm definitely going to sign up for next year's course and maybe some other online courses too.  I'm enjoying it a lot.

 

We have started having whole days respite for the boys so in half term we went to see 'Skyfall'.  I think this is the first time I have seen a James Bond film at the cinema since I saw 'The Living Daylights' with my Granny when I was about Gaby's age.  We all enjoyed it and it's nice to have a longer day to do things. 

As usual, I also have several different knitting, crochet and patchwork projects on the go as well as reading 5 different books at once.  Hopefully this laptop will last and I will be able share them soon and keep things here more up to date :)

Doodle Card

A little doodle birthday card.  Not much going on here, we are all still poorly. 

I have done several of these cards now, inspired by one of the mini lessons on the Life Book course I'm doing.  I find them quite relaxing to do while the kids are all home as not much equipment is needed.  More may get done over the next few days as it looks like it's going to be a rainy old half term.

Veg Box Pesto ~ Sophie

Last month, Carers UK pointed me in the direction of a competition on a new Carers forum, Carewell. ( http://carewelluk.org/). The prize was a month of organic veg box deliveries from Able & Cole.  To enter you had to share a recipe on the healthy eating message board.  I thought it would be daft not to give it a go, so I shared my Roasted Veg recipe and was lucky enough to be one of the winners. Yay!

We have just received our last box. I am not one for advertising on blogs, but I have been really impressed with the boxes!

Today's box contained the wonderfully green cavelo nero and a great recipe for making 'Magical Green Pesto'.  The recipe is available online at http://www.abelandcole.co.uk/recipes/magical-green-pesto

I've been quite determined not to waste this lovely free veg, and as a result we already have quite a bit of soup in the freezer! This pesto recipe is also freezable, so I thought I'd try it out.  The colour is fantastic...

I now have 3 pots in the freezer, plus enough left for a snack......

it's delicious and very easy to make :)