An impossible to do list!

There is so much going on at the moment  that I thought this blog post should be a bit of shameless self promotion for all of us, because lets face it we’re all working our socks off this week in the run up to what looks like being  a fantastic  weekend. 

Now before I begin, we can only boast about what we know about so if you’re up to something else you think is just as relevant please post a comment so we all can share the glow of our collective Yorkshire pride!

 So in no particular order lets begin

If you fancy one of these fantastically jolly cushions made by Tree Fall Design you will find them and so much more at the Makers Fair, part of the Saltaire Arts Trail

I’ve been reading  some of the blogposts and following the panic filled tweets  of some of the makers at this event and the enthusiasm  and excitement generated is infectious! Its  in its fifth year and is a real celebration of Yorkshire Craft on from Saturday through till Monday, if you can get there do!

I would, but I shall at The White Arrow Music festival,

Now truth be told I’ve always been a bit more “Wock-a-chicka” than Rock chick, but none the less I shall be here with...

   Sally, Laura , Voodoo George and Jemma on Saturday in a giant Yorksire Made  Craft Marquee...(well a couple of gazebos strapped together , fighting the elements but looking fabulous!)

Then after our massive rock out on Saturday Our Little Craft Company  shall be relaxing in the sunshine with a more sedate set at The Cannon hall Craft Fair Sunday & Monday 10 till 4

But enough about us, if you can't get to these theres more

In Leeds, Reetsweet is at Nation of Shopkeepers

Beer, Music & craft stalls, does it get any better?

Also if you're around the Leeds area theres a

Gift Craft and Farmers market at Temple newsham, where you could treat yourself to something like this

made by the brilliant John Micheal, who, if you miss him there will be at the Wentworth Festival Craft fair ...Not that you really need an excuse to visit this beautiful little village cos its got some proper pubs in it, but add a splash of the arts and crafts and it is very hard to resist. For more details of whats on there

And thats not all, if you're in York be sure to pop in to this

for all your vintage, kitsch and handmade needs!

And if that wasn't enough to keep you busy, rumour has it some of the Pennine Artists and friends are camping out at the beautiful Stainborough Castle & Made by Lolly will be there too!

Not bad for one weekend in Yorkshire really and I know theres probably a tonne of otherstuff going on, it really is one of those weekends when I wish I was still Dr Who's assistant and then I could be at them all but since alas I can't be in two places at once can I ask any and all of you who visit any or all of these events to post some pics on the Yorkshire Made  facebook wall, it would be great to see what we missed!

Enjoy

Lisa x

A Crafty Weekend at Elsecar Heritage Centre

This weekend both Lisa (and Sally!) from Our Little Craft Company...

and Laura from made by lolly x...

took stalls at a two day Craft Fair at Elsecar Heritage Centre. 

And while we were there we met up with some old friends...

Giddy Designs

Curious Cat Creative

Candice Crafts

made some new ones...

Riddles Craft

Alison Pape

And were visited by...

Nanny May

and

Dottys Heart

And as this event included members and friends of Yorkshire Made...
of course there was plenty of chat and lots and lots of cake!

We hope you all had a lovely weekend whatever you got up to - and don't forget if you are looking for something crafty to do - check out our Events Calendar!There are always plenty of Yorkshire events listed!

Laura x

And....Relax!

Now, I don't want to seem like I'm complaining... and it may just be me, but what with the new Financial Year, the Easter Holidays, the Royal Wedding, and this (gorgeous, beautiful, wonderful) unseasonable weather - recently I just don't seem to know whether I am coming or going!

Perhaps I am a more a creature of habit and a stickler for routine than I thought (it must be my age!) but somehow over the last few weeks, despite the lovely weather, having lots of lovely days off and doing lots of lovely things, life seems to have been than little bit too hectic and time seems to have disappeared.
Christmas seems like only yesterday!

But whether I like it or not, time will march on and before you know it Summer will be here (I refuse to believe the lovely weather we've just had will be all we'll get!) But before it arrives I'd like to take a moment to appreciate the last of Spring, to take a deep breath, enjoy the Bank Holiday and.... relax!

Take time to appreciate the view...

Al Brydon Photography

Go for a picnic...

MakepieceUK

Get some housework done...

EAGERforWORD

Listen to the radio...

Cute as a Button

Watch the Sunset...

Kate Boyce

And have a lovely nights sleep...

deesware

Enjoy your Bank Holiday!
Laura x

I don't do weddings, but.....

Any one who knows me knows very well knows I don't do weddings. I've tried but they do nothing for me, I have never dreamt of the day I would sweep down the aisle in some overpriced meringue into the arms of my man, sorry I just haven't, the whole idea makes me shudder.
I recoil in horror when invited to the union of devoted bloke and besotted girl at fancy church and fabulous country club reception. I know I'm a crap guest at such events so I make my excuses and stay home instead. On the odd occassion my excuses have fallen on deaf ears and I've had to grace them with my presence I find the public declarations of love make me cringe and I have no interest in dancing with your Uncle Trevor because he doesn't get out much. (Clashing with the series finale of Desperate Housewives,apparently doesn't count as an acceptable reason to not attend!)
So I would like to thank Will and Kate for not inviting me, (they obviously know me well enough) and heres a right royal selection of Yorkshire Made treasures in their honour!

https://www.facebook.com/#!/ImogensImaginationUK

https://www.facebook.com/#!/giddydesigns

https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Kitsch-and-Stitch/128373181043

http://www.ourlittlecraftcompany.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Dottys-Heart/213921145287810

http://www.etsy.com/shop/feltmeupdesigns?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=App_Seller&utm_content=shops&utm_campaign=fb_seller_shop

Click the links to find out more about these patriotic pieces!

Lisa x

I never even knew this was here!

                                                     

Aaargh!

 The Easter Holidays have started, my house has been invaded by children, some of which are not mine and chaos reigns.

Jemma and Laura had a brief taste of what the next two weeks could hold for me on Sunday, when our attempt at “ladies that lunch” disintegrated into a free for all, sandwich bribes, stolen biscuits, spilt coffee and Jemma taking one for the team, when she deflected a large exercise ball from smashing the table with the back of her head! (Thanks Jemma and I’ll apologise again for my slack jawed inability to warn you of the incoming missile, despite watching it approach in slow motion.) Oh how we laughed.... Thank God!

Parents out there will sympathise with the now familiar feelings of excitement and dread that school holidays bring. How  can I keep them entertained?  Can my home physically take this kind of bombardment for the next fortnight? I want to get them out for the day but why is everythings so expensive? and wherever I do end up  everywhere is full to bursting with everyone having the same idea!

Aaaargh!!

  Well I’m not going to list a dozen days out to the same old places, that would be pointless, instead I’m going to tell you my secret...

Not really , I won't be turning to the bottle just yet!

No, this holiday when everyone else is queuing for ice-cream and juggling for position to get the best view of the invisible mountain goats or stressing at the  entry prices of yet another theme park, my family and  I shall be Geocaching,  or as my friend succinctly puts it, “using  state of the art multimillion pound technology to find Tupperware.”

No I have not gone mad, this is what we do.

Our first attempts were not always successful, probably because we were using my Dads satnav, but it is very addictive, and the £60 we spent on our Etrex gps navigator has probably saved us hundreds of pounds on days out.  (most of the new phones have gps on them now and there’s lots of apps out there to get you started).

 We love it because it gets us outdoors, having our own mini adventures, exploring places off the beaten track that we would never find time to before, more often than not we end up repeating the mantra “I never even knew this was here!”

The girls love it, we sold it to them as treasure hunting and they are as addicted as us, there’s something magical about finding a battered old box under a rock in the middle of nowhere and swapping one piece of priceless treasure for another. (Or in most cases a plastic novelty cracker toy, but you never know...)

Ok so I can dream I'd find something as lovely as a Penny Masquerade trinket but if you’d asked me last year if I’d be happy to wade across a river and sneak past a herd of angry cows to find a clue that may or may not lead to a  plastic spiderman, I would have laughed in your face, but now I’m already pulling on my wellies ready to go!!

Ok so it’s not the most craft filled post ever but if you click on the pic's you’ll find some fantastic Yorkshire Made stuff and I hope I've inspired you to get out and about exploring more of this beautiful county that we’re lucky enough to call home!

Lisa x

 

More than words...

Well, like many of you, I suspect the recent warm weather and sunny days have given you the feeling that Spring is in the air - with the promise of Summer yet to come! A perfectly normal reaction to what has been a rather pleasant couple of days! But I wonder how many of you, in response to the lovely weather, have just started thinking:

"Spring has sprung , and the grass is griz. I wonder where the birdies is?"

I'm guessing not many of you?!

This is just one of those peculiar phrases that is stuck in my family history. I have no ideas of it's origins - although I'm guessing Spike Milligan - all I know is that it's something my Dad used to say and now it's something that I say! There are many other phrases too...
If someone says "Yes Dear" to you does it conjure up any memories? Do you feel the urgent need to say anything following this statement? No - I thought not! But me, that's a different matter! Thanks to my Dad I now have to say:

"I wonder whether he's a good boy like you and cleans his teeth every night and every morning?"

Again I have no idea where it's from, why my Dad remembered it and chose to teach it to me, or even if the phrase "Yes Dear" was ever really followed by "I wonder whether he's a good boy like you..." or whether I've just made it up! But, like it or not these phrases are now a part of my life!

So to honour all of the crazy phrases, mis-heard song lyrics, special words and family in-jokes I thought I would create a treasury of the best wordy items that Yorkshire has to offer!

To find out more about the people behind these wordy wonders,
just click directly on the pic! Laura x

A ittle bit of my Yorkshire

This has been an unusually hard blog to write, for all the right reasons ,you see I have a magnificent view from my home...

 Conisbrough Castle

And I love it, even on a miserable winters day it gives me a thrill, I’ve taken hundreds of photographs of it over the years, I’ve sketched it, painted it, stitched it and even sculpted it back in my schooldays! Its the reason we bought the house I’m in. (And to think I worried that I’d miss my sea view in Brighton when I relocated rate far up north!) Its definitely one of my favourite places, which led me to thinking of doing a list of my  other favourite places and thats where the trouble started...

The problem with Yorkshire is its so big and so beautiful that what started as a simple idea for this week’s offering turned into a nightmare. The more I thought about it, the bigger the list got, from   tranquil parks and seaside haunts to the bustling towns and cities, I could write a book, and the stress of trying to pick favourites could make your head explode, (I know, mine has) and with that in mind this week I offer a very short but soothing list of inspiring calming and beautiful places you should visit this spring to gather your thoughts and truly relax...

Yorkshire Sculpture Park

You can’t get stressed here, take a picnic and enjoy the fantastic galleries set in acres of picture perfect parkland. Have a wander and discover the magnificent sculptures and finish with scrumptious cake and tea at the cafe.

An Introduction to YSP from Yorkshire Sculpture Park on Video

The Forbidden Corner

If its escapism you’re looking for I can heartily recommend this wonderful folly filled grown up playground (kids like it too apparently) near Leyburn. The website really doesn’t do it justice but I love this secret garden, it’s totally fairytale and fantasy, and don’t let the fact you have to book put you off, its to control the numbers so its never overcrowded!  

Roche Abbey

I do like a ruin and this beautiful abbey is hidden in a valley with a stream running through, take your camera and sketchbook and enjoy!

Robin Hoods Bay

I can’t do relaxing without mentioning the sea and this summer I am determined to get up to Robin Hoods Bay, for a spot of rock pooling with Eliza, Tabitha and their cousins.

I could happily spend all day doing a catalogue of much-loved Yorkshire places but as I browsed the internet this week I had a beautiful reminder from a fellow yorkshire based maker, of my other favourite place...

               

As a rule of thumb if I’m not in Yorkshire I’m here!

Lisa x