ONCE UPON A DREAM; A Stitch in Time

A tapestry of dreams... this is my frame all set up and ready to use.

Today I have been enjoying the very feminine pass-time of needle craft...tapestry to be exact.  From the time I was a young girl I have loved sitting quietly with a piece of needle work, stitching the hours and minutes away.  I can recall asking for my first embroidery hoop instead of a chocolate egg one Easter when I was about 11 -  I received both a hoop and an egg from the Easter Bunny that year.    It was the start of a lifelong hobby and I have done quite a few tapestries since then.

I'm not a fan of counted cross-stitch - it's too much like maths and plotting points for my taste - but I do love stitching tapestry. I tend to purchase the kits that are all inclusive, with all the yarns you need and the correct size tapestry needle for the canvas.  I usually go for a colour printed canvas kit, with wool or silk threads. One of my favourite things to do when I was a kid was colouring-in and to me tapestry is just like colouring-in, but with threads instead of felt-tip pens!

I recently purchased a new floor standing tapestry frame (pictured above) with a bit of pin-money and I love it so much.  I've had a couple of these before, but the first floor standing one was a Standard size and a little too tall for me to work at comfortably. The second one I got was a table top one, which I still have and use from time to time.  This new one is a Petite size, as I'm only 5' 2" so it is just the right height for me.  The frame itself is adjustable too so it can accommodate a range of different size needle work canvases, plus the tension is also adjustable, helping to keep the canvas nice and tight.  You can find tapestry kits and frames on Amazon UK if it is something that interests you.

Working on a tapestry is one of the ways I like to relax. I can stitch away while watching a DVD or listening to soft music.  I tend to listen to Enya while I stitch and that is what I have been doing today, as the spring sunshine dappled the room.  Needle craft is a great form of meditation. Like knitting and crochet, it is one of the feminine arts and can bring groups of women together in a circle of industry and craft work. It can alleviate boredom without being taxing, so it is the ideal occupation for a lazy day, keeping idle hands busy while allowing the mind a chance to switch off.

There is a romantic feel to sitting behind a tapestry frame, or holding an embroidery hoop in your hands.  It is reminiscent of medieval ladies creating a decorative arras to adorn cold castle walls; of  Jane Austen heroines bent over their hoops or the Little Women enjoying sister-time together as they stitch and sew.  Needlework connects modern women to the greater sisterhood of the past.  On a practical level we should all be capable of sewing on a button or doing a quick sartorial repair so working tapestry can help you to keep up with essential mending skills.  And you might be surprised at how handy a few sewing skills can be in various situations - I've used this skill for sewing show ring plaits into a horse's mane and for stitching ribbons on ballet shoes, so it is not just confined to the house.

I do believe that the older we get the more skills we acquire and the more we learn. Sewing should be viewed as an accomplishment, as it used to be.  Thankfully modern women are reclaiming it, snapping up Cath Kidston sewing sets and being inspired by the great fashion designers, as well as the weavers and tapestry workers of the past.  I am by no means a great seamstress and my mother is far more accomplished than me, but I still enjoy the sound of the needle snapping through the canvas and the pull of the thread, creating a tiny stitch that in time builds a bigger picture.  It may take me some time to complete the Daffodil Woods tapestry that is currently on my frame, but you can be sure that when it is finished, it will quickly be replaced with another.  In fact, I already have my eye on a new kit, so watch this space. 

In the meantime I plan to sit at my frame with a glass of wine or cup of tea to hand, carefully stitching the image into being, creating a colourful tapestry from a rainbow of threads, content to play a small part in the greater tapestry of feminine art.  

BOOK NOOK; Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross

"What is it that impresses me about this rich world? I think of the many things aristocrats enjoy; music, books, painting and photography. I'm drawn to them too, but not just as the furnishings of a rich person's house. Culture is the path to knowledge and the key to an examined life. At least, that's what the bohemians say.

...Am I truly attracted to the trappings of the gilded life, or have I tricked myself? I'm in a muddle and all I can see it what the rich possess - their winner's spoils, their aristocratic bounty. Confronted with these things I think, That is the life I desire. But is it the box at the opera I want or the music itself?"

For the past few days I have been immersed in this wonderful novel Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross. Set in nineteenth century Paris in winter, just as the Eiffel Tower is being built, it is an imaginative dance with a more elegant era and it has successfully transported me back in time.  It tells the tale of a young runaway who finds herself destitute and without friends, all alone in Paris.  After a menial job as a laundress falls through she is offered a position with an agency as a repoussoir - a plain Jane, hired out to the aristocratic families to make their debutante daughters look more beautiful by comparison.  It is degrading and dis-spiriting work but plain Maude Pichon is considered to be perfect for the job, much to her humiliation.

In need of funds, Maude accepts the offer reluctantly and is soon hired by one of the first families in Paris to be a companion to their daughter Isabelle in her debutante season.  From this moment Maude's life changes and she is drawn into the very heart of aristocratic Parisian high society, where she is dazzled by a swirl of velvet, satin and tulle gowns, silk slippers, fur mantels, balls, carriages and banquets. Here she is introduced to the delights of the opera, photography, classical music and dancing with dukes, while on her days off she befriends a penniless young musician and his bohemian friends.  

This double life soon begins to get confusing for Maude and brings out the darker aspects of her gentle personality.  The rule at the Agency is that she must not covet or envy her wealthy clients, yet how can she help it when faced which such decadence and opulence on a daily basis? Kitted out in her borrowed plumes Maude starts to pretend to herself that she too is a debutante and before long she comes to believe in her own pretense. She grows haughty with the other agency girls and ashamed of her bohemian circle of associates.  At the same time, her client Isabelle, ignorant of Maude's true role as a repoussoir, asks Maude to help her study so she can secretly take an exam and apply to the most prestigious university in France, the Sorbonne, rather than marry as she is expected to do.  Maude becomes increasingly conflicted and inevitably gets caught up in her web of deceit.  She begins to question exactly what she wants from life and what it is about Isabelle's world that she is truly drawn to...is it the opulence of a box at the opera, or is it the music that stirs her soul?  As Maude's world unravels she has bridges to burn and mend on both sides of Paris.

I like this book for several reasons. Firstly because it questions how we look at beauty in women and how we value them according to how pretty they are.  Also because it delves deeper into the bohemian concept of beauty in all things, to be found everywhere for those who have eyes to see it.  The author touches on two difficult aspects of female relationships - envy between friends and a mother's jealousy of her daughter - things we know exist but which are rarely addressed. 

As we move out of the UK recession Belle Epoque is a piece of pure escapism into a world of the wealthy and privileged, yet it makes the reader question their own envious leanings.  We all covet things every now and then, but what is the source of that envy - is it the trappings of the opera house, or is it the music? This simple question leads one to examine what one truly yearns for and to discover a way to obtain the deep essence of that yearning without needing to rack up a credit card bill!  It is a book which will make you wonder what exactly it is that you are buying into. For that reason alone it's a must-read novel. 

MUSICAL DOLL; It'll All Get Better In Time

  

Another powerful song from Leona Lewis...

with a beautiful video featuring a beautiful horse.

I love this one.

Enjoy x

ONCE UPON A DREAM; Cinderella's Song

Cinderella's Song

By the fire I sit and dream 

And in the flames I see

Pictures of the lovely things

That never come to me

That never come to me, to me

That never come to me...

Carriages, a lovely gown 

A flowing silver cloak

The embers move

The picture's gone

My dreams go up in smoke

My dreams go up in smoke, in smoke

My dreams go up in smoke.

By Enid Blyton

I'm sitting by the fire this chilly spring day, dreaming of the soldier who kissed my silver ballet slipper before putting it back on my foot, on the steps of my hotel in Oban, when I turned 40...such pleasant dreams.  What will you dream of as you sit hearth-side and gaze into the flames?

When a girl loses her shoe, it must be true love.

MUSICAL DOLL; Decor Inspired by Pretty Songbirds

I adore this music video! I've been planning to buy a beautiful decorative birdcage for my home for some time, as I like the idea of the songbird having flown away to freedom.  I like pretty birdcages that are designed to hold candles and plants, or which are whimsical table lamps. These music videos have reminded me that I still need to buy such a cage and I think I'll go shopping for one this weekend.

It is a theme that I explored some time ago in an earlier blog post Caged Heart which you can read here if you want to link

There is another birdcage hanging in the background of this video too and I love how the interior set has been designed for this one.  I could easily live in a room like Leona's!  I like the muted colours - deeper than a pastel but not bright shades that scream and jar. It's soft, feminine and sophisticated. So pretty.

I can feel a visit to Homebase coming on...

...Some time later that day...
Ta-Daaaa! Here is it, my beautiful new birdcage with my silver filigree owl peeking out.  I love it.

ONCE UPON A DREAM; Crushing on Richard III

I still have another week off night classes and I have been procrastinating on completing my homework with some lovely books and films.  Most recently I have been watching The White Queen box set and totally pashing on Richard, one of the three Sons of York, above.  I like the way he can sit a horse and holds the reins correctly, thumbs on top - its surprising how many actors fail in that basic riding position, but he nails it.

I've long had a bit of a thing for King Richard III.  Yes, I know he is reputed to be the bad boy of history, but I quite like that about him.  He also seemed to have a deep sense of chivalry and social responsibility, which is why he made himself King instead of allowing England to be ruled by a young boy vulnerable to the manipulation of others.  Did he have a hand in the murdered Princes of the Tower?  I don't know. But in the battle for a kingdom it makes sense to leave none alive when it comes to the opposition thus ending any counter claim for the throne.

I think I like Richard III because he reminds me of Robert the Bruce and I see parallels between the two kings.  Robert the Bruce killed the Red Comyn when he refused to give up his claim to the throne of Scotland and yield to the Bruce. He even sent a man back to make sure the Comyn was dead - that is to make sure he had eliminated the opposition. Brutal? Yes. Necessary? Absolutely, at that time, and the ancient blood feud between Clans Bruce and Comyn still stands, spoon fed to us from a young age. But when there is a kingdom at stake, any challenge must be met and won and any opposition must be utterly defeated.  I admire that both The Bruce and Richard III were fearless in making good their claim to the throne.

King Richard was laid to rest just last month, after his bones were finally found and identified and while I'm sad he is not resting here in Yorkshire, I'm happy that he has been given an honorable resting place at last.  He was a knightly king and he deserves to be honored as such. At least his tomb is made of Yorkshire Swaledale stone, so he will be surrounded by his home county as he slumbers. 

As for me, I'm planning to research more about him and his life, as I currently only have the romanticized version of him to go on. I am a romantic though and I rather love that King Richard has this knightly, chivalrous charm about him.  The knights were the soldiers of their day, their job was to guard, defend and protect. A knight was meant to live an honorable life and die in battle if he could not achieve victory - for me, Richard III ticks all those boxes. 

I am proud to be a White Rose of Yorkshire and I wear my Yorkshire Rose pin next to my Clan Bruce pin on my coat so I feel a duel affinity with Richard III.  He saw a chance for the throne and he took it.  I love him for that, for his ambition and his determination to succeed, because any Bruce worthy of our name would be the first to spot a floating crown and claim it for ourselves! Now, where's my tiara?

A knightly vision to set the heart a-flutter!

ONCE UPON A DREAM; A Novel Romance

As its the Easter holidays and I don't have a night class for a couple of weeks, I'm indulging in some quiet time with my beloved books. I am currently reading a novel about a hot Scotsman RAF fighter pilot...can we all just take a moment to appreciate the perfection of that sentence and what it represents - HOT SCOTSMAN RAF FIGHTER PILOT!!!! And as if that's not enough, sometimes you find a quotation in a random book that totally sums up how you are feeling about something. This is the one that stopped my eyes in their tracks tonight...

"She couldn't work out how she felt about this man. She had never met anyone like him before. His merry blue eyes, his sense of fun, his soft Scots accent, his stunning good looks and his cheeriness in the face of threat all intrigued her. Was he so stupid that he didn't understand the danger all around him?" by Barbara Erskine, The Darkest Hour.

LOL I think I'm going to enjoy this book, and I'm burning protection spells to keep my soldier boys safe and sound, wherever they might be tonight smile emoticon