Friday 12 December 2014

Last weekend of the Christmas Open Houses 2014



It has been a fantastic Open House so far this Christmas with so many visitors last Sunday we had to send out for more supplies to make the mulled wine.

Gaps are starting to appear as are red "sold" stickers but we still have plenty for you to look at.

Many thanks to all of you who have come so far but if you haven't (or if you want to return), we are open tomorrow and Sunday between 11am and 5pm. After that, I'm afraid you'll have to wait until we open again in May as I need to get the house back to approaching normal before Christmas.



 Alexis Rayner




 Del Thorpe



Vicky Scott



Winter Night by Leonor Berdichevsky




Watching the Sunset by Leonor Berdichevsky (sold but more prints can be ordered)




Helen Chong



Mark Charlton

Tuesday 2 December 2014

One weekend down, two to go


The first weekend of the Christmas Open Houses was a great success here and the house is looking lovely after all the frantic tidying last week. We had a steady flow of visitors all weekend so many thanks to those of you who came and especially to Del and Alexis, two of the artists exhibiting here, for their expert entertaining of youngest child after my husband was laid up in bed with back pain.

Ruth's fused and stained glass decorations have been really popular, deservedly so. Her stocks are quickly becoming depleted so please come along soon if you would like to see these.

We are now in December so it doesn't feel too early to be talking about Christmas. We have a variety of cards, decorations and other Christmassy bits and pieces here as well as affordable arts and crafts so if you're in a present buying mood, come and relax with a glass of mulled wine while browsing. We are open from 11am - 5pm Saturday and Sunday.







Friday 28 November 2014

Private View


I've been a bit slack writing this blog over the last couple of weeks - trying to get everything finished and set up has taken a lot of time and brain space.

We had our Private View tonight which, as always, was great fun. A good excuse to meet up with people. It was lovely to have such fantastic feedback on how the house is looking. If you were one of those who came along, thank you for making the effort to spend the evening with us.

No pictures for this entry as I have to rely on my phone taking pictures for immediate posting - I've never had a digital camera as I love the anticipation of waiting for a film to be developed - and it doesn't like taking pictures after dark. I will try to take some pictures tomorrow morning and post again then.

Just about washed all the wine glasses and got the recycling ready for tomorrow so off to bed now. If you're in the area, please visit us tomorrow and maybe also call in to the last Kitty in the City fundraising fair before Christmas - just round the corner from us at St Philips Church in Richardson Road, Hove.

Friday 14 November 2014

2 Weeks and Counting....


Things are really starting to get organised now as everything needs to be ready to go in two weeks from now. Lots of knitting and sewing has been going on here although my efforts to tidy the house in preparation are still a little paltry. I finished the painting of the silk scarves and handkerchiefs a couple of weeks ago but they all need hemming before the Open House starts. I have a few knitted items that need sewing up - always my least favourite job with hand knitting.

The frames arrived on Wednesday for my photographs so they are now all up - at least one wall is ready. Plenty of time left....








Monday 10 November 2014

Helen Chong and Uranium Glass


Helen has been interested in all things vintage since childhood. In her loft you will find her collection of Pedigree Sindy dolls and clothes, her mum’s old Corona typewriter, and a much-loved toy Vulcan sewing machine. 

More recently, Helen received a treasure box full of vintage family jewellery. Among its contents was a pair of luminous green glass earrings, and research revealed that they were made from uranium glass (sometimes called vaseline glass). 

Uranium glass varies in colour and is fluorescent when exposed to sunlight. It also glows under ultraviolet light (i.e. it glows in the dark) so is perfect for the party season. It is not harmful or dangerous to wear; in fact, many people believe wearing uranium glass jewellery can have healing properties. 

Inspired by her original vintage acquisition, Helen now sources vintage uranium glass beads and combines them with sterling silver to make exquisite earrings and necklaces.




Friday 7 November 2014

Yikes! Three weeks to go...


The flyers arrived last week and the brochures arrived yesterday so that's always the reminder that the Open Houses aren't far away.

As always, it's complete chaos from now until we start as I try to finish too many things in too little time in addition to tidying the house (always a challenge with three children and three cats). I have learnt over the years not to get too stressed about what I can't possibly finish in time but it'll be another two weeks before I put unfinished things away until the next Open House. So today, rather sensibly, I decided to cut out some more tops. I do prefer more lightweight fabrics but I do use some baby cords for winter and many of the dress and top styles I have created can be worn with layers underneath in the winter.


















Wednesday 5 November 2014

The Big Chill Begins



A slight exaggeration perhaps but the temperature suddenly dropped today and our heating decided to go on holiday yesterday so the air does have a certain wintery feel in our house.

Bearing this in mind, and the fact that it is now November, I don't feel so bad about introducing the "Christmas" word. I have been telling youngest child since July that she is not allowed to sing Jingle Bells until the Open House starts and I never used to do Christmas until after middle child's birthday (end of November) but I don't feel so bad about it this year as we did at least have a proper summer.

There will be various Christmas goodies on offer at the Open House. I do sachets of spices to make mulled wine, Christmas decorations and stockings (I will post pictures of these at some point) and we will have Christmas cards as well. Vicky and Del have some great cards - check out their websites http://www.vickysworld.co.uk/artwork and https://www.facebook.com/delthorpesdrawings?ref=hl - and here are some of Leonor's.











Friday 31 October 2014

All Hallows Eve


It was hard to believe it's the end of October until it got dark before five. Just finished cutting the shapes in the pumpkins for the children before they're out trick or treating. I prefer the older traditions of Hallowe'en when it was still considered more of an end to the year.

Del has been creating some fantastic Hallowe'en pictures recently - check out this link https://www.facebook.com/delthorpesdrawings?ref=hl. And I'm not above using any excuse to post pictures of skulls and skeletons and other scary stuff so here we have a photograph of pumpkins, dresses and cushions made out of fabric appropriate to the season and Vicky's rather wonderful "Things that Go Bump in the Night".



















And just in case you don't come across anything scarier than small children this evening (and let's face it, they can be quite scary at times), here's a genuine grave experience - clearly not for the faint-hearted.


Wednesday 29 October 2014

A Bunch of Flowers


It was grey and gloomy all day today but the temperatures are more like the run up to the May Open Houses. I keep feeling I should be planting flowers rather than preparing for winter and Christmas so here's a bunch of flowers to enjoy.

The first three are my photographs. I've always loved foxgloves and I love the bee on the lavender but my favourite is the picture of the hydrangeas, a plant my husband hates (old lady flowers, apparently) but my late grandmother's favourite. The sunflower is one of Ruth's mirrors, a new piece I'm really looking forward to seeing, and the picture at the bottom is Leonor's bluebells. I love the intensity of the blue glass and the bubbles in the water. And, of course, they are bluebells...
















Monday 27 October 2014

Flyers have been ordered


Missed posting a few times over the last week but much has been going on behind the scenes. I was out all day today chaperoning for Bugsy at the Barn Theatre in Southwick and last minute buying of ties for Fat Sam's Gang. There are a few seats left if you're in the area and looking for something to do over the next week. Tickets are available from http://www.ticketsource.co.uk/citytheatreco. Opening night is tomorrow.

On the Open House front, the brochure has been proof read and will be available online at http://aoh.org.uk/home from early in November. The flyers have now been ordered and will be arriving this week so here's a sneak preview.







Wednesday 22 October 2014

Definitely Autumn


Glad I finished the silk painting last week as today has been so chilly. It's time to get knitting and start thinking about the more Christmassy stuff although I'm not sure how much I'll get done in the next couple of weeks as my eldest daughter is in the City Youth Theatre production of Bugsy Malone over half term and I'll be doing a lot of chaperoning.

So, in honour of the changing season, here's a section of my photos and Margaret's collagraphs of autumn leaves.








Friday 17 October 2014

Summer Came Back


Well, possibly an exaggeration to say summer's back but it stopped raining and it was warm enough so the last two days have been spent having fun painting silk scarves in the garden.

I get my silk very wet before starting as I love the unpredictability of the shapes and patterns which I don't fully see until the silk dries. So I paint in an abstract manner and concentrate mainly on the colours. Sometimes I use gutta but, because I like to use so much water, the gutta doesn't completely resist the dye. This creates a fantastic dragging effect along the gutta with more of an appearance of texture and depth. The scarves looked gorgeous with the sun behind them but my phone didn't like taking pictures into the sun so I just did my best (with the oh so glamorous pegs keeping the scarves fairly straight).

And, while waiting for each scarf to dry, I started bottling up my flavoured vodkas and gins ready for the private view. I love the intensity of the colours in the sunshine.
















Monday 13 October 2014

Summer sunshine


After days of interminable rain during which I've been trying and failing to get some silk scarves painted outside, I decided to mount some of the photos I've taken this summer. It's great to be reminded of just how good the summer was, even if it wasn't always completely reliable. For the first time in four years, we managed to visit Groombridge Place without getting wet and were rewarded by peacocks sunbathing. (I actually have a phobia of birds so it's always good to take pictures of them without the camera shaking!)

Our trip to Scotney Castle started damp but ended with lots of sunshine and reflections of blue skies in the lake.

As ever, our first night in Newquay had the most gorgeous sunset to be followed by pouring rain the next day. After much perseverance, I finally managed to get a photo of a surfer standing up but he is completely outclassed by the colours of the sky.









Saturday 11 October 2014

Helen Chong


I've known Helen for years now and asked her to join the Open House last Christmas as I love the gorgeous handcrafts she produces in her limited hours between being a psychology teacher and looking after her children. Utilising her knowledge of children and psychology, Helen created the Worry Bean, a small creature that works on the same principle as Guatemalan worry people. Children tell their problems to the Worry Bean; vocalisation of the anxiety diminishes it.

More recently, Helen has been sourcing vintage charms and creating beautiful jewellery with them. Her necklaces proved very popular at the May Open House. Each item is unique and they are very reasonably priced so perfect as gifts. Many of the charms are sterling silver; the necklace in the bottom picture features a vermeil gold heart charm.