Re-organising the Studio...

Ahhhhh Sunday morning and our first 'day off' for about a fortnight. I do love to do trade fairs but because they are invariably at a weekend it means that we don't get a day off until the following weekend (unless you count the day we travelled back and unpacked the Land Rover at home and the Studio?). Anyway, we have already been out and 'follopped' around the city walls (when will it start to get a little easier?) and now having a little us time, John is reading some material for his O.U. course and I am of course writing up my blog!

I actually did some baking this week. I made a batch of iced buns complete with Fairy sprinkles for the Sumptuosity Fairies as they have been working so hard this week and I wanted to treat them. Sophie (whom John has know put in charge of production figures) says that we should have cakes as a treat on a Friday BUT only if we have managed to hit all of our making targets for the week. She thinks that this will give us plenty of incentive to really get sewing...I'll keep you posted with how we do!

Yesterday, John, Sophie and myself took a complete day off from production to re-arrange the Studio space. We originally had all the work tables in the centre of the room but have now placed them around the walls. This will mean a lot more light for Sophie and Alanna (Banana) at their work tables and I will be nearer to the Studio shop area, so that I can leap up and chat with the people who find their way to Sumptuosity Towers. We have been able to make much better use of the old bar settle, which is a feature of the room, although not for drinks! It now holds zillions of little 'Useful Boxes', all labelled according to their intended subject matter, e.g. bits of red fabric for Ladybirds etc etc. It was a bit scary taking off a complete day when we are so busy to do this work but we believe that it will be well worth it both in terms of productivity and a nicer, less cluttered area to work in. In fact there is now so much space in the centre of the room, that me and the Sumptuosity Fairies would be able to dance around our handbags to Alanna (Banana)'s Motown C.D.s. Only Joking John! We will of course be chained to our machines completing our orders...

I am counting down the days until my birthday (which is Wednesday), not that it is a particular age, it is just that I always enjoy my birthday! Alanna (Banana) has told me that she is going to make me a cake (how sweet of her!!), but that it will be a surprise as to what type it is. Everyone at Sumptuosity Towers is very keen on cake and as Alanna (Banana) is so fabulous at baking it will of course be wonderful, whatever it is! I am also going to take the afternoon off - yes, John has heard about this, I wasn't simply going to sneak off at lunchtime. I shall be having a walk around the bookshops of York, at least as many of those that I can manage in an afternoon. Who knows I may even find a book or two to add to the 'Brompton-Charlesworth Library'? I 'll meet up with John in the early evening in order to visit our beloved local for a little drinkie and then we are going to an Indian restaurant - my favourite food. John did ask if Alanna (Banana) was going to put candles on my cake....yes, you can guess where this line of conversation was going! He said that it was alright if she did because Sumptuosity Towers has it's own fire extinguisher!

This afternoon, John and I are off to the cinema to see the new Robin Hood film. This continues to be the cause of some 'discussion' between us or as John likes to call it 'The Yorkshire/Nottinghamshire Divide'. Robin Hood as all correct thinking people know was from Nottingham!!!! He was definitely NOT a Yorkshireman. Why? Well, let's look at the evidence...What is Robin Hood renowned for? - He robbed from the rich and gave to the poor...now when have you ever heard of a Yorkshireman giving anything away! I rest my case....

3 B.T.'s

1: Baking cakes for the Sumptuosity Fairies - they really liked them, especially the Fairy Sprinkles.
2: The river Foss currently has lots of little fluffy goslings swimming about on it and it is so lovely to see them in a line following their parents.
3: Sleeping in my own bed after being away at a trade fair - bliss!

Bye for now,

Love Ruth x

Cakes and Lace

Tuesday was a great day. In the first instance the lovely Alanna (Banana) had made some yummy scrummy Butterfly Cakes and even John (who doesn't normally have much of a sweet tooth) said that they were delicious. Alanna had been especially generous and made enough little cakes for us all to have one each with both our elevenses and our 3.00 cup of tea. We do love our tea and cakes at Sumptuosity Towers!

The big event of the day involved John and I driving down to Nottingham as I had received an invitation to attend the Opening of the Nottingham Trent University Lace Archive. In what now seems another life ago I worked on this collection (making an initial catalogue and writing a thesis) for my Ph.D. It has been a number of years since I have even been in the centre of Nottingham let alone back to the University and so it was with some trepidation that I accepted the invitation. The collection had gone back into storage after I completed my studies but now thanks to the hard work of devoted members of staff in the Faculty of Art and Design (particularly Dr Amanda Briggs-Goode), funding has been found and there is now a designated area for the collection with proper archival movable shelving, digital cataloguing of the collection etc and even two Ph.D students working with it! I was absolutely delighted to say the least. What was especially nice (and here I blush a little) was the fact that so many people shook my hand and thanked me for all my hard work in making the initial catalogue of the collection and how this had proved invaluable in aiding the application for funding. All those long hours (so long ago!) now seem worth it. In fact one of the Ph.D. students asked me how on earth I had managed to create a catalogue and write a thesis - I had to reply that I am not sure either! The reception was held in the main foyer of the Bonnington Building, and on a number of tables were glass topped boxes with key items from the collection. I had a real 'blast from the past' when I saw many of my original hand written labels - some of which were dated 1998 on individual pieces of lace and again when we went down into the Archive, I realised that I was looking at boxes with my writing on them. My lovely husband rather wryly commented that my handwriting hadn't improved - you can always trust a Yorkshireman to bring you down to earth! It was a great evening and I am really happy that this collection is again seeing the light of day and being put into active use.

This morning (Wednesday) we were back in the Studio early and my first job was to sweep the floor - just call me Cinderella! It was nice to see so many of my colleagues from my ol' Ph.D. student days and to be back in such a wonderful university as Nottingham Trent but I still wouldn't swap being at Sumptuosity Towers - even when I am doing the sweeping up...

3 B.T.'s

1: Alanna (Banana)'s Butterfly Cakes - the butter icing was out of this world it was so delicious.

2: The Snowdrops are coming out in the church yard of St.Denys. There are large swathes of them and they are lovely.

3: The official opening of the Nottingham Trent University Lace Archive, it was great to see so many friendly faces!

Bye for now,

Love Ruth x

"We don't do duverts" or alterations...

The time is flying here at Sumptuosity Towers. It seems that one minute Sophie and Alanna are arriving at the studio and the next minute it is lunchtime and then it is five o'clock and time for them to go home again. I know that Mumsie has always told me that time speeds up as you get older but this is getting ridiculous!

Orders continue to keep us busy, although the studio shop has quietened down a little at the moment - with the exception of people (mostly men) who come into the shop and ask about alterations for clothing... Now Fossgate and Walmgate have at least three businesses that all advertise that they do alterations, we do not and yet people still keep coming in with bags of clothes. It is as if they look through the window see women (Sumptuosity Fairies) and sewing machines and QED assume that we must alter clothes. I am reminded of a children's programme from long ago where there was a long running comedy sketch and the catch-line was "We Don't Do Duverts". Occasionally, when I politely inform the person that we don't actually alter clothes, they look at me in disbelieve and say "Well, what is that you actually do in here??". The sewing of lavender bags, bookmarks, badges etc is presumably not a proper occupation for a sensible person... which is fortunate as I have never had much sense! (Whenever I have been accused of having no common sense I tend to reply that I don't have anything that is common! - thank you Kenneth Williams).

Anyway enough of alterations and on to more exciting news - Sumptuosity Fairy Sophie has been accepted for next year's York Open Studios. She will be converting John's office space into a gallery for the event and is very excited discussing her work, although a little nervous as well! We are all really proud of her and know that it will be brilliant.

I am also really proud of my husband as he has just take the plunge and signed up to do an O.U. degree. He is now officially a student. We went to a couple of bookshops on Sunday afternoon so that he could start to buy his set books and I have even cleared another shelf in my beloved library so that he has a place where he can start to put all his University stuff together (he now has two whole shelves to himself - I know I just spoil that man!). I hope that you are sitting down as you read this when I tell you that I didn't buy any books for myself (no honestly I didn't). I have made a note of a few for my letter to Santa...

3 B.T.'s

1: One the way to the Studio and on our way home I keep hearing Robins singing - beautiful!
2: Mumsie made a batch of iced buns for the Sumptuosity Fairies using the 'Barbie' sprinkles that I bought for her. Some of the buns has bright pink sparkly sugar crystals - nice.
3: Barbara had a postcard from her friend Marilyn who had been on holiday in Cumbria - it was a Sumptuosity postcard and she had picked it up in a shop in Gosforth to send it to the studio. This shop is owned and run by my friend Jo (a mate from Staffordshire University). It is amazing how people are connected!

Bye for now

Love Ruth xx

Alanna Banana's Cakes

Alanna came into the Studio this morning with even more of a smile on her face than usual. Hello she said I've got a surprise for you! She had baked some gorgeous fairy cakes for all the Sumptuosity Fairies and John. Each cake had lots of butter icing and some pink sprinkles. She is such a sweetheart, she said that she felt guilty about giving Barbara (and to a lesser extent me) the Cold that she had last week - which she in turn had got from her brother's girlfriend... Anyway, I think that the cakes must have had some magic properties as not only were they absolutely delicious but we all felt much happier and were raring to go after our elevenses. I asked Alanna if she was like 'Tabitha' from the television programme 'Bewitched' and then we all got into a silly conversation about how it would be good to be able to wiggle the end of your nose... So another busy and fabulously silly day at Sumptuosity Towers.

John and I have stayed late at the Studio tonight because we are going straight to the cinema.

We are going to see 'The Vanishing of the Bees', which is a documentary film about the huge decline in Bee populations and possible reasons that might be causing it. I am a real bug fan as many of you know and I especially love Bees. I had a great time in July when I went on my Bee-Keeping weekend and am looking forward to the day when I can have my own hive.

3 B.T.'s

1: I saw a Bat flitting in the sky above the river Foss as we walked home - I was surprised as I thought they would be hibinating by now? But I still liked to see it.

2: It was misty at the weekend and the sun appeared as a faint silver orb in the morning sky.

3: John and I have been looking at the phases of the Moon (John now has it on his Google homepage) and we have been discussing the wonderful terms 'Waxing' and 'Waning'.

Time to go the Cinema,

Bye for now

love Ruth x