Grannymar

Clotworthy House

Last Friday morning in a short post about Clotworthy House, Ramana asked how it got the name.  Now I know!  While looking for information about Antrim Castle I discovered the following from Library Ireland.

THE original Castle of Antrim is generally supposed, according to Dr. Petrie, to have been erected in or about the year 1662, by Sir John Clotworthy, Lord Massarene, who died in 1665, and whose only daughter and heiresss, Mary, by her marriage with Sir John Skeffington, the fifth baronet of that name, carried the estate and title into the latter family.

The present Castle appears to have been originally erected in the early part of the reign of the First James, by Sir Hugh Clotworthy, who by that monarch’s patent had the charge of certain vessels on Lough Neagh. His son, Sir John, was one of the most distinguished leaders of the Parliamentary forces during the Civil War, and notwithstanding this fact, was, oddly enough, raised to the peerage by patent of Charles II., under the title of “Baron of Lough Neagh and Viscount of Massarene.”

All that remains of Antrim Castle

Gaelikaa has surprised and humbled me with a gift. It is the lovely Splash Award she in turn received it from Mimi. We are all Irish bloggers - Mimi lives and writes in Ireland. Gaelikaa is married, living and raising her family in India while I live ‘Up there’ in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

Like Gaelikaa I read and follow a very broad selection of Blogs that stretch from Australia, India, Africa, Europe, to America and Canada. The writers are both male and female and vary in age from 15 to 84 years young!

It is suggested to nominate and link up to 9 Blogs to receive the award.  Blogs that amuse, allure, bewitch, impress and inspire one on a regular basis. You all do that in your own special way, which is why I return so often. It would be impossible for me to name nine bloggers without leaving some very talented people out and not wanting to cause hurt or offence I leave it open, to whosoever would like to accept it.

Thank you gaelikaa for counting me in, may we all enjoy many years of visiting and inspiring eah other.

Magpie 11 was the owner of the sticky fingers to suggest the topic of

Hands

for this weeks chapter of the Loose Blogging Consortium.  So pop along and invigilate his contribution and while you are at it correct check on Conrad, Ashok, Ramana and Marianna for their exercise homework too.

Reconciliation or ‘Hands Across the Divide’

Maurice Harron is the Artist behind the wonderful sculpture of two men reaching out to shake hands in Carlisle Square, in Derry, Northern Ireland.  The sculpture has become an icon of the peace process here in Northern Ireland.

The first idea that Maurice had was a sculpture of two men staring at each other, signifying the animosity that existed between the two communities. But as he worked, trying to capture this troubled relationship, he changed his mind. Instead he made his two figures reach out and shake hands, and called it ‘Reconciliation’. As the deadline for casting the figures approached, he made a crucial alteration.

“I separated the men a bit, so the hands don’t meet.” This reconciliation was “an ‘in progress’ thing”.

Installed in Carlisle Square in Derry in 1991, Harron’s piece caught the public imagination, and quickly became known as ‘Hands Across the Divide’.

^v^v^v^v^

Jumping back to days before Ashok was born, indeed to my school days I remember hands that moved me…

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There were many hands that moved me on my passage through life.

My mothers hands that taught me many chores about the house.  Even today when I look down at my hands peeling potatoes or vegetables, ironing a shirt or cleaning a window; the movement of my hands is exactly the same as that of my mother.   I would apply a dressing or bandage just as she did and it would stay in place.  I learned to cream butter and sugar for a cake by hand, in the days before we had electric beaters or food processors.  I did say by hand and I meant that.  Despite my intolerence of dairy products I spent many an hour beating the mixture with my hand in the bowl, I think the idea was that the heat in my hand speeded the process.

My Auntie Mary, a school teacher and Daddy’s eldest sister was the lady who patiently taught me the love of the needle.  She helped me to read a pattern properly and spent a full day gently showing me how to piece the pattern pieces together, insert a zip mark a straight hem and add finishing touches. Thanks to her when I got my first sewing machine on the day I finished the Leaving Certificate examination (It cost all of £24) I made a lined shift dress with patch fringed pockets.  I put it on and walked up the floor to show my father when he came home from work!  I never looked back after that.  She also tried to teach me to crochet on another occasion.  I had difficulty holding the thread correctly, but she didn’t complain she let me work out my own way to do it and again I proved myself.  That is a story for another day…

Jack was a man with great patience and He would quietly call me with the words… “You won’t always have me and you will need to know how to: change a wheel, a fuse or check the oil in the car”!  I did under supervision, change the oil, oil filter and spark plugs on one of our cars.  Nowadays I leave all that to the professionals as my arms are no longer strong enough to do it.  He showed me how to change a fuse in a plug, to let air out of a radiator and also a simple method of book keeping, the latter with a twinkle in his eye as he said “A woman who can’t manage the books is not worth marrying”!

I had great trouble with this subject.  Perhaps it was because I was trying to think in words and the topic was set by a teacher (sorry Magpie 11), it was at the eleventh hour that I began to think with my hands and then and only then did the words flow.  Perhaps if my early education at school was in that way….

Who knows!

The grounds at Clotworthy House in Antrim, the County Town of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, where the Sixmile Water enters Lough Neagh.

Peeping a little closer…

Now I am off to add the finishing touches to my LBC contribution for this week.  See you at 5pm - Irish time!

A woman stopped by, unannounced, at her son’s house. She knocked on the door then immediately walked in. She was shocked to see her daughter-in-law lying on the couch, totally naked. Soft music was playing, and the aroma of perfume filled the room.

‘What are you doing?’ she asked.

‘I’m waiting for Justin to come home from work.’ The daughter-in-law answered.

‘But you’re naked!’ the mother-in-law exclaimed.

‘This is my love dress,’ the daughter-in-law explained.

‘Love dress? But you’re naked!’

‘Justin loves me to wear this dress,’ she explained.

‘Every time he sees me in this dress, he instantly becomes romantic and ravages me for hours.’

The mother-in-law left. When she got home she undressed, showered, put on her best perfume, dimmed the lights, put on a romantic CD, and lay on the couch waiting for her husband to arrive.

Finally, her husband came home. He walked in and saw her lying there so provocatively.

‘What are you doing?’ he asked.

‘This is my love dress,’ she whispered, sensually.

‘Needs ironing,’ he said, ‘What’s for dinner?’

With thanks to Daphne for this weeks humour.

Last week we discovered the first five of the bookmarks from the project A Collection.  Today I continue with the remaining five bookmarks.

Are you sitting comfortably?  Then I will begin.

Not a very good picture for detail, so let me lift them out.  The flash bounced here and it took a few attempts to get a better picture (I still have plenty to learn!).

On the left I used a striped patterned fabric for my example of Corded (Italian) quilting.  This form of quilting first appeared in the 1930s, it uses two layers of fabric and the design is usually drawn on the back.  Two parallel lines of small backstitches form a channel with a soft thick wool threaded on a bodkin pulled through as the filling thread to give the raised effect.  I chose to follow the lines of the fabric and added French knots to the centres of the flowers.  The centre channel has a single layer of padding while those on either side are double layers.

On the right is Carrickmacross lace that I trapped in two layers of acetate finished with machine stitching.  This simple sample is of Carrickmacross Lace, made using a layer of machine made tulle and cotton organdie.  it would come under the banner of ‘Whitework’ or Fine work.  Fine work is sewn on sheer fabrics, such as organdie, lawn, muslin, glass cambric and net.  Ayrshire, Carrickmacross, chikan work (from India) Dresden (from Germany) and shadow applique work are examples of fine work.  If you like I can come back to Carrickmacross Lace in more detail on another occasion.

Turning the page we see my least favourite and included only to even up the number to 10.  It is an early experiment in paper making, a process that requires the maker to sport old clothes and be prepared to slop about elbow deep in a mushy mesh!  We used shredded paper, fibers and threads and soaked it for several days in water before draining through a screen, so that a mat of randomly interwoven fibers is laid down. The water is removed from this mat of fibers by pressing and drying to make the paper. It is a very slow process and needs plenty of patience.  Most paper is made from wood pulp, but other fiber sources such as cotton and textiles may be used.

I then spray painted the finished paper, painted the words Book Mark and finished it with blanket stitch in a very find silver thread.  The tassel was made from a variation of the blanket stitch before the threads were knotted at the end.

The next bookmark was more to my liking.  It is made to hook over the book.  The butterfly ( Magpie 11, please don’t ask the variety, it is a GM special!).  OK! I confess… I had to take out my magnifying glass to see what kind of stitch I used.  It was nearly twenty years ago, and the eyes are not as good as they used to be!  The stem was wire wrapped in stranded cotton and the ‘flutterby’ was actually crocheted in stranded cotton using two strands each time and a double crochet stitch, is it any wonder I am half blind!  The sheen of the thread was killed by the stiffening solution.  I cannot remember what you called it, but I do remember I bought it in Arnotts in Dublin.

On to the final page and my absolute favourite for my Bookworm.

This last one is Reverse Applique.  There are two methods: the traditional San Blas or Mola embroidery and the Cut-through method.  The difference between these two methods is the order in which the layers are cut and stitched.  The Cut-through applique is achieved by stab-tacking up to five layers of fabric together, then cutting away shapes to expose the layers below.  The bottom layer acts as a backing or lining and never cut.  Testing out a pattern with layers of coloured paper is a good way to start.  I used felt as it would not fray and the ‘worm’ added for effect was made from four dark grey beads, with two tiny clear beads for eyes.  Well he needed eyes to read!!

I hope you enjoyed this little collection and next week I have another project to share with you.

If you are really itching to stitch, then twistedthread has news of upcoming dates for The Knitting and Stitching Show for the NEC, Birmingham (UK), Alexandra Palace, London (UK), RDS Dublin (Ireland) and Harrogate International Centre (UK).  Follow the link for dates, times and ticket prices.  I was at the RDS a few years ago and it was a wonderful experience.  Four days of workshops (you need to book in advance), leading designers and textile artists whose work is presented in professional gallery space.  There are a wonderful variety of stalls selling all things craft related.  Wear comfortable shoes, bring a holdall for the purchases and put a limit on the spending before you go…

Yesterday I sat watching a little boy learning about the Alphabet….

A is for Apple, B is for Balloon etc.

I came home with the sounds ringing in my head and while preparing dinner, I turned the idea into a little game. Pick not one word for each letter, but three that sit well together.

~

Aim Above Appearance

Basic Bond Behaviour

Caring Condolences Comfort

Dance Date Drinking

Events Evolve Eventually

Final Fling Flowers

Gripping Guest Games

Home Help Happiness

Invitations Involve Individuals

Jest Jive Jump

Keep Known Knowledge

Love Letters Live

Make Money Matter

Night Noon Never

Offers Often Offend

Peace People Please

Quick Quips Question

Review Revive Resolve

Share Summer Sunshine

Take Time Talk

Underwear Unseen Undervalued

Valentines Value Victory

Wise Wander Wales - Oops! Sorry Magpie.

XI Xmas Xylophones**

Yonder Youth Yodels

Zealot Zeal Zest

** This is the only letter I struggled with. A Xylophone is an instrument that always appealed to my ear; the problem was to find other words to go with it. Somehow X-ray didn’t sound right.

It is over to you now, I would love to see your choice!