• About
  • Projects
  • Articles
  • Contact

julielivingstone

~ It isn't always about getting what you want. Sometimes it's about wanting what you've got.

julielivingstone

Tag Archives: books

Long story, short message

15 Tuesday Mar 2016

Posted by julielivingstone in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

blog, books, design, pattern

A book arrived in the mail this week, I had quite forgotten ordering it. Actually it was one of two, the first I remembered, but I had forgotten that since shipping would be as much for two books as one, I had sneaked the second into my order!

More about both books later, but the one which starts today’s adventure in the sewing blog world is called Artful Machine Embroidery by Bobbi Bullard. I don’t have an embroidery machine as such, so it might seem a curious choice, but having looked at some of the book on Google books I thought it had a good deal of content about general design, placement, colour etc., which would be useful for all sorts of garment creation, not just embroidery. Those things are the part of the creative process that I sometimes struggle with.

This is a really long and complicated story, but we are getting there, I promise!

I looked up Bobbi Bullard on Google, since I hadn’t seen her work before, and came across some pictures from another blog, Thunderpaws Threads. There were several pictures of garments made with Bobbi’s designs, and I spent some time reading, until I came upon the subject of this post. (See, I said we would get there eventually!). It’s the pattern at the end of the link above, from Hot Patterns, another indie pattern company I’ve not heard of before. It’s called a Blouse Back T, which is like a tee shirt in front, but with a panel set in just under the shoulders at the back, cut wider than expected, which can be made out of woven fabric, hence the ‘blouse back’.

This quite appeals to me. I’m not normally a wearer of tee shirts, not in their simplest incarnation anyway. I like a little more structure to my clothes, and also a vee neck rather than a round neck, which most tee shirts seem to have by default. I have often wondered about that, whether it is simply because a round neck is easier to put trim around, with a vee you always have the problem of how to get a really nice neat join at centre front.

It’s already added to my list of ‘someday projects’, which sadly keeps getting longer and longer. Or is that sad, I wonder? Would it be worse to have nothing that one wanted to do? It’s also a cassic example of how a little ‘blog wandering’ can lead to all sorts of possibilities. There is always something I haven’t seen before, something which sparks an idea.

Advertisement

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

On Commonplace Books, and gathering things together

04 Sunday Mar 2012

Posted by julielivingstone in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Art Deco, blog, books, commonplace book, design, Norwich, Wymondham College

I’ve been doing some more looking around the net about commonplace books, and came across this article by Alan Jacobs. He discusses the correlation between commonplace books and today’s blogs, which is something that had already occurred to me, but also makes distinction between two different types of commonplace book. I hadn’t previously focussed on this difference.
I also feel as he does, that it is very easy to cut and paste heaps of text without really reading it. The acid test for this, I suppose, is to close the window with the original, then try and retype it in your own words, then go back to the original and see how close the two are. Only by reading carefully and remembering accurately can you get a good match, and I know I’d often fail that test.
It’s easy to copy and paste lots of stuff on the basis that it might be useful or relevant someday. My feeling is that very often it won’t, or by the time it might have been useful you will have forgotten where you put it, or it will be in a format which you no longer have the software for.
I find that the same applies to pieces of paper. Every so often a piece of paper will cross my desk which doesn’t require any specific immediate action. Somebody gave it to me or sent it to me for some unkown reason, and I left it there because I was unsure what to do with it. Every now and then I decide to tidy my desk, and I realise the piece of paper is still there, I’ve done nothing with it, and it’s not relevant any more. That’s when it goes in the bin, or the recycling.  Often the problem of what to do with a piece of paper is solved by this wait and see method.
Lately I’ve been trying to shorten the process, by looking at the paper when it first arrives and considering whether it comes into this category. If it does I discard it straight away rather than letting it take up space on my desk. So far I haven’t discarded anything which later turned out to be important, or at least if I have I don’t know about it yet.
Another blog I found on the subject was the commonplace book of Roberta Norwich, here. Roberta Norwich is not her real name I gather, but some kind of historian’s in-joke which I’m not in with. The name caught my eye not only because it was a commonplace book, but because I grew up in and around Norwich in England. When I read further through Roberta’s blog I discovered that she and I had gone to the same school, Wymondham College, also in Norfolk. This prompted me to spend some time looking around the College website, and reminiscing about my schooldays. The old place certainly has changed since the late 60s and early 70s when I was there, but I guess we all have. I’m now considering trying to get in touch with any old students who now live in WA and maybe arranging to meet up.
Roberta calls herself an opsimath, which I had to look up. It means ‘one who starts, or continues, to learn late in life’. Something we should all aspire to I believe, and I definitely intend to be one, although my chosen studies so far are nowhere near as academic as Roberta’s.
A somewhat rambling post this, I’m trying to think of a theme to tie it all together. How about this – it’s about commonplace books, which are a gathering together of often unrelated ideas, all relevant to the creator of the book for some reason.
I’ve also been doing research on Art Deco designs for inspiration for my project, and found some wonderful designs by Pierre Legrain. I’m indebted to Alhpachannel for this link to some images of his work, outstandingly beautiful. I’d love to be able to do something on these lines for my cover, but I fear it’s beyond me.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Quilt completed

02 Monday Jan 2012

Posted by julielivingstone in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

books, butterflies, nature, quilting, reading, recycled, spider

I finished the quilt I have been making for my Dad, which was supposed to be for his 85th birthday at the beginning of December, but didn’t get done in time. I went to see them on the day after Boxing Day, and gave it to him then instead. Of course he was kind enough to be very pleased with it, but I have to admit I was quite pleased with it myself.

I bought the fabrics for the quilt top online, by searching for ‘quilt fabric’ and ‘bugs’, since I wanted nature inspired designs. I ended up buying from two different places, www.eQuilter.com and www.bugfabric.com. The only thing I did wrong was to not pay enough attention to the scale of the design on the fabric. Most sites do tell you how many inches across the motif is, or something similar, and I didn’t look at that and got a couple of patterns which were really a bit too big. Still, in the end they all worked in together. I also have this strong feeling that one shouldn’t be too precious about putting together fabrics for a quilt, after all it is a craft which began as a way of using up scraps left over, and recycling old clothes and linen. The idea of going out to buy completely new fabric, cut it into small pieces and then sew them all back together again is not quite in the true spirit of the thing to my mind.

Anyway, here is the finished article

Dad's quilt

Dad's quilt

It should actually be hanging short side at the top, portrait format rather than landscape. But since I left taking photos of it until the last minute I didn’t have any other easy way of hanging it except on the clothes line. The big butterflies are hand appliqued, the rest is machine pieced and quilted.

A closer look

closer lookI was particularly pleased with the spider web fabric, since when my kids were little one of their favourite books for Grandad to read to them was a book about a spider, called Wolfie, by Janet Chenery and Mark Simont. I found a pdf version here just now, and had a little moment of nostalgia.

On the subject of quilting being a make-do-and-mend type of activity, I have decided to start another quilt using the English patchwork technique. My mother did one many years ago, and I’m going to do likewise. The idea is to use up all the little bits I have left over from years of other projects, at least all the cotton bits. Other quilts, the girls’ clothes, my clothes, clothes made for other people, you get the idea. I’ve started making hexagons and am putting them all in a box to sew together when I start to have enough. Another thing that this technique uses up is junk mail, and advertising material, since a lot of it is printed on slightly heavier than normal paper. It is really satisfying to cut up the little booklet of ‘changed terms and conditions’ which comes with the bank statement, or the flier in the mail from our local politician. Finally a use for all that stuff!

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Trollope and Wodehouse, compare and contrast

19 Wednesday Oct 2011

Posted by julielivingstone in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Anthony Trollope, books, Jeeves, novels, PG Wodehouse, reading, Wooster

Recently I’ve been reading, or more accurately listening on CD, to both Anthony Trollope and P.G. Wodehouse, two of my favourite authors. Until now I’d always thought of their works as belonging to totally different genres, but it dawned on me that there are pronounced similarities.

The particular Trollope novel I was listening to was one of his last, The Way We Live Now (BBC Audiobooks 2009, read by Timothy West).  It’s set in the mid 1870s. I followed this with Wodehouse’s Uncle Fred in the Springtime (BBC Audiobooks 2009, read by Jonathan Cecil), first published in 1939.

I’ve always envisaged the world of Wodehouse, Jeeves, Wooster et al, as being set in the 1920s rather than later, perhaps because the author stubbornly ignores any mention of the events in Europe during the 1930s, which led to the outbreak of war.

Wodehouse commented in an interview (reported here)  that he tried not to date his novels, as he was ‘bad at remembering things’.

If we allow Uncle Fred and his adventures to have taken place in the 1920s that gives only 50 years between the two works. They are remarkably similar, particularly considering that in the intervening time the world had been changed by the First World War.

Both deal with similar subjects, there is much talk of young men and their gambling debts, characters not being able to marry those they love because of financial and social considerations, elderly or powerful relatives who must be appeased. A young man, once he has agreed to become engaged to a girl, is a cad and a bounder if he breaks it off, and there is much plotting and scheming all round.

Obviously there are also differences, Trollope’s novel runs to 26 CDs and around 100 chapters, whereas Wodehouse’s is only 6 CDs. I think most people would consider Trollope’s work as satire, whereas Wodehouse’s is comedy with only the slightest edge to it.

There are similarities in the early lives and backgrounds of the two authors.

Trollope was born in 1815 and died in 1882. He went to Harrow and Winchester, but was unhappy at both. His father was ambitious for him, and had purchased a property in the right neighbourhood so that his son could go to Harrow as a day pupil. Due to his father’s later financial troubles, the whole family moved to Belgium in 1834 and lived off his mother’s earnings writing novels.

Trollope however returned to England after a short time and joined the General Post Office in London. Here he had some trouble with debt collectors, he started out owing his tailor 12 pounds, but the debt got passed to a moneylender and became 200 pounds. This experience is common to a number of characters in his books.

In 1841 Trollope took a post with the Post Office in Ireland, married, and started writing.

Wodehouse was born in 1881 in Guildford, Kent, although his parents at the time were living in Hong Kong where his father was a judge. Named Pelham Grenville, his great-grandfather was the second son of a baronet. The family returned to England when Wodehouse was three years old. He attended various boarding schools whilst his parents spent time abroad, and spent most of his holidays with various aunts. He completed his education at Dulwich College, where he edited the school magazine and took part in school theatricals. After school he went to work for the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank. He was not much interested in banking, started writing in his spare time, and eventually left to become a journalist. In 1909 he travelled to America, where he married in 1914, and spent much of the remainder of his life overseas, dying in America in 1975.

Both authors were born into middle class families, educated at English public schools, neither particularly happily, went into middle class jobs which they didn’t particularly enjoy, started writing, and went to live overseas at around 30 years of age.

OK, I admit this is a very sketchy outline of the lives of these two men, and I have probably looked for the similarities and ignored the differences. I find it interesting though, and who knows, maybe one day the topic of deeper research. In the meantime I shall enjoy reading both of them, and try to find some of their books I haven’t already read.

 

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Blogroll

  • Learn WordPress.com
  • Live to Write – Write to Live

Back Pages

  • July 2018 (1)
  • November 2017 (1)
  • August 2017 (1)
  • June 2017 (2)
  • March 2017 (1)
  • October 2016 (1)
  • September 2016 (1)
  • August 2016 (2)
  • March 2016 (2)
  • February 2016 (2)
  • January 2016 (3)
  • August 2015 (1)
  • March 2015 (2)
  • February 2015 (1)
  • January 2015 (3)
  • December 2014 (2)
  • November 2014 (4)
  • April 2014 (2)
  • November 2013 (2)
  • October 2013 (1)
  • July 2013 (1)
  • June 2013 (2)
  • March 2013 (1)
  • February 2013 (2)
  • January 2013 (2)
  • December 2012 (3)
  • November 2012 (3)
  • October 2012 (4)
  • September 2012 (4)
  • August 2012 (1)
  • July 2012 (1)
  • May 2012 (1)
  • April 2012 (4)
  • March 2012 (2)
  • February 2012 (3)
  • January 2012 (3)
  • December 2011 (3)
  • November 2011 (5)
  • October 2011 (4)
  • September 2011 (2)

My Tags

Anthony Trollope Art Deco article ASG asymmetrical ATASDA Australian Sewing Guild blog blogging book books challenge Christmas clothes clouds colour commonplace book competition content craft creativity design dogs drawing electric embroidery fabric fashion illustration fence freelance Fremantle garden horses ideas inspiration in every issue Jeeves Koos van den Akker labrador language learning machine embroidery magazine Margaret Preston Mozilla novels op-shop origin of phrases pattern PG Wodehouse photography phrases project property quilting reading reconstructed recycled Roald Dahl sayings ScribeFire seo sewing skirt Threads magazine transfer dyes Tris Hussey TS14Plus upcycled water weather Wooster Wordpress words workshop writing

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • julielivingstone
    • Join 36 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • julielivingstone
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: