Crafty Brooch

I wanted to make a gift from items I had around the house and discovered this cute brooch design.

I used a small amount of fabric, some cotton and needle, pins, ribbon, safety pin and a button. 

Using some vintage fabric I had left over from some curtains, I drew out two circles, one the size of a cereal bowl, the other a mug.

I cut out the two rounds and Delia stepped in to help!

 

One at a time, I folded over and pinned the edge of the circle and tack-stitched making big stitches. 

Once right round, I pulled the thread tight and knotted.

 Then I flattened it down...

to make the first rosette...

I did the same with the smaller circle, although this time I did it without pins, tack-stitched an edge...

and pulled it tight....

I flattened the second rosette and stitched the two together, along with a button in the centre. 

I needed some ribbon for the leaves, but all I had was elastic, so I folded into two and stitched...

along with stitching a safety pin to fit onto a jumper.

Here is the end result, and I made a special card too. I hope she'll like her personalised items. 

When I got home from a day out, I decided to have another go, this time using smaller circles, now I understand how it comes together...

A simple, quick and elegant gift!

Delia on Derbyshire

I conducted a brief interview with Delia Derbyshire on the county of Derbyshire.

Delia, tell me about Derbyshire...

I've skirted the county on my boating travels and have found the rolling hills very easy on the eye. I have been informed that the Peak District has a superb landscape, which I am keen to explore. I experienced a lot of love in the canal area of the county, and would often be greeted on the towpath and welcomed into people's gardens. I'm sure this is quite the same within the Peaks.

Your name seems familiar, can you tell me more?

I was originally born and raised in Wollaton, Nottingham and was known as Rocky. However, I was saved from an over-crowded household and spent my formative years in Carrington, Nottingham where I learnt to climb the curtains and the trees. During this time, I was renamed Delia Derbyshire a rather quaint name indeed. I was named after an electronic pioneer who worked in the BBC's Radiophonic Workshop. She was rather beautiful, weird and wise. In cat form, I like to think I am much the same and will often walk across the laptops around the home to see what wonderful sounds I can create in my four legged wake.

I hear you maybe relocating to Derbyshire, can you elaborate?

Between you, me and the bowl of sardines I can reveal that yes my paws shall be exploring the area of Matlock in the very near future. Quite honestly it sends a shiver down my fur as I realise I am being called home.

Delia Derbyshire, I would just like to say thank you for your time. And in the name of the pioneer Delia Derbyshire, may your sonic explorations live on!

Changes

Big changes are afoot. Over the past few months our cruising of the waterways has been very limited, partly due to the immense rain and rivers in flood, partly due to work commitments as well as a lack of physical fitness and issues with the engine. As a result, we have been 'bobbing' around Nottingham trying not to get in the way of grumbling boaters and jobworths at BW. We have been scrimping to get by to pay the license each month and cover maintenance costs. I have made the final payment today for the license, horrah! and it isn't due again now until 1st January 2013. We have however replaced this payment with mooring fees, and we are now on a pontoon mooring at Beeston Marina.

The pontoon is based on the River Trent and we are moored on the inner side, much to my delight, as we face the wooded walk into Attenborough and are a safe distance from the rushing weir.

We moved here this evening as the water level for the river was just on the proceed with caution warning. We left the steady canal through Beeston Lock where there is no need to use a windlass to open the paddles as this lock has them welded in place. As we headed out on the river the boat felt slow and sluggish facing the flow of the river. We decided to give it a go to head along the pontoon via the facilites mooring point. Now, in a 40foot boat this would be a sinch. 65foot of steel however and a moored boat in the pathway to access the pontoon, plus the rough current and the odds were against us. Overall this didn't make it an easy situation and we were dragged away from our course bashing into the moored boat and then careering into the footbridge and were wedged between the bridge and boat for a short while. We removed the chimney and bike from the roof to enable us to get under the footbridge and with a bit of barge pole action we were back on course heading under the bridge as opposed to into it and gently passed the moored narrowboats and cruisers along the pontoon. Phew! Rivers sure are tricky. Now we plan to stay put until further notice.

Delia seems to be coping well for her first evening on the pontoon and has been checking out the other boats around us.

Our lovely home is warm from the glowing burner to keep away the damp rainy day and the indoor window-box garden is doing splendidly...

The bush tomatoes have an abundance of flowers and the basil is broadening out like a tree.

My parsley is looking happy too!

There is movement in the water and changes in the air as we stir up the cooking-pot of possible pathways and watch the settling of choices we make.

I pose the question into the ether: Will Delia Derbyshire be living in Derbyshire soon?

Brilliant Spring!

The windows are open, the doors flung wide and the sun has been streaming in. We have been living half outdoors today as the weather has been glorious! And what better way to spend the day than sunning on the roof watching the wildlife?!

The boat is looking stunning after our hard work last weekend, giving her the first through wash of the year!

Just look at that cream roof!

A family of swans have a nest on the bank nearby and have been exploring the reeds opposite...

Count those little fluffy signets...

There have been turf wars however between the swans and these coots who have chosen the reeds as their nest...

Waiting for...

feeding time...

The daisy's are out along the towpath, in fully spring-time show...

And this wild creature has been hanging about the ropes dizzying herself looking at swarms of mosquitos...

Ah, after so much vitamin D today I could almost burst!

Modelling Monday

All photos of Delia Derbyshire are by Lovely Leigh

An update along the way

Where are we then? Somewhere between here, and here...

Delia Derbyshire the pussy cat continues to look down on us...

At the weekend, I was working out how to use the timer on the camera...

and worked it out as we were cruising along.

Leaving Birmingham

The Christmas market in Birmingham is winding up and with work opportunities in Nottingham we made the decision to move. It has been a lovely experience in Birmingham and I would like to return at some point to explore the canals further than our mooring point at Cuckoo Wharf in Aston.

It has been a joy at Cuckoo Wharf with easy access to the city centre, a garage nearby for emergency wood, coal and snack supplies, water on tap and good security.

We have so far survived the start of winter. The burner has been going day and night to keep away the cold. We have 6 bags of coal left from the 12 we purchased from Ken Warring in Stoke Golding, which should see us through to February. I've just stocked up on three sacks of wood from the garage but at some point in the New Year hope to drive down to the folks in Saltdean where there is a heap of wood I can pickup.

So in the build up, or count down to Christmas (however you choose to see it) we've planned the route to Nottingham. I am still in dispute as to us mooring in Nottingham as I would rather live else where and travel to work there. Birmingham was just that little too far - I couldn't do a 4 hour commute each day.

There are positives and negatives to each mooring spot and winter rules out some places. Redhill Marina was a possibility but when we moored up there over winter 2009 the pontoon was covered in ice and not properly secured was at a 45degree angle, not easy to get onto or off the boat without slip-sliding into the icy river soar!

There are good reasons to be in Nottingham, Sainsburys is a 2 minute walk plus it has a garage, Castle Marina is there with water, pump out and diesel too. From the canal you can walk into town, I can walk to work. It's easy and if it freezes it'll not be a big hassle.

This week I finished work late on Tuesday and travelled back to Brum with Leigh helping me out with my luggage. On Wednesday we did a lovely food shop, getting some fine foods from M&S for Christmas. With the cold weather we have a free and instant fridge to keep our food fresh! So we have enough to see us right through to next week.

We said goodbye and Merry Christmas to our neighbors at Cuckoo Wharf, who were lovely folk and untied the ropes and reversed out.

There wasn't a spot large enough for us to wind before the locks ahead so we reversed through the bridge, aqueduct and right back to the main junction under Spaghetti Junction.

This was not an easy task but with a bit of shouting, laughing and concentration riding the throttle and tiller we did it!

It was a superb day, the weather was fantastic - sunshine and a chill in the air. My lovely thermal gloves from Sis worked a treat keeping the wind from my hands. We passed the backs of industrial units on our way out of Birmingham and the strangest of all things under a building....

On the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal we passed Erdington and reached the first lock at Minworth. It was these three locks we were caught out on before. They require a special key to unlock the anti-vandal padlock.

We now have the key and whizzed through.

The padlock is a simple bar that pops through the top of the ground paddle bracket.

The key...

turned in the hole triggers something to pull the bar through so the paddle can we wound up or down. To re-set you just push the bar back through and it clicks into place.

After the locks are a few miles overlooking fields and farm land. We passed through lovely little Curdworth Tunnel

and under the M6 where we reached Curdworth top lock. This is a flight of 11 locks with cruising inbetween. We made it to lock 10 and I was tired and had enough so we moored up at a lovely spot.

During this winter period there is a lack of boats cruising the network, I wonder if this impacts on the amount of rubbish that accumulates around the lock gates. We had several examples where the boat became wedged in the lock due to debris inbetween the wall and the boat. I pulled out an entire wooden crate the size of a bath in one lock!

Delia loved being back in the countryside, she was out for ages in the evening, probably on the prowl for live, small creatures. She has loved the fire blazing in the burner and cooks herself as though she were getting a lovely sun tan. She is currently being a little darling which we are relishing.

This morning I set off on my own buy preparing the lock ahead, untying the ropes and pushing out the bow. A gentle cruise into the lock was made easier by lining up the boat at a distance. There is a process to single-handed working on a lock. Taking it slowly is a must as far as I am concerned.

By slowing the approach into the lock and then gently reversing allows the boat to head in allowing me to jump off onto land with the rope and tie her off. One annoying thing about this final lock was that the bollards were on the left but the gate balance beams were on the right. Anyway I closed the rear gate and ensuring the boat was forward of the cill, opened one of the paddles to let the water out. The boat naturally rides forwards when lowering in a lock which is good for missing the rear cill. When it had gone down about half way, I opened the second paddle. Each time I ran back to the rope to give it the necessary slack and pull the boat away from the cill when necessary.

Opening the gate is easy when there is no water pressing against it and I pulled the boat through with the rope. It is rather amazing how you can pull a 15tonne boat without much bother. I tied her off at the bollards, closed the gate (ensuring I'd put the paddles back down) and was off on the straight run.

It was three miles to Fazeley Mill Marina where we planned to stop and use the facilities. The stretch was lovely with winter colours along the towpath, a nature reserve next to us and a beautiful horizon of low hills. I couldn't believe my eyes when in amongst the red woods and brown bare branches I saw a flash of brilliant turquoise. It was a Kingfisher!

Leigh joined me at the marina and we left £45 lighter but with a full water tank, a canister of gas and a light toilet tank. Leigh took over as I warmed by the fire.

We took the turn at Faseley Junction towards Whittington and then the heavens opened. My lovely was drenched after a good hours cruising so we pulled over and moored up at Hopwas. We didn't cover the miles we had hoped today, but things never quite go to plan. We made the most of snuggling down in the warm with a hot sausage casserole and thoughts of Christmas! That's right, Christmas 2011 will be spent afloat The Dove of Belgrade!