HAVING FUN WITH DECOPATCH

What's the difference between decopatch and decoupague? Basically they are the same thing except that decopatch is much faster and less fiddly diddly. With decopatch, you can purchase this super thin, flexible but also hard wearing paper and a glue that contains a varnish. Decopatch is like paper mache and looks fabulous on card, metal, wood, glass, plastic and paper.

When I was at the Knitting and Stitching Show in RDS Dublin recently, I couldn't resist buying some of these papers as well as some MDF (medium density fibreboard) forms: a garland of origami cranes (which now hangs prettily outdoors and acts as a wind mobile) and a flower tray.

So I've transformed the flower tray into something useful - to display Cadbury Roses. The trouble is the candy doesn't stay there for long and it is too tempting for some.

CHRISTMAS CENTREPIECE FOR THE TABLE

Once again I had the pleasure of being under Mary Lonergan's tutelage. At a guild meeting in Monaleen, members of the Irish Countrywomen's Association enjoyed a session of arranging a centre piece. We were each given a pack of interesting Christmas bits and fresh foliage.

Everyone was so involved and had great fun creating .

                                                               A fine display indeed!

This is mine

All the proud ladies with their creations

MAKING CHINESE DUMPLINGS A.K.A. JIAOZI

Jiaozi are a kind of Chinese dumpling, commonly eaten in China and other parts of East Asia. They are one of the major foods eaten during the Chinese New Year and year-round in the northern provinces. 

These dumplings typically consist of a ground meat and/or vegetable filling wrapped into a thinly rolled piece of dough, which is then sealed by pressing the edges together or by crimping.

One of the special crafts organised by the International Women's Organisation in Limerick was a demonstration of dumpling making. Susan kindly hosted the event in Croagh.

Upon arrival, we were treated to a session on the art of tea making and its significance.

Then we were shown how to make the dumplings. Traditionally, jiaozi were thought to be invented during the era of the Eastern Han (AD 25 - 220)^] by Zhang Zhongjing who was a great practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine. Jiaozi were originally referred to as "tender ears"  because they were used to treat frostbitten ears. Zhang Zhongjing was on his way home during wintertime when he found many common people had frostbitten ears. This was because they did not have warm clothes and sufficient food. He treated these poor people by stewing lamb, peppers, and some herbal medicine in a pot. The broth was set aside and the mixture was then chopped up and used to fill small dough wrappers. He boiled these dumplings and gave them with the broth to his patients, until the coming of the Chinese New Year

Jiaozi may also be named because they are horn-shaped. The Chinese word for "horn" is jiao (Chinese: 角; pinyin: jiǎo), and jiaozi was originally written with the Chinese character for "horn". 

 Jiaozi look like yuan bao silver or gold ingots used as currency during the Ming Dynasty, and as the name sounds like the word for the earliest paper money, serving them is believed to bring prosperity. Many families eat these at midnight on Chinese New Year's Eve.

Once everything was cooked, we sat down for a most delightful lunch.

MAKING CHRISTMAS DECOR WITH FRESH FOLIAGE

There's nothing like the smell of fresh eucalyptus, pine, cyclamen and hyacinth. Imagine the sitting room infused with these gorgeous smells. Counting down to Christmas, Limerick city offers a whole host of events, crafts being one of them. I found one conducted by Tara from White Dove nurseries at the Gift Store, Limerick milk market that I like.

Tara brought a good selection of both dried and fresh foliage. There were 7 of us and each one chose a cart (which is used by vendors to display their ware on a market day) to work on our project. Some decided to do wreaths. As I knew how to make a wreath, I decided to make a swag for the mantle piece instead.

The whole process took about two hours with loads of coffee and serious concentration.

We all went home feeling very happy.

And with the remaining foliage, I decided to make 2 wreaths - one for my mother-in-law's resting place and another as a Christmas present.

MAKING A LOOM

Hand Weaving seems to be a dying art as near perfect shawls and rugs are readily available in the market. When I heard about a peg loom making course in Scariff Community Centre, I had no idea what it would be. A check on the internet revealed that peg looms can be commercially-made or hand made.

So I left Cormac, the teacher a message, letting him know that I was interested in making a peg loom.

6 ladies including myself turned up for the class. Woodwork is something new to me but I enjoyed it thoroughly - the sawing and the drilling. The first piece of wood was so soft it started breaking up. So, midway Cormac suggested that I abandoned that and start all over again with a new piece of wood. Every little stick was hand made as well.

The history of peg loom weaving is unclear but I remember doing rag rugs as a child and this seems to be something that would be similar. The larger the peg loom, the greater the versatility. Research has shown that weaving slows down the pulse rate as well as blood pressure. Therapeutic indeed.

The basic terms are warp and weft. Warp refers to the up and down threads on which the weave is created on a peg loom. Weft refers to the side to side weaving strands. Peg loom weaving is essentially tapestry weaving.

My first project was a rag rug and I am quite pleased with it. I'll certainly go on and experiment with different types of yarn and such.

The web of our life is of a mingled yarn.

                                         All's well that Ends well - William Shakespeare.

MORE UPCYCLED CHAIRS

I have a connection with chairs. So I got myself a few more second-hand chairs and decided to transform them.

The first one is one that has Orla Kiely's trademark on it. I love Orla Kiely's stuff from dresses to accessories to shoes. So now that I have my own Orla chair to sit on, I must wear my orla outfit, shoes and brooch and sit on it.

This was the original chair

For the next chair, I painted and distressed the wood with chalk paint and made a sugan seat

Finally, I created another one with BEANO - my favourite comic book

Due to the good response to the photos I put up on social media, for the next month, I'll be busy holding workshops on furniture upcycling!

SOFT TOYS TO LOVE

I'm back to sewing again and this time it is all about making soft toys. I bought this doll making kit from Oslo and isn't she gorgeous? This is the first of three and I hope to complete the other two sometime this month.

Then I went on to make 2 elephants for my friends who celebrated the American independence day on the fourth of July this year. The colours reflect the American flag.

The elephant cushion can double up as a lower back cushion for  the driver's seat. This is particularly useful and I find great relief from a small one like this especially when I drive for hours.....

MAKING A SUGAN CHAIR

When I wrote to Slieve Aughty centre about a year ago (2015) and asked them when they would conduct a course on sugan chair making, I heard nothing from them. Then out of the blue in January 2016, they contacted me and told me about the Weekend in the Hills where traditional crafts would be taught. Strangely they had kept my email and decided to respond a year later. This is Ireland.

So I signed up for it and Michael and I made 2 trips just to check out the place, to be sure, to be sure. I'm perfect in the city but I get lost in the country. Slieve Aughty is nestled in Kylebrack, Co. Loughrea. The first time we drove there, we were going uphill and downhill and then we admitted that we were lost. So we pulled to the side and waited for a friendly face. Lo and behold a tractor came by.

I put on my puss in boots look and said, 'I am lost, can you help me?'. No one can resist that, not even myself. The farmer was very helpful and said, 'I will put your feet on the right path again!' He grinned and went over the directions twice. This again is Ireland.

When the day arrived, I was in no position to drive as I had sprained my ankle and tore some ligaments. It was wonderful that my friend Susan said she would take over the wheel. Such is the wonder of having a great friend. Susan had also signed up to do a different course.

At the reception counter, I asked whether I could use the lift. The lady in-charge said the lift was full of stuff and I had to climb the stairs with my crutches. I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. Anyway, the tasty organic food made up for it. The room was lovely too.

There were five of us - all ladies. We surrounded the master craftsman Sean Walshe and gave him no peace, We chose our logs and there was a lot of sawing and drilling.

I was completely hopeless when it came to the use of brute strength. I am no brute and I had no strength.

At the end of the day, Susan came by and helped me with the weaving of the seat. The result of four hands working on the seat was spectacular. The master was very pleased and so was I.