Wild and Woolly!

This is a bit of a belated post, kids are on holidays so I'm a wee bit busy!

I've mentioned MakeSpace, the artisan cooperative coordinated by my friend Edwina, before and I've also mentioned Renew Newcastle, an initiative to fill old, and often run-down, shops on the Hunter Street Mall (in years gone by the main shopping street in Newcastle) with non-rent paying groups of artist or crafters who do up the spaces and make use of them until someone wishes to rent them.  The aim is to Renew Newcastle!  MakeSpace is now onto it's 4th shop, having done a great job of making their previous spaces desirable to renters.  This Thursday just gone was the annual Winter Wander where the locals get to have a look and see what all the different Renew participants are up to, have some mulled wine and sticky date puddings, a bit of communal crochet (or pompom making) and listen to some live music on the Mall.  I took some photos early on but by the end of the evening, Edwina said they had served 220 sticky date puddings in 20 mins!  It was a busy evening!  Unfortunately we didn't get around to yarn bombing the Mall but we had a bit of a crochet-along and I sold a scarf!

After all the wandering was completed, there was an invitation to go along to the hippest (in the most Hipster sense you can imagine) new bar in Newcastle, Terrace Bar, where there was food, wine and music.  Edwina and I stayed on when the others left as, with 8 kids between us, we don't get out often and got a little excited to go upstairs to hear the music!  We were looking forward to the music until it started and we realised that we were too old to be deafened and headed back down stairs!  Couple of old dears! 

We ended the evening by tracking down some fantastic pides in Beaumont Street before heading home before midnight.

Meg and I managed to make it to the Olive Tree Market on Saturday, thanks to no football,  and came across someone new, Blonde Samurai, who makes gorgeous glass beads and necklaces which will make very nice presents come Christmas time, along with our usual favourites such as Frejj, Sketch and Jones, DJL tees for the men in our lives, Jo Dyer and Pipkids.   We came home to a nice tidy house - good boys!

As for the holidays, there has been much of the usual, although since Wimbledon starts about 11pm here, it's usually following a long lie-in...  Hoping Andy can deal with Roger swiftly tonight as I could really do with an early one!

Back soon, maybe even with some crochet...

Make Space

I'm back from an evening spent at Make Space, part of the Renew Newcastle project coordinated by my lovely friend Edwina and some of her ever-so arty and clever pals.  It was part of The Winter Wander which involved a number of the Renew Newcastle projects.  Renew Newcastle is a scheme by which empty shops on the Hunter Street Mall are handed over to local artists and crafts people to use as shops or work spaces/galleries until new paying tenants come along.  For more info check out here.  What could potentially be a very run down part of town has been turned around by these great spaces which draw people in who are wanting something different than your usual mass-produced, soulless items.  Make Space alone sells clothes for women and children, accessories, cards, jewellery, cushions and artwork all made by local women with a flair for something a wee bit different.

Tonight was all about 'Warm Fuzzies" being winter an' all!  From 5pm there was Sticky Date pudding, Gluwein, apple pie (and later, for those of us who stuck around long enough, pizza!), felt corsage flower making for the kids and crochet for us oldies!  Edwina had asked me if I'd be happy to give tips, admittedly much later when I'd already said what a great idea and couldn't back out!  Thankfully most of the lovely ladies had some experience, one girl was crocheting shawls for her bridesmaids for her wedding in 6 weeks time and clearly knew one end of a hook from another, others were after a wee reminder and some were coming to it for the first time.  We had great fun, the kids had a ball and at one point, the queue for pudding went all around the shop and out the door!

I will freely admit to having a touch of the end-of-term meh's and wasn't really feeling in the mood for heading out on a rainy night, however Miss M and I had a really great evening, saw lots of friends, made a few more, made a brooch and a couple of Granny Squares,  and, lets face it, you can't feel "meh" after Sticky Date Pudding with caramel sauce, washed down with Gluwein!

Thanks Ed, Chris, Jo, Gillian and Susie and apologies if I have forgotten anyone!  Can we do it again next month?