Back From The Dead

Well, what was intended as a 2-month-break ended up being five years, where did the time go?

Having finally dusted off my Etsy shop, I've found I have no idea where half my stock is - probably in one of many, many, carefully packed boxes. It's amazing how much is still waiting to be un-packed, years after moving house. Still, it's a good excuse to start making some more lovely stuff (not that I need an excuse really), so here we go... 

Autumn is finally starting to kick-in here in London, and the air has that crisp feel which I always associate with heading back-to-school (although frankly that should be a very distant memory by now). September is all about muted colours and woodland creatures for me, and long walks through the park in huge shawls. 

These walks always start pleasantly, with Silver meeting new friends, like this little fella... 

But they inevitably end up with Silver getting filthy
and needing a bath. 

Every. Damn. Time.

Today is no exception. 

Oh Well, never mind. While he dries off I can bury my head in a book, and look for some inspiration. 

This cutie has been nestled on my shelf for some time,
waiting to be read. 

It's so adorable, with cute little illustrations. 

And there you go, inspiration found. 

If only it was always that easy...

Liane Necklace

I made this necklace for my friend Liane.

I was so excited when I found these labradorite beads. I'd been looking for the perfect stone for Liane, and this was it.

The beads are translucent grey with dark grey flecks. When the light catches them they reflect delicate shades of pink and blue. The colours exactly match the palette of Liane's wardrobe.

I laced the beads onto a sterling silver chain, and interspersed them with the cute brass bee charms. The brass really sets off the colours in the labradorite, plus I really like the contrast of brass with silver.

I was thinking about making a copy for my Etsy shop, but it took ages to make and was quite expensive. Hmmm, maybe another time...

Last weekend

So, last weekend Silver & I popped into Old St Pancras churchyard,

which is just behind our flat,
to take some photos of the latest pieces.

In the absence of a model, this stone dog kindly obliged.

Silver barked & growled at him for a bit,
but soon calmed down after asserting his dominance!

There is a spooky tree in the churchyard called The Hardy Tree.

Here's what the little information panel says:

'The novelist and poet Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928) is best known for his novels set in rural 'Wessex', however before turning to writing full time he studied architecture in London from 1862-67 under Mr Arthur Blomfield, an architect based in Covent Garden.

During the 1860s the Midland Railway line was being built over part of the original St Pancras Churchyard. Blomfield was commissioned by the Bishop of London to supervise the proper exhumation of human remains and dismantling of tombs. He passed this unenviable task onto his protégé Thomas Hardy in c. 1865.

Hardy would have spent many hours in Old St Pancras Churchyard during the construction of the railway, overseeing the careful removal of bodies and tombs from the land on which the railway was being built. The headstones around this Ash tree (Fraxinus excelsior) would have been placed there around this time. Note how the tree has since grown in amongst the stones.

A few years before Hardy's involvement here, Charles Dickens makes reference to Old St Pancras Churchyard in his Tale of Two Cities (1859), as the churchyard in which Roger Cly was buried and where Jerry Cruncher was known to 'fish' (a 19th Century term for tomb robbery and body snatching).'