Getting On with Things

I see it is some days since I blogged last. A lot has happened. I started out at 0730 from Dundee and drove home on Tuesday taking in a Committee meeting of the local Bookbinding group on the way. Arrived home at 1730. The new spare room has been completed, new lights, new decor, white and two shades of pink and, on Wednesday, a lot more tidying up was carried out. I managed to clear up the garage (see below for reasons) and take the garbage to the tip and the charity shop. Thursday I had a firm in to clean the carpet in the new spare room. It has not been cleaned since it was put down 20 years ago, mostly because there was too much in the room. The room is totally clear at the moment. They also did the stairs.  I ordered new beds last week and will call them today to see when they can deliver next week.

Somewhere in all of this I wove off the rest of the double weave warp on the Voyager. It is narrow but I would like to turn it into a carpet bag like the one Cally Booker made at the Association Summer School in August this year.

On Friday, I went up to London, met a few friends and went to two exhibitions. One was Paul Klee at the Tate Modern. I found this very informative but very disappointing. There were a huge number of pictures arranged in chronological order which was the informative bit. But my favorites, the ones based on North Africa, were not present. He changed his style every 2 or 3 years and it is the North African paintings I like.

After which we went to the Victoria and Albert to see the Chinese scroll painting which were out of this world. I could have stayed for hours. Very well selected running from painted Buddhist banners of 950 AD or so from Dun Huang (been there, done that) to lengthy scrolls in black ink. There was a lovely one of dragons with detailed swirls of cloud. Black and white and grey four-colour double weave? We were all bowled over.

After a cup of tea, two of the party went back to Paddington to go home and Marie and I departed to Shepherds to buy sheets of  Chiyogami, mull, Japanese book fasteners and so on.

Today I am going to a one-day class on Endpapers run by the local Bookbinders group. Tomorrow I am running an acid dyeing class at Kennet Valley Guild and must lay everything out in the garage ready for an early start tomorrow. I may have to make up some new dye solutions so have better go and start. The garage is going to be very cold and I will do it in the kitchen this evening with lots of plastic laid down.