Gifts to treasure

My talented friend Sue gave me this beautiful book for Christmas, made from proofs of her collagraph prints. She did a series of great tit prints and you can just see a lovely head peeking out of the corner. It came with a couple of packs of used stamps and was a delight to unwrap. It means so much to me that someone took the time and trouble to craft something individual and personal. Sue knows I love artist books and stamps too, so I guess this gift was guaranteed to hit the mark. I love it. Thanks Sue.

I am lucky to have Vickie as a friend too. She and I share a passion for textiles and dyeing. Recently she went to an exhibition in York about sashiko, a form of indigo dyed textile used by the workers in the Far East for their clothes. I am trying to work out a way of doing the same before it moves on to Glasgow but if I can't make it I have my own special reminder in the form of this beautifully thought out book that Vickie made for me. Using indigo dyed fabrics she has created a book called 'Folded Secrets', based on a booklet made by needlewomen in S. W. China to store threads and patterns.

There are small china beads attached to the front and the book includes small hand dyed thread samples using indigo and woad with the origami folded boxes opening to reveal small samples of sashiko where the material has been stitched, dyed and then unpicked to show the pattern. It is a joy. Thanks Vickie.

My final treasure first came out in 1942. My brother and sister-in-law found me an old copy of Woman's Own from the war. Now I don't know if it was because I worked in newspapers for over 20 years but I have a love of newspapers and magazines from any era. They are such barometers of the times and I enjoy reading the letters and problems pages the most. This edition has a letter from a Mrs Fusspottle asking how she can help the war effort and there is a double page spread devoted to making economies at home which will help defeat Hitler. Priceless. Thanks Kay, I know this one is down to you.

Hope you all had some lovely gifts too. Time to get back into the swing of things now, although I always feel a bit 'in limbo' during this week. I lose track of what day it is but the sun is shining so keeping my fingers crossed for a frost free New Year for all.