Impatient Patient

A brighter day today, than it's been for a while. I'm not just talking about the weather, but the fact that I'm finally starting to feel a bit better.

I have to admit I've been feeling a bit sorry for myself lately. My slipped disc has been stubbornly painful and my cold improved for a day or two only to get worse than ever over the weekend. I spent most of yesterday lying down, but I think that may have helped, as I felt rather better this morning. Yay! So today I'm up to blogging, and I'm sharing some of my Get Well cards from my ever-increasing vintage card collection.

Many thanks for all your kind comments and get-well wishes on my previous posts. I've been a pretty miserable, moany invalid this last week. I can be stoical for a day or two, but a longer illness makes me feel "It's just not fair!". Of course, my slipped disc is my own fault for not keeping fit enough, so I shouldn't complain. But I will anyway.

I decided last night that my cold was probably flu. If it lasts longer than a week, it's got to be flu, right? And I think that gives me a right to be miserable and whiney, doesn't it? OK... possibly I was getting a bit carried away when I suggested to Mr Kitsch that I might be dying of consumption. I told him he should buy me camellias, so I could fade wistfully away on a chaise longue, like Greta Garbo in 'Camille'. He just muttered "Camellias, right." and carried on watching Midsomer Murders.

He's had a lot to put up with. Like my endless complaining about the cold. Over the weekend I was thinking of putting the heating on! It's supposed to be summer, isn't it? I didn't put the heating on, of course. I just can't bring myself to do it. There's no logical reason to it, but it's just very wrong, somehow.

The trouble is that our house gets very cold. It's often warmer outside than inside. The front of our house doesn't get any sunshine, and is always in the deepest shadow. Well, I say 'always', but I think on an early midsummer morning, it might just catch a ray or two. Like Stonehenge or a Mayan temple, I expect the alignment of the sun at dawn on the summer solstice will light up the whole house. Hmmm, I doubt I'll get up in time for that, though.

So a bit of sunshine today has been very welcome, and I even got out of the house (only Sainsbury's, but it's a start). Maybe I was literally 'under the weather'? Well, I'm very glad of a warmer, brighter day today. Let's hope it stays that way!

Yay for Pattern!

Hooray, hooray! I love my post today! Because I got a copy of Orla Kiely's book, which I won in the giveaway on Kitschen Pink. It's even better than I remembered from when I leafed through it in Waterstones (as you do). A huge, huge thank you to Teena, for this generous giveaway. (I'm not sure how you were able to part with it!) Do check out her wonderful blog, if you're not already familiar with it.

I've photographed it with a small piece of Orla Kiely goodness that I bought in Cornwall - a face flannel.  I can't really afford/justify anything else, much as I covet her designs!

I've already spent quite a lot of time going through the book, and it's nice to see some of the less well-known patterns, and to read about her design process. 

And try to decide which handbag I would have, if I was rich enough. Answer - all of them!

Collection - My Rubber Duckies

Once again, this is not a deliberate collection, just some toys that have been acquired, but I do like the icon of the yellow duck. Although these are plastic, they always make me think of Ernie's 'rubber ducky' in Sesame Street.

Not really a collection - Novelty Erasers

Another random collection - novelty erasers. This is not really a collection, as I certainly don't collect these, but just discovered that I had a few, when I was looking round my workroom. I really like the word 'novelty'. Don't you think any object is so much better if it's a novelty version?

Anyway, I appear to have a small collection of novelty erasers. I'm particularly fond of the japanese figures, as I remember having a similar one when I was little. I was delighted when I found them on Etsy. The heads are made of wood, and are just spiked into the triangular eraser.

I'm only photographing things I have to hand at the moment, as my back is still limiting what I can do. I have a slipped disc, and have now got some industrial strength painkillers from the doctor. I can move around, but I can't really go rummaging through cupboards and boxes. Nor can I sit at the computer for very long before I have to go and have a lie down. To add to the joy, I developed a streaming cold over the weekend. In case you were in any doubt, sneezing when you have a slipped disc is a Bad Thing. You know it's coming, but there's nothing you can do about it....until....aagh! Perhaps I could stuff a novelty eraser up my nose....

Collection - Children's Buttons

Another collection to share - children's buttons. Once again, this is not all of them, but there are probably too many to photograph! Jane is still sharing her wonderful collections, and in today's post is also sharing some of the collecting 'madness'!

Collections - Brooches and Bunnies

I have been itching to join in the sharing of collections that Lesley started and Jane has been continuing so brilliantly, but wasn't really up to taking photos this last week. However, a slight improvement in my back has allowed me to put a few things together today.

The main problem was where to start. Even if you say you need six of anything to make a collection, then I have a huge number of collections. I can even sub-divide. So my collection of china animal ornaments, say, can be broken down into many collections - rabbits, deer, cats, elephants, birds, dogs, and so on. Or my collection of rabbits could be broken down into china ones, wooden ones, plastic ones. And this is without actually looking very far. These are things I don't even consciously 'collect'! 

So I'm sharing two small collections today. Brooches and pins with people on, above, and the china rabbits, below. (I actually have more china rabbits than this...I don't know why.)

Colour and Curiosities (Stroud Part Two)

'Kitsch Blogs would like to apologise for the late arrival of this blogpost, owing to staff sickness.' I've had a bad back and haven't been able to spend much time at my desk in the last week. I'm hoping that, with copious amounts of ibuprofen, I can start getting back to normal now.

Thanks for the comments on my last post. I might have guessed that when I called it 'Part One', something would interfere with my posting 'Part Two'. Well, the second part of our day in Stroud was not quite as exciting as the first. We went to the Museum in the Park, to see part of the Stroud Textile Festival there.

I loved the 1950s textiles in the foyer by Jane Edgar, who designed for Heals. Some great geometric designs, and some charming chickens, too.

After all that colour and style, I have to say I found the main textile exhibition there rather disappointing. I don't have any photos; I don't know if photography was allowed, but I just wasn't inspired to take any.

Moving swiftly on, we had a look round the Museum itself. It's quite small and contains a nice random mix of all sorts of stuff. I particularly enjoyed the toys and games.

Can you solve the anagrams? I did a few, but didn't have the patience to do them all. You might like to know that RED NUTS AND GIN is an anagram of UNDERSTANDING. But of course you knew that.

This animal alphabet merits a second look. B is for Baa Lamb? Well, I might have overlooked that, if they hadn't added this -

L is for Love Birds? What was wrong with B for Bird and L for Lamb? You might also be able to spot Q for Quacking Duck and Y for Yellow Canary. And they ignored X completely.

The museum also had some other very curious objects.

The textile festival is over now, but I will just mention another exhibition which we visited. The South West Textile Group, had a lively, enjoyable exhibition with the theme of 'Talisman'. You can see photos on Facebook.