Day two. 2018. Harrogate.

New years day. 2018 in fact. Just a day. .......As ever here we had rain, shine and wind sometimes together and mostly just changeable between the lot.  A quicky over to Guiseley down the country lanes longer way and then the same to Otley because we could not find anything for Monza's dinner and did want to disappoint with "just dog food" from a tin.

He likes his food fresh cooked. I have spoiled him, so a tin of dog food would result in him giving me a Woolf side glance and winking then turning his back on me. This is the Monza version of
"I don't think so. Can do better."

So we went to Otley to buy some liver for me to cook later on. Otley....well nothing much was going on but the little supermarket was open and sold us some liver fortunately. On the way home we ate our reduced price sandwiches and chocolate eclairs. The first of many for the new year.

Home and take down Christmas decorations. These took me a month to put up and a lot of upping and downing to get them packed into Ikea bags and up in the top bedroom.
This top bedroom is the next to be decorated this year and I have a plan for stair carpets and flooring up there.  Christmas had to be packed up properly this year. None of my flinging it in and shutting the door and hoping.....

That done I then had to put all my old photos and frames back out where they should live and reorganise the doll collection (again)...buy this time I had worn myself out and only got a few doll parts stuffed ......

The rag doll patterns and bits I have started only got a little bit further ....but my house is now back as it should be for spring.

2nd January 2018.

Up and painting faces and legs for rag dolls. this is all good, as I considered going out to take pictures of the moon and light coming up....this was about 4am. The light does not appear until about 8am. I was too damn early so did some washing instead and decided that we are going to Harrogate today

I drank a lot of tea then woke up Lee to tell him.
.
Then off we went in the Fonz car as it really really rained like never before to Harrogate. The plan as it did rain so damn much was to do Harrogate first and then walk Monza on the way back as we hoped it might stop.

The rain did not stop. in fact it got worse and added in some wind. The weather forecast unbeknown to us was for a hurricane to hit around about now.
So we parked up at Harrogate and left Monza dog in the dry warm car and us humans went out into the wide wholly world to find a fabric shop and visit all the junk shops that Harrogate has to offer.
We discovered a very lot. However calling them junk shops is not correct for Harrogate. Some of them were more like designer boutiques. colour coordinated and books Dvds etc in alphabetical order. Slightly more expensive than what we are used to...but then we are looking at a much better class of junk when all is said and done.

I tried taking lots of photos as I usually do and the rain kept spotting onto my lens .....
So then I tried with the mobile phone and nearly drown it. earlier I had found a fabric shop I wanted to visit and google maps showed us the way. Trying to keep us and the new phone I got for Christmas dry was a challenge to say the least. Every time we saw a charity shop along the way we dived in......
From them I managed a Kaffe Fassett book from the 1980s......This  book made me buy it! As I could hear a friend...who is the ultimate Kaffe fan egging me on . it was like she was right behind me ...the voice was so vivid..... I do not do needlepoint. I have in the past though and Kaffe kits were one of the things we sold in the haberdashery and fabric department I managed back in the old days in Bath. In fact Harrogate reminded me of Bath and a completely other life. Harrogate is a whole different world.
To my total delight on our way around I came upon the Theatre. I was through the doors and in the foyer like a flash of lightning. Straight towards the dress circle. Only it was not yet open for the auditorium yet ...just the ticket office and bar opening up and actors drifting about for rehearsals.
When in Bath I practically lived in the theatre, and my department was used as a short cut from Milsom street the main shopping street to the Theatre. At some point I saw all the greats who performed there. yep those were the days....

 So here I am in Harrogates Theatre . I had to be forcibly removed just about. My feet almost did the walking on their own to the bar and if they could talk would have ordered a dry white wine and helped me onto a bar stool for the afternoon.

Lee has a birthday coming up in February. I very nearly bought tickets for whatever was on on that day regardless........ still could. There is time yet.

 From Theatre we went to another couple of shops...where I found a new set of Bratz doll clothes still in the packet.....and a tiny Barbie doll....Then we came upon it....
The  Remnant House. This is actually what we came for. Everything else was a bonus........
This shop was exactly what dreams are made of. It was also exactly how I remember the fabric and Haberdashery shop I used to run.

 It was laid out just as I would have done it too...therefore I felt right at home and knew where everything was without asking.....I looked around and discovered all the same suppliers I used....pattern books....ribbons...haberdashery of every type size colour.......furnishing fabrics dress weights linens silks wools  printed woven lace Guipure wedding evening traditional.  I was told by another customer that if they did not stock it...it does not exist.
Now that is how a shop  should be. I had stepped back into the early 1980s in 2018 and everything was just where I left it

had to be dragged out of this one too.......

we were extremelyWwet by the time got back to the car park. we cut through a huge super market and bought some lunch. By way of a change from chocolate eclairs we bought cup cakes.....
 Which brings me to my Find of the day....(that would be apart from the fabric shop obviously...) Kaffe Fassett. What is the big deal and why am I so excited by this ? well....
The book I found in a charity shop today was £2.00 and is Kaffe Fassett Glorious needlepoint with photographs by Steve Lovi. Back in the day these were about £30.00 which was a shed load of money.

The kits of his knitted garments and tapestry cushions came in at about  £60.00 and I just saw one of the Ermann kits on ebay for £85.00......So respect here!. Kaffe was born in San Francisco and went to study painting at Museum of Fine arts in Boston. He had a number of one man shows in the USA and then moved to London in 1964 where he continued his success in both exhibitions and illustrations for publications such as Vogue, The Times and Home and Garden. By 1968 he was on a fabric buying trip to Scotland with designer Bill Gibb (who is another excitement factor of mine) when he came across Shetland yarns and discovered knitting. The rest you could say is history now, and he went on to form his own 

company making and designing hand knit and machine patterns with weaver Richard Womersley. He designed knit wear for Bill Gibb, Missoni and Sportswhirl NY.....Kaffes textiles are included to this day in any textile collection worth knowing about and his needle point is still in great demand today.
His first book Glorious knitting came out in 1985 and this book that I got so excited about in 1987.
Both were and are best sellers.

 A bit of a day I have had. I am now writing this sitting by the wood burner in 2018 wondering where all time went. It went a long time ago though didn't it ? so move along to 2018 and I have rediscovered two passions ....and may the spirits of  fate  help Lee because Fabric, and Theatre once was my life, and today was a twitch upon the threads.

 This is the Bratz outfits I found today..........The doll was another find on a different trip out.

 Harrogate centre. The famous Betty's. It was so wet and horrible I did not even cross the road to press my nose up against the windows.........

 war memorial........

 Christmas decorations.....

 Then St, Peter's. A huge church which I have never been inside before. And what a treat it was between the rain drops....

 This has never had a leaking roof stated Lee as he edged towards the door and the rain outside. Not a great fan of churches is Lee......He would have stayed outside and had another ciggy but the weather was opposed to this so he accompanied me inside........

so a bit of a bingobonzabirty day all in all. I leave you with a pavement sculpture from outside the theatre.......
the light has gone now and it is too dark to get on and sew any new raggy dolls but do not fret I have it all laid out for the morning.