Wednesday 24 February 2016

Threads and Chatter - Squares With Flair Part 2 and 3



Artist Phiona Richards is a firm believer in taking time to pass on skills and cleverly broke down making our Squares With Flair into three compact sessions.


We had drawn our designs and they 
had been ironed onto the calico.


Our next task was to design and 
cut out hands and feet from felt.


Our characters would also need 
eyes, nose and mouths


Choices, choices - so many decisions, 
many threads and much chatter!


In week three Phiona brought her beloved
hand-crank sewing machine Jones


and we had great fun learning how to sew 
our seams together before adding the filling.


As you can see our Squares With Flair
have bundles of personality, just like our group!


 See all of the images from this project here


If you live in the Avondale / Grange ward do join us again
for our next Threads and Chatter session 
1st of March 3.30 - 5.15
The Resource Centre, 
9 Grange Place, Kettering. 
NN16 0NT

The sessions are free.

Wednesday 17 February 2016

Heart Felt



Carole worked with people at 
Grange Place and The Green Patch


where pairs of felt hearts were chosen
and a design applied by needle felting.


 Lots of care was taken not to stab fingers in the process!
The pairs of hearts were then sewn together, a small
gap was left open to add stuffing then sewn up.

 If you would like to show someone a little love


Hearts and wild flowers, what could be nicer!

If you live in the Avondale / Grange ward do join us again
for our next Threads and Chatter session 
Tuesday 23rd of February
The Resource Centre, 
9 Grange Place, Kettering. 
NN16 0NT


Phiona Richards will be running her inventive, creative 
session between 3.30 and 5.00pm


Sessions and refreshments are family friendly, fun and free!

Monday 15 February 2016

Making Connections


Carole was contacted by by a member of Kettering Civic Society for some mosaic advice which resulted in a long and lively meeting at Kettering Station and the Green Patch. The Civic Society now have a project room on Platform 1 at the station, they are also trying to raise funds to reinstate a 1960s mosaic panel by artist Kenneth Budd.


Some history






Proposed location


Events and ways you can help


Fund raising dinner menu


Ways to donate


Key to the mosaic


During her conversation with Monica, it transpired 


that Monica's father, Allan Page, had had a wool shop 


in the Grange Place shopping precinct in the 1956's. 

Allan was also concerned that there was nowhere for the young people to hang out so he also opened a tea room with a milk machine, the height of 50's chic! The Wool Shop was directly opposite what is now the Grange Place Resource Centre. 


The pink swing dress in the 
window could almost 


be part of the Fashion exhibition currently 
on at Kettering Museum!


The log tables are really inventive and 
could almost be from The Green Patch of today.


Seeing these photographs seems almost like time travelling 


- the brick planters looks very smart and is no longer there today. 





Wednesday 10 February 2016

Threads and Chatter - Squares with Flair



Here are our designs on calico!


Phiona showed us how to create templates


to make hands and feet for our characters


then it was pinning, sewing and stamping time!


We think Michelle's Square Bod deserves a big hearts up! Next time we will be sewing our Square Bods together, Phiona says we might even be able to use Jonesy the Singer, exciting times! You can see more photos here


Here he is in action during The Eloquent Fold's Transported adventures!
Jonsey is a vintage hand crank sewing machine.


If you live in the Avondale / Grange ward do join us again 
Tuesday 23rd of February
The Resource Centre, 
9 Grange Place, Kettering. 
NN16 0NT


Phiona will be running her inventive, creative 
session between 3.30 and 5.00pm


Sessions and refreshments are family friendly, fun and free!

Friday 5 February 2016

A Fox at The Green Patch



We have been really upset by the loss of the lovely ducks at our project home, The Green Patch, the remaining ducks, although in shock, are recovering in a shared pen with the chickens.


The Groundworks team will be building a new more secure safe Duckingham Palace to help protect the remaining ducks. If you are able and would like to help they have set up a crowdfunding page. Please share! localgiving.com/Greenpatchducks


We found where Mr Fox made his entrance


and had dug underneath the wire fence.


We saw nature "red in tooth and claw"
when we found a severed duck head


which we gave a a burial with 


floral tributes. Let's try and make something good happen


 here is their Just Giving page again - every little helps