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Snow outside the Victoria Theatre, Halifax

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I woke up to a snowy view today

Taking a mono-printing class

Taking a charcoal drawing class – my first!

Now that i’ve got my artwork reframed my little place is definitely feeling more homely. It’s pretty amazing to be quilting in a room that was built by my ancestors in 1863 – as a sewing shop, complete with wheels in the ceiling that ran the machines.

An all day felted landscape workshop. Excellent teacher. Learned a lot about the early woollen industry in which my ancestors were very involved.

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Christmas market  #1 at Hebden Bridge church. Katrina has her eye on the baked goods.

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Christmas market #2 at Ripponden

I had the veggie stir fry – cooked to order

Wonderful paintings by a local artist. The church boiler had broken and it was perishing cold in the church. We went outside to warm up. It was 34F outside.

Christmas market #2 at Ripponden

No, I didn’t have the kangaroo

I had the veggie stir fry – cooked to order

Wonderful paintings by a local artist. The church boiler had broken and it was perishing cold in the church. We went outside to warm up. It was 34F outside.

Yum yum

Halifax choral society are celebrating their 200th year of continuous concerts. Haydn’s Creation was only 20 years old when it was the  first work performed by the Society, on 9th February 1818. …. “Believed to be the oldest choral society in the world, Halifax Choral Society has an unbroken record of performance since its foundation in 1817 by William Priestley. Here they are performing in the Victoria theatre with the best brass band in the world (officially) – Black Dyke Band.

After the concert I popped into the Piece Hall to see the Christmas festivities and the Hygge Tipi

It looked very inviting but I had a train to catch.

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

I decided to take the bus to Haworth after the first snowfall of the winter

I love the lattice work of the stone walls

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From the moving bus

This lady was on my bus. At the highest point on the moors she got off and went to her car. The bus driver waited until she’d removed the snow, opened the door and started the engine. All in a day’s work for a country bus driver. P.s The bus is called Charlotte! 

This greeted me in Haworth – it is Steam Punk weekend

Behind these wonderful characters is the cafe where Anna and i had lunch last week.

Puppy with octopus

Can I take this one home please?

Coming back on the bus we had blizzard conditions which are commonly referred to in this part of the world (if the man sitting next to me was anything to go by) as “Ee, gad! It’s snowing t’ buggery!” View from my window when I got home. 

Below: scenes from Haworth’s Steam Punk excursion

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These are all works in progress.

View from the ruins of  Top Withens, Haworth

Piece Hall Halifax, 1779

Cottage in Lerwick, Shetland Isles used on the TV series Shetland as the detective’s home

Main Street, Haworth

Old mill door, Sowerby Bridge

The path to Ingleborough that Rachel and I climbed last year.

The splendour of Halifax Town Hall

Stoodley Pike from Heptonstall

So there was nothing scheduled  on my calendar today. After spending a lovely day  walking to Todmorden  with Judith who came over from Harrogate yesterday I was quite happy to settle for a peaceful day. So, first things first. A quick trip round the Charity shops followed by a visit to the library. They are very strict on overdue books and I had  two due back today. If you are late they charge 5p per day! Horror! So armed with Wuthering Heights (which for some incongruous reason is kept in the Teen section) and Armistead Maupin’s The Night Listener I settled down to read. Then I remembered the Brie and Harrogate blue cheese I’d bought at the market on Thursday and so I that took me into the kitchen where my quilt looked at me and asked in a rather sad voice  ‘Why have you been neglecting me?’ I considered baring my soul to the fabric fragments but settled on placating it by beginning work on another scene –  Stoodley Pike. This kept me quiet for a while. Well, not exactly quiet since I was listening to George Martin’s string quartets, but you get the idea. When I’d got the general idea of the basic fabric design I sat down, but 5 minutes later decided I should jump on the next train to Halifax: I was out of Wunder Under, sometimes known as Fusible Web. I have to keep pinching myself. I don’t ever remember having this much freedom before. It’s rather exhilarating.

The Christmas lights have been strung up in the streets in Halifax but they won’r be turned on until later this month. As the assistant measured out 5 metres of Wunder Under I chatted. “Do you have any fabric I could use as stones?” I thought it was a long shot, and  the response, “yes, it’s just  here” took me by surprise. I wasn’t quite as lucky with “What about grass fabric?” though.

After a quick trip to Poundland (a place that Simon Armitage decries vociferously  in ‘All Points North) and Wilko’s, it was getting both cold and dark, so I opted for a warm-up in the Square Chapel. The scones looked delicious. I asked the bar-tender which beer might go with a scone, which for some strange reason he thought was highly amusing. I settled on a beer to drink then for one pound fifty, and a scone to go for three pounds fifty. Wow! As I sat enjoying my drink I browsed the What’s On brochures and discovered to my delight a flier for the Halifax Concert band – new members always welcome.

It was completely dark as I jumped on the next train back to Hebden just before 5 p.m. I looked up the band’s website. I’d even get to wear a uniform!

‘Stone’ fabric from the Fabberdashery

6 p.m.

10 p.m