The Binding Thread - Nine, Ten My Felt Hen

In honour of all the Green Patch hens and their lovely eggs we have been making little stuffed hens and little hen bags with Carole and Phiona both at The Green Patch and Grange Place. You can see more photos here

If you live in the Avondale / Grange ward do join us again

for our next Threads and Chatter session 

12th April 3.15 - 5.15

The Resource Centre, 

9 Grange Place, Kettering. 

NN16 0NT

The sessions are free.

The View From Here - Flower Power Prints

Today were were exploring simple print making with artist Carole Miles. We used Press Print cut into petal shapes. We each had a petal or a centre and we drew patterns into the surface of the material.

We then rolled out our colours onto trays

then onto the petals.

We created bold flower prints

and loved the way we could change the colours

in each print. Brendan made a print of the sun seen through Rainforest leaves.

You can see more from the session here

If you live in the Avondale / Grange ward do join us again

for our next Threads and Chatter session 

22nd of March 3.30 - 5.15

The Resource Centre, 

9 Grange Place, Kettering. 

NN16 0NT

The sessions are free.

Threads and Chatter - Moon Rabbits

Phiona Richards had us hop to it this week!

Take one sock

snip a bit off here and there

take some wool and make a tail

add some stitches and stuffing,

draw a face and a neat bow tie

 and a neat bow tie

give each other a helping hand

and Hey Presto you have a Moon Rabbit

....or a hat!

If you live in the Avondale / Grange ward do join us again

for our next Threads and Chatter session 

15th of March 3.30 - 5.15

The Resource Centre, 

9 Grange Place, Kettering. 

NN16 0NT

The sessions are free.

Threads and Chatter - Paper Plate / Woven Tree

Another inventive session with our lovely Phiona Richards who showed us how to create a colourful tree from a paper plate, paint and threads

We chose a limited palette of paint

and painted a geometric, abstract background

taking care to make distinct areas of colour.

we cut slots in the top and bottom of the plate

 and added a series of horizontal threads.

Phiona then showed us how to weave our tree,

it took patience and concentration

and the results were just fabulous!

See more images from the session here

If you live in the Avondale / Grange ward do join us again

for our next Threads and Chatter session 

8th of March 3.30 - 5.15

The Resource Centre, 

9 Grange Place, Kettering. 

NN16 0NT

The sessions are free.

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.

Threads and Chatter - Pompom Bag Charms

Inspite of the dark stormy afternoon we had a lovely turn out for out first Threads and Chatter session of the New year in our new venue, The Resource Centre in Grange Place. Artist Phiona Richards lead us through an intriguing method of creating small pompoms using wool and a fork!

We added beads and a keyring attachment 

to create stylish bag charms

See more from the session here

 Phiona was highly amused at the amount 

of tying off thread Abby had left her!

It was also great to catch up with Rick who shared photographs of his wonderful, award winning wildlife garden. He was full of hints and tips on what to plant and showed us the wide variety of moths that had been seen in his garden. We have invited ourselves round for a tour this year when the garden is in full bloom!

If you live in the Avondale / Grange ward do join us again 

Tuesday 19th January

The Resource Centre, 

9 Grange Place, Kettering. 

NN16 0NT

Carole will have the kettle on between 2.30 and 3.30 pm

Phiona will be running her inventive, creative 

session between 3.30 and 5.00pm

Sessions and refreshments are family friendly, fun and free!

Sign Up For free Threads and Chatter Family Sessions!

As part of Back To Books Project The View From Here, Phiona Richards and I will be holding free Threads and Chatter sessions at a as yet to be determined venue in the Avondale Grange Ward. If you live in this area and would like to take part follow this link  and fill in the days that best suit you. These are free, family friendly sessions please add each adult and child that will be taking part. Particpants must live in the Avondale Grange Ward.

You can see some of the things we made at KBA and The Green Patch here and here

Please feel free to share the link with anyone else in the Avondale / Grange area you think might enjoy taking part.

This project has been made possible by funding from Health Belief - 51 Community Interest Companies raising money to address health inequalities across England, Scotland and Wales through The Health Lottery.

Exciting News! Back To Books Receives a Health Belief Grant!

Image by Rikk Sharpe, made at The Resource Centre during out Pilot Project

Back To Books is delighted to announce that we have been awarded a grant for a two year project in the Avondale Grange Ward in Kettering. The grant has been awarded by HealthBelief, a Community Interest Company committed to raising money to address health inequalities in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire. 

www.healthbeliefcic.org.uk

The Health Lottery is operated for and on behalf of 51 Community Interest Companies across England, Scotland and Wales, all holding society lottery licenses issued by the Gambling Commission. www.healthlottery.co.uk

It works closely with each Community Interest Company distributing grants. www.peopleshealthtrust.org.uk 
People’s Health Trust is an independent charity addressing health inequalities across Great Britain. 

The View From Here Project Overview

Back To Books believe that fostering creative skills helps build creative communities, improves self-esteem and develops transferable skills. The project will share craft / creative writing activities and are designed to take pressure off participants enabling conversation to flow freely, ideas to be shared, prejudices challenged in a warm and friendly fashion. Difference is most frightening in the abstract, through these sessions difference will be made concrete and by doing so, will be demystified. We hope that the project will encourage the community to feel that The View From Here is more positive.

We are looking for a group of between 10 / 20 children or parents and children from the streets listed below to participate.

Margaret Rd, Cora Rd, Doris Rd, Edith Rd, Judith Rd, Dorothy Rd, Naseby Rd, Jean Rd, Stamford Rd

Lime Rd, Gorse Rd, Ivy Rd, Centre Parade, Heather Rd, Aster Rd, Almond Rd, Dahlia Rd, Weekly Glebe Rd.

Image created by Shelagh Rigby at the Resource Centre during our Pilot Project

The project has 4 strands and sessions will take place once a week for 92 weeks between September 2014 and September 2016 and are free.  • The View From Here -  poetry and printmaking sessions - outcome – small books to support health and wellbeing to be shared / read on difficult  days reminding participants that The View From Here can change and grow. •       Tat and Chat - learning a traditional craft combined with conversations exploring The View From Here. Creating an intricate web of thread and conversation. •       The Binding Thread - Using the recycled textiles to conjure positive thoughts on The View From Here.        •       Mosaics - the group will produce mosaics reflecting The View From Here inspired by the landscape / activities on The Green Patch Community Allotments.  We can promise fun, laughter, lively conversation, the chance to celebrate the Avondale Grange community, learn new skills and make new friends. We hope this project will also provde opportunities for parents and children to share creativity and space.       Project Artists will be Carole Miles and Phiona Richards who will be assisted by a number of volunteers during the course of the project.  If you would like to join a small, creative, friendly group to make a mosaic for the Green Patch, write a poem, learn a craft, have a coffee, make new friends?  Then contact :- Carole Miles,  Back To Books       0796 - 905 0891 email – Fingerprints07@hotmail.co.uk 51 Community Interest Companies raising money to address health inequalities across England, Scotland and Wales through The Health Lottery.