Saturday 23 April 2016

Gifted Gorgeousness_ April update....

"Oh dear, I'm late, I'm late for a very important date"


Yes, another late post for Gifted Gorgeousness (although better than March, as I never made it last month!). If you click on the link, the lovely Jo will fill you in as to what GG is all about.

I have three GG items this month.

1.  These lovely counting pins which the most Vibrant and Vivacious Vickie made just for me as a RAK.  Aren't they darling?  



Thank you so much, Vickie, they have been in constant use since their arrival.  They were accompanied by this very sweet "V" card.


2. As I was blog prowling several weeks ago, I saw a very sweet Noddy design on Marvellous Margaret's blog.  She kindly has gifted me the design.



Thank you so much, too, Margaret, I have some young friends who are expecting their first child later this year, so I think that Noddy is going to make an appearance very soon.

Update:  Penny from Larkspur Lane has made me realise that not all of my readers may know who Noddy is!  


Growing up in Australia in the 1960s, life was still very "English" and all middle class children read Enid Blyton stories avidly:  Noddy, The Faraway Tree and the Famous Five to name but a few.


As I was doing this internet search, I discovered that there is even an Enid Blyton Society.

Now, I have to address the elephant in the room re poor Enid, as while she was beloved by generations of oblivious children, educators, other authors and the BBC slammed her books as being racist, xenophobic and simplistic - you can read all about it here.  I am not denying that this is so  - I can see that now as an adult - but I must admit as a child I never saw it and I have grown up to become a very fair and tolerant adult.  So go figure!

Who else read Enid Blyton whilst young and what do you think?


3. The Sensational Serendipitous Jo, knowing my fetish for everything Tudor, several months ago gifted me with this great Henry Viii design.  It is now finished - yay!  Happy Dance around the house.

Now I just need to find a sweet square frame for him.


Thank you, Jo, for feeding my Tudor passion.

Well, that is my GG for this month.

If you want to see what the other GGers got up to, please click here.

Have a great weekend everyone.

hugs, 







21 comments:

Anonymous said...

good morning Kaye lots of lovely goodies there,i hope you have a lovely weekend my friend xx

Penny said...

Some lovely gifted gorgeousness! I'm not familiar with Noddy but he and his friends sure are cute. : ) And that is some beautiful stitching on Henry Viii!

Tiffstitch said...

Congrats on finishing and I used to love reading Mr. Pink-whistle.

Bea said...

I remember Noddy! Although I didn't know he was an Enid Blyton creation. I discovered her through the "of Adventure" stories - I read them avidly. Henry is terrific - hope you find the perfect frame for him.

Justine said...

What great gifts! Love those pins from Vickie and Henry looks very sparkly. I used to love Famous Five and Malory Towers. I had no idea they were considered racist etc but thinking about it now maybe? But I don't think it's done me any harm.

Ariadne said...

I love Enid Blyton, her famous five accompanied me for many years!AriadnefromGreece!

Christine said...

Better late than never :)
The counting pins are gorgeous and Henry is very impressive.
You know even as a child in the 60s I seem to remember some misgivings about the Famous Five. It wasn't that I saw the issues I can see now as an adult, but I think maybe the world they inhabited just lacked any real point of reference to my own

Vickie said...

I am glad you enjoy the pins Kaye. Our children watched Noddy when they were little.

Crazee4books said...

Hi Kaye, I too am a Enid Blyton fan. My favourite books of hers were the "----- of Adventure" series. Fill in the blank with such words as Mountain or Island or Circus etc. I believe that there were seven of those. Another series of hers I liked was The Rilloughby Fair Mystery etc which also had around seven books. Must have been the magic number for series. We got her stuff here in Canada quite a bit I think. The Noddy patterns are quite sweet. The pins are wonderful and the colours are lovely. Very summery.

Heather said...

Great finish enjoy your new patterns :) I had never heard of Enid before but it's interesting history :)

Jo who can't think of a clever nickname said...

People don't know Noddy!! Or Enid!!
I remember being quite annoyed at the sexism in many of her adventure stories, the way they treated the Anne in the Famous Five and the girl in the Five Find Outers & Dog were particularly irritating.
I much prefered the Mallory Towers and St Clare's books which were horribly snobby in their treatment of the lower classes but less sexist! Being all female.
One of my recent tasks was to read the Circus Adventure book to find out why it had been recalled after a customer complaint. It wasn't just the names of the dogs, it was the attitude to the travellers.
I think if we accept these attitudes today our white privilege is showing!

Jo who can't think of a clever nickname said...

ps
Thanks for taking part in GG this month and great work on Henry!

Margaret said...

Such nice gifts, and I love your Henry VIII finish! Who knew about Enid Blyton? Very interesting! I recognize Noddy but didn't know about him until fairly recently I think.

The Knitting Cross Stitcher said...

I read Enid Blyton as a child and to me the books were just stories.
We can look back at many things in each generation and say"how was that ever allowed" or ""did people really say that?""
Enid Blyton did not shape my adult self in any way other than I still love to read!
I do like your HenryVlll finish

Angela said...

I grew up with Noddy and The Famous Five books and loved both. Lovely stitching!

Brigitte said...

OH wonderful, all your GG gifts that you received. Those pins made by Vickie are so much fun and hey, you finished Henry. Congratulations!
I hadn't known anything about Noddy before reading about him here in your post :)

Stitching Noni said...

Love your GG gifts... those pins from Vickie are adorable!
I loved Noddy and Big Ears! I am amazed how many people (young ones!) don't know anything about Noddy, the Famous Five or Secret Seven. Poor old Enid - I am sure she never meant to write books that would be banned so many years later.. I read them all growing up (and also the Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys) and I think I came out into the big world quite well adjusted.. I guess now though when you look at them through 21st century eyes they probably aren't politically correct... but they were just meant to be fun not a way to live your life by!! There are a lot of things that happened way back when that wouldn't be allowed now!
Great post - and well done on finishing Henry :o)
Hugs xx

Astrids dragon said...

I remember Noddy and grew up reading The Secret Seven and The Famous Five, loved them!
Henry looks great!

Mini said...

Lovely gifts you received . I was introduced to Noddy in my late teens when I used to baby sit my cousin. Famous five series was my childhood favorite.

Unknown said...

Noddy is New to me - and I had to pop over to read about her and the drama considering her work. Could lead to a night long debate with good friends, good food and good drink -

Sarah in Stitches said...

Lovely stitching! I've never heard of Noddy, but it's always lovely to find something that reminds you of childhood... :D

Secret Stitching Sweetheart Blog Hop.....

  Hello my lovelies and Happy Valentine's Day....   ... and this means it is time again for the fabulous Valentine's Day Blog hop o...