...or to put it another way:
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL PUNCH-FOLK OUT THERE
I Hope everyone has a Merry and Restful Christmas, and a Peaceful , but Busy 2015.
And as this message is in the "workshop' side of the board , not the more general "Punch Chat', this is my version of ringing out the old and ringing in the new.
Despite the fact the weather is actually still mild and dry here in Staffordshire , I could not face yet another day of building the new workshop/shed ....you can have too much of a good thing.
I will go back to that project after Christmas , hopefully refreshed by having had a break from it.
Yesterday I swapped screws and timber for fabric and thread .
Having decided a 'change is as good as a rest - the indoor sewing did indeed prove a lot of fun.
I am a great believer in doing the work you are in the mood for ..results are always faster and better this way.
Sometime in 2015 I am going to get my new crocodile made , this will mean a couple of extra sets of legs for the Mr Punch stunt doubles that have to exactly fit into its jaws.
The Croc ( already started some years back ) has different shaped jaws to my current Croc , meaning that I cannot use the existing Punch legs - they will not fit-
With these new parts of Punch definitly needing to be made , I thought I would use this opportunity to slightly re-work Mr Ps' whole costume.
As said before on this board , when you switch from using a painted backcloth to an all Black one , some aspects of the puppets colouring and costume may need rethinking.
Policemen in very dark blue are often re-costumed in a lighter blue to show up better , Devils with black cloaks are not the best idea etc etc .
And from the outset I have always had a great deal of black in the trimmings of Punches outfit.
There was black on the Mr Punch I made when I was nine years old - and on all versions since.
I like the look of the black bits , they are very striking against a painted cloth...but they do tend to recede a bit against a black backcloth .
So it is time for a change ( not something that comes easy to a stubborn Taurean like me)
But "Ringing in the New" I am switching to Green instead.
Here is a rough pin-together of the new look , next to my current Punch for comparison .
I particularly like switching back to a white ruff .
My new joey has an orangey/yellow ruff , so side by side there will be more of a contrast when Punch and Joey are together.
More to come in 2015 , although this will not be a fast completed project , it is more of a mid-range one to tinker with here and there .
There is to be a lot of hand sewn bead-work on the Hat and Hump and Waistcoat etc - so for now its a question of getting the individual parts made on the sewing machine , so that I have little hand sewing projects to take with me when working away from home on other jobs.
Also I find it good to have these self-contained sewing projects to do in between Punch shows on a long day at a venue.
But for now , let me finish as I started:
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY 2015 TO ALL
