eotr

I went to End of the Road a couple of weekends ago. A lovely time as always!

Highlights included: David Byrne and St Vincent, Teleman, East India Youth, Belle & Sebastian, Jens Lekman and Tigercats. Oh, and Breakfast with the Inkspots. An early morning treat.

I guess that means autumn is drawing in now. I've already noticed leaves on the ground, and mince pies in the shops!

Good thing I've still got a summer holiday to look forward to.

sea shells and butterflies

Well, August slipped by in a flash. Not sure what happened there.

At the beginning of the month I took a trip to Oxford to listen to some nice music in a bedouin tent. While I was there I also paid a visit to the Natural History and Pitt Rivers Museum.

I've been meaning to go on a trip there since I did my MA so it was nice to finally have a look at the collection. I found the mummified animals most interesting.

around the house

Paper pineapple // New sheets to start the week // A rose from the garden

let's make...cushion covers

Ben & I went to a screen printing workshop at Super+Super on Monday evening. We were a bit pooped after a 6 hour drive home from Cornwall but we're both pretty happy with our efforts!

I want to make some more now. Maybe next time I'll try something a little more intricate.

Here are some sketches I used for inspiration...



Penguins are nice.

floral

There are flowers everywhere at the moment. Everything has bloomed all at once.

I'm finding it hard to resist bringing some home with me every day.
Not so great for the hayfever...

a summer birthday

Here's a card I made for my mum's birthday earlier this month. She threw a garden party with a hog roast, and luckily it landed on the first warm day of summer.

 It was a very good time!

a sweet pouch

I crocheted this acorn pouch as part of a sweet pouch swap I took part in a couple of months ago.
In return I received some nice treats in the post all the way from Texas. I like Hot Tamales.

A bank holiday in Bruges

From top: The view at Rozenhoedkaai; Benedictine nuns in Begijnhof; A horse we met by Damme windmill; On the way to Holland; Waiting for the boat tour; Stork nest in Sluis; Begijnhof bluebells; Cycling along the canal to Holland; Resting in Minnewater park.

A good time.

a is for apple

I haven't spent much time making things recently, but here's an apple I made for a new arrival who said hello while I was in Australia.

It has a rattle inside so it's a treat for many senses.
Probably not taste though.

absence

I haven't disappeared. It's just been a very busy time.
I'm sure it'll calm down soon...

east coast

I'm flying to Australia for a while tomorrow.
Be back soon....

black + white

A birthday present for Yumi.
Thanks to Stephanie for the pattern.

a Venn diagram

n. A diagram using circles to represent sets, with the position and overlap of the circles indicating the relationships between the sets.

Cape

Some more very quick drawings.

aviary birds

I keep getting distracted from what I'm meant to be doing at the moment, and instead end up painting colourful birds.

Maybe it's a coping mechanism for getting through the cold, dark months.

Let the bells ring

This week I entered a competition held by Resident to win one of 20 pairs of tickets to see Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds perform a live rehearsal ahead of their tour. The task was to recreate an album cover from Nick Cave's back catalogue.

Above is a work-in-progress photo of my entry, and it did the job! A bit of a surprise as I thought it looked pretty wonky...but I'm not complaining.

The gig was last night at the King Alfred ballroom and it was really REALLY good! Gig of the year? Possibly!

If you haven't heard it already, you should definitely give the new album a listen. It'll be worth your while.

Border fancy canary

sahara

My new favourite activity is drawing while watching Africa. It's a challenge to draw so quickly.
Luckily less animals live in the Sahara than other parts.

mess

I seem to spend a substantial part of my evenings at home tidying up after myself.

not quite narnia

Photos from a winter weekend: Lots of walking in the snow in wellington boots, a trip to the Booth museum and some under-blanket crochet.

scallop shells

Here's another cardigan I finished recently. It took me quite a long time to complete - I started it in the middle of summer!

I'm pleased with this one. Nice colours and some sweet fair isle. I've been using my favourite knitting pattern for all my recent cardigans as I really like the shape - I've just been trying out different lace patterns and colourwork as I go.

monkey parade

I made this finger puppet for a friend who was having a monkey-themed birthday.
Thanks to Tommy for the pattern.

Galah

To chase away the January blues I have booked myself a flight to Australia to stay with my brother. I leave in 5 weeks. AMAZING.

If anyone has any suggestions of nice things to do/see/visit in Melbourne and the surrounding area then please do send recommendations my way. I think we're going to hire a camper van and drive the Great Ocean Road....

Just the ticket!

...and finished!

Just in time for another cold snap.

DPNs

Cold January evenings are best spent indoors making warm hats.
This week I've listened to this song many many times. It makes me feel like everything's ok.

sunday

Today: Sampling some festive treats.
Tonight: Testing out new pencils.
Tomorrow: Back to being a career woman.

speckled and scalloped

I realised that I hadn't taken any pictures of this cardigan in it's finished format (only as work in progress). This is partly due to the fact that I only got round to sewing on the buttons just before Christmas, despite finishing it in the summer.

It's done now though, and I think it's quite a triumph!

pottery school

Here are some of the (more successful) results of my recent 6 week pottery course. I made some pinch pots and a few other small items using both slab and coil building techniques. It's nice to have mini pots for succulents.

There were a few other items I made where I was really happy with the construction but felt that the way the glazing came out totally ruined the piece. Glazing is hard to judge.

Above: My favourite pinch pot. I liked the coarse crank clay a lot.

Below: A little slab built house, alongside a sweet tree decoration from Rosie.