Sketchbook Pages

Autumn mists and a bit more nesting

Yesterday was exactly the kind of day I like. Misty, dark and damp and perfect for doing nothing except maybe reading a book and grabbing a pile of blankets to hide under. However, I went on a pilgrimage to find the perfect coffee table at Barn Antiques which is truly a place I love. I'm glad I did venture out, mainly because I managed to take these pictures on the way home. I got mum to stop the car whilst I ran out and stood in the middle of the road with my camera. The fog descended very quickly and, within 3 minutes, was gone again. I have a small canvas waiting to be used and I thought these photos would be great source material.

And the coffee table? Well, you know when you have an idea in your head of exactly the thing you want and you can never find it? Not so here, I could have spent a fortune on other lovely bits of furniture too, but this table is perfect in every way.

Bread and blueberries

My Monday evening post work post is becoming quite regular. It seems to be an ideal time to upload photos of the weekend's crafty activities and mull over what the coming week will bring. Above are the results of my little natural dying experiment. I cannot tell you how chuffed I am with the results. I particularly love the piece of blueberry dyed silk in the last photo. It's come out a moody, storm grey colour. All the fabric pieces have been washed in hot water with detergent until the water ran clear so hopefully this is how they will stay, at least for a while. Time will tell how colourfast they are I suppose. I already have plans for a series of small, stitched winter landscapes. My instinct with mixed media work is to start mixing paint with fabric and paper, building up collages and imagery but I want to keep any work I do with this fabric as pure and clean as possible. I am also keen to try something where I use no machine stitching at all but stick to hand stitching.

Below is my other little weekend project which worked quite well. This is the first time I have ever made proper bread without the help of a bread maker. The recipe is one of Rachel Allen's from her Bake cookbook. It worked beautifully, the smaller rolls were delivered to my parents yesterday whilst I kept the small loaf for myself. Tonight I am making white chocolate and peanut butter blondies. Just to make writing my class plans for the week a little sweeter.