Treasure at the TREASURE CHEST

Saturday the sun was blazing and it was shining down on me in terms of luck. My flatmate suggested going to see what treasures we could find at the Treasure Chest, a Brick a Brack shop up the road . I could not believe my luck when I spotted these old deck chairs leaning against the wall! And the gorgeous mirror! The owner made my day by selling me the lot for 11 squid! This summer I will definitely be a regular treasure seeker!

35mm film supersampler surprise

My flatmate was taking some film in yesterday, so I dusted down an old reel i have had in my bookcase for years and got them developed to! I love doing this, there's always that dread that the film is going to be damaged or they end up being photos of some garden show or something, but when I opened up my envelope I was not disappointed. Before my eyes were a stack of colourful supersampler pics from a very sunny day trip to Weymouth with my good old friend Kat! Its amazing how much has happened since that day! I have now moved to Dorset and Kat is now a mum to the most beautiful little girl Molly. I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I did! Dust down your old film! You don't know what you might find!

Hello Spring!

Hello Spring, how I am pleased to see you! I Thought you would never arrive!

Pots num.2

I thought I had posted my finish pots,but I must have forgotten, here they are in all their beauty! I've thrown three more this week so hopefully will have them painted up and ready to come home soon! I'm loving the process,it's so satisfying being able to make your own pots. Throwing clay on the wheel allows you to forget everything and concentrate on the now! Just about getting the hang off it!

Holidays, Friends and Sandcastles

This weekend I celebrated the beginning of my holidays by not only having my sister to stay but also my old school friend who I have known since I was 3 and her gorgeous little monsters. The sun came out yesterday so we were able to make the most of the beach, making sandcastles and getting wet socks in the cold tide! The living room is now host to a few more shells that we just could not resist. There is something about spring air and the sound of crashing waves.

Happy Food

This week has been pretty miserable to say the least, rain, wind and lots of work on, so to cheer myself up i've been cooking up some happy food in the kitchen! Usually I just buy cook books to escape and dream. I was given Miss Dahls Voluptuous delights for my birthday, so I could dream that I had her kitchen and lifestyle. Apparently its not her kitchen,nonetheless its owned by some lucky someone!! So the recipes I tried where the squid salad (me and my sister have had an obsession with squid ever since our holiday to Kefalonia in the summer) and the beetroot soup, because it is such an amazing colour! Be warned though it does make your pee pink!

Spring Tides

I have spotted some sprouting snow drops this week and have managed to get a bike ride in after work with my flatmate, this means one thing! It must be Spring!

Going Potty!

Sorry about my pottery obsession at the moment, I promise to upload something different soon. I promised to upload some pictures off my first hand thrown pots in my last blog so here they are in all their naked beauty. I can't wait to glaze them tomorrow. Above is my little urchin pot, inspired by the ceramic artist Heather Night.

Pot num.1

This is the first of hopefully many wobbly bright pots I will be making at my weekly pottery workshops. Not quite as perfect as the ones they were modelled on, but I really love the yellow, glaze. My arms were like jelly after throwing my first pots last week, will take photos on Tues and upload. It was much harder than I thought it would be, but very enjoyable, can't wait to glaze them on Tuesday and turn them into my own style!

Shelf

Spent a lovely couple of days with my sister in her lovely pad in east London Shorditch. Every time I go to stay, I have to pop into my favourite shop Shelf. You can't miss it, its bright orange just up the road on Cheshire Street, just off Brick Lane. I was sad to discover that there selling up and going on line, will miss browsing, but sure their pop up stalls and online shop will be a success! Above are a couple of things I just couldn't resist!

Stuck for pressie ideas, you won't for long! Shelf

A taste of France Sat 22nd Jan

On a very cold Saturday my sister, mum and dad and myself decided to wake up early and go to Shepton Mallet for their monthly Antique and Collectors fair. I had heard on the grape vine that its a taste of France during a bitter British winter and I wasn't disappointed. My photos do not do the fair justice, but It's a magpies' dream. The court yard was surrounded by small white tents, or temptingly filled to the brim with french furniture and material. Apparently the flea market is better, but I managed to find a few bargains; my french Jam jars make perfect chunky tea lights and I can't wait to make a chunky scarf from my french pure wool, Whilst drinking tea from my new TG green mug! If your going during the winter wrap up warm it was Freezing! More info on dates can be found on the IACF.

The next Giant Flea Market is on the 27th of Feb at the Bath & West Showground

Knitting the never ending story!

I have been knitting my blanket on and off for a year and I've yet to finish it! I went to the market today to buy new wool to inspire me to get those needles clacking again. Fingers crossed you will see it complete very soon, 3 1/2 more rows to go!

Pottery inspiration

Tomorrow I am starting a pottery course, it has been on my wish list for ages, I've found a working pottery right near where i work in Dorset that holds evening sessions during the week. It's all very informal and no strict teaching schedule which is just the way I like to learn, through experimenting with own projects and making mistakes. I love Cornish pottery and have a growing collection, but I think I would like to keep things simple, plain white stoneware, with colour glaze inside. I found the following inspiration from the following ceramic artists, I hope you like them as much as I do;

From Top Right:
1. Pool 1 by Zoe Garred
2. Nesting Scallop bowl by Heather Night
3. Louisa Taylor Ceramics

Sunny Sunday Stroll

If you live in england you will understand what a wet miserable week it has been, but this weekend has been beautifully sunny, walking on the beach I could see rosy cheeks and red button noses, the shrieks of the sea gulls mixing with squeals of delight! The promise of spring is in the air on these kind of days and I love it!

Goodbye Xmas tree

Today is the last day of Christmas, driving into work this morning I past many sad Xmas trees abandoned on the driveways still glistening with the odd bit of tinsel and forgotten ball balls! I will miss staring at our xmas tree whilst eating home made mince pies and so will the piggie(our Dachshund)

White Christmas

Wishing you all a Happy & Healthy New Year! Forecasters today have revealed that we have had the 2nd coldest December since 1659! These photos were taken on the week before Xmas in my parents garden.