Blog of the Week

This blog was designed to be a part of my life through which I dwell on what inspires me. I continue to work towards figuring out my creative path, with a little practice, a little prayer, and a little patience.

As the Easter break approaches, I find my attentions shifting once more, and now that my house is my own again (a very welcome visitor having moved on) I am in the business of reclaiming and refocussing. My friend at Hearthwitch Cottage has some wonderful words of Pagan wisdom about this season, and perhaps unsurprisingly, this chimes with my holistic Christian approach. The feeling of rebirth can be unnerving and yet totally wonderful, and it is to that end that I am writing plans and lists and building my expectant hopes for the summer months to come.

In an effort to focus on the inspiration that I find in the world of blogging, I am going to begin writing each week about my favourites. The blogs that I will focus on will be the ones which are a constant source of thought and inspiration - sometimes designers, sometimes artists, sometimes just wonderfully inspiring people in general.

Image from www.jubella.com

About two years ago, sitting in my then office, feeling slightly blue about the state of the world, I was carrying out one of the more creative and interesting tasks of my otherwise rather dull day. I had to find an image of a baby for a document that I was putting together, and one link lead to another and... well, you know. I found myself suddenly immersed in the world of the blog.

I instantly fell in love with where I was - the endless photographs, projects, creative endeavours and wonderfully inspiring designs and designers. To top it all, was the world of Anna Maria Horner. Anna Maria's blog is a constant source of sunny inspiration in which she muses on her current projects, inspiration and studio life. She is a hugely successful textile designer and mother of SIX, despite looking about 25. I urge you to look and see how sunny it always is in Nashville, and how relaxed you can look with all that creativity and chaos going on. And if that isn't enough - you have to see her book, Seams to Me - which explains beautifully and clearly 24 sewing projects ranging from quilts to handbags to children's clothes. Lovely.

A Blessing

A ring, a mountain top, a very dear friend and her wonderful new fiance. God bless you.  

xx

Is that an 'Anna Special'?

'Ummm, yes' came the reply. This dish makes an almost weekly appearance at my table, for its easiness, its deliciousness and for the fact that it is really quite a frugal meal. It also appears to be sort of ayurvedic, and as I am feeling the push to overhaul my eating habits it is a relief that some old favourites can stay. I present to you Butternut Squash and Lentil Salad with Rocket, Feta and Walnuts...and olive oil... oh, and balsamic, or a squeeze of lemon juice...

You will need:
1 butternut squash
3 cloves of garlic
250-300g puy lentils (or lentils verte are fine too)
Half a red onion
Rocket
Feta cheese
A handful of walnuts
Olive Oil
Balsamic/lemon juice
Salt and Pepper

Chop the squash into small cubes (see above) and put into a roasting dish with the garlic cloves (skins on so that they don't burn), plenty of olive oil and season to taste. Roast in a pre-heated oven (gas mark 5) for 35 - 40 minutes, or until soft and beginning to crisp on the outside.

Meanwhile pour the lentils into a saucepan, cover generously with water or stock (be careful not to let the water evaporate away when boiling) and cook according to the packet instructions.

Chop the onion and fry slowly in olive oil.

When the lentils and squash are ready, mix together, along with the onion. Add the rocket, dress with olive oil and either vinegar or lemon juice.

Put the mix into your dishes, crumble both the feta and walnuts on top, season to taste. Enjoy!

Ready.

The rain was falling hard on Saturday morning, but the house was full of smiles as we prepared ourselves for a day of yoga and ayurveda. I had friends and family down on Friday night for various reasons, and on Saturday the friends and I headed to the yoga studio for a workshop with the Ayurvedic Yogi. The workshop was well-timed for all, and heralded a new beginning at the spring equinox. As the morning began, there was a general acknowledgement that at this time of year, just before spring really gets underway, we may well be feeling sluggish (yes), uninspired (yes), tired (yes) and a little overweight (umm...that too). Our workshop was just the remedy we needed.

Picture from Lilypodyoga.com

Ayurveda is to the body what yoga is to the mind. The Ayurvedic Yogi believes that our bodies are in need of as much love and attention as our spirits, in order to maintain full and healthy equilibrium. In order to meet your body's needs you must first discover your own natural dosha or constitution; Vata (predominantly air and space elements), Pitta (fire and water elements) or Kapha (earth and water). Whilst we all have a little of each type, and sometimes different parts of our bodies are predominantly different dosha, there is usually one which stands out. In order to maintain your natural doshic balance, different types are advised to make careful choices about what they eat and drink, as well as what they choose to put on their skin.

My dosha is predominantly Pitta but with quite a few Vata elements. My body type fell quite neatly into the Pitta type - average build, strong constitution, pale skin and prone to overheating; the Vata elements appeared to be linked more with my emotions - prone to anxiety and creativity in equal measure, occasional skin irritations or digestive problems when overwrought. In order to balance the overheating I should really be avoiding coffee, hot foods and alcohol and in order to balance the occasional dryness of my skin I should be using naturally nourishing ingredients such as milk powder, oatmeal and ground almonds.

We spent our morning in a long yoga session, then settled down together in Charlotta's kitchen for an Ayurvedic lunch. Our lesson was in the afternoon and we had the chance to make our doshic beauty products which really are good enough to eat; if you wouldn't put it in your mouth, don't put it on your skin.

The day was truely restorative. And today, the rain had gone. Spring has sprung and now, I am ready for it.

Blogroll

It's a pun, isn't it? Blogroll?

Because I have only associated it with the American blogs that I read and relish, I hadn't really seen the Very British Pun. Perhaps it is my imagination... please enlighten me.

In anycase, it has now become habitual for me to drink my tea and browse some blogs, meandering through my links to their links and beyond. Sometimes nothing much emerges, but occasionally something really good does. Today, via Katy Elliot, based in Maine, I stumbled upon Ben Pentreath who, funnily enough, is based in London. Found 'in a tiny Victorian shopfront' in Bloomsbury, Ben and his partner Bridie Hall, stock a delicious combination of prints, china, linen and furniture, which appeal to the senses and sensibilities of, well, me. Fortunately, they also have a blog, which is, as you see, another sheet of my blogroll.

In anycase. I have another project to add to the list, and a quick one at that. I found this tool carrier in an old shed the other day - under a pile of nails and old shopping baskets, it was on its way to the skip - but I thought it too good to loose. It is now my glass/plant/paintbrush holder - or will be, once I have scrubbed the grime off it.

Sunday

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Rich Pickin's

Listing a vague description is not enough; here is our selection of beautiful Liberty fabrics that we bought at this lovely department store yesterday. It is worth the drive for the discounts on the fabric and although the selection is relatively small, we always seem to find something.

From left to right: Silk for a tunic, inspired by this one; Tana Lawn for Ella's dress; Tana Lawn for a skirt a little like this one (perhaps a little longer!) and wool for another tunic.

Pit Stop

Mum and I have been planning a creative weekend, so this morning when my alarm went off at a very early hour for a Saturday morning, I knew it would be worth it. I drove from mine to my parents where we sat in the morning sun, basking in the beginnings of spring, enjoying our coffee and our garden. This was our little pit stop on the way to Statford upon Avon, where we were looking for Liberty Print fabrics to make some clothes for me, Mum and baby.

There is nothing more restorative than sitting in this same spot, with a warm cup of coffee out of a familar bowl, mulling over the week that was.

We found some beautiful fabrics; for Ella, the sweetest little magenta and green floral cotton; for me, some indigo silk with a simple print on and some purple paisley cotton; for mum, a petrol blue wool, made using the finest weave. Luxurious.

Tea and Toast

There are very few things that bring me as much joy as a large cup of tea and something...sumptuous. When the Toast catalogue arrives on my doorstep it seems to have an almost mystical power over me. I stop marking essays; I stop wiping down the kitchen surfaces; I stop planning my next weeks lessons/social events/food shop. I sit, with my tea and simply amble through the streets of whichever exotic location they have photographed so wonderfully (Tunisia, this time?) and imagine my life somewhere else...

Moodboards

'At its simplest, a moodboard is a collection of pictures of things you like. It just helps you make sense of all the ideas floating through your head. The trick is not to over-think it. Let your intuition guide you and, as your board takes form, so the unconscious threads that weave together your personal taste will come to the fore.'

I tore the quotation above from a copy of a design magazine about 6 years ago - the title escapes me now. I know that those 'unconscious threads' of personal taste have taken form, but for the last six years I have been keeping scrapbooks of cuttings, paint charts, fabric samples and drawings knowing that they continue to act as a source of inspiration for everything creative that I do. Now that I have the space, these scrapbooks have spread to the any available pinboards and walls too...

Sometimes I just sit and look through the scrapbooks, or sit at my desk gazing at the sumptuous pictures from magazines and newspapers, postcards and advertisements, wondering what it is that makes me so drawn to particular colours and shapes. Occasionally an idea for a project is sparked off by an image, but more often than not I just feel a general sense of appreciation for things which are, simply, pleasing to the eye.

Have you read this? You should read it. I mean it, really. now.

In fact, I haven't read Eat, Pray, Love. I lied. To quite a few people. What I did do however, was listen to it on tape - in my car, my house, my studio, for two blissful weeks between school, chores, trips and food shopping. I wanted to read it, so I went to Bath Central Library to pick it up a few weeks ago but all they had was the audio version. The wonderful thing was that the audio version was read by Elizabeth Gilbert and so the voice on the page came to life and the tone, the expressions, the nuances of the written word were exactly as intended. What a treat!

Now, I am not a successful journalist/novelist, and neither have I just left a marriage, and nor do I live in Manhattan (oh, I wish!) but there are some basic similarities in my 'new chapter' to EG's 'new chapter' (the details of which I will spare you). What is plain to me is that I am in a true period of transition and growth, and that this is firstly, hugely exciting but secondly, absolutely terrifying. Reading books like this helps enormously, and creates a perspective within which the challenges and confusion begin to make sense.

What Elizabeth Gilbert manages to do (and my mum and sister can attest to this as they really have read it since) is to be both firmly rooted in what it is to be human, and confused, and making mistakes, and trying to correct those mistakes (both successfully and unsuccessfully) and searching for answers, and yet, also to be clear about what one really needs. There are successes, and moments of absolute clarity, which are inspiring to read (listen to) and through the voice of someone like Gilbert, those successes suddenly feel within reach.

My Sanctuary

I have been so blessed to have found this house. It is an old miner's cottage which was once a dark one-up, one-down, but which is now a two bedroomed cottage with a large living area, french windows and lots and lots of light. The skylights are coming into their own now that the mornings are brighter and the white walls throughout are chameleon like in the way that they change colour with the light.

Because I am not used to having quite so much space, my bedroom has been rather neglected in the planning and nesting process. It really is a blank canvas, and I am beginning to turn my attentions to the room, with its high ceiling and almost barn-like space. It is really similar to the yoga studio that I go to in design and I want to capitalise on the potential for it to be a really positive space. The house being a rental property I am reluctant (forbidden?) to change the colours of the walls, but am looking at ways of enhancing the peace of the room. I want it to be nourishing.

The throw on my bed was a carboot find, as were the two ex-military base bedside tables. I was thrilled a couple of years ago to find an identical set on sale for £90 in an antiques shop in Clapham, when I spent a mere £8 on mine. Similarly, I picked up the white chest at the bottom of the bed for about a fiver at the Gloucester Green market in Oxford - it was a nasty lilac colour, but is now painted in Laura Ashley's Twine.

I have been scouring my scrapbooks and copies of Living Etc to find inspiration, as well as googling various tags such as 'French bedrooms' and 'sanctuaries'...

Whilst I clearly want a little more comfort than this, I love how earthy the room is, and the eaves reminded me of my room. I thought a few natural items - the pebbles I have collected from beaches, snowdrops from the garden and ceramics - would really add to the vibe. If I could combine this earthiness with the glamour of the room below, I might well be striking the balance I am after....

The results of the last, and expectations of the next, project...

A quiet moment has allowed for a bit of a play with my camera as I potter around for a Saturday morning. The weeks are passing so quickly, and work is as chaotic as ever, but it has been wonderful this week to have some bright mornings and cold but very sunny afternoons. A quiet weekend is proving to be the perfect remedy for all that rushing about.

I ended up steering clear of birds, but the results of the printing course were satisfying. The experience lead mum and I to feel that we needed to go back to the Letterpress asap, now that we have got the hang of it. It was with great regret that we realised my grandfather had been a printer, and yet we had not kept any of his wonderful machines... If only we had known the joy of it!

This quote is from a favourite of mine, Gaston Bachelard's Poetics of Space, which considers the vital role that architectural spaces have on our psyche; the lino cut, as ever, has such a naturally primitive look to it that I felt it suited the tone of the quote. I was going for a Farrow and Ball-like tone in the ink, I love their earthy tones, and the printer that we worked with was just so patient with us both, that he helped enormously to make the perfect hue.

Next, I will be working on this battered but beautiful glass-fronted cupboard which needs a proper sand, some edges fixed, three new shelves and lots of pretty things inside. It's got potential, but my big question is whether to sand and leave as stripped wood, or to paint a similarly earthy grey to give a sort of Swedish vibe... decisions, decisions...

Enjoy the spring sunshine.

xxx