I am finally catching up with myself.

It really has been far too long since i last made a post and i hope to get my blog up to date shortly; its going to be a long few hours. I don't really know where time has gone, I'm already half way through my first term and its not many weeks now until Christmas.. which i cant wait for. I set myself the challenge today of going to the rubbish tip and charity shops with a limit of £25, in order to see how many Christmas gifts i could pick up. Unfortunately i cant reveal them on here, as i am not quite sure who they are for yet.. but its definitely  a great way to get something different without burning a hole in your purse. although i know i will end up spending a fortune on wrapping..the best part i think!!

just before i post some of the things i have been up to in textiles over the past few weeks, i thought i would put some pictures up of a castle i recently stayed in with jack and his family for his dads birthday, it was in Devon and absolutely beautiful. and the sun shined all weekend.

our bedroom.

the only way baths should look in my opinion.

the kitchen.



the castle.



the ferry.



inspiration.

this is the reason i love flicking through random magazines, i found this 'kniting clock'

designed by Siren Elise Wilhelmsen and i have fallen in love. the idea is beautiful and

represents time in such an exquisite yet unusual way. knitting a 2 metre scarf over a

year, the thread reel represents how much of the year is left.

if your interested as to how it works i suggest you visit this website... 

http://www.sirenelisewilhelmsen.com/

Line.

in the second week, we concentrated on the idea of 'line' and we created lines out of

varying medias, although there were strict guidelines. we then created 'clusters', these

are supposed to make up a 'line' dictionary, which can be used when thinking about

patterns and designs.



london.

London.

the past couple of weeks have been so fast paced I'm just beginning to catch up. we have been in the studio most days, working on simple drawing techniques, and looking at the idea of 'line' being vital in design. In the first week we were told to go to London and just have a wonder, whilst photographing down for 'surface' and up for 'structure'.

Covent Garden and Kurt Geiger, always a good place to start.

V&A

i loved this glass structure in the entrance.

anthropologie.com

wondering through anthropologie is just breath-taking. its a jumble of anything and everything, displayed beautifully on various reclaimed surfaces. the living wall just brought the whole shop to life and would have been great research during my final project on art foundation. in the past week i have learnt that research can really be anything, a piece of paper found on the floor, photography.. as long as it is in someway relevant. having a diary of research is great too.. you can just paperclip bits in, write some notes and just use it as a tool within your design process.

a chandelier made entirely out of old scraps.

the living wall.

these scarfs were beautiful.

Liberty's.

one of my favourite department stores.

Uni.

The Red Shed.

my textile home for the next three years.

and my space. it didnt stay tidy for very long.

summer work.

as part of my summer work i needed to create a collection of items and then photograph them in order to use these prints as initial starting points when i arrive. some of these needed to be component pieces, i get the impression i will be using them to construct something.  just of few of my initial playing around photos.

i chose to photograph my collection on a wooden background as i thought it

really made my objects stand out.

some of the better ones happen by accident.

camping.

camping. despite the not so sunny weather forecast we packed the car (in the end) and headed off to Devon, we arrived to pouring rain and gale force winds. this meant we abandoned our first attempt to put the tent up, and contemplated  a couple of nights in a B&B. although after having lugged all the camping essentials and a few extra luxuries we decided we would stick it out and just get on with it.

the tent.

you can never be too far from an ELLE decoration magazine and yes those are scatter cushions.

not forgetting the fresh flowers.

a feature of my snazzy new camera. the sun did come out eventually!

the most beautiful tea rooms, serving the best cream teas.

mmmm.

despite the initial wet welcome to Devon we were surprisingly lucky with the weather.

jack.

the crystal clear water looks inviting yet it was absolutely freezing.

the seafood shop was highly recommended by the locals and I'm not surprised these prawns were delicious.

ending on a more textiley note, these bug homes were full of texture and patterns.

woof.

a rather wet walk with jack and his dog molly.

showing off here? haha

pick your own.

it gets to august and you imagine spending days relaxing in the garden, eating ice cream and laying in the sun. yet the reality seems to be quite different. despite the rain we huddled under awnings in our big jumpers and had an afternoon of laughter and lots of cake.

the village flower show.

 these photos reflect my 'green' inspired living ideas.