Weekends of Weaving

Over the last couple of weekends, Mum and I have let our creativity run wild and joined the Introduction to Weaving workshop at The Handweavers Studio in north London.

From the off, we were let loose on the looms, trying all sorts of patterns with cotton, silks, wools and paper on both table and floor looms. Huck lace, waffles, twill, point threading; you name it, we tried it. Over the four days of the course we also learnt how to prepare a loom from scratch, giving us all the skills we need as beginners to go away and start this hobby at home. Above are pictures of the samples that I, Mum and the other weavers created.

It has been a wonderful workshop to be part of, meeting fellow crafters from all backgrounds who were there to learn a new skill. The course is fantastic and Dawn was a great teacher, whose enthusiasm for weaving really rubbed off on all of us. Unlike knitting, which I love, weaving has quite expensive set ups costs, with the loom itself and the other equipment that's required, so I am going to have a think if this is something I want to get into. 

My ambition is to be able to weave scarves and blankets, so a larger loom is what I will look to get one day. In the meantime I'm going to keep collecting (p)inspiration of the endless possibilities of what you can create with this wonderful way of producing textiles.

Curiosity at Kew

Autumn had just arrived when we ventured along to Kew Gardens in September, which feels a world away now that the temperature has dropped on November's arrival. It's a beautiful spot on the outskirts of the city, and with gardens so vast that even if it is busy you might not see anyone for a while. The smell inside the Palm House reminded me of when my grandparent's used to take us to Wisley when we were little; some happy nostalgia. We even made it up into the tree tops, and as one who has mild vertigo it was well worth the trip into the sky to see the views all around, even if the walk ways swayed in the wind…! A great end to a fun weekend with the gals!

Cut Out

The aspect that got me the most from seeing the Matisse Cut-Outs exhibition at the Tate Modern was the manner in which he wielded his scissors; it's amazing to see old colour footage of such a renowned artist for starters and seeing the way he worked. The exhibition holds a wealth of his later art works, including a few paintings too and what I took away was the vibrancy of colours and the scale of some of his later pieces, carried out when Matisse's health was failing. This video from the Culture Show (part 1 and part 2) gives even more background to the story. Definitely go and see it - they say this is a one in a lifetime chance to see such a large collection of Matisse's cut outs in one exhibition...

Video source

Columbian Flowers

Hyacinth are my favourites at the moment, their distinctive scent and how I remember them potted in Nanna and Pop's kitchen when I was little. I bought this beautiful mixed bunch, which is further blooming in front of me with lilac and fuschia petals, from Columbia Road Flower Market on Sunday morning. This little street in East London was teaming with people, flourishing with colour and smells of herbs. Not one of us five girls can profess a horticultural expertise but there was so much to be tempted by and a lot of new names of varieties to be learned. I picked up some basil, coriander and parsley to add to the herb garden, and Jess bought daisy-like argyranthemum and kindly gave me a pot too! And the flowers are just one part of the draw of Columbia Road - there's a wealth of little shops I've yet to explore, so will definitely be back and perhaps even earlier next time to avoid the crowds.

Sensing Spaces

Sometimes you just need to be inspired or reminded about the reason you are doing what you chose to do. Last weekend Helen and I visited the Sensing Spaces exhibition at the Royal Academy, a collection of architect design installations. Having been given one brief, each exhibit was so different from the next, clearly indicating the architects' distinctive influences and inspirations be that culture, Japanese woods and smells, or social collectiveness, through participatory hands on building. Hearing the architects speak about their work was motivating, to see that they are able to design according to their beliefs. All the more, the exhibition was exciting and interactive; it was great seeing kids of all ages running around and getting exposed to architecture and art.

Mr Morris

Last week Ma and I travelled up to the very opposite end of the Victoria line to Walthamstow and the William Morris Gallery. A grand townhouse set in Lloyd Park, the gallery is in the building Morris lived in as a teenager and today hosts a wealth of his Arts and Crafts work from early drawings, to furniture, to fabrics, to ceramic tiles. Mum has seen more of his work in situ at Red House and Standen, but this free-of-charge gallery is a gem in London. Walthamstow itself was full of surprises for me: historic churches and cottages nestled into the north London suburb. All well worth a visit!

Twelve Things: February's Pasta

For Christmas this year we didn't exchange presents and instead booked ourselves into a Jamie Oliver Recipease Pasta Master cookery class which we did this evening. The biggest revelation is how simple making your own pasta is - when we were in Montepulciano, the gnocci we made was pretty time consuming, but pasta is speedy and easy. The class was taught really well and concisely, and the chefs Jimmy and Simon came round and gave us extra tips and answered our questions at the end. We made four types of pasta: spaghetti, linguini, pappardelle and farfalle and a classic tomato, basil, garlic and chilli sauce with lashings of balsamic vinegar and virgin olive oil and with mounds of parmesan to taste. We all sat down after with a glass of vino and enjoyed the fruits of our labours. Now we know that pasta making is so achievable there is no excuse not to make it fresh at home... just need to get a pasta machine!

Looking back: in January I started to learn to swing.