The Sea, The Sea...

Just peeping in to wave "Hello".


I'm just back from a little holiday, and I wonder if any of you can guess where I went?  It's been the most lovely time, despite the ever changing weather (blustery gale force winds and lashing rain storms one minute, paddling in the sea under a blazing sun and huge blue sky the next).  I'll be sharing more about my trip with you in the next few days, along with some sketches I did out and about that I think you might like.  Plus, I'm also in love with a New Blanket idea...so I'll tell you more about that too!  Thanks to all of you for your kind comments about the crocheted phone pocket on the last post, it was really nice to read them all.


Off to tackle a huuu-mon-gus ironing pile and yet more laundry...where on earth does it all come from?? How can just three people get through so many clothes in just seven days??!!


Back soon,
Much love Julia x

Getting There...

Hello again!

I hope your afternoon is sunny and mild like ours - although I do feel a definate autumnal wistfulness in the air and I've baked something for the first time in weeks - an apple tarte tatin (I seem to succumb to these gorgeous puddings at this time of year). It's cooking in the oven as I write and the syrupy fragrance of those caramelised apples is sending me half demented! :D

Well, as I shared on my last post, the painting is...lets say...getting there.

It is, its a slow one though. There is much musing and deliberating, I am wanting to get it just right you see and over time I have learnt to leave things alone when needs be. Sometimes Time is all it needs to solve a hiccup.

I have chosen some jaunty blue, very cornish inspired stripes for my jug (which is still only half finished - few more layers necessary before Im happy with it yet!)- I can also tell you there are some smooth pebbles and a pretty cup as well as something edible on the sill, and I'll share pictures of those bits with you next time.

I have to confess to missing the sea these last couple of days. I miss the sound of it, the smell of it and just physically being by it. I miss the changing colours of the sea and its many moods of wild and invigorating, to calm and relaxing.

I'm also missing Inspiring Beach Walks, when you find things like this:

Just look at the absolutely wonderous shade of turquoise there! And how the paint has worn away in parts, revealing the colours underneath and the sea soaked bare wood...

I love discovering things like this, they make my heart leap and sing with delight - the colours just beg to be put down on canvas...

And so today, I am consoling myself with these pictures, Iris Murdoch's 'The Sea, The Sea' (a fabulous read) and a soul warming tart...

...shimmering crystal seas...

...and memories of really being there, adventuring and discovering...

To cheer myself up a tad and before I cave in entirely to this wistful feeling, I am going to share a little crochet reveal with you all.

Do you remember the photograph of the piece of crochet on my last post? Of course!! Well, I am pleased to share my very toasty and cosy arm warmers with you, and here they are!

What do you think?! I do hope you like them! I am planning to do a tutorial for you next week, so you can have a go at making your own. These were made in the holiday cottage during the evenings and I think the pattern is fairly simple so most people, even beginners will be able to give them a whirl.

The nice thing about them is that you can wear them stretched all the way up your arm (they come to almost my elbow) or scrunch the cuff down a bit and wear them nearer the wrist.

So, if you would like to know how to make your very own pair, come and visit me next week when I will post a free tutorial for you!

I hope you all have a lovely weekend ~ sending love

Julia x x x

Soul Longings

It seems like months since we last saw grass, greenery and tiny peeping new shoots in the garden...and it seems absolutely ages ago since we were mooching about in crocs and summer dresses, sand between our toes, walking in shallow aquamarine waves...

The longing for the summer is getting stronger, so I made a mosaic of some of my favourite photographs which are all things South West, summer and beach to cheer myself up.


Isn't it lovely?

Just looking at it makes me feel happy...and its easy to ignore the rather intense freezing fog which has pervaded every nook and cranny of our valley this evening when Im looking at those pictures.


As I was in the process of uploading my pics to the magical mosaic maker, I was browsing a few blogs and discovered that Diane over at Heartshaped was having similar coastal longings and had posted the most beautiful photograph of Porthmeor at sunset...I think this time of year can be especially hard, so I love that fellow bloggers are sharing their sunniest, most emotive pictures here to lift the gloom that January sometimes brings.


Meanwhile, in the art corner...

...work is a-happening. Oh yes, after a faithful pledge at New Year to devote more time to my art in 2010, I have so far managed to do this and Im currently engrossed in a new illustration piece that Im very happy about. Its not quite finished, but if you take a peek in the photograph below, you might just be able to see it!

Can you make it out? I'll post a proper picture of it sometime next week when its all finished :)


Im feeling very inspired at the moment, plenty of ideas swirling around in the old grey matter - Ive shelved the sewing stuff for the time being in favour of the painting, and will perhaps make bits and bobs along the way. Id discovered of late that I was perhaps pulling myself in too many directions, and whilst I cannot deny that I love crocheting and sewing and making etc, Im not going to let them become pressures that overwhelm and bring headaches. I have been reading my business books, (some which are proving to be more useful than others), have taken part in some of the exercises and answered some thought provoking questions - and you know, its really rather good to have someone ask you this stuff. It makes you think. And it made me think about direction and goals, and what I want to achieve, what is important to me and what is not quite so important...


and so I know now, without a shadow of a doubt that my first love is my painting, that I couldn't live without it...and perhaps my second is crochet as its a wonderfully meditative way to switch off from the world. Sewing and felting etc all come after that, and by acknowledging this, its been a bit like a permission slip to ease up on myself, not put so much pressure upon little old me to make and do in every single medium.


And that feels very, very good. :)


Its story time now for a certain Little Someone, so I shall bid you all a fond goodnight, and look forward to browsing your blogs over the coming weekend - speaking of which, we are hoping (fingers crossed the Woodhead or Snake passes are open again in time) to amble across to Salford on Sunday, to The Lowry where there is a fabulous exhibition on til the 31st January called 'The Sea'
featuring work by Lowry and Maggi Hambling (the wonderful artist responsible for the big Scallop Shell on the beach at Aldeburgh, Suffolk).

Whatever you do, keep warm, remember each day is lighter a little longer...and the snow seems to be melting, in Yorkshire at least!


Much love
Julia x x x