purple and green

I found this in the park today. What is it I wonder? it's beautiful.

Sunlight on a crocus patch, so nice.

On my desk. A little mouse cup. Not sure where it came from, it belonged to my Mum. I love it.

Out of focus rosemary. It smells good.

Moody skies on the day of Storm Doris and the entrance to our local nightclub. I've never been in, it looks kind of scary! I'd be more likely to go in the launderette, but thankfully I have a washing machine, so I don't go in there either ;-) 

Yarn bomb, not me...

pine trees and water drops

and a new wool, it's called Crocus, it's a hand dyed, luxury yarn (wow) and I love this too :-)

I've been taking my photos here and there, and I realise that although blogging does take a long time, I have to keep blogging. I always want to be taking photos and I need to have somewhere to share them. I'm very visual. I love words too. I don't think I could do one without the other. I also value story, even if I don't tell the whole thing here. I think you can read so much between the lines and feel so much in peoples images of life. Life moves on, that's for sure. I love to see a new energy or new step taken, showing through in someones work. You can feel it, things evolve. You just have to start somewhere. It's a process, love that. You have to be in it, to go anywhere!  First step.

And maybe blogging is kind of old-fashioned, but just wait for the revolution!! It will be a cool new/old thing....anyway, here I am. Still finding inspiration out there, which always amazes me at how what shows up is just the right thing, for right now. And if you keep going, you gradually work things out. Even things which have bugged you for years.

And inspiration, guess what, it doesn't go away. If you step into the flow of who you are and what your doing, even if no ones watching, it does show up, especially if you do. Even if you are in the midsts of a post Storm Doris day fence collapse, and you see a great shot, you have to take it. That's why you carry your camera, for just those moments, and who knows where it might lead.

I found another blogger recently, who I think has blogged for years, possibly since the beginning, not of time, but just since blogging on the internet began. I might have read somewhere it was around 1994. That is a really long time. On this blog, I find the combination of great photography, little stories, a business made up of lots of crochet and other creative works, really inspiring. Living in Berlin, adds a whole other dimension to the photography. I find it so strange that I never came across her work until now, but now is really when I can appreciate feeling that inspiration. And this lady works hard at what she does. I admire that. Anyway I have been reading and am smitten. You can see Sandra Jutos' blog here. Did you see the crochet?! I love that it brings me back to retro crochet too.

So, I have waffled here long enough today, have a good weekend. Take photos, make things, tell little stories, blog if you can. I know I hope to. See you soon.

♥ 

Bristol harbour on a Sunday and some thoughts.

I love this image of balance and touch.

Portishead Harbour

boat traffic signals

I wonder what it would be like to live on the harbourside?

Nice to have a yellow front door

I like watching the lifeboat go through their manoeuvers.

A hopeful February stand, outside the RNLI shop

An interesting beach here on the estuary when the tide goes out. Lots of pottery and glass.

All the old buildings have been converted into houses.

They do like their pastels here.

I took these a few weeks ago. It seemed a shame not to share. I do love a day out. Takes me out of my normal way of thinking. I must do more. I love exploring. I'm enjoying my camera again. I haven't taken a single shot on my phone hardly this year.

I think I'm re-connecting with myself again. I'm blogging, taking photos, making things. Listing on etsy. I'm really enjoying flickr. It's so nice to see pictures again in landscape and portrait, I find so much inspiration there. My ideas of what I want to to do are beginning to crystalize.

I'd like to say it's because I'm not going on instagram. But I think that would be giving it too much credit. I've been cutting out a lot of other distractions as well. I'm trying to maintain a focus, which I didn't have before, or if I did it was constantly diluted by everything else. Sometimes I think I am just being solitary, but deep down I know I need this to touch on something in myself.

There is still so much inspiration out there. It doesn't go away, because your not scrolling daily through feeds. It reaches you anyway, and in other ways. I think it strengthens your intention. Now I scroll through a little list in my head of things which I have decided I want to make/do/learn and decide what needs to happen next to move me towards that.

I feel like I'm starting to follow my own path. And I have to weigh that up as more important than knowing what's happening else where. The important stuff finds you anyway. That's what I think. Sometimes I just get a prompt to go somewhere and there is something I was glad I didn't miss.

So I think I need to trust that what I need and what inspires me is going to cross my path anyway, and there has been so much inspiration over the last few years, I feel like it's time to assimulate some of it.

Some life stuff happened here over the last week or so, which threatened to tip me off down a slippery slope. Just some sad things which happen in our lives now and again. Without my new found structure of daily stretching and clearer thinking, I think I would have toppled into a kind of crisis. But I'm happy to say that I was able to see the warning signs and adjust my thinking accordingly, and make some decisions to hold steady in what's right for me, and what I can do. We don't have to be heroes. We don't need to feel guilty about what we can't do. We just need to find that place where we can be okay in our selves and all that radiates out from that point. I read a good quote this week: 'draw in to be able to beam out your light more further', by Lindsay Mack on Alana Hellbig's Podcast, Untangled. I like that. 

So here we are at the weekend. I hope you do some nice things. I will be out another teenage 'airsoft' mission this Sunday. In a new place, yay! Well a new old place, nearer to the outskirts of London, where I am from. So I'll see what that brings. I've got some lovely new wool too, so it could be lots of crochet somewhere. I'm kind of hoping :-) Enjoy.

♥

A week of images

I feel a little like a hamster in a wheel right now....trying to keep things moving. Family, home, hearth, self, photo course, keeping up the different balls. It's not always possible, but I'm having go. I am feeling a surge of creative energy although it's not quite spring yet, the urge to get productive and to be out there using my camera.

I am enjoying my photo meditation course. I just love flickr. I'm not sure if I've ever told you that. The images I get to see, and all the inspiration on there. I follow people there who I think I may not have discovered otherwise. Folks with a visual love of life. I have a stream of favourite images. Creativity plays a big part, often in the shot as well as subject. The inspiration bounces back and forth. I can notice where the seed for an idea was sown as I look back through. You don't need to be a pro. Anyone can join and showcase up to 200 of their images without subscribing.

So these are some of my images on flickr from last week. On the course we have been considering the basics, angles, groupings, rule of thirds, negative space and so on. With the premise that once we know the rules we can break them. Yay!

I'll let the images speak for themselves because they are just everyday things. I'm just noticing in a new way ♥

On my flickr photostream you will find more information about each image. Hope there's a good week out there for you, roll on spring days, that's what I say!

♥

life lessons and inspiration...

sunlight and daffodils

Thank you for all your kind words on my last post about my poncho!

The above photo is really the sunniest I could find this week. The daffodils were given to me by one of my hardy cabin folks on the day of her three year anniversary of living here. Which is really rather sweet considering right now she wakes up to this in the morning.

a cold and frosty morning

It looks freezing doesn't it, but she seems to like it and be able to cope! I think it toughens you up. I feel quite spoilt living in the house sometimes.

frosty!

It's been a strange old week here. A week of the most intense sensitivity and soul searching. Which has just suddenly lifted and moved on, leaving me wondering what happened, where it went.

I talked about sensitivity in my finding my way through January post. I wanted to know what it wanted? well I had a light bulb moment after that. It's really quite simple, it wants me to make a boundary. Well of course you might think. But it's just never been that obvious to me. So when I feel like that, I need to make a boundary. It could be with someone, or within my environment, or even with nice people. The point is, it needs to be heard and not ignored.

Sensitivity has been there all week. I saw my mentor and then felt so overwhelmed all I could do was go home and curl up on the floor next to the radiator in a kind of den with my dog. But you know that's what I needed to do, and I felt better for it than if I had tried to carry on. Sometimes things speak really loudly so that they can be heard. Sometimes I'm not so good at listening. For me it's a kind of struggle with processing, which can easily lead to overwhelm. I think my son struggles with the same thing but copes with it in a different way.

It's been the lesson of this winter for me. So I will learn to make boundaries when I need to. Stop and change things if sensitivity starts to make itself heard. This is a huge life lesson for me. Which is why I'm sharing this here.

sunlight and tiny glass bottles ♥

I need to make friends with sensitivity because it has much wisdom and insight to impart, and that's a good thing.

And so I'm listening, and something seems to have suddenly shifted. I'm looking around at the things that inspire me again, the things that uplift me. I want to connect. I've spent a bit of time bringing facebook to life again. My personal and mylittleredsuitcase page. Made some old connections, remembered a part of who I used to be. In a good way. In a boundaried way, that I feel comfortable with, and with folks who make me feel comfortable.

My most inspiring and uplifting thing this week has been discovering, this track by the singer Laleh a Swedish singer.

I love the dancing. Something about it touches me deeply. The tears flowed in a good way. I just keep watching it. The body is a vehicle of expression. I want to be a dancer. Still! My soul is dancing with them. Please watch!

♥

PS. Also I have popped some new things in my SHOP!

  

my food story

shopping at the local farmers market

I have been really trying to improve my relationship with food. Don't get me wrong, I love food, I just don't think I am very creative with it. A little while back I felt I had really lost my way with it. I was doing the same old shop, spending far too much I thought. Forgetting what was in the fridge, throwing forgotten things away. The freezer was full, but I had no idea what was in it, or how long it had been there..... I didn't know what to cook. The kitchen felt cluttered. No one seemed to want anything from it. The tins of baked bean were looking attractively appealing and fast food had infiltrated our lives in a way that's made it hard to get rid of it since.

bringing home lots of tempting goodies

So this summer I de-cluttered and cleaned all the horrible corners of the kitchen. I emptied everything of the shelves and cleaned the whole thing.This was a good start. Cooking and preparing with everything to hand and only what I use around me makes a huge difference.

I've gone through this clearing process in the kitchen now a few times. Using the kitchen feel's so much easier now.  

Of course the next thing was to tackle was the food itself. I went through my whole fridge and freezer and made a list of what I did actually have and stuck it on the fridge door.
I was surprised by how much was actually in there! I made a list of some meal ideas just using this and realized I could probably be buying less for a while. Just perhaps adding some fresh ingredients.

I made it a plan to keep checking what needed eating, to try and avoid wasting food.
It wasn't exactly meal planning, I'm not convinced that would work out for me everyday.
What I noticed as I ate my way through the fridge was that the vegetable section would still look quite full and rather bedraggled! Something was amiss. Not exactly veggies bursting with health.

If I was growing my own food, or shopping at the local farmers market, I would no doubt be planning my meals around my vegetables, and eating more seasonally too. I have fallen into the habit of buying the same things over and over, no matter what the season! My inspiration had hit the floor. I  felt like nothing short of a magic wand would transform my meals!

flowers and fruit grown in a local garden

I've been thinking a lot about how this all came about.
As far as I can remember, I think I was basically brought up eating versions of the same meal, until about age twelve. Fish fingers, baked beans, chips and of course ketchup! I didn't mind, I was quite happy. I didn't mind eating the same thing over and over. I'm fairly sure there was nearly always a Sunday roast and I expect the odd vegetable was eaten now and again.

There was some simple baking I remember. Flapjakes, cupcakes, cheese straws, apple crumble all the things I make now, and probably from the same seventies cook book which I still have. And not forgetting banana and custard too! It was all simple and straightforward, and not too clever.

There was quite a lot of anxiety in the early years for my Mum and me. Eating the same food for me became a kind of security blanket I think. Also I loved apples. There was a time probably around the age of five when my Mum tried to check in a suitcase full of apples as extra luggage while we were going on holiday. I can remember the suitcase having to be taken back the car!... obviously I found something else to eat and survived!

From that point on other dishes appeared,  but the whole idea of different flavours and exotic spices didn't really reach far into our world. I don't think it naturally set me up for a life of creative cookery. I find myself in awe when people seem to throw in all kinds of ingredients and flavours. 

There were a few simple meals were learn't at school, and then forgotten. I have to say when I left home, (the first time!) I was seventeen and didn't know how to cook at all. I once famously boiled an egg without putting the water in.....I never did that again! And the packet of lasagne I kept in the cupboard. I really expected to find a complete lasagne in there.....

As I grew older I found I would begin to eat like whoever I was spending time with. I feel as though I learn a dish from everyone I meet. I hadn't really found my own way of eating. I still have moments when I look inside my fridge and have no idea what to do with it all.

Mainly I think I eat okayish, I try and aim for organic when I can. I think I could be cooking with more vegetables. I could probably forgo meat most of the time. We have our little range of staples. Dishes we have eaten for years. Truth is we are probably a bit fed up with them. The habit of not venturing far from the known food perimeters is still very strong I note now with my own son. It's a challenge to want to create new things when you feel they won't be tried. I have spent years trying to eat round what other people want.

So.....to cut a log story short. I want to re-introduce myself to food. Really find my own way with it for the first time. I've been asking myself what do I really want to eat? Imagine not having to shop around anyone else? How would you eat if you were only catering for what you want? Breaking away from the set family shop! It was surprisingly difficult actually. All I could think of was more vegetables, maybe soups. Juices. Perhaps some stews and hotpots. Less meat. I can feel a kind of new eating plan evolving, but don't know quite what it is yet.

The Farmers market cookbook by Nina Plank

A couple of weekends ago I shopped at our local farmers market.

I have been reading The farmers market book by Nina plank. Nina was the founder of the organic farmers market movement in America. She describes the aliveness of the produce that she loves and the way the food can be used in a way that made me have an inkling of what I'm missing.

The book was left here by a previous cabin dweller. In truth I may have almost wrestled her to the ground for it as she was leaving. The name of the town Nina grew up in and the name of my house were the same and I felt that on some level me and this book were destined to meet! Her message was for me. I knew I needed it more! and bless the good natured gal that she is, she let me keep it.

So armed with Nina'a advice I set off to snap some fresh peas and marvel at the local produce.
I really wanted to stall holders to tell me how fantastic their produce was. How fresh, how ripe, how tasty it was. I wanted to feel like Nina! I wanted the hard sell on the veggies! I wanted to be enticed. I wanted them to wave their vegetables in the air and call out how wonderful they were......what lovely meals I could make with them.....

Actually it was a bit more subdued than that.....! but really I feel like I should have asked more questions. You know, drawn them out. I'll do that next time..... I've got my bearings a bit now. It's a great excuse to dig out the baskets and string bags.
I'll try and keep you posted.

Enjoy the weekend :-)

♥

home

It's been a while. The time went by. I become a reader, and I enjoy that. I try to wait until I feel moved to write here. To feel what I want to say. To feel the inspiration arrive. It's like a little challenge for me, to wait until it happens. And it always does. Even when I think it won't. So the time has gone by, and January is  over and I've been thinking about home.

Right now, in this two person and one little dog family, home is very much where it's at. Our daily lives are here in the warmth of home. It's where we shelter, where we rest, where we play. Where we remember who we are. Where we dream up the new. Sometimes we need to do this for however long we need to before we are ready to step out again into life in a new way. It becomes our anchor.

Lately I have found myself trawling through forgotten boxes, dusting things down, bringing things in from the cold. Polishing, shining, remembering. Giving things center stage for a while, and receiving what they have to give us. We have to know that, everything that is in our lives, is part of our lives. Even the things pushed into cold unloved corners. We can bring them out into the light. Allow them a place. Let them warm up to the tempo of our lives now. For a while perhaps. Choosing what to keep, what to let go of. When to let go of it. Finding the message in their story. How they came to be here. What joy did they bring. What sadness. Seeing what is here, right now. Acknowledging. Making whole, sewing in all the lost and forgotten parts.
 This is the work of home.

a favourite piece of thrifted quilt

I think there is sometimes a difference between saving things and cherishing things. After all what are we saving them for? How do we really know they will be needed. We can't really see into the future. We save and store things, and they can become cold things in our lives. Or perhaps we don't know what to do with them, and they become a forgotten pile somewhere. I feel like I am in a process, letting it all be a part of us.

Thinking of ways to cherish, honor and acknowledge all the parts. Maybe making little memory tables, changing them around. Celebrating a moment of your life, or someone who has been a part of it.

A place you have been, an accomplishment. Remember who you were at different ages, school, college, first job, first boyfriend! Let that part work it's magic. It's all played a special part. Look for the lessons and learning in the difficult times.

Make a space, dedicate a whole room if you can, or just surround yourself in memories. Build them into your life. Appreciate them. Just like this family here have. Do watch this if you have a couple of minutes.

   

Our American Revolution from Dark Rye on Vimeo.

Aren't they sweet! I love the way they are sitting together, him with his typewriter, her with her sewing machine and clay work. Cherishing all the parts.

I think ultimately for me, it's not just about de-cluttering, it's about re-connecting, with all the different aspects of who we are and then making space for this in our life. Maybe I will end up with less stuff. But I feel sure I will find space for my life, creativity and new ideas.

Creating home is the most important thing I do. 

♥♥♥

p.s. sorry if you have a problem with the vimeo! It was working and I think there is a problem with vimeo right now. Unless I have done something wrong! Hopefully it will come back on.If you click on the link below the film it may work!

a finished autumn blanket!

After two days without a local internet connection, I decided it was time to show you these pictures. We had an evening of playing chess and drafts and re-connecting! It felt like divine intervention really and a little glimpse back to how life used to be. I quite liked it. It felt really different and has given me something to think about. I definitely felt more present in my life and I felt like I had more time! It's a tricky thing to get the balance with.

I am enjoying my new autumn blanket. The light indoors is just not up to it, so I took the blanket outside to show you.

You can see the colours are quite dark already. I'm so happy I added the little pops of colour. Overall it's the effect I was looking for. I wanted something darker, perhaps less girly to sit on my couch in these colder months.

I was a little unsure about adding in the beige colours to the mix, but having ordered the wool I decided to plough ahead with it. The brighter colours in the middle were some merino wool from my stash. I was inspired by this blanket here, by little cotton rabbits. I saved this in my flickr favourites a long time ago. I was inspired by the colours although mine is not quite as blue grey as I would have liked. But in situ it looks just fine, and I will show you eventually.

The pattern was very straightforward as you can see. Triples followed by four chains at every corner. The join is ridged underneath, which I decided would be best as really this blanket will be for sitting on!

It's probably the size of a large lap blanket. Any larger would need serious dedication. I do have my eye on this blanket found on Annette's pinterest board, as a possible next project. Definitely back into girly! wouldn't it be lovely.

Well the elving has begun here in earnest, I'll understand if your visits here become fly-bys! it's that time of year. I still need to go and dig out my advent star. It's time to begin lighting up the house. Have a good Sunday. Bye for now,

Heather

X

Just wanted to add that this screensaver for December is fun.

a little bit crafty.......

I have had a bit of a crafty week here. Probably because I have now finished my blanket and am feeling a little free! I still need to block it (if i do!) and am waiting for a bright day to photograph it but I will show you soon. I have been enjoying a flurry of crafty moments:-

This book by Kanako Yaguchi, The art of decorative paper stencils 2, appeals to me on so many levels. I do love paper crafts and it's been a while now. (You can see the little suitcase!) Kanako combines her travel memories of cities around the world with the art of paper cutting. It has a Japanese feel to the book and especially in the translations where she talks a lot about her memories of the air and the wind. This is a beautiful Japanese quality to me. She turns her work into illustrations and exhibitions. I feel very inspired.

These were the colours I had left with my origami paper. I love this combination. There is some patterned paper to try out with at the back of the book too. I'm imagining trying different mediums say newspaper print, and perhaps they could become cards or added to wrapping paper.

This week I discovered the work of Flora Bowley of  Brave Intuitive You. There is fantastic film here of her making her art. You absolutely must watch it! I think of myself as a crafter. Not an artist. Not really. Not yet anyway. But I was inspired to begin a little something small, just for myself really, that I thought I would share with you.

These were my Mum's watercolour paints. I have cut small squares of paper, and everyday I will paint one piece. It may just one colour, or maybe I will use crayons or pens. Or maybe I will stick something on it! Anything is allowed, and I will see where it takes me. It's only a small piece of paper so, no pressure just something. At the end of a month I will make a collage of all the pieces. Would you like to join me?!

I just felt like trying something new.

I have many art books which belonged to my Mum. I try to remember to open them up and keep a page open for inspiration, which I change around. I like this idea of intentional inspiration. I believe that things that we see everyday do inspire us subtly on a deeper level. This is my current page by the Impressionist Cubist, Jacques Villion. I also have books on street art and many different kinds of art. I like the idea of my son growing up with this kind of inspiration around him.

I do feel the need to be more creative in other areas of my life. I have got stuck in a rut, whether it's the food I'm eating or the clothes I'm wearing. More on that to come. I'm on the look out for inspiration, I feel like it's definitely in the air. A burst of inspiration is always a good thing :-)

I have been playing with china alphabet beads, sometimes it's the small things that bring pleasure!

and I do so want to create my life.

Well the sun's shining, so I will be off to soak some up while I can.

Enjoy the weekend,

Heather

X

I like.....

I like kind,

I like honest, funny, real, genuine.

I like inspiration!

I like brave, 

I like warmth,

I like welcome.

I like creative, artistic, modern,

I like pre-loved,

I like home, journey, travel,

I like endeavor

and I like care.

I like daring, safely......!

I like heart and I like soul,

I like moving and stretching.

I like gentle and strong,

I like reading and seeking,

I like watching and growing,

being and seeing.

I like colour,

I like encourage,

I like motivate.

I like friend,

I like lover.

I like smiles,

I like opening.

I like forgiving,

I like green,

I like trees, sunshine and stars.

I like creative folks,

blue sky and flowers,

I like handmade, homespun and thrift.

I like mother earth wearing it's big beautiful breathing flowery dress on the common!

Welcome July!

is there anywhere you go daily and watch things grow?

have a good week,

Heather
X