Self-imposed craft exile...

Regular readers (although, that's an oxymoron as I do not provide enough waffle for you to digest on a regular basis: I'm only thinking of those waistlines...) may have noticed that I have been uncharacteristically quiet on all creative fronts: the shop is still there but bereft of anything new, the blog has creaked to an emollient-free stop, and Flickr, once the place for wips, cakes and inspiration is saturated, regrettably, with my face, a self-portrait on a Thursday being my only creative outburst. Unfortunately, life has got in the way and yumptatious has taken second place to, at the moment, more important shenanigans. Last (school) year was an extremely hectic one and I am determined to redress the balance, but I need your help:

I need YOU!!!

(apologies that the crazy world of foreshortening makes it look as if I am brandishing a stump where my forefinger should be: nice.)

I need you to kick my butt, (in a creative, metaphorical sense only please: I've met a number of you and reckon that you could inflict serious damage if the need arose.) I need you to throw your creative briefs at me: tell me what to write about - be my editor (I won't expect payment...yet) Would you like me to write a review (book, music, film, exhibition etc), re-write a recipe, show you how to make something, tell you a story, give my opinion on a chosen topic etc? I will then post the results over on my spanking new blog. I struggled for ages to come up with a suitable name, fearing what pondlife Google would send my way. Therefore, I have decided against:

• Please kick me up the arse

• Give it to me (and make it hard as you like)

• I need YOU to push me

• Activate my creative juices

• and, of course I need your briefs.

I have gone for an 'exactly what it says on the tin' approach: behold yumptatious waffle!
Just leave your suggestions over there and I'll get cracking.


In the meantime, a quickish precis of the last 9 months creativity:
I've learnt to knit, and, in doing so, created probably my most popular picture on Flickr (21 extremely wise people have added it to their favourites)


I bought some of the yarns seen here from Texere Yarns up in Bradford, the place that I, and the other weavers, bought the yarns for their final projects from back in 1993, so I was thrilled that they are still going. (I wonder if present textile students at Nottingham still go there...)
Ooh, speaking of my fellow weavers from back in the day, I recently got back in touch with an old chum of mine via Facebook, Sarah Allen, who happens to also have an Etsy shop! Go and behold her beautiful cloth: she's damn talented and a purchase from her will increase your lifejoy tenfold.

I made a couple of skirts, one from Clothkits and one made from a sneaky template:

The one on the right is made from upholstery fabric I picked up from my local flea market for £2. Check out my sofa's jealous demeanour (and rightly so.)
I heartily recommend Clothkits: the instructions are easy to follow and they provide everything: the lining, the zip, even the thread. The skirt I plumped for is designed by the wondrous Rob Ryan and comes in many tempting colourways.

I have, of course, been baking, thanks to this amazing book. Every recipe is a winner, although I do think using a food processor does help with the lightness of the frosting. (if anyone would like to buy me a KitchenAid, please feel free: I'm not proud.)

Pornography, pure and simple.

Here are a few of my current favourite things:


clockwise from top left:
my current read and I recommend it whole-heartedly! Funny, honest, informative and inspiring in a cheese-free kinda way. I swear I put on weight with her as she ate her way around Italy (something I would love to do!)
I can't stop playing this album! If you're a pedant, you'll be able to pick out all the 80's references, but that doesn't mean that this is yesterday's leftovers served up as retro. One of those album's that proves that decent dance music can have soul too. This brings me great joy!
Whilst I do indeed love this whisky, it's pictured here more in honour of my latest addiction, 'The Wire'. If you haven't seen it, I can only hope that the God of Karma rectifies the situation and brings you the best thing you can set your eyes on (other than kittens, cake, oh and I guess your children) in the form of the dvd boxed set. And if you don't believe me, listen to Charlie Brooker: he has no reason to lie to you (unlike me, who may at some point need you to lend me a fiver, or help lugging some furniture, or to hide a body)
Superhit jossticks: unleash your inner (or outer) hippy and make your world smell sweeter!
I love Lush products: they smell fabulous, they do a bloody good job and they do it all with a glint in their eye. I'd previously tried Liz Earle's facewash (after remortgaging the house in order to do so...) but my skin hated it. It loves Ultra Bland though, which seems to last forever! Hurrah!
Sainsbury's have introduced more coffee's into their Fairtrade range. Currently enjoying their Italian blend: very nice!



Summer has been and gone, but we managed to get away to Cornwall and had a fabulous time. I love it down there, the mix of raw, beautiful coastline and moors steeped in history and the ghosts of myths and people past. We had a surfing lesson which was a real epiphany, though not for the reasons I had hoped. I discovered that my body is every one of it 37 years: I have no physical strength, I have no flexibility and certainly no grace or elegance (but then I never had!) Ok, I've never been a completely fit person, but my body has often surprised me when called for. Not this time: it's gotten older, and is tired and needs help. At least the neoprene was forgiving! Me and the sea didn't get on too well this holiday: she chewed me up and spat me out as I tried to get over her hormonal waves. I took the hint and admired her from a distance.

I did, however, discover the coffee shop with the finest view:

Tate St Ives.

They also do a good line in sandwiches, cakes and delicious coffee, and use Cornish ingredients where possible. We weren't in the mood for the actual gallery, though I urge you to go. Whilst in St Ives, make sure you go to Barbara Hepworth's Museum + Gallery. The garden is an oasis of space and calm, away from the cramped, yet picturesque, streets. I loved her studio: you can't go in, but you can peer through the windows at a tableaux of artistic industry: it looks like she's just popped out to make herself a cuppa.
We did pop into the shop to add to our collection of joyous inspiration:

clockwise from top left:
1) go to the Eden Project
2) pass out at the wonderment
3) after seeing her lil piggies in the Mediteranean Biome, purchase this utterly inspiring book and immerse yourself in her skillz via her website.
4) thank me later

A fabulous treasure hunt book from Alice Melvin

Postcard featuring 'St Ives Harbour (All Round)' by Bryan Pearce

This book makes me want to get the pencils and oil pastels (Sennelier, natch) out STAT! I love her work oh so very very much. Please buy me some.

Postcards featuring 'Restaurant View with Leach Jug'  and 'View from Pednolver Terrace' by Rachel Nicholson



Right, I'm off to lie in a darkened room in preparation for the arrival of my muse.
Let's not leave it so long next time.
x

Bread and beauty

The gorgeous Abi has started a fabulous group over on Flickr called Day2Day- Take Five Ordinary Beauty.
It's made me start looking at things the way we were taught to when I was an art student, to see the beauty in the ordinary, to seek inspiration through the commonplace. Of course, back then, we didn't have digital cameras: we had sketchbooks and cameras with film *the music to the Hovis adverts starts up in the distance*
Anyhoots, here is my visual bounty for the past couple of weeks:


1. snack (d2d, day 1), 2. in the kitchen (d2d, day 1), 3. cworfeee (d2d, day 2), 4. in the night garden (d2d, day 3), 5. treasure (d2d, day 4), 6. bite (d2d, day 4), 7. day2day, day 5, 8. alium seed head2 (d2d, day1/week2), 9. alium seed head (d2d, day1/week2), 10. sunbathing lavender (d2d, day 2 week 2), 11. peppermill (D2D: 3/wk2), 12. waiting (d2d 3 week2), 13. i heart recycling (d2d: 4/2), 14. comfort eating (d2d: 5/2), 15. english summer (d2d: 1/03)


Would you like to know how to make that delicious looking bread from photo 14? Of course you would, for you are hungry for knowledge and easy-to-make baked produce. It's a Nigella recipe (oh, for a change...) from this tasty book.
Are you sitting comfortably?
Then I'll begin...
She's called it 'Lazy Loaf' but I prefer the far more catchy name of

'Sweet Mother of Holy Fuck! That is a Damn Simple Loaf to Both Make and Eat!'

200g ridiculously expensive but ridiculously tasty sugar-free muesli (I used Dorset Cereals Organic Fruit, Nuts and Seeds)
325g wholewheat bread flour
1 x 6g packet of easyblend yeast (or, in my case, a 7g sachet of Sainsbury's Fast Action Dried Yeast)
2 teaspoons Maldon salt or 1 tablespoon table salt
250ml semi-skimmed milk
250ml water

1. Mix together the muesli, flour yeast and salt in a bowl, although you could use a bucket or other recepticle should you wish, if you want to be a bit wierd. Here is how I stir:


2.Pour in the milk and water. I like to do it like this:

Obviously, if you have access to a cow on a diet (remember: its semi-skimmed milk we need here), you may want to administer it straight from the udder.

3. Mix this unholy cacophony of staples so that it looks like one mahoosive bowl of porridge, like this:


4. Grease or line a loaf tin and pour the porridgey goo in.
5. Put in a cold oven then put it on at 110*c / gas mark 1/4 for 45 minutes.
6. Turn the oven up to 180*c / gas mark 4 for 1 hour. Spend this time berating the fact that you didn't make it last night and should have had something for breakfast before embarking on this bread quest. Take the butter out of the fridge so that it is soft and ready (insert your own crude metaphor here)
7. Hallelujah! That annoying 'beep beep' of your timer heralds the dawning of the Age of Sweet Mother ... bread! Release the loaf from its 180*c prison and allow it to cool for, if you can manage it, a few minutes. Warm, fresh bread is fabulous: mouth burnt by fresh bread is tedious.
8. Slather in butter, jam or just adoration and try not to eat the whole loaf before your family gets home: that's the trickiest part.

Bon appetit!