Weekend Bits

I worked at the Death Festival at Southbank Centre on Saturday, taking some photos for our social media and live tweeting during the event. The idea of the festival was to examine attitudes towards death and to get people talking about it in different ways through art, poetry, theatre, music and comedy. There were talks and performances throughout the weekend, plus a debate chaired by Jon Snow. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from the festival, but I really enjoyed myself and loved live tweeting the event. If you're interested, you can look back at the tweets using #deathfest.

On Sunday I had some lunch with Gav in Camberwell, then came home and had a clearout in the flat. We rearranged the bedroom to make the space nicer, and cleared some space in the spare room too as we're in the process of turning it into a music room.  I love a good furniture rearrange, don't you?

Hope you had a lovely weekend too.

Bless the Weather

Since the pre-christmas rush my Etsy shop, Bless the Weather has been a bit unloved. I opened it pretty fast last November so I'd have something to show friends and colleagues who wanted to buy my knit cowls and scarves for Christmas presents. It worked a treat, I had a rush of orders and was kept pretty busy until the holidays. I knew the shop needed more work, more products and better photos. I needed time to plan things and create something I was really proud of. I'm so glad I rushed things last year as I had a great time knitting orders before Christmas, but now it's time to do this properly.

I'll be closing the shop for a while to design and make new products, ready to launch a brand new shop for Autumn/Winter later this year. I'm really excited about taking my time to try and make this a success, rather than rushing things which I so often do. It's all about enoying the process. If you'd like to follow along, I'll be posting inspiration, prototypes, patterns and behind the scenes things on here and on the Facebook page.

Thanks, as always for reading, commenting and all the rest. You always say such lovely things, and I don't always have time to reply to everyone to say thanks. So...thanks.

Weekend Bits

Is it really Wednesday already? The days are rushing by so fast. I'm off sick today with a little cold so I'm catching up on some weekend pictures. Then it's back to the sofa for some TV shows and a nap. Legal dramas are practically educational, right?

1 // Brixton Village with my pal Zoe. Best coffee and company around.
2 // Porridge. I'm an addict. This time with agave and sultanas.
3 // Walking to East Dulwich from Camberwell. Great views from the hill.
4 // Sunday coffee with Gav in my favourite cafe/bakery in East Dulwich.
5 // Another picture of coffee. Sorry.
6 // Ruskin Park
7 // Veggie bacon, avocado and vegan cheese on toasted rolls for Sunday brunch.

Awesome weekend. Need to find the formula so I can have one every week. Have a happy Wednesday.

Nice Stuff

1. Isn't this the lovliest studio you've ever seen? Devon based artist Rob Mason's shed on I Know.
2. Love this Kilim cushion from Organic Shine Society on Etsy. I'd like a sofe piled high with these. Seen via Emmadime
3. Rebekah Leigh Marshall's beautiful poppy mirror. I've reminded myself I must buy one from her Etsy shop.
4. Inspired by Zoe's moody street style Lomo shots for Lazy Oaf.
5. Lovely misty photograph by Michelle. She's a wonderful portrait photographer too, take a look at her portfolio here.
6. ASOS metallic geo knit snood, seen via Kerry's Pinterest. I'd love to knit one of these, but I'm not sure I have the patience. Maybe time to investigate knitting machines?

I've been saving some of these links for months now, finally got around to using them. How is your week going? Mine is going by pretty fast. Work is crazy just now, but I like it that way. I kinda thrive off of a bit of pressure. January is a funny one this year, I can't quite put my finger on it. Even the weather can't make up it's mind.

Weekend Bits

I cheated a bit this time, as most of these photos are from the No Brow 'This is Not a Pop Up' launch at the Hayward Gallery on Thursday night. Well worth a visit if you live in London as it's only on until the end of the month and there's some interesting stuff inside.

I left my flat for a total of 45 minutes the entire weekend, hence no photos to share. My friend Jill came to hang out and make brownies with me on Saturday, and on Sunday I sorted my spare room and did some knitting. I'm finding it hard to get moving this month, and can't shake this constant feeling of tiredness. Like most people, I don't fare too well in the cold and the dark.

I'm fighting it this evening with a walk home, beans on toast, cups of Rooibos Chai, productivity and a big fat jumper. How about you?

Wise Cracks at the BFI

It's Woody Allen season at the BFI Southbank this month. Heaven for me as I'm a big fan, but have never seen any of his movies on the big screen. Thankfully, a few colleagues were keen to check out the festival so we went to see Manhattan.

It's one of my favourite films, with grand shots of the New York skyline, Diane Keaton being effortlessly stylish and neurotic all at the same time and my favourite movie dog, Waffles. Seeing it at the BFI with hundreds of other fans made me appreciate it all over again, and if there are any London based Woody Allen fans reading this, I can't recommend it enough. The festival runs until Monday 8th February, which means there's three more half price Tuesdays to catch one of the movies. Hooray for films for a fiver.

2012 Goals

Last year I set myself just two big goals of getting a new job and buying a flat, both of which I managed to achieve which has been amazing.  It's a lesson in what I can do when I put my mind to it, so this year I'm pulling out a few of the big guns.

1. Pay off my overdraft and credit card by 2013
2. Learn to drive
3. Big work goals - learn lots of new skills, would love to get a promotion and move a little further along the road
4. Decorate our flat
5. Create an autumn/winter range for Bless the Weather with a lookbook, video and a fully stocked Etsy shop.
6. Start playing and recording music again

As well as these six goals, I have a huge list of smaller things I'd like to do during the year including separate goal lists for each month. It probably sounds a bit much, but writing things down keeps me on track and I feel a huge sense of achievement when I get to cross something off my list.

I've also set myself a few monthly tasks of baking and cooking a new recipe each month (inspired by Jess) and reading one fiction and one non-fiction book each month. I'll see how that goes then I might throw a few more things in the mix. Good luck with your goals for the year if you've made some too.