a lime green day

I am not one of those people who go all dippy-skippy over bright, bright colours... I do really love colour, but I prefer it when it's seen in a tiny flash, like a kingfisher or a single buttercup in a hedgerow. There are certain colours though that make me go all weak and wanty, like pale dirty duck-egg blue, the beige-grey of unbleached linen, and today's colour, lime green...

As John Lewis were thoughtful enough to text me about the start of their summer clearance sale (uh? How did they get my number...?) I decided to go and 'have a look'...

It wasn't very long before ten balls of beautiful soft cashmerino yarn in the most perfect shade of slightly dirty yellow lime green 'found' their way into my basket... I wish you could feel how soft it is... it is absolutely divine and makes me want to stroke it. I am going to make it into a big, warm, lacy scarf for autumn. I love it.

Then, while I was waiting to pay (I had managed to wander all the way from the yarn department, past the shoes, clothes, make-up, fabric, cushions and bedlinen without buying anything else... how restrained am I?) this gorgeous gorgeous mug in the exact same colour appeared before me. Again, I wish you could reach into the photograph and stroke it... the lightly crackled glaze is so clear and the colour so pure and rich... it is hand-made in France by Jars (have a look at their website, it is beautiful). I am a firm believer in the cheering properties of a good mug, and as I need a new one for my tea at work, I had no difficulty in resisting it.

Lovely, lovely lime green. It ought to be available in little bottles from the chemist.

abstract still-life

Been thinking and learning a lot from Keri Smith recently about creative play, as well as from Amy and Jamie from the Pikaland online art course I went on in the spring.

It seems that whenever I sit down to 'draw properly', I end up dissatisfied with the results... a perfectly good representation of a shell or a feather or a plant or whatever... but no soul. Yet when I stop trying too hard and decide to 'play' with art materials in a more abstract way, I surprise myself with interesting compositions and patterns that are way more stimulating than the 'proper' art...

I know what I have to do... introduce one side of the family to the other...

small and pretty things

In the midst of life it is the small but lovely things that sing out... like this little bunch of gloriously scented just-picked flowers from the garden... and a piece of sponge cake with lemon curd and cream... I am particularly happy about this as I have finally discovered how to make a light-as-air sponge cake which is also gluten free. A mini-triumph... the best kind, I think.