Just a Sprinkling

Woke this morning to see everything looking picturesque with a pretty dusting of snow.

I really love how everything looks when the snow has fallen, but I don't love the chaos it causes as buses grind to halt and schools decide to close; so I'm really hoping that was it for snow this Winter. My son is hoping for more snow - enough to close school. You just can't please everyone!

Happy new year by the way. I can hardly believe that we're already halfway through January. This was my first free weekend of the year and I made the most of it by relaxing in my armchair, drinking cups of tea, catching up with my reading and looking at some of my Christmas presents.

I treated myself to 'How to be Parisian' as I've had my eye on this for quite a while; and I also treated myself to Garance Dore's new book 'Love Style Life' as I love her blog and illustrations. My sister, knowing about my addiction to gorgeous notebooks, bought me a beautiful Ted Baker journal along with some jotting pens. Can't wait to start scribbling ideas for new projects in here.

I always feel so excited at the start of a new year - all the possibilities that lay ahead. I hope to make some real progress with my embroidery and will be sure to post updates here.

Amanda
xxx

It's Almost Christmas and It Was My Birthday

I think I must be the most organised that I've ever been in the lead-up to Christmas; I posted out my cards the first week of December and bought most of my presents, which got wrapped pretty much straight away, and the tree is up.

The angel on top is from the 70's and is the one we had on our family tree when I was a child. It's amazing that she's still going.

Work is incredibly busy at the moment and I'm loving the frenetic pace. There is Christmas magic in the air as I found myself invited to tea with friends I hadn't seen in a long while - it was so good to spend some time with them.

Then yesterday was my birthday, my last day off before Christmas. So as well as catching up on chores such as ironing, changing the bed and cleaning the bathroom, I also got to spend time with family and friends drinking cups of tea around the kitchen table - fab.

I love this time of year - I have little splashes of Primrose colour in my garden and the delicate flowers on my Viburnums are just perfect. My pictures aren't the best but things are hectic so it's a wonder I got any at all.

Amanda xxx

The Empty Stocking

Christmas is fast approaching and the thick layer of sparkling frost covering everything this morning seemed to herald its coming; which brings me neatly to the reason for todays post - my absolute favourite Christmas book of the moment:-



'The Empty Stocking' by Richard Curtis
illustrations by Rebecca Cobb

I absolutely adore this book and I urge you to get your own copy, whether you have children or not. It will give you that 'feel good' feeling and have you reaching for a nice glass of port and a slice of stollen.

Written by well known film director Richard Curtis, his hand is very apparent as he pulls, to great effect, on your heart strings. The utterly charming illustrations by relative newcomer Rebecca Cobb work perfectly to bring the story vividly to life. She has a childlike style combined with a sophisticated attention to detail.

It tells the story of 7 year old twins Sam and Charlie who, on Christmas Eve, are preparing excitedly for Father Christmas to visit. But Mum and Dad are a little bit worried as this has been Charlie's naughtiest year yet. Does Father Christmas know? And will he fill her stocking?

The first time I read this book I immediately fell in love with it and had to get my own copy. My son was already a teenager at this point so I couldn't pass it off as a present for him, but I was more than happy to gift it to myself.

Books are such great gifts, never more so than at Christmas, the perfect time to cosy up by the fire with a warm drink and a great read. I'm busy compiling my list now.

Amanda xxx

Beautiful Bird (in stitch)

It's been a while since my last post, but I felt that I'd put a bit too much pressure on myself to post on the same day every week, and so I've taken a step back and realised that I need to allow myself to be a little bit more flexible with my posting. I've blogged before, but as part of a group, so I'm still getting used to having sole responsibility and I need to strike a balance between blogging and my other commitments. So I'm going to try a more relaxed approach and see how it works out.

So time now for an update on my artistic endeavours:-

I am and always have been entranced, fascinated, and captivated by birds. I could happily spend hours gazing out of the window, observing them flying, perching, feeding and singing in my garden.

I still have my Usborne Birdwatcher's guide from childhood and can remember clearly one warm summers day following the instructions for suitable camouflage clothing and layering myself up with a thick brown wool cardigan and wellington boots. I was thus prepared, to crawl up and down a grassy bank, much to the amusement of the neighbours I'm sure.

Birds had to play some part in my 'Maps' embroideries as they are woven through my life. When I see the Blackbird tugging a worm from my lawn or the Robin with his plump red breast chirping away from atop the fence post, I feel a joy that lifts my spirit.

I used to love looking through bird books to find pictures of baby birds with their mouths gaping open for food and I love to watch 'Springwatch' where the cameras literally give you a birds eye view of feeding. I don't know what sparked this interest - it's just always been there - I'm not a serious twitcher traveling the country hot on the wings of  a rare sighting. At the moment I don't even have a bird table - it's most definitely on the wish list. But I love that birds exist and I'm lucky enough to share my space with them.

So here is my finished embroidery:-



'Come Into My Garden'

Amanda xxx

A Lifetime of Books

I came across an article in the press recently about a report showing that sales of ebooks was falling while paperback sales had increased. I am not surprised by this at all, now that the initial excitement of a new toy has worn off, and been replaced with the realisation that you are not downloading a book onto your ereader but digital content. For a true book lover nothing can replace or emulate the physical book. The smell, the touch, the weight, the creak of the spine, the turn of the page.



one of my 'to read' piles

I was recently on the bus and as I settled into my seat, I reached into my bag to retrieve my latest read. As I opened it, to where I'd left my Chris Riddell book mark, I noticed that the lady immediately in front of me was also reading - on an ereader. As I glanced from my page to her screen I was left in no doubt that technology could never dim my love of books. I could see at a glance how far through my book I was and how far was still to go; I could look at the cover art with a quick turn of the book; if I read a passage with particular resonance or impact I could turn to the back cover and look into the face of the person who had crafted these words; I will leave traces of myself amongst these pages as the words in turn have entered my consciousness. The experience of reading a book is a tactile and emotional one.

I have read books my whole life, a passion I have carried with me from before I can even remember, and I hope that I have passed that passion onto my son. We both have bookcases filled to the brim. Along with friends and family, my childhood was also populated with Paddington Bear, The Famous Five and Cinderella, to name a few. They lived in my imagination as vividly as any real person that I knew. Books have enriched my life and my mind and I keep meeting new characters all the time such as the wonderful Jack Reacher as mentioned in a previous post and I was recently re-acquainted with the literary legend that is Scout Finch.

Books from childhood

My posts may be less regular for the next few months as this is a particularly busy time for me at work, and I also want to dedicate some serious effort to my artistic ventures, but I will still be putting stuff out here. This is becoming like another form of diary or journal for me, both interesting and enjoyable.

Bye for now
Amanda xxx

Misty Mornings, Sunny Days

What a wonderful way to transition from Summer to Autumn. The mornings were grey and misty with an eerie, mythical atmosphere cloaking the landscape in a timeless sense of mystery.

Then the sun broke through to give us a last indulgent burst of warmth, blue skies and rich Autumn colours.

After the previous week, when my mood was quite dark, this wonderful mix of weather lifted my spirits.

I found time to catch up with all the news from London Fashion Week where collections for Spring/Summer 2016 have been shown. This understated look from Jasper Conran is an ideal Summer look for me with a slim silhouette and touches of gold :-

Jasper Conran

I also felt myself drawn to the Giles collection which had a dark forest theme; anything with a forest theme is sure to make me take notice and it was a beautiful collection reminiscent of Alexander McQueen with its sense of narrative and hand-crafted quality:-

Giles

But for now Autumn is well under way so time to embrace cosy nights in with warm drinks and a good read.

Amanda xxx
 

Autumn/Winter fashion

Hi, this post should have gone out yesterday but I had some technical problems so I do apologise. 'tis the nature of computers.

I could most definitely feel Autumn in the air yesterday. After the morning mist burnt away, it was a lovely clear, sunny, crisp day perfect for cutting my lawns, and it was so good to be out in the fresh air as I seem to have some sort of bug that has me feeling headachy, disgruntled, and having somewhat of a creativity crisis. Not even being in the garden letting my mind do some wandering seemed to snap me out of it. I guess we all have these little blips ( I hope so anyway).


Emmanuelle Alt

The noticeable change of season has turned my thoughts to fashion; the new collections are already in the shops and I've decided who my style muse is for this season - Emmanuelle Alt editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris. She's a similar age to me and is on my personal list of most stylish women as she always seems to get it just right. This is the look I would love to achieve this Autumn/Winter. It's a very simple, understated look but it's done with the utmost style and elegance.

Although she has access to any number of designers and a pretty healthy budget, I'm hoping I can find something similar on the high street. I'd also like to inject a few Autumn colours - I was thinking forest shades of green and brown. I'd love to find a flare that works with flats. I know they look so much better with a heel but I have to impose some practicalities as I spend most of my days on my feet running around.


As I said earlier, I haven't been very creative but I did manage to take a photo of a beautiful rainbow behind my house at the end of last week, so I'll leave you with this:-

Amanda xxx