Secret London

I've been asked to arrange our Christmas work party this year and whilst researching, I remembered a very good book my friend Caitlin showed me a couple of years ago - Secret London.

They have a website HERE and it lists all interesting, quirky and hidden attractions in London and is a very good source of ideas for things to do! There's a lot of places I didn't know existed and houses that I didn't even know I could go into!!

Badger Cross Stitch

I spotted these two little fellows hiding in a nook when I visited my good and talented friend, K, one half of Magpie Inventions at the weekend.

Hausu

Meet Snowy, the cat from the hilarious Japanese comedy horror movie, Hausu from 1977. Just have a watch of the Killer lampshade scene! Amazing!

Lampshades

Talking of lampshades, at the weekend, my friend Chloe and I traveled down to Lewes in East Sussex (I just can't keep away from that place!) to visit basket maker extraordinaire, Annemarie O'Sullivan to learn how make our very own (lampshades)!

We were both really excited about this course and had been looking forward to it for a couple of months! I went along with an idea in my head of what I wanted my lampshade to look like, pretty much like one you may have found in a home in the 70s, incorporating traditional basket weaving techniques, but wasn't totally clear about the shape I wanted.

When we arrived we were opened to a whole world of different ideas; techniques, materials and shapes from the books Annemarie showed us, to the different examples she had, both lampshades she had made herself or picked up from various places. There is just SO much you can do, the possibilities are endless. I discovered weaved lampshades, lampshades made from willow, cane, round shades, long shades, different coloured shades, more sculptural shades... I very nearly became completely overwhelmed by what can be achieved, but I regained control and stuck to what I first envisaged, so the only aspect that developed was the shape I wanted it to be. For this, I was inspired by a willow pot in Annemarie's kitchen, it was lovely and rounded and I could see the shape being able to work as a lampshade, yes, this was the one, so I measured out everything and got started!

It was really nice, because Chloe had similar ideas, in terms of the materials and techniques she wanted to use for her lampshade, so we were able to talk through our processes together, and it was so great to see them both taking form - Chloe opted for a beautiful organic, pumpkin shape. And in the end, they both turned out completely different from each other, and also slightly different from what we had expected, each with a character of their own completely!

Here's just a few photos of our progress throughout the day...

Selecting your willow...

Securing the base

Weaving the first band

Weaving the second band

Finishing offA lampshade!

Mulled Cider

I'm off to a bonfire / diwali party tonight and my liquid contribution is this - the most perfect (and my favourite) drink for this time of year - mulled cider!

Here's what you will need -

Cider - about 2 litres of the good stuff, enough to fill a large saucepan

2 apples, cut into quarters and studded with about 10 cloves

1 orange, cut into slices (you can squeeze the juice out into the pan before popping them in)

2 cinnamon sticks

a pinch of grated nutmeg

3 tbsp caster sugar or to taste

a good ol' vicious slug of dark rum

Put all ingredients, except dark rum, into a large saucepan and really gently simmer (do not boil or you'll loose all of your alcohol) for about 20 minutes. When it's good and warmed through, glug in your rum and serve in glasses. Mmm mmm!

Chin chin!

Tapestry in progress

Some photos of how the tapestry is coming along....