Weaving Navajo Style

You may remember a while back I tried my hand at weaving. It's something I tried way way back in the mist of time (cough, whisper, sshhh it was the 1970's).  That and macrame, both of which I never thought I would see a recurrence of appreciation for. But like everything, things come back in fashion. 

I must admit, I never thought I would see G-Plan furniture coming back in style but saying that publicly just makes me look like a right old codger haha.  There are so many schools of thought on decorating, it's as personal as your clothes. I'm all in favour of revivals in styles, so whether you were born before the 70's or way after, you can either re-live your youth or play with ideas from the past. 

So with the return of retro, teak sideboards, Trechikoff paintings, browns, teals and mustards, comes the macrame plant pot holder and the woven wall hanging, and I love it.

But you don't have to go the whole hog with the look, replicating every element, if you are clever with colour you can mix it in with pieces from other time periods.  Placement is also key, and because weaving is a textural thing it can work as a way to soften a more minimal harder surrounding.

The first few little weavings I did were just to get my hand in, with anything crafty one does need to practice the technique a bit to get the tension right and also to the design that appeals to you most. 

I started with some freeform lines, seeing how different thicknesses of yarn would sit together and while its much neater to use the same size yarn all the way through you can create a more three dimensional piece with fringes and variations in weft.

So what to use as a frame, well if you look on pinterest you can see that almost anything can be adapted as a frame, old picture frames, branches etc.  Here's where my adaptation for a frame comes in, I bought a tapestry stretcher frame on ebay with the idea that such a thing might come in handy one day (oh the hoarding mentality). 

This large tapestry frame has given me the chance to make a larger piece although it is really tricky trying to keep the warp threads at an equal distance.  As my intentions were to use up some of the yarn stash it seemed a bit counter productive to buy an expensive purpose made weaving loom, and I can just imagine the reaction from the other half at spending loads of money on four bits of wood with notches in. I think if he was better at d.i.y. I would have asked if he could make a loom, perhaps you will have better luck with your spouses abilities in the wood working department, (probably not if he or she is a musician though)! I think that when this piece is finished I will decide if I like the 'handmade' look or whether to get a professional frame for a neater look.

Now I've looked at designs a bit more I'm gravitating towards the American Native Indian style of geometric, you can see these on my pinterest boards too. This week I am definitely channeling my inner Navajo.  

Textile artist Maryanne Moodie does fantastic things with fringes, I wish I could go to one of her classes as I'm not getting on well with the fringe aspect, I can't get it to sit smoothly, so for now Im giving it a miss. 

So that's my progress so far and I will show you the finished results fairly soon.  I'm also weaving beads on a small bead loom but that will have to wait until this is finished, one thing at a time. 

Coastal Art and Colours - Lewes to Rye

I thought I'd just do a little round up of my  latest trip to the coast with some recommendations of lovely grownup things to do if you are interested in art and interiors particularly.

We drove to Lewes as our first stop, which unfortunately didn't give us a very pleasant hotel experience, having left it a bit late to book we chose what seemed to be ok location wise but was a very run down and overpriced place. In fact the worst hotel on our trip and the most expensive, I won't name it but its a pub/inn on the high street.

The best part about this location was its proximity to three things we went to, firstly the Vintage Fair in Firle, then Monks House the former home of Virginia Woolf and then Charleston House, the home of Virginia's sister Vanessa Bell, an artist. Have you been watching the tv series about them "Life In Squares" - love in triangles. Its worth catching on iplayer to get the general feel of the stories behind this set of bohemians and is also filmed at these locations.

Monks House

The best part about Monks House for me is that you can take photos inside and their welcome to visitors is very warm. The green colour in the lounge was mixed for them by Farrow and Ball and is truly stunning. 

Monks House is not as decorative as Charleston but the garden is just as stunning and the collections inside are also lovely. 

Firle House vintage fair was glorious, mostly because we had a really sunny hot day.  I knew the traders would have great stock as lots of the vintage sellers from the south coast go across to France buying. Disaster number two came when my other half got stung by a wasp on the lip! we are calling it wasp gate. The traders there were so kind, they found him some medicine and remedies. Naturally I picked up a few cute things as souvenirs and then we headed down to the coast to Eastbourne. 

This stretch of the coast is classic British and really quite smart and clean. We booked a comfortable hotel on the beach front, one of the old Victorian buildings. Laying in bed listening to the sea and seagulls was so lovely. What else should you do there? well buy some fish and chips and eat them on the pier of course.

We didn't do so much in Eastbourne, just sat on the beach and collected shells, soaking up the sun and fresh air.

From there we tried to stick to a coast road and in my search for a nice cappuccino we stumbled across the De La Warr Pavillion which is showing an exhibition of Bridget Riley paintings. I have wanted to see her work up close for so many years, I couldn't believe it! The exhibition runs to the 6th September with information here http://www.dlwp.com/event/bridget-riley-the-curve-paintings the cafe was also very nice so that was a totally unexpected bonus. 

Style guru Jeska at Lobster and Swan gave me some recommendations for shops she thought I would like in Hastings and thank goodness she did as I don't think we would have found them. Theres an amazing selection of vintage shops in lovely old buildings in the old town near George Street. The High Street and Post Office Passage will keep you amused all day exploring if you like a rummage. Butlers Emporium was recommended to me and it is really beautifully curated. I bought a few lovely things which will be featuring in my photos soon. We ate in Nazar a Turkish restaurant with very good food, its on Robertson Passage. We love lots of 'picky bits' so a Meze is perfect for us, me who grazes and the other half who eats like a horse. 

It was quite sad to say goodbye to Hastings, I could have done with another day there but Dungeness was calling. Since I worked at Mute Records with musicians who put music to Derek Jarman's films, I have wanted to visit his cottage and garden. It is so lucky for us that it is still possible to just drive up to the cottage and wander round, but please respect the occupiers. The cottage is called Prospect Cottage and you can see its location on google maps.

I read that Derek Jarman chose the yellow of the windows to reflect the yellow in the plants which grow there. Please do some research before you go so that you can better understand about the planting and how the garden grew into an art work organically.

We lost the good weather but somehow grey and dreary does really suit the area of Dungeness, a truly strange place.  Theres a toy train which the school children still catch, but we didn't actually ride on it ourselves. 

Our hotel in Rye was such a joy after a windy drizzly day. Perfectly located and with lovely decoration, the Hope Anchor was great value for money with very good breakfasts. Just round the corner from great shops and beautiful old winding cobbled streets. Mermaid Street has been used in so many films, transporting you back with buildings from the 1400's.  The Mermaid Inn is on my bucket list of places to stay, maybe next time, its one of Englands oldest Inns having been rebuilt in 1420.  

The George and The Standard are great places to eat, but you need to book. A lovely combination of interior design shops and antiques. It is good for mens clothes which is unusual. Rye is definitely another place to go back to and quite magical.

Tomorrow I pop over to Amsterdam to visit an old friend. Rosey is a very stylish girl and Im sure I will have some lovely photos of her cool house to share.  Have a lovely weekend everyone, and please don't forget to vote for me in the Amara Awards the link is here :
http://www.interiorblogawards.com/vote/janice-issitt-life-style/

Your support is really appreciated. 

Styling The Season for July

At the beginning of the month I was taking the inside out, but mostly I've been bringing the outside in.  Partly due to the fact that I love weathered patina on metal and wood, the rust and peeling paint being an attractive quality to me.  Also flowers, my word, I have so many in the home at the moment, either picked from the garden or simply ones that Ive fallen in love with at the florist. A friend came round yesterday with her daughter who described my home as like a fairy house, full of little vases of flowers. They couldn't believe the giant alliums were real.

The wrapping paper above is printed from my own photos by Wrap Me.

My enormous bag from The Future Kept comes in very handy for picnics as you can fit so much in it and I do like my home comforts. For me summer styling always has to has hints of Morocco and India too.

This table was bought with the french metal chairs and despite being re-painted by myself a few times in rust proof enamel paint, the layers have chipped and lifted. I will probably have to rub it down to protect it from the rust, another garden related job to add to the every growing list.  It's so hard keeping up with the gardening, I wish we were as successful with plants as we are with weeds.

The other piece of furniture that has lived outside but is now inside again is my coffee table. We found this in a skip with its legs broken and so fixed it up and painted it. However the paint peeled off after being outside and I love it even more now. 

As someone who can't cook Im most happy in warm weather as I enjoy raw food so much more.

If you like some of the lovely things in these photos you can find them as follows : Big bag on hook - The Future Kept. Antique suzani embroidered throw is from Holy Cow Home, together with the distressed blue hook rack, Moroccan light shade, Umbrella, candlestick and photo frames. The green plate is Anthropologie and the brass handled knife from West Elm. Flowers from my local florist Wild Orchid in Leighton Buzzard. 

Im looking forward to August as it's my birthday and also because Im visiting Amsterdam to see my old friend Rosey, but I would say that July has been a strange and beautiful month for many reasons. I have taken part in a fun present swap organised by Capture By Lucy and we all open our Summer Time Surprise gifts on the 26th, the contents of which are sure to be shared here and instagram. See you next week.  

Inside Out

Yay, we have some summer here in the UK, at least a whole weeks worth so far! It takes a lot to get me out of the house, so when I venture forth I like to take a few luxuries with me, even if its only into my own garden.  I have a lot of old furniture thats been used as props for photos, or projects and such. Some of it ends up in the garden shed as we can't bear to part with it, one such item being a single wooden bed that I bought on e-bay.

This was such a good purchase as it's assembled in minutes, just slotting pieces of wood together and laying the slats down, when it's taken apart it hardly takes up any space. And so, we set it up in a cool spot in the garden.

cushions and scarves are from Van Asch

We had some old foam in the shed as well so used that as the mattress and then took a lovely Kantha quilt and cushions out from the house.

Another old prop was the screen which I use as backdrops in photos, painting it different colours, this one has some stencilling on that I did a while back. 

I also made a wig-wam for myself, to keep the sun off and for my blind cat Coco to get cool in. I started off by pegging Kantha quilts to the washing line and then giving structure with bamboo poles and bits of wood we had lying around.  We keep a couple of old rugs in the shed as well for a ground covering.

By the evening we had got quite into the spirit of things, and took some chairs out to the paddock at the end of the garden.  To add to the fun my other half took some light shades out and hung them in the trees.

There are alpacas at the bottom of the garden, I think you can just see them, they are very curious creatures. We sat and watched them from our garden palace.

Another favourite spot for us is the lavender farm at Hitchin. We took half the house with us and bought food from their cafe as they do such nice platters.

All these items are from Holy Cow Home 

enormous bag from The Future Kept

All items from Holy Cow Home

cushions from Van Asch, quilt mug and plates from Holy Cow Home

At Hitchen Lavender you pay 4.50 each to go into the lavender fields and pick your own, the sound of buzzing bees is hypnotic. 

There are open air film showings in August so we shall hopefully return, maybe for my birthday.

Have a lovely time wherever you are.