To end this term our print project was followed by a month of weaving. I instantly felt more settled and relaxed amongst the lines of looms with a cup of tea sat next to me. 

I decided that i wanted to give natural dyeing a shot, so i set about dying my warp a selection of colours. I made life much harder for myself, and because of the 'unknown' chemicals, i had to do it at home on our little hob.... we still have a bottle of 'blackberry juice'. 

My original plan was to use indigo to make a blue. But indigo is tricky as it requires a chemical reaction to occur, and after 4 attempts i still couldn't get it to work, so i decided to replace it with blackberries. Which produced this AMAZING pink, when it came out (i was a little scared), but then formed a beautiful silvery lilac, when it dried! Success! 

I Tried picking buckthorn berries whilst i went back home to wales, but realised that id need 20 x the amount. I decided to use a linen warp, which i loved, it creates a real brittle texture but holds the colour really well. 

The easiest was onion skins, I mixed it with a bit of madder and got 2 amazing shades of a golden yellow/ brown. Yum! 

So these are my finished hanks, 6 in total, ready to be wound the threaded into my loom. I was so happy with the results, but it took such a long time. You need to begin where you wish to continue at some point! 

Now to the loom...

Threading is a long long process, it takes about a day just to pull all the threads through in the right sequence. As you can see i have 2 warps, a striped one and a plain one of linen,silk & cotton mix. This allows me to add the stripes when i want to, or create pleats or a frayed effect. 

We spend the first few days discovering what our warp can do, and produce test strips which we refer to later on for our final samples.

These are my final samples...

They were inspired by my trip to Sri Lanka in the summer, the dry heat & the worn state of buildings, plus the stripes of some traditional textiles i brought out there. 

I really enjoyed it and i felt like i was achieving what i wanted to. It is such a slow process - and i think thats what draws me to it, you can't make it much quicker and thats so counter cultural. In the world of fashion that moves so quickly, the weavers move at the speed the yarn drys.

I've decided to specialise in weave, so from now untill the end of my degree, that is what i'll be doing! YIPPY! xx

 I've been meaning to do this for too long! However, i handed my work in on Thursday and now i feel like i can finally breath. Its been an intense term!

So 2 weeks ago today, i got engaged! Other than a few fluttering thoughts it was a complete surprise, and even when he got down on one knee my mind was like 'what are you doing?' but my spirit was way ahead, and my nerves told me something immense was going to happen! 

I Love this 2 week point...

 the decrease of uni work means i can focus on a wedding! I feel like this is what i've been waiting for, guilt free time with my Pinterest account. 

So, i was thinking about how to mark this life event on hear - the actual proposal story is quite beautifully funny, and its much better told in person. I did receive some rather charming cards, so i thought i'd share with you what this means to other people. 

There are two areas of this curation - 

1) Beautifully humorous / cute / child-like

2) delicate / paper - cut / collage

Im quite into cards, so hear are my 6 favourites (of the ones in my house, warren also has some lovely ones.)....

From Aedan

From Number 90

From Grace

From Sophie

From Mackenzie clan

From Aunty, Uncle & Cousins.

I have an exhibition on tuesday/wednesday & thursday - so will try and post pictures of my work soon!

A mega belated round-up, its a sad thing when i can't find the time or energy to blog. But after a beautiful weekend back in Wales, i am refreshed and back to business. 

Hear is a glimpse into what i've been up to at uni for the last 4 weeks. Now, i am happy naturally dyeing my yarn for weave - and can safely say Im pleased to move on and leave the chaos of the print room behind me. 

I learnt a lot, mainly about hitting the creative wall and the pain of finding the strength to continue in the midst of my head and body saying STOP, RUN, THIS ISNT WORTH IT! (*dramatic) 

My heart was that i'd create a print containing the declaration that rain will fall on the dry floors of Kilinochchi, northern Sri Lanka. And after working for 4 weeks, with feeling that nobody really 'got' my vision and struggling to represent it myself. I found peace, massive refreshing peace in the knowledge that rain is falling in that place! (so the internet says)

THIS IS WORTH IT!

September has sprung.
After what an incredible summer, i feel SO thankful for all that i've experienced and the company in which i embarked it on. I love growing up, my life is so much more complete and full than it was a few years back. Thankyou Jesus (seriously!) and the amazing people that have skipped into my world in the last year.

I took a few weeks camping, celebrating and learning how good God is. I'll raise my hands, he's that good!

I found a house, a wonderful space of peace. Which is ironic seeing as the process was anything but peaceful. It's a total dream which i held deep inside, wanting to live in a creative house with wonderful people. Guess what... even the deepest dreams get realised! Literally the day before we had to pay the deposit!

Above ^ is lovely Sophie working at Davids Tent. (Pictures of the other girls are sure to follow soon!)

And, last week the plan of flying to Nice came into reality with one of my favourites Suz. It was really special to explore a new place and discover beauty with one of the most creative people i know. One of both our highlights was the Marc Chagall Museum. I think we were totally stunned by his use of colour and the fluidity of his marks. I took some close ups, and there defiantly going to inspire some colour pallets for this year....

 With my time in Wales coming to an end, and a new term in London excitingly looming. I've been making it a priority to just aimlessly dwell in the beautiful land that surrounds me. 

One of my favourite and most peaceful places to walk is Bishops wood. A stretch of woodland, which follows the river between Parkmill and Ilston. It holds the ruins of the first baptist church in Wales - a beautiful place of peace, with few people and the odd dog. 

On my way back, i followed a smaller, more overgrown path and tried to capture the incredible light. Just imagine the steady sounds of water flowing, bees buzzing and wild flowers gently blowing under the sun. AMAZING! 

Afterwards, i walked into Parkmill and took the track to Three cliffs Bay through the valley. Usually i approach the bay via the castle above the dunes. But there was something quite dramatic about viewing the castle from below, and approaching the beach via the valley bed which often floods with water at high tides. 

I love the turquoise streak of light in this image. 

Walking up from Caswell Bay last week i noticed the beautiful wild flowers. I learnt long ago never to pick, when i got told off for stealing a bluebell. So i had to go back and take some photos... to settle the erg. 

On a different note, my wonderful friend Bethan drew me! I think its completely amazing, and always impresses me when people can draw so realistically. Check out her blog here! Shes great :)