2016 in Review: A Year of Nice Days Out

A few years ago I decided to stop feeling like I had to work all the time (the curse of the self-employed!) and started taking proper days off: making room in my schedule (and my budget) for days off visiting new places, going for walks and seeing new and interesting things.

I called these days off my Nice Days Out and honestly, starting them has been one of the best decisions I've ever made. I've loved blogging about them, too. I was a bit worried when I first started sharing photos from my trips because they didn't exactly fit with this being a "craft" blog. But I wanted to keep a record of my adventures, and I've been delighted that you guys have enjoyed them as well.

Tate Britain

I took 40 Nice Days Out in 2016, as well as a couple of short holidays and several flat-hunting trips. I visited art galleries and museums, parks and beaches, ships and churches, cities and towns.  And I took lots of photos along the way!

Doing a round-up of my 2016 Nice Days Out gets a little tricky though, as my 2016 blog posts really don't match up with my 2016 trips. I had days out where I didn't take photos, I blogged about trips taken in previous years, and I've got lots of photos sitting unedited and waiting to be blogged.

So, instead of of a month-by-month diary of my travels, here are (in roughly chronological order) fifteen of my highlights from 2016.

1. Going door-spotting in Bloomsbury.

I spent lots of happy days walking in London last year, revisiting favourite places and exploring new ones. I didn't plan on spending this particular day photographing doors... it just sort of happened. But exploring London on a sunny day, guidebook in hand* looking at interesting things and taking lots of photos? Heaven.

(*that's an affiliate link, by the way, but I love those books so much - I highly recommend them)

 
2. Taking my mum on a tour of Bath.

My mum and I took lots of little trips together last year. We saw several exhibitions, celebrated Chinese New Year at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery (so joyful!) and visited Kew Gardens (and their magical Christmas light trail). One of our most special days together was the day we spent in Bath. I love Bath and my mum had always wanted to visit but had never been, so when a cheap train ticket offer popped up we booked tickets straight away.

We had a Sally Lunn bun, admired all the Georgian architecture, visited the Abbey, had a delicious lunch at the Boston Tea Party, and were wowed by the Roman Baths. A busy and brilliant day.

3. Exploring a wonderful library in Leeds. 

I visited loads of interesting buildings during my short trip to Leeds but my favourite was definitely the Central Library: so many fabulous tiles!

4. Climbing the Central Tower at York Minster. 

This might seem like a weird choice for a "highlights" list as climbing the Minster tower was actually one of the most deeply unpleasant things I've done in a long while. I didn't think I was claustrophobic, but apparently I am! I felt like I was about to have a panic attack halfway up those narrow spiral stairs, it was pretty horrible.

But I breathed deeply and gritted my teeth and got on with it and it was totally worth it. Great views and a huge sense of achievement at having conquered both the climb and my rising panic. I won't be climbing any more Cathedral towers any time soon though.

5. Following in the footsteps of my family with a visit to Bamburgh beach.

I could write a whole list of highlights from the trip my mum and I took to Northumberland in the spring. We visited amazing castles, soaked up loads of history, sat in front of huge roaring fires, explored a wonderful bookshop, and saw a hare running through the snow.

The best bit though was definitely visiting Bamburgh beach. After days of cold and grey and snow, the sunshine and blue sky felt like a gift - it was such a beautiful day!

We have an old family album with photos of my grandmother as a girl, her mother and her mother all on Bamburgh beach, and more recent photos of my mum playing there as a child... and now I'm the fifth generation of women in our family to have enjoyed this view.

6. Spending a joyful afternoon at Carter's Steam Fair.

When this vintage funfair rolled into town, I couldn't resist! Charming rides + gorgeous decoration + interesting old steam-powered vehicles = a great combo.

7. Stepping into another world at the Barbican Conservatory.

When Polly and I met up in London, we spent a busy morning in Kensington then decided to visit one of the city's hidden gems: the conservatory at the Barbican. I had no clue this existed until I read about it on someone's blog a couple of years ago, and I'd been meaning to visit ever since (it's free to visit but has very limited opening hours).

I recommend this place to everyone now - it's amazing! A green and gorgeous oasis in the middle of the city, this is a peaceful and magical and slightly surreal space to visit. It reminded me of post-apocalyptic movies where nature is taking over again (once-bustling cities overgrown with plants pushing up through the cracking concrete), and also of futuristic films where gigantic spaceships or colonies on distant planets have gardens for the crews or colonists to relax in and stop themselves getting space madness, etc.

8. Walking down the Long Walk in Windsor (and all the way back again!).

I visited Windsor a few times last year, trying to make the most of my "locals get into the Castle for free" privileges before I moved away. I went to see the changing of the guard, followed all the audio guide tours, stared at every tiny detail of the dolls' house, ate royal ice cream, saw an exhibition of the Queen's dresses, enjoyed the Castle decorated for Christmas... and walked along the (almost 3 mile) Long Walk from the Castle gates to Windsor Great Park.

Not gonna lie, I slightly regretted choosing to do this walk on such a hot summer's day. That view though! Truly wonderful and worth every step.

 
9. Standing in an infinite sea of pumpkins.

I saw a lot of exhibitions last year but the Yayoi Kusama exhibition at the Victoria Miro gallery was by far my favourite. The mirror rooms were particularly amazing, especially this piece ("All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins"). You just got 30 seconds in each room, but what a magical 30 seconds!

10. Stumbling upon a wildflower meadow in Hyde Park.

London's parks are full of gorgeous flowers in the summer, but I wasn't expecting to find a mini meadow of wildflowers among the formal borders! Pure joy.  

11. Experiencing an art exhibition like no other, in Reading Prison.

It's not every day you get to go look at art inside a former prison. Not least one as famous as Oscar Wilde's Reading Gaol. My dad and I visited Inside: Artists and Writers in Reading Prison just for the chance to look round this famous building (one which we've passed many, many times). We found it completely fascinating and very much enjoyed the (quite emotional) combination of the building's architecture and history and the art.

 
12. Discovering more of Oxford with Oxford Open Doors.

Oxford never disappoints and the annual Open Doors weekend is particularly wonderful. So many interesting buildings open to the public, and all for free! I come home each year with a happy heart, slightly sore feet and a camera full of photos. This is one of my faves from this year's trip: beautiful Balliol.

13. Travelling back in time at Eltham Palace.

I've visited so many places with my Art Pass over the past few years. It's helped me stick to a tight budget for my Nice Days Out and led me to visit (and fall in love with) a huge range of different places, many of which I'd never heard of before seeing them in the Art Fund's guide.

I particularly enjoyed my visit to Eltham Palace. The house itself is is beautiful and has a fascinating history (which is brought to life really well by the audio guide), then there are gorgeous gardens to explore as well. A very special place, and one I'm delighted the Art Pass helped me discover!

14. Capturing the delights of the Tube on the Made by Mrs M photowalks.

Kate of Made by Mrs M organised two photowalks last year - they were so much fun! We explored Art Deco stations on the Piccadilly Line and the southern end of the Northern Line, taking photos and chatting and getting funny looks from passers by who were clearly wondering what this strange group of women were up to.

They were both lovely days out and great lessons in the details you can discover if you take the time to stop and look. I'm really looking forward to the next one!

 
15. Soaking up some winter sunshine by the Jubilee River.

Last but by no means least, I really enjoyed this quiet walk my dad and I took in November. The sky was blue, the setting beautiful and the light amazing. Just perfect.

So much good stuff squeezed into just 12 months!

I expect I'll have fewer Nice Days Out in the coming year as I'm going to be busy with DIY on lots of my days off... but that should give me the chance to finally get caught up with editing all my photos and blogging about my previous trips.

I hope you'll continue to enjoy reading about my small adventures and that they'll inspire you to make plans for some of your own.

2016 in Review: A Year of Craftiness

One of the great joys of blogging is being able to look back through your old posts and see just how busy your year has been!

I'll be sharing a round-up of my 2016 Nice Days Out sometime soon, but in the meantime here's what I got up to on the creative side of things...

In January I was getting ready to have a clear-out, photographing lots of crafty things in preparation for a destash sale. I also blogged about a faraway feature and the joys of Fuzzy Felt.

In February I revealed the three fun Valentine's Day crafts I'd designed for Tesco Living, did some paper crafting, shared some works in progress, and visited the yarn heaven that is the Unravel Festival of Knitting.  

In March I shared a tutorial for making a crochet hook roll, and an embroidery pattern reminding you not to compare your insides to other peoples outsides. I also finally finished blogging about the awesomeness that was the first London Craft Week (which happened in 2015; I am not the world's speediest blogger, am I?).

In April I finally got a smartphone and joined Instagram!

I shared tutorials for turning an ordinary tape measure into a cute hot air balloon, and for making a 3D floral picture from felt and fabric. Banners, Buntings, Garlands and Pennants was published so I got to show you guys the projects I designed for it (such a fun book!)... and I stitched the final flowers onto this cushion cover (which will hopefully become a tutorial later this year).
 

In May I blogged about the progress of my happy rainbow blanket, which finished soon after that but still need to take "ta-dah!" photos of to show off its full rainbow glory. Big stuff = so much trickier to photograph than things like felt brooches!

I also did some secret sewing, took part in the Day in the Life photo challenge on Instagram, and shared two more positive embroidery patterns: be the best version of you, and you are stronger than you know.

In June I did some more destashing and decluttering (so much photographing and weighing and measuring of things!) and held a sample sale of lots of old projects from my books and other craft books. I shared a tutorial for making a mug mat decorated with felt biscuits and wrote a list of 50 small ideas for cultivating kindness, happiness and positivity (which I think might be my favourite blog post from last year).

I also made recycled envelopes, played with paint and added lots of mini squares to my random blanket.

In July I reviewed The Origami Home, started a sea-themed project and shared tutorials for making phone cases decorated with ice creams and sewing a whole village of felt houses. I also knitted a tiny scarf for a polar bear and cut out lots and lots and lots of felt flowers.

Oh, and when the 69th issue of Mollie Makes came out I got to show you guys the fun projects I designed to accompany their felt-y cover gift.

In August I did yet more destashing (I think this might be the theme of my 2016?), I celebrated five years of Super-Cute Felt (my first book, and one I still adore). I announced that I'd be teaching some classes at The Village Haberdashery, which sadly didn't work out (boo) but later became some fun online tutorials (yay!), and I got crafty with lots of colourful supplies.
 
After many hours of late night stitching, I also finished my "Take to the Sea" embroidery inspired by The Toast - I really loved working on this, and (luckily) the recipient loved it too (phew!). 

In September I set myself a crafty challenge: to come up with 100 creative gift wrapping ideas. No time limits, just an ongoing creative project to work on when the fancy takes me. In a great flurry of enthusiasm, I'd shared 10 ideas before the month was out! I've got lots more ideas scribbled in a notebook; I hope I'll have the time to make and photograph them sometime soon. 

As well as the gift-wrapping ideas, I shared a snow globe embroidery pattern, and a tutorial for using it to make a snow globe ornament.  My cross stitch brooches got featured in Homespun magazine, and the partridge and pear wreath I designed for Mollie Makes the previous year got republished in Mollie Makes Christmas.

I took a journey down memory lane and blogged about a childhood sewing project, my Sylvanian Families collection and all the food, fashions and furniture I made for them as a kid. I finally bought the wadding and backing fabric needed for the Christmas quilt I'm making my sister, and I also bought a frankly ridiculous amount of embroidery thread which was being sold at a bargain price. I've been choosing just one photo per month for this post but I can't resist including these thread photos too - so much delicious colour!

 

In October I celebrated 8 years of sharing free tutorials here on my blog, I reviewed A World of Quilts (such an inspiring book), started a whole series of Christmas ornament tutorials and shared the kitsch Christmas stocking  I designed for issue 72 of Mollie Makes. 

I was also busy behind the scenes working on new patterns and most of my evenings were spent working on my sister's Christmas quilt - hand quilting is a labour-intensive business!  

In November I visited the Renegade Craft Fair, published the rest of the Christmas ornament tutorials, and blogged about two very different projects of mine ending up in print.

I also turned my autumn wreath design into a tutorial for The Village Haberdashery and finished hand quilting the Christmas quilt. It was hugely satisfying to get the final row stitched but sadly the quilt didn't get finished in time for Christmas as I'd hoped as December was just so hectic.

December was a ridiculously busy month in my "real life" and my blogging and crafting got a little neglected. I wrote a felt Christmas baubles tutorial for The Village Haberdashery, did a round-up of some of my favourite Christmas cards... but I mostly spent the month packing, moving house, and getting set up in my new place.

Of course, I made sure that I had all the essentials when I moved: I didn't have an oven or a fridge for weeks, but I did have a pile of handmade blankets.

I hope you enjoyed this look back at what I got up to last year!

You can follow along with all my new crafty projects here on my blog, of course, or on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

2015 in Review: A Year of Nice Days Out

Flowers at Liberty, London

At the start of 2015 I resolved to get back into the regular habit of taking a Proper Day Off once a week and going on a small adventure - taking a break from my endless work To Do list and stretching my legs, exploring new places and seeing new things.

This was an excellent resolution to make. I had lots of Nice Days Out in 2015 (52 in total) some big, some small, some near, some far... and they were all awesome.

Writing a post about my year's mini adventures is a little tricky though as the trips I blogged about in 2015 are not exactly the same as where I went in 2015. I blogged about some 2014 trips and there are lots of trips from 2015 that I've not yet got round to blogging about (so many photos to edit and so little time!). I also spent several days catching up with friends in various parts of the country, and took my mum to visit historic buildings and exhibitions and to see my book for sale in Liberty and didn't take my camera with me (gasp!).

So, instead of a month-by-month diary of my travels, here are (in roughly chronological order) fifteen of my highlights from 2015.

1. Climbing all 528 steps to the top of St Paul's Cathedral. 

My camera died before I got to the very top (remember to charge your cameras, folks!) so this is actually the view from just part of the way up. You get an amazing view of London and the Cathedral itself is, of course, a pretty special place to visit.

2. Admiring the blooms at the Chiswick Camellia Festival.

As well as many delightful follies, the gardens at Chiswick House contain a lovely long greenhouse which is filled with a vast collection of camellias. Beautiful - and free to visit! (Psst - the 2016 show starts this week!).

3. Exploring a battleship.

The HMS Belfast is one of those places that it would never have occurred to me to visit if it hadn't been for my Art Pass but it turned out to be completely fascinating. I spent hours working my way round the ship, climbing up and down ladders and generally having a whale of a time. Such an unusual space to explore and so much history to learn along the way, I loved it.

4. Enjoying the magnolias at Kew Gardens.

Last January I treated myself to a year's membership of Kew and visited the gardens several times over the changing seasons. It's a gorgeous place at any time of the year but spring was especially wonderful and the magnolias in April were particularly magnificent. Imagine a whole grove of trees filled with these huge, beautiful blossoms! Simply swoonworthy.

5. Following the Shaun in the City art trails through London and Bristol.

The sculptures were cute, finding as many as possible was a fun challenge, and I spotted lots of other great stuff (and did sooo much walking) along the way! You can read about my London sheep-spotting here, here, here and here and about my Bristol trip here.

6. Celebrating makers and making at London Craft Week.

The inaugural London Craft Week was almost overwhelmingly special. So many amazing things to see, so many interesting places to visit and so many incredibly talented makers to meet! I can't wait to what they've got planned for this year's programme. 

 

7. Having tea with a tiger at the Jewish Museum.

I visited dozens of interesting exhibitions in 2015 but my favourite had to be the Judith Kerr retrospective at the Jewish Museum. I adored Judith Kerr's books when I was a kid and still have a huge affection for her characters (the Christmas ad featuring Mog made me blub so much!). This was such an enjoyable exhibition to explore, not least because I got to "meet" the famous tiger :)

8. Witnessing the historic ceremony of Swan Upping.

The annual census of the swan population on the Thames is a delightfully quirky tradition and was a perfect excuse to go for a walk along the river on my day off. History, royalty and swans, what more could you ask for in a Nice Day Out?

9. Climbing Cabot Tower for a spectacular view of Bristol.

I was pretty lazy about exploring Bristol when I actually lived there, so it's been a joy to take some trips back to the city and do lots of the tourist-y things I missed out on. I especially loved climbing the city's famous Cabot Tower, which is situated in a lovely park and gives you great views over the city.  

10. Visiting Osterley House & Gardens.

This is another place I'd never have visited were it not for my Art Pass. It turned out to be rather wonderful and a perfect place to visit on a hot summer's day. Osterley has huge, peaceful gardens and a fascinating house with intricate, pattern-filled decor. Even the veg for sale at their farm shop was patterned!

11. Soaking up some history with Oxford Open Doors.

Oxford's annual heritage festival is something very special: dozens of interesting buildings across the city open their doors to the public in a celebration of the city's architecture and history, and it's all free to visit! I still haven't blogged about my 2015 visit but it was a wonderful, busy day spent exploring some really amazing spaces. You can see some of my photos from 2014's equally awesome festival here (Oxford is such a beautiful place).



12. Visiting a tiny island in the Thames.

Guards Club Park is a petite, riverside park with a bridge that leads to the equally petite Guards Club Island. This is quite an enchanting space to visit - and how often do you get to explore a tiny island that features in one of your favourite movies? Magical (and just as delightful in the autumn).

13. Going behind the scenes at Windsor Castle with a tour of the Round Tower. 

I love Windsor and visited it several times in 2015, exploring the town itself (and neighbouring Eton), following the Castle's audio tour, watching the Changing the Guard ceremony (the band played the Star Wars theme, to general delight!) and seeing the magnificent spaces decorated for Christmas.

I also took a couple of special tours at the Castle, one of the Great Kitchen and one of the Round Tower. Both the tours were really interesting (so many fun facts!) but it was particularly wonderful to get to climb the Tower and look out over the Castle and the surrounding area - especially as I grew up being able to see the outline of the tower in the distance from our house!

 

14. Taking a magical autumnal walk along the Thames.

The riverside is so beautiful! Autumn is so amazing! Even on a grey day this was an excellent combination.

15. Last but by no means least, celebrating Christmas at Kew. 

Okay so I know I already picked Kew in the spring as one of my 2015 highlights, but their winter light trail was something really, really special. The mile long trail of sculptures and installations was beautiful and fun and filled my heart with joy. The perfect end to a year of Nice Days Out!

It was ridiculously difficult to select just 15 things to include in this post, which I guess is a pretty good sign that 2015 was filled with good things!

Here's hoping that I have just as much trouble picking my 2016 Nice Day Out highlights :)

P.S. You might also enjoy my look back at my crafty 2015: part one & part two.

2015 In Review: A Year of Craftiness (part two)

Time for part two of my look back at the crafty, bloggy things I got up to in 2015. You can read all about what I got up to in January - August in part one. 

In SEPTEMBER...

 

... I started #Crafting365, doing something crafty each day and sharing a photo of it. This sadly didn't last the whole 365 days (or anywhere near it!) but it did lead to a highly enjoyable burst of creative energy this autumn and a whole flurry of making.

I worked on some colourful felt cushion covers, did lots of knitting and embroidered some text; I cut and stitched lots and lots of felt flowers and re-knitted lots of blanket squares; and I dabbled in embroidery, making envelopes, playing with paint, experimenting with yarn and knitting mini squares.

 

I also made gift boxes, added pompom gift-wrapping packs to my shop and blogged about a new kids craft book, Sewn Together, which includes fun felt headbands designed by me.

In OCTOBER...

 

... my daily crafting continued, with knitting, quilting and embroidery, plus scrapbooking, cross stitch, felt crafting and a DIY haircut.

I shared tutorials for making a starry skies brooch and a felt bow brooch, and I spilled the beans about making a Christmas quilt (this wasn't finished in time for this Christmas but it WILL be in time for next year!).

I blogged about old puzzles and games we found in the attic, a bear I made for my sister when I was about eight, and a set of felt Christmas ornaments I designed for Creativity magazine (which were so much fun to make).

 

 

I also got to let the cat out of the bag about several exciting projects. The eight festive projects I designed for 'Tis the Season to Be Felt-y! The four plush animals I designed for Sew Sweet Creatures! The partridge and pear wreath I designed for the cover of Mollie Makes!

It's funny how often projects you've been working on for ages, all at different times, get revealed in a cluster like that. Anyone reading my blog in October must have thought I was some sort of crafty superwoman, but there were many months of keeping secrets and many, many hours of designing and drawing and stitching behind the scenes before that cluster of slightly over-excited posts saying "look what I made!!!!"

In NOVEMBER...

... I got crafty with felt leaves and glitter and did colouring in and lots of autumnal knitting, I finished the Christmas quilt top, made things from craft kits, stitched lots of felt flowers and doodled in cafes.

I got a crafty tattoo (well, kind of), shared a tutorial for making stripy cards from colourful scrap paper, and created a DIY Advent calendar with a twist for Tesco Living.

I also shared a tutorial for making embroidered felt Christmas baubles, and blogged about a couple of magazine projects: fabric hydrangeas for Mollie Makes and a reindeer jumper for Creativity (complete with jingle bell antlers and a pompom tail!).

Finally, in DECEMBER...

... I blogged about my visit to Renegade London (aka the best craft fair ever), reviewed an evolution-themed colouring book (fun!) and made plans for finishing my rainbow blanket and my mini patchwork squares blanket.

I also did a lot of simple knitting and not much else, so I decided to press pause on my #Crafting365 project. As a "professional crafty person" it was quite embarrassing to admit to going through a creative dry patch, but I always think it's important to be honest about these things and it was a huge relief to remove that (entirely self-created) "obligation" to be posting daily updates about my creative projects.

I ended up taking a break from social media and blogging over the holiday season and I found it very refreshing! I will continue to make stuff and share it online in 2016, of course, but at a pace that fits better with my life and the ebbs and flows of my creativity.

I hope you'll stick around to see what crafty projects the next twelve months will bring :)