More Brighton Pics

I started this blog to write about my designs and other crafty type things that I like doing but seem to have been putting lots of photos of Brighton on it instead lately... so why change a habit?! Brighton looks at its best in the sumer anyway!

On the way to the gym I took a few shots of the seafront. It was well hectic! It was the London to Brighton bike ride. Anyway, it looked so nice I thought I'd share a few more of my snaps:

Near the Volks Railway

I seem to have discovered 'tilt shift' by accident on Istagram - happy accidents are sometimes the best! That's what I seem to have used on this pic of the seafront.

Then I noticed this chap lounging about in front of the big wheel - very nice of him to frame my photo so well for me without me having to ask...haha..

Big Wheel

  

 Maybe I'm getting a bit carried away here with my shots of the big wheel... one too many...?

We've been having some great sunsets here lately too (when its not too cloudy) - so 2 final photos of the sun setting at Shoreham Harbour. The sky was lovely and pink and the water was so calm and reflective, like a huge dark mirror. The colours were great - I don't know if the colours really come across in these photos... but I like em anyway :-)

Boats at Shorehan Harbour

Sunset at Shoreham Harbour.

Days out in Brighton

At last, a few days of sunshine... (in between the howling gales and cloudy skies..) I've been out and about shopping, in between going for soya latte's and cupcakes, ha ha! ;-)

Vanilla vegan cupcake

Cool poster of New York in NY Coffee Shop, Brighton

I managed to buy this bargain of a sewing box... its a bit battered and worn around the edges but I like it, and as you can see I've wasted no time in filling it up with all my sewing stuff!

Sewing box

A couple of weekends ago a friend came to visit and we spent the day in town.. more coffee shops and general snacking ;-) ... and then we headed down to the seafront. I've been getting a bit handy with my camera and Instagram and took these photos of the carousel.

'Pleasure'

Carousel horses

We did have a little ride on the carousel, but I didn't manage to take any photos as we were whirling around!

Carousel

Carousel

It was such a lovely sunny day and was very relaxing :-)

Brighton Beach

I took these snaps of sunny Brighton this weekend... yes I know it doesn't look that sunny, but I like the grainy, high contrast effect that Instagram gives them...

Somehow it makes all your photos look good!

Vintage Textile Finds

Spent an afternoon yesterday wandering around Brighton enjoying the sun and going to lots of lovely interiors shops. Found these lovely French textile patterns.... don't want to say where I got them cos I want to go back and buy them all! (Well maybe not all - but a few more!)

On the back is some lovely scrolly pen and ink writing, dated 1851/ 1852. Some of them say they're designs for taffeta. Don't know if they really are as old as they say, they could have been painted at a later date in the style of 1850's textiles I suppose...

Keeping with the vintage theme, here's some charity shop finds... some vintage textiles I've found...

Top left: William Morris curtains (2 pairs)
Bottom left: one 1960's/ 70's curtain
Right: old dress from M&S (Bit wild for M&S, but that's what the label says!)

Planning to use them for sewing projects... just not sure what yet... although it's a shame to cut up the William Morris curtains.

More 'vintage' stuff below - a friend's shed - I like the phrenology bust and the arrangement of odd plates and glasses... organised chaos..! Sweet cat too :-)

Not really related in any way what so ever - but here's a couple of pics of a lantern that my boyfriend bought yesterday from a shop in the laines in Brighton that sells Turkish rugs, lanterns and jewellry - great colours!

 

Open Houses at Brighton Arts Festival

Well it's that time of year again when Brighton is busy and the festival's in full swing. I like to go to a few Open Houses to see what local artists are up to... and sit in some of their lovely gardens having a coffee and a cake or two! Many of the gardens are amazing - it gives me garden envy sometimes - if only I had the time and energy to make my garden look so good!

 

 I've been trying out my new Instagram filters, as you can see from the photos... if only this was my garden!

Below is the work of Janet Brooke - she does these lovely colourful lino prints. She's exhibiting at the Open Houses in Brighton.

 

Her work is all about Brighton - Brighton pubs, Brighton houses and rooftops, old shop fronts etc...some of it's disappearing as the old shops and pubs close down.. The colours she uses are very appealing - some of them are almost like Japanese woodblock prints.

After a quick soya latte...

 

...I went to have a look around BIP (Brighton Printmaking Open Access Workshops). I'd love to do a course in printmaking sometime - if I had the spare time and the spare cash! One of the people who teaches there is Helen Brown - this is her work below:

 It really reminds me of walking out on the Sussex Downs - the rolling hills and colours of the fields - its very evocative of a breezy summer day :-)

I'd love to learn properly how to do these multi-coloured lino prints and you can do courses at BIP on it. I've done some lino printing before, but just very simple black and white ones - nothing as sophisticated as the work of Janet Brooke and Helen Brown!