Discovering Newcastle

A few weeks ago the in laws offered to look after the children for a weekend, we said yes please!

Ian has been working incredibly hard recently, and it really felt like we hadn't seen each other properly for months.  So we were very grateful and lucky to have just a couple of days to ourselves.

We decided to explore Newcastle.  We have lived half an hour away from this vibrant city for the past 3 years, but have yet to explore it properly!

Ian was very excited to try out the Metro for the first time! ;-)  

Our first stop was the amazing Biscuit Factory.  There was so much lovely work to look at, and I could have bought most of it!  We did buy one stunning print, by Ian Mitchell.  We are just waiting to get it framed and find the perfect spot for it in our home.

We stopped for lunch in their fantastic cafe.  The strip of windows providing a framed view over industrial Newcastle, becoming a piece of art in itself!  The food was also beautiful, and I was very impressed that they had vegan options.  (I'm not vegan, but am very allergic to eggs and dairy products so this option just makes things a lot easier)

We then headed down to the Ouseburn area of the city, through these fabulous brick arches.

Guess what, we found a second hand furniture shop nestled under these arches!  

Refunk your Junk is a miniature Aladin's cave, crammed full of interesting pieces.  I resisted and didn't get anything as we were travelling by train, but the good news is they also sell their pieces via ebay!

We then visited Northern Print, a printmaking studio and gallery.  

They had some stunning original prints on display and if you are ever in the area it is definitely worth a visit.  We picked up a poster and a box of matches!

After a little wander around the canal we headed back into town and visited the Laing Gallery.  

After a spot of shopping (for hubby not me!!) we headed back, and stopped off at Corbridge for a beautiful Chinese meal....

and a few more drinks!!  Well we didn't have to get up the next morning did we?!

Time to share!

First of all I am so sorry about the lack of posts. There was an incident with a glass of orange juice and our lovely laptop (which was nothing to do with me may I just add!). So we are down to one computer and my husband needs it a lot for work so I don't often get a look in! I can't promise when the next post will be, but I will try my best to get back into a blogging groove!

In my profile on here and over on twitter I talk about my enthusiasm at getting creative again. I have been doing just that but at a very slow pace!  

 I have every respect for mums who run a house, look after their children, get creative, blog about it and some also work on top of all that! 

 (if you are one of these super mums, please let me know your secret to getting it all done!)

My sketchbook is full of ideas, and designs, and they are developing here faster than i can make them!  But I am now going to take the plunge and show you a little piece I have created.  I am enjoying creating works of line art, using pins and thread.

This is one of the first pieces I have completed.  I took inspiration from bokeh images, and my son thinks they look like snowflakes.  I plan to make 2 more pieces like this and present them in a group.  These are just a few quick photos I took before the light disappeared. 

I am looking forward to experimenting with more colour, forms, and methods of construction...not to give too much away!

(Argh!  Going to run and hide now!)