Pattern Repeat and Heart Fawn napkins

Batten down the hatches - stormy weather here!

The clocks went back last night and gaining an hour today, I went for an early morning walk at Simonsbath on Exmoor (pronounced Simmonsbath). Got totally drenched through, but exhilarating nonetheless as Exmoor is incredibly beautiful at this time of year. Then to the studio for a spot of screen-printing. It never feels like work whether it's Monday or Sunday and anyway I was dying to sample print my new napkins.

I had designed a simple repeat background using some of my notebook drawings selecting those that would balance well together as silhouettes, as for this design I wanted to create a single colour print - this was how I started...

(in case you didn't recognise them here they are in their full colour glory all from my notebook..!)

I then developed the design by mirroring and balancing the elements until I felt it worked well as a repeat pattern - now in perfect digital repeat...

I scaled down the design and placed it in a heart shape, carefully cutting around the pattern to keep an uneven edge. I then added the Fawn because it's Christmas!

They come in packs of two - screen printed on 100% natural linen. I love the fact that you don't see the heart shape until you open them fully...

'Heart Fawn' - designed with some of my best friends in mind...

A postcard from Simonsbath today, in the foreground Moorland Bracken and Chip dressed appropriately for the weather ...

'Heart Fawn' linen napkins are £26.50 for a pack of two. Screen-printed with love (!) the price includes UK postage (Please email me further details and for shipping costs for the rest of the world).
(Heart Rabbit and Pheasant coming soon!)

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour from the season - Sweet Chestnut brown

Kicking through the leaves every morning with Chip and it's beautiful! I love this time of year when the woods are becoming the colours of gold, bronze and rust.

Unbelievably vicious spikes on these Sweet Chestnut cases, the spikes face all directions making them painful to collect, dangerous to prize open but interesting and fun to draw.

My days are full up at the moment screen-printing, sending out orders, designing a new tray collection, illustrating for Buckfast Abbey as well as getting stock together for the Selvedge Winter Fair in a few weeks - all very exciting but little time for my notebook... So, I drew these chestnuts late in the evening on Saturday night (multi-tasking!) drinking a glass of wine and watching 'The Jane Austen Book Club'.

(and woke up on Sunday morning dreaming of Hedgehogs)

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour from the season - Cyclamen pink

Last week driving through the local countryside here in North Devon, I spotted a bank of naturalised Cyclamen. It was a narrow country lane, but just had to have a closer look. I pulled in at the next slightly wider space and put my hazard lights on. Suddenly the road became a major highway (Sod's law!) so had to race back and move the car (I did get a quick picture on my phone). Apologies if you were there - yes, held up for a bank of Cyclamen!

I often plant them (they always die). Fragrant to be close to, elegant in form as well as colour, (not stolen from the bank on this occasion by the way), heart shaped leaves and lovely to draw.

Car stopping pink and white in this Devon bank..!

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

My favourite things - Still life with Chris Taylor vase.

Another in 'A few of my favourite things series'...

A few months ago I went to the private view of an exhibition at White Moose gallery (in the North Devon market town, Barnstaple). As soon as I saw the latest work of the talented ceramicist Chris Taylor I knew I had to own a piece. Just like that - fell in love with it and this piece in particular.

In case it isn't obvious why this particular piece - it was the Indigo blue and copper glazing, the rose like repeat pattern, the creatively distressed erosion and controlled roughness of the finish. Take a closer look at Chris's ceramics here.

Also of course - as anyone who's met him will know, he's a thoroughly nice bloke.