I've shut myself in the small room with the high window so as not to be distracted from writing to you; I can spend hours, lost in thought just looking out of the window at the birds or the mountains so I'm trying to be more disciplined this week.There's so much to do. I'm cozy under a blanket with a hot water bottle  because it's freezing and blowing a gale outside... and inside actually, through every gap in the ancient stonework. This building never lets you forget it was a barn!  Lately though there have been several perfect days when it hasn't rained and the snow on the mountain tops was pristine and dazzling; I love the way the snow highlights all the details of the fells and in different ways depending on the direction of the wind, it messes with perspective and distance too so that the same view is endlessly interesting. On a good day those mountains are almost as orange as my homemade marmalade with hints of dark chocolate and icing sugar...I felt a bit bad after my last writing; someone pointed out (in a very kind and honest way) that I'd made "The Last of England"  sound depressing and because I already felt a bit low it made me really sad and worried that I sound like Eeyore the entire time! It was an interesting discussion and at least two important things emerged, 1. Art in whatever form it takes, from painting to music and writing, is hugely personal and emotive which is why it's so important and vital to us as humans. The fact that a painting or a song can evoke diverse and often overwhelming, emotions (and often not those intended or felt by the artist) is pretty wonderful I think; “Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent”                                                                         2. It's very easy to assume everyone knows what you're talking about and feels the same way. I've been writing this blog for 7 years now and I do forget that I'm not talking to an old friend over a cup of tea and a cake...some of you have been here from the start but some of you may have just stumbled through the door right now and have no idea who I am or what the backstory is, so you shuffle back out awkwardly refusing all offers of cake. I've always been aware of this but as BCTF approaches I decided I should reinstate my website at www.witchmountain.co.uk  so that prospective buyers and stockists aren't confused (or put off)  by occasional emotional outpourings about evictions, politics, creative block or the loneliness of a person in beautiful exile.I hope always to write honestly and openly though, I can't see the point if you sugar coat everything, delicious as that may be.Well today I tried to re-photograph some things for Etsy and also for the trade catalogue which I'm currently putting together. It's been so dark lately that alot of my pictures had an unhealthy sodium yellow tint. Hurray for sunlight but not so hurray for the iPhone camera and an out of date browser (that can't be updated because my computer is old which is pretty disgusting built in obsolescence if you ask me). My plans and preparations continue with some fairly expensive mistakes ( a metre of velvet that didn't print properly and which I'd not left big enough seam margins on) and the realisation that if you want to present good , well finished work there is a high rate of wastage and "failure" initially. I remember reading about ceramicist Clare Humphry ,whose work I loved in the gallery, she says the results of firing are so unpredictable that only a small proportion of bowls came out as she had wanted and was happy with and this must be the same for many makers and artists. Quality control is a good thing...its just a shame it costs so much (and another reason why the value of a handmade object is so hard to put a price on)!Anyway, it's time to tend to the stove now and possibly do a bit of jumping around to warm up and increase my woeful daily step count on my Fitbit. Sara and I both have one as we thought it would encourage us to get more active if we challenged each other... instead we are in denial, rarely reaching 10,ooo steps and still less able to resist toast and butter. I think music is the answer, I just discovered one of my favourite bands, Blue Aeroplanes, is still around after all so I'm off to play it loud and dance like nobody's watching (sorry cat) whilst waiting for  some thick, fresh bread to toast...Reading: "Murder on the Home Front" by Molly Lefebure ( who lived here ) lent to me by our rather lovely log man, Tim.Listening to: "Colour Me"  and "Tolerance" Blue Aeroplanes . "Colour me with burnt sienna, show me where my heart is..." 

Yesterday was the anniversary of the momentous day when we finally said goodbye to North Yorkshire and, with a heavy heart, headed in to the unknown -Cumbria. Me and the cat journeyed West with the last of the moving boxes crammed into the trusty old Golf, and while Cat seemed quite content watching the windscreen wipers ( yes it was raining ) I was travelling with very mixed feelings...until we reached that magical stretch of the A66 when the mountains suddenly appear, all majestic and snow topped, telling me to snap out of it. Anyway, a year has passed, this picture has been on my mind "The Last of England" by Pre-Raphaelite, Ford Madox Brown, mostly because of the title and the sentiment- the look of massive resentment and resignation on their faces... I haven't set foot in North Yorkshire since but maybe it's time I did, to acclimatise before I go to Harrogate in April!

We have celebrated this weekend with a retro Black Forest Gateau, a trip to Cockermouth (more cake) and finally fixing the road to Grasmere ... sorry only kidding, just the jigsaw version which Rupert finished at last (it's kept him busy and driven him mad every weekend since Christmas). There is going to be a bus to Grasmere soon though, over a temporary bridge and I can't wait to visit again.

This morning after nailing up a new bird house and hanging up a selection of nuts and seeds to attract some feathery friends, I put all your names in a mug and asked Rupert to pick one... so the winner of  my anniversary giveaway is Lucy McLaurin! Congratulations to you and thank you every one else for your comments. If you send me your address Lucy I'll go to the post office this week. I'll also be adding these new bear necklaces and some design samples to my Etsy shop later... I'd love to know what you think. The necklaces are a new and improved version of some I used to make a few years ago, these have sterling silver chains and findings and I've been doing rigorous testing (scrubbing with hot water, soap and a washing-up scourer) to make sure they're robust enough to be sent out in to the world.

Well, its a little chilly on this side of the room so I'm going to say goodbye for now and head over to the stove to have a think about more designs... perhaps Spring, Summer and Autumn to go with these wintery bears.

Reading: " The Illustrated Herdwick Shepherd" James Rebanks (for historical reasons I'm nervous about sheep farmers but I was given this for Christmas and it is actually quite lovely with some great thoughts on the landscape and education and the importance of "running free")                                                   Listening To:  "Lost and Found" Steve Mason ( The video is filmed in Snowdonia but it reminds me so much of here and driving in the rain and certain times and friends from the past)

Today the wind dropped and the day was reasonably dry and warm so I've just come in from an hour of stick collecting and branch cutting (laying a hedge to let in more light hopefully). Today is Imbolc... the first day of spring, Groundhog Day or St. Brigid's Day and so, good weather and wood collecting are not necessarily a good thing. The Cailleach collects the rest of her winter fire wood at Imbolc if she intends to make the season last a good while longer (bad weather on this day was seen as a sign that the Cailleach was asleep and that winter would soon be over). Anyway, it was good to be busy outside, it was still light at five, the snowdrops have emerged and as you can see I've been catching blue sky in bottles this week to save for a rainy day!On Sunday I discovered this little home in a tree on the side of Buttermere; I'm not sure if it had been washed there by the floods or if it fell from higher up but it looked rather sad and in need of a new roof. We walked around the lake, which I'd never done before. The path goes through a tunnel in the rock at one point and it was all very quiet and beautiful; a dusting of snow on the tops and the lake very still and green with orange bracken slopes, bright green moss and young silver birches with pink and white bark -  quite a colour scheme despite the late winter gloom.Meanwhile in my "studio" the colour scheme is very blue and white as I continue to plan what to take to BCFT in April. I bought some lovely Pink Pig sketchbooks and have been printing and embroidering covers for them on heavy calico. I was so pleased and flattered when they were spotted by the company on Twitter; they were really complimentary which is always such a nice thing when you're working in isolation in a barn and have no one to get feedback from except the cat!The days are racing on and by the time I've finished typing this it will already be almost halfway through another week and only four days before I pick a winner for the giveaway in the last post... so if you haven't left a comment there's still time and if you have then thank you ( and good luck).This is only a short offering today, I have to try and finish designing the catalogue and price list I'm making so that I can post it out to the galleries who have already requested one. I have to continue with product development and working out prices and terms and conditions and how to stick my stand together and most importantly I have to feed the stove because its getting dark and cold now and I need a cozy nest to work or I just huddle and go sleepy like a bear in a cave hoping to hibernate. The wind is picking up again so maybe the Cailleach is stirring...