Spring: Our pick of the best things to see and do this season
After a short hiatus, we’re back with our round-up of exhibitions, recipes and activities to welcome in Spring.
First up we’re kicking things off with some incredible exhibitions, but be quick some of these aren’t hanging around for much longer.
Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art
Exhibitions
Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art is at The Barbican until 26 May. The must-see textile exhibition of 2024 showcases incredible textile works against the brutalist backdrop of the Barbican.
El Anatsui: Behind the Red Moon—Tate Modern Turbine Hall until 14th April This is the latest Turbine Hall installation, and it took my breath away. I spent an hour sitting underneath the work and forgot to take any photos. It is beautiful and a must-see.
Arrange Whatever Pieces: A celebration of 50 quilts - Yorkton Workshops until 23rd March, an exhibition of quilts exploring heritage through the use of discarded clothes.
London Craft Week 13th - 19th May an annual celebration of Craft in London, I will put together a more detailed round up of my top picks in April however for now use this as your reminder to save the date.
Open studio—18th and 19th May. While we’re on the subject of saving the date, I will be hosting my first-ever open studio in May. Expect an unbelievable sample sale and some mini-workshops over the weekend.
Date & nut bars
Recipes
I cycle through my favourite recipes, making them obsessively for weeks on end and then moving onto the next cycle, this is usually subconsciously done with the seasons, as the days get longer my palette shifts towards lighter, brighter food. Below are links to some of my current favourites.
Date and nut bars (pictured) by Nigel Slater - the perfect alternative biscuit with only good stuff in so you can have two.
Peanut and miso dressing by Elly Curshen is amazing on buckwheat noodles with raw vegetables. I have a jar of it permanently in my fridge.
Guinness Soda bread by Felicity Cloake, I love soda bread it is a Saturday morning staple, this one ups the ante with the addition of Guinness making it darker and richer - amazing with as much butter as you can bear.
Making & Doing
Knitwear repair
Before you pack away your knitwear for the warmer months, now is a brilliant time to give it all a once-over and a bit of love after working so hard all winter. Get creative with those lighter evenings by covering stains with some creative embroidery, and make sure your most precious jumpers look their best so you are greeted with a nice surprise when you unpack them in the Autumn!
Green fingers
This is the first year I have had a garden, and in anticipation of the warmer months, I have turned my living room into a not-so-small plant nursery. If you haven’t already, now is the time to germinate tomato and sweet pea seeds so that they’re ready for planting out in April.
Natural dye for eggs
Something fun for the Easter Weekend is dyeing eggs with onion skins using this super easy video guide. If you catch the natural dyeing bug, then why not check out my next natural dye workshop on 22nd June, where you can learn to create beautiful textiles from food and garden waste?