Tabla de contenidos para Issue 6 en Gathered

TRENDS What with the mulled wine festivities of Christmas coming up, a bubbly-filled New Year's Eve and dark evenings enticing us to chill on the sofa with a bottle of red, our bodies and brains can be left gasping for respite come January. Inner peace is swapped for outer prosecco. Yoga practices go out of the window (imagine doing downward dog on a hangover – ouch!) and breakfast smoothies are swapped with bacon sarnies. But if the thought of going cold turkey in the New Year and jumping on the Dry January bandwagon fills you with dread, there might be another way. Welcome to ‘winefulness’ – the art of mindful wine drinking. “Winefulness can quite literally get us out of our heads – in a good way” “Buy biodynamic wine…

TRENDS The Chinese Moon Festival, or Mid-Autumn Festival, takes place on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese Lunar Calendar, when the full moon is said to be the largest and brightest of the year. It's an annual celebration to mark the close of rice harvesting season, and the second biggest festival in China. Historically, the Moon Festival inspired many writers to moon gaze and pen poems of their thoughts during this reflective time. It was an opportunity to express what they were grateful for and give well wishes to loved ones who they were often separated from during the festival. Revered Chinese writer, scholar and artist Su Shi, a poet in the Song Dynasty (which began in 960 and continued until 1279), wrote the famous verse…

Forest bathe With many parts of Scandinavia carpeted in forest, moving mindfully through trees and woodland therapies are a big part of the culture. ‘Forest Schools’ began as a Nordic tradition, getting children closer to nature by taking the classroom outdoors. In the countryside: there are now many of these schools across the UK too. Find adult social forestry courses via Outdoor Tribe (www.outdoortribe.co.uk) in Northamptonshire or The World Outside (www.theworldoutside.co.uk) at Bodenham Arboretum. You could also visit your local forest therapist (www.anft.earth). In the city: if you are miles from a forest, think small. With more than eight million trees, London is classified as an urban forest with one tree for every person living there, and most cities will have green spaces and pocket parks. “Find your local park…

MINDFULNESS Snuggling up by the fire with a blanket and a mug in hand can only mean one thing: winter is well and truly with us. While the evenings may be filled with warmth and cosiness, the days certainly are not. Outside the comfort of home we experience bitter frost, blustery winds, rain and snow. The combination of harsh external elements, increased pollution and stuffy central heating wreaks havoc with our skin during the colder months. However, with the right skincare routine and a little bit of TLC, you'll soon be stepping out with a radiant winter glow. The first rule of winter skincare is protection. When temperatures fall, you wouldn't dream of heading outdoors without wrapping up warm in plenty of protective layers, but what about the delicate skin…

1 Using alcohol-based products Products containing alcohol further strip our skin of moisture, which can be disastrous in winter. 2 Taking long, hot showers Resist the temptation of a long, steamy shower as the prolonged heat will remove natural oils from your face. 3 Skipping SPF You may feel like you haven't seen the sun in months, but those powerful UV rays are working away even when it's cloudy, so make sure you are wearing the correct protection at all times. 4 Forgetting about your lips Your lips need an extra bit of love when it's cold. Keep a lip balm to hand to help soothe dry, cracked lips in an instant. 5 Using the wrong products The foaming cleanser and charcoal mask that worked for you in the summer…

The stranger said: “Would you mind if I sat opposite you? My friend says I'll get a better view from this side of the train.” I was several hours into a stressful journey to Cornwall beset with cancelled trains, poor Sunday service and an almost-missed connection and my mood was far from sunny. Now the person who had been sending the world's longest text with their keypad tones on was asking to join me to observe the picturesque view from Exeter. Politeness prevailed and I said yes, vowing to say something if the tapping continued, and I imagined we would pass the final leg of the journey in silence. But fate had other plans. Within seconds of sitting down, the woman remarked on the beautiful scenery and effortlessly engaged me…

creativity You will need: • Iridescent pastel faux leather • Metallic lilac sewing thread • Polyester toy stuffing • 5 flat silver gem beads • 16 small round pink beads in various sizes and shades • Sewing needle • Keyring • Lobster swivel clasp 1 Using the template at gathered.how, cut two shell shapes from the faux leather. Cut a 1 x 8cm strip of faux leather for the keyring loop. 2 Using the image as a guide to placement, arrange the beads on the right side (RS) of one of the shell shapes and sew them in place using the metallic thread. 3 Use running stitch to add the shell details, as shown. 4 Place the two shell pieces with wrong sides (WS) together, aligning the raw edges, and…

TRENDS Every day there is a reason to be thankful; for that heart shape in the foam of your latté, for waking up to sunshine instead of rain, for those simple but special moments that make you smile. However small, moments of gratitude can be reflective and solitary, or, for special occasions that deserve more attention, they can be celebrated in groups of family and friends with festive music, dance, food, and creative cultural customs. “Coming together to celebrate in thanks provides cultural cohesion, a sense of harmony, and a great reason to eat, drink, and be merry.” Expressions of gratitude are embedded in every culture in unique and fundamental ways, often displayed and celebrated in annual festivals throughout the year, like Thanksgiving. Coming together to celebrate in thanks provides…

Pongal The traditional Pongal dish is a sweet rice dish, which is allowed to boil over to signify plenty for the year ahead Pongal is a four-day harvest festival celebrated in Southern India during the winter solstice in January, when the sun has reached its southernmost point. One of the most important Hindu festivals of the year, it's a traditional celebration giving thanks to nature by celebrating the life cycles that provide us with grain. It takes its name for the Tamil word meaning ‘to boil,’ hence the traditional Pongal dish served is, of course, boiled! This sweet rice dish is prepared with rice, moong dal (split yellow lentils), jiggery (palm sugar), dry fruits, sugar and milk and cooked in a new clay pot over an open fire. According to…

Discover the right treatment for your skin Dry skin type • Signs: Tight-feeling skin that sometimes flakes. • Solutions: Keep skin sufficiently moisturised morning and night with rich, velvety products. • Key ingredients: Aloe vera and jojoba oil. Oily skin type • Signs: After washing, sebum begins to appear on all areas of the face. • Solutions: Avoid too much touching of the face as this will encourage excess oil production and always go for lightweight skincare products. • Key ingredients: Seaweed and witch hazel. Combination skin type • Signs: An oily T-zone, but dry cheeks and jawline. • Solutions: Use targeted products on different areas of your skin to balance it out. • Key ingredients: Green tea and oatmeal.…

1. WRITE MICRO FICTION Very short fiction is hard to perfect, but easy to experiment with. Why not begin by writing a micro-memoir? Choose a memory from the house where you grew up. Write an incident, not just a description. Include the senses. Start in the middle of the action. Think of a title that adds something to the piece. For regular writing practice, try the weekly micro contest at adhocfiction.com 2. BECOME AN ON-LOCATION SKETCHER Buy a small sketchbook, a water brush (a brush with a water tube attached), and a few water soluble markers. Go out and just draw what you see around you. Your favourite places or new and different locations. You don't need to have previous drawing experience, or worry what it looks like. Think of…

CREATIVITY I first discovered the concept of using temperature degrees in craft projects when a friend made a temperature crochet shawl. She added a row of stitches to her shawl with the colour dependent on the highest temperature that day. I was transfixed by this idea and determined to use it for a future project. In early 2020, the Modern Quilt Guild announced a special exhibit of Temperature Quilts for QuiltCon 2022. I realised this would be the perfect project for me. A temperature quilt is a way of using daily temperatures and sometimes other aspects of weather to choose the colour and design of your quilt. The most popular approach is to set out a range of colours and assign them to degrees of temperature. I found the inspiration…

TRENDS Hot sticky toffee puddings slathered in custard, homemade cakes in trendy cafés, nostalgic white mice from old-fashioned sweet shops… in my eyes, sugar was good for the soul. But while my heart was sold, my waistline reflected my habit, and when my sugar consumption began to affect my skin, I realised it was a problem. Last year, I developed an odd cluster of tiny red dots on the left side of my chin. Within eight weeks, this rash had spread around my face. The doctor said that my skin was reacting to bacteria that is always present on human skin, which indicated that something was out of balance. “How many times a week do you have sugar?” he asked me. I told him five (a massive underestimation). He advised…

Bajans honour the end of the sugar harvest in August with dusk to dawn parties and calypso beats a-plenty Pulsating Calypso music is the focus of Barbados’ ‘Crop Over’ Festival, a week-long summer party in August celebrating the end of the sugar harvest. An upbeat genre of music, Calypso was actually born from a longing for home by African slaves, who, working on sugar plantations in the Caribbean, were stripped of all contact with their homeland. They communicated through song and forged a sense of community in doing so. Usually led by one individual called a griot, these songs eventually became the voice of the people, and of social conscience. Originally sung in French Creole, Calypso soon became Caribbean ‘folk’ music and an integral part of the festival as well…

Tender, Blur The gentle rhythm soothes and relaxes. The song Tender, by Blur, is a beautiful song, all about trying to find love after loss. With repetitions and swaying rhythms, it makes a life-affirming melody for bedtime. Blackbird, the Beatles One of the top ten most recorded songs. From their 1968 album, this is a song performed solo by Paul McCartney, who said that he was inspired by the blackbird he heard during his stay in Rishikesh, India, and the race relations in the USA. The meanings have been interpreted in different ways as a love song, a homage to nature, and in support of the Black Power Movement. It is short and reassuring, with a relatively simple melody, and a powerful, positive message. It is as uplifting for the…

For the body scrub • 1 cup caster sugar • ½ cup light brown sugar • ½ cup of coconut oil • 1 tsp ginger • 1 tsp cinnamon • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg • ½ tsp round cloves • Glass jar, 300ml 1 Start by sterilising a glass jar. To do this, wash it in hot soapy water before placing it upside down on a roasting tray, and popping into a preheated oven at 180°C for about 15 mins to dry out. 2 Measure out the sugars and spices into a large, clean bowl. Using the back of the spoon, squash out any lumps, then mix the ingredients together until thoroughly combined. 3 Scoop the coconut oil into a smaller bowl and beat it until it starts to soften.…

CREATIVITY There seems to be a rush in today's western world to ‘find your passion’, with many of us feeling lost in our 30s and 40s, searching for our ‘thing’. But the wiser (perhaps older) among us know it's far more important to be curious. Look around your community and you'll find women in their 50s, 60s, 70s and older involved in all sorts of creative enterprises. The brain has no age limit. Research shows that changes in the brain after mid-life can even facilitate creativity. The right and left hemispheres become increasingly integrated, learned ideas come together in new combinations – we can draw on a vast storehouse of life-long learning to be expressed in unique, fresh and complex ways. And contrary to what was previously believed, the brain…

CREATIVITY After hours of meticulous dedication, there's nothing quite like the sense of achievement you get when you've finished a project and take a step back to admire your own handiwork. Imagine that proud moment and then imagine it tenfold – this is the feeling that comes with seeing your own creation take centre stage. For costume designer, Susannah Buxton and costume maker, Faye Clements, it's all part of the job. “Winning a BAFTA was more exciting than I expected, it's recognition by your contemporaries.” The designer Settling down on a Sunday evening for a night in front of the television is a regular weekly occurrence for most of us, but it was a little different for Susannah Buxton while Downton Abbey was gracing our screens. The hit show, capturing…

Work out a range of temperature degrees for your chosen area and divide these into the amount of fabric colours you want to use. If you have a wide range of fabrics, you might want to assign a colour for each temperature degree or, if you have less, you might want to assign them every 3 degrees or even 5. It's very difficult to know how much fabric you will need before you start as, obviously, the weather is unpredictable. I used as many different fabrics as I could find for each colour, this meant that if I ran out of one, I could find a similar fabric to replace the one I'd used up. If you restrict yourself to specific fabrics at the start, you could run into problems…