Happy Christmas!!

A big thank you to all of you who have supported me and inspired me this year!! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year wherever you are...


1. The Real Beauty Of The Candy Cane...., 2. Waiting for Santa, 3. natural christmas sparkler, 4. xmas decoration, 5. Untitled, 6. looking..., 7. a small miracle..., 8. Baubles, 9. Block printing + embroidery / Estampado + bordado, 10. englar, 11. >>> PEACE <<<, 12. Snowflake Curtain, 13. wreath light, 14. white christmas, 15. Untitled, 16. -10°

that's more like it

Now this is what I have been waiting for. The LYS made truly cool! Great minimal design and bang on trend. Here is Wool and the Gang (just not sure about that name, anyway...)









They also have a blog here

milkin' it

I don't like milk except on my cornflakes or in my tea, but this packaging is just gorgeous. Seen on the lovely package website.

November inspiration

It's been a while since I posted a mosaic of my Flickr faves, but here's a little warming collection now the nights are drawing in. And Mosaic Maker just got a whole lot more user-friendly!

(click on image to super-size)


1. Vintage Notions, 2. Some Vintage Finds, 3. My bedroom (and Emiliano), 4. 100 yards., 5. etsy, chickens & me..., 6. vintage mugs, 7. snippets of color..., 8. Green Pincushion, 9. bada bing, 10. ||, 11. Firki, 12. living, 13. red stripes, 14. Untitled, 15. Assorted nuts, 16. sage

spotlight on... Emma Lamb

One of my most favourite of blog friends and goddess of granny chic is the one and only Emma Lamb. I'm sure many of you are getting to know her name as she is deservedly appearing everywhere lately and slowly taking the yarn world by storm with her cushions and potholders. Which all have fantastic granny names like Audrey and Doris by the way!



Her sense of colour is outstanding and her work is so exquisitely executed... just get a load of those granny squares!!



And I just love all the beautiful little details too...




Emma runs some amazingly inspirational groups on Flickr too including .knit.solid.yarn., granny chic... and all colours in... which are definately worth a look over a cuppa. All this along with a day job as a textile designer - I really don't know how she fits it all in! But I'm glad she does. Here's to you Emma!

nearly smiling

Phew... it's still stress-city here, but I am feeling a tiny bit more encouraged. A HUGE thank you to all you lovely blog-friends who spent the time conversing with me over the past few days. Your comments and advice have been so helpful and I feel much more motivated now. So, watch this space...
Just wanted to post a couple of inspirational bits today. I am so in love with modernist art - who isn't these days. I particularly love the work of Charley Harper.




And I found two lovely websites who have turned modernist giant Alexander Girard's work into gorgeous design items and homewares. The first is Maximo who say they are the 'official agent to the Estate of Alexander Girard and is responsible for re-introducing Girard designs to the contemporary marketplace.'

And then there is House Industries who appear to be a design team inspired by Girard. Not only do they produce great objet d'art, they have also produced a range of fantastic fonts.




I think they're all gorgeous and wonderfully uplifting! Enjoy and have a wonderful Friday one and all!

Home Spun

There's not much I miss about England, but I do miss events like this. If I were there now I would do my best to attend this years Home Spun fair in Cornwall, followed by a large cream tea!


And such a pretty shop too...

spotlight on... Peter Clark

I like my art a bit on the fun side... doesn't take itself too seriously, makes you smile. And it usually urrs towards what could be called illustration, graphic design or craft. Peter Clark is one of my favourite artists. His work is clever, witty and a joy to look at - gorgeous creations painstakingly made from paper. His website is beautiful too!

what we need. part 3

I adore anything mid-century modern and probably anything that used to sit on my granny's sideboard, but just didn't appreciate at the time. I'm loving this Swedish glassware from the 60s and these amazing Chance Brothers handkerchief bowls... minus the boiled sweets of course! Head over to 20th Century Glass and start collecting now!

a space within

I love seeing the environments in which people work. These in themselves can be an inspiration! The wonderful Orla Kiely's workspace has recently been featured in The Guardian, found via a great blog called Inspiration Boards.

They also have a Flickr group, so make yourself a nice cuppa, take a pew and have a browse. Just a couple of examples of what can be seen there are shown below.

Photo: Mady Dooijes

Photo: Elizabeth Dye & Chelsea Fuss mood board by Matt & Myra Callan.

what we need. part 2

You know I love crocheting hexagons don't you! Well, you do now. Specially worked up in gorgeous rich colours. Spotted these beautiful things over on the Garnet Hill website via Put a sock on it!. (There are close-ups available on the Garnet Hill website). What's even more exciting is I can work out a very similar motif for myself, and super simple it is too. I will post some instructions if anyone's interested!

too much talent

OK... let's kick off the inspiration side of things. Flickr is a hotbed of talent and I always try to spend a few minutes a day there. I have developed some wonderful contacts through it and hopefully some life-long friends too! Here is just a tiny taster of what can be seen on my favourites pages... more to follow.

1. Doilies on the stair. And Papu!, WIP, 2. Untitled, 3. Buttons & Doilies, 4. vintage threads, 5. 09:25, 6. Step by step guide to doily invite, 7. Dancers without foot in Aqua, 8. pinky dinky doo, 9. Voodoo Pierre, 10. close proximity, 11. Untitled, 12. sketch 18th march: a little more than I had bargained for..., 13. Spools, 14. project about senses, 15. Bird-speak, 16. flowers and grannies...

daytripper

The image in the previous post is not, sadly, where I live. The place in the picture is Nafplio, a beautiful, picture-perfect town on the coast about two-hours drive from Athens. I live in Athens. A huge, sprawling, filthy, hot, crowded city, not without a certain charm in parts. For now, I am happy here. One day I will live in the picture. With some babies and chickens and beehives, plenty of cats around, a few fruit-bearing trees, maybe a room to let, baking my own bread. This is my dream.


I had the opportunity to visit Nafplio last Friday, where George had a business meeting. He took me along for the ride and let me roam around the town while he talked the talk. I had a wonderful time mooching around with my camera. The banner image for this blog was taken there. A simple scattering of jasmine flowers on the steps up to the castle. There was also a wonderful folklore museum full of amazing textiles and costumes... lots to inspire there! On the way home we went for a swim in crystal clear waters and ate fish by the sea. It's better than Milton Keynes.