desperately seeking spring

It's been so dark and gloomy here of late* that I can't help but seek out spring hues and surround myself with cheery colour. The blossom is slowly unfurling on the plum tree outside the kitchen window and yet the air outside is freezing and it makes me gasp in horror as though it is such a surprise that it is still so cold.

Even Miss Tabitha was unwilling to get her paws wet!

A few weekends ago, I picked up this stash of haberdashery delights at the Hammersmith vintage fair. A selection of 1930's buttons in subtle springy shades, a vintage buckle, some coral thread, a pair of 1950's teal flower earrings, a box of celadon green glass beads, some crocheted lace motifs. I also bought a pretty pastel patterned silk scarf and a couple of metres of vintage Liberty fabric { watch this space }.

 

It was quite a haul. It's my second visit to this fair and it is utterly ace. I'm quite addicted to buying vintage haberdashery bits, trimmings and fabric. I get quite carried away discovering old treasures to make new things with.

I am pretty much a seasonal shopper. I can't help but be influenced with the time of year when looking for thrifty treasures even if the weather has other plans.

So despite the lingering cold, frosty mornings, predictable rain and occasional and surprising flurries of snow, I'm utterly smitten, at the moment, with pastels and summer shades of jade, lime, teal, lemon and coral. 

So very optimistic of lighter brighter days to come.

It's no surprise that out of all the unfinished projects, the one thing I was keen to do of an evening was stitch together these candy coloured grannies. So bright and beautiful they are.

They started life as a blanket for the new baby. But new baby is now on the brink of toddlerdom and he has a distinct dislike of anything blankety which may hinder his 'destructive crawl'.

And anyway on the most recent count I worked out I had only enough squares to make a cushion cover. So that is what I thought I'd do.

Although I quite like them now as a seat pad for this newly painted { f&b 'green blue' } ikea stool! So now to decide....hhhmmmm...!!!

* I wrote this a few days ago. Then lo and behold, today has been utter springy perfection in a sunshiny  bright and breezy sort of way. Hooray!

✴ swan lake

English National Ballet's production of Swan Lake in-the-round opens at the Royal Albert Hall, this evening.

I was lucky enough to work for this company as senior wardrobe assistant for 8 years! 8 years of stitching tutu's and tights and finding lost earrings in slightly untidy dressing rooms! My last show was Swan Lake in Versailles, how very grand!! I then went on to freelance for them (because you never really leave ENB!) almost up until bump arrived! I had a feeling Ella was going to come out en pointe she'd heard so much ballet music whilst in the womb!

How well do I know those tutu's..? Very! Such memories and such friends. Hearing the music now sends a shiver down my spine...In a good way!

Swan Lake

Royal Albert Hall

9-19th June.

✴ ranunculus

Ranunculus is such an ugly word for such a beautiful flower, don't you think?

But kind of fitting to the ugly spiky bulbs from which they grow. 

My ranunculus bulbs have been soaking for 24 hours ready to plant out in my little mound of soil by the plum tree.

I really hope they grow well because I think ranunculus may just well be my favourite flower.

{ My bridal bouquet by Joanna Carter Flowers :: In vase at Martha Stewart ::

Napkin decoration at Instyle Weddings :: Botanical print at RHS ::

A Riot of Ranunculus at Flickr :: }

✴ my place and yours :: shoes

Wedding shoes made by Emmy. White suede, soft, velvety...yum, now slightly grubby grey from so much dancing on a dusty oak dance floor. Silver leather trim with sparkly diamante  buckle. Handmade beaded decorative shoe clip, one later worn as a brooch but after too much wine at a party was lost on a drunken cab ride home....Sob!

I've been pondering for the last two years about whether to dye these shoes. But then I'll wear them all the time, they'll get battered and tatty. The heel will wear down to a metal point and that 1930's Hollywood style elegance will be lost, forever. But is it better to leave them hidden away, wrapped in tissue, inside a box, at the back of a wardrobe? Hhmmmm....

I'll never wear my Jenny Packham wedding dress again. I'll never wear any of the three headdresses I made and wore throughout the day and I'll definitely never wear the veil - it's all just a bit over the top for nipping out to m & s for a crusty baguette and a bag of satsumas.

But then I'll never get married again, so I guess the day was a bit of 'one time only' sort of day!

I'll never wear these things again, but I have a very strong feeling that in a few years time a little someone will love dressing up in these, marching around the house, playing here comes the bride....and that just won't be the same with black shoes, will it?

For more shoe stories, as chosen by The Craft Gypsy, head along to my place and yours at Punky & Me.

✴ what's hot & what's not...

Oh my gosh, forgive me, it has been a whole week since my last post.....which was also hot/not!

Slowly trying to get back to some sort of creative love, but having to wade through the unpacking and tidying and sorting and blah...blah.... Feel so behind! Feeling a lot like a cute little chipmunk who has awakened from a long hibernation, but probably looking a lot like a big grisly bear with bed head and in need of a manicure...!

Thankful for Loobylu and the hot/not list to help me climb out of the zoned out blues........

Hot

✴Cox & Cox. I love this shop. I love that they categorise everything by celebration! So much choice for festive cheer from this place but am especially loving the vintage birds, gingerbread house cookie cutters and window snowflake stickers.

Images Cox & Cox 

✴East London Design Show. Really hope I can make it here this weekend especially as one of my friends is selling here! Yoyo Ceramics. Such lovely things she has made. I already have the ceramic butter dish inspired by tupperware but definitely have my eye on a ceramic notepad, eco friendly and uber stylish! Love having crafty creative chums....

Images Yoyo Ceramics 

✴Winter Weddings. So magical and romantic. Candlelight and frost, what could be better?! Celebrating our wedding anniversary in a couple of weeks, couldn't have had a more wintery wedding, getting hitched on the Winter Solstice! Off to a wedding on friday. Will hopefully be feeling a bit more 'with it' by then! I'm sure a glass of champagne will sort me out!! So looking forward to a day without sick on my shoulder (well, hopefully!?)

Not

✴ Jetlag. Obviously! But more specifically a baby with jetlag! Poor little thing has been totally crashed out at 4pm each day then really unhappy to be woken up to have some dinner and even more upset to be put in the bath! Oh dear, hopefully better soon.

✴Jury Summons. Ooops! Guess what sort of letter I've just opened form the pile delivered while we were away!? Supposed to be there on the 14th! Don't they know it's christmas???

✴Jetlag. Did I already mention that??!.........

✴ what's hot & what's not...

This is my last Aussie hot/not!!! Can't believe how quickly the time has flown! It is quite a hectic week, packing and sorts so apologies if you have left a comment here and I haven't responded yet. That should also explain my unbelievable lateness in posting this...Sigh........

Anyhoo, pop along to Loobylu  for more lists...

Hot

✴Suzy Ultman. How gorgeous are these prints from Suzy Ultman? I bought these Paper Doll Parade notecards from Seed on sunday and I adore the set of Home Sweet Home prints- Just too cutie pie for words. They'll look so beautiful in frames I think.

✴Sticker Love. I've gone a bit gaga for stickers! It all began in Kikki K  and has just grown from there. But how can you resist a bit of sticker love.... Sticker books are the new big thing I reckon, we're all having a bit of a return to our childhoods, remember when you used to write letters to people? Way back in the good old days? Me and my friend, Miss P used to write to each other all the time, even though we lived a mere stones throw from each other. I found a stash of these letters recently - so funny! All of the letters were covered in different stickers, ballerinas, stars, hologram stickers - Ooooh how big was hologram in the '80's??

Anyway these sticker books are really hitting my sticker-love spot!?

Small Object Labels & Stickers by Sarah Neuburger

Crafty Stickers  by Catherine Head

This Book Belongs To  by Grady Mcferrin

Christmas DIY Sticker Book by Kikki K

✴Amazon Wishlist. Dear Santa, you know how you always say you are stuck for ideas of what to get me for Christmas, well stop your whinging and have peepo at my Amazon Wishlist...!

I'm having a bit of an Amazon revival at the moment, because I haven't been there in a long time! I've bought a lot of books out here and although of course it's always lovely to wander around a bookshop, well, I had a look at all the books I'd bought here, on Amazon, and was shocked to discover how much more I'd paid for the books! Yikes. So I resisted buying anymore and added the ones I'd been coveting into an Amazon wishlist. Well, lets just say I got a bit carried away and the list grew, and grew. I was like a giddy bride writing her wedding gift list, which is kind of what I was like 2 years ago when I actually was that giddy bride writing her wedding gift list...!

Images Amazon

Not

✴Leaving Australia! In three days time we get our flight back to the UK! So instead of writing a list of nots I'm going to stay on the positive and give you my list of aussie hots as encountered by me whilst living Gold Coast side of this fab little (eh?) land.....Ella has put in her favourites too and I also think there maybe a rogue not in there, can you tell which one....?

Mount Tamborine :: Finders Keepers :: Lamingtons :: Byron Bay :: Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary  :: Dorothy the Dinosaur  :: Lola's :: Bill Granger :: Schoolies :: Kikki. K :: Humpbacks :: Rafferty's Garden :: Tim Tams :: Dymocks :: Witchery :: Notebook :: Meet Me At Mikes :: Q1 :: MBD Deli :: Poppies For Grace :: Country Road  :: Vegemite  :: Windy Peak :: Earth Choice :: Inside Out :: Donna Hay :: Veronika Maine :: Cinderella :: Mimco :: Max Brenners :: Narnia 

& of course...

All of the fantastic aussie blogs I've discovered while out here, all of whom will be coming back to Blighty with me thanks to the power of t'internet.....Yippeeeeeee!

✴ What's Hot & What's Not...

Hot

✴Stamping. Not the ground, or my fist, but lovely ink stamping onto paper, fabric or whatever is lying around waiting to be stamped! I bought these letter stamps from Kikki. K at the weekend.

More stamp love at

NoraJane

Rubbertrouble

Anna Griffin

Two Cheese Please 

✴PDF Purchases. I have loved an online shop called Mibo for a while now, such beautiful prints and textiles. I was delighted to discover they now have an etsy store and even more delighted to discover these make-at-home 'Christmas Creatures' available as a PDF file! Fantastic, instant Mibo love. I also have my eye on that print-it-yourself calendar...

Images Mibo 

✴The Water Babies. Or more specifically my water baby. We took Ella swimming properly at the weekend, we've dipped her toe in a few times and it's been met with an instant leg split away from the water so we were not sure how it was going to go. She loved it! Splashed her little heart out, bless.

I do love the book though as well!

The Water Babies image here

Not

✴Farewells. Saying goodbye to friends over here as we all start to leave Australia. It's been fun!

✴Packing. Again, I know, it was last weeks Not...And will most likely be next weeks Not! It has to be done....Sigh......

✴Slighty 'Off'. Waking with a very dry throat on a very grey day...Hmmmm.....Looks like it might be the perfect day to tackle that packing.....Sigh.....

Some lovely peeps have written their Hot/Nots go and have a peek at Loobylu ...

☺☹

✴ What's Hot & What's Not...

Image here & here 

Yes, it really is that time again...Oh my golly gosh time is flying away.....Phew......

For more Hot/Nots go visit Loobylu ...

Hot

✴Fondue. Not the cheesy version with flares, side burns and argyle jumpers, or the cheesey version with melted gorgonzola and stale bits of bread, but the chocolate version. And not just any chocolate version, but the quick stop post shop Max Brenner's version.......Mmmmmm.......

What better way to rebuild lost blood sugar from dashing around the shops* getting all those necessary household essentials, (*Kikki.K, Mimco, David Jones, Veronika Maine, Witchery, Marcs....), a thankless task for any busy housewife.......

And here comes the science bit, it can actually help towards your 5 a day, well, not the chocolate bit...or the cake bit... or the marshmallow bit.....but bananas and strawberries??....I rest my case.

✴ Decorative Electricity Units. Or whatever they are, the metal boxes at the side of the road which obviously have cables and turny knobs and important buttons in them. They're usually grey and drab. But not here. I've seen so many which are all beautifully painted with quirky images. Does the council commission someone to paint these or does Australia have an abundance of highly creative and mild mannered teenagers with spray cans? It would sooo get abused in London..! They are great and definitely brighten my day!

✴Manta Ray. The whales have all gone now but I did spot a Manta Ray (or some other such Ray) in the ocean one morning while on the balcony. The water was really clear and I could easily make out it's huge shape gracefully swimming along the waters edge...Amazing!

Image here 

Not

✴ Packing. Have to seriously start thinking about packing. Just over two weeks until return home. There's so much to sort out and pack up not to mention cleaning the apartment.....groan......

✴ Tan. Or lack of tan! I have no tan. Well ok I have maybe a bit of colour on my arms and maybe a tiny glow to my face but I STILL have pasty white legs!!! I thought a few months in Australia might give me lovely tanned legs but NO! What has been with the rain and clouds??? Eh?...Eh? I'll be laughed out of Blighty if I don't return with a lovely tan......Have two weeks or it'll be time to crack open the gravy browning! Thank goodness it's tights season back home!

Anyway, short but sweet Hot/Not list today I have to rush out to the cinema....Yeah, that'll help with the tan...!!

☺☹

✴ By Hook, or Buy Book!

Yesterday, we took a stroll to Broadbeach via blockbuster to return yet another slightly tedious film ('What Just Happened'  Zzzzz.....) and happened to pass the hidden away and completely out of place second hand bookshop. I say out of place because you could easily walk right past it not expecting to find such a gem of a shop nestled in amongst the strip of fast food outlets and convenience stores. But there it is, and in we ventured, pram and all...

I love second hand book shops, especially old second hand book shops, and antique shops, Oooh lovely... Think '64 Charing Cross Road' and 'The Old Curiosity Shop'.....

There is a tiny street, just off St Martins Lane that I used to walk down on my way to the London Coliseum (many Nutcracker seasons ago...) a narrow paved alleyway, shadowed on either side by tall Victorian buildings with shops beneath selling second hand books and antique prints. It's a dark and gloomy side street, and if you were to stand there and close your eyes slightly you could almost imagine you were standing in Diagon Alley looking for Olivanders Wand shop....Almost.... Maybe after a few drinks......

Anyway this shop we were in yesterday isn't old but it is lovely and has shelves overflowing from floor to ceiling with second hand books and just enough room to squeeze in a few old 70's style whicker chairs for a sit down and a quick perusal.

I picked up three children's books printed in the 40's, 50's and 60's.

Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, illustrated by Fritz Kredel. Print Edition 1946.

The Enchanted Wood by Enid Blyton, illustrated by D.M. Wheeler. Print Edition 1950.

Best in Childrens Books by various authors and illustrators. Print Edition 1963.

The illustrations are gorgeous, so typical of each decade and evoking lost memories of childhood book reading. Obviously I wasn't around when these books were first printed (thank you!) but I do remember this era of children's books from school and the library. They always just seemed 'old' and musty back then, now I think they are FAB!

I also picked up a crochet book from the 1970's. It's soooo seventies I love it! I have a selection of craft books from the 70's, well in actual fact I shamelessly stole them from my Mum last time I was home, when I say stole what I actually mean is that I shouted 'I'm taking these..' as I shoved them into my bag before making a runner back to the distant south...

They are just so delicious... I don't know whether I love them so much because of that 70's style or if it's because they bring back so many memories of being a child in the 70's! Yes, I was around then, fair cop!

I can't help but giggle looking through these books, the models, with their soft focus, thin red lips, spider like lashes, peasant style blouses, floppy hats and maxi skirts... The home decor, of oranges and browns, dried flowers in homemade pot vases, crocheted doilies, spider plants and whicker chairs....Love it!

The Complete Guide To Crochet edited by Pam Dawson

✴ A View of my Secret Weapon

Playing along with the My Place and Yours meme again from Meet Me At Mikes 

The Theme queen this week, My Bricole  has chosen 'Secret Weapon'.

Hhmmm, what to pick...????  I could obviously say my beautiful baby girl, who inspires and makes me giggle everyday, or my husband for the same reasons, or friends and family for again, the same reasons although less daily, or my two gorgeous and ever loving pusscats....

Nah, it's got to be my perfume.....What? Completely trivial and meaningless item that surely you can live without, I hear you say???

Perhaps, but it is my go to guy (or gals) and it asks for nothing in return. It doesn't need feeding, changing or bathing, it doesn't need me to listen to the tough day it's had at work or require long cuddles and affectionate stroking. It does, however, sit patiently and quietly in the bathroom, waiting to be used just once, maybe twice if there is a night out involved.

I love this perfume, I love both scents, yes BOTH scents, I wear the two perfumes together, it's part of the fantastic concept of Fragrance Combining from Jo Malone and it's my secret weapon!

❃❃❃

✴ What's Hot & What's Not...

Image Hello Lucky 

Hot

              

✴Old letterpress stationery and prints. As already mentioned, at the weekend I bought a beautiful print from Bespoke Letterpress Boutique (at Finders Keepers ). It's called 'The Sugar In Your Tea, In My Camomile Dreams' and was printed on an antique 1893 letterpress. I just love the delicacy and subtle embossment of the image on the paper.....So beautiful.

The Sugar In Your Tea, In My Camomile Dreams by Kristal Melson

I also love that most of these machines are antiques. Hooray! Back to the old fashioned way is what I say!

I also stumbled across this gorgeous letterpress clock in Suga Suga on sunday (while still glowing from my Finders haul!) and just had to have it...

Other Letterpress lovelies that are catching my eye and making me go  Ooohhhhh.......!

Moontree Letterpress

Hello Lucky

Letterpress Delicacies

✴Flowers on food. So pretty and you can eat them....Love!

Lunch on the Southbank, Brisbane

✴Cath Kidston 'Sew'. I've resisted buying this book for a while. Not because I don't love Cath Kidston, because I do, alot! I was just wary of turning into a Cath Kidston clone, churning out her work with my wonky stitching- that sort of thing, you know?

But a lack of other interesting books in the bookstore (because I've already bought most of them) and the impending deadline for making christmas gifts made me go for the safe but colourful option.                                                    I have to say her pattern for the Inside Out Tote Bag is inspiring and will be a great thing to make for the home. I also love all the simple patterns; egg cosy's, oven gloves, tote bags, drawstring bags- it certainly isn't rocket science but it is good to have all of those basic patterns already drawn out on paper, saving a lot of time for us busy mummies!                                                      Go Cath!

Not

✴'The Land of the Lost'. Terrible film, can be filed away under 'Bad Will Ferrell Movies' which seems to be an ever growing list ('Talledega Nights' anyone??).

✴Too many thoughts...And not enough time! I have so many ideas for things I want to make at the moment and only about half an hour a day in which to get them done! Merde!!!

✴Poorly People. A baba with snuffles and a mama with a sore throat does not a happy morning make!

For more Hot/Not lists head to Loobylu

☺☹

✴ Gingerbread and Mint Cake

We are planning an escape.....Sans bébé!

It's for our 2nd anniversary and it's well deserved as our 1st anniversary was a complete no no.

I was heavily pregnant and we had both succumbed to the flu bug (pre swine) that had hit the Uk that winter.

Oh it was horrible. I think I suffered badly because of the baba and everyday I would wake up (from a night of restless chest wheezing sleep) and pray that I didn't go into labour that day!

As it turns out, someone was listening to my dribbling, sniffly pleadings and Ella wasn't born until two weeks after her due date. And even then it was with some reluctance on her part, possibly she had heard the self-pitying whining coming from her croaky voiced mother and thought it just wasn't worth the effort...

Our escape plan is one or two nights in the Lake District after carefully depositing daughter in the doting and adoring arms of the Grandparents of the Icy North ( Stockport..) just before Christmas.

There is something so enchanting about the Lakes in the darkness of winter, like the lamplight in Narnia and Christmas at Hogwarts. Of course I can only imagine what it will be like as I have never been to the Lakes at that time, every other season but never winter.

Please let it snow....Please let it snow....Please let it snow...!

Looking forward to;

✴ Long rambling walks over hilly and 'pram unfriendly' tracks with a stash of Kendal Mint Cake in my pocket (because it's nutritious - honest, and if it's good enough for Sir Ranulph Fiennes...),
✴ Lunch at The Drunken Duck Inn very old pub turned into boutique type hotel with a posh menu but dark and gloomy inside with lovely old furniture and a roaring log fire...Ohhh lovely!
✴ Sipping a big mug of Hot Chocolate (laced with brandy maybe, for like medicinal reasons or something...) whilst sitting in our own outdoor hot tub, yes, OUTDOOR hot tub!!! In late December!!! So possibly also wearing thermals and a raincoat whilst in hot tub (definitely needing brandy...),
✴ Stocking up on enough of Sarah Nelsons Grasmere Gingerbread to last us for the next year......Yummmm!
✴ Afternoon tea and a bit of slightly overpriced but nonetheless beautiful homewares and gift shopping at Chesters ,
✴ Possibly catching sight of Mrs Tiggy-winkle (because she is real and this is where she lives...) and asking her to come and tackle the laundry at ours...( Ok maybe going easy with the brandy...)

So mainly eating and drinking! Just in time for the eating and drinking extravaganza that is Christmas at Mum's (Nigella, you know nothing...!)

✼ Oh, Coral!

I love coral. I love botanical drawings of coral. This is a little bit of embroidery I've been doing, just because, for fun.
I stitched it onto a piece of linen that used to be a cushion cover.

                       

Prints from here 

I want to find a selection of antique botanical prints of red coral to hang in frames on the wall in the dining room.

I think the red against the 'graphite' walls will look great.

I already have a set of four botanical prints of yellow flowers in the living room.

I just think they look so striking in modern frames.

I love mixing old and new.

I'm inspired by these framed prints from Graham & Green.