Showing posts with label lavender pillow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lavender pillow. Show all posts

Sunday, 12 May 2013

...when a squirrel is a beaver....

...i have been beavering away all weekend
....making lavender ellies
 for my etsy shop....
...i love to see their shapes emerging...
....all the same but different....
....and gradually coming to life...
...i worked until midnight last night..
....only stopping occasionally
for a little scooby snack....
...and trying not to lose focus...
...distracted momentarily
by my ever-increasing collection
of crafty magazines...
(help i have so many!)
..and admiring my latest thrifty find!
***
...but just a little more beavering
for the squirrel today...
...and nothing is truly squirrelled
...until they have rosy cheeks
and a bow in their hair!
***
X


Friday, 25 January 2013

....puppy love.....

...i just can't resist puppy material...
...there was a very large piece of this...
..so i made a few lavendar bags to start off..
..and backed them in this lovely 
french vintage ticking...
.....oh that?
...i think somebody must love me very much..
..because cute parcels arrive in the post...
...and the gifts inside are just so me...

...this perfect little brooch is from
 ..so thank you my secret admirer...
..you know me so well!
x

Thursday, 17 January 2013

....hidden treasure!

..this is a story of surprises....
...of finding joy in unexpected places...
...of lasting friendships...
...a story about a monkey who had a secret!
...every year my squirrelling parents
try to travel to holland to visit 
the utrecht vintage toy fair...
...they always return
 with the most amazing 'finds'(I WANT TO GO!!)...
...they stay with our dear dutch friends..
.. who share our love 
of antiques, vintage, childhood nostalgia...
...this year our 'vriendiin eekhoorn'
(dutch squirrel friend??)
discovered an endearing norah wellings monkey
(remember my binky?)
..fell for that little face and adopted him!
..but once home it was felt that all was not quite what it seemed.... 
..with a little explorative investigation..
...and a delicate operation...
...a large piece of vintage fabric was discovered stuffed inside our little monkey!
....quel suprise!!!!(i know...french not dutch)
...as you can see it is very unusual...
..it has lovely little illustrations...
..and quirky little sayings...
...in english!!!...
...the material was gently packaged up..
..and kindly sent back to england with
my parents......
...to be 'vanilla squirrelled'
 into something crafty...
...hmmmm what to do?
...my mum asked me to make something special
for her friend (of some 30 years)
to send back to holland ...
...a gift of friendship...
...so i mooted and pondered...
...gathered together a mix of materials, ribbons, buttons....doilies!....
...and pondered and mooted...
..and made a trio of lavender pillows...
....that will hopefully last another 
30 years...
...a symbol of a lasting friendship...
...and a special little monkey...

...with a hidden secret.
x

Thursday, 10 January 2013

...dottie with a twist....

...i love all things 'dottie angel'
...her ramblings,her crafting, her style..
...last summer i bought her book from
the 'suitcase series' at uppercase 
(you can buy it here)
...i carried the book around with me
everywhere i went...
...a true new disciple to the granny chic movement...
....i even framed one of her tea towels...
...which hangs with pride in my crafty space...
....and i try to follow her mantra...
(although i sadly don't have any slips to peek out of anywhere)

...dottie has definitely changed the way i
approach my crafting....
...a new-found love of doilies for a start!
recently i found myself on a week-end away...
...not thinking i'd have time to craft...
..so i didn't pack any sewing...
..however the weather was SO bad we were rather trapped inside! 
..i decided to challenge myself to craft
'something out of nothing'(or whatever i could find)
...so i hunted around and found some threads,
a couple of doilies, some buttons....
...this dala horse ribbon and some socks!...







...my first instinct was to go down the sock monkey route......


...but i wasn't in a critter kind of mood.....



...so i just started making....

...and ended up with this lavender pillow...
(backed in a soft blue cashmere to make it tactile)



...it's a bit different...
...a bit dottie..?


...dottie with a squirrel twist!
X

(p.s. first unfinished project completed....onto the next.....!)


















Saturday, 29 December 2012

...there's no place like home....

....all hearts go home for christmas....
.....but as you get older 'home' is not just returning to the parental nest....
.....you create your own home with your own children and family....

....but it's interesting to see how you take a little piece of those original surroundings with you....
.....and mirror them in your own way in your own home.....



.....like a comfort blanket I suppose.....
(a gorgeous vintagey quilty one perhaps......?)

......time to go home 
X
(Don't worry mum....they are all still there!!)