a fruitful afternoon

Yes indeed, a very fruitful afternoon it turned out to be yesterday. Made this little lot (which, I might add took a lot longer than I had expected!), and even managed to get in a pint of cider with David at Pub on The Park to enjoy the last of the afternoon sun.

Ravelry

Woo hoo - got my invite to Ravelry in my inbox today. Will have to investigate and make my way around the site/community.

New members can only currently join by invitation, but that's purely because it's in testing and they can only add so many people at one time. All you have to do is sign up, and wait for an email... and then you're off!

I heart Sundays

I officially love Sundays again. Today is a good day for the following reasons:

1) The sun is out - could Spring finally be arriving?
2) The clocks have finally changed to British Summer Time - here's to bbq's and evening cocktails outdoors :)
3) David cooked me a lush breakfast
4) I found this excellent site via Ashley G's blog
5) Which lead me on this site, which is full of things too lovely for words, such as these Lux Apt Milk Bottles by Julia Rothman (pictured above).

And finally... I now plan to spend the rest of my day making - Happy Sunday!

more on the blanket...

I only just noticed yesterday that this blanket has a touch of the rasta in my choice of colours... hmm. But just look at all those horrid ends in the distance, waiting to be weaved in - urgh! Still, if I carry on at this rate I should have it ready in time no probs :)

Too much surfing, not enough making?

Do you ever feel like you spend soooo much time looking at the big www and blogosphere that you don't get to put half the inspiration to good use? I do sometimes.. I live without a TV and lately have felt like I've replaced it with the internet.

On that note, I am off to 'make' - have a shipment of badges to be sent to the Owl & Lion gallery in Edinburgh by the end of the week.

In search of the perfect scarf...

If confused by the picture above I do apologise, this is here in lieu of a more relevant one, and dear reader, read on and all will become clear.

Scarves are the one thing that I made obsessively when I first learnt to knit, and so it follows that as I improved I moved on to more complicated fare. Still, recently I have been hunting high and low to find a really indispensable navy scarf (one of my absolute favourite colours, in spite of the school uniform!)

Anyway, inspired by a rash purchase today (which I will come to later) I have decided that I am going to make my own - using Debbie Bliss Cotton DK (my new favourite yarn), in moss stitch, hence the picture above.

Now, onto this picture above and today's rash purchase Baby Knits for Beginners, again, by the aforementioned Debbie Bliss. I didn't knit these, but have plans to, and lots of, as it seems that all of my friends are getting pregnant like there's no tomorrow. So, whilst technically not pregnant, nor with any immediate plans to be you can begin to see how this may have been a rash purchase. I put it down to the impending god-mother-hood. Am I taking this too seriously?

PS - this fine photo came courtesy of Something From Nothing, whom I believe are based in Oz.

Baby Blanket

Later on this year - all things being well - I am to become a Godmother, which I am very excited about for a number of reasons. One such being that I finally have an excuse and little person to make things for. It looks much darker here than it actually is, but hopefully this should be ready in time, as I've been told I only have 10 weeks, and am due to go back into school for my next teaching practice soon - yikes!

Pattern is here if anyone fancies it, although I've substituted treble stitch for double, using Debbie Bliss Cotton DK, as the baby's due in June so I wanted to go for a cooler blanket that was easier to wash.

Here it is again, this time sitting on one of David's cast resin milking stools

Saipua

I've umm-ed and ah-ed about whether or not this counts as being handmade, but it totally does. Saipua are a shop and florists in Brooklyn, selling seasonal flowers and handmade soap. Their flower arrangements are absolutely beautiful, but it goes beyond that really... it's the whole aesthetic, from the look of the shop (even the open sign!) to the packaging of their soap. Again, I guess it's like my love for Labour and Wait... must photograph that shop!


I couldn't resist this picture of ranunculus. They are very dear to my heart at the moment, and like the rest of the photographs on their site - this one is a beauty.



This link came courtesy of the lovely Small Stump.

Field notes

Awwww, how nice is this? A new site from Field Notes brilliantly satisfies both my obsession with stationary and Labour and Wait-vintage-style. I love it that they've used a picture of a book with squared paper for their main shot too. Top work...

Thanks to Poppytalk for pointing it out.

The marvelous Rob Ryan

I've been a fan of Rob Ryan's work for a couple of years now, and have been lucky enough to pick up a couple of his screenprints cheaply at opportune moments such as Peepshow's Christmas fair and the Summer Fete at the V&A last summer. But, for those of you not lucky enough, the chance shall soon present himself, as he's designed a set of four greetings cards in conjunction with Roger La Borde, which will be widely available.

This, I think is my favourite.

Beehive Invasion

Following on from designersblock last year, David received his first order of 'products' to be sold in a shop in Singapore called Strangelets. One of the things they ordered was a 'beehive' set of drawers, of which I am the proud owner of the prototype, I might add.

Anyway, he improved upon it and decided to make the base of the inside of the top covered in one flat colour. The outside of them is entirely made of untreated cedar, so it's a really lovely contrast. Here you can see them shortly before they had their lids put on. Shame I couldn't take any more pics - we were on a tight schedule to have them wrapped in time to be shipped!

Happy Shopper

I love this picture - never have I seen a string of such happy shoppers!

This picture's from The Small Object, who sadly don't seem to have any up on their site right now, but do have these and these, which are also ridiculously cute.

Growth Chart

I like this a lot. It's a kit that allows you to track the growth of your kids without having to draw on the wall.

Personally, I love the drawing on the wall (I'm pretty sure my progress is still evident in my Granny's kitchen) but for the sentimental amongst us I guess this means you'll be able to keep hold of it, long after you've moved out.