Somersault

Today...

2010-02-17T10:17:00.002-08:00

New Toast Catalogue with beautiful photographs.

Vintage tea cups from a charity shop.

A beret I just finished for a friend.

British Tulips in violet and coral.

Colourful chalks I was using on plant labels.

Dresses

2010-02-07T06:19:00.000-08:00

I have coveted the Caravan Dress by Mociun for a ridiculously long time, so I decided to throw caution and a chunk of my paycheck to the wind and order it online. Inititally I was going to get it from Devidoll, a great sustainable clothing boutique based in London. But I managed to find it cheaper in an American store, Pretty Please Dear so I ordered it from there, hoping that I won't incur a customs charge for such a small item. It should arrive in about a week and I am so excited I'm going to pounce on the postman every morning like a poorly trained dog.

Other dresses to swoon over:

Fringe Chain print dress by Lina Rennell, Antipodium 'Hookup' Dress and Whistles 'Piano Key' dress, both at Asos.

Inspirations

2010-02-07T05:42:00.000-08:00

1. Cape from Nordic By Design 2. Infinity Scarf by Rachel Comey 3. Shawl by MissMaggieLove 4. Scarf by Happiknits 5. Snood by Toast 6. Knight's Hood by The North Circular 7. Shawl/cape by Yokoo 8. Another Rachel Comey 9. Helmet hat by Mociun

Knitting inspirations from all over the place. At the moment I'm mostly obsessed with circular scarves, snoods, hoods and helmets. Bye bye berets. I also love the colour palatte that asserted itself as I collated my favourite images - see greens, soft greys, deep blues, marls and speckled tweeds. Simple stockinette and ribbing seems to be the general theme too - I think texture, shape and colour are far more important than stitch patterns anyway.

foliage

2009-09-29T12:13:00.001-07:00

These beautiful planters are from jayson home and garden, based in Chicago. I love the structure of these planters, especially the tall switchgrass and perfectly reclining ferns. So much love for them!

garden light

2009-09-22T13:33:00.000-07:00

Some of these are product photographs for work. I'm just getting started with K's digital SLR and have so much to learn...

2009-09-20T06:53:00.000-07:00

we just had a glut of fresh blackberries and apples so I had to try this recipe by lena corwin which she so kindly shared here. Mine was nowhere near as aesthetically pleasing as this, but it was delicious, even if those apples we picked were a little tough-skinned.

lina rennell

2009-09-19T04:08:00.001-07:00

Her new season is really beautiful, entitled 'knitting grom the past, present and beyond.' i really love the 'lobster' print on the bottom dress.

little birdie

2009-09-18T03:59:00.001-07:00

this sweet little birdie sits on my desk at work.

i love the bubble votives we're selling. and the packing room had some great colours for such a dull day.

mary jane

2009-09-18T03:54:00.000-07:00

is what the lady who designed this hat called it (pattern here). I love how it sits in kind of a whirl.

rachel comey spring 2010

2009-09-17T11:19:00.000-07:00

Loving Rachel Comey's Spring 2010 collection. Especially the belt bags and cardigans.

be still

2009-09-09T10:23:00.000-07:00

I'm still loving ikat, I'm totally unwilling to move on. These cushions are from bestillshop.

galway

2009-09-03T13:32:00.001-07:00

Galways has a certain smell. It might be damp, but a nice cozy damp.

This abandoned boat filled with water in the rain:

A lovely postcard.:

One of our favourite places in Galway is Charlie Byrne's Bookshop where I found this amazing little book: Mother Goose in Hieroglyphics.

I also picked up an old copy of an Irish visual culture magazine called Circa:

i also did these...

2009-08-27T13:14:00.000-07:00

potatos and paint

2009-08-27T12:58:00.000-07:00

We had some old sprouting potatoes so i thought i'd do some good old-fashioned printing. It was so much fun, but old potatoes do smell a bit. I'm a sucker for hand-stamped fabric, especially washed-out, watery prints. The textured surface of a potato prints a perfectly uneven pattern.

floral

2009-08-27T12:44:00.000-07:00

Today I was inspired to get out my watercolours and do some patterns. I've never been very confident with paints so I just messed around doing some of the patterns I like to draw. It worked out quite well...

nani iro

2009-08-26T04:35:00.000-07:00

By my favourite textile designer, naomi ito.
Maybe the Japanese to English translation isn't perfect but it sounds quite dreamy:
"NAOMI ITO also spread to the world with visions of where it gently. Is enveloped in colors like red chan-friendly in the world ...."

wikstenmade fall

2009-08-25T08:05:00.001-07:00

Fall preview at the wikstenmade blog. I love a peter pan collar.

red

2009-08-25T06:53:00.000-07:00

Today I saw this Ted Baker hat in Selfridges:

I considered buying some of this:

lamb's pride bulky in ruby red. get knitted is great because it sells every yarn you can think of and is based in the uk.

This image from paramount vintage was on the etsy homepage:

I wondered whether tartan is ever permissible. I hope so, I really want to wear this topshop shirt:

sweet

2009-08-23T10:40:00.000-07:00

sweet little goodies from mykonos on etsy.

fall flats

2009-08-23T10:36:00.000-07:00

The perfect autumn indoor shoe. And they're vegan! From hydraheart on etsy.

card

2009-08-22T08:49:00.000-07:00

A little experiment with some felt scraps. It was really fun to decide what shapes to put where. I would like to do larger more elaborate ones too.

polyvore

2009-08-20T03:43:00.001-07:00

Fall by karenm featuring Jasmine Di Milo cardigans

My first attempt at a polyvore collage. I'll have to get more creative in future...

steve alan

2009-08-20T03:09:00.000-07:00

I love the fall colours at steve alan. I wish there was a store over here.

jennifer collier

2009-08-19T05:20:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I popped into the sara preisler gallery space at the custard factory which was full of wonderful things. I kicked myself for forgetting my notebook but remembered the name jennifer collier. She works with recycled and found materials to make beautiful garments. Her hair combs really caught my eye and the gloves above are perfect.

bits n pieces

2009-08-17T04:48:00.000-07:00

These are some random photos I've had sitting in a folder for ages. Each one is an inspiration.

mociun fall 09

2009-08-17T04:42:00.000-07:00

I'm just getting used to the sun streaming in through the morning window and those muggy one-leg-out-of-the-blanket nights and suddenly it's mid-august, the sun is setting earlier and I'm out buying yarn for autumn hats. On that note...
It's finally here! The mociun fall collection. Autumn bliss.

head piece

2009-08-13T07:55:00.001-07:00

vogue trends

johnny loves rosie

dolce and gabbana

all on the vogue website.

bird cage

2009-08-13T04:33:00.000-07:00

Our garden is full of swooping sparrows, a little pair of robins and one fat wood pigeon who guards the bird feeder like a troll.

sweet melodies.

tamar mogendorff.

flikr.

very retro, from olive's shop.

rachel comey

2009-08-12T09:44:00.001-07:00

I would like one of everything by rachel comey please.

colour!

2009-08-10T04:25:00.000-07:00

I'm all about neutral clothes but I love colourful accessories, like these:

formeforyou.

sabrina dehoff.

lauren manoogian.

arielle de pinto.

cushions

2009-08-07T10:55:00.000-07:00

Amazing cushions by mociun and lena corwin.

lace

2009-08-06T12:53:00.001-07:00

bonnie english.

white owl.

culpably cute

tree and kimble.

pom pom

2009-08-06T11:24:00.001-07:00

I think I was right to be sceptical of pom poms. They're hard to do right, but they can be irresistable...

These look lovely just hanging there, or hanging anywhere really. From spinthread on etsy.

I'm at least half in love with these hats by Diane von Furstenburg.

They make a nice accent on this urban outfitters scarf

lovely leathers

2009-08-06T10:36:00.000-07:00

these were items listed in etsy trends under 'leather.'

mahoohoo.

three horses.

These are some leathers I found all by myself.

leather leaves by another feather.

from today I made this the manimal store blog.

I love the seed-like shape of these leather earrings by emma carroll.

awesome earrings from fleathers on etsy.

I think i need to get me some leather scraps to play around with.

the carrotbox

2009-08-06T08:52:00.000-07:00

great blog for ring-related news. Those rings are by early jewelry.

good day out

2009-08-06T08:25:00.001-07:00

a daytrip with E to the yorkshire sculpture park. I couldn't believe I had never been there before. It's a vast complex of gardens and fields, little nooks secreted away under the canopies of hundred year old yew trees; unmanned greenhouses where wooden paint-chipped doors open onto huge fragrant climbers like wallpaper; open fields punctuated by enormous sculptures and people-friendly sheep. City dweller that I am I felt as though I'd stumbled across some kind of wonderland (this is the girl who used to find the vine-wrapped trellis at the bottom of our small suburban semi-detached garden enchanting.)

The best part of the day apart from the fresh air and farm smells (I love those farm smells!) was the work of peter randall page. We spent a good while exploring the garden and gallery, regretting that we didn't have cameras, and alternately saying 'That's amazing' and 'that makes me feel funny' because his work has this organic, living quality that can be both beautiful and kind of grotesque.

Another great exhibition was Ring Theory, a collection of rings made by jewellers and artists, available for purchase on the Art Council's Own Art scheme (If I didn't have so many student debts I would definitely consider it.) From top: daisy choi, meghan o'rourke, anthony roussel, hannah simpson.

yokoo

2009-08-04T06:03:00.000-07:00

I didn't think I liked pom poms, but now I think I do. I mean I really do. I love everything by yokoo, especially how big everything is. I even love saying 'yokoo.' and her interview is pretty sweet.

panties

2009-08-03T06:01:00.000-07:00

I don't really like much 'lingerie' (in my humble price range it's usually so... cheap.) But I love this stuff from naomi lingerie on etsy.

fringe...

2009-08-03T03:34:00.001-07:00

...etsy seller iheartnorweiganwood seems to be working almost exclusively with it at the moment and it's all amazing - slinky and soft with a tough metal edge and totally oversized - my favourite word.

A fringed necklace by candace ang.

Yura lace necklace by homako (already sold but I can't stop looking at it).

Two from urban outfitters (though the first might more properly be called tassle not fringe...)

necklace by chrystalshop.

abigail brown

2009-08-02T03:46:00.001-07:00

Creator of these beautiful birds abigail brown is leading a workshop at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park on October 3rd. I really need to get to this one.

mother

2009-07-30T05:25:00.000-07:00

i love that kathiroussel calls her sculptural decorative hangings 'wall jewellery.'

wendy june

2009-07-29T07:30:00.001-07:00

sweet but serious little fellas by wendy june.

mandarin

2009-07-29T06:12:00.001-07:00

lovely golden collection from gold and citrus.

treeandkimball

2009-07-28T11:42:00.000-07:00

some really pretty repurposed lace, crochet and beads from treeandkimball on etsy.

Homako

2009-07-24T04:54:00.001-07:00

another new favourite, homako on etsy.

anonymous agent

2009-07-24T04:47:00.001-07:00

very cool stuff from anyonymous agent.

faux bois

2009-07-22T09:06:00.000-07:00

I'm really loving faux bois right now...
cutoutandcollect; joel dewberry, woodgrain; artkitten's Edward book; garland from DesignSponge; buttons on etsy.

biscuit bunnies

2009-07-22T07:37:00.000-07:00

great stuff from flying star toys.

lillie hairband

2009-07-21T06:49:00.000-07:00

From live in style on etsy. I think these would look really nice made out of fabric too.

pretty good things

2009-07-21T05:37:00.000-07:00

these are adorable and a genius idea. visit prettygoodthings on etsy for lovely handmade hair fixtures.

makool ruffles

2009-07-10T08:36:00.001-07:00

I love a good ruffle. At Makool.

irana douer

2009-07-10T08:16:00.001-07:00

I can see myself drinking tea out of this little darling. For sale at makool.

wading bird

2009-07-08T07:04:00.001-07:00

brilliantly constructed birds from whileshenaps on etsy.

thelindentree

2009-07-08T06:51:00.001-07:00

thelindentree's etsy shop is really sweet. I particularly like her little abstract trees.

tell me everything

2009-07-07T12:03:00.001-07:00

heart by cathy cullis.

shipwreck

2009-07-07T11:43:00.000-07:00

Another piece by ann wood.

ann wood

2009-07-07T11:35:00.000-07:00

I love this little guy. Made by anne wood.

tamar mogendorff

2009-07-07T11:18:00.000-07:00

oh so sweet. i particularly love the scruffy edges and exposed stitching she uses quite a lot (look here.

katy horan

2009-07-07T08:44:00.000-07:00

This is a drawing by katy horan. I love the folky style and little details. They feel sort of spooky.

placemat

2009-06-29T09:25:00.001-07:00

I'm trying to help my ma update her dining room look, and these are just simple and modern enough.

2009-06-29T09:06:00.000-07:00

I've been looking for birds. I would like to make some. These are my favourites. By Stephanie Congdon Barnes and Laura Faggioni

natalia ortega gomez

2009-06-29T08:45:00.000-07:00

i love the mixture of materials by natalia ortega gomez.

o check

2009-06-29T07:03:00.000-07:00

Love this stuff by O Check.

books

2009-06-29T06:53:00.000-07:00

These are some books I really need to get.

postcard journals

2009-06-29T06:39:00.001-07:00

I love the tutorials at Design Sponge. These are a quick fun project, especially if like me you can't bear to throw out awesome poscards and flyers. Postcard notebook tutorial here.

Soft Trees

2009-06-29T06:30:00.000-07:00

Stephanie Congdon Barnes soft trees. So cute.

Ruffles

2009-05-18T07:19:00.001-07:00

I'm thinking of using the tutorial from the excellent Katie Did blog for a cushion cover. I love the slightly rough texture, perfect to play with. That single pop of colour is perfect, I'm thinking turquoise.

2009-05-18T07:08:00.000-07:00

These are my dream textile prints, from Madrid-based SuTurno.

Feather and weave

2009-04-06T15:00:00.000-07:00

'Laurie' tank top by Kuyichi

Feather earrings by Urban Outfitters

Cavern 'Weave' tee

I just bought this tee from Asos

Alex & Chloe feather necklace

After a dark winter...

2009-04-06T14:21:00.000-07:00

... the smell of flowers everywhere and new spring collections!
Dress by Mociun.

little bird

2009-01-02T12:58:00.000-08:00

'oh my mama' alela diane. you know it's great when you keep going back to it month after month.
christmas has been lovely, but so cooped up. I'm longing for summer dresses, sun-stung eyes and dusty boots. this year shall be one of adventure.

alyson fox

2009-01-02T12:27:00.000-08:00

i love the unfinished, sketchy look of Alyson Fox's art - quite childlike but skillfully drawn. I've been captivated by the picture on the Mociun homepage for ages, and it seems like the work of the same artist. just magical.

paper craft heart

2008-12-30T16:34:00.001-08:00

so beautiful. by haruki nakamura.

bigfoot

2008-12-29T11:15:00.000-08:00

Bigfoot: Me Not Dead by Graham Roumieu. This looks really funny.

pinhole

2008-12-27T05:58:00.001-08:00

P bought me a pinhole camera kit for Christmas. I did a bit of research and found these pinhole images here.

little cotton rabbits

2008-12-08T14:50:00.000-08:00

I'm going to knit these, the pattern is here.

woke myself up

2008-12-06T09:05:00.000-08:00

Julie Doiron 'Woke Myself Up.' I need to get this. Her song 'Wintermitts' defines my decembers, year after year.

me and my friend

2008-12-05T12:17:00.000-08:00

Julie Doiron Me And My Friend Music Video
Julie Dorion 'Me and My Friend.'

christmas wants

2008-12-05T10:36:00.000-08:00

Christmas wants - Rowan knitting magazine, knitting needle gauge, Fresh Linen candle

neglected beauty

2008-12-05T06:26:00.000-08:00

Carey Primeau has been working on 'Neglected Beauty' for four years. You can buy prints here.

Love your legs

2008-11-17T11:14:00.000-08:00

You can buy them from American Apparel here.

miranda july

2008-11-16T08:51:00.001-08:00

I might be obesessing over this woman a bit at the moment. This is a recent interview I don't want to forget because I want to see the films.

fifty states

2008-11-15T11:36:00.000-08:00

I saw this video a long time ago but I just remembered it. I thought I would share it, it's so beautifully constructed. The images match the pace of the voice over perfectly. I couldn't figure out how to embed it, so go here to watch the video.

i can't believe i didn't know about this until now

2008-11-15T11:21:00.000-08:00

read more about the project here, and look at all the wonderful submissions.
We have been having the most beautiful pink evenings lately. Yesterday K and I went to the lake and took some photos, trying to capture the exact quality of the light. Our attempts were humble but oh so fun. Pictures soon.
We have also seen the biggest gold coin moons suspended over the buildings and the tops of trees. If there were people living there I would have seen their faces by now.

buttons

2008-11-15T10:52:00.001-08:00

oh miranda july! How I love thee. Go here for more.

nottingham craft mafia

2008-11-15T05:25:00.001-08:00

Nottingham Craft Mafia opened a shop recently, and I just popped in to have a look. They have some wonderful treasures and I'm really excited to see where they go from here. The autumn banner pic is by Amy Blackwell.

somewhere in america

2008-11-14T06:26:00.001-08:00

Last night was: home made pizza, reading The Love song of J Alfred Prufrock aloud, sleeping top-to-tail with my sister.
The photos are of K's trip on the zephyr from chicago to san francisco (nevada and colorado.)

true true

2008-10-31T06:49:00.000-07:00

I love these secrets because you find so many people who think the same way as you. from the post secret blog.

Halloween, anyone?

2008-10-29T14:03:00.001-07:00

This year's muse.

new england

2008-10-29T04:41:00.001-07:00

Photo by the wonderful Tara Donne.

love this

2008-10-28T07:48:00.001-07:00

via the sartorialist.

Escape artist

2008-10-26T06:42:00.000-07:00

I am in love with this picture. Sam Taylor Wood (via Times Online.)

sweetness

2008-10-24T16:41:00.001-07:00

This is so sweet. From Found magazine.

"i still think about you every day"

2008-10-24T12:34:00.000-07:00

from postsecret.

head huggin'

2008-10-24T12:19:00.000-07:00

The photo is rather tragic butI think I'm liking the hat. Pattern here.

wiksten

2008-10-22T11:38:00.002-07:00

I was looking through the blog of Jenny Gordy (of wiksten) and came across this little inspiration page which I thought was great in its simplicity.

soft

2008-10-22T10:08:00.001-07:00

From Gladys Maria's photostream. so beautiful.

swinging

2008-10-22T09:55:00.001-07:00

From Juan Pablo's flickr page.

francesca tallone

2008-10-22T09:24:00.000-07:00

I love these beautiful, dreamy photos (via the splash zone.)

look left

2008-10-14T14:05:00.000-07:00

Isabel Nolan, 'Look Left 05'