colour your monday happy...

Hi guys... I'm feeling a wee bit under the weather with a few nasty flu symptoms this morning. All I want to do today is huddle up on the sofa with a cosy blanket and a big mug of honey, lemon and ginger... maybe watch a few films while crocheting something lovley...

Image credits: 1. yvestown, 2. rainingsheep, 3. yellowhouse72, 4. AnnieDesign, 5. One Flew Over...

Hope you all have a lovely day and I will drop in with you again once I am feeling better... :)
Emma, x

today i'm loving...

These stunning crochet leaves from British based artist Susanna Bauer (discovered via this Pinterest pin). I love how delicate and fragile they are while having such strong structural forms, it is such a beautiful contrast...

"Most of my pieces are small sculptural objects often based on found natural materials. I like giving time to the inconspicuous things that surround us and often go unnoticed, paying attention to small details and the tactile quality of objects. Appropriating traditional craft techniques like weaving and crochet as a means of sculpture brings a contemplative element to the development of my work. I am interested in unusual combinations of materials, the experimentation with fragility and strength and the individual stories that evolve and shape themselves in the process of making."

All images: Susanna Bauer

Of course I am completely smitten with the delicacy of her crochet work in these pieces, as well as that of her pebbles and sticks, which are certainly worth a wee peek too... :)

A lovely day to you all,
Emma, x

Inside Crochet...

Yay!!! So yes, some of my super duper exciting news for this week is that I have a wee interview in my very first crochet magazine and what I'm more excited about is that it is a British one ~ the February issue (no.14) of Inside Crochet... :)

In fact I have a very generous four page spread where I 'waffle' on about how I learned to crochet, what inspires my work today and how my 'granny chic' style came to be. I've also got a wee bit of advice for anyone wanting to start their own handmade business and I'm very clear with my opinion of crochet being called 'old fashioned'... ;)
There's a wee bit more in there too but I'm afraid you will have to find you own copy to read it. You can find an online version available to buy here, if you like... :) Oh, and Inside Crochet has it's very own Facebook group page here.
Oh, and I want to say a huge thank you to Claire Montgomery (editor of Inside Crochet) for giving me the opportunity and to Isabel Buxton for putting together the article... Thank you ladies... :)

Emma, x

cute and quirky brooches...

good morning all, ooops! it's just past twelve so i should be saying good afternoon... :)

i'm running a wee bit late today thanks to a huge pile of paperwork that needs doing, but not to worry it does get better this afternoon as i need to do a wee stock take on my yarn stash ~ hopefully it will show me just how much yarn i don't have and how much i should go out and buy asap! however, it is more likely that my yarn 'situation' will be quite the opposite ~ ho-hum...

anyway, today i'd like to share with you something very cute and quirky, have you seen these wonderful brooches by Sophie Digard? i stumbled upon them a few days ago in the Selvedge drygoods online shop and haven't been able to stop thinking about them!

i haven't been able to find out much about them but they do look like they could have been inspired by children's drawings. they have such a wonderful naive charm about them both in their shape and colouring... remember this wee zebra from last weeks monday post!?
i think my favourite has to be the wee zebra (first one) with his colourful velvet and crochet stripe combo... or possibly the lion (last one) with his velvety mane... oh, it's too tough to choose... !
emma
x

the talented miss Ivy...

it's almost a crime that i've not yet introduced you all to the incredible work of a very dear friend of mine ~ the ever so talented miss Ivy and her hand crocheted jewelry line Edera Jewelry. every time she adds new photos to her blog or a new piece to her Etsy shop you will find me swooning and marvelling at her elaborate creations!
she hand crochets each piece using real gold or silver threads alongside vintage silks and incorporates the most beautiful semi-precious stones and freshwater pearls as she goes. she draws inspiration for her necklaces, earrings and brooches from historical costume and traditional crochet and lace making techniques.
over the last two years that i've come to know miss Ivy it has been an absolute pleasure to see her wee shop go from strength to strength as her designs become ever more intricate and elaborate. i do hope you enjoy her pieces just as much as i do...

~ all images copyright Edera Jewelry ~

oh, if you pop over to miss Ivy's blog today you can find some sneaky peek pics of her very colourful creative space... :)
emma
x

flutter by...

...i saw these gorgeous wee crochet butterflies last week on EZ's blog, Creature Comforts, and i haven't been able to stop thinking about them. they are just so intricate and beautiful, not to mention animal friendly! definitely the kind of specimens i would like to hang on my wall :)

...you can find them in the 'oeuf' online shop...

...what is even sweeter about these wee winged beauties is that they are Fair Trade ~ made from 100% alpaca by indigenous women of Bolivia. if you have a few minutes i promise you won't regret peeking at the rest of their site and the gorgeous knits these talented women create, including this delicate knitted bunting...

emma
x

weekend inspiration...

...with a few festive favourites from flickr...
...it's the wee details that set the mood ~ beautiful white paper stars and delicate white crochet, hints of festive red in ribbons for hanging elegant ornaments, cream crochet and textured porcelain add a vintage vibe, twinkling tea lights displayed in softly coloured vintage glass vases ~ almost perfect!

...1. {a black pepper}, 2. crowdedteef, 3. Craft & Creativity, 4. ilovepeggy, 5. Peonies and Polaroids, 6. Yvette Inufio, 7. yvestown, 8. lille-ursus, 9. ivy style33...

...all that is needed now is a perfectly festive pincushion with some perfectly festive pins...
...so here's one i made earlier ;)

...i'm so, so pleased with this wee lady and i have spent most of today happily admiring her as she sat on my desk holding a few of my festive red pins...

...and now that i've made one i'm itching to make more, she was so quick and easy to make and would be perfect as a wee 'stocking stuffer' for christmas. if you're looking for an extra crafty gift to make and give then i highly recommend this wee pincushion. she barely uses any yarn at all and you could easily whip up a couple in an evening ~ of course one of them will be for yourself ;)
...if you missed the link on my last post then the pattern is by the lovely miss Leanda of one loop short. you can buy it on her blog here, or if you have a ravelry account you can buy it from her pattern page here...

...happy crocheting!

emma
x

jo hamilton...

...i can't believe i've only just discovered the crochet talent of Jo Hamilton!

...how incredible are these portraits!? i'm utterly fascinated by her attention to colour and detail, and how she has captured such a wonderful sense of depth and character. i would really love to see one of these pieces up close to read the stitches and study the construction. i think it's probably lost a wee bit in these pics, but they must have an wonderful texture too...

...even though the portraits are quite special i think my favourite piece has to be this city scape of Portland, i'm completely mesmerised by the mix of colours and the geometry of the whole thing...

...if you check out her website you can see more of her crochet pieces alongside some of her drawings and paintings. info is a wee bit thin on the ground, but as far as i can tell she studied at Glasgow School of Art and now exhibits in the US. if anyone knows any more about her or her work i would love to hear it ~ thank you :)

...and i think if i ever get my portrait done it's going to have to be in crochet and maybe made into a granny cushion, or possibly a pot holder ~ what do you think!?

emma
x

sophie digard...

...i'm sure all of you have already heard of, and seen, Sophie Digard's stunning and inspirational crochet work. these pics are tiny details of her intricate crochet scarves that you can find in the Selvedge drygoods online shop (with a 25% discount this week!). i absolutely adore her rich colour palette, which she creates by working with multiple strands of fine yarn to blend her own unique colourways...

...i know the samples i've picked out have a very autumnal feel to them, but i also think they have a very timeless quality. i'm especially smitten with this last one, i can imagine a huge and cosy bed-spread in these tiny wee squares... but i can also imagine how long it would take to crochet ~ forever!!! oh well, i can dream :)

emma
(who ended up having beef curry for lunch yesterday! because she pulled the wrong tub out of the freezer and by the time she realised, the microwave had done it's thing and it was too late!)
x

colour your monday happy...

...with yummy colourful crochet!

...Work in progress by ArtMind etcetera...

...p i n c u s h i o n by *Leanda...

...untitled by namolio...

...6 stools by wood & wool stool...

...untitled by sandra juto...

...i really can't think of a better way to kick off the creative week than with these gorgeous crochet projects from some extremely talented crocheters! as soon as you have a few spare minutes (or maybe even hours!) brew yourself a lovely cuppa and treat yourself to a wander through these fabulous photostreams, and the 'all colours in' group where you can find these and lots of other yummy crochet pics :)

emma
x

I heart crochet...

...yummy yarn and buttons :)

...just a few of the beautiful things that are inspiring me at the moment, and how cool is Big Al!? he's only one of the amazing creatures crocheted by Ang Davidson, i urge to take a peek at her etsy shop, her attention to detail and the amount of work in each of her pieces is just incredible!
...

...yesterday i managed to get some pretty pics of the little crochet pieces i've been pottering away on. first up is the button necklace, i've been wanting to make something pretty with my favourite vintage buttons for a while, then a couple of weeks ago i thought of this...

...i dug out the finest crochet hook i had, some vintage silk embroidery thread and set to. i'm really pleased with how it turned out and love how the mother of pearl buttons catch the light and change colour. i used one of my most favourite buttons for the fastener, this silver decorated glass flower. i've got one more of buttons that i think will look great on a red strand...

...spurred on by my success i was inspired to try a second one, but this time with tiny little crochet flowers and brass sequins, also finished with a glass button as a fastener...

...i love the textured grey/brown colour of this yarn and the two of them look really sweet hanging together, see here. i really enjoyed making these and now i can't help wondering how many different colourways i'm going to need to co-ordinate with all my clothes... ;)
...

...btw, thank you all very much for your comments on my last post, i'm touched by how you're all thinking of me :) i haven't been very good at getting back to you all this last week or two, but i promise it's on my to do list and it will be a welcome distraction from some much needed accounting that's also on that list :(

emma
x