On the mend....

...hooray! it was good news at the hospital yesterday, my eye is improving and i can stop using most of the eye drops, phew! so over the weekend my dilated pupil should get back to normal and next week i should be able to see well enough to embroider again, yay! thank you to everyone for your well wishes, they were much appreciated and i'm glad i had good news for you all :)

...on the way back from the hospital i popped into my now favourite charity shop and found these two sets of utterly gorgeous cream enamelled knitting needles. i need to clean them up before i use them, but aren't they beautiful :)

...and here is a little teaser pic of another idea i've been working on, once i'm happy with it i'll get some more pics and show you properly ;)

...i think this weekend i'm going to treat myself to a wee shopping spree to spend my birthday pennies! how about you, what are your plans for this weekend?

emma
x

My week in pictures...

...first of all a huge thank you to my lovely friend Monda for such a lovely and thoughtful gift, it really helped cheer me up after a duff couple of weeks :)

...the pile of yummy new fabrics i picked up last week. lots of white, cream and yellow inspired by my last treasury, and a lovely dose of fresh spring greens. hopefully soon i'll be able to cut into them and make something pretty :)

...a cute pic of spanner from the weekend, it was such a warm and sunny day on saturday so we had a sushi lunch in the park as part of my birthday celebrations, 31 already!
...i got an unexpected birthday surprise from the ever so sweet Katie, of The Constant Gatherer, as she put together a lovely post about my granny cushions and embroidered cards. i've been following Katie's blog for a while now and i'm always in awe of the talented artists she blogs about, if you haven't already i highly recommend you pop over for a visit :)

...i've finished off a couple of knitting projects, including this gorgeous lace Ishbel scarf, designed by Ysolda Teague...

...i started an epic crochet project, a granny blanket that i think will need about 400 of these little hexagons! i know some of you will be reeling in horror when i tell you i'm using 100% pure acrylic yarn to make it, but it has practical reasons - i need it to be big enough for a king size bed, fairly lightweight, machine washable and quick to dry... 'no excuse' i hear you cry... ;)

...i helped out fellow blogger Beaky by testing her Sir Lucas - Knight hat pattern, but because i used black yarn it looks a bit more like darth vader's helmet!

...and today i found myself at my desk. i pulled out lots of my favourite bits 'n' bobs and pottered away on a couple of ideas, one of which i've been meaning to make for myself for a wee while. i'll be sure to post a pic once it's finished :)

...well, i think that just about sums up my week. tomorrow i have another appointment at the eye hospital, my eye is feeling better this week and hopefully they will confirm that things have improved and i can start reducing the use of the eye drops... fingers crossed :)

emma
x

White gold...

...simple details, delicate beauty.

...i love these soft creamy white shades with a hint of gold here and there, this selection was inspired by Ewa-Christine and her wonderful white and cream studio, and the gorgeous new pieces dottie angel has been crafting, including the rose print bag in the bottom row...
...

...a bit of knitting, a custom order for etsy and a pretty treasury is all the creativity i've been getting up to of late. the three lots of eye drops i'm having to use mean a permanently dilated pupil and blurry vision in one eye, it seems i have a case of 'iritis'. thankfully it's not as painful as it was when it first started, but it is going to be slow to heal fully - i have to take these eye drops for almost a month!

...anyway, over the next few days i want to get back into my creative stride. i've got a pile of lovely new fabrics waiting on my desk (i'll post about them next time) and some ideas floating around my head that i want to make a start on. maybe then i will be a bit more deserving of this...

...thank you so much to the fabulous Sophie for honouring me with my first ever blogging award! if you have been reading this wee blog for any length of time you will have a fair idea of what i love, you know - chocolate, red wine, yummy yarn, my man, spanner, warm weather and being creative... i think they're in the right order ;) the creative blogs that i think are deserving of this award are...

...obviously Sophie of Her Libray Adventures, Penny of Sparrow Salvage, Viv of Hens Teeth, Sarah of Black-Eyed Suzie, Ewa-Christine of Ewa-Christines Studio, Charlotte of fancypicnic, Courtney of The Inner Stitch and Katie of The Constant Gatherer...
...

...oh but it doesn't stop there, my lovely friend Ivy also honoured me with this award...

...here's the wee blurb to go with it...

"This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY--nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. The kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers!"

...one of the loveliest things i have found in blogging is just how friendly, kind, generous and supportive fellow bloggers are. whether it's just popping by to read my ramblings, a wee comment at the end of a post or an encouraging message in my inbox... i am so grateful to all of you :) it's so difficult to choose just a few as i think of you all as friends but here are one or two...

...obviously Ivy of Edera Crocheted Jewelry, Monda of monda loves, Tif of dottie angel, Michaela of See You In The Wind, Linda of Stripeymonkey, Sophie of Her Libray Adventures, Viv of Hens Teeth and Parisa of Parisa...
...

...i know i have singled out just a few names for both of these awards but every blog listed in the right hand column of this page is well worth a visit. i hope you all have a lovely creative day!

emma
x

Happy birthday...

...to my mam... :)

...a very quick treasury and a very quick post (i'm supposed to be resting my eye!) to wish my mam a very happy birthday! sorry i can't tell you how old she is, it would be the last thing i did ;)
...anyway, in celebration of her birthday all the knitted items in her etsy shop are free shipping until the end of the month. so, if you're looking for something cosy, say a hand knit hot water bottle cover in the style of an aran jumper, then hop on over to A Crooked Sixpence...

...hopefully normal blogging will resume in a week or so, til then my lovelies :)

emma
x

At last...

...some pretty spring colours, some cute fabrics and some creativity!

...despite all my neat and beautifully organised fabrics i finally found inspiration by tipping my scrap box over my desk and diving into all these wonderful colours and patterns. after much snipping and stitching some of the ideas drifting in the far recesses of my brain were finally realised...

...these daisies are some of my favourites and have now been made up into little gift cards, soon to be landing in my etsy shop along with these other designs...

(for all you uk readers - don't forget mother's day on march 22nd, this little elephant will help you to remember!)

...i will be listing all of these new cards over the next few days so keep your eyes peeled :)

...and thank you everyone for all your lovely comments and well wishes about my eye. it seems like a severe case of eye-strain, so as long as i don't do too much close work it feels okay - what an excuse for staring out the window, day-dreaming of long beach walks in the warmth of the sun :)

emma
x

I do love red wine...

...either in a glass, or when it's the name of such a yummy yarn! yep, my gorgeous red cardigan is finally finished and photographed (it waited a whole week for me to just stitch the button on!)...

...the yarn is rowan, ryc extra fine merino dk in red-wine (896) and the pattern is the single button cardigan by debbie bliss from her pure silk collection. not only am i utterly in love with the colour, but also how soft this yarn is, how long the sleeves are and the cute little button i found to fasten it...

...this little beauty was hiding amongst my stash of vintage mother-of-pearl, but when i cleaned it up i realised it was plastic! i did try lots of other combinations but once i saw how perfectly the colours matched the yarn no other buttons would do!

...and the best bit isn't that i have a new favourite cardi, it's that i get to start a new one!!!

emma
x

ps - there hasn't been a lot of other creativity going on around here because of a very sore right eye, a bit pink and a bit painful. i've had to limit the amount of time embroidering, blog reading and blog writing. but hopefully i will have some cute new things to show in the next few days :)

Spring is in the air...

...and the birds are singing!

...how lucky? after putting together the lichen and slate treasury i hopped on over to the treasury west, my timing couldn't have been any more perfect and a slot opened up almost immediately!

...yesterday's walk in the park inspired this sweet selection. there were all kinds of birds singing and tweeting, i caught glimpses of robins, gold finches, blue tits, jenny wrens, green finches, sparrows and blackbirds. there were lots of snowdrops and mini daffodils brightening up the leaf litter. the sun was shining and it's warmth was cheering everything up, spring is definitely in the air...

emma
x

ps - i think it's going to snow today... ;)

Lichen and slate...

...feeling the peace of muted tones.

...the calming lichen and slate tones in this treasury are inspired by the yarn i'm using for my Annabelle cowl (i'm toying with changing the name... not sure). it's a beautiful sock yarn by cygnet in the most soft and subtle lichen colour (i'm quite chuffed with this pic, it's the first time i've captured the colour as i see it!)...

...(stitchmarker by stripeymonkey)...

...my most favourite item in this treasury is the Andromeda Wristlet by the extremely talented Michaela of Skinny Swallow, drop by her blog See You In The Wind where you can see some of her utterly beautiful photography and the gorgeous treasuries she has curated...

...isn't it beautiful, (hope you don't mind me borrowing this pic Michaela!) there are more versions in her shop with different coloured ribbons running through them. i'm just having a hard time deciding which colour i would like, or which colour to go for first! my etsy wish list is as long as my arm and then some, damn this credit crunch!!!

emma
x