festival highlights...

...possibly the best festival i have ever had the pleasure of attending ~ 'a festival of granny love' ~ partly because there wasn't a drop of mud in sight, but mostly because i got to meet so many liked minded 'granny chic' loving folk...

...and the whole festival was hosted by the queen of granny chic herself, the ever so lovely miss Tif, aka dottie angel, in the grounds of the stunning mossy shed...

...highlights include special guests such as Ingrid of Wood and Wool Stool, Michelle of The Royal Sisters and miss Tif's lecture on how to turn a 'no' man into a 'yes' man with just your trusty paintbrush, a tin of paint and a thrifted wardrobe...

...but the biggest highlight for me was that i actually got the honour of being the headline act that closed the whole festival ~ with my very first interview :)

...all images ~ copyright dottie angel...

...so thank you for the opportunity miss Tif, my very special granny chic loving cyber buddy ~ until next year!

emma
(off to do a wee bit of embroidery)
x

ps ~ thank you so much to every one for your lovely comments about wee 'aggie' who has been made to feel very welcome :)

give a warm welcome...

...to the lovely miss aggie...

...yay! i'm so pleased that this not so wee lady is now finally finished and i can properly introduce her to you all...
...i had hoped that she would have met you all a wee bit sooner but when planning my time scales i seemed to completely forget about the worst of all chores ~ finishing and weaving in loose ends of yarn, ugh! and of course the weather hasn't been the best here this week so blocking and drying took a few days!

...but anyway, now she is here and might i say looking fabulous in her retro teal, orange, pink and cream combo :)
...she's a great size too, about a metre in diameter ~ perfect for throwing on the floor when it's a bit chilly, or even snuggling up in you favourite chair with a nice hot cuppa and one or two chocolate biscuits!

...and the best bit about having her finished and listed in my wee shop is that now i can start playing with some of the other ideas i've got swimming around my head, and maybe even a bit of winter knitting to boot ;)

emma
(off to see if there are any gingersnaps left)

x

geometric colour...

...bold and beautiful...

...just a few of my favourite retro styled geometric finds over on etsy :)

...i must apologise for the lack of words today and an absent desk thursday post yesterday, it has been quite the busy week! and a wee dose of insomnia last night has left me feeling quite sleepy today, but i will be back soon with more granny chic crochet goodness :)

emma
(trying not to nod off into a pile of fabric!)
x

it's okay to be a 'granny chic' addict...

...wise words from the lovey miss Tif, aka dottie angel, who officially announced my new 'granny chic' flickr group to the world in a guest post over at sfgirlbybay...

...it is true, it is perfectly okay to an addict of all things 'granny chic'! it is perfectly normal to want to hang a collection of beautiful pot holders on the wall, or to cover your sofa with a fabulous rainbow coloured crochet afghan! why wouldn't you want to wear a delicately crocheted brooch with your favourite cardigan, while pouring tea from a vintage tea-pot, with maybe a plate of ginger-snaps arranged perfectly on a delicate china plate with a sweet paper doily! why wouldn't you want to do any of these things!?

...well to our delight, miss Tif and i are not the only ones with such 'granny chic' tendencies! here are just a handful of our fellow addicts proudly showing off their 'granny chic' ways...

...Dining area ~ LarkingAbout...

...Blossom Brooch ~ Edera Jewelry...

...the family room... ~ dottieangel...

...Tea set ~ kitschcafe...

... . ~ unravelling [susannah]...

...spot on ~ ethanollie...

...now if you are looking at these wonderful pics and thinking ~ 'that's me! that's how i see the world ~ through wee doily tinted lenses! why doesn't he get it!?' ~ then brew yourself a lovely cuppa in that vintage tea-pot and come over to flickr and join us in the love of all things 'granny chic' :)

emma
(loving ginger-snaps at the moment!)
x

...ps ~ i feel there may be a promotion in the air ;)

papernstitch...

...oh, i'm so excited about this ~ today is the first day of the re-launch of the fabulous papernstitch online exhibition site. i'm sure many of you have already seen and heard about it but if you haven't you really do need to check it out!

...it was set up by the ever so lovely Brittni ~ 'papernstitch is an online exhibition space that was created to promote talented artists, designers, and makers selling handmade goods. the exhibition space is curated monthly and showcases the best of the best on an international level. hence our tagline: hand-picked. handmade'...

...and guess what...

...i'm on it this month ~ yay!
...so from today until the 29th september you will be able to find my granny chic goodies nestled amongst some fabulous jewelry, photography, vintage fashion, paper goods, art and lots of other fab stuff too :)

emma
x

colour your monday happy...

...with beautiful bunting!

...untitled by _cassia_ : yeah! bunting-keh! by roverhillman : Handmade Bunting by Bunbunboutique : Bunting Cushion by bebe nonsuch : bunting in the woods by xanthe berkeley...

...as you can probably guess i thought it would be a great idea to theme this new weekly feature, showcasing a few of my favourites from the all colours in group on flickr...
...and what better way to kick start our monday morning and celebrate what is left of the summer, than with an energising and inspirational burst of colourful bunting!?

...hope you all have a great monday...

emma
x

late summer evenings...

...in red and gold...

...living right in the middle of the city means i don't get to see the sunset as much as i used to, but at this time of the year it just happens to set right between the buildings across the street from us and we do get a peek of some of these glorious colours... i'm really hoping the rain holds off long enough today, and i hope you're all having a sunny day too :)

...oh, and the flickr link with the alternates...

emma
x

special happy desk thursday... :)

...it's been a while since my wee man has made an appearance around here and since he's sporting a brand new haircut i thought i needed to crowbar a pic in somehow ;)

...although i must admit i got the idea from this lovely lady and her not-so-hairy wee man!

...have a happy desk thursday!

emma
x

betty and friends...

...well, it has been a very soggy few days here in edinburgh, not the nicest dog walking weather but perfect for staying in a little more and doing lots of embroidery and crochet :)
...so as promised, here are a few things i've finished off this week...

...miss 'betty' who will be finding her way into my wee shop in the next couple of days. a gorgeous mix of retro cream, mustard, blue, oatmeal, red and olive ~ i can't get enough of this colour combo at the moment :)

...and her wee friends, from my new collection of 'granny chic' gift cards, also soon to be arriving in my wee shop. i have so many ideas for these cards floating around my head at the moment, so hopefully it won't be too long before this next project is finished and i can get cracking with them!

...it's grown quite a bit since the last pic, and actually quite a bit since i took this pic too! i'm really hoping to have it finished early next week, with a bit of luck my workings will be right this time and i won't need to pull out almost two days of work again! anyway, i so can't wait to show you a finished pic so i will be spending the next few evenings hooking like there's no tomorrow ;)

...oh, and thank you all for your lovely comments about the 'all colours in...' flickr group, i'm so pleased you find it just as inspirational as i do :)

...well, as it is nearly my bedtime i shall see you all tomorrow...

emma
x

flickr v etsy...

...i was thinking to myself this morning that it's been a while since i've stalked a treasury slot on etsy and the main reason is my flickr addiction! instead of patiently waiting for a wee slot to open up i am now whiling away the hours getting lost in mesmerising photo streams, and how can i not be addicted when with every click of the wee mouse there is such deliciousness to feast your eyes upon!?
...especially in the 'all colours in...' pool i set up a few months ago, which has now grown to over 200 members and over 1000 images! it is full to bursting with wonderful colour pattern and texture, and i am so thankful to everyone who has joined or submitted their beautiful images to help make it what it is ~ thank you :)

...so in celebration i have decided to do a regular feature here on my wee blog with some of my top picks, and to kick off here are just a few of my favourites so far...

...untitled by tinytoadstool from dadaya...

...doily doily detail by icedgrandesoylatte...

...untitled by lobster and swan...

...Tissue hugger by jasna.janekovic...

...may i find balance by Veronica TM...

...Buttons & Doilies by kristenaderrick...

...utterly gorgeous! and if you haven't already, please do drop by and don't be shy in sharing your lovely images :)

...and before i go, i also want to say a huge thank you to victoria, of sfgirlbybay , for her lovely post featuring some of her faves from the pool ~ and for featuring my granny cushion 'doris' in her retro fabulous post ~ thank you!

...i shall be back soon with the promised crochet update, hope you all have a great weekend!

emma
x

fabric as far as the eye can see...

...wow! this week seems to have flown by, i can't believe it's desk thursday already!

...getting back into working with fabric and thread has been a bit of a slow start for me. i did have a wee burst of inspiration and managed a few designs after this post, but then i seemed to run into a brick wall, one that felt almost a hundred feet high! i'm sure you all know what it's like, you have deadlines looming, bills that need paying, work that really should have been done yesterday and no matter what you do the ideas just don't flow...

...and the only thing you can do is walk away from it, pick up your hook and crochet away the stress ;)

...than a couple of days ago i read this post on paper 'n' stitch, and i think to myself ~ it's a long time since i've kept a sketchbook, and i mean a real sketchbook and not just a note book or journal. a real sketchbook where you doodle, play and experiment with ideas and techniques, not just a little book where you quickly note down ideas just so you don't forget them, or fasten in bits of stray paper so they don't get lost...

...but then that little nagging voice in your head chirps up to say 'you haven't got time, just get on with some work!' so i think to myself ~ right! i shall tidy my desk and rearrange my fabrics, that always clears my head and i always find a forgotten fabric that triggers my creative thoughts...

...hmmm, still nothing...

...so i call up a lovely friend for a good chat and she tells me just what i need to hear ~ do it! go and play, experiment with fabric and thread, forget the rules, clash colours and textures, improvise and let the moment guide you! :)

...so for the next few days i am going to be happily sitting at my desk with some good tunes, plenty of tea and chocolate, and a needle and thread in hand working on my 'fabric sketchbook', because as Brittni put it 'sketching can be just as important, if not more important than finished works'...

...if you made it to the end of this ramble ~ thank you! i hope you are all having a fabulous creative day and if you are feeling a wee bit stuck give yourself a break and indulge yourself!

...see you all in a few days with a crochet update and maybe a peek of some of my experiments!

emma
x

knitted chairs...

...i was catching up with some of my blog reading this morning when i found these fabulous chairs by the extremely talented Melanie Porter on the decor8 blog...

...Melanie is based here in the UK, and after spending ten years as a knitwear designer she turned her hand to making these stunning one off furniture pieces. each chair is salvaged from antique auctions and markets here in the UK. she then starts the process of stripping each one back to it's frame before restoring and re-upholstering them with textured hand knit panels, she even crochets each of the wee button covers herself!

...seriously, how cosy do they look!? oh how i would love to have one of these in every room and maybe even a customised dog bed for the wee man!

...have a great monday :)

emma
x

happy desk thursday...

...yay! i'm on time this week and as promised here are some new ideas i've been pottering with...

...those wee green lacy doilies are for something i've been wanting to try for a while although they are nowhere near finished yet, i'll let you know what they are for and bring you some more pics when they are a little further along...
...and last night the weather was way too lovely to stay indoors so we took the wee man for a walk up Arthur's Seat, meaning i didn't get any time with my hook till late this afternoon! never the less, i have a new granny in the making and in my current favourite colours too :)

...also in the making is a much larger project, some of the more eagle eyed of you may have noticed that the orangey pic has been in my ravelry section (in the sidebar) for a wee while!

...i got a bit distracted with my pot holders, but now that they are in my wee shop i thought it was high time i got cracking with it. i'm really very excited about it and can't wait to tell you what 'it' is, i will bring you more pics of this one too once it has grown a lot more. apologies for being so cryptic, but trust me it is going to have maximum 'granny chic-ness' ;)

...happy desk thursday...

emma
x

farewell...

...to miss isobel...

...yep, the very first granny cushion i ever made is off to make her own way in the world! there was the smallest lump in my throat as i was packing her up but i know she is going to a good home where she will be well loved i'm sure :)

...hopefully tomorrow i will be back with my desk thursday post (instead of leaving it till friday like last time!) and a peek at some new ideas i'm toying with, maybe even a new cushion too if i can get a bit of time with my hook tonight!

...i hope you're all having (or had) a wonderfully sunny wednesday...

emma
x