i have a bit of a confession...

...see, the thing is...

...i really hate the autumn and winter...

...no really!

...don't get me wrong there are a couple of nice things...
...like the amazing show of colour that mother nature is putting on at the moment with the turning trees ~ and eating lots of home-cooked stews, casseroles and soups, made with yummy seasonal veg like pumpkins and squash ~ and obviously there are the cosy nights in with a yarny project or two, a glass of wine and bar of yummy chocolate (i know, i know! i do the wine and choccy thing all year round, but there's something even sweeter about it when it's all dark and chilly out!)...

...and yeah, i do recall maybe mentioning that i might have possibly been looking forward to this time of year...
...mostly because i had forgotten, or possibly blocked it from my memory, about how miserable and depressing these dark nights are! do you know the streetlights came on at 4.15 tonight! and by 4.45 it was pitch black! dark! night time!
...it wasn't even a week ago that the clocks changed and i'm already fed up of this! i can already feel myself getting grumpy, maybe even cranky, possibly a bit huffy too ~ i'm sure, at the mere mention of this, a wee shiver just ran down my man's spine ;)

...and this is all before the temperature has dropped below double figures, but be sure that 'that rant' will come as soon as it does... ;)
~~~

...so anyway i thought i would start a new post feature. i'm not thinking of a set day or time for this it, just whenever i need something to smile about, a wee pick me up or something to make me chuckle...
...hmmm, 'a wee pick me up', i think that sounds just about right :)

...so here is today's wee pick me up...




...Alexi Murdoch and his gorgeous song Breathe, i heard it on SGU (Stargate Universe) a couple of weeks ago and loved it. i love his singing voice, and that the live version sounds just the same as the recorded one. oh, and i can't believe i haven't heard of him already, especially as he is british!
~~~

...and if you have any i would love to hear your 'wee pick me up' tips and treats :)

emma
x

...ps ~ to make things easier, and a bit less time consuming for myself, i've decided to start replying to comments directly in the comments section which is now embedded below, i hope you don't mind too much :)

yay... !

...for desk thursdays!!!

...yay! for beautiful glass bowls full of yummy and colourful yarns! (well, one bowl, but it is full to the brim...)

...yay! for many happy hours filled by crocheting with said yummy yarns! (followed by a few hours of aching hands...)

...yay! for a big project almost finished, and for being almost ready to reveal who these ladies really are and where they are soon to be going!
...and last but not least ~ yay! for being able to tear myself away from flickr long enough to get this post together... ;)

...happy desk thursday everyone!

emma
x

eeeek!!!

...it seems that it was a very exciting weekend for granny crochet!
...which was kicked off with wee 'lillian' and her ladies appearing on etsy's front page in this beautiful 'shabby chic' inspired collection...

...then on sunday, wee 'aggie' here was lucky enough to be included in an etsy storque article ~ Etsy Finds Decor: The Comforts of Home ~ a massive thank you to everyone who dropped me a wee note to let me know, because i tend not to follow these storque articles too closely and would have definitely missed this one otherwise!

...and if you haven't seen this article yet please do check it out. it features Tamar's (blog/etsy) inspirational home, where she seems to effortlessly combine 'granny chic' with that 'all colours in' approach in every aspect of her styling. she has used such an eclectic mix of colour, pattern and detail, but the white backdrop keeps it fresh and pretty ~ you can see more on flickr too...

...and last but not least the lovely Tara, of scoutie girl, devoted a whole post to my crochet goodies and our 'granny chic' flickr pool... !

...phew! how exciting is all of this!? it is always so thrilling to know that there are others who appreciate my granny crocheting ways, a wee bit of an ego massage is always good for the soul and for keeping me motivated!
...speaking of motivation, as i didn't get my bum into gear for posting last weeks desk thursday pics i should really try to make tomorrows edition worth the wait... ;)

emma
x

...btw ~ thank you for glossing over the fact that it's closer to the coming weekend than it is to the one just gone... ;)

colour your tuesday happy...

...with thoughts of halloween, oOo ooooOOOoooo!

...Tweet Yarn Wreath by KnockKnocking...

...Pumpkins and Squash at Monkton by i am le petit oiseau...

...Halloween Oooooooooooooo by miel bakes/madhu...

...sorry, more cakes by xanthe berkeley...

...i so wish i had a plateful of Xanthe's cup cakes right now! but i finally did have my pumpkin soup for lunch today, very yummy :)

...halloween town by thelittlereddoor...

...and how cool are these spooky wee houses!? they would look perfectly at home in a Tim Burton movie...

...rain in early by E L K...

...Autumn #3 or The Flame by lydiafairy...

...thank you to every one who added their lovely halloween themed pics to 'all colours in' this week, i'm sure there will be many more to come leading up to spooky saturday!
...have fun!

emma
(running late this week... nothing new there then!)
x

an extra hour...

...to sleep in on sunday morning :)

(flickr link)

...i'm so looking forward to my extra hour in bed tomorrow morning, i just hope the wee man remembers about it too! if not, i at least hope he has the decency to make us breakfast in bed! (i know i'm living in fantasy land ~ but it's nice there!)...

...oh, and i totally forgot about my desk thursday post this week as my mam and dad arrived for a wee visit. i did snap some pics of what i've been up to so if i can get my bum into gear i'll post them up here. i'm really excited about this crochet project as i've not done anything like it before, but i'm also a wee bit anxious about it so i'm not going to tell you exactly what it is just yet! but as soon as everything is in place i'm sure i won't be able to stop myself blurting it out ~ oooh, such suspense ;)

...have a fabby weekend, and make the most of your extra hour!

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 warm autumn shades!

...autumn: in a basket by *nichole*...

...untitled by namolio...

...Clear September sun on the first Autumn leaves by alysonfennell...

...Fall Yarn & Nest Wreath by Katie Runnels...

...Beautiful autumn! by gunnel´s...

...it's such a cold, grey and soggy day in edinburgh today. one of those days when you wish you could just hibernate in the cosy comfort of your own home, instead of having to trudge around the park (almost) dragging the wee man, who would also much prefer to be tucked up in his own wee bed without the soggy paws!
...on the up side though ~ most of the trees in the park have finally realised that it is in fact autumn, and have changed their leaves from the rich greens of the summer to those lovely warming gold and rusty red shades, the perfect inspiration for today's post...
...and to top it all off nicely i think a bowl of homemade spicy pumpkin soup for lunch will be perfect :)
~~~
...oh, and i thought that as it is halloween next week i would theme the next 'colour your monday happy' post around this, so if you have any pics you want to add to the 'all colours in' pool before then i would love to see them!

emma
x

a day of contrast...

...from this riot of gorgeous saturated colour on my desk today ~ happy desk thursday! ~ including some yummy new pot holders (which i will tell you more about later!), my favourite new/thrifted/vintage glass bowl full of yarn, the latest issue of Selvedge that has a bit of a scottish theme and an article on Timorous Beasties, and last but not least some cards and a notepad i picked up from this shop in the Lake District...

...to some soothing knitting this evening, with a beautifully soft angora blend yarn in the most gorgeous silvery grey...

...how was your thursday? fabby i hope :)

emma
x

colour your tuesday happy...

...with snippets of colour (on a backdrop of neutrals!)...

...untitled by sandra juto...

...The Village by thelittlereddoor...

...speechbubbles by herzensart...

...pin cushion pileup by anastasiart...

...patches Sevilla rock by skinnylaminx...

...i like pesky squirrels... by dottieangel...

...i really can't get enough of this combination just now! beautiful backdrops of soft greys, whites, beige and taupe with splashes of bold and beautiful vintage colours like teal, olive, red, rust and turquoise. i love how each of these images is colourful yet understated, simple but so full of detail, honest and unpretentious ~ something that i'm always striving for in my work, especially honesty. what about you? what's the driving force behind your work? what ideals do you try to embrace?

...i hope you're feeling inspired today, but if you need more inspiration or motivation hop on over to 'all colours in...' with a fresh brew and maybe a choccy bar too :)

...oh, and thank you all for being so understanding about my lazy-blogger-itis, with two posts in two days i feel like i may be getting over it! now there's just the rest of that to do list to tackle...

emma
(who's chocolate supply is dwindling fast!)
x

lazy-blogger-itis...

...yep, i'm suffering from a touch of lazy-blogger-itis!
...in fact all i've managed to do in the last week here in cyber space is upload a few pics to flickr of our wee trip to the lake district...
...which was just before the nasty Mr Lurgy paid a visit, and which now feels like a lifetime ago! anyway, here's a quick rundown of what we were treated to...

...there were hills ~ with the wee man posing in front of them, there was much admiring of these beautiful hills but no actual climbing ;)

...there were lots of sheep ~ i think these are Herdwick, and little hoggs too as their wool doesn't change colour til after their first shearing (yay! for wikipedia!)...

...there was a gorgeous sunset as we walked home one evening...

...and there were lakes, this one on a particularly grey and drizzly day...

...that created the most amazing light, making the water look like a lake of tar! (see it on black for the full effect)...
~~~
...and today i managed to scoop another treasury spot...

...attention to detail...
...is what makes each one of these items unique!
...inspired by unwavering fondness for neutrals with just the merest suggestion of colour...
~~~
...and because i've been such a lazy bum i now have a to do list as long as my arm, including a whole lot of e-mails ~ yep, that includes you :)
...and today's missing 'colour your monday happy' post ~ which will be inspiring our tuesday for this week ;)

emma
(thinking she's going to need a lot of energy giving chocolate to get her through that to do list!)
x

colour your monday happy...

...with perfectly embroidered stitches...

...Floribunda Pincushion // Front detail by CozyMemories...

...folksy vintage linen by ethanollie...

...wip stitching by pam garrison...

...Sneak Peek by Smile And Wave...

...stitchery detail by meplusmolly...

...because of my nasty flu bug it feels like forever since i picked up a needle and thread to do a bit of stitchery, and browsing through 'all colours in' this morning has made me even more eager to dive into my thread and fabric stash!

...this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the embroidery talent that can be found in our online community, and i never fail to be inspired by the diversity of style and technique, and how each artist can make it so unique to themselves. please do check out some of these artists in more detail, i promise you won't be disappointed!

...and as i missed last weeks edition of this post i thought i would give you a double dose to drool over, here you go...

...Autumn Purses by Julia Laing...

...Bottle Cap Pincushion #196 by Pine and Wine...

...embroidered and appliqued felt flowers by pompomrouge...

...LeCoq after by mimilove forever...

...Summer Garden embroidery - new by wardi...

...i hope these pics go some way to inspiring your creative week, have a great one :)

emma
(pleased to be feeling human again!)
x