colour your monday happy...

Image credits: 1. fionajonesphotography, 2. annamariapotamiti, 3. {maira.gall}, 4. found and sewn, 5. cauchy09

The clocks have changed and the nights are dark, there are pumpkins in the kitchen and popcorn waiting to be popped. There are no parties but there will be candles, wine (probably crochet too) and maybe a spooky film or two on the box... and I'm wondering how I can persuade my man to watch something a wee bit more bone chilling than the Nightmare Before Christmas!?

Happy Halloween... !
Emma, x

ps ~ Google has a great wee doodle today... :)

Olive and Orange...

Oh I am completely smitten... !
I was just sorting through my emails... queueing the important ones for replies, trashing the trash and spending way to long reading and browsing the pretty ones (as you do!) including a very delicious one from Orla Kiely about this season's Autumn & Winter collection from her diffusion brand Olive and Orange... I love that name too!
Anyhoo, on spying a very lovely fair isle jumper dress (middle bottom) I thought I must go and investigate further (as you do!) and lo and behold all this delicious autumn cosiness...

I'm so loving this long cardigan too, the one with the classic Orla Kiely orange trim, not to mention the tweed stripe dress in the top row there... I love those colours, don't you!? Although I'm afraid a pair of skimpy ankle socks just won't cut it for me with my dreadful circulation, even a pair of thick woolly tights would be pushing it on a cold winters day! So I'm thinking this particular dress would look perfect with a pair of deep indigo skinny jeans and a huge chunky scarf... yes please!

Emma, x

Moo-tastic... !

Yay! I have some fabby new business cards from Moo... :)
It's been a good wee while since I've needed to buy new ones (ordered bucket loads of mini cards for the Selvedge Spring Fair and still have some lying around!) which has been quite irksome as I have been obsessing over some new ones with lovely retro rounded corners, just like these... and I'm so happy with how great my crocheted ladies look in this wee collection. I love them... !

But of course their story doesn't end there as I have a wee crafty plan for these beauties...

...a spot of punching, threading and stitching later... et voila! A batch of spiffy new swing tags for some of my crocheted wares... :)
I say some because I'm reserving these for my wholesale orders, at least for the time being anyway as I still love making the name tags for the ladies in my own wee shops (so need to fret!), but while my products are exactly the same I think it will be a wee treat to have a distinguishing difference between the two. I love that they look a wee bit more professional yet still have that essential handmade touch... Oh they do make me happy... :)

Hehe, isn't it funny how a girl can get so excitable over a wee business card or a swing tag... !?

Emma, x

too lovely not to share...

Good morning... !

I just spotted this romantic floral treasury over on Etsy just now and thought it was far too pretty not to share with you all. There are one or two old favourites alongside a whole bunch of new ones for me and I am so happy to see my wee flower charms in the mix, thank you apocketofposies... !
If you love it too please do click on the image and pop over to Etsy to find out about each and everyone of these lovelies... :)

Emma, x

colour your monday happy...

Image credits: 1. RosaMaría {464 La vida compartida...}, 2. bgilgan, 3. tiel✳sk, 4. Little Tin Bird, 5. endlesshue

It is so wonderful to see all your amazing autumn inspiration over in our fabulous 'all colours in' Flickr pool at the moment. Your crafty projects and colourful captures of the season are beautiful. How wonderful is it that when the nature around us is slowing down in readiness for a dormant winter, we become far more inspired and creative than ever!? I love it... :)

Happy Monday to you all... !
Emma, x

colour palette : patchwork leaves...

Image credits: 1. Karin A ~, 2. Rosa Pomar, 3. StitchedInColor, 4. hannah * honey & jam, 5. un arc en ciel dans le lavabo, 6. marañón

I am quite smitten with these leafy finds and patchwork patterns I've found on Flickr recently. While I love the contrast of the rigid geometry in the patchwork with the meandering lines of the leaf edges, I also love the way the colour brings them together to make a harmonious collection. Apart from the odd bright pops of orange the muted moodiness of this palette is drawing me in, I like that these more earthen tones are soothing and inviting.
It's actually taken me a few attempts to get the balance of this one to work. At first I had snippets of purples and much brighter greens in there too which obscured the earthy essence of these beautiful images. Sometimes it's too easy to get carried away with throwing every colour in (I know I can do that a lot!), even if they are pretty and make for a great palette, sometimes it's better to stop yourself and step back to really see what it is that is inspiring you... to be able to see the bigger picture as well as the wee details.

Happy Friday,
Emma, x

snippets of autumn...

Under yesterday's dazzling blue skies I took myself and the wee man off for a wee wander in search of some autumn inspiration... which in the end was quite tough to find since everything is still surprisingly quite green here at the moment! But amongst it all I found a few lovely shades of raspberry gold and red...

Now that it has really started to turn quite chilly in these parts I'm thinking that there will be an abundance of colour quite soon, before it all turns white again... :)

Oh, and if you are loving the autumn colour at the moment you should check out this years Autumn Colours Week over on Poppytalk. There are still a couple of days left for you to add you own pics to the Flickr group here, that is if you're not already... Just be sure to check out the colour themes for the days: today, Thursday, is grey and tomorrow, Friday, is brown... :)

Emma, x

ps ~ nope, the wee man wasn't up for being photographed this time... I think he thought you had quite enough doggy cuteness in this post!

etsy faves : autumn gold...

Links: 1. Ponder and Stitch, 2. Wesley Asher, 3. Katy Bits and Pieces , 4. Monday Morning Vintage, 5. Ameelia Bedelia Vintage, 6. Acute Designs, 7. Ordinary Mommy Design, 8. Meghanica

Good morning, good morning... ! It is a bright, sunny and crisp autumn morning here in Edinburgh today (thank goodness for a wee break from the dreary rain!)... I'm loving the blue skies and the warmth of the suns rays through our windows, just perfect... :)

So with 'autumn gold' as my inspiration I popped over to peek at my Etsy faves to see what I could find... which turned out to be quite a lot of seasonal gold and orange combinations! This wee collection are my top faves that I would happily pop on my wish list, especially Ponder and Stitch's mod floral fabric necklace (but then I do love everything Miss Amy creates!) and Wesley Asher's fabulous find of a pair of mid century golden bird wall plaques (of course I also covet everything Miss Trish finds as she has such a great eye for beautiful vintage treasures!). But as I said these are just my top faves and as I did spy a few more lovelies (including this fabulous foxy orange Herman Miller chair) I've gathered them together in this yummy treasury. Enjoy... !

Emma, x

colour your monday happy...

Image credits: 1. whatnomints, 2. irideeën, 3. Avalanche Looms, 4. carriestrine, 5. The Colour of Ideas

Really... Monday... already... !?
I have such a lazy Sunday morning feeling going on today and would be quite happy to stay in my pjs all morning with tea and crochet in bed... but today I have my man home ill with an icky head cold and of course there is the wee pup who will need his walks and the world outside my window is looking less than inviting with the wild rainstorm that has just started... ugh!

Oh well, I have lots of crochet plans that I want to make a start on (that is if I can put down my latest hooking obsession, whose tweedy loveliness is growing steadily) and that will be the perfect way to add a few snippets of colour to today's dreariness... Much like today's lovely collection of images from our fabulous Flickr group 'all colours in'. Oh, I do love me a few wee snippets... :)

Wishing you all a wonderful Monday,
Emma, x


ps ~ I'm having a wee celebratory sale in my Etsy shop at the moment as I now have over 1000 likes on my Facebook page (woo-hoo!)... 20% off everything on my wee shop shelves until the end of Tuesday with the code: FABULOUS20

colour palette : tweedy stitches...

Oh, hello Friday...
I must confess to being in a state of sleepy stupor today... one of those days when the minute you get out of bed in the morning you can't wait till the end of the day so you can crawl right back in again... one of those days when you really wish it was the weekend and you could have a lazy morning tucked up under the covers... *sigh*

So anyhoo, I am a wee bit slow off the mark with today's colour palette, but as I am quite chuffed with my crocheting ways this week I didn't want to put this one off... :)

I'm crocheting a new wee rug for our hallway, nothing special really but I am quite chuffed with it for a couple of reasons ~ Not only do I adore the tweedy look from doubling up the yarn I'm using and of course these pretty muted colour palette worthy colours... But I am also quite pleased with myself for finally finding use for a huge stash of Rowan Silk Cotton I've had sitting around my studio for longer than I care to mention (okay, years!). I bagged myself 70 balls of it, at 80p each, in a John Lewis sale thinking I had found myself a massive yarnie bargain. Little did I realise that it was only supposed to be dry cleaned, it felt a lot like rope and didn't seem like it would be much cop for anything!

So as I said it has sat around my studio for a while... *ahem* ...it refusing to be useful and me refusing to admit defeat and pass it on. Then a couple of nights ago I was thinking about a new rug for our hallway, a practical rug that could be thrown in the washing machine for easy regular cleaning (you'll know what I mean if you too have a dog with very hairy feet that brings in more mud than ever during the soggy autumn months!)... hey presto, this yarn pops into my head along with my chunky Brittany hook, which I love to work with, and off I go crocheting lovely tweedy stripes... :)

Okay so the smart cookies amongst you will be thinking 'I though she said that yarn is only dry cleanable... !?' ...ah, well, yes... I know from a wee test swatch that this yarn will wash fine, okay it will shrink and fade a wee bit on the first go and will probably fade more over time but I have made my peace with that! I'm sure one day it will look less than spiffy and when that day comes I will be armed with a packet of dye and a tub of salt... !

But for now I am loving my tweedy stitches and muted autumn shades... :)

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend, whatever you may be up to,
Emma, x

thrifty good luck...

Good morning my dears... Do you remember this lovely pink and orange flowery jug I found at my local charity shop a few months back?

I know some of you will be screaming 'Yes!' as I know that since then you, like me, have become obsessed with all things Arcopal as that is just what this wee jug is... a beautiful milk glass jug by the French company Arcopal in my most favourite of their designs 'Scania' (thank you to our Arcopal guru Nana Odile on Flickr for sharing her extensive knowledge!).

Well since then two very lovely and Arcopal obsessed ladies have come forward and confessed their addiction. Miss Annabelle, of Three Red Apples fame, has been spoilt rotten with Arcopal as being a fabulous French lady she grew up eating most of her meals from Arcopal dishes! Although she wasn't aware of the Scania pattern until she spied my wee jug and now has lots of her family members who are still living in France searching out the perfect pieces for her...

Oh, and then there is wonderful Polly, of the fabulous Folly & Glee, who has the largest collection of Arcopal Scania I have ever seen! She has been collecting it's loveliness for years and has everything from plates to sugar canisters to salt and pepper sets... oh, and the most adorable egg cups you have ever seen! I literally fell off my chair when she posted these pictures over on her blog...

So just imagine how giddy I was when lovely Polly got in touch and proposed a wee trade, a few lovely pieces from her collection for Miss Gladys here... well, I almost bit her hand off to say yes! (As much as you can bite some one's hand off through a series of excitable emails, but trust me if she was in the room with me she would have been missing a few digits at the very least!)

So now I am the proud owner of a burgeoning collection as now my wee jug has a few friends including a set of sweet cups and saucers, a few lovely side plates and the most adorable wee pot. All of which Miss Polly tells me would be perfect for afternoon tea with scones with lashing of strawberry jam in that wee pot.. Oh yes please... !

Another and quite unexpected thing has come out of this wee trade with lovely Polly, is that some of her thrity good luck seems to have rubbed off on me... yay! As most of my thrifty trips lately have been turning up some fabulous finds including a bunch of pyrex that I have been searching out for as long as I can remember... A delicious solid red Pyrex bowl and two JAJ casserole dishes like the ones my Mam used to have when I was wee. I have such distinct memories of this scrolling floral pattern which I think is called 'Briarwood'... but I need to do a wee bit more digging around online to find out more. If you know anything about it please do leave a wee note in the comments... :)

You might recognise a few of these other thrifty finds since they have been popping up around here lately in a few pictures... they make such great props! Oh, and a pile of fabby pillowcases that are destined to be quilted on of these days when I finally get to teacing myself how to do it... ! Anyhoo, happy days and long may my thrifty good luck continue... :)

Wishing you all a wonderful day,
Emma, x

today i'm loving : my wee man...

I think it may have just dawned on Spanner that his furry wee face hasn't been featured around here as much as he would like it to. So yesterday and today he has been doing his best to get noticed by turning up the cute... I doubt it was no coincidence that I had my camera in hand just at the right moment!?

This was yesterdays (successful) attempt at getting snapped. While trying to document my progress on a project I'm working on, up popped this cute wee face... :)
Of course once he realised I was in a gullible mood for doing just as he demanded he turned up the cute even more and proceeded to stand there shivering until I enquired... 'Are you cold?' ...to which he responded with yet more violent shivering until I went and found his favourite blanket to wrap him up in... so sweet, yet so cunning!

Then this morning, after I had found another of his blankets and carefully laid it out on my bed for him to sunbathe, he saw another perfect opportunity arise. While busy organising a bunch of laundry I laid my freshly washed crochet blanket over the end of the bed and went off to tidy a few other things. Upon my return I found this...

His majesty here had noted said freshly washed blanket, smelling fresh and sweet and looking particularly granny chic... he then deemed that his 'dog blanket' was beneath his royal self and snuggled up on my crochet goodness. Do you note how he only used it as his pillow and didn't get right in the middle of it? I think that was quite cunning too... if he was going for optimum cuteness, he certainly achieved it!

Now I'm heading off to make the most out of the rest of today's great light and snap a few more things I want to share with you all over the next few days. Until then I hope you all have a fabulous day... :)

Emma, x

colour your monday happy...

Images credits: 1. pilli pilli, 2. Planet Fur, 3. nanaCompany, 4. ImAGingerMonkey, 5. Gail Griggs


Ssshhh! Don't tell Molly there's a wee fishy in her tea... !!!


Good morning everyone... :)
I hope you all had a lovely weekend!? It has been quite dreary here... very cold, wet and miserable which has had me feeling quite melancholy. Every year it's the same when the chilly weather really starts to take hold it weighs heavy on me. But thankfully I have my crochet and crafting to keep my sanity, not to mention lots of chocolate... ;)
It's also the time when our fabulous 'all colours in' Flickr group and all your wonderful submissions mean more to me than ever... you guys inspire me, lift my spirits and make me smile. It is such a pleasure and an honour to share in your creativity and I am very thankful that you choose to share it with me... :)

I hope you all have a beautiful day,
Emma, x

colour palette : Celebrate Color special...

Good morning... !

Today I have not one but three yummy autumn/fall inspired colour palettes to share with you as part of the 'Celebrate Color' festivities. As you know I've been gathering lots of inspiring seasonal pins over on my Pinterest boards and have noticed three disctinct trends forming ~ 'Earthy neutrals', 'Seasonal brights' and 'Dark & cosy nights'...

Image credits, clockwise from top left: 1. Cath Kidston, 2. Liberty, 3. Cox & Cox, 4. Jane B*, 5. Doug McMillen Photography, 6. The House of Oliver

I'm having a real love affair with all shades of grey at the moment and am drawn to it's variety, whether it is tinged with mauve, slate, sage or taupe... I'm loving the earthy-ness of it. Although it can often be a colour associated with austere concrete environments for example, here it doesn't feel cold to me. By picking out the warm putty pinks from the Cath Kidston photo shoot, the ochre petals of Jane B*'s delicate photography and adding the pop of citrine and teal from Cox & Cox's pumpkin baubles it makes they grey feel warmer and more inviting just like those traditional tweedy fabrics.

~~~~~

Image credits, clockwise from top left: 1. Joules, 2. Zee❀Longenecker, 3. roseflower48, 4. Joules, 5. ForestDaydream

Of course I will always love these traditional autumn shades too, they are some of my all time favourites after all! Have I ever mentioned that I love teal and mustard together... !? Okay, that will be the zillionth time then... ;)
I guess the trick with this palette is to find a new angle, whether it is the combination or proportion of colours you work with or challenging yourself to introduce a shade that you wouldn't normally consider. The top row in this palette really appeals to me, as does the second and last coloumns... but they are kind of predictable and feel 'safe' to me. However the last row looks a wee bit more challenging. At first glance I wouldn't think of using such a buttey yellow with navy, it's just not me... but when mixed with that lovely warm pink, the dark taupe and ochre it brings them together... hmmm, now I'm wondering if I have these colours in my yarn stash for a wee bit of experimenting!?

~~~~~

Image credits, clockwise from top left: 1. Sweet Nellie, 2. Branch, 3. Stephanie Levy, 4. Amy Merrick

Oh yes, more deep dark shades of delicious greys! This time with sunset reds, russet, pinks and peach with a gorgeous pop of bright turquoise to lift this whole palette out of the duldrums. There's something quite indulgent about this palette and these beautiful images. I can't help but think of those dark autumn nights when all you want to do is wrap yourself up in a cosy blanket... maybe with a spot of knitting or crochet or other wee crafting project, maybe with a (large) glass of red wine and a bar of your favourite chocolate or whatever your preferred tasty treat might be... all the while sat by by an open fire (Amy Merrick's floral arrangement reminds me of just that!). Haha, yes! Entirely self indulgent and probably something most of us don't have the time for but seriously need to make time for... !

~~~~~

So which one is your favourite? Which palette are you drawn to most and why? Out of the three which one is the most inspiring and has you itching to start a new crafty project... if any? I would love to know... :)

Oh, and remember there are a whole new bunch of fabulous prizes up for grabs at the end of October as part of Celebrate Color. Head on over to the main Celebrate Color page to find out more and to submit your crafty projects to be in with a chance of winning. There's also lots of inspiration and new tutorials being added regularly, such as this cute wee Felt Leaf Garland by Maureen Cracknell... definitely well worth a visit if you are in need of a wee bit of crafty inspiration... :)

Emma, x

jung jung...

Some days you stumble upon something so amazingly beautiful it just takes your breath away... and today I am so completely breathless!

I must confess I hardly know anything about 'Jung Jung'. I stumbled across this Japanese artist and their breathtaking crochet sculpture on Pinterest thanks to my dear friend Tiel. I cannot decipher their website nor can I find any translatable information online. But Jung Jung's work is just too beautiful not to share... and if you know anyone that has ever doubted the value, scope or beauty of crochet then you really need to share this with them!

If anyone knows anything about this incredible artist please do share what you know down in the wee comments section, thank you... :)

Emma, x