Category: Creative
Wood Craft x
It’s half term so we’ve been busy doing very little. One thing we have achieved is a bit of stick weaving…a strangely satisfying art form…first you need to find a good selection on Y-shaped sticks = outside jaunt.
Then wrap each side of the Y.
To do this you tie the string on, then create a loop at the back.
Then bring the other end through the loop and pull tight.
Continue till both sides are done.
We measured two arm lengths of string for the next bit. (This is Bella doing her Christ the Redeemer impression)
Using a large darning needle (new it would come in useful) weave between the two sides to create the horizontal lines.
Ta-dah!
Finally weave wool in V shapes vertically from one side to the next. This is Bella’s finished creation.
Being an adult, I wanted mine tighter…therefore it’s still a work in progress…
Surprisingly satisfying.
Laters, Kate x
Home Truths x
I suspect there’s a scientific correlation between the life cycle of say, the lower house mouse and renovation works. A year after the kitchen was finished thoughts have turned to the family bathroom and an office pod in the garden. But bathrooms first.
Unlike this pic, our main problem is the floor which is tiled. The tiles haven’t stood the test of time – after 10 years they’re cracked and ragged. It could be that they were badly laid, or it might be that tiles are never great in old houses that move on wooden joists.
So the plan now is to replace the tiles with wood. We’ve got wood in both our laundry room and kitchen, and they’ve been the best floors ever – warm, characterful and flexible. I’m not sure why we didn’t use it as a first choice in the bathroom – I suspect it’s a gremlin in our minds that whispers wood plus water equals problems. Now stop…and think of boats…
This is the inspiration for the floor: Dark, herringbone parquet. Just the right side of decadent.
(All pics Pinterest)
It’s going to be fun…
Laters, Kate x
Holy holes x
This post makes me think of gentle waves lapping on sandy shore complete with bucket, spade and cricket bat. It’s old fashioned, timeless and harks back to simpler times in an eat it now sort of way.
Celia Pym is a knitting/embroidery artist and much of her work centres around visible mending – taking something worn, discarded and unloved…
..and adding a new, contrasting layer to marry the piece together.
The finished work takes on a whole new personality – the ghost of the past with the mend of the future. The work is seamless but showy, in the best unshouty kind of way.
It makes me think I would love to do something like this to a much loved cashmere cardigan that’s seen better days. 
Or mend the knees in my jeans like this. Maybe it’s the integrity of the craft that’s so appealing? But I looked up on You Tube to see how to do it..
(All pics Celia Pym)
Even watching this was meditative.
Now where’s my darning mushroom?
Laters, Kate x
Flashbulb x
Is it too late for New Years resolutions? The dust has finally settled and now I know what I’d like to do…keep a sketch book. I have a words/ideas book (which apparently is the classic sign of an introvert – who knew?) to keep treasures like assonance and sibilance that otherwise would float away. But a book of dabblings and drawings? If this Blog is a collection of thoughts and sources of inspiration, then a sketchbook would be those thoughts made physical. I think it’s a calling….
(All pictures not mine but from Pinterest)
Laters, after an arty online shop for supplies, Kate x
I swear, My Swear..
The price of these babies will no doubt induce an apocalypse of weepiness and hair tearing…and also make them ‘highly desirable’ such is the strange world we live in because the basic price starts at £300 – plus postage. And then this goes skyward depending on how much customisation you fancy. Yep – these walking mortgages from My Swear are labelled the first ever customisable trainers…and are sure to be a wallet slapping cosmos flying hit.
Where the joy comes in is even if you can’t buy, you can play: The power of the internet/websites are so good now, you can literally watch and plan every step – colour – not just all over, but for each section, type of leather, soles, toes, eyelets, laces – it’s a long list of decisions meaning you can end up with a totally unique object.
Ta-daaah!
(All pics from My Swear)
Expect to see them strutting their stuff at the AW17 fashion shows.
You’ve been warned.
Laters, Kate x
Upfront x
Excess be damned, it’s often the simplest things in life that give the greatest pleasures.
Like using a cast off, or a basic building supply to create an element of magic.
Vertical?
A door?
Or horizontal? Corrugated irons strange, earthly beauty is rock n roll on a shoe string.
Strangely I’m drawn to the black version.
Wonder why…
Laters, Kate x
Magic Carpet x
If there’s a theme over the last few post it’s re-invention. And the carpet industry is ripe for it: 400,000 tonnes of unwanted carpet is buried in UK landfill every year.
Isabel Webb has decided thats where the rubys in the dust lie – she’s taking both domestic and industrial carpet waste and giving it her own unique twist through dying, tufting, embroidery and shearing to reveal new patterns and textures and expose the potential within.
(All pictures Isabel Webb)
Isabel only graduated in 2016 so this is the embryo of a work in progress. But we like it. And we need more.
Laters, Kate x
Leg Lift x
Prettypegs is a simple concept – to bring the option of individuality to mass produced furniture just by changing the legs. It’s the idea that changing one small thing can have a huge impact – effectively it’s the metaphorical butterfly effect for furniture. But without the chaos.
Like Superfront and Bemz before them, Prettypegs main products are designed around anything Ikea makes that has legs – sofas, tables, chests..even beds. But because they have a universal bolt available, other brands can work as well.
(All pics Prettypegs)
On the notion of individuality, it would be nice if they offered a pic ‘ n’ mix option…within similar height options of course….
Laters, Kate x
An Education x
Who needs words?
Laters, Kate x
Brainstop..
So the husband asked me what sort of doorstop I’d like for the new crittall doors – I said a round one of course!
He looked at me like I’d suddenly grown donkey ears but it’s not such a stupid idea…the inspiration came from cannon ball doorstop at my parent’s house in Greece: heavy enough for purpose but round enough for cheeky aesthetic pleasure. So he searched the internet and found this, a cannonball doorstop handmade in Dorset by Sam at Millin Metalcraft and I couldn’t be more delighted!
Sam makes them in three sizes – from heavy (£25), to even heavier (£35)…to very heavy (£45) (which is strong enough to hold back a barn door..)
And they are all that you could want: resonance, authenticity and practicality.
But Sam’s talents don’t stop there – he does a beautiful line in metal sculptures like these alliums…
And is up to be challenged for anything metal related. Minion stove anyone?
Ours in situ. Made by hand by a proper, loving, skilled craftsman – it’s simple, effective joy.
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 