I rarely do fashioney posts but I do like to keep my eye on what is happening at the various fashion weeks throughout the year. I do fantasize about dolling my creatures up in a bit of Preen or Kenzo although I don’t have the skills to recreate the outfits and perhaps that would be a little too Fifi Lapin. Preen’s Spring 2012 Ready-to-Wear collection makes me sigh a little, so girly, the colours, yum, like macaroons!

All of the above a diversionary tactic, I’m beginning a class on Monday and I’m nervous already, not a course to be undertaken with shaky hands-boo.

Images via style.com.

Making more of these girls, now named Otylie.

Eating clouds for breakfast, taste best with blueberries.

My child in Wicker Man mode

Wholeheartedly agree with this phrase appended to Stirling Boys Club.

Went to see this, love, love, love. And yes, life was that brown and grey in seventies Britain!

Finally back from our travels. In between the diluvian rain the most glorious weather. View from our balcony out towards the Pentland Hills.

Already late July and we manage our first lunch on the balcony!

Heirloom cushion covers, tapestry squares by Ishi’s Great Granny turned into cushion covers by Granny. My contribution, a room to treasure them in.

A new to us old rocking chair, also a family find. It goes amazing well with Apple Papple.

Hedgehog mask from the Booth Museum in Brighton, the Victorians were so good at killing things!

Trying to keep up a constant supply of basil on our less than sunny kitchen windowsill.

Just because I like my flowers and plants.

Our resident urban fox after another deluge. Adam went out to check he was OK, foxy scarpered in lively fashion. Just a little damp.

Living in a rain bound city we get the most amazing rainbows by way of compensation. This was a double but it didn’t photograph well.

Paper raindrops put up in the spring, still relevant during high summer in Scotland. I am becoming more and more obsessed with the weather since our move North, could be age too!

Cloud postcards made an age ago, still waiting for ‘proper’ photographs. Seemed apt though.

Ishi had the most wonderful time exploring the county of Mummy’s childhood, beautiful Sussex in the south of England. Tree climbing at Wakehurst Place and Arts & Crafts delight at Standen.

Birmingham has some lovely gardens too. This one belongs to Granny. Ishi blowing bubbles and avoiding the bees.

The Booth Museum
Wakehurst Place
Standen House
Sussex

Creature in progress, I think she/he may be a rabbit, a deer at a stretch. Need to come up with a suitable outfit now. I am thinking Liberty and yellow.

Looking forward to the release of Mini Moderns Festival tea ware range, love it so!

For some reason I never tire of looking at Anita Pallenberg.

March at last, my favourite month.

Cat People, she is number 3. A boy on the way. Inspiration, this lady.

Toys.

Wishing for Pirum Parum.

Excited by the beautifully presented goods at Sparrow & Co. Go Glasgow!

Hmm, the ever expanding post! Diane released her new collection over at Pagan Poetry today, Salome. The piece above makes my jaw drop, I wish for beauty and a flat chest to carry it off!

Last week the lovely people at The Working Proof contacted me to tell me all about themselves and a new print, illustration/animation goddess Julia Pott, has produced for them. The print is titled Whale Hill and below you will find some more information about it and The Working Proof: “an online print gallery and shop with the mission of promoting both art and social responsibility through a series of limited-edition prints.”

“Julia was influenced by English beach towns. Julia says that while she was creating the piece, it was brought to her attention by a few people that she’s not very good at sharing things (whether it be her dessert or lending someone a book), so she created the fox as a version of herself, keeping the houses and ponies to himself. As always, Julia’s print is full of great details: an intricate landscape, the night sky, the fox’s awesome knit pants…15% of each print sold will be donated to Transportation Alternatives, a NYC non-profit that advocates for bicycling, walking and public transportation as the best transportation alternatives. “

“Prints [from The Working Title] are affordable (always under $100), and each print is paired by the artist with a charity to which we will donate 15% of each sale – creating what we believe to be a product with not just aesthetic, but social value. Our charities support a wide range of causes including humanitarian outreach, animal rights, environment, and research. A new print is released once a week, on Tuesdays at 1:30 pm, EST. “

The Working Proof

This will be the last of the ‘look at my new logo’ posts I promise. I wanted to share my new business cards with you, in fact they are my first ever set and I adore them. Haven’t managed to give any out yet being a shy and retiring creature, I am just waiting for someone to ask me what I do so that I can hand them a card. Adam hand drew the logo type and we decided on the drops of colour at the last minute as my other ideas for a motif didn’t really work. The drops reference our new home, it rains a lot up here, the colours were inspired by one of our favourite books, Little One by Anne & Paul Rand. Love that book, there it is below.

Still working on my pieces for Plush You LA, should be ready to share them with you at the weekend. While I work I think about the direction I want LL&O to go in. I would like to design a winter collection of creatures, be a little more focused.

While I am here I want to share these lovely notebooks from Pumpkinsputnik over at Etsy. I also fell in love with these amazing Tea Cup Bracelets I saw over at the always inspiring Melissa Loves.

Available from Stay Gold Mary Rose. I do wonder if they might be in danger of smashing if you wore a few of them together? If I had my bricks and mortar shop I would rush to stock both of the above. I can dream huh?

Hello Polar Bear! I am working on a top secret project and immersing myself in the Arctic, really a boundless source of inspiration. I have been studying A Naturalist’s Guide to the Arctic written by the ecologist, E.C. Pielou, so that my fanciful imaginings and magical projections about the polar region are tempered with a dash of natural history. I have a head full of patterned ground, tundra polygons and ponds, not to mention the plants, birds, mammals, fish and insects.

Can it really be a year since I stitched my first Polar Fish Boy? I wonder where my armchair expedition will take me this time!

Continuing the polar theme I received two wonderful mini books for Christmas by the illustrator Jackie Bos, pop over to Jackie’s Etsy shop and marvel at I Heart The Arctic .

I like the collage above by Lizzy Janssen too, it is named Land of Shine.

Of course I couldn’t get away without including some work by Diane of Hibou Caillou Chou! Diane’s work is influenced by Inuit culture and the Great North, poetic lines indeed.

The Polar Bear Plate by One Blackbird caught my imagination as well.

Happy New Year everyone!

I received an email recently about a very exciting new ‘pop up’ shop and gallery organized by textile designers Hinshelwood de Borman. The event will showcase textiles, homeware, antiques, taxidermy, artists books, paintings, prints and more from emerging and established British artists, illustrators and designers. The line up of artists involved is impressive to say the least, I wish I could attend, I may have to send some spies on my behalf. If you are in London this is an event that shouldn’t be missed. Check the flier below for more information. Get thee gone kittens!

Caitlin Hinshelwood

Rose de Borman

Hannah Waldron

Jazmine Miles Long

Cornelia O Donovan

Alice Stevenson

Susie Cowie

My apologies that things have been so quiet here for a while, I have been working on my submissions for the embroidery show at Renegade Handmade next month. You can see one of my embroidered collages below. I need to get some proper images up soon, that poor deer needs her legs back, how embarrassing!

This print and this bag send me into a rapturous delirium of acquisitiveness, oh yes pleeease imaginary secret benefactor!

In Russia screen print from Lizzy Stewart’s shop, About Today.
Tote from Dazzling Lanna.

Hopefully a Plush You report later!
XXX