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I don't drink tea and I don't own a teapot, but this tea cozy by Alice of Crochet with Raymond has me wishing that I did. Isn't it lovely? And the crochet bunting in the background? Gorgeous!
Alice has very generously posted tutorials for the tea cozy and the bunting on her fantastically colourful blog - would love to try that bunting!
Image from Crochet with Raymond.
Lovely weather and a lovely morning with Charlie and Nora at the Malmö Garden Show yesterday. I forgot my camera, but Charlie took my iPhone and off she went. I love seeing the garden show from her perspective!
Images by Charlie.
While we are on the topic of lovely papier mache creatures (see yesterday's post on Julie Arkell), some weeks ago I found a wonderful blog called do you mind if i knit, written by artist and illustrator Vanessa Cabban. Now this is not a new blog, so I wonder why it took me so long to find it????
Reading Vanessa's blog is like sitting down to a nice cup of tea and a chat with an old friend. I love her papier mache creatures (which she makes in this beautiful studio), she posts a tonne of photos from her open garden visits around her little corner of England (love those posts almost as much as her papier mache posts), and she has a hilarious Miniature Dachshund called Douglas who pops up regularly on the blog.
Here is one of Vanessa's wonderful creations below (Sir Henry Brambles) - you can see more on her blog, and she sells on etsy too! Make sure you keep an eye out for Audrey and Happy Louise. They are fabulous!
Image from do you mind if i knit.
For those of you who love Julie Arkell and don't already know about it, there is a lovely article about her in the current issue of Making magazine. Thanks to my gorgeous friend Clare in Wales who gave me the heads up, I managed to track down a copy in Malmö. Thanks Clare!
Photo by Tim Clinch.
I didn't know there were more! This time it's French brand Bensimon with a limited edition of Liberty print canvas sneakers. Found via Lobster and Swan.
Image from BlushBloom.
I'm feeling quite inspired by the summer atmosphere and beautiful bright colours in the current GreenGate catalogue...
Images from GreenGate.
I love this house! Built just three years ago (can you believe it?), Red Brick Barn looks like it is decades older, like it has always been right there in that beautiful spot. It was built completely from recycled building materials, and most of the work was done by the owners, Daniel and Glenny. I think they have done an amazing job!
Red Brick Barn is located in Chewton, Victoria (Australia) and is rented out as holiday accommodation. What a perfect weekend getaway! There is even an outdoor bathtub, a donkey field (see last pic) and the house overlooks a creek and heritage bushland. How perfect is that?!
Red Brick Barn also featured in an article in the December 2010 issue of Country Style (Australia). See more pics here and read more here.
Photography by Simon Griffiths.
A few weeks ago, Pia Jane Bijkerk posted about this lovely weatherboard cottage in Newcastle, Australia. Built in 1918, it still retains many of the beautiful original features like wooden floorboards, decorative plasterwork on the ceilings and gorgeous wooden window frames. My favourite shot is this one of the kitchen below.
You can see more photos at the Country Living (Australia) website here, and here you can read about the artistic couple that call this wonderful house home, Nicola Hensel and John Turier.
Photography by Sharyn Cairns for Country Style.
Styling by Geraldine Munoz for Country Style.
Found via Pia Jane Bijkerk.
Today I want to share with you one of my favourite online fabric stores, Rag Rescue. I can’t take the credit for discovering this great vintage fabric resource - I first heard of UK-based Rag Rescue from Katie Armitage at Les Soeurs Anglaises (LSA run an annual 5 day Julie Arkell workshop in the south of France). Thanks for the tip Katie!
Rag Rescue salvages vintage fabric, trims and haberdashery and, in owner Sandie’s words, “brings them into the future, clean and fresh ready to start a new life”. I have found so many beautiful fabrics at Rag Rescue, including the lovely paisley fabrics pictured below (sourced from vintage eiderdowns), and have to say that the customer service is excellent, perhaps the best I have encountered during my many (many, many) online shopping experiences. Sandie is incredibly friendly and helpful, and service is always fast and flawless.
Selfishly, I would like to keep Rag Rescue a secret so that I have more of a chance of scooping up Sandie’s wonderful vintage finds, but I believe she deserves the good publicity! Sandie lists new items almost daily at the Rag Rescue website, and each evening you can get a sneak preview of the next day’s listing at the Rag Rescue blog. Happy shopping!
Images from Rag Rescue.
Inspired by Joanna, the creator of this wonderful heart, I made this flower on the weekend (using a technique I learnt at a Julie Arkell workshop). I thought Joanna's combination of pale blue floral and red and white ticking was perfect! The petals are made of my two favourite fabrics - the blue floral is a relatively new fabric from Quilt Gate, and the red and white patterned fabric is from a shirt I made just over twenty (!!!!!) years ago when I was still in high school. Sadly, that much-loved shirt is now just a bit too worn to wear.
Images by me.
Chocolate cake perfection by Katie Quinn Davies. Katie's blog is one of my favourites. Have you seen it? If not, I highly recommend a visit!
Image © Katie Quinn Davies.