Weekend Round-up: 20 October

Posted: October 20, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Roundup | Tags: , | 2 Comments

Earlier this year I got a free packet of nigella and sprinkled them down one end of our garden bed. I was beginning to think they’d never bloom, but a sudden mass of flowers has appeared. I love going outside and seeing their spindly blue blooms.

One of my most exciting finds this week was the University of Wisconsin’s Digital Library for the Decorative Arts and Material Culture. It’s packed with scans of public domain books, including the stunning Examples of Chinese Ornament by Owen Jones, which features some amazing designs.

Mary Corbet over at Needle ‘n Thread has a post on the new stranded cottons by Jenny Hart at Sublime Stitching. Some of the colours are really gorgeous, although I think I would find the palettes too limiting.

I succumbed and bought my first copy of &Stitches this week. It’s a great embroidery blog, featuring lots of different styles of stitching (this issue focuses on Scandinavian embroidery). If you’re quick, you might be able to take advantage of the 10% discount code here.

Actually, I’ve spent a lot of time this week looking at Scandinavian embroidery blogs. My favourite would definitely have to be Karin Holmberg’s blog – she does some gorgeous stitching, and features some really interesting crafty stuff – plus each post includes a summary in English, for those of us who aren’t so great with Swedish!

The reason for my fascination with Scandinavian embroidery is that I’ve been playing around with Hallandssöm embroidery after seeing Annekata’s post on it. I’m loving the effect! (Apologies for the blurry Instagram pic)

 

 

Weekend Round-up: 29 September 2011

Posted: September 29, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Roundup | Tags: , , , , | 2 Comments

Spring is here, and along with it the first buds on one of my David Austin roses. I’m so excited to see it bloom – especially having never grown roses before.

With the warm weather coming (especially with the move to Brisbane), I’m thinking of picking up some gorgeous cotton prints and whipping up a few of these adorable skirts.

I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to bake something as much as I want to bake these White Peach, Rose and Basil Hand Pies.

And more baking: for the most part I loathe bananas, but I make an exception for banana bread. This recipe from Smitten Kitchen looks like one I’ll have to try out.

When we move to our new place, I want to celebrate by buying new tea towels (seriously, there are so many stunning ones out there). I think these gorgeous watercolour designs might have just moved to the top of my list.

The gorgeous blue embroidery definitely caught my eye in this article about stunning Castelo Branco embroidery from Portugal over at Feeling Stitchy.

Weekend Roundup: Apple Tree edition

Posted: September 22, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , | 2 Comments
Landscape With Tree (c) Dan Peretz

Landscape With Tree © Dan Peretz

We’ve got an inspection on Tuesday, which means a lot of cleaning this weekend. I’m preparing myself by looking at beautiful landscape photos (although this probably isn’t the wisest thing, since it’s sending my wanderlust into overdrive).

Here’s a peek at what’s been inspiring me this week. Have a lovely weekend!

  • I’ve only had apple chips once, but they were incredibly tasty and addictive, so I was thrilled to see this recipe for them. (A Beautiful Mess)
  • Purl Soho and Egg Press have teamed up to make this gorgeous seasonal embroidery kit. I can’t get enough of that wood grain! (Purl Bee)
  • I’d never heard of kokedama (a Japanese way of hanging plants) until I saw this tutorial. Now I want a balcony just so I can hang a series of them. (MAKE)
  • Aesthetic Outburst is releasing her book You Are Awesome: 21 Crafts to Make You Happy at the end of the month, and it’s filled with some of the most fun and ingenious craft ideas I’ve seen in a long time. (Aesthetic Outburst)
  • Jessica over at How About Orange used polycrylic to turn gorgeous origami blossoms into sturdy little sculptures – this has lots of potential for different decorating ideas. (How About Orange)
  • Finally, I might never be able to afford this stunning kilim runner, but in the meantime it’s causing all sorts of embroidery ideas to run through my mind. (Etienne)