Tuesday, 24 March 2015

Poetry............

.....no, not the 'I wandered lonely as a cloud' type.......
......but I've just discovered a new online clothes shop of the same name and to my surprise, I love everything in their latest catalogue. I think I'm ready for a change of image. I've been adopting the same old look for quite a while now. It seems to be getting more and more difficult to find anything that suits my style - mostly jeans and t-shirts during the week while at work but maybe something smart but casual for going out and about. Then there's the 'age' thing. Well,  I'm not quite ready to fit into those Marks and Spencer elasticated waistbands just yet! So while I was leafing through the pages of this new catalogue, I very definitely felt that mostly everything in it was wearable for 'ladies of a certain age', so to speak. Let's have a look and see what you think.
.....I fell for this linen coat in a big way. I love the cut of it and the colours. I'm trying to steer away from the blacks and greys that are my usual mode of attire all winter long, so I think this apricot colour would be my first choice, as a complete contrast.
 

They describe this pattern as 'basketweave' but I think it looks more like moss stitch. Whichever it is, it's very nice indeed, especially worn with some type of scarf. I love scarves too! 

 Another linen jacket. I like the dipped hemline at the back. Great for hiding less-than-perfect posteriors!
 These would be perfect for my 'shepherdess' days - yes, I secretly harbour ambitions to buy a flock of sheep, shear them all by myself and sit down at my spinning wheel happily plying and whiling away the hours of my retirement (fat chance, by the way!).
I love the detailing on these cotton tops and again, the colours are very pleasing.
 More classic knitwear...
and I just love the detailing on this t-shirt too.

They describe these tops as 'crocheted'. I'm wondering which stitch they've used. Perhaps a bit of reverse engineering could produce my own version?
  A pretty cotton sweater.
I think these could be my new favourite Summer tops. I love their tunic style and the way the buttons fasten up each side. They're crocheted too.
 

 ...and to finish, pretty little vests and oh, look, what do we have here?  Why, some elasticated drawstring waistbands! Still, they're not Marks and Spencer's, that's got to be a bonus!
Now, all I have to do is win the lottery this weekend to be able to afford any of the above! 
What will be in your Capsule Summer Wardrobe?
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Great to 'see' you last time and to read your thoughts on my blurb and great news, The Edinburgh Yarn Festival folks have just announced that there will be another one next year, instead of bi-annually. Oh, joy! Only 50 more weeks to go. 
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 And look, more good news, a new follower! Welcome New Follower and Thank You. I hope you'll like it here. x
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'Speak' soon.

xxxXXXxxx

All pics courtesy of 'Poetry' Summer 2015 Publication.

Monday, 16 March 2015

Utopia II......

So. to continue on where I left off last time (yes, we're still at the Edinburgh Yarn Festival, although by the end of this post, you may be inclined to call it the 'Edinburgh Yawn Festival' but only if you have absolutely no interest in anything woolly-related whatsoever!) we arrive at the booth of one of my favourite designers.....
here she is in the flesh (in case you didn't know, Belinda's other claim to fame was for being on Big Brother a while back). I love all of her designs. They're made with her own brand of yarn which is so soft and sumptious and comes in some great colours.


I love this cardi coat, so beautifully made.

and her range of wraps were stunning too. 


 Delightful little things from a local Edinburgh shop 'Be Inspired Fibres'. 

 This is the ultimate in woollen luxury - I'd give my eye-teeth for some of this in my stash!Sigh...!
The owners of this booth were two young ladies who came all the way from Germany and who call themselves 'Dye For Yarn'. Again, some fabulous yarn in really great colours.
 ....and of course, we can't forget about the crocheters although I can't actually remember whose booth these colourful objects belonged to!




Next we take a look at what the Shetland Isles have to offer and of course, well would you look at that, there are some sheep on that hat! Knitted with the lovely wool offered up by Jamieson & Smith - the best in Shetland Wool luxury.
 Clara Parkes (oops, sorry, namedropping again!) signing copies of her latest book.

 Westknits and Ysolda's lovely booth. I just missed out on a class with Stephen West but maybe just as well. I hear he was encouraging everyone to use lime green mohair! He's very off-the-wall!

A lovely button and accessory display from The Textile Garden.
 Forgive me, lady but I couldn't resist sneaking up behind you to take a pic of your hair. It was fabulous (it actually looked like someone had knitted it too!)

More Jamiesons of Shetland....check out that shade card!
 I bought my only yarny purchase from here - a beautiful hank of the softest alpaca and merino undyed yarn. I'm keeping it for something special for myself, hopefully.
Another favourite booth. You could buy the kits to make these garments but if you wanted to buy the dress off-the-peg it was going to cost you the price of a small car!! Don't get me wrong, I'm in no way criticising the prices, I can appreciate just how much time, effort and energy must go into designing and making knitwear. I'm in total awe of the people who choose to make their living this way and I bow to their skill and knowledge, so much so that I skulked away from the festival thinking I couldn't really knit or crochet at all!
  Hold on, nearly at the finish line, just another little pic of some really woolly sheep....
.....and my very restrained purchases. The wooden buttons are HUGE and so nice to look at, I bet it's ages before I get around to using them.
Phew, thanks for sticking with me if you're reading this. Hope it wasn't too awful for you to get to the end!
You'll be glad to know that the yarn festival only occurs every two years so no more 'woolly' stuff for a while, oh, except here's a little pic of the 'Bella Wrap' I made from one of Belinda's patterns....
but it's not a patch on the glorious objects she had on show and made with much cheaper yarn (Drops Eskimo to be exact). I'm almost embarassed to show it to you! Keeps me warm though and I'll never wear it out in public so no worries there!
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Thanks for visiting and leaving those ever-so-precious comments. I value each and every one.

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ps I am not affiliated in any way with The Edinburgh Yarn Festival or any of the exhibitors - I just loved showing them off to you. 
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pps My new header is attributed to a lovely lady called Hannah who can be found
here. Take a look, she has really pretty stuff!

Sunday, 15 March 2015

Utopia.............

...........Now some folks travel the length and breadth of this big old wide world to find theirs but I only had to travel a few miles from home yesterday until I happened upon my own at the Edinburgh Yarn Festival 2015 because you see, I'm very easily pleased like that.......now, you may say to yourself 'how very sad that woman must be to get so overly-excited about wool' and I may just agree with you on occasion but I'm so glad I dragged myself there after a bit of a false start and a little disappointment that my sister couldn't chum me after all, I donned my big girl pants and headed off for a lovely day out..........
......passing right underneath Edinburgh Castle on the train (hence the bars across the pic, the lights from inside the compartment!)and just a short journey from the centre of the city takes you to the venue on the outskirts. This is the second EYF and the organisers decided to hold it in a much larger venue than the original one from the first year since so many people turned up and from what I gather,because I wasn't there the first time, it was quite a tight squeeze to fit everyone in. This time though, there was plenty of room to move around and they managed to fit in loads of new designers and their wares, like......
.......this very interesting and lovely lady who was called Ingrid and who knitted and crocheted with gigantic balls of recycled fabrics and giant needles and hooks..... 



 ....then of course, the ubiquitous sheep were heavily featured for without them, none of this would have been possible!

 I loved this little doll with her cute little knitting needles and her lacy collar

and this is Rapunzel, who was a beauty from really close up

....and for those in the know, this was Emily Wessel's (Tin Can Knits) booth and what a lovely person she is. She has a new book out - 'Road Trip' - which is now on my Xmas list!
 ...and next up, these offerings from a young designer called Katy Birchall (www.winstonclothing.com if you want to see what else she's brilliant at). I loved her sweaters, there on the right-hand side wall, although I won't quote you the prices, you may faint but I think they're worth every penny for their elegance, style and total one-off-ness (assuming that's even a real word). I'm saving up as we speak!

  .... more sheepy stuff....it would have been really hard to avoid them!

......and a basket of luxurious mulberry silk skeins in gorgeous jewel colours....
....and if Annie Cholewa is looking in, this booth was doing a roaring trade!
....this lady was needle-felting ...very fast! I was worried for her fingers

...and another 'big name' in this wonderful woolly world 'Toft'. I loved their alpaca pom-poms but at £8 each, rather a decadent use of such exquisite yarn but that's just my own opinion. Feel free to differ.

I did, however, love their cutesy little animal kits.
....this one's for Pompom. I thought of her as soon as I saw it!

I liked this pattern from one of their magazines.
 I don't know whether any of you have heard of The Icelandic Knitter, Helene Magnusson? This is her booth. I loved everything on it!

 Another celebrity in the yarnosphere. I'm such a name-dropper! Sorry can't help myself sometimes.
So I think that may be enough for you to take in for now. I know I was rather overwhelmed after spending just a couple of hours amongs all that woolly goodness. A pit stop for coffee and cake was well-earned. I'll show you more tomorrow if you like?
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Just remains to say 'Happy Mother's Day' for those folks to whom it applies today. Hope you were thoroughly spoiled rotten. I know I was.......

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See you next time and thanks for giving up so much of your valuable time to read my ramblings and leave your sweetest of sweet comments. 
Tons of Love
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Moving Day

...in Blogland.   My new home is here Hope you'll join me soon. xxx