sarah shepherd

Unfurling

2011-10-09T01:45:00.000-07:00

In early June a darling daughter arrived into my world. Its been an amazing 4 months and while I'm sad to be leaving the intensity of nurturing a newborn ... this next stage of unfurling from our oneness into our two-ness is exciting and I feel wonderfully energised by the prospect of having a little more space.

So to my design. Knitting and textiles. First up, a cardigan I think. As usual its something I want for myself. A warm but easy cardigan with a little bit of interest. Now I must get on and knit some samples and write some pattern.

On my needles

2011-03-08T05:00:00.000-08:00

Pattern: Que Sera by Kirsten Kapur
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton
It is with pleasure that I speak of my current knitting project. Both the yarn and the lace pattern are so enjoyable to my fingers and mind. Being made of the luscious Blue Sky Alpaca Dyed Cotton, the yarn is soft and plump and easily glides over my fingers. The knitting pattern is Que Sera from Knitty spring summer 2010 and once you've done a few repeats its easy to work without checking the notes. So, zen-like, I find myself flying through the rows ... enjoying every second of it.

On Saturday I went to Loop in Angel, and found some gorgeous buttons to adorn my finished creation (not finished yet, sleeves and upper back still to do). Loop is my candy store, I'm positively drooling every time I go there. Everything about it is dreamy, I find it difficult to purchase as I get so overwhelmed with all the many delights it contains. However this time I was able to single out a yarn: Semilla

It was really difficult choosing a colour from the many gorgeous hues on offer, there was stiff competition between the blue grey, relish yellow and rose. Obviously it was the later that made into my handbag.

2011-02-18T13:49:00.000-08:00

I remember in my previous blogging life, before the arrival of the delicious time vacuum that is my daughter Audrey, I found I would get frustrated by my ability to spend more time looking at other's crafting productivity than producing my own craft.

I had a similarly 'humphf' moment this week when I realised that I'd spent hours (and hours) on the craft blog internet circuit, leaving my many WIP to gather dust. Don't get my wrong ... I was inspired and excited by much of what I saw out there ... but like going to an art gallery, there comes a point when you want to go home and get your knitting needles out. And if you don't get your knitting needles or sewing machine or sketch pad out ... its like all that inspiration seeps slowly out of you and all is forgotten.

But it seems I have actually been crafting of late, I took a look at the recently finished projects and there's quite a lot kicking about ... so I'm going to begin my show and tell with cushions:

This is a cushion I made a couple of months back from two woollen jerseys I found at a charity store. I felted them in the washing machine then cut little scales and sewed them down. Not the neatest sewing ever, but I like the result nonetheless.

I made these last three from Echino fabrics sourced from Superbuzzy. I love their bright colours on a natural base, really gorgeous.

2011-02-13T11:21:00.000-08:00

It was Christmas time and being New Zealand orphans living in London we didn't have the usual family obligations for our festive celebrations.

So it was decided that we would go 'somewhere'. Oh the fabulous destinations we toyed with ... Sardinia, Luxembourg, Rome. But the snow came down and the fabulous destinations list came down with it.

So where to go? Well fate directed us toward the Devon/Dorset coast, specifically Lyme Regis. My obsession with River Cottage meant I had Axminster (a nearby town) on my list of things-to-do-before-we-go-home.

And oh, what a truly wintry English holiday we had. Three days of fog, unable to see the country side or sea views we had read about. Three days of changing directions as activities we had planned (albeit planned earlier than morning) were thwarted by Christmas closing times.

But as to be expected, the clouds did hold some silvery linings for us and I have some wonderful memories of our foggy, activity starved holiday in wintry England.

One of my favourite being the walk on the pebbly beach, unable to see much of the sea at all, but instead inspired by the colours of the boats,nets and buoys so richly revealed by the low lying cloud. Still and cold it was like walking into a postcard.

A bright start

2011-01-29T03:12:00.000-08:00

Yikes Audrey is almost 2 and I haven't blogged since she was born. So to begin again agin again ... alot has been happening, knitting, sewing, cooking, but I've been keeping it to myself. Time to change all that ... I've missed having a reason to take photos, so back to the blog.

How better to arrive back then with a photo of the Seville Orange marmalade I made a couple of days ago. A zesty brilliantly coloured preserve that has renewed my enthusiasm for marmalade. As to be expected I turned to Nigel Slater for guidance ... he is currently my kitchen hero. I love nothing better than reading and rereading his latest cookbooks, 'Tender'. The recipes are always a success, they're mostly quite simple and always delicious.

2009-05-02T12:13:00.000-07:00

I've been busy ... knitting tea cosies and having a baby. The tea cosy was hard work ... ;-)

oui je t'aime la droguerie

2008-12-10T02:31:00.000-08:00

Poor neglected blog ... prechristmas busy-ness and work demands have meant the blog has been ignored. There's some Paris photos waiting in the wings ... but until I get a little more than 15 minutes to sort them out they won't be moving. I have however managed to upload pictures of Parisian alpaca yarn transformed into a hat for my beloved. Finished last night at knit group.

The Parisian source was La droguerie, the most delicious lolly shop of yarns and haberdashery. I spent the first 15 minutes there with my mouth hanging open with shear delight and joy. I can't tell you how beautiful it was ... thought I'd died and gone to heaven. They have all the yarns in skeins hanging in their fibre content/ply sections on poles in a sort of industrial modern meets ye-olde wooden shelved hardware store. (I found a blog with photos of another La droguerie here). Once you have decided on the yarn(s) you want, an assistant then retrieves it for you from out the back of the shop in the weight that you require. All neatly wound into a ball.

As soon as I was off the Eurostar ... it was dpns out and a cable hat was created. I made up the cables as I went along ... generally enjoying the feel of the alpaca and the look of it winding into cables.

I'm planning my return to the shop already! Is it too extravagant to go to Paris just to visit one store?

2008-11-18T00:38:00.000-08:00

its been a while ... almost a month. things are pretty busy around these parts ... there's been snow, falling leaves and much a do about markets, new contracts and new stores (more stores, more markets). all good. oh, and another market this weekend ...

Saturday 22nd November - Chiswick NCT Christmas Fair

10.30am - 4pm

St. Michael and All Angels Church, Bath Road, London W4 1TT

sketching bunnies

2008-09-25T08:40:00.000-07:00

Perhaps I was inspired by Delphine Doreau at Non dairy Diary who's been drawing hens ... perhaps it was the kozyndan prints we have on our wall (this one and this one) ... perhaps it was that I had an idea to embroider some bunnies onto a quilt I'm working on ... anyway I now have a collection of bunny sketches, that don't really work, scale wise, on my quilt ... but I'm sure I can find a use for them somewhere. hmmm?

wellington wall

2008-09-23T03:27:00.000-07:00

This pic was taken a wee while ago, in Wellington. I think its quite beautiful. I love the way a pattern can be unconsciously created.

First the bricklayer placed each brick systematically in its position, then the painter sealed the bricks with some white paint. But it seems that things did not stop there, more layers were attached and the wall performed its intended task of protecting its inhabitants from the elements.

Then the demolition team and perhaps the weather (it is Wellington after all), pulled away at the extra layers ... revealing a beautiful texture.

why i knit

2008-09-19T03:53:00.000-07:00

I could let the picture do the talking. But I won't as I'm too thrilled at the wearer's appreciation of the scarf I knit her.

Nell is 5 years old ... just off to School. A few weeks before her 5th birthday Aunty Sarah looked through her yarn stash and collected up the most colourful yarns and made a simple scarf. After a couple of weeks the scarf was long enough to cast off. It had to be long enough to be 'grown up' and short enough not to drag in the mud.

A few days later Nell received the parcel in New Zealand.

Much to my delight Nell absolutely loved the scarf ...
"its 10 metres long Aunty Sarah!" she exclaimed over the phone
"10 metres long Nell ... are you sure?" her ever sensible Aunty replied
"oh silly me, perhaps I'll have to count again"
Her mum reported that a metre for Nell is one of her feet ... she had placed the scarf down on the ground and walked next to it to measure it. How cute.

So now Nell wears the scarf TO and FROM school ... not at school as she thinks it may get lost and she wouldn't like that. And each time Aunty Sarah calls she tells me that she's wearing the scarf. Brilliant.

2008-09-12T01:08:00.000-07:00

How cute are these illustrations. They're from a children's book, 'Iggy Peck, Architect' (ISBN 13: 978-0-8109-1106-2) and the illustrations are by David Roberts.

I want to make clothes like the ones in his illustrations ... with all their stripes and patterns and colours.
I quite like this cushion also ... hmmm?

c'est beau

2008-09-11T00:50:00.000-07:00

Isn't he beautiful. This little fulla was found while on a walk up to Lac de L'orceyrette. At the top of the lac there is a type of grass/marshlands where I took the following photo ... the colours were beautiful ... had to make a colour palette from it.
After spending the majority of our time in the Alps we visited a friend near Lyon. He lives in a beautiful rural area near his very hospitiable family. We were spoilt with their good food and company.

I was taken by this little road which resembled something of a patchwork quilt. Perhaps I'll design one inspired by the patterns on this road!

a weekend in the french alps

2008-09-10T03:19:00.000-07:00

I've been away ... and it was lovely. Adam and I went to the French Alps for a friend's wedding. We went to Serre Chevalier and stayed in my favourite town there, Monetier.

happy shopping

2008-09-04T01:16:00.000-07:00

Its sale time. Check out my shop for lots of savings.

onion teatowel sketch

2008-09-02T08:34:00.000-07:00

The beautiful text sitting amongst the onions is by my friend Rachel Smith. Its part I of a two part poem ... stand by for the next installment. I hope to print this one on Thursday at the studio ... it needs a bit of cleaning up tomorrow but I pretty happy with it overall. The roots look a bit mushy and the text is a little hard to read in places ... oh and I need to put a capital T on the first word ... but these things aside ... its working for me. You'll need to click on the image to really see it.

tomato red

2008-09-02T01:25:00.000-07:00

My first tomato! This big fulla has been hanging out on my tomato plant for AGES ... the weather hasn't really been warm enough to redden him up ... till now ... the last couple of weeks have had a couple of deliciously warm days ... and voila ... Mr Tom was able to show his true colours! He was absolutely delicious on a piece of Vogel's Soy and Linseed, with butter, salt, pepper and basil ... mmmmmmmm.

As I was going to St Ives ...

2008-08-26T11:40:00.000-07:00

Went to Cornwall for the weekend. Tidy little villages meet wild and rugged landscapes. Inspiring.

Inspired by these coastal rocks ... the colours and the textures.

oh onion you are so beautiful

2008-08-20T09:28:00.000-07:00

I'm embarking on a wee project with a friend ... which involves me exploring vegetables ... starting with the onion.
I love the way nature seems to explode as you look closer. An onion, a crispy brown skin encasing a whiteish greenish smelly cooking ingredient that makes you cry ... simple.
But start looking and its actually a pinky rust coloured casing with lines expanding through the middle and contracting at the ends. Peel this layer away and the most beautiful greens are revealed fading into white.

Then look at the peel ... and its actually

a fairy's wing?

There are so many nuances to the different layers ... some have an almost synthetic electronic quality with tiny surfaces reflecting light in different directions. While other layers are really matt and paper like.

And now for the nudie shot ... quite explicit really.

Italian surfaces

2008-08-19T00:29:00.000-07:00

catch up

2008-08-18T06:15:00.000-07:00

I've been ignoring my blog ... apart from the odd ssd product update ... there's been no photos of things that inspire me ... I guess I've been busy ... I guess its been summer(ish) ... I guess its time to start posting again. So lets take ourselves back two and a half months to our trip to Puglia, in Southern Italy. Ahhhh ... just thinking about it warms me up and relaxes me. The city rising from the sea above is Polignano a Mare.

These buildings are part of Sassi di Matera, an ancient town which began as a prehistoric cave settlement. Most of these buildings are actually the built entrances to caves.

The people in Puglia were incredibly friendly and generous. Especially in the towns were tourists weren't common. We were given fruit for free, people refused our tips, and generally people were very patient with our dreadful Italian.

in store now!

2008-07-10T00:25:00.001-07:00

After much organising ... I'm online with my products ... yeeehaa! If you click on 'my work' you'll be taken through to my website where you will be able to see what I've been up to these past few months.

revealed

2008-07-09T00:45:00.000-07:00

zukzuk asked to see the whole print (a showed a wee smidgen in June 13th's post). 'We three trees' ... a christmas design, not sure what I'm going to do with it for the next 6 months! Being summertime it felt like Christmas was approaching (I grew up in the southern hemisphere!).

more crafting

2008-06-16T00:31:00.000-07:00

check this out ... how to make your own ceramic transfers ...

paper

2008-06-13T01:00:00.000-07:00

Thursday Printday was a bit of an adventure for me this week ... as I tried out paper screen printing for the first time. I've had a few people asking me for paper printed artwork so I thought I'd leap in and give it a go.

Its a suprisingly different process to fabric screen printing. The main differences being that the screen is suspended above the paper, the screen mesh is much smaller and the screen is filled with ink (flooded) before you actually print. So it was a little awkward at first for a textile printer ... but it didn't take long to get the hang of once I'd go my head around it.

You're only getting a sneaky snippet of a look at the design ... just a morsel ... someday soon I'll show you the whole thing.

camera love

2008-06-10T01:31:00.000-07:00

So here are my first product shots. I am exceedingly proud of my efforts ... mostly because taking these required a lot of effort. I think I could probably do better, but its a good start me thinks.

It seems that the love I have for my Canon 350D camera has been a very superficial one. Yesterday we did a little bonding with the help of the manual and this guys tutorial/rant/waffle about taking product shots.

Please note ... I found it necessary to copy this tutorial/rant/waffle into Word and delete all the many unnecessary paragraphs of information. Leaving me with the following necessary and very useful points for taking product photos:

Use a small aperture (which on my camera means big numbers (f stops))

Use reflected sunlight preferably on an overcast day

Small apertures require long shutter speeds, so use the timer on you camera and mount you camera in a steady place (I don't have a tripod).

Use the long exposure noise reduction function (My 350D has this function)

Use the white balance correction function (Yes, ol' 350D has this one too)

So I went out into the garden and set up the most hilarious studio with 4 pieces of mount card. Took a whole lot of pictures ... played around in photoshop ... and voila ... I have a set of clear pretty images. But they could be clearer I think ... perhaps I need 'proper lights'?

It took the majority of the day to produce these, but I am delighted with my new found knowledge ... and even more infatuated with my lovely Canon.

show's over

2008-06-06T05:47:00.000-07:00

I had great fun at the trade show earlier this week. I thought I would hate having to sell my work ... turns out you couldn't shut me up! It was great meeting the many many interesting people that came through. Will let you know who'll be stocking my wares in about a months time.

Being Thursday Printday yesterday ... I went to the ELP studios to get my print fix. I set up a few screens for a printing session early next week. Stand by for printed teatowels.

hi honeys i'm home!

2008-05-30T01:12:00.001-07:00

Please excuse my absence ... I've been busy ... busy creating a collection of table linens to sell at Pulse this weekend. They should be in stores in about 6 weeks time ... I'm also planning on selling them via my website ... stand by for more installments. Promise not to leave you all for so long this time!

technology aye?

2008-04-10T01:14:00.000-07:00

So I've been taking pics on my mobile ... thinking they were rubbish little mini-pixeled bundles of nothing ... until this morning when I downloaded them onto my computer ... and whatayaknow ... they ain't half bad ...

taken at broadway markets ... incredibly gorgeous graffitti

taken in new zealand ... incredibly gorgeous niece

2008-03-31T10:14:00.000-07:00

I started writing a pattern with this yarn last week. Its Blue Sky Alpaca dyed cotton and its heaven in a ball! I feel like eating it, its so delicious. The colour is so gorgeous and fresh (difficult to photograph). The cotton is incredibly soft and lustrous. Heavenly.

My creative mess ... happiness is ...

I included a couple of sketches, the later is for the 'feather in her hat' design.

beautiful beautiful

2008-03-27T02:31:00.000-07:00

While we're on the subject of beautiful things ... Irene Suchocki photographs ...

laura normandin

2008-03-27T02:20:00.000-07:00

I was just sent a link to Laura Normandin's website ... to check out this beautiful hair embroidery ... thought I'd pass it on

Cardigan Completed

2008-03-23T04:05:00.000-07:00

A week later and its finished ... not a typical turnaround for one of my knitting projects. Although this was a super easy knit. I was knitting a scarf from this yarn and while the yarn was beautiful I just wasn't excited by the scarf ... So rather than push forward I unwound the metre of scarf that I had knit and created this for my newly born niece, Mary.
Pattern: Baby bulky aysmmetrical cardigan
Yarn: Debbie Biss Cashmerino Chunky, 3 skeins

Thursday Printday

2008-03-20T12:08:00.000-07:00

Thursday is my printing day ... I love the idea that I may be acquiring a routine. Travelling with my film work throws all routines out the window ... so nice to be inviting them in for tea instead! East London print studios has printing sessions on Thursdays and Saturdays ... and as I would prefer to be sociable with my working friends on Saturdays ... Thursdays is printing day. So first of all I dusted off an old design of mine called 'toitoi'. Inspired by a Native New Zealand plant with the same name.

I also reprinted the teacup tea towel print with a different colour combo ... 'i'd like to welcome to the stage for the second time this week, sarah's favourite colour combo ... pale blue and red'

Something delicious arrived in the post today also ... The Alabama Stitch Book ... filled with luscious ideas for embroidery on old tshirts(etc.) ... see the following beauties:

A very good day

2008-03-19T11:35:00.000-07:00

This day ... on the other side of the world ... a wee girl was born to my sister ... her name is Mary ... named after my mum ... today was a very good day.

On this side of the world, her Aunty was not only overjoyed by the news of her arrival ... but she was also blessed with some lovely moments with lovely people. First let me tell you about eco annie. I went to her shop today and met her and her lovely sales assistant. The store was filled with the most amazing yarns. The one above is one that eco annie produces from London's unwanted clothing. The one below is one that pakucho produce. Its spun from naturally coloured cotton.

Its so soft and such a beautiful colour. When you read this dyeing for a change report you realise the cost of coloured textiles to our environment. I got a bit of a shock really. And for someone who is constantly dyeing, printing and painting textiles ... I'm embarrassed by my ignorance. So its fabulous see people are working towards a change.

But one of my favourite moments of the day was when Andy at London Screen Services made a HUGE effort to deliver my new silkscreens for me, so that I could print with them tomorrow. I was completely blown away.

love and create

2008-03-15T04:04:00.001-07:00

with left over pieces from my love letters printing session last year, i made a knit needle kit for myself. Very pleased with the result ... i like all the red on white linework next to the pale blue. I'm quite obsessed with pale blue and deep red. I feel a little boring admitting to that ... like a little girl who only likes pink and purple. I have brief romances with greens and yellows ... but ultimately return to the comfort of my beloved red and pale blue

a work in progress shot of my raspy jersey for my beloved ... yes there is a human that must compete with my deep red and pale blue love also

a teatowel with printed teacups printed at the east london print studios

this week i had the great fortune of having an induction session at east london print studios ... i am so delighted that I can jump on a bus and 15minutes later i'm in a fully equipt printing studio ... if i was ever wondering why i love living in London so much, i only need to remind myself that there are about 4 of these kinds of printing studios in london ... now i am creating an easy carry kit that will allow me a kind of studio-on-my-back flexibility ... hence i'm pleased to present the beginnings of my reworked-ikea-bag silkscreen hold all:

I may even embellish it ... although I quite like the simple patchwork of bright blue and white.

Chinese delights

2008-03-14T10:32:00.000-07:00

I'm working on a project where I need to combine Chinese textile traditions with New Zealand flora and fauna. So I went of to the V&A to check out their collection. It was like being in a lolly shop ... I took about 160 photos ... unfortunately without a flash, in dimly lit rooms. Not that I'm complaining, I'm so delighted to have images however rough they may be. Wonderfully inspiring.

hello london

2008-03-04T09:33:00.000-08:00

it was a fabulously productive and creative day ... and its not over yet ... afternoon tea shot of my ex-mental-asylum-window coffee table avec Miriam's teacup ... thanx Miriam its beautiful

A wee mending project I started ... quite fun ... extravagant colour combinations ... couldn't help myself.

Early start with a photo session on a beautifully crisp wintry morning around London city ... collecting street patterns ... fun.

dog trou

2008-02-27T01:58:00.000-08:00

Some details of trousers I embellished with latex and paints for the NZ opera Trial of the Cannibal Dogs production.

dog's dinner

2008-02-05T20:08:00.000-08:00

Ahh the wonderful world of the virtual ... where everything is so like reality that it seems it could easily be recreated in reality ... except when it comes to knitting a dog in different coloured yarn. See above for doggie virtual and below for doggie reality ... two very different things.

This collection of knitted bits was to be the big digger sweater. However, my barely-able-to-speak nephew decided he would like a dog not a digger ... egged on by his sister. Being the oh so dutiful aunty I drew a picture of a wee doggie and photoshop-ed it onto the scanned knitted back. It seemed so very easy ... until I started actually knitting the thing!

how its done

2008-02-04T10:29:00.000-08:00

Miriam and Phillipa showing me how its done. We are working on a NZ opera for the International Festival of the Arts ... The Trial of the Cannibal Dog

leather tooling

2008-01-22T23:49:00.000-08:00

learning a new craft ... leather tooling ... this is the beginnings of my first attempt

2008-01-05T11:14:00.000-08:00

Meet my new friends. They're so wonderful, I wish they would laugh at my jokes though. I purchased these a few months ago to help me feel more at home in the flat I was placed in ... I have truly loved having them here ... so amazing to watch them growing from little seedlings to fruiting plants.

needles still clicking

2008-01-02T23:33:00.000-08:00

A friend asked me about how my knitting was going ... with work so very busy at the moment one would think there was nothing to tell ... au contraire. I have a couple of things to report.

One is that I have finished a project ... not the project I started but it is finished nonetheless. The starting block held the vision of a viennese shrug from interweave knits ... but the journey was fraught ... not only were insufficient quantities of the wool purchased ... it was the last hank of that colour run. Consequently the finishing line was a baby's blanket! Oops.
The second knitting report is that I am making a cute wee jersey (big digger sweater) for my nephew, Blake. I unraveled a cardigan I've been making for myself for the last 200 years or so, as I discovered that I was doing my Yarn Over wrong and the whole thing was way too short! So now its reforming itself into a child's sweater ... I think the yarn is happy about this ... as the inside of my knitting stash can be an incredibly boring place to be ... being worn by Blake would be a far more exciting prospect.

So both projects are very wibbly wobbly stories of knitting disasters and recoveries ... bit like working in film really.

wellytown

2008-01-01T11:36:00.000-08:00

One of my assistant's at the moment is a very clever textile designer ... actually they both are ... but the afore mentioned has a range of products that are inspired by the fair city I currently find myself in, Wellington ... check out wellytown

as I mean to progress

2008-01-01T11:04:00.000-08:00

Its going to be a fabulous year ... I can just feel it. The creative juices are flowing and the usual stress lock up seems a foreign and distant concept.

I love the beginning of a new year and the resolutions and anticipation of what lies ahead. I resolve to make it my most creative yet and anticipate many exciting opportunities ... and if this month is anything to go by ... my expectations will be realities ... cool.

Happy New Year!

Christmas on the beach

2007-12-31T20:46:00.000-08:00

Despite wishing i was home in London ... Christmas in New Zealand turned out to be an unexpected treat. On boxing day the shepherd clan went to Oakura beach. It was a little stormy ... but the kids loved it nonetheless ... and their oh so grown up aunty thought it was pretty cool too!

shepherd's delight

2007-12-10T09:50:00.000-08:00

And now for the sunset ... New Zealand is treating me well. Lovely to be spending time with family and soaking up endless days of sunshine.

Good morning

2007-11-21T22:46:00.000-08:00

This morning's view out my Wellington window ... I think it was a sign ... it was a good day.

2007-11-08T11:00:00.000-08:00

Forgive the leaf obsession but it really was so beautiful in autumnal London before I departed ... yes, I'm somewhere else now ... Wellington, NZ ... here for 4 months. Missing the falling leaves (+ the man), but enjoying the endless daylight. Oh, and there's a sneak peek at the remedy top ... all finished ... but no decent photos to upload.

Moore

2007-10-22T06:01:00.000-07:00

With a blue skied, crisp autumnal day upon us ... a lazy sunday afternoon was spent at kew gardens admiring the Henry Moore sculptures there.

This is 'Internal/External form'. As we approached ... i decided it was a lover's embrace ... a friend decided it was mother and child ... and boyfriend thought perhaps it was father and family ... the responses seemed more reflections of the viewers themselves, than the artists intentions ... but when i read this I decided perhaps all three were also able to fit into the later category.

Plate 3.0: Tiny bug crawls across very large sculpture

front à compli

2007-10-18T00:29:00.000-07:00

a front is done ... yipee ... inspired by the feather and fan in brooklyn tweed's hemlock ring blanket ... now for the back ... it has a whole lot more feather and fan from the bottom up ... you'll see ... update following soon ... i hope

2007-10-15T02:16:00.000-07:00

at the covent garden harvest festival yesterday ... the covent garden big draw was on also ... hence the gorgeous illustration on the easel

progress shot II

2007-10-13T07:59:00.000-07:00

i went to borough markets today ... we were running out of parmigiano reggiano! i love it there ... i found these borlotti beans ... i swear i didn't paint them like that ... honest
... also ... a progress shot on the remedy top

miss you

2007-10-11T08:07:00.000-07:00

finally getting on to creating the "miss you" quilts for my nieces/nephew ... i printed the fabric on my course with Joanna Kinnersly-Taylor in July.

lift off

2007-10-11T07:25:00.001-07:00

"we have a pattern, captain" ... i traced around a favourite tshirt of mine ... did a few tension squares ... some serious computing ... and i now have a pattern written up ... now lets see if its any good!! ... to be continued ...

sage remedy

2007-10-09T09:13:00.000-07:00

i bought some wool at purl soho while i was in New York recently ... its a delicious lorna's lace fisherman yarn in a hand-dyed sage colour. i absolutely love it and have been obsessing over what i am going to make out of the two skeins i bought ... this is what i have come up with ... a wee winter top with inserts of feather and fan stitch at the front and back ... now to make a pattern ... hmmm

Autumn

2007-10-09T07:49:00.000-07:00

back in London and the leaves are turning

market finds

2007-09-04T04:29:00.000-07:00

A couple of things I collected at a flea market in Prague earlier this year

glasgow

2007-08-21T23:35:00.000-07:00

I adored Glasgow ... I missed seeing the Macintosh buildings, so I have an incredibly valid reason to make a return journey there!

edinburgh grafitti

2007-07-29T13:35:00.000-07:00

a couple of scribbles from the streets of Edinburgh, Scotland

a beautiful thing

2007-07-26T15:16:00.000-07:00

a small motif on a building in lower Manhattan that caught my eye

market cafe

2007-07-15T16:14:00.001-07:00

new york new york ... loving it. Found this gem of a diner called market cafe.

flow gallery

2007-07-09T10:21:00.000-07:00

went to an exhibition at a gallery in Nottinghill today ... called bespoke ... had artists such as amy cushing, Aiveen Daly, Liske Russell de Boer, Margaret O'Rorke, Natasha Kerr, and Sarah Kay ... phew some of the work was fabulous ... the work that captivated me the most was Liske Russell de Boers beautiful lace engraved wooden tables.

bangers and mash

2007-07-04T01:02:00.000-07:00

One of my fav spots in London. The sausages are delicous, the music old school Brit and the decor is black and white tiled diner heaven. 'Hi honey I'm home!'

Na shledanou

2007-07-03T00:02:00.000-07:00

Prague and all its magical buildings, bridges and streets are no longer my everyday backdrop. I have arrived in London ... and despite the rain I am very happy to find myself back here.

Stockholm

2007-06-25T06:05:00.000-07:00

Scorching temperatures in Stockholm ... wonderful to watch, but not so wonderful to be, the runners passing by in the Stockholm marathon.

Impending departure

2007-06-17T12:12:00.000-07:00

Two more weeks to go in Praha. Mixture of sadness and elation. I'll miss the buildings dripping with decoration, the alleyways and streets that undulate like rivers over rocks, avoiding the gormless crowds of tourists who gravitate to 5 of the hundreds of routes through the city and the river that has shared many a relaxed evening pivo.

a blurr

2007-06-12T11:47:00.001-07:00

The first photo is of a beautiful gate in Prague ... one of the many decorative wonders of this place. The second is my Mum ... we're on our way to Cesky Krumlov ... the beautiful countryside whipping past on the train.

wood patterns

2007-05-15T12:43:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken in the Frence Alps last Christmas. I was intrigued by the patterns made by the wood.

light

2007-05-14T04:15:00.000-07:00

this beautiful photo was taken in a railway station in Barcelona ... my boyfriend took the picture ... that's me on the bench

colour

2007-05-07T00:06:00.000-07:00

butterfly

2007-04-24T04:36:00.000-07:00

praha botanical gardens ... the butterflies ... ahhh

eggs

2007-04-21T09:01:00.000-07:00

a few weeks late with these pics ... i bought these eggs in the Easter street markets that appeared around Prague ... each one hand painted

Flea markets

2007-04-13T22:06:00.000-07:00

Bargain hunting through the junk and treasures of Kolbenova flea markets in prague.

Towering rocks

2007-04-10T12:36:00.000-07:00

Rosie and I went exploring in the weekend ... we discovered some incredible rocks in a place North East of Prague ... beautiful

magical magnolia

2007-03-26T22:00:00.000-07:00

This has to be my favourite flower/tree ... in full bloom outside my boyf's flat in London

Mustek

2007-03-11T12:59:00.000-07:00

A tube stop in Prague

pink

2007-03-05T03:59:00.000-08:00

please don't touch the artworks

dagmars staircase

2007-03-04T13:26:00.000-08:00

Munich ... just arrived back from a weekend of country mountain churches, good food, river surfers, crazy art and good people ... so incredibly good

citrus coffee

2007-02-25T07:07:00.000-08:00

i was totally charmed by this bright orange coffee cup today at Slavia Cafe

cafe ceiling

2007-02-23T22:30:00.000-08:00

I am constantly amazed by the decoration in this city (Prague). You may need to click on the picture to really get an idea of how phenomenal it is.

2007-02-17T13:59:00.000-08:00

David Černy's 'tower babies' climbing the praha tv tower leave you both disturbed and delighted ... well worth leaving Prague 1 to check it out ... by day and by night.

2007-02-09T00:09:00.000-08:00

Found in the derelict (and far superior) part of Prague's main train station. The station is a bizzare mixture of achingly beautiful Art Noveau architecture and depressingly grim souless development. There are a series of these women's faces wearing traditional dress from around the world ... referring to Prague as the "mother of all cities".

wintry london

2007-02-05T12:52:00.000-08:00

oops another wintry london photo ... but i just love the skeleton trees and the patterns they make on the white/grey sky ... this one was early in the morning so it was wonderfully peaceful and calm ... quite beautiful

down to the river

2007-01-28T04:13:00.000-08:00

was waiting for the van to pick me for work yesterday morning ... it was -8 so i was a little chilly ... i was also 10 min early ... so i hightailed it to the river (which was only a block away) and took some early morning pics

more snow

2007-01-27T10:15:00.000-08:00

can't stop taking photos ... its way too exciting ... all this snow ... admittedly the top one is a slushy snow ... this was a few days ago and its still snowing ... fun.

sun and snow

2007-01-25T11:35:00.000-08:00

those long winter shadows don't do much for your figure!

frozen

2007-01-24T11:56:00.000-08:00

i've been looking around trying to find the name of this sculpture on Petrin Hill here in Prague ... but i can't find it ... i remember reading a blurb that told me its a memorial to those who have died in wars ... its a series of figures which are less and less complete as they ascend the stairs ... as if they are slowly disappearing ... yes, its still snowing here

outside my window

2007-01-23T23:11:00.000-08:00

Prague

2007-01-23T04:06:00.000-08:00

Aware that I've been negligent in taking Prague tourist shots ... I made a (somewhat) pathetic and uninspired attempt in the weekend ... next weekend I'll do better

sunnier times

2007-01-12T11:24:00.000-08:00

I was tired of looking at that dismal photo of a wintry, foggy London. Needed some sunshine ... so from another time and another place ... my 3 year old niece in her wetsuit, playing on a beach near New Plymouth, NZ. Ahh sunshine ... where for art thou?

4pm london

2007-01-08T12:12:00.000-08:00

Urgent action required

2006-12-21T12:11:00.001-08:00

Urgent message ... check out the flocks link on the right hand side of this blog ... there is unmissable stuff to see there.

czech socks

2006-12-17T11:20:00.001-08:00

Lucie, a Czech embroidery designer I work with, gave me these gorgeous hand knitted socks for Christmas.

wintry london

2006-12-11T22:56:00.000-08:00

back in london over the weekend ... loving the skeletal trees

Appliquéd treats

2006-12-07T10:51:00.000-08:00

I met a woman earlier this year who had this amazing appliquéd skirt. I accosted her and demanded photos!

dodgy bottles

2006-12-04T12:07:00.000-08:00

the labels on these czech bottles cracked me up ... it obviously doesn't mean the same thing here as in NZ

slovakian embroidery

2006-11-28T22:58:00.000-08:00

found in an antique store here in prague ... was part of a bonnet ... late 1800s silk embroidery

hi ho hi ho

2006-11-27T12:25:00.000-08:00

the road to work ... barandov studios