It is a beautiful world. Today frost has taken hold and made the world shiny and sparkly! I love this time of the year. All of the photos that I am about to share with you, were taken by the River Ouse in York. All of the photos that I am about to share with you, were taken within twenty minutes’ walk of my front door. I don’t have the words to express how blessed I feel. I don’t have the words to express the emotions that I was feeling as I took a walk this morning. Despite all the bad that it going on in the world today, it is still a very beautiful place to be…
A grand day out
11/29/2016
08/25/2016
lovely, lovely, lavender…
Have you visited Provence? No, neither have I. I would love, love, love to visit the area and see the beautiful fields of lavender stretching out for miles and miles. I would love, love, love to hear the hum of the bees as they go about their work in the lavender fields. I would love, love, love to take a deep breath and inhale the intoxicating lavender perfume. One day…
Have you visited Yorkshire? I am lucky enough to love in York, the centre of Yorkshire, the city is stunningly beautiful and so is the surround country-side. Last week Si and me hired a car (we have been car-free since last November) and went to the stunning Yorkshire Lavender. As soon as we stepped out of the car, the smell of lavender hit you in waves. I wish I could let you smell what we smelt. I took lots of photographs so you can see the loveliness of what we saw…
All colours of lavender…
Harvest time…
Sculpture punctuating the landscape…
Not the only ones enjoying the lavender…
Yes, lots of lovely lavender…
Ok, it isn’t Provence: it is Yorkshire and it is well worth a visit, a visit for the senses and for inspiration.
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08/18/2016
little treats…
Wow! It has been a busy few months. Regular readers will know that I have been trying really hard, over the last few months, to slow down and reconnect with my making. It is beginning to work! I’m still working (in the real world) full-time but this may change soon, as my work contract comes to an end. In the creative world, I have been just as busy, with my makes going to a certain three day fair in September (more about that very soon), a crochet workshop in September and lots of Christmas fairs to start getting ready for. Yes, it has been busy! Last week I took some time out and treated myself at The British Wool Show. I was the first time that I had visited The British Wool Show, despite it been just four miles from my home. It was brilliant. Even the free shuttle bus from York had been yarnbombed…
There wasn’t the same amount of stalls that you would expect at Yarndale or the The Knitting and Stitching Show, but the quality of what was there sure made up for the quantity…
Very soon, I had spent all of my money: I take cash to places like this so that I don’t have to explain myself too much!
I bought the most beautiful yarn from; Midwinter Yarns, Truly Hooked andYarn Garden and two stunning brooches from Flet by Bridget. I have ideas whirling around my mind as to what to do with the yarn, I’ll share these with you very soon…
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06/14/2016
beside the sea-side…
I’ve not been here in blog-land for a while, because Si and I popped up to Northumberland for a few days holiday. We were really lucky to have lots of lovey sunshine and I am happy to report that we did nothing, expect walk and walk and walk along the sea-shore and in beautiful gardens…
12/03/2015
crochet inspiration…
Last Friday, I went on my annual trip to the Knitting and Stitching Show, in Harrogate, (yes I went last year, and the year before, and the year before) and as ever it was brilliant. The things that I loved most about the Knitting and Stitching Show, isn’t the shopping (although that was amazing) it is seeing the creativity of other artists. One artist that I was drawn to this year was Sophie Digard…
Sophie’s exhibition, hosted by Selvedge magazine, featured her amazing crochet. I thought that I’d take some photos for you lovelies so that you can see her amazing work…
The catalogue, which supported the exhibition, explained more about Sophie and her inspirations, I particularly loved the pages that showed the photographs next to the finished work…
Isn’t Sophie’s work just fabulous? It reminded me of the diversity of crochet, from Sophie’s delicate work through to Felieke Van Der Leest work that I featured a a few weeks ago..
Isn’t crochet just the best?!?
10/07/2015
amazing exhibition featuring crochet: Into the Zoo…
It’s been a bit quiet here in blog-land, as I’ve been away. You’ll be hearing quite a lot about my time away over the next few weeks. I’m not going to apologise for telling you about my time away, I’ve had an amazing time and can’t wait to share some of it with you!
I want to start with the most amazing exhibition that I have ever visited. The exhibition featured crochet: in a way that I have never seen before. The exhibition was inspiration, fun, poignant, thought-provoking but most of all you walked around with a giant grin on your face.
The exhibition was at the Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum, which is the national museum of decorative arts and design, in Trondheim, Norway. The exhibition Into the Zoo featured work by the incredibly talented Felieke Van Der Leest . Felieke Van Der Leest combines plastic animals with precious metals and textile techniques, especially crochet, to create a zoo where humor and seriousness go hand in hand. The aim of her work is to appeal to both the inquisitive child and the playful adults: and it certainly did.
Want to see?
This is a small selection of Felieke Van Der Leest amazing creations on display. If you’re grinning like I was when I saw her work, I would recommend treating yourself to a copy of the exhibition book the Zoo of Life. The book has lots and lots of photographs of Felieke Van Der Leest’s work and also explains the thinking behind some of her creations. The book is a lovely memory of this amazing exhibition and will put a smile on your face!
Thank you for the staff at Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum who allow photographs (without flash) to be taken in the galleries! If this exhibition ever comes to your country, please, please, please, get yourself along!
09/02/2015
lovely, lovely, September…
Ok, so this post is going to be similar to the post I wrote you this time last year, and the year before and the year before and the year before! I’m not going to apologise: I just love, LOVE, L-O-V-E September. September, for me is the very best of all the months: there is still a hint of Summer in the air, but there is a twang of Autumn with cool mornings and dew on the ground. It is in September when Mother Nature buts on her very best show, the changing colours of the trees and the decaying seed heads that exploded like fireworks all over the garden. I thought I’d share some of those fireworks with you…
I hope you enjoy Autumn as much as I do? Let me know about your favourite season…
All photos were taken at Helmsley Walled Garden it’s well worth a visit if you’re in the area!
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08/26/2015
an ancestral gift: a truly inspirational exhibition (part two)…
More wonderful, amazing, colour and quilts from the Ancestral Gifts exhibition at York’s Quilt Museum. The exhibition is curated by Kaffe Fassett and conjunction with The Quilters’ Guild Collection. Kaffe Fassett has taken quilts from the historic collection and used them as inspiration for designing his own quilts, using his own genius use of colour. I really hope some of you have been able to visit the exhibition: but just in case you haven’t…
Enjoy!
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08/19/2015
an ancestral gift: a truly inspirational exhibition (part one)…
I’ve had the morning off work, so I decided to visit The Quilt Museum in York. The Quilt Museum is one of my favourite museums in York. At the end of October the Museum will closes it’s doors for the last time, but before it does please make sure you pay it a visit. The exhibition that is one at the moment (running until 5th September) is a real show stopper. The exhibition Ancestral Gifts is curated by Kaffe Fassett and conjunction with The Quilters’ Guild Collection. Kaffe Fassett has taken quilts from the historic collection and used them as inspiration for designing his own quilts, using his own genius use of colour. The quilts hang in pairs, so that you can see how they work together. The museum is a a wash with colour, a feast for the eyes and your allowed to take photographs!
My photographs are substitute for visiting but if you can’t make it to York in the next few weeks they will (hopefully) give you an idea of the quality of the exhibition. So, here are a few of the picis that I took and I’ll share some more with you next week…
07/14/2015
water lilly inspiration…
Last Saturday was a really sunny Saturday, so me and Si decided to head to Burnby Hall. Burnby Hall, is a stunning garden, about half an hour drive from York, which is full of beautiful plants and ponds full water lillies and some of the biggest fish you’ll ever see. It is well worth a visit. As we wandered around, inspiration started to creep in: I could crochet a water lilly! Naturally, I took lots of photos…
Now all I have to do(!) is use the inspiration that I found and spend some hooky time, playing with yarn and experimenting. I’ll let you know how I get along and hopefully very soon I’ll have a pattern to share with you. I’m already thinking a crochet water lilly cushion, or even blanket!
Helen
I love to create beautiful things out of yarn. I love textile crafts, especailly crochet.
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