Home Inspiration 6

Instead of this post there should be pictures of my finished quilt, but I have had no time to take pictures - lame excuse but a real one... I should be able to take some over the weekend.

Anyway, I am also very excited about this new post, because not only I am in love with the shelves I am about to show you, but it is also waiting to be assembled in my house.

Let me introduce the Ellips shelves. They come from Germany (you need to get in touch with them if you are not based in Germany) and they are awesome. As far as I am concerned, shelving units are the basic necessities of any home, in my case because of the sheer volume of books I own. While you have a hundred varieties of shelving unit in the market, most of them are designed on the same boring straight line concept.But here is the Big Jim shelf...

What do you think? Amazing... no?

These shelves are assembled from specially cut pieces of wood to play tricks on the eye, adding extra fluidity to a room that could not be achieved by the usual, bulky, rectangular shelving unit.

We own a very long sofa, and we (OK, I) bought the Jive Horizontal, which should make the room longer. That's the theory, the practice should be revealed in a couple of months..Cannot wait! I leave you with the picture of my future shelf...

Home Inspiration 5

Can a girl have enough cushions in her life? Nope... Here are some beautiful cushions made by Charlene Mullen Wonderable collection (isn't that a cute name?). I love the combination of monochrome and London landscapes.

Each graphic “piece” is beautifully crafted with extraordinary attention to detail.

She has found inspiration in a wide range of areas such as Elizabethan blackwork embroidery, the London architectural landscape, and botanical drawings, and created machine embroidered, luxury textiles. I love the geometric collection - I am looking at sashiko techniques, and I am really inspired.

I am running out of space, but check out the Folk collection as well (crocheted colelction) - so beautiful... Apparenthy they are available at Liberty and I may just have to go...

M's scarf

I finally get a chance to post some pictures of the scarf I knitted for M's birthday... finished a bit of time ago bu was still very late for his birthday.

I used 4mm needles, it is an easy 1x1 ribbing pattern, 2 rows for each colour. I used a whole skein of the Sirdar Denim Tweed DK (Shade 0644) and (probably) half a skein of the Opal Hundertwasser (sock) yarn. The scarf is not really wide (35 stitches wide) but if I were to make one for myself I would probably make it wider.

I really like the colour effect, and it is a great project to take in the car (until we got lost and I had to focus on reading the map). But it is a bit boring.

Did you notice my favourite mug in the background (made by yours truly), very wonky but I love it! Off to Zurich in a couple of hours, so better get packing...

Home Inspiration 4

She designed her first Valentine’s heart made of driftwood, when she was managing a designer interiors store in Dartmouth in 2001. And the story goes that within 30 minutes of it going on show, it sold.

In 2007, she was commissioned to make five large sculptures for fashion designer Julien Macdonald.

She now designs some of her work, but because of the rareness of driftwood and the physical work involved, she had to start outsourcing production - her 'deisgned by' range. Karen Miller sells through her website, but I also saw some of her work on not in the highstreet on-line shop.

And still I may not be able to buy it. This time it is not the price that is stopping me, but the theme of our new rooms. If we had a beach house (even small), I would have the whole lot, but in London surbubia... Hmmm not sure... Although since I have set my eyes on this little item, I am sure I could fit that little item for Christmas. What do you think?

{Why} I Make My Own

Rachel who writes the wonderful Stitched in Color blog has asked the all important question why I make my own things... I already have a job, I have an hour and a half commute every day, but still all I want to do in the evening is knit, sew, make the cushion covers for my new home and even my curtains, or new bowls. And I do wonder sometimes: why can't I stop?

Because I love the process of making things. I am interested in the final object to a certain extent but I love knitting, sewing, making it. It may explain why I have started so many projects and finished so few. But I am getting better, I have even picked up a project I started more than 15 years ago! And also I need things to be done for the new house.

Also I love the fact that I do not have to compromise. It can the dimensions I want, the colour scheme I want, the texture I want... Do not get me wrong I buy high street objects, but the ones I really like are out of my price range, because they are one-offs.. which brings me back to do my own...

So why do you make your own? If you publish a post explaining why, link it back to Rachel's blog.

Home inspiration 4

I first fell in love with the so-called ‘Urchin Poufs’ in the Netherlands. They look so soft and cuddly. I knew then and there that they would be the perfect addition to my home.

Netherlands-based designer Christien Meindertsma, who works under the brand name Flocks, created the poufs by knitting on enormous needles, using her own hand-felted wool. The Urchin Poufs exist in different colours and different sizes. Poufs are very versatile as they can be used as extra seating, foot rests or even coffee tables. Imagine all these bright colours scattered around a room. You can also store them in a corner of a room.

I have not yet talked about the price tag... Let’s say it may explain why I don’t have one (yet) in my living room. However if you are a keen knitter, Pickles in Norway offer you the chance to knit your own Puff Daddy pouf with a free pattern. I may have a go at extreme knitting... Has anyone tried?