Rosy Lady

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Manky bananas:

and some tender loving care equals:

Banana bread, mmm...

I reckon with a bit of effort on our part most of the less pleasant things in life can be turned into something positive.  

xx

Hello doilie

I was looking through some of my photos and thought I'd share some of the photos that I've taken of doilies.  When I started this post, I suddenly wondered whether doily or doilie was the correct name as this is what we used to call it in South Africa.  Wikipedia describes it as follows:

A doily (or doilie) is an ornamental mat, originally the name of a fabric, from Doiley, a 17th century London draper.^[1] They are usually made of cotton or linen thread, often crocheted but may also be knitted. Openwork allows the underlying surface to show through. In addition to their decorative function, doilies have the utilitarian role of protecting fine-wood furniture from the scratches caused by crockery or decorative objects.

These photos were taken at the same place as the heirloom textiles, which I shared here.I don't feel that these are the best examples of doilies though.  I remember my mum had some doilies that my grandmothers made which had three-dimentional flowers crocheted in different colours on them.  I will have to photograph those when I go to South Africa in December.

xx

Spoonflower voting now open

I just wanted to let you know that voting for the Spoonflower fabric of the week has begun.  They've had over 70 entries for this contest and have displayed the entries as 10 designs per page over 7 pages.  You get to vote for 3 designs per page.  The designs with the most votes will be short-listed for a final vote next week.  If you wanted to vote, you can do so right here.  You don't need to register to vote so, it is a quick process.  My design is number 17 on the 2nd page. I would really appreciate your vote :-)

If you need a reminder of my entry, you can either scroll down to the heading Dahlias and antique teaspoons or, just click here.

 After yesterday's post, you'll be glad to know that I undertake to dilly-dally less, get my finger out and crack on with the steps that I know I need to take to become a textile and surface pattern designer.  As part of that, I have decided to learn Illustrator as I have found Photoshop to be great in some aspects but limiting when you're trying to draw or illustrate something.  I have downloaded the 30 day free trial and so far I am impressed enough to think that I will get it.  

Have a nice day.

xx

Just keeping it real

This week I have really felt like I was trying to swim in a stormy sea.  

The waves looked big and it all felt so hopeless.

 

Today in particular filled me with so much dread because I knew that I had to face something that scared me so much.  I got through it but it made me re-evaluate my goals and where I see myself and how I am working to get myself there and out of a *job, which quite frankly, I find abusive.  I have to do this for myself because I have to be true to myself.  Life is too short to feel like this about a job, right?  This is not easy but I wanted to keep it real.  I am so incredibly thankful for every day that I have with my biggest support.

*Edit:  I wanted to just clarify that I am talking about my day job, which is not design related in any way.  

You are my love, hope and peace.  My light tower on a distant hill.

xx

First day of Autumn

xx

Dahlias and antique teaspoons

I've decided to enter the weekly themed textile design competition held by Spoonflower.  The theme is 'spoons and flowers'.  I like the challenge of an unusual theme and thought I'd give it a go.  

I started my inspiration with a teaspoon from a set that my Mum gave me:

I then added some Dahlias and loads of bright colours and this is the finished result:

The closing date for entries is on Monday (tomorrow) and voting should start after that but I will let you know as soon as I know.  I would really appreciate your vote!

xx

 

Weedy beautiful

I have made an attempt with the garden in the Spring but the slugs, snails and spiders had other plans for the garden and in the end, I admitted defeat when I got fed up with all the dead plants.  This year ended up so busy with work, designing in my spare time and life in general.  So, when I ventured out into the garden this week, I was 'pleasantly' surprised by how happily the weeds were taking over.

So screw it, as much as I love flowers and beautiful gardens, I've always secretly known that I don't have 'green fingers' like the rest of my family but I can always pretend that I intended to go for the wild, untamed look.

I know it's not a bed of roses but, I think a chair covered in deep purple flowers and heart shaped leaves is a close second.

And, I make the connection that magical things happen in my garden if I just keep out of it.

Hope you have a magical weekend!

xx

Chocks away!

I like to challenge myself in terms of the design style that I use and so decided to create a World War II post card design.  My Dad is a big war airplane enthusiast and specifically the Spitfire, which is a British airplane launched in 1936.  So, when my parents visited me earlier in the year, I had to take him to the Duxford Air Museum in Cambridgeshire.

Afterwards we had a lovely afternoon in the beautiful university town of Cambridge.

Chocks away is a term used by British pilots in World War II to indicate that they were ready for take off and therefore required that the blocks placed in front of the airplanes wheels be removed for take off.

Here's to dreams taking off.  Chocks away folks!

xx

Wet wet wet

I love the look of raindrops, isn't it a great design in nature?  A way to add a bit of sparkle to a cobweb:

 Or, on Hydrangeas:

It is a wet and cloudy day today.  I know it is to be expected, it is England after all but we actually live in the part of the country with the lowest rainfall and most sunshine so, I'm not really complaining but on a day like today, I want to be warm and snug indoors.  No such luxuries today.

Hope you have a good day whatever you have to brave today.

xx

Castle inspiration

While I am thinking about architecture that inspire, I wanted to share my favourite castle with you.  These photo's were taken a couple of years ago when we went to Ireland and then travelled through Wales on our way home.  If you ever get to Wales, a visit to Cardiff Castle is well worth a visit.  The architecture is very colourful, decorate and unusual and there is an interesting history spanning over 2000 years!