bookcase

I am thinking of making this bookcase my new project. How hard can it be? I'll buy 50 metres of plywood, a saw and we'll see how it goes!

image via studiomama

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, comrades!

image: Soviet Christmas cards, via mazaika

sledging

Went sledging with my brother's family this afternoon. Man, is it cold out there. We only managed four slides before we gave up from the cold. It was particularly beautiful - look at that blue sky!- so I was glad to stand on top of a nursery slope and take it all in.

calendars

Calendars are just an annual excuse for me to indulge in my stationery ('e' for pencil, as I now remind myself) obsession. For 2010 I have four calendars and yes, it is completely unnecessary to have that number of calendars. There are two of them in my tiny kitchen.

So this year, I'm aiming to contain myself and only buy one for my office and one for home. I spent a delightful hour trawling design and stationery blogs to pick my favourites and here are the ones in the running to become Sarah's next top calendar.

from top:

hand silk screened lunar calendar by sunken treasure

wooden rabbit calendar by the paper thieves

laser cut calendar by rob ryan

poster calendar by yellowlion

cat calendar teatowel by kauniste

poster calendar by caitlin keegan (extra points for writing space)

'hooray hands' desk calendar by curious doodles

astrology calendar by prismatic

snow

Scotland is covered in snow right now and we got some in our little village too. Normally it misses us out, but the sky was banked with snow clouds and it fell for hours. It looked really pretty, which almost makes up for the total havoc it caused.

I took these photos from my garden. I thought the church spire looked particularly spooky.

shetland wool

I just bought heaps of shetland wool the other day. It's a really lovely yarn - soft, but holds well, lightweight and very warm. It is not as soft as cashmere or merino, but it wears much better than either with no bobbling. Sometimes I prefer seeing a big basket full of wool than actually knitting it. With a basket full of wool, you can still dream about all the amazing things you will make...whereas knitting is all about losing count, cursing and unravelling.

rob ryan

I've been following Rob Ryan's work for a few years now and always hoped that one day I would magically own one of his papercuts. My favourites have come and go, but his new work for TAG Fine Arts is spectacular even by his standards. This one is my all-time favourite, no question.

image via TAG fine arts

h&m home

I suppose these might look really cheap in real life, but I can't help getting a little excited by the washed linen pieces from h&m's home collection. I know fake vintage-style is despicable and Priscilla 'style-maven' Carluccio puts it top of her hate-list, but still! Is it really that bad? Real vintage linen is a freakin' fortune and these are so affordable! Please, please, pleeeease can I buy some? Just the napkins and the 'Cinammon' cushion cover and then I'm done, I swear.

images via loveandfolly and h&m

quilts

I love these quilts, from the collection of African-American textiles at this gallery. As soon as the cold weather starts, I become obsessed with bundling up. There is nothing quite so nice as being wrapped up in a beautiful blanket. It goes without saying, of course, that there is absolutely no excuse for the 'slanket'. What a wasted opportunity for some good old blanket time. Slankets are so...undignified. (This is coming from the girl who secretly likes getting colds because then I can reasonably wear pyjamas all day and drag the duvet down to the couch to watch tv. My standards are puh-ritty low.)

images via ricco maresca, via arrow and arrow

VERABEL + FOX

A freakin' awesome collaboration between artist Alyson Fox and jewellery maker Verabel. Alyson's original illustrations have been screen-printed over vintage lockets and the finish looks honest-to-goodness as though they have been enamelled. When I looked earlier, there were still some left in the shop, but I have a feeling they won't last long. Thanks Eve for sending me this link!

images via alyson fox and verabel

ballerina project

Ridiculously beautiful photographs from the Ballerina Project by artist Dane Shitagi. It is an ongoing series of portraits of dancers against city landscapes. You can follow it here and even buy a limited edition print.

images by Dane Shitagi; found via for me, for you

broken umbrella

(Actually, my umbrella hasn't broken yet, but it is only a matter of time...)

This time last year, I went in search of a decent umbrella. The wind and rain in Scotland is dreadful and I was fed up wrestling with flimsy compacts. Trying to get an umbrella to behave while trying to cross the road in the midst of a gale and lashing rain is dangerous, not to mention humiliating. I thought that one of those clear bell umbrellas that cover you would be just the ticket. And it's been ok, but not as good as I'd hoped. Firstly, you can't actually see through it very well because of the raindrops. Duh. So obvious and yet...not. Secondly, it isn't as gust-proof as I though it would be. It has never turned inside-out, but it still takes on a life of its own in the wind. And thirdly, it has started to break. A spoke has cracked and burst through the top and the button-strap has pulled off. So far, I can live with it but I get angry and then feel bad for getting angry at my poor umbrella. It's basically a bad situation and we'd both be better off if I ended it.

So I'm thinking of investing in a Senz umbrella. Oooo. The most easily displaced piece of groundbreaking technology and award-winning design you'll ever own. There are a few different colours and patterns available on their webshop, but I like the limited edition prints by Mina Perhonen. They are mostly sold out, but I found some still available here. This time, it better work or I'm emigrating.

images via senz by mina perhonen

WLTM madras cardigan

Dear Pink Cardigan, Saw you in Goodstead the other week and liked your style. I promise to wear you daily and NEVER put you in a washing machine. I am short and messy, GSOH.

image via apc

wiksten skirts

I'm really looking forward to trying out the Tova shirt pattern and in the spirit of all things 'Wiksten', here are my two other efforts so far. They are versions of the tulip skirt pattern that was featured in 'Stitch' magazine. (It's a US publication, but I managed to track down a UK stockist.) The pattern is so, so, so easy to understand and at the same time, very professional. The finishing details on this pattern are particularly impressive! I'm not a very good seamstress, but I took it slowly and carefully, followed all the instructions and pressed constantly*.

My first version was in navy blue. I bought some lovely Irish linen, which was insanely difficult to cut accurately, but I managed to get everything to sort of line up. I used some gold thread for the top stitching and faux-tortoisehell buttons with brass edging.

I've just made a second version in tan cord. This time, I changed things up a little. I put in belt loops instead of ties to make the waistband less bulky. Cord is...bulky. I also used shirting for the facing pieces, same reason. Then, at the last minute, I decided to only put in two buttons and then sew the rest of the placket up the middle. Crazy! I think it worked out okay, though.

Soon, I'll have a couple of tops to match...come on, Mr Postman!

* Wendy Mullin's sewing-for-starter's book, 'Sew U', is pretty essential in my view.

happy socky-socky, happy sock, do-do-de-do

Check me out! I am very proud of my adventure in sock-making. I used this miracle of a pattern and it went off without a hitch. I was excited and nervous about making these. I've never spent so much on so little yarn before, but I really wanted a pair of socks that I could LOVE. And knitting with the yarn was actually exciting. No, really. I had no idea how the yarn was going to resolve itself. Where all the colours and speckles were going to end up. Handpainted yarns are magical and magic, well, it's priceless.

The bottom picture is me in my Toast oxfords, with my trousers rolled up. I think the socks really save this look. Without them, I'd just look silly.