RECYCLED SILK

I got this bundle of colourful joy from a shop called 'Happy Herbal High' in Cairns, Queensland, Australia.

 Look at the colours!

They have a store in Camden too. 

Which is good, as I feel I need more than the one ball already.

Inspirational Jewellery {19th Century V&A}

A few exquisite wonders that drew me in & what they are ~

Spotted on a fleeting dash around the V&A museum, circa 15mins before it was closing...

Fairtrade Fortnight + Vivienne Westwood Appreciation

Fairtrade fortnight has started today!

One of the cutest shops I've found was a few years ago in Harrogate... A little fairtrade shop being run by a darling elderly lady in the archway of an old church.  The curved, rustic walls were climbing with handmade jewellery, finger puppets, bags and all sorts.  I'm still so in love with this hand crafted bangle I got myself:

Another fave 'ethical buy' of mine is this t-shirt dress I got last year from People Tree.  Fairtrade, organic cotton and very, very cool...

 It was exclusively designed by Vivienne Westwood -

with some of her wise words on it to boot:

On the subject of the great Dame herself; this artical on her in last week's Metro (20th Feb) put a smile on my face:

 'We are so conformist, nobody is thinking.  We are all sucking up stuff, we have been trained to be consumers and we are all consuming far too much.'

Couldn't agree more with her!

Maybe buying a few less 'unnecessaries' and spending a smidge of that extra money on fairtrade products could make such a difference. 

We're talking food & clothes here - who doesn't like buying either of those?

It's all about consumer power!

How about buying some 'moral coffee' (as a good friend of mine likes to call it...), get some fairtrade bananas in the fruit bowl, go treat yourself to a nice big bar of chocolate (made from tasty fairtrade cocoa) and have a little clicky on the link I've posted below.

Without wanting to like I'm getting into a rant I shall end here and go make myself a nice cup of afternoon tea.  Fairtrade tea - of course...

CHECK OUT MORE ABOUT TAKING A STEP TOWARDS FAIRTRADE

Cord.Knitted.Necklaces.

A few necklaces made from hand knitted cords.

The first was made from the leftover yarn after knitting a pair of socks.  I began french knitting to see how long it would be.  It was very long; so then I crocheted a chain with the cord using my hands instead of a hook.

The second is made from a knitted i-cord (using two double pointed needles).

 To begin you knit a large 'bead' and then again when the cord is long enough to finish.

These were my very first attempts at knitting beads, so I could use a bit more practice but overall am happy with it.

This second necklace I knitted from the pattern Gaucho's Lariat from Domiknitrix by Jennifer Stafford.

Bike-Chain-Maile

Recycled bicycle chain links, stainless steel & aluminium.

It has more of an 'amour' feel to it than my previous designs and I love the way the links have a sense of free flowing yet still manage to retain the 'solid' shape around the neckline.

This is a new design I have put together for the amazing Tracey of Los Parcheros; beautiful handmade jewellery... Worth checking out!I'll be working on some more chain maile soon.

Lacy Summer Socks

I knitted these over a year ago... You may be able to see they have been well-worn if you look closely at the photos, so thought I'd better post them already:

 These were the first socks I knitted from the toe-up and was so happy with the sleeker result.

 The top edge is cast-off loosely and due to the nature of the pattern they create this charming, flowing cuff:

I think they're one of my favourite pairs of socks and definitely ones that get the most compliments!

The pattern comes from Knitting Lingerie Style (Joan MGowan-Michael), I'm also in the midst of finishing a knitted bra from the same publication.

New [old] Cardi {AYOKA}

I finally got round to paying a visit to Ayoka; a charity shop run by the St Margarets House Settlement.  Before I knew it was one of their projects, I used to cycle past it on my commute to work and was always intrigued to pay it a visit.

The shop is small and requires a bit of a rummage in some corners... Organised but still a bittle of a jumble... Just they way charity shops should be.

I got this beaut of a cardi there:

 Check out the crocheted epaulettes

 What makes this cardi like none other I've seen are these fantastic crocheted patches (doilies!) on the side, spreading from front to back.

 The front and back sections have been knitted separately and stitches cast off/on to leave an open space for the crochet design to be sewn into; the picot edge allowed to float freely.

Along the arms is a criss-cross and bobble pattern; 

not too dissimilar to the cardigan I am knitting for myself at the moment:

St Margarets House run so many different projects; including the Gallery Cafe, literally next door to the charity shop.  I stopped in there for lunch & ended up staying for hours... All the food is either vegetarian or vegan and very reasonably priced; I had a homemade vegan burger and it was probably the best I've found in London yet!

Take a look at their website as they also hold craft/sewing events there too... I might try to get involved!

Jar o' Buttons

A friend of mine recently gave me this little jar of button-y goodness:

 The jar stands 2.5" tall and is filled to the brim with second hand & vintage buttons.

A present I was very happy to receive...

Looking forward to using them!

Finger Knitted Necklace [V&A]

I spent today at the V&A Museum volunteering with the Craft Club.

As it is half term we were teaching children of all ages (and some parents) to finger knit.

Here is my effort:

 A rather tasteful orange/purple number I fashioned into a necklace

 Think I could be onto something here...

Knitted Bikes

Spotted on my recent visit to Australia.
Along one of the main roads of Adelaide's town centre, this wonderful creations really added a great vibe to the street and drew me in like crazy to get a closer look at all the details that had been put into them.

 This blue beauty was the first I noticed, then the rest followed. 

Looking at it I wondered how long it took.  Well, the ones that I saw afterwards really stole the question when I saw them...

 This flowered beauty was amazing...

 I can't imagine how long it must have taken to knit all those loops for these wheels!

Check out these crafty little guys on the wheels!

Bikes, Knitting, Nature :)

 This chap didn't have so much decoration on his frame, but the fantastic idea of turning the bull bars into a bull is shear genius!  WHAT a mane...

 This rainbow bike was so eye-catching! A whole sky scene on one wheel vehicle:

 Check out the rad disc wheels:

 There was even a little owl nestled on the back wheel

  Then around the corner this little guy was lurking!

 I so want to make one! I wonder if these pieces are subject to 'yarn bombing' or a seperate project conconcted by locals to do something positive and cheerful with the adandoned bikes of the city?  I have so much respect for all the time spent knitting & crocheting all of these.  They're so much fun!