Back to white

Those of you accustomed to reading my blog (thankyou) will wonder why the colour keeps changing. Well, it's all part of my experimental attempt to refresh and revive my blog, which I believe is in need of a facelift. However, having lived with the pale blue background for a few weeks now, I feel rather like someone who's been experimenting with paint swatches in their living room. I've decided that the blue doesn't really work. Yes, I love colour (as you'll see from the rather rainbow-like palette of my entries) but settling on the style of your blog is a bit like designing your home: you can really only introduce colour in your accessories and furniture if the background is fairly neutral so that it doesn't all become one big dizzy mess! So, for now, until I go and learn how to do this properly, I am going back to white. Anyone know of a short, cheap, blog designing course you can do in London? Surely, this could be SO MUCH BETTER!

I'm Gaga for hats!

This isn't usually a blog that deals with celebrity, but I was reading my freebie newspaper on the way to work the other day, trawling through the mostly dreary news, when I saw something that made my milliner's heart jump for joy and do a little dance! Apparently, Philip Treacy is taking Lady Gaga on as an intern! Yes - the "chapeaued-up chantoosay" (nice description!) is going to learn to make her own titfers. The mind boggles as to what she might come up with. She's already sashayed on the stage in statement making headgear like a telephone, a flying saucer, and antlers. This is going to be fun fun fun - and will do wonders for the comeback of the hat. I doubt however that Lady Gaga will be thrilled at the wages and conditions that most milliners have to deal with- not much cash and half an hour lunch break. Hmm...do you think she'll cope?

By popular demand

I saw a bag similar to this one a few months ago being carried by a woman at Kings Cross Station in London. It really stood out, and I jotted down the Duttons For Buttons logo. When I looked it up on the internet, I discovered that Duttons is a much loved and enduring button shop in the North of England (the parent company was established in Leeds in 1906). One of the girls who works there had this great idea - to print a picture of buttons onto a re-usable hessian bag so that customers could then sew their own favourite buttons onto the bag. I just had to have one! What an imaginative way to display your button stash! I stitched on some buttons found at my favourite market, and had fun hunting down a few special ones from other places too. I've had SO many lovely comments from people about this bag. If you get one, you will find you make new friends wherever you go! The new IT bag! Just click here to to order your own.

....Just another ordinary day....

1.mwah!

2. my button bag catches attention wherever i go - especially caught the lovely bright eyes of a little girl in a wheelchair on the tube. i willed her to look at it to give her some sparkle and hope

3. me and news are in the process of a long and difficult divorce

4. scrambled egg and smoked salmon is just the best

5. lemon or lime? i don't mind if it's lime or lemon

6. i am love with a flat in Montrose that I wish I could buy

7. why is all my love unrequited?

8. i now know alot about may day around the world

9. my neighbour's borrowed cat has not been round for days

10. i love sitting in my bed looking out of my window at the trees dripping with rain

11. i wish i could just make things all day long

12. i have a new hair rat which is just going to be so fab(see forthcoming styles) if you don't know what a hair rat is....then watch this space!

13. hands up if you'd like to come to a boutique crafting weekend in my imaginery flat in Montrose!

14. should one really eat a whole bag of M&S salt and pepper cashew nuts all in one go for tea?

15. washed down with three glasses of wine?

A make your way hat

I found these great vintage guide and scout badges on e-bay recently and plan to use them in all sorts of ways. I think they'd make a great trim for a hat. The cloche hat on the left is one I made from scratch and then trimmed with various badges dyed in tea to give them that vintage look. Very "grand tour" don't you think?

Sew and save

Some great tips in this reproduction of Joanna Chase's book from the days of rationing. When I have time, I'm going to try out some of the patterns.

My pad - just because home is so important