i heart ... crafty edition

Oh long neglected Birch -- I'll finish you someday...

:: winding wool embroidery by juneatnoon

:: these cutie booties by terhimon

:: these knitted baby pants (free pattern) by Harumidori desgins

:: this viking cowl pattern by Whisper Twister

Baby sophisticate

I made this little comfy cardi for a colleague's soon-to-be-born little person.

The sleeves are maybe a little snug and I did have thoughts about ripping it back. But in the end, laziness won the day. I also figured the wee one won't be heading to the gym to work on his or her pythons anytime soon, so maybe the sleeve squeeze won't be a problem after all.

Pattern: Baby sophisticate

Yarn: Berroco Vintage Chunky on 5.5 mm needles

Betty Draper blues

So, who is excited about the return of Mad Men?

I bought this yarn many moons ago -- I think I read about the name (and truly, it is a great great name for a shade of blue) which led me to Madelinetosh's site.

Happy knitting friends :)

i heart ... pep talk edition

Little flower - taken June 2009

Some happy thoughts, should you need a wee boost...

:: Ira Glass on creative work 
 (and if you're inclined, watching the whole clip is pretty fantastic too...)

:: Happy days ahead at Words Over Pixels

:: Suzy Taylor on enjoying the little big things

:: Sarah Gardner on a pretty amazing life

:: Ben Franklin's daily schedule via Flowing Data

Ciao Bella! (for now)

This was certainly my comfort knitting project this winter. I love the beauty of this pattern - long cuffs, snug ribbing and a pretty horseshoe cable up the centre. If you are looking for a cozy mitten, this certainly fits the bill.

Here is my last pair (for now at least) -- this one I'm keeping and tucking away for next winter.

Details on ravelry

Sheep, scenery and berets!

I was just perusing the site of Herdy, a sweet little shop I visited in the Lake District and came across these videos. The first video allows for a good peek inside the store and the second one offers some spectacular scenery (and a sheep sporting a smart, hand-knit beret... I mean, seriously, how can you resist?)

Videos from the Herdy blog

Stripey goodness

Some recent finished projects! 

Both plain vanilla socks (but pleasing nonetheless!) Top pair Regia Kaffe Fassett yarn and the bottom Opal.

i heart... embroidery edition

Choosing colours for a new project

:: inspiration from book covers - over at kleio's belly

:: embroidered bookmark tutorial - at heatherhalesdesigns

:: sweet sayings - from Yellow Dandy

:: all about the running stitch - from Sarah's Hand Embroidery tutorials

A lovely little embroidery kit

Look at what my dear friend D made for me! It is the most perfect embroidery kit ever, complete with a pair of scissors, a lavender filled pin cushion, a deluxe stitch ripper, pretty scissors, an always handy tape measure and pins and needles.

It is a true treasure indeed - thank you, thank you, thank you dear D!

The pattern is from iheartlinen's book Zakka Style.

Scenes from London

And finally, a few scenes of London and Greenwich.

What a good time we had running through museums, drinking tea, walking through parks, taking pictures and finding our way.

Thanks C, it was fun fun fun from start to finish!

'I wandered lonely as a cloud'

Grasmere - taken February 2012




As a little adventure while in Liverpool, I hopped on a train with several routes and back-up plans in hand and travelled to Windermere in the Lake District. I will admit that I was about 97 per cent positive that I would get terribly lost.

After passing through lovely and lush green villages, I arrived and caught a local bus that drove through several sweet little towns all the way up to Grasmere. Little daffodils were peeking out -- just as I hoped for the true Wordsworth experience.

St. Oswald's Church

Sarah Nelson's gingerbread shop


I bought some delicious gingerbread and wandered through the town until I stumbled upon this sweet little shop called Herdy. Isn't that just the sweetest face? I think so too.

Look at these sweet girls decked out in their finery!


 I hopped back on the bus as dusk was falling and felt a little sad to be leaving so soon. Luckily, I was sitting near some kids happily chatting about the Muppets movie and that made me smile.


A very nice day indeed :)

i heart:

Liverpool Museum - February 2012

:: this sweet Denise or Denephew free pattern on Ravelry (via Webs)

:: pompom (lovelovelove pompoms) garland on Jorth

:: this Cabin and Cub corkboard

:: the happy face on Secret Holiday's little pup

:: and finally, Mollie Makes - good golly! what a magazine!!

Scenes from Liverpool

The Albert Dock

Liverpool love padlock

"A case history" on Hope Street

Wise words from Sir Paul at the Beatles Experience

Thanks Liverpool -- I have nothing but the happiest of memories of my time in the friendliest city in the U.K.!

Well hello!

Greenwich - March 2012

What a lovely adventure I had with my dear friend!

More pics to come :)