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source

bristol love

i don't know how many times i can say how much i love this city and here are two people who i think capture it wonderfully.

sarah matthews has done some beautiful bristol illustrations which you can see more of on her blog and you can also buy them. i'll definitely buy at least one for myself but think they would make lovely presents for people too.

 

these are photos taken by kate at that kate's blog and she takes truly wonderful photos of bristol. click the blog link to see many more.

treats

when i started the process of writing up my empirical data i promised myself some treats along the way. with my holiday to italy fast approaching, i have been extremely careful about what i eat and have virtually cut out alcohol so champagne and cake are not a great option.

as i mentioned in my previous post, i have a birthday coming up and so decided to buy myself a generous present. i have considered knitting a throw on and off for years and i might one day start some sort of patchwork blanket to be completed over a decade but, for now, i would rather spend A LOT less money on a machine-knitted throw than splash cash on wool to make my own. why oh why does yarn have to be so expensive?

anyway, i have just ordered the above throw and, since i have been working on the chapter from hell, would feel i deserved it even if i didn't have a birthday coming up.

but the best treat imaginable is having some time off to spend with friends who will be visiting next week from cyprus. CANNOT wait.

photo of lara (with her baby thalis) taken by her sister clio.
throw available from here.

abby's illustrations

i regularly see lovely illustrations and other talents displayed on the internet but i don't want to write about everything i see as i don't want that to the be the purpose of this blog. for the moment, i want to capture my knitting adventures but also share with you some of the handmade goodness from people that i know or know of. that way it means more. to me anyway.

i regularly ooh and ah at the work of abby wright so thought i would showcase her work here. especially since she has just graduated and is selling some of her (framed) prints over on her blog. she also documents the process of her work which is interesting to see. i thought these gaga prints were fun.

go and pay her a visit if you like what you see.

short-term incentives

i have draft posts piling up in my head as i write up the first (of four) empirical chapters of my (eight chapter) thesis. the road is long.. and the posts (on italy, china, things i've knitted recently, knitting for japan, bristol, why i have no interest in pinterest, mini rant (oops trying to stay positive) etc etc) will have to wait.

the good news is i'm enjoying the process more than i thought i would. the bad news is i'm a week behind but i can't let the deadlines shift or i'll be still be doing this at christmas. but let's get back to the positives. i am going to be able to take a (wait for it) WHOLE day off on easter sunday. and i have spotted a few fun things on the interweb i'd like to make. chances are i'll just flake out, eat lots of yummy food and cuddle with my almost-too-old-for-cuddles nieces, which will be just lovely too. i also hope to make some sort of interesting alcoholic concoction or lavender lemonade but can't find the links (mine and others) just now as my mind is fRRazzled.

botanical eggs. spotted here and instructions here.

bunny biscuits. spotted here and recipe here.

pattern here

all a bit cutesy but fun (i think) too.

have a lovely easter everyone x

obsessive consumption

the other week i was reading veronica's blog and spotted this rather fun illustrated food diary from this blog

it reminded me of this book i bought last year as a present

where kate bigaman burt chronicles everything she bought over a year. it's a really lovely book.

then, again on veronica's blog (can you tell i'm a fan?), i spotted this illustrated fashion diary

illustration is such a wonderful way of capturing these daily choices in our lives.

toilet roll silhouettes

spotted here

japanese chocolate guinness cupcakes

i made these chocolate guinness cupcakes back in august. once again, i can't link to the post as it failed to import properly from posterous. i'll get around to posting the recipe at some point...

i defrosted them as an extra pudding option for dad's 70th birthday and, instead of adding cream cheese icing, we ate them with single cream - a much tastier option i think.

i added these lovely paper decorations brought back for me by my brother and sister-in-law from japan.

via

 
here are some pictures from my current favourite blog. liivia is a finnish artist and, though i have no idea what she's saying, the photos are gorgeous and show glimpses of her daily life. there are simply too many lovely ones to show all my favourites here but visit her blog to see many, many more.

she recently visited berlin and took so many beautiful shots of my favourite parts - kreuzberg (where my brother recently lived) and prenzlauerberg (where i would live if i lived in berlin). she reminded me of all the wonderful cafes there and i really must go back and visit.

liivia is a knitter which makes her blog all the more wonderful

little winter

this weekend i would love to be in portland for the little winter market which sells beautiful handmade goods.

recycled boat sheds

seen here. ronnie citron-fink describes:

"In an incredible example of adaptive reuse, resourceful fishermen on Holy Island in the UK have   transformed these retired wooden fishing vessels into stunning storage sheds. Each beautifully-aged boat has been flipped upside down and retrofitted with a door to allow it to serve a second life as a safe harbor for tools and other goods".

truly beautiful

gas bird

i love this. via

plastic life

when i saw the silhouettes created out of toilet rolls, it reminded me of other lives in miniature.

you can see the whole set of plastic life here

baby giraffe

another reason to learn to crochet. as spotted here

hmong love

i love this post from veronica (see her wonderful blog here)


In Vietnam, the Hmong represent the primary ethnic group in mountainous regions. And, within this group, several subcultures exist. I am so inspired by their use of colour - how can you not smile whilst looking at these beautiful photos?

pics via here

and here