I have been so quiet on the doodle front but I promise I haven’t been avoiding my doodling responsibilities. Here’s one of the many pictures I’ve been creating quietly to one side, finally the time has arrived to be able to share it with you! Red Shoe Diaries (a rather groovy Nottingham based band) are releasing their single at the start of next month. Check here for more info and to have a listen!

It’s official folks – I’ve FINALLY branched out and have a bit of knitwear for sale! Here are some snapshots of Leanne modeling the lovely woolen goodies from this mornings shoot in the local park. The shawls are now for sale in my etsy shop. Priced at £36 each. They measure roughly 45 inches x 19 and come in 3 colour schemes (classic charcoal, rusty red, true teal). If you have any specific colour requests feel free to get in touch, I love to do little custom orders.

ps – Here’s a link to lovely Leanne’s etsy shop. Beautiful prints and more.

Sorry I’ve been quiet! It’s been a busy but very fun weekend. Tom’s 30th, parties, cowboys, visiting friends, being visited by friends, drinking weird beer, late night fires, working at the cinema and then tidying and eating expensive ham and chocolate biscuits (not together)! mmmmm….

An update on the make over mission! Finding comfortable and well fitting top layers are tricky and when you do find one a year or so down the line, when it’s beginning to look a little worse for wear, you start to wish you’d bought 1 or 2 spares. Well I’m prepared this time. I found a lovely lightweight, well fitting jumper with pretty button detail on the back – good for layering as the seasons cool down but I can imagine it’ll be quite comfortable when it heats up again too. Plenty of room to move about, sit and stand and still feel smart and relaxed in. So anyway, I bought 3 – different colours of course (black – basic requirement, teal, dark dusty pink) but essentially the same jumper 3 times round. Today I’m being brave and wearing the dusty pink one…

I’ve started wearing skirts again, which means I’ve been on the hunt for some new winter legs (and by this I mean tights). I found these pretty tights in New Look – somewhere I never thought to go for tights BUT they’re actually really affordable and they have a big selection too. I tend to wear block colours and the textured tights break up the outfit a little and add some well needed pattern and detail – win win!

I’m slowly getting my head round all this and I still have a couple of tatty things in the cupboard I need to pluck up the courage to part with. It was a nice feeling waking up today with 3 lovely new items of clothing to choose from instead of thinking “I’ll wear whatever’s clean and dark”. Progress? I think so.

Yesterday I spent a grand total of 99p while walking around the Mapperley shops. I don’t own that many Agatha Christie’s, believe it or not, but the ones I do own I’ve found in charity shops and have beautiful covers. This might be the start of a new collection. The lovely bit of framed lace I came across for the grand total of 49p! You can’t really say “no” when a treasure like that pops up…

It’s begun…

In my last post I mentioned my current wardrobe crisis and what I thought I should do about it. Your wonderful positive feedback and stories have encouraged me to commit to this project and this post marks the beginning. Not the most beautiful picture to begin an adventure with but the most meaningful (and believe it or not those bags are big and heavy – they look so tiny in this picture!). I’ve also removed 4 coats from my cupboards, one of them had bus tickets from the start of 2010, so you can tell how long it’s been since I last wore it – it’s time to go! I’ve gathered most* of the guilty of being unflattering and worn out clothes and sorted them into bin or charity bags. I’m ready.

*Throwing out stuff is hard… and I’ll be honest with you – there are still a couple of offending items remaining in my drawers. They will be replaced but I’m predicting this adventure as a slow and thoughtful one. I don’t expect one or 2 shopping trips to solve my little battle with fashion. I’m preparing myself for those difficult and annoying times ahead. So I decided it was probably a good idea to keep hold of a couple of tatty basics until I find their well fitting replacements – otherwise I’ll have nothing to wear – and that will be even more stressful!

I will try and do a couple of ‘make over’ related posts every week (at least one) but you never know, some weeks might be a lot slower than others. I am really looking forward to sharing all this with you and I hope you enjoy the ride and find little bits of it inspiring and/or entertaining.

Beginners luck: I found this beautiful skirt yesterday. It fits like a charm, it’s comfortable and easy to clean. That’s another important ‘must’ for my new wardrobe, I don’t want to get things that need to be dry cleaned. I can’t afford it and I don’t really have the time – plus I sometimes feel a little bit nervous wearing them out and about because I’m frightened I’ll drop or spill something on them. I’m clumsy so it’s inevitable. Anyway, I’m pleased as punch with my new purchase… bring on the rest!

On a more house related note we got the BEST housewarming gift from Tom’s sister (THANK YOU SO MUCH!) the other day. Check out this handmade beauty!!!! I LOVE IT! It even has a tiny illya on it!

I made one of these yesterday! It’s probably the first time I’ve made it my mission to hunt down the yarn recommended in a pattern. Same colour, same everything. And I’m so pleased with the result. The pattern is in the Simple Knitting book I mentioned in this post (about the cushion cover I was working on – which I also just finished, pictured below).

Sorry for the grainy picture – it’s quite a dark room.

I seem to be prepping for a winter that feels like it’ll never come – The suns shining and we’ve been forecast a warm start to October… sigh… I’m really not a big fan of summer – I’m in my comfort zone when it’s cold and fresh. I went out and bought a new winter coat yesterday too hoping in some way that might influence a sudden and dramatic change in the seasons. Nothing so far.

I’m also having a bit of a wardrobe crisis. It’s full… and I don’t like any of it anymore… . Nothing fits properly and there are very few things I can wear and say honestly that I feel comfortable and like me wearing them. Other than take the offending items to the charity shops I can’t really see how to get out of the rut. I think I need a bit of a makeover but I don’t know where to start. I’ve never found it easy replacing bad clothes with good ones. A lot of the time fashion and current trends are against me and my body shape – this is a battle I’m very familiar with. I’m going to make it my mission to introduce some changes and it’ll probably help to document and blog about what these changes are and how the makeover’s going… So fingers crossed this works and I keep my camera on me at all times…

I’ll keep you posted!

I’ve been gathering knitting projects like they’re sweets. And now there is now a huge pile of wool in the corner of the living room… sigh. Fortunately they’re pretty colours – so it’s not all bad. This is a cushion cover I’ve been working on – it’s very loosely based on a pattern from Simple Knitting by Erika Knight. This is probably one of the most inspiring books I own at the moment. It’s full of beautiful colours and simple/stylish projects. I had high hopes I would use some of the projects for this years Christmas presents but in truth I can’t seem to stop making things for myself :) OH well… still got a couple of months to go, right?

I’m causing chaos to my work space by “organising” EVERYTHING. I’m moving house in 8 days (eeeek) and I’ve been covered in dust for 2. I think it’s going well :)

This does mean my shop will close its doors for a week or 2 until we arrange the broadband and work space at the other end. I’ll keep you up dated on here. The shop will close on WEDNESDAY 31ST – my last post office day will be THURSDAY 1ST.

This is just a quick post because the time has come to edit my shoes… sigh…

Colourful etsy finds I’m in love with at the moment. 1. Blue Coffee pot from Luncheonettevintage. 2. Feather Garland by kayeblegvad. 3. Striped messenger bag by ikabags. 4. Wooden necklace by Snugstudio.

I got some beautiful slippers from my Ma while I was adventuring up in Orkney. The patterns and bright colours are beautiful and I can feel some projects brewing as a result. Also I’ve dug out some inspirational etsy finds as a result…

5. Folk Peacock from GinghamLife 6. Table cloth from VintageKeepsakes 7. Cross Stitch throw from Lunaparkfoundry. (All pictures credits go to the sellers)