Stitch therapy

This week I have had no media monitoring to do (that's my day job), so I've been seizing the opportunity to get out into the studio. Whenever Hazel is asleep I grab the baby monitor, a pot of tea and the telephone, and head out to my sewing machine.

There's no time for fidgeting, for faffing, for dreaming and looking wistfully out of the window. The only way I'm going to get things done is to BLOODY WELL GET CRACKING! I have had some long-neglected projects on my desk, patent leather bunting to be precise - I know I know, the bunting craze has been and gone, but I avoid jumping on things when they are hot, preferring to come around to them in my own good time.

Plus I have never seen leather bunting, so hey wow, it might just be an original thing.

I have been going mad lately with kids, life, domesticity, so these stitchy moments have been well-needed for my sanity. That's the thing about sewing leather: every time the needle slices into the work it feels so final, so complete, so much like I'm building something. So as trivial as bunting may appear, this stuff is the elixir of my life. I'm going back to basics, constructing things simply and deriving that immense satisfaction which I haven't been finding in anything lately.

Leather flags + bias binding + rhythmic stitching = happy Emma.


As much as I love my leather machine, the wheel was falling off the edge of the narrow binding, and so the work wasn't feeding properly. With trepidation I pulled out my domestic machine, a beloved old Elna (thanks Rose!) and hoped that it would be up to the task of sewing leather. Success! Now I am one of those women with two machines set up, what a sweat shop I'm running!


This antique floral cowhide is soft yet robust, such a beautiful pattern, rescued from a bin by a dear friend. I have gone a bit overboard and made bunting in 2 sizes - these images are of the smaller version. I can't believe I'm using brown, it is a colour forbidden from my repertoire, but it goes so well with this leather, and is making me strangely happy, so why deny it?




Stitch stitch stitch, it's bliss. I'm looking for my daily fix now, as the small girl denies sleep and screeches from her bed. GO TO SLEEP HAZEL, MAMA NEEDS HER THERAPY!

On my bedside table

This is what makes me truly happy, a surplus of FABULOUS reading material. To be honest, not all of these are on the bedside table; some are on the kitchen table for perusal over toast and a cup of tea, some are in the lounge room draped over the side of the couch. I am a binge reader, trying to consume it all at once in a frenzy.

From the top we have:
100 Shoes - Completely worthy of its own post, I will be onto that soon. Gorgeous pics, love love love.

No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency - Mr Alexander McCall Smith can do no wrong, he is prolific and I am enjoying this series. Loving the HBO series being screened on ABC1 at the mo, esp Jill Scott as Ma Ramotswe, cape sleeves and beautiful colours.

The Slap - I'm re-reading this, a character per week as I watch it on ABC1. Loved the book, am equally loving the series, and it's great to re-visit the book, fleshing each episode out a bit more.

Make Hey! - Ms Pip Lincolne has done it again, so much colour, cheer and inspiration. I don't even sew fabric, but she has got me considering it, that bicycle seat cover could be good!

Dumbo Feather - I adore this mook, the new editorial team have done us loyal readers proud, this is always a nutritious read.

Frankie - Seems jam-packed with more pages this issue, has anyone else noticed? Compulsory market research, generally a bit too whimsical for my tastes, but some great content. We love the poster/wrapping paper/calendar, I have a linen press lined in different papers from Frankie.

Research

Egypt

Hungary

Afghanistan - yes that is a bicycle seat cover

Macedonia

Niger

Hungary

Italy
Guatemala

Mohop

A word on the timber sandals I wore in yesterday's post, they are by the fabulous Chicago label Mohop. Annie Mohaup is an architect who started making these amazing sandals herself, eventually they became so popular that the orders were backing up, and now she has outsourced the production.




I ordered mine a few months ago, I have the low cherry slides, and I adore them because they are so easy to customise. When you order them you have a choice of ribbon packs, with 5 different ribbons included in each pack. There are neutrals, solid colours or stripes, and she also offers sari ribbons. Some days I wear them with navy ribbons, some days red, some days as a slide, other days as an ankle tie. I wear them with socks, tights or bare feet, they are the BEST!

Her postage is fast, her designs are so comfy, so put them on your Xmas list!

Our Thursday