Tricot Too window now

Today we have a hat by Rae Oakley worn with a Masai beige cardigan now £40 over a Lauren Vidal brown wool dress with long sleeves, now £83-50 and brown and black patterned leggings by Mes Soeurs et Moi now £18-50. On the right are black trousers by Mes Soeurs et Moi, now £44-50 with a long American Vintage striped top, now £46, and over that a long beige tunic by Moscow, now£20 with Jenny Stacy brooch, £22.

Hurray!

I have at last sent off my tax return. To celebrate I will show you another of my Valentine's card makes. They aren't right for Tricot so I am thinking that I need to sort out an etsy page to sell them on. Not just for cards but for dolls, jewellery, buttons etc etc. How hard can it be?

Recommended!

Dear reader,
One of my many New Year's resolutions is to do more excercise. Four days ago I received this from Amazon so after using it four times I am four days nearer to my Pilates body !! Reckon that IF I keep up the good work there should be a noticable change by next Christmas. The thing about excercise is that it gives you more energy. I love the fact that if I do this as soon as I wake up ie. before my brain is awake enough to think up excuses not to, the rest of my day I am zipping round achieving far more than I usually achieve!

Tricot Too window

Satin dress and cardigan, left by Avoca; leggings, ruffle top and skirt Out of Xile; long sleeve t (just visible) by American Vintage; necklace and brooch by Jenny Stacy.

All items except my jewellery are currently half price in the sale.

Close up. This is how the window looks this week.

With Love ...

This morning I finished off half a dozen Valentine's cards and this is my favourite. All those bits of painted paper put to good use.

The sweetie factory

I just accompanied my neighbour to a Krispy Kreme cafe to pick up doughnuts for her daughter's birthday party. It's the first time I've come across this confection. And in the cafe you could watch the giant machine relaying doughnuts through shallow hot oil, flipping them to cook on the other side - by the thousand. I'm not tempted to try one but I couldn't resist photographing the box. Nice design huh?

Sharing strawberries

Not sure whether I prefer the light green or the dark green leaves. I've been making strawberries - slightly bigger than the last time I made these brooches. Summer is coming ...

In the window ...

All items currently half price in the sale excepting the Jenny Stacy flower brooch. I seem to have blogged a lot about Tricot Too recently. I even wondered whether to have two blogs - one for the shop I work in and one for my home and makes. What do you think?

Collage birthday card

It's been a while since I did a bit of collage. I have boxes and boxes of saved bits of paper including reams of bits I've painted. Now I'm de-cluttering in earnest I still can't throw most of it away!

Making strawberries

I'm sewing strawberries. Felt strawberry brooches are one of my most popular makes. They should be in Tricot later this week. In the meantime the felt brooches above are available now. Ten flowers to chose from. All different.

Flower shop house

These white hyacinths in my porch window make my house smell like a flower shop. Isn't it great to be greeted by that lovely smell when you come in from the cold?

Flower brooches

I'm felting flower brooches. Since making these I've done grey ones and hyacinth blue ones. Available in Tricot at the end of the week.
And don't worry I won't be going out wearing all these brooches ...

Painting the home

This is the Dulux Egyptian Cotton I chose for the sittingroom. Funny how just a couple of coats of paint transforms a room. Before I got painting ( I painted other rooms white) this house was entirely Dulux 'Barley white' - a yellowish colour I didn't like. Now it's getting freshened up for the New Year and new workshops starting in February. First to get the dreadful tax task out of the way!!

New shoes

I found these in Chichester yesterday and they are comfortable.

At the beginning of January I want changes. I've bought some paint for the sittingroom. 'Egyptian Cotton' and 'White Cotton' by Dulux and at the same time a special carpet cutter tool to help me at last get rid of my hated pink carpet. I inherited the carpet and the also undesirable plastic front door when I moved here. I intend painting the floorboards white. I did this at my previous home and it definetely improves things.

I have also revised my 'nice to look at' list of blogs. Now these are really inspirational! Take a look when you have time.

Perfect Holly

I'd like this in my garden. Variagated leaves plus lots of berries.In small gardens plants have got to multi task. I just bought Carol Klein's 'Cook Your Own Veg' and see that she has a programme starting Friday at 8.30pm on BBC2. 'Life in a Cottage Garden', a record of one year in the life of her garden. A must see for all of us would-be self-sufficient-ers!

Clothes in the window at Tricot Too

All these clothes, above and below are in the SALE. Half the marked price on everything except American Vintage which is 30% off.

Top picture left: Myrine and Me wooly scarf and coat dress over (barely seen) striped American vintage top. American vintage scarf on pear. Right: another AV scarf; Avoca little cardigan over Avoca ruffled hem tunic over Myrine and me check wrap skirt.
Pictured below: Rae Oakley hat (not in sale) with Out of Xile prune jacket and long skirt; on right: my necklace with Out of Xile cobweb top over Out of Xile dress and leggings. The pear is a beautiful thing. I don't know who made it, sorry.

I Love Christmas

A last look at my tree. Despite being heard to say 'I wish Christmas was every other year,' on several occasions I must admit that I did enjoy it. Being with family, meeting 17 day old baby Sofia, enjoying my sisters-in-laws excellent cooking, playing some crazy quiz where the prizes were all scratch cards. It was fun...

Ducks feeding at Petersfield lake

A New Year 2011

To everyone reading this: May 2011 be your best year yet!
That French saying comes to mind. 'Il faut cultiver son jardin' ie. you've got to sort out your garden (/house/body/soul).
I'm reading 'Eat Pray Love' by Elizabeth Gilbert which has been made into a film starring Julia Roberts. Recommended. I'm tempted to quote from it but my daughters will say I'm getting too heavy... HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!