Inspiration from the V&A

First of all, thank you soooo much for your Stanley orders!!! I am so appreciative I can't begin to tell you. I've been bundling up books all day and the countries they are heading off to are amazing. Also completely chuffed to see a couple being sent to NZ locations - imagine if we could have a crochet rabbit party one day (mind you, if that's not your bag don't worry, I won't stalk you.... well only a little bit).

Anyhoo, this post is a little different. It's about what inspired me on our trip. I've always had a daydream about what it would be like to spend the night in a supermarket. As alarming as it sounds, it's actually a really good dream. What would I eat, where would I sleep (lots of packets of toilet paper seems to be winning at the moment - and a spot well away from the freezer section), what I would do for lighting (thank goodness for the torch and battery section)and reading - wahoo, they stock books.

And now I have moved onto a whole new dream. Which museum I would live in if I had to.

Thank goodness for the trip because I now have a much wider selection and so I choose without hesitation, the Victoria and Albert Museum. First of all, so many places to sleep AND comfortably. Secondly, different things to wear every single day. Especially when the wedding dress exhibition is on. I almost think those reasons are enough. Ummm, what else. Best shop ever. At dinner time I would take plates from the ceramic section and go to the cafe (I didn't eat at the cafe but I hope it's good). Also, I just read that there is a Beatrix Potter display on to do with her rural experiences during WW1 and I DIDN'T SEE IT!!!! So that would keep me enthralled for a long time. 

This is not a sponsored post... in fact, who would sponsor it!!! Really.... I just loved it that much. And as for the ceramic section. Nothing has given me more inspiration. From the colours to the shapes, patterns, forms, rah-di-rah - I was utterly blown away.

There was such an amazing crossover with crochet in that so much of it was created for beauty alone. This plate of peas had me standing gormless for an awkward amount of time. Thank goodness I was alone because I really hate to think what I might have said to anyone passing at the time.

This had me like nothing else though (except maybe the peas). Can you believe this was even made by a human. 

And some beautiful colours to end this post.
Lots and lots of love,
Kate xxooxxooxx.

Stanley and the Hot Air Balloon - On Sale Now!

I don't know how this day came about so suddenly... but, 'Stanley and the Hot Air Balloon' is now waiting to be bought from my shop here. I post all over the world and at this stage, postage is FREE!!! Can you believe it.

If you haven't visited my blog before, let me tell you about Stanley. He is a little rabbit that I made a few years ago. You can imagine how startled I was when he began to talk. Not only that, but when he began to tell me his life story. This book is only the first instalment of his life set on a day when he was supposed to be having a nap but instead, went adventuring in a hot air balloon - you know how it can be with bunnies.

At the back of the book is a special crafting section where you can learn to make all sorts of things from the story like a hot air balloon, or tiny mice, or even.... your very own Stanley!!!

Here are some photos from the book.

Anyway, please feel free to go over and have a look. I will be doing all sorts of exciting things with it this month so please stay tuned.
Lots and lots of love,
Kate xxooxx.

Nowhere Like Home....

 I am sure that I have written it before, but I think holidays are invented so you can relive that  honeymoon period with your house upon your return. We had the most wonderful trip and I can't wait to show you lots of photos (particularly of wool shops), however for the moment I'll post a few photos of the family, just to make sure that you haven't forgotten what we look like.

 This is not actually a photo of the family, I stumbled over it before and couldn't leave it out.

 I'll start putting the place names in with subsequent posts but for the moment it's hard to remember how to dress in the morning - still tuckered out from the major bout of jet lag that sprang upon us last week. I think we were somewhere in Dorset though.

So many picnics were consumed (especially after the shock bill for a lunch of toasted cheese sandwiches one day in Stratford). Fancy picnicking equipment....

 Butterbeer.

 Standing on the same floor that Shakespeare paced (at Anne Hathaway's cottage). 

Flying lessons (Alnwick Castle)

And one of Archie with his mother on Mother's Day at Disneyland (n.b. Archie's mother is actually me).

I hope this post made sense. So lovely to be back and after a few more sleeps I may even be slightly more human!

Lots and lots of love,

Kate xxooxx.

A Little Holiday Hello!

Just a little hello from our holiday - I have found it so difficult to blog on my phone so have resorted to using instagram instead. You can find my as greedyforcolour - or maybe it's greedy for colour.... I am missing you all soo much but am very happy at the moment as we are staying with Amanda.... as in Amanda Makes!
The trip is all going so well, I have taken about 100,000 photos to share with you when we get back and so many things to write about.
 Until then, lots of love,
Kate xxooxx.

Holiday Time.

We are off on a holiday today... 7 weeks of travelling with the boys around the UK, Scotland, America, Switzerland, Germany and Singapore!!! WAHOOOOOO!!! By the way, in re-reading that sentence, I thought I had better make it clear that this is not a normal event in our household, definitely not something we do once a week or anything.... this has taken years of planning.

I will try to blog occasionally but I must apologise in advance as I can't upload photos onto my gadget thingy - would you mind if I wrote letters on the blog for a little while instead? Then when I get back I could load up the matching photos retrospectively.

 At the moment we are doing all of the last minute packing.... Just how many sequinned headbands does one person need? Answer - 3 of course, one in gold, one in silver and one in turquoise. 

The boys are very excited too - constantly examining the different currencies in the new, grown up wallets and making sure I've packed their technology for the plane......

Lots and lots of love to you all,

Kate xxooxx.

Stanley and the Hot Air Balloon - We have a winner!

Congratulations to Louana from nz green buttons, you are the winner of the pre-release copy of the Stanley book. Yay for you.... I hope you like it... and please email me with your details.

Thank you so much to everybody for all of your comments. I feel so supported as it's a little bit scary to come out of your creative shell when you have been making something for such a long time... 

Anyway, I had better finish of dinner but will be back again tomorrow because would you believe that there is even more to talk about.

Lots of love,

Kate xxooxx.

Stanley and the Hot Air Balloon; The Book Giveaway!

 I can't believe that I finally have a copy of the book in my hands. It's not due for release until July, however.... I have one copy ready for one lucky reader!

This book has been such a labour of love. I started writing it about 4 years ago and now, well now it's sitting on my kitchen table!!!!!

 It is a children's book but there are patterns included too. I love the thought of children reading (or being read to) while cuddling their very only Stanley. I will show you photos of the projects another day.

 So I hope you like this sneak preview. 

To enter, leave a comment in the section below and I will pick a number (randomly through random.org) on Monday, 5th May. Good luck!

Lots of love,
Kate xxooxx.
p.s. This giveaway is available worldwide. The book will be ready for purchase in July and will also be available worldwide via airmail (postage will be a pittance).