this brave bloom came out quite early.
it blew over in the wind, so i brought it inside.

spring is on the way…

xxx

part of being a crafter is loving your materials. it’s about being obsessed with fabric, adoring your boxes full of coloured embroidery floss, and just wanting to bury your face in your yarn stash.

few things give me such simple, uncomplicated pleasure as my floss collection. it is substantial, and continually growing. and there is one subsection of it in which i take particular delight - my collection of cottage garden threads.

i love their botanical names (hyssop, maple, flax, cornflower). i love their rich and subtle variations in colour. i love the way they look all neatly packed in their box, and they way they stitch up so beautifully. i love the fact that they are hand-dyed in australia by a passionate artisan who loves what she creates.

they’re just wonderful. if you can get your hands on some, you definitely should.
essie xxx

i have not been sponsored for this post, i’m just letting you know what i think

i just wanted to show you this incredibly beautiful print that sara-jane and i bought a few weeks ago. it’s called “lepus, nq2, -20º, 6h”, and it was created by our friend leonie:

it features a quote from philip pullman’s ‘his dark materials’ series, which happens to be a description of one of our favourite characters, a hare called hester. i actually tear up a little when i read it, because hester is so wonderful, and the story is so sad.

the other element of the print is leonie’s delicate and beautiful etching of the lepus (hare) constellation.

the piece is from a larger series called “the stars are words”.
i am in love with this gorgeous artwork, and cannot wait to have it framed and hung on the wall.

my partner bought me a bunch of sweet peas today…

they are so pretty - i couldn’t keep them all to myself, so i’m sharing them with you…

essie x

many of you will by now have come across frankie magazine’s coffee table book ‘spaces‘ . it’s all about celebrating creative people and the spaces in which they live and work, and it’s got some amazing rooms, ideas, and people inside. and my teacup collection, too!

the lovely frankie folks sent the charming and talented saskia wilson over to my house to photograph them. here are a couple of the pics…

didn’t she make them look wonderful?
you should definitely try to get your hands on a copy of the book if you can, it’s a genuine delight to browse through.

essie x

these old fashioned roses are sitting in a little jam jar on the coffee table.

the peachy coloured one smells exactly like fresh lychees. it’s extraordinary.

xxx

my partner’s parents were in town last weekend, and we joined them on a tour of the queen victoria market. there’s nothing like having guests from interstate to get you to make the most of your own city!

i thought i’d take the opportunity to pay special attention to the colours and textures of the market. here’s a little of what i saw…

hungry?
essie xoxox

it’s my birthday next week. this was the perfect excuse for me to buy myself a little treat…

i love reading, and l. m. montgomery’s ‘anne‘ books were among my most precious childhood favourites. i think it may have been out of some kind of loyalty to anne that i never read any of montgomery’s other books. i plan to remedy that by reading not only kilmeny of the orchard, but also emily of new moon.

this is a beautiful edition that i found (for cheap!) on ebay. i love the flowers on the cover, and the way the same pattern is echoed on the inside…

it has that proper ‘old book smell’, and i plan to savour that as i read it…

essie xoxox

a rose from our garden…

essie xoxox

today is a home day.
i am enjoying the company of a little tailless cat…

… and the beautiful posy of flowers that my mum picked for me when i visited her yesterday.

i hope you’ve got some equally beautiful things to enjoy today.
essie xoxox