Showing posts with label scandinavian design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label scandinavian design. Show all posts

Saturday, 17 March 2012

Say hello to Henry!

A very good day dear ladies! The sun is shining on my patch of Yorkshire and it feels like spring is finally here!

It has been a while since I posted but I'm here today to share with you a fantastic visit I made to Yorkshire Sculpture Park a couple of weeks ago.

Although it is always a great place to visit I wanted to go for a very specific reason - to see an exhibition of Donna Wilson's woolly creatures! And I wasn't disappointed! Donna makes the most incredibly off beat knitted creatures, but also a wonderful range of Nordic inspired blankets and cushions.


I really love her work and especially as she uses British yarns and recruits the awesome talents of knitters from the Scottish Islands and Highlands - traditional craft areas that struggle with unemployment.








I fell in love with a little chap named Henry. He has been hand knitted in pure wool in the Shetlands and takes his character from traditional Icelandic patterns. And now he is mine!!!

Say hello to Henry!




It is rare for me to splash out like this but Henry is useful, hand crafted using pure wool, has provided employment for traditional craftspeople and is beautiful!!!!!

I was inspired to make a complimentary cushion using Fair Isle patterns and have done about half so far. ...



I'm really enjoying this 'free form' style of knitting. I am not following one pattern....I am following a variety of patterns and mixing and matching as I go along. There is no planning so I hope it all comes together ok! I will let you know. The yarn I am using is a favourite of mine from an historic mill in Lanarkshire, Southern Scotland. It is beautifully rustic, pure new wool with a great range of natural looking colours. Perfect for this sort of project.

For those who haven't been to http://www.ysp.co.uk/, do try to visit if you can. It really is a marvellous day out - lots to see, child friendly, great for picnics and beautiful strolls. You may also meet some interesting characters!






Enjoy your weekend! xxxxxx

Saturday, 6 November 2010

Ett Hem #2

I'm being lazy with this post. It has been a terrible week. We were burgled (twice), I failed my third driving test and now my lovely old cat is dying. This is to cheer me up a little.

My last post had some images of 19th century Scandinavian design....this one is a bit more up-to-date!

I am absolutely crazy about Northern European design from the 1950s onwards. In particular textiles and fabric designs. I love the colours and patterns and the whimsical subjects........






I love the use of herrings on this cloth!


I can't tell you how much I want this salt pot!!! 


There seems to be a fish thing going on!


More fish!

 Lovely, lovely, lovely!





I think we are getting a really good picture that it is not all stripped floorboards and gingham check! Scandinavian design is vibrant, witty and colourful. I love it!

There are some fantastic sites around where this sort of thing can be bought...but there is also a wealth of modern vintage inspired design such as this....


Finnish Gifts

Hus and Hem

Hus and Hem
Fabric by Kokka
Fabric by Kokka
My wish list just keeps getting longer........

Friday, 5 November 2010

Ett Hem #1

This post is an image-fest of gorgeous stuff from the far North. I love old things....but I am going against a great tide of opinion and foregoing the charms of Cath Kidston and that ilk. What I love is Scandinavian folk art, mixed with a bit of English Arts and Craft and some Rosemaling.  So what does that look like? It looks like this......

Isn't this just stunning?


Scandinavian folk art is full of colour and has a beautiful naive quality! It is typified by its close relationship to nature and especially to flowers and animals. The period I am particularly thinking of is the late 19th century but of course, the folk tradition is as old as the Scandinavian peoples. It embraces Swedish folk art and design, with its stripped wood floors, folk art stencils and beautiful, exuberant floral motifs.......


Look at this gorgeous clock!!!!





It really reminds me of Romany art.........





In Norway, there is the fabulous Rosemaling. Translated as 'rose painting', this form of decorative art derived from the rural areas of Norway and decorates everything from furniture to ceramics to kitchen utensils......








Rosemaling is a very rustic, rural form of decorative art and I love that quality. It is not trying too hard, if you know what I mean. It is happy to be what it is. Beautiful.


There is newer Scandinavian design that I have fallen in love with. But that is another post......