Prior to my stroke, I was an enthusiastic swimmer. I found swimming both invigorating and relaxing: a great form of exercise and a useful way to wind down when I was busy and stressed out at work. My body and balance changed radically following my stroke, but I’ve attempted (and enjoyed) the occasional swim, mostly… Read More
Over the past few months, while working on the project that has now become The Book of Haps, I’ve examined countless images of wrappable textiles. I’ve encountered many ways to wear such textiles, and also reflected on the many different contexts for their wearing. Some of these groups of images were very useful for me,… Read More
I am deep in research and writing at the moment, and thought I’d keep bringing you some of my incidental finds and thoughts as I come across them. Searching through online images of French fashion magazines from the first few decades of the last century (as one does) recently, I came across several references to… Read More
It has been an incredibly busy week here! As you might imagine, the imminent arrival of Buachaille means we have a lot to do, and I am hard at work creating a small collection of designs to accompany the yarn’s release (only a few weeks to go!) Then my friend and colleague, Jen, came to… Read More
Sonia Delaunay Rythme (1938) I don’t know about you, but I am extremely excited about Tate Modern’s Sonia Delaunay retrospective, which opens in a couple of months. I’ve long had a thing for Delaunay’s work, but have never had the opportunity to see much of her work in person, particularly her textiles. I wrote an… Read More
I purchased this boiler suit from LHD Marine supplies in Lerwick a while ago and have been wearing it pretty much constantly for the past three weeks. We have not had a washing machine; I have been spending most of my time decorating, and for both reasons it has formed a useful uniform. For some… Read More
(Delaunay in an outfit of her own design) Do you remember a little while ago I was having a Sonia Delaunay moment? (‘Simultaneous’ dress & car upholstery) Around this time, I was knitting the the Puffin Sweater, and shortly afterward, I wrote a piece about Delaunay which has just been published in Rowan 53. The… Read More
This Poiret suit is from 1914. I love its lines so much. I know I would be rubbish at actually walking in that skirt, though. Bring on the 1920s, and the knee.
Sonia Delaunay, Driving Caps, Silk and Wool, 1924-28. Included in the Cooper-Hewitt Color Moves exhibition, 2011. I am taking a break from my collection today, and researching a feature which somehow keeps bringing me back to the work of Sonia Delaunay. I came across these amazing wool and silk ‘driving caps’ that she designed, and… Read More
I’ve been thinking about pleats for a little while now. The heat-set pleats that have been a familiar feature of Issey Miyake’s “Pleats Please” brand . . . (Issy Miyake, “Pleats, Please” in Dazed & Confused June 2012, image via Style Bubble) . . . now seem, in attenuated form, to be everywhere on the… Read More
I have a downstairs neighbour (also a knitter) who, in the course of her work, often comes across interesting objects. She sometimes brings these up to show me, and together we will enthuse over a gorgeous set of art-deco buttons or an ancient pair of butter-pats. The other day she brought up a very special… Read More
Wool snood at French Connection containing 0% wool and 100% Acrylic. We’ve had some WOVEMBER feedback suggesting that we are being overly dogmatic in our insistence that the word wool should pertain to sheep’s wool only. These comments are useful to read, and very interesting since they suggest how wide the application and understanding of… Read More
