James Hancock at Sheffer Gallery

On my way to work in the morning i walk past Sheffer Gallery, tiny art space on a side street. Sheffer is always closed with a graffiti'ed roller door so i never actually get to see inside. All this changed on Saturday when I went there for the opening of an exhibition by the older brother of a close friend of mine, James Hancock. I'm no artiste/designer by any stretch of the imagination so I'll spare you all my attempt at trying to describe his work. But here are a few pictures (admittedly they aren't the best photos - it was a bit awkward as the gallery was so small).

There is a particular series of Hancock's that i really like, and some of them were at Sheffer (and the rest can be seen on Hancock's website). I like it so much that i bought 'all the buildings in new york' for my gentleman friend.

The other project that Hancock has at the moment is the ambitious aim to draw all the building in new york, and you can see his progress on his blog. Here is a little taster (click it to make it bigger - it's worth it):

 

[Pardon my off-theme blogging!]

measuring and mapping

here's a theme with enough mathematical rigour to engage my co-author, and enough aesthetic nicety to keep me occupied too... welcome to this week's theme - measuring and mapping!
to get the ball rolling (little pun there for my dad, not sure if he's one of our 4 readers but you never know), here are some beautiful customised globes of the world - the delightful bastard offspring of our good friends geography and decoupage.

from ImageNations

fancy nancy

remember having a knitting nancy when you were little? after a week of blogging about all things knit, i am definitely looking to dig mine out of a cupboard somewhere so i can once again make long lengths of knitting for no good reason... perhaps to turn into a rug? (after about 7 months of solid nancying?!).

from embroideroo.blogspot.com

good theme this week co-author - i have really enjoyed it!

cosy tea cosy

My first foray into whimsical knitting was through Loani Prior's book Really Wild Tea Cosies.

I deliberated for a while on which one i would choose, and eventually settled on a crocheted granny-square extravaganza (it seemed the most straight forward to a novice knitter). Here is the finished product:

There are so many more amazing patterns in this book and the first one Wild Tea Cosies. Here is just a selection of them (all images from Loani Prior's blog the queen of the tea cosies).

And my very favourite, a picture of which is pinned up at my desk at work to be tackled when the PhD is over...

Now, if i must be honest, i have attempted one more pattern from Ms Prior's book, it is supposed to look something like this:

 

but instead, and excuse my crude language, the cosie in question looks a little like a saggy scrotum covering a tea pot (not that i would know what a scrotum looks like or anything). I think the problem is the teapot is too small for the cosie, or maybe the cosie is too big for the teapot...a philosophical debate i will leave to the experts. Regardless, the general appearance is less than desired. The worst of it is the cosie was supposed to be a gift for a dear friend and i don't have the heart to rip it out and start again so it just looks at me forlornly when ever i go into the spare room. I might add it to the 'after the PhD list'. Sorry Holly - i promise your birthday present will be totally worth it. x

'knit for victory!' and other retro gems

Skiff's Vintage

Knit for Victory

Knit for Victory

Knit for Victory

The Vintage Knitting Lady

Knit for Victory

missoni, i shame thee

It's a rainy saturday afternoon, so with a cup of tea on the desk beside me, there is no reason not to just carry on blogging - 3 posts today and counting! Since we're doing knitting as our theme for the week, it seemed that it wouldn't be right to go without a post about Missoni. Knitted, woven, crocheted, the vibrant colours and bold prints of their designs are iconic, and I was really looking forward to extolling the virtues and loveliness of their homewares in particular.
I was ready to share images such as these (from SS09)


and this

and this (from Spence & Lyda).



But, in preparation for another well-researched post (as they always are!), I went to the Missoni Home website. Word to the wise - don't go to the Missoni Home website. Actually, I should clarify that: don't go to the Missoni Home website unless you are keen to hear a remix of the blue danube waltz -on repeat like some hideous fusion of being on hold and being trapped in a discotheque from the late 70's. Sorry Missoni- all of the delight you have brought to my eyes has been cruelly undone by such an unusual and offensive assault on my ears.

Never again.

old soul

are those owls on your jumper? you know it.
(from old soul handmade)