when blogging becomes art - dietlind wolf

 I first noticed Dietlind Wolf's picture on her blog that looked so light and carefree that it stopped me in my tracks. 

Dietlind works as a stylist and occasionally as a photographer.  In her spare time (!) she also makes stunning porcelain,   that she worked out how to dye instead of glaze - I love it!!

I'm always interested in someone with a job I think I would have enjoyed, so I asked her a few questions.

dog days

At the risk of going into overkill on the whole autumn,/dog in the forest thing, I would just like to inform you that not only is young Ghetto home for the weekend (considerably larger!) , but we also have a certain Gaston to stay for a few days too.  A dog weekend.!!

All three born with 6 weeks of each other, hence the names beginning with G, and each one as unheeding of my commands as the other.....  sigh ....

After a few very noisy attempts at a group portrait, I surrendered and took them off for a walk.  The forest was as unbearably crowded as usual (ie: me, the dogs and the girls on horseback!) , but what else do you expect on a Saturday afternoon?

Hope you're enjoying your weekend!

true French luxury

In the heart of Montmartre, Paris, there is a tall building where the lights often burn late at night.  Home to a name that epitmoises French luxury better than and other.   Lesage.  They don't design dresses, they just embroider.

They embroider for queens and princesses, they embroider for Chanel, Dior, Schiaparelli,  YSL, Lanvin and Worth.  Each bead, each sequin sewn on individually and by hand.

This is  the address that the great designers turn to, when fantastic embroidery is needed to make a piece shine and dazzle.   Founded in 1924, the current Monsieur Lesage is over 80 years old.   He says he can't sew, his skill is the interpretation of designer's dreams.  When Yves Saint Laurent called him to ask for embroidery "that would look like the reflection of my chandelier against a dark rainy window",  he knew where to start.
 

Even Monsieur Louboutin requires their services

And the really amazing news, especially to those of you who like to embroider, is that there is a Lesage school, and they run classes at all levels.  So when you're next in Paris, why not do something totally off the tourist track and check in to a 3 hour beading class, in the house of a master of the craft.

Now that would make a good souvenir de Paris!

pinning the right colour - a weekend wishlist

You may have sensed from the posts this week that I am looking for comfort at this change of season.  It shows in the house too.  I'm needing a bit of a change in my colour schemes here.  Definitely wanting to go towards grey, hoping to avoid taupe, wanting something warm and welcoming.

Drawn to natural fabrics, linen, chanvre, maybe a little velvet.   A mix of old and new.

I am collecting snippets from here and there, each time I see an image and think ah! that would be nice to live with.

If I could take myself seriously enough I'd call this my mood board, but  then I'd worry about what that is saying about my mood, so I won't call it that.

I can see where this is all  leading me, I'm going to have to start 'pinning'.  I actually started the pinning account, but managed to lose it quite promptly, so I'm waiting to be invited back in and then I'll be up there  pinning with the best of them.

I think you're going to hate this fire, but I adore it.   We have several open fireplaces here and  I've been looking for original fire guards for years, but have never seen these before.   A sort of metal interior shutter design.   Pinned to the wishlist! 

I wish you a warm and comforting weekend, 

may all your pinned dreams become reality!

all photos thanks to campagne er decoration

my French autumn vitals

To get through  this change of season in total happiness,

I am vitally needing

a pair of hunter boots

my favourite pair of jeans

bowls of hot pumpkin soup

chestnuts roasting on the fire

long rides through the forest

and  ....

slices of pear and almond tart,  warm from the oven

surely not that much to ask ? ....

what are your favourite autumn moments

the small hunting lodge

Always on the look out for a suitable venue for the one-day-sure-to-happen bloggers weekend, I'm currently in hunting lodge mode.  It is after all the time of year when the pop pop pop of the guns are to be heard around here, and a hunting lodge offers so many possibilities for dressing up, looking casually country chic, and of course drinking great après-hunt cocktails.

So I wondered what you thought of this little gem.  A hunting lodge in Italy: room for many; great vistas; rather grand decor; delicious italian cuisine at the ring of a silver bell, and all that almost certainly served by an equally declicious italian waiter.  One has to think of everything.

I thought that after drinks in the garden, we'd enjoy dining here,

although if there were a chill in the air we could retire to a choice of salons

We could pull names out of a hat to allocate bedrooms,

once we have established that this one with the white bed is mine that is.

so what do you think, shall I just book it and we work out the details later?

All photos thank to Trust and Travel

the designer forest

This morning Gibson took me to one side and gave me a talking to.  It came as a surprise I admit, not really being used to being ordered around by a 5 month old golden retriever, but full of my habitual good grace, I listened and finally ... gave in.

He explained that it was sunny outside, that this was autumn, that instead of peering into my cupboards of textiles or inside that weird box he's heard me call a computer, then maybe I should look to the forest for inspiration.

He promised me colour, he promised me geometrical designs, he whispered sweet words like paisleys and swirls.  What could a girl say?

When we got home he told me to look at my old V and A textile collections, and check out the similarities between their  19th century designs and my freshly developed photos.

Well I have to hand it to him, although it pains me to admit it in public, he was right, I was wrong.

So to thank him I didn't even tell him off when he swam in The Slimy Green Pond  ...

...happy days.

French mattress ticking

I have long had a thing about French mattress ticking, but this year have been lucky enough to find a couple of particularly old pieces.  How do I know they are so old?  Well, because they have little hand sewn eyelets placed strategically over the ticking, these were used to lace the ticking down to the old wool or horse hair filled mattresses.

My favourite piece could pass itself off as a Ralph Lauren design with its bold red, beige and black stripes.

So periodically I get them out of the cupboard and hum, and ha, and muse with the idea of making cushions etc.  Today I wondered about grosgrain ties through the eyelets, or cushions made up with linen from my postal bags.

What would you do with this fabric?  I've already sold pieces like this and I know they've gone to excellent homes, maybe I should just let go of these too ...