What do you do...?

My friends got married on Thursday. Such a perfect day... the people, the setting... (in the beautiful green rolling hills of Devon, so close to my heart).
Sometimes these occasions throw a little surprise into the mix too, when you meet really interesting people. There were these 'shoats' (are they sheep, are they goats?) in the field in front of the country house... no, that's not it. I met someone who must also have difficulty filling in the field 'occupation' in insurance quotes, product designer, writer and lecturer at Chicago's School of the Art Institute, Tim Parsons. Of course there is never enough time between drinks, boogying, bouncing (reluctantly I might add, due to attire and picture snappers, hmm...) on space hoppers, and all that malarkey, to find out more which is why I am very glad he gave me his card.

What an interesting life he must lead! After a little peek through his website pages, his last installation is what caught my eye: Adhocism (with Jess Charlesworth, Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago - sadly ended in the Summer). It looked at using an ad hoc approach to product design.
As I started reading it dawned on me, I am an adhocist *pause for effect* (do you think I can use that in my insurance quotes?), most of us are, or at least were, as kids. I always thought of it as fudging, but fudger, or even fudgist, and fudgism not only don't sound half as good, they are quite inaccurate. My lovely made up tables and shelves are no slapdash job, they are a thing of beauty :)
Adhocism fits right in with our beloved 'mend and make do', reuse and recycle...

The term comes from Charles Jencks and Nathan Silver's 1972 book "Adhocism: The Case for Improvisation".
Before I ruin it with my fudgisms, here is a quote which sums it all:

"Adhocism is the art of living and doing things ad hoc - tackling problems at once, using materials at hand, rather than waiting for the perfect moment or "proper" approach."
Charles Jencks

I see you nodding knowingly :)

So next time Ade disses my inspired ideas using whatever I find lying around, and says "let's do it properly", I can call on the adhocism principles!

Annabelle x

PS: I can't leave you without any photos so here is a little hoop line up and my latest embroidery designs - a little bigger that usual in 10" hoops. (in the shops, as usual!)

Happy rain commission

One of the things I enjoy the most is making commission work. It gets me all nervous and excited at the same time. So far I have been given fairly loose briefs and left to run with it. Amazing! How do these people trust me with their budget?! Oh the pressure... I would be devastated if they hated it.

So, after a lot of hmm'ing and ha'ing I came up with this canvas. The brief: have the words "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it is about learning to dance in the rain" and for it not to be too girly as it was a wedding present.

A little detail on the back with their wedding date.

Crochet effort & Renault 4 Quatrelles...

If you are anything like me, you will know all about those projects that seem to stay forever in progress. Most annoying... Especially as by the time I finish them, I have often changed my mind/don't like anymore/lost interest and moved onto something else.

A few weeks back however, I went back to Brittany to spend a few relaxing days with my Mum and Dad. Perfect time to pick up my crochet hook & this little cushion, and finally finish it.







It's a bit rough around the edges (using different types of yarn probably didn't help), but I was pretty pleased with my first effort. Epic!
Although I find the colours a little bright now (see, I left it too long to finish :), it goes well with this little pillow case I found thrifting whilst I was over there.

On the same day, we went for a little walk and came across this beauty!



Glorious, isn't she? How I remember bouncing on the hard and squeaky back seat of my grandparent's, whizzing around the country lanes. I got chatting with the owner who, to my delight, was more than happy to tell me all about it :)

So... It was only a matter of time before I made a Renault 4 Quatrelle version of my 2CV hoop :)


(Now on my little shop's shelves)

Thank you so much for all you lovely comments about my glossy features (I missed one too in CrossStitcher magazine. How lucky was I? Three in a month!), I am really touched...

Mwaaah to you all!

Annabelle x