Linen Love

An inherent quality of linen is the endless design stories it creates for living spaces and wardrobe alike. I am especially drawn to the fiber due to it's cool, fresh quality that is in stark contrast to the extreme hot weather climates I call home. This past summer stood out as one of the most brutal recorded in the Middle East, no doubt the driving force behind my continued obsession with natural fibers.  Linen is notoriously laborious to manufacture, but an affair with this ancient fiber, dating back thousands of years, is a lovestory for life! Linen is going through a revival stage with bloggers such as Beth from LocalMilk honouring the integrity, showcasing the beauty of the fiber in their daily narratives. 

The pincushion above and the broach below is by the uber talented Namolio. I was doing the happy dance when I opened my parcel to see that she has gifted me with no less than 3 skeins of 5 ply linen yarn in  3 colourways. What a wonderful gift, thank you so much! The fragrance of lavendar emanating from the pincushion transported me straight back to our summer vacation in Croatia. Ah bliss.

Find Namolio on Etsy for exquisite gifts, Flickr for incredible photography, and Instagram for daily snapshots into her life.

My fingers itched to give the linen yarn a whirl and the result is this textural piece hooked from a pattern by another very talented woman, Sandra, the driving force behind the Mobiusgirl label. She has just started her own blog on which you will find the pattern for this beautiful mandala. I have yet to decide what to do with my mandala, but see some of the options below! 

Have a great weekend, we are off to enjoy bistro style dining in a hip, relaxed atmosphere at Opal, a Gordon Ramsay restaurant where we will be celebrating my birthday that took place earlier this week. 

A French Affair

Pierrot Yarns produced in Ichinomiya City Japan

Pont du Gard 100% French linen, fingering weight

Non itchy, but stiff and crisp

To be turned into Sophie Digard inspired jewelry once I am settled in Doha, Qatar

Bought from I Love Yarn, a new yarn store located in a beautiful house in Pretoria, filling a huge gap in the market by catering for those of discerning taste

Photos of interiors by Petra Bindel with Lo Bjurulf

Photos of yarn my own, edited on Snapseed, collages created with the Moldiv App, 

uploaded on Google Drive rather than the less reliable iCloud

The Cat had some fun with my precious yarn (below) one night, it looks worse for wear but is thankfully undamaged

Flashback: 1999 Nogent-le-Rotrou where we attended 

the wedding of my French friend and her South African sweetheart

Left: Myself nearly 6 months pregnant with The Teen; 

Middle: Hair tied up, enjoying Paris sightseeing

Right: the (very young looking) husband and I taking a romantic stroll just outside Nogent-le-Rotrou

Enjoy your weekend!  I am still working on the Moroccan inspired throw and have to say that I am really very pleased with how it is turning out.

xxxxx