{ my november }

I have been sitting here staring out of the window wondering how to sum up November. I'm failing miserably at finding the words. It was a month of being busy, but there were also moments of quiet. It was a month of feeling productive, and yet at the same time feeling that things had somehow stalled once more. My running mojo returned, my creative mojo seems to have disappeared. There have been days when Autumn felt it would stay forever, yet more recently it feels Winter has already arrived.

{ knitting }

The first few days of November were spent in a flurry of knitting and readying myself for my first festive market. Blankets were adorned with bobbles and beanie hats topped with pom poms. It was exciting and scary all at once, but I loved every minute of it.

{ selling }

The thrill of making my first sales was on a par with running my first Half Marathon. And anyone who knows me even slightly will know how much that meant to me. Life has taken over in a rather annoying way since the market and has meant that the long planned Etsy shop is not quite up and running yet, though an afternoon spent photographing these, now finished, beanie hats sparks a glimmer that it may not be too long. 

{ hibernating }

I have enjoyed being a bit of a home bird this month. Autumn days are made for hibernating at home, keeping cosy under blankets, and making the most of the dark mornings, and nights, by lighting the many candles dotted around the house.

{ feeling festive }

Whilst you will never find me even contemplating putting the decorations up until December is well under way, I have been enjoying a few Christmas markets that have started to make me feel all festive. The Paperdoll's Handmade Market on Saturday was particularly lovely, and keep an eye out for a blog post coming very soon. In the meantime I will leave you with these beautiful blooms bought from Bloom Collective, soon to be turned into a wreath, and decorations for gifts.

And so, onto December.

{ have a happy day }

{ popping up at the we are pop POPup Christmas Market }

A weekend of firsts for me. My first Christmas market of the year, and my first market as a maker rather than a visitor.  I'm not sure I could have picked a friendlier one to start with either, and with it being the first hosted by the very lovely we are POP, and the first for a few other stall holders too, it had an air of nervous excitement and anticipation.

Our venue was The Granary, at Wykham Park Farm.  Tucked away in the scenic Oxfordshire countryside it seemed a perfect fit for the twenty designers, makers, and independents that came along. It may only be November, but with the log fire burning, twinkly lights sparkling, and glittery Christmas trees dotted here and there, you were suddenly reminded that the festive season isn't too far away now.

During one of the few quiet moments of the day I did manage to take a look around, and it was so lovely to talk to the other people there; to glean words of wisdom from those who'd been doing this a little longer than me, and to share 'new girl' worries with the other first timers. It almost feels wrong to pick favourites from those who were there, but here are some of the makers who made me sigh with envy, and made my Christmas wish list just a little longer.

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5

Firstly a big thank you to my lovely neighbours for the day, Amy of Ama Ama, and Claire of Little m. The prize for the steadiest hand of the day must go to Claire, who was personalising her prints and Christmas baubles on the day.

The Smallish House is someone I've admired on Instagram for a while, so it was lovely to see her beautiful prints in real life.  Charlie Pie Designs were a lovely new find. British icons are given a mid-century twist and printed onto cushions, lampshades, and notebooks, in wonderfully fresh colour ways.

And lastly, sitting opposite to me, A Tribe Well Dressed. Capturing the trend for personalisation in colourful, quirky appliques, and a relative newcomer, like myself.

{ photo credit . we are POP } 

{ photo credit . Buzzy Beans Coffee }

My biggest thank you should probably go to Buzzy Beans Coffee, for supplying me with incredibly good coffee through the day.

{ photo credit . Gemma Harris Designs }

There were so many highlights during the day, from the compliments about my stand, and my beanies and blankets, chatting with all the lovely visitors, making my first ever sale, but amongst all those was having my first go on a letterpress. After watching, with envy, the children all taking a turn, I couldn't resist asking Gemma if I could have a go too. Such good fun . . . though now I'm having to stop myself googling letterpress machines for sale!

Once again, a big thank you to everyone who came along, said hello, stopped to chat, and who bought something too. It really is true that when you buy from a small business an actual person does a little happy dance.

{ have a happy day }

{ my october }

As L.M.Montgomery once said, I'm glad I live in a world with October's. The month hasn't been entirely worry free, but looking back it's only the lovely things I'm choosing to remember.

{ learning }

The month began learning how to crochet, something I've talked about for far too long. My grasp of double and treble crochet, and of course, those oh so wonderful granny squares, is all thanks to Clare, whose patience is matched only by her passion for crochet and all the many wonderful things you can create with it.

{ making }
Yarn has been a recurring theme this month, with the learning to crochet, and signing up to my first POPup Market. The past few weeks have been full of designing, planning, and making, pom pom's, tassels, banners and blankets. There is lots more yarn to arrive, lots more to make, but it's been very exciting seeing everything start to come together.

{ reading }

In a busy month, quiet moments have been cherished by sitting and quietly reading. After months of seeming to devour novels, this month I've enjoyed reading the Autumn edition of 91, and the latest edition of Lagom. Both have content that you can quite happily lose yourself in. 91 has led me to find even more creatives on Instagram to follow, whilst Lagom is feeding my wanderlust and adding even more places to my To Visit list. After all, who wouldn't be tempted by a Treehotel in Sweden? 

{ watching }

Although it broke my heart ever so slightly, I adored Goodbye Christopher Robin.  If you have even the faintest interest in Winnie the Pooh, and remember playing pooh sticks in your long forgotten childhood, then do try to catch this on the big screen.  Beautifully shot, it is melancholic without being sentimental, and brings a bittersweet note to the tale of the bear who has been a part of many childhood's.

I'm looking forward to November with an edge of apprehension.  The diary, it is fair to say, is crammed full of lovely things. There are plans to tick off a few more things on my Fifty before 50 list, that little POPup that I keep mentioning, and so much more. And I'm guessing that it won't seem five minutes until I'm sitting here writing all about it!

{ have a happy day }

{ turning the page }

Things may be a little quiet around here for a while. Things are about to change. I am saying a very fond farewell to lily&Bloom, and saying a huge hello to MissSmith. Do you remember that I asked you to say hello to MissSmith a little while back? For those of you with memories as good as mine you can have a read here. Since then, momentum has ebbed and flowed, but hadn't gained the pace it really should have done.

I had considered keeping lily&Bloom. It has been with me for nearly six years now, and came along at a time when I needed a big change in my life, or rather one had been forced upon me. Under the comforting umbrella of lily&Bloom I have worked for some really lovely clients, learnt to appreciate a much slower pace of life, rambled on and shared my, often random thoughts and findings with you on here. It has allowed me the time and space to find out a little more about myself, which I guess is why I now find myself saying goodbye, and becoming MissSmith instead.

Rest assured, there will still be random rambling thoughts. There will also be lots more besides. I'll be sharing with you my design inspiration for my knitting, and more importantly all the lovely things I've been busy making that I'm hoping a few lovely people will buy! The next couple of weeks will be spent turning the website and my whole on-line presence over to MissSmith, and it will also be spent busily knitting and making things for my very first event. Yes ( cue the trumpets, and drums, and all that celebratory nonsense ) I am super excited to say that I will be joining we are POP at their POPup Christmas Market, happening in three very short weeks ( cue the anxiety, nerves, and general scary feelings! ). Baby blankets, wall hangings, pom pom garlands and so much more are being designed and made in every spare moment, dare I say, perfect for Christmas for gifts, or a cheeky little present to yourself.

And so I leave you with a sneak peek of the new look MissSmith above, and a little sneak peek of my Christmas mood board below.

And as I'm absolutely certain that curiosity will get the better of you, and you will want to POP along, here are the details of the market. I would love to see you there. 

{ have a happy day }

{ my august }

And so the year continues to fly along at a frightening pace. It may be a little too soon to mention the C word, but go on, admit it, you've had a few thoughts already haven't you? 

August has been a slightly strange month. I've been wrapped up in cardigans and contemplating all sorts of lovely autumnal things, and yet, isn't this supposed to be the height of summer. And then, all of a sudden, we get the most gorgeous Bank Holiday weekend weather, all blue skies and sunshine, and we feel silly in our cardigans, until just as suddenly as it appeared it disappears again, and I don't feel so bad returning to all those autumnal musings again.

{ knitting }

Thankfully this un-summery weather is perfect for sitting knitting cosy big blankets, and snug as a bug bobble hats, so for that I am most grateful. No sign yet of anything for sale, but this month has been far more productive than others, and we are getting closer to popping a few things up on Etsy.

I had some lovely reactions to my knitted wallhangings when they were posted on Instagram, and they've been a lovely way to use up left over yarn, and are a lot quicker to knit than those cosy big blankets.  I have one more waiting to be blocked and hung, and once I have a few more ends of balls left I'll be knitting a few more.

I can't wait to show you those snug as a bug hats I've been working on. Super snuggly and cute, and perfect for those autumn days that are already knocking on the door.

{ eating }

The extremes of this month was perhaps most evident in what I ate.  I finally ventured into the garden and tackled the greenhouse, which had started to resemble Sleeping Beauty's castle.  On the upside to this was a lovely haul of blackberries growing amongst the brambles.  I have a new found respect for anyone who goes foraging each year for blackberries.  The deliciousness of the blackberries made up for the numerous scratches and prickles, though I may stick to buying my fruit from the farm shop.

August is a birthday month in our family, with my Dad's on the 9th, and my Mum's falling on Bank Holiday weekend.  Traditionally a homemade birthday cake is made for all family birthday's, and as my Dad is rather partial to dark chocolate this year's cake was a Chocolate Mud Cake.  Filled with raspberry jam, rather than the ganache, and topped with flowers it was handed over with much love, and eaten with much enjoyment.

And whilst there has been plenty of summer berries, there has also been plenty of soup and stew making.  It seems wrong to be wanting comforting bowls of soup and stew, but I'll take being warm over eating salads just because it's summer.  My go-to favourite soup is a spicy butternut squash and carrot, topped with chilli roasted seeds, though I think perhaps I need to extend my soup repertoire this autumn and winter, so any suggestions and favourites are welcomed.

{ visiting }

It really has been a month of home sweet home for me, the only exception being an outing to Hay on Wye.  It had been year's since I had been, though it's an annual trip for my book loving parents. I'd forgotten quite how many bookshops there are, but also how many vintage and antique shops too.

Khoollect's wanderlust post on Hay provided some useful tips on where to brunch and lunch, in particular the great cafe at the back of Richard Booth's Bookstore and Cinema.  I breakfasted there with the yummiest selection of breads which turned a simple breakfast of toast and blackcurrant jam into something just that little bit more.  The Old Electric Shop was an eclectic mix of loveliness for you and for your home, supporting local artists and makers, also with a rather lovely cafe at the front of the shop. 

If you haven't been, and have even a passing interest in books then pop it on the list of places to visit next year.

September is off to a super busy start with a weekend full of musing over The Trouble with Goats and Sheep at The Little Book Club, and meeting the makers at the Quartermasters Market in the Jewellery Quarter, and at Pop Up + Hustle over at Tur Langton.  After which I'll be staying home as I'll have probably spent all my money at those two lovely events!

{ have a happy day }

{ my july }

Can somebody stop this year, I want to get off.

I'm sure I say this at the end of every month, and if I don't I certainly think it. But, is it just me, or is this year going really really quickly? I don't think I can blame this strange time phenomena on being really busy. Nicely busy, yes, really busy, not so much. The super productive month I was hoping for in June's reflective post didn't materialise in quite the way it could have done. I'm thinking more that tentative baby steps might be a better description for it. However, as I realise that we're hurtling at breakneck speed towards Autumn, Christmas, and Winter, and peak knitwear season, I really had better start taking bigger steps towards getting MissSmith up and running.

{ exploring }

A month which began with a trip to the Derbyshire Summer Market, which as usual was a delight, and led to me discovering a few more designers and makers. A day trip to Uppingham in Leicestershire led to a few more discoveries. An incredible pretty town, with an antiques centre that you can quite happily lose yourself in for a few hours, and home to a number of lovely independents, including Priddy Essentials, and Goodwin and Belle.

A happy discovery was another great independent coffee shop, almost on the doorstep. The Steamroom opened earlier this year, and it's combination of really good coffee, and a quieter location than that afforded Booboo Coffee and Peel & Stone, I think it may become my new favourite.

The month ended with the PopUp + Hustle market, hosted by Studio NL at their workshop in Tur Langton. A wonderful mix of designers, illustrators, ceramicists, and others were brought together under one roof, for a weekend celebrating local independents. A really lovely new find to end the month on, and the dates for their next one are already in my diary.

{ baking }

Slowly starting to bake again after a short break. The last of this years blackcurrants were baked on top of a madeira cake. Using Donna Hay's Olive Oil Madeira Cake, replacing the orange with lemon, and scattering a good handful of blackcurrants on top. The blackcurrants bake into a jam like consistency, adding a wonderful tart note to the cake. On a slightly healthier note, Madeleine Shaw's Buckwheat Granola made a change to my usual porridge, though it is incredibly moreish, and much like the cake, really needs to be put out of sight between servings.

{ painting }

Continuing to enjoy a little watercolour painting, as I finished the last couple of prints for a client. Really looking forward to seeing how these turn out on the finished product, and I'm happy that it's given me a bit more confidence to step away from the laptop and return to drawing and painting more. Plus I have a feeling it's a little better for my increasingly ageing eyesight.

{ freeing up my insta }

I don't think it's any secret that I love Instagram, but just recently there's been a feeling of Insta fatigue. Frustration with the change in algorithm's, the more recent phenomenon shadowbans, and a sense that Instagram has lost the spontaneity that was it's original intention. My feed is full of undeniably beautiful images, but I also know that in reality most of them are not captures of a moment, but are carefully curated, edited, captioned and scheduled, something of which I'm as guilty of as most. 

I know that I'm not alone in feeling this, but it was Allison Sadler who stepped up to the plate, with her hashtag #freeupyourinsta, which in her words, gives you the ' freedom to share whatever the f*ck you like your way '. 10,000 posts and counting, and if you fancy being an Insta rebel then round 2 starts tomorrow.

And so July, over, but for a few hours. In August I've got friends and family birthday's to look forward to, and a To Do list which reads something like this; Knit, Sell, Sleep, Repeat.

{ have a happy day }

{ hello . Miss Smith }

For the past couple of years I've had a yearning to start something for me. A small business, designing, creating and making things that I was passionate about.  A designer for more years than I care to say out loud, I've always worked and designed for others. Whilst I've prided myself on doing my best to meet the clients brief, that doesn't necessarily mean you spend your days designing things that make your soul happy.

It took a long while to decide what that small business would look like. Pages and pages of scribbles, doodles, notes, talking myself into and out of ideas as quickly as they came to mind. Although I am a children's wear designer by profession, and have toyed with the idea of my own collection many times over the years, the idea of this no longer held the appeal it once had. Slightly intimidated by all the amazing small companies that have sprung up over the years, designing the most amazing children's wear, and more than a little fazed by the idea of finding and dealing with manufacturers, I was looking for something a little simpler, smaller.

The idea that eventually took hold, was something I'd been interested in since I was young, something that pre-dated my children's wear designing days. My mum taught me to knit when I was small, and the fascination for the craft has never left me. I knitted through art college, originally applying for a Knitwear degree, before choosing Fashion, yet knitwear played an integral part of most of the collections I designed, including my final collection. Whilst not the most fashionable of things when I was at University, knitwear has seen something of a renaissance over the past few years. Companies such as Loop, We are Knitters, Wool and the Gang, and Purl Soho, have helped to elevate knitting from a singularly unfashionable past time, to an über cool hobby, helped in part by the move towards a slower, more mindful, way of living.

The scope that knitting now offers is vast, but I was particularly intrigued by the extreme knitting which I'd seen around the net, something which definitely hadn't been around in my Uni days. I started building Pinterest boards, for mood, for knitting, for colour, and started looking for yarns, for gigantic knitting needles, and I started knitting again.

And whilst progress has not perhaps been as quick as I would like, progress, of a sort, has been made. The images I collected have been sorted, and a selection made to give a snapshot of the impression I would like my business to make. Words have been written to define the brand I would like to be, and a name has been decided on. lily&Bloom has been my moniker since I started freelancing and blogging. Though I feel a great fondness for it, it didn't feel the right thing to take forward into this new venture. And so, and to my Dad's great delight, please say hello to the beginnings of Miss Smith.

I've loved my first go at knitting with jumbo yarn, and have loved discovering new stitches, techniques, and a whole community of like minded knitters. I've been playing with developing my own knitting patterns, and feel a style, and knitting handwriting of my own is starting to develop, though perhaps not quite there yet. I'm trying hard not to get distracted by all the wonderful knitters out there who are already selling their wonderful wares, knowing that I need, and want to offer something different from everyone else.

This post is, in part, a note to self to stop procrastinating further on this project. And perhaps to stop calling it a project, and start moving forward at a slightly greater pace than I have so far. There is a fear in putting yourself out there, in putting things you have designed and made out there, the fear that no-one will be interested, no-one will want to buy what you are selling. But if I never try, then I will never know.  I read an interesting post on Instagram, posted by @lisa_king_consultancy about how Starbucks began, and whilst the 'how it began' story was still interesting, for me it was the fact that it began back in 1971 that held a fascination. Whilst undoubtedly a hugely successful company for many years, when you read over their history, it took nearly fifteen years for the company to resemble the coffee stores that we now think as typical of the chain. Now I have no pretensions or desire to build a company as big as Starbucks, but I do think it serves as a reminder that things don't happen overnight, that it's easy to look at companies that are doing well, and are growing, and think that that has happened overnight. The word I used when commenting on Lisa's post was patience. Having the patience to take it step by step, moving forward slowly, yet surely.

I would love to hear your thoughts on all I've written today. Whether it's sharing your experience of starting a small business, or your thoughts on what I've shared above, a few words of encouragement, or even words of warning? 

In the meantime, full of optimism, and renewed enthusiasm, I'm off to scribble down a few more ideas and thoughts.

{ have a happy day }