Inspired. #22. Love is a many splendored thing.

inspired #22.

I think . . . if it is true

that there as many minds

as there are heads,

then there are as many kinds of love

as there are hearts

Leo Tolstoy

clockwise from centre

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6

How could today's post be inspired by anything other than love?

have a happy valentines.

{ inspired#21 . Let it Snow . Let it Snow . Let it Snow }

. inspired#21 .

" I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently?

And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt;

and perhaps it says, 'Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again'"

. Lewis Carroll .

clockwise from centre

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

The first of a few festive mood boards, and with the weather we have at the moment how could I not be inspired by all the snow?

Those cosy looking snowflake mittens were captured by Marion of basic hus, and have me searching furiously for a similar pattern to knit myself a pair.  And that lovely last illustration, by the very talented Meera Lee Patel, is the perfect snowy scene. Though it does also remind me of how my early morning runs in the snow have felt; achingly beautiful, but uphill all the way!

{ have a cosy day }

{ inspired#19 . Sheep . Lambs . & . a week of Wool }

. inspired#19 .

Baa, baa, black sheep

Have you any wool?

Yes, sir, yes, sir,

Three bags full.

clockwise from centre

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

Yesterday, over our Sunday lunch, my sister and I were reminiscing about our childhood, and in particular our costumes for the street party for the Queen's Silver Jubilee.  I was six, she was a toddling 18months. I was Bo Peep, and she was my sheep, complete with a hand knitted loopy lamb bonnet. Photographs do exist, though, possibly to my sister's relief, I can't quite place my hands on them at the moment. I still have fond memories of the crook that my Dad made for me, complete with crepe paper streamers. It turns out my sister's memories are less fond, though I seem to remember her making a particularly cute little lamb on the day.

Our trip down memory lane coincidentally coincides with The Campaign for Wool's annual Wool Week. A week of exhibitions, events, activities and initiatives, by amongst others, Wool and the Gang, Brora, and Jack Wills, who are celebrating their obsession with wool with a rather sweet, specially commissioned film, which you can take a look at here.

Not quite in the same league as their film, today's post is my own small celebration of wool, and those sweet sheep for whom we have to thank for so much lovely yarn, and cosy knitwear.

Now, off to knit my sister a brand new loopy lamb bonnet 🐑 !

{ have a happy day }

{ inspired#18 . Autumn . Leaves . & . the Woodland }

. inspired#18 .

" Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree "

Emily Bronte

clockwise from centre

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

I don't think I will ever tire of that lovely Emily Bronte quote.  Nor will I tire of beautiful autumn hues. How can we not be inspired by such a lovely season?

There's a little more Autumnal inspiration on my Pinterest board here.

But for now . . . 

{ have a happy day }

{ summer sunshine }

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

Well this is a bit of an unexpected treat isn't it? A Bank Holiday weekend with the ☀️  shining and barely a cloud in the sky.

So whilst I had been ready to start a series of warm and cosy posts, instead it's one last Hurrah for the sunshine and making the most of it whilst it lasts.

{ have a happy and sunny day }

{ inspired#17 . Llama's and Peruvian polka dots }

. inspired#17 .

Advice from a Llama

Llisten to your heart

Llook on the bright side

Llaugh more

Llive and let Llive

Llove Llife

clockwise from centre

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

Llama's are the new Unicorns.

You heard it hear first.

Lots more Llama love on my Pinterest board here.

{ have a happy day }

{ inspired#16 . jane austen . reading & love }

. inspired#16 .

It isn't what we say or think that defines us

It's what we do

clockwise from centre

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

This year marks the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen's death.  Whether you have read her novels or not, you can't help but be familiar with her work; Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice { Her heart did whisper that he had done it for her }, the Dashwood sisters of Sense and Sensibility { I wish, as well as everybody else, to be perfectly happy; but, like everybody else, it must be in my own way }, Fanny Price of Mansfield Park { A fondness for reading, properly directed, must be an education in itself }, the matchmaking meddling Emma { If I love you less, I might be able to talk about it more }, Northanger Abbey, and her last novel, Persuasion { None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives }.

There was so much love for her on Instagram yesterday, the day that marked 200 years since Jane's last, and I'm going to borrow the caption from this picture, which sums up Jane in a way in which I think the author herself would approve.

photo credit // janice mier

' Ardently remembering a badass woman who has taught me so much. There were too many lessons but if there's one thing I'd like to share with your ladies, it is that we should love using our heart and our head. Do proper assessment of character. Know the difference between a man who has a plan and a boy who just wants to waste your time.

Thank you Jane for your books. For who you are. For everything you've done. I'm grateful you existed. '

You'll find lots more Austen inspiration on my pinterest board { inspired#16 } and to read more about the anniversary take a look over on Jane Austen 200.

{ 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 }

{ inspired#15 . strawberry fields . pick your own . & . summertime }

. inspired#15 .

She was a curious girl, a wanderer, who spent her summers

chasing fluttering pieces of prose, and eating strawberries.

clockwise from centre

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5

Tomorrow I'm going strawberry picking.  It has been many many years since I went last, but it was a regular trip for us when I was a child.  Loading up the car with the empty fruit baskets, a picnic packed to enjoy after the picking, never really knowing which fruit farm we'd end up at, or whether it would be a bountiful year, or a less than blessed year for Summer fruits.  There are perhaps, few things in life lovelier than a freshly picked and eaten strawberry, and those few lovelier things perhaps being the lovely things you can make with those freshly picked strawberries.  My mum is planning a jam making session with her few baskets worth, my dad will make a few bottles of strawberry wine with his.  And me? I'm thinking a few jars of jam, and then a wonderfully indulgent strawberry cheesecake, and if the sunshine stays a while longer perhaps a homemade strawberry icecream. 

I could perhaps go on, but lets see how many strawberries we pick first eh?

There is a little more strawberry & summer inspiration on my pinterest board { inspired#15 }, pretty prints, nostalgic images of strawberry picking, and more recipes than you could possibly pick fruit for.

Oh, and happy first day of Summer ☀️

{ have a happy & sunny day }

{ Bloom & Grow }

dress // wallpaper // print // dress // quote

This year's RHS Chelsea Flower Show open's tomorrow, and once again I will feel that dull ache of regret, of once again not having bought tickets.  Thankfully the coverage on tv, and undoubtedly on Instagram will provide oodles of floral inspiration.  In the meantime I'm creating a little floral inspiration of my own with a Monday moodboard, before popping out to buy armfuls of flowers to make me feel a little less regretful.

{ have a Blooming day }

{ inspired#14 . frida kahlo . fiesta . & . flowers }

. inspired#14 .

I paint flowers so they will not die

clockwise from centre

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

A moodboard for Monday, inspired by Frida Kahlo, Fiesta and flowers.  I feel I should be writing this post whilst adorned with a floral crown.  Unfortunately that's not so.  Messy hair, don't care, might be a better quote for today, but I can dream can't I?

For a little more fiesta, flora and frida pop over to my { inspired.#14 } Pinterest board.  Then pop off and make yourself a floral crown.

{ have a happy day }

{ inspired#13 . the garden }

. inspired#13 . the garden .

how lovely the silence of growing things

clockwise from centre

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

A midweek mood board, inspired by the garden.  My garden has been a little neglected over the past couple of years, and the only things growing have been a vast amount of weeds.  I'm hoping that with a little more time on my hands this year that it might be a different story.

Tell me about your garden.  Do you love gardening or loathe it, is it a haven of tranquility, order and calm, or a haven of wildflowers and wildlife?

For a little more garden inspiration pop over to my { in . the . garden } pinterest board.

{ have a happy day }

{ happy friday }

{ 1 } The prettiest stamps.  For the prettiest mail by Vintage Postage Shop.

{ 2 } The prettiest faffing.  Behind the scenes at Bob&Blossom.

{ 3 } The coolest boyswear.  New season's collection from Morley.

{ 4 } ♥︎ The dress.

{ 5 } Mini mood board love.

{ 6 } ♥︎ The skirt.

{ 7 } Cute colourful shoe love.

{ 8 } Here's to the ones who dream { of a Best Movie Oscar }.  Good luck La La Land.

{ 9 } I Spy one little red nose hiding in this pretty flatlay.  Mollie Makes Crafternoon is coming.

{ + } Next Tuesday, embrace Sweden's Fat Tuesday with these cardamom scented Semlor Buns.

{ have a happy day }

{ Goodbye, she said, I'm off to join the Circus }

centre // 1 // 2 // 3 // 4

One of the many things on my fifty before 50 list is to fly on the trapeze { with the greatest of ease - though I think that last bit might be pushing it a little }.  I've been spending a little time looking into this, and with great delight have found numerous Circus Schools, up and down the country, that can facilitate this *cue enormous excitement & a great deal of squealing*.  The whole notion of a circus continues to have a mysterious romance about it, possibly due to my reading of novels such as Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, and the completely wonderful The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.

I'm sure that the reality bears no relation to my vivid imaginings, but a girl can dream can't she?  Luckily, even if running away and joining a circus isn't on the horizon for a little while, you can still indulge in some circus inspired prettiness.  Perfect for turning your Little Ones room into a mini circus all of their own, and outfitting them with a wardrobe that would put any trapeze artist to shame.

{  have a happy day }

{ a little Greenery & Pantone's colour of 2017 }

{ clockwise from top right // 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 }

look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better // albert einstein

Pantone's colour for 2017 feels just right for this year.  A colour of freshness, newness, Spring time, things that are natural, grown, found.  A colour to embrace the movement towards being mindful, of seeking moments not things.  It brings to mind the florals of Liberty, it has nostalgic qualities of a childhood spent outside in gardens & parks, it brings with it a " Darling Buds of May " quality.  Am I being a little sentimental?  Perhaps, but I also feel it's an colour full of optimism, of embracing all the good things of times past, rather than continuing to march forever forward with no glimpse of a backwards glance.

{ have a happy day }