The lovely Country Living magazine remains one of my all time favourite treats. Month after month it delivers an incredibly beautiful does of inspiration. The homes and gardens that sit within it's pages take my breath away. The wonderful ideas for decorating, cooking and homemaking inspire me no end. I've been reading this magazine faithfully since 1998, so I think you could say I am most definitely a faithful follower.
Back in May (which was the June issue) the magazine started a new feature called "women and their sheds"...wow what a terrific and inspiring idea! Knowing a little of what can go on in Creative Sheds throughout Blogland, I was instantly high on excitement over what Sheddy Goodness would be revealed as the summer months rolled by. First up was the shed of Esther Coombs, you can find some great pictures of this feature on Alun Callender's blog. Part two came last month in the July issue, and you can see the pages up above there......do you recognise that lady? Do you know her?
This is her most beautiful garden shed, a wonderful beach hut/shed/studio hybrid nestled amidst a sea of glorious flowers. It belongs to Emma Mitchell, a super talented jeweller who also writes a very lovely blog called Silver Pebble which you may know.
Shall we take a peek inside?
Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh! How delicious!
Emma has transformed the inside of her shed into such a calm and beautiful working space, it has such charm don't you think?
Now if you are not already familiar with Emma's beautiful jewellery, do go and have a little look at her gallery. Her work is truly wonderful, and I love her style very much. I love the simplicity of the designs and the truly handmade nature of what she does. I love the teeny-tiny scale of her jewellery and the exquisite detail in every single thing she makes. I love the subject matter. Well, I just love it all really.
If you pressed me to choose a favourite item of Emma's, it would without doubt be one of these amazing little charm necklaces. She describes them as "beaded garland jewellery - you know, the delicate, jingly, pretty jewellery where beads hang from a chain. It’s like tiny, slightly tinkly, beady bunting." What's not to love?!
Two months ago, Emma offered the above four necklaces as a very generous giveaway, to celebrate her four years in Blogland. Oh my. I sososososososoooooo wanted to win! I wished incredibly hard for my name to be chosen so that I could miraculously own and wear the one with the silver pebble and sea shell. That was my favourite. I fell head over heels in love with it. I visited Emma's blog 67 times a day to see if she had made the draw, to see if I was a Lucky Winner.
Then out of the blue an email came to me from Emma telling me that sadly I did not win. I felt like I wanted to cry. But wait..........the end of Emma's email contained a gem of an idea and immediately my heart skipped a beat or two. She suggested that perhaps I would like to partake in a Creative Swap?? She could make me a necklace and I could make her a hooky something.
OH YES PLEASE!
And there began a delightful creative journey for both of us. A month of emails back and forth as we worked on our projects for each other. Emma asked me to make her a bag, and she asked for it to be made in Coastal Colours. So I formed a collection of aran weight wools that spoke to me of salty sea breezes, crashing waves and summer skies, of smooth pebbles and driftwood, of coastal sand dunes and cool horizons.
I was so thrilled to be working with these colours, as they are my true soul colours.
I began hooking straight away and immediately loved the way the colours worked together.
I worked on the bag in any spare moment. Sat outside while Little B played, at the cafe with a cappuccino, at the pub with a strawberry beer, snuggled on the sofa in the early mornings.
And as the stripes grew and grew I was thinking salty sea thoughts. I was daydreaming of past holidays, of happy times spent by the sea. I thought of pebbles and seaglass and the sound of the waves. And I was also thinking of Emma working away on my necklace, wondering what she was up to. I knew there would be a silver pebble (her trademark) and I knew there would probably be a button or two. I also knew (as I had begged for it) that there would be some amazing seaglass. I was unbelievably excited thinking about all these things while I worked.
The bag grew as the days and weeks flew by until I decided the proportions were right and it had reached the right size. I made a scallopy border around the top edge and I made straps. And then when I was about to start work on the decorative flowers Emma threw a little spanner into my creative works. She asked if instead of flowers she could have circles, sort of pebbly sea-circles. Oh! Well....ok then, I will give it a go, I will see if I can make some pretty circles.....
The circles were fun to make, and after a little bit of trial and error, I found a way to make them work as part of the overall bag design. They were needed both as decoration and as a way to hide the end of the straps where they get stitched to the bag.....
....I think they turned out beautifully. I went in search of some special buttons to add a final flourish and found these amazing mother of pearl ones in a local shop. The colours were perfect.
Would you like to see how it all turned out?
YEs, of course you would!
Ta-dah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I felt good ecstatic about it when it was finished, and everyone I showed it to seemed to love it. I still felt a little nervous though, I don't very often make things for other people and I really wanted this to be extra special. I wanted Emma to love it as much as I did.
One other thing I decided to do was to make a fabric lining. I chose a beautiful pale duck egg blue linen, and finished it off with some spotty ribbon along the top edge.
It turned out that I finished making the bag and Emma finished making my necklace at almost exactly the same time. We agreed that it would be fun to post our parcels on the same day so that we could kind of both be in a position to open them simultaneously. Oh my goodness, it is so hard to convey the utter excitement/nervousness of this whole bit of the swap! The feelings that it provoked in both of us was so funny! We kept emailing to make sure we would open our parcels together, and there was a point where we had both received the parcels, but hadn't yet found the right time to open them.
My parcel from Emma surprisingly contained two little brown boxes. Two?! The first one I opened contained these incredible little silver and enamel flower earings. WOW! So unexpected, an extra little gift that Emma said reminded her of me with their colours. They are truly beautiful.
The second brown box contained my necklace. The very sight of it made me want to leap through the roof.
How to describe the beauty of it to you? Each and every charm (there are sixteen in total) is amazing.
There is the most beautiful sea glass.
There are sweet little sea-washed stones, and there look is the silver pebble which Emma made using silver clay.
More seaglass, sweet little vintage mother of pearl buttons and a silver button charm made by Emma. Honestly, this necklace is pure perfection.
It is so incredibly beautiful. And it is truly mine. I said to Emma that it feels like she took my very soul and strung it on a silver chain. My love of the sea, my childhood, my own enduring obsession with collecting small treasures, it's all there.
Wearing this necklace is a dream. I asked for a short 16" chain as this is the way I like to wear my jewellery - quite high up round my neck so that it sits on my skin and doesn't get lost in my clothing.
I love the feel of it round my neck, it's surprisingly heavy. It feels like happiness.
♥
Emma's beautiful jewellery is for sale in her Etsy shop.
She is also a genius at working to commission, so do please feel free to contact her for a chat if you would like a special something made (more info here)
And of course her blog is pretty special too, I am currently drooling my way through her past archives.
Isn't creativity wonderful?! Yaaaaay for HaNdMaDe ♥
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ps...this evening we'll be heading 300 miles south to the Dorset coast. I can't wait to wear my necklace whilst strolling along the shoreline.
Will be back in a week's time ♥
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Hello Lucy, It's amazing you looklike as my friend Nathalie, you are the really the same, but she has not your talent with the crochet. Please ! Excuse-me for my bad english !
I love all what you do !
Posted by: Béa | June 15, 2015 at 08:42 PM
Hi Lucy,
I hope this finds you well ☺️✨
I know this blog post was a while ago now, but I found it so inspiring and wanted to say that! 😄
Also, I have a query - how did you line your bag? As I am trying to line my Jolly Chunky Bag and am getting in a little bit of a pickle 😔 I would really love a very brief guide as to how on earth you managed to get the tricky little blighter to sit properly?
I realise you are a very busy lady, and have masses to do - so Im figuring you probably won't manage to reply bless you - but I've truly tried doing this myself and ive also searched the net, tis making my head spin a bit now,lol! 😱 if you are able to reply, I would be so chuffed and it would mean a great deal to me as I am making this bag for my Mum 💕💐
Very much enjoyed your recent blog entry regarding wreaths - Absolutely amazingly inspirational ☺️💕
Posted by: Jeannie | January 11, 2015 at 10:08 AM
I found your blog through another link from Pinterest and have thoroughly enjoyed looking through your projects. Such color and craftsmanship, and the simple ordinary way you have posted your thoughts.....I love it. Thank you for generously sharing inspiration. As an avid crocheter, I may have to give that colorful ripple blanket a try for myself. Many blessings from Texas!!
Posted by: Sherril | January 13, 2013 at 03:40 AM
Hello Lucy
I discovered your blog a few months ago, and love it!
LOVE the bag tutorial - I have made a multicolour stash bag for myself and am in the middle of a bag for my niece. The current bag I am doing is being done with 8 ply and a 3mm hook, mostly in a summery yellow with the odd navy and white stripe (yellow being my niece's favourite colour), to look a bit beachy. You have inspired me!
*Would it be possible for you to post your method of lining the bag you did for Emma?* Yours looks so gorgeous.
I am also intrigued by some of the yarns you have in the UK. Here in Aust it is harder to get 10 ply (aran) wool and almost impossible to get 10 ply cottons, particularly in the lovely brights you use - but we heaps of 8 ply available (what you might call DK or double knit?).
Keep loving life.
Posted by: Meg | November 17, 2012 at 09:37 AM
Your obviously very talented! I would love to have someone like you to design something for our home ware collection we're building at Rainbow Trunk
www.rainbowtrunk.com
Posted by: Fez Jacobs | November 03, 2012 at 01:44 AM
Very nice collection and an eye catching. I love the details of it. Really fantastic and gorgeous. I'm gonna try doing this one.
Posted by: recruitment consultant | October 12, 2012 at 07:39 AM
Those necklaces that Emma has are beautiful. I love Country Living magazine magazine too.
Posted by: Mike | October 11, 2012 at 12:39 AM
Very adorable stuff. Moms will love this for their kids for sure and kids will also love this as well. Aside from its very cool color the design also attracts the eye of such kid.
Posted by: Playmobil | October 07, 2012 at 01:25 PM
I love your website it is so much fun:)
Lynne dawson
Posted by: Lynne Dawson | August 22, 2012 at 11:58 PM
I love the bag you made for your friend. Do you have a pattern for this bag that you are willing to share ? I am brand new to crochet so I have no idea how to make the bottom circle part of the bag. Thanks, Tami
Posted by: Tami H. | August 22, 2012 at 09:34 PM
Love your blog Lucy . I'm a patchwork / quilter but have been doing more crochet since reading your blog
Any chance of a tutorial to do a decently round circle like the bottom of your bag
Posted by: kathleen Solomi | August 21, 2012 at 06:52 PM
Gorgeous bag, and necklace. I am now making the crochet bag. Please would you tell us how you line it?
Missing you .
:( x
Posted by: Candice | August 20, 2012 at 11:14 PM
Have just made my lovely lucy bag ( second one first was big and loose..lol )
Like a few of the ladies i would be interested in a tut for the lining. I will however have a go doing it my own way and hope for the best!!
Thank you for sharing
Posted by: jilly | August 07, 2012 at 08:32 PM
I would love to know the brand of yarn that you used for Emma's bag. The colors are just beautiful!!! I love reading your blog : )
Posted by: Susan | August 02, 2012 at 07:58 PM
Just amazing! What a gorgeous bag (and necklace). So inspiring that I have decided to crochet a bag for myself. Your pattern is very easy to read, but I would love to have more detail on how you created and attached the lining on Emma's bag. Could/would that possibly be in a future post?
Posted by: Mariela Lawrence | July 30, 2012 at 06:27 PM
Thanks for a lovely post. Lucy can you advise how I can subscribe to your blog? Is there an RSS feed button on your site (that will allow me to link to Google Reader). I really enjoy your blog and would love to be notified when new updates are available. Many thanks. Sue (Perth, Western Australia)
Posted by: Sue | July 30, 2012 at 06:00 PM
Fanmyflame and I visited Emma today for her Open Studios,heard about your swap we saw your lovely bag, and now I've come over to see the necklace. What a wonderful crafty trade, you both seem delighted!
Gill x
Posted by: Gill | July 29, 2012 at 09:37 PM
Lucy, I can't stop thinking about the bag you made!! What pattern did you use? Do you think you could send me a copy of the pattern: cmcdermitt1 at hotmail dot com. I love that beautiful necklace too-I will have to check out the etsy site. I just love this post!!!
Posted by: Sherri | July 28, 2012 at 11:20 PM
I like your blog. It´s full of inspiration!
The bag is beautiful :)
Posted by: Annika | July 28, 2012 at 08:07 PM
Hi Lucy
The bag is AMAZING i love it
You've got great taste
Have a fab weekend
Ella xxx
Posted by: Ella | July 28, 2012 at 02:19 PM
Thank you so much for your very inspirational blog! I love perusing it when I have the time :-)
Posted by: Sara | July 28, 2012 at 08:19 AM
Lucy,
This is totally off topic...just wanted to say the Opening Ceremony was great!!!! It's 12:07a.m. here and I just finished watching. Well done!!!
Jeanine (in Michigan)
Posted by: Jeanine | July 28, 2012 at 05:09 AM
This post was one of those I read with a smile from start to finish.
Posted by: Heather | July 27, 2012 at 06:29 PM
Oh I love the bag! Lucky lady. The necklace is sooo beautiful! I love and hate making things for other people, it's stressful because of the pressure you put on yourself to be perfect. I love the polka dot ribbon trim-fantastic. xx
Posted by: quirky-vintage | July 27, 2012 at 05:12 PM
Wow, what a lovely necklace! And your bag is bright and beautiful as always :)
Do you block your stylecraft crochet? I've got a stylecraft DK blanket thats slightly crooked on one side, which probably can be fixed by blocking it. However, since it's a rainbow pattern I don't know if the colors will merge when wetted...
Posted by: Kirsten | July 27, 2012 at 10:31 AM