James Burleigh

This is the Waldo 45 by James Burleigh a London based furniture company.

I saw this set at the 100% Design exhibition last year and love the simplicity as well as the fact that the colour is so 'catchy'. They are available in quite a wide range of colours and edge finishes. I think I'd love one in slightly rusty dark orange.

Not that I have anywhere to put it! It's okay to dream.

Indigo

Adire is a tie and dye fabric made in southern Nigeria mainly by the Yoruba tribe. It uses the natural indigo dye from plant extracts to achieve the blue colour. Interestingly blue is not a colour that is occurs often naturally.

Indigo dye was also used in the production of denim for jeans so I thought it would be interesting to bring these two fabrics together in one item. One is quite modern and the other traditional and both are from very different parts of the world.

The dyeing techniques are quite interesting as they involve threading, stitching and tying the fabric similar to the Japanese Shibori methods of tie and dye.

A Northern Japanese Indigo Dyed Shibori Juban, originally uploaded by Sri Threads.

Looking through books and images, there are so many similarities between some of the traditional Japanese fabrics and the Nigerian ones I grew up wearing. I really like the patterns and colours of traditional Japanese fabrics and their design ethos in general come to think of it. I will be looking more into their traditional design culture in future posts.

Are you a fan of blue or indigo? If so, please share some links. Thanks!

Ice Blue neckwarmer

Blue neckwarmer, originally uploaded by Urbanknit.

This is one of many. All of which are in a chunky knit. I love chunky and textured knitting, its the instant gratification I think.

I've been experimenting with new stitches and textures for this season. I have so many colour combinations and more stitches I want to try. The list is endless but its all fun.

Again, the neckwarmer like the scarflette is for those that do not want a long scarf that gets in the way but stays firmly put round your neck and keeps it warm and cosy. I've been wearing my sage green one everywhere (even when it does not match my clothes!)

It's September. I'ts London. It's cold!