Love List #1
Some things I've been enjoying/have had my eye on recently :)
1. Anything with a scalloped edging…
Okay so this isn’t a recent thing but my love for anything with a scalloped edge has not disappeared. I noticed that Sew Over It have a new pattern out called the Josephine Blouse. I have attached the line drawings here rather than the photographs because I think it’s easier to see it’s potential from the drawings. I think this would be super pretty for the summer in a white cotton poplin and love the idea of making the blouse in a plain coloured poplin with a contrasting coloured scallop.
We are currently redecorating our bedroom and I have almost finishing sourcing all the bits and pieces but one thing I haven’t decided on yet is which scalloped edge duvet cover and pillow case set to go for…
From left to right: The White Company, John Lewis and Sophie Conran. There are lots of colour edge thread colour options at Sophie Conran.
Looking at the two things above together, I realise the blouse vision might have been subconsciously inspired by the duvet cover haha.
2. Nikki’s Supply Store
I LOVE stationary but don’t buy it often as I have enough. However if I am after something, Nikki’s Supply Store is one of my favourite places to look. Something that caught my eye recently was this retro-looking weekly archive planner:
Undated Weekly Archive Planner from Nikki’s Supply Store.
I did force myself to resist as I am halfway through an 18 month diary from Rifle Paper Co which I am getting on very well with but if I were in the market for a planner, I would definitely be giving this one a go.
I did however pick up a couple of jotters from Risotto via Nikki’s Supply store. I absolutely love Risotto’s paper goods (they’re a Glasgow-based risography print studio) and this time picked out a pretty pink graph paper jotter for notes and a cool black day planner for time blocking which I have been trying to do more of to become time more efficient. I just love the school exercise book vibe of these jotters.
Risotto Quarderno No 1 and No 9 via Nikki’s Supply Store.
I’ve also enjoyed Risotto’s Hit List in the past :-)
Finally from Nikki’s Supply Store, a wholly unnecessary but completely adorable thing which I did not manage to resist is this Tiny Container, a mini retro-looking tool box, which I will probably use to store sewing bits and also regularly pick up and cry at how cute it is.
3. Elene Ferrante + My Brilliant Friend TV Adaptation
The novel I most recently finished reading is The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante. For the past year and a half Elena Ferrante (pseudonym) has had me completely captivated, first by her Neapolitan Quarter (the ‘My Brilliant Friend’ series) and now The Lying Life of Adults (I give them all 5*). Although I have read other things in between, I keep coming back to Ferrante. Her writing is so powerful and her narrative so compelling I find myself thinking of her characters and stories at the most random times. I think one of my favourite things about what Ferrante writes is how you know sometimes you have a weird thought that you are a bit embarrassed about and can’t believe that anyone else would have such weird thoughts, well her characters think and say these things and other even more screwed up things which at first shock me I think mainly because I’m not used to these kinds of thoughts and ideas being articulated in writing, but then ultimately find very relatable. I struggle to think of many other authors who I’ve come across who do this so well. I am obsessed.
There is a TV adaptation of The Lying Life of Adults which I am really looking forward to watching. I did watch the TV adaptation of My Brilliant Friend ( Book 1 of the Neapolitan Quartet) recently which I would wholeheartedly recommend. I was a bit nervous about watching it having enjoyed the book so much and worrying that the protagonist Elena’s narrative would be lost (hello, Normal People TV Adaptation). However I think it must be one of the best TV adaptations of a book that I’ve ever seen and it captures the essence of the book so well.
This leads onto my final favourite very nicely…
3. Music by Mina
The soundtrack to My Brilliant Friend (TV adaptation) was awesome and I’ve been enjoying the music of Italian singer and actress Mina ever since as this song was my fave played in the series:
Perfect for if you enjoy some old-timey music and want to mentally escape to Italy.
Thanks for reading as always. I love hearing about what others are into so I thought it would be fun to share mine. I hope you enjoyed this :-)
Love, G x
P.s. Are you team must read the book before watching the film or don’t mind either way?