September can be a funny old month. It can be almost as warm as June, but you just can’t rely on it. And then there’s the rain, usually first thing in the morning, Hence the name of this one (can you guess who named it??) Oh yes. This sciorta reminds me of the 7.30am light after a heavy rain has fallen. The dark clouds have moved on, but are still visible. The sun is streaming down, but the ground is sodden. The sun moves out of our garden in September : ( but I can still see the sun on the top half of the trees.
september morn: the detail
outer: fine bright turquoise baby soft cord
lining: polycotton
circles: 100% cotton
machine washable @ 30
concealed side zip
flattering a-line shape
length finishes at knee (23″ long)
sits on hips
It’s 5pm on an October day. Probably mid-week. Dinner-time chaos, followed by homework and bedtime. Usually, the light outside is fading. The candles which sit in the middle of our table have been lit. It’s cold and bare outside, but the candles pour some warmth into our room. And they really do seem to calm us all down – most days : ) . This sciorta reminds me of our kitchen during those times. It’s not glam nor particularly exciting but it’s the rhythm of our day. And I love it.
fading light: the detail
outer: slate grey fine narrow cord
lining: polycotton
hem: 100% cotton
machine washable @ 30
concealed side zip
flattering a-line shape
length finishes at knee (23″ long)
sits on hips
Now, this sciorta has colours that could easily go from summer through to winter and back again. Kind of an all-rounder. I had in my head that kind of faded burnt orange – like when the summer has stayed long enough (although – honestly – that is rare in these parts – it doesn’t stay long enough!!) So, if you’re looking for an all round toasty in winter with boots yet cool in summer with flip-flops – well, this could be your one.
cinnamon toast: the detail
outer: dark denim
lining: polycotton
circles: 100% cotton
machine washable @ 30
concealed side zip
flattering a-line shape
length finishes at knee (23″ long)
sits on hips
Although sometimes I felt the green in this sciorta was sometimes more spring-like I really liked the way it sat with the dark brown baby cord. It just seemed – right. Then, I remembered where it had come from. Sometimes on pine trees you see those light green bits – kind of new bright green growth – it looks like they’re kind of stuck on and they somehow don’t quite belong. But then I thought about how they sat right next to the dark brown bark and how actually, I really loved those colours together. So, here you have it. Pine Green.
pine green: the detail
outer: dark brown fine cord
lining: polycotton
hem: 100% cotton
machine washable @ 30
concealed side zip
flattering a-line shape
length finishes at knee (23″ long)
sits on hips
There is nothing more peaceful that looking at the sea on a calm day. Sometimes there is fog, but mostly there’s just silence, grey, pale grey/green sea and some hills in the distance. This doesn’t happen so often in my current life. But, we are lucky enough to live by the sea, meaning I can catch the odd glimpse. And it’s so worth taking the 5 minutes to appreciate it. So, there you have it, this sciorta reminds me of the sea on a calm calm day.
calm day: the detail
outer: slate grey fine cord
lining: polycotton
circles: 100% cotton
machine washable @ 30
concealed side zip
flattering a-line shape
length finishes at knee (23″ long)
sits on hips
I have to tell you that come September I turn into some blackberry crazed freak. Seriously. I cannot walk past a blackberry bush without picking. Last Saturday I was actually in blackberry heaven. I’d gone to Strangford, Co. Down to check locations for the next sciorta shoot (which is coming v soon!!) and while I was there, went for a quiet stroll along a country lane where I knew I was bound to find some blackberries.
And boy did I find blackberries. I do believe it rained during my time in the lane, and was also extremely windy. But something strange occurs when I pick blackberries – it’s the same when I am photographing or designing. I go into some kind of all-absorbing trance -like state. I believe it’s called the ‘flow’, and man, is it a heavenly place to be. Just me, my tin and the blackberries. That and the peace and quiet.
I have been a blackberry picker since I was small. My granny used to keep the Rover biscuit tins from Christmas, and send us all out mid September to collect. We came back with several tins full, emptied them and went back out again. The blackberries were used mostly for jam and some for freezing for crumbles. I haven’t a clue how to make blackberry jelly but I do make a mean crumble.
If you are not a seasoned blackberry picker – here are some things to think about.
1. If you are precious about your hands or nails, wear some kind of gloves. I never have, but then I have just spent the past week performing minor surgery on my fingertips getting thorns out, and trying to get the blackberry juice out of my fingernails.
2. Wear wellies. You have to tramp over a lot of these nasty guys. Great in soup and beer, not so great when they’re stinging your legs.
3. Overcome your fear of mini-beasts including spiders. The best blackberries are usually behind/under mini-beast lairs and involve some degree of poking to get past a spider’s web. UGH.
4. Take more bags/tins that you think you will need. If you come across a good crop you’ll not be able to walk away and leave them hanging.
5. Every so often, stop. And look around you. I find I become so focused on the bush and the blackberry that I forget the bigger picture of where I actually am. And then I stop and look and wonder why I’m about to fall over a fallen tree or into a ditch. When I finally looked up from my picking frenzy, here’s what I saw:
We still have about 10 days of blackberry picking left. Apparently the season ends on 29th September on the feast of St Micheal, when apparently the devil spits on the remaining blackberries and therefore it’s very unwise to pick them. Nice to know.
So all you people in this northern hemisphere, get out there picking now. And if you live near me, get out there, get picking and then invite me for crumble : ) Just for the record, I like it best with cream or home-made custard.
OK, so I have actually always wanted to know why the a-line is called the a-line. So people, be delighted that I am sharing my great knowledge with you. According to our old friend Wikipedia, an a-line skirt is a skirt that is fitted at the hips and gradually widens towards the hem, giving the impression of the shape of a capital letter A. Ta-Dah! Turns out it’s actually quite logical and simple. The term is also used to describe dresses and coats with a similar shape. I definitely a fan of the a-line dress, but not so much the coat.
Apparently the term was first used by the French couture designer Christian Dior to describe a new style of flared skirt introduced in his Spring–Summer 1955 Collection – the same year Dior launched their own lipstick. Loving the skirts Christian – not so much the lipstick – it’s just too sticky for my liking, and always makes me feel like I’ve just got jam on my lips. Seriously. If anyone fancies converting me to the way of lipstick – be my guest. Anyhoo, the Dior’s 1955 Collection was all quite simple and lovely and a-line featured heavily. Then, when Jacqueline Kennedy adopted the style in the early 1960s it became really popular and has remained so ever since. There were many other great wearers of the a-line skirt but I think that’s another post entirely. All we need to know is it’s simple, practical and always makes you feel good about your body shape – what’s not to like!
This week my children are at Aventure Camp Spy School – run by the very lovely Amy at Discovery Company. They are all about getting out there and having BIG adventures, of which I am an enormous fan. If you live anywhere near Belfast and have children, it is completely worth checking these guys out. So while my children are off enjoying the great outdoors, I am sending myself to my small but perfectly formed studio for ‘Design Camp’. There will be regular snacks, some excellent music and a lot of cutting and merging and sketching and drawing and definitely some loud singing. All the colours, textures and fabrics that I’ve held in my head or scribbled in my book over the past few weeks will now come to life as I start breathing life into these new sciorta. : )
Well, he’s kind of like the muffin man, only comes with less baked goods, and he’s quite like the Delmonte man in that he says YES quite a lot. Oh yes people, today, was FABRIC MAN day. WOOOHOOO. Now, because I am pregnant with a babe, and for a bunch of reasons, I can’t travel. SO, I have to ensure that for the time being all my lovely suppliers can come to me. And today was Fabric Man’s visit. I ooohed and aaaahed over all sorts of lovely fabric. I touched and stretched and rubbed and held. So very important when you are choosing fabric. And what can I tell you about the next designs? There’ll be some corduroy – which despite reminding me of the 70’s looks pretty darn gorgeous in a sciorta. There’ll be some velvet. Oh yes. Soft, delicious velvet and there will also be a few more denim creations. To be the first to find out more about these new designs, sign up here for sciorta news!
Did I tell you I have a big thing for buttons? Well, I do. I love them. And quite a few appear on my sciorta. My friend Moyra also does great things with buttons and makes them into rings. Her company is called mumra rings and they are gorgeous!! You can find her at St Georges Market and other markets she does throughout the year, but only in and around Belfast, so, if you want to see her marvellous creations you may need to travel to our wet and windy part of the world!
A year ago, someone gave my mum a HUGE collection of vintage buttons. They are beautiful! I want to reproduce nearly all of them – although there are definitely a few clangers in there as well – which obviously I need to take pictures of for you – it’ll be worth it. Buttons often inspire me. They spark an idea or a colour. Quite often they are building block around which I design my sciorta. The other thing I love about buttons is that on my sciorta they don’t have any real function – they are just there, hanging out, having a nice time making themselves look good. I am on the hunt for some new foxy buttons so if you have any you think would look great on a sciorta, share them with me! Either on Facebook or as a comment down below.
