Sunny Sunday Stroll

Book Worms

As my parents were both teachers, I grew up surrounded by hundreds of books. My Mum ensured that I read lots of classics when I started secondary school, and I was happy to do so, having loved reading since I was tiny!

Books make me feel safe and at home. My Father always wrote the date in a new book and a note with his fountain pen. This is something I still do when giving as a gift. Books are such a comforting link to the past for me, and I treasure those from my childhood. I hope Scarlett feels the same when she is older.

Being in a modern house, there doesn't seem to be much space for proper sized bookcases in the living room. I have however made sure there are books of some sort in each room. These are often piled up or stacked in a handy Ikea creation.

I think reading material says a lot about a person, I've photographed various collections in the house: my husband favours Sci-fi and cooking/food books, Scarlett loves anything featuring animals and I collect fashion/textile and Asterix books, and love so many different genres....

In case you are wondering, I'm reading the final Harry Potter at the moment, just don't tell Mum....

Fabrication

People are often very interested to know what materials our products are made from. So, here are a few details! The base fabrics of our cushions are a soft, grey, hand loomed, organic cotton and for our new (coming soon) larger cushions we have sourced a cross weave organic cotton. These are gorgeous and have slight variations, which I believe adds to the hand made feel.

The felt used throughout our collection is eco-fi felt. This is becoming more readily available in the UK now. It is produced from waste plastic bottles. A perfect felt for interior and craft use. All the scraps are kept and used for cards or tiny pieces.

The leather details are made from scraps, which I order in bags from a leather factory. We never know quite which colours we will get, so colours may vary slightly in each design.

Every piece is lovingly finished with hand stitching!

Welly Weather

This windy, wet UK weather has us reaching for our wellies! We go for a walk most days to the nearby nature reserve, and squelch through the mud to see the long-horn cattle. Wellies are a must, as the mud is quite deep in places and I get stuck carrying S quite frequently!

Here are some wellies for little ones, just in case you venture out on a muddy walk.........
Spotty Otter Fleece Lined Wellies, Red or Navy, www.welliesandworms.co.uk £19.50
Hatley Brown Dinasour Rain Boots, £21.95, www.childrensalon.com
Aigle Blue Wellies with pull-on handle, from £29.90, as above
Hatley, Social Butterflies Rain Boots, £21.95, as above
Barbour Blue Tartan Wellies, From £29.95, as above
Hunter Balmoral Wellies, Dark Green, from £35.95

New Cushion Designs

We aren't particularly soppy at Lettie Belle HQ. However, as grown-ups seem to love our designs as much as little ones, we thought a couple of new designs were in order!
With Valentines day coming up, we have created 2 sweet (but not sickly) versions of our most popular motifs. These are also suitable for any other occasion, or just because you like them!

As ever, our cushions are created using a soft grey, hand loomed organic cotton, eco-fi felt (made from waste plastic bottles), leather scraps and hand stitching.

Cushions £25 each
Go to www.lettiebelle.com or http://www.bouf.com/LettieBelle