new towels + new project

My new towels from Le Souk

For all my sob story about never being able to buy from great shops overseas, there is one you need to know about if you don't already: Le Souk. This beautiful collection of homewares is owned by Danielle from the Style Files and... drumroll please... ships worldwide! Which is good news if you fall in love with these towels like I did. Aren't they beautiful? Turkish, tasseled and terrific - I love the woven pattern and the softness. All up the two cost a little over $AUS100 to get here (good old international shipping!), but that's no different really to buying two good bath towels at David Jones is it? And plus, I'll do anything for love...

Last night I left my laptop closed and had a bath. Ok, I send off some emails and then closed it (it's really, really hard to not log on once the babies have gone to bed and have a little browse around). It was rather heavenly. I was so relaxed I decided to start a little project: a completely embellished cushion. By hand.

Time consuming, tedious and yet oddly relaxing: the start of something fabulous. Potentially fabulous.

Several years ago I did this to the top of a white singlet and loved it so much I only just parted with it recently to bin because it was no longer white and, in parts, no longer beaded. It took me a whole long weekend. Considering I had no children then and absolutely nothing else to do over those three days, I estimate it will take me until sometime in 2010 to finish this one! But, oddly enough, I find the tediousness of stitching on teeny tiny beads and sequins quite relaxing (except for when I jab my finger. Which is quite often.) My plan is for a rectangle-sized cushion with a smaller rectangle on the front completely embellished. Although seeing as it took me just under half an hour to do this much last night, it just might soon become a square (shorter amount of time!) We'll see...