On Sunday caught the end of Desert Island Discs with Pat Albeck. I've not heard of Pat before but something about the way she spoke about design and creating work for others was so wonderful, it made me turn the radio up and sit in silence for the rest of the show. She went to the Royal College of Art in 1950 and I just can't imagine what a weird and wonderful time it was to be studying this subject. She said she paints every day and that you have to keep it up otherwise it's too hard to go back. She said you have to create stuff that you would want, and you want to buy and not try to please other people, she said other things and you should listen to them here.

Without Radio 4 I wonder if I would learn anything.

Pictures from Googs and Pat Albeck's website.

Way back last September I was asked to make a papier mache head/mask for the Edinburgh Charity Fashion Show. The theme for this years show was 'The Elephant in the Room' combining their two charities Elephant Family and Scottish Association for Mental Health. I was so pleased to be asked, and although it was really time consuming (I got through a lot of trashy shit on Netflix waiting for newspaper layers to dry) it was really enjoyable to do something different to sewing.

They've used the head on their blog as an alternative to the normal street style picture, to create an anonymity when talking about ones feelings, such a great idea for some real good causes.

I bought this fabric about a year ago as soon as I saw it as it's just really something spesh. I made myself a smock dress and then forgot to add it to my shop. I think I was enjoying actually wearing something I'd made for myself, which I'm pretty bad at most of the time.

Anyway, it's a fav so I've added it to the shop. You can get it for the rest of today for 90 squid, but tomorrow it'll be going up to £120. So act fast if you fancy paying less for things. Here I am modelling the dress for your eyes whilst in my slippers and having a cupper and accidentally looking stroppy.

You can buy the dress in my shop here or Etsy here. Or just drop me an email on hello{at}isabelknowles{dot}com and I'll send you an invoice direct.

PS: I hope everyone's been having a good 2015 - sorry I've been away for so long. As usual no good excuses. I wonder if there's anyone out there...

I've been making a bunch of stuff for markets. The markets didn't go so well, so I'm selling them in my shop instead. I used this gorgeous smooth oilskin fabric from Merchant and Mills. I've run out of money so will be spending the next week making everyone's Christmas presents.

Hope everyone's enjoying the Christmas time.

This summer we spent a few nights camping in France whilst we traveled to and from the South. We're a bit into our camping kit and it just doesn't get used enough. I had the most wonderful swim in the sea on the North coast and we stayed in a lovely farm campsite which sold their own cider and other produce. We were out of peak season so we pretty much has the place to ourselves, once we settled in and set up camp we went searching for Brocante signs and found some good stuff being sold out of old warehouses and garages.

I miss summer but that happens every year.

I planned to do my photo shoot for my Winter collection this week but the grey drizzly weather seemed to have other plans. Hopefully this weekend will provide us with some crisp Autumnal hours with enough light to not have ludicrously grainy photos.

This is a shirt from the collection. I can't wait to show you the rest!

Am I always apologising for being two steps behind? It feels like I am and it has for most of my life. This collection wasn't really meant to happen, but I was inspired quite late in the day and I just have to go with it. Hopefully it'll be released next week, along with a new website.

Autumn this year has taken a long time to arrive. Now the clocks have changed I'm feeling dozy and dreamlike in the days with the clouds hanging low in the hills outside the window. The evenings are perfect for hibernating in my studio with the heater on and the radio telling me stories whilst I sew (or watching telly in front of the fire or going to the pub).

I like the dreamy, sparkly but slightly eerie vibe of this Lazy Oaf Winter lookbook.

Images from here and video from here.

Feeling inspired by Babs and her beautiful studio in Cornwall. St Ives is such a magical place to be an artist, even if it's a little touristy at times and the seagulls there are pure evil.

Picture source : Sunny photos Barbara Hepworth Museum from Seventy Tree and photos of her from here.