Make Something: a collaboration with John Lewis + January giveaway!

Friday, 3 January 2014


Happy new year to all!
In the spirit of new beginnings and the hope of great things to come this year, we are offering our Oak Leaf Tree Cushion for our January giveaway!
To enter the giveaway, please submit a few lines about new beginnings and fresh starts as a comment on this blog post! And don't forget to include your email address so we can contact you for your address if you're a winner! :)
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This month we are also very proud to present to you Donna's most recent collaboration with John Lewis:


Make Something is a collection of knitting, sewing, and other craft-oriented accessories designed by Donna with the hopes of promoting hobbies and activities that give people a chance to use their hands.

These days, so much of what we do involves looking at a screen or interacting with a device. Nearly everything seems to be turning virtual and as a result, we can easily lose touch with the tangible world around us and our ability to use our hands and be creative.

This range was designed with this in mind, and the idea that maybe we could benefit from taking some time out every now and then to slow down and make something!


 
 

 
 


The collection includes handy totes, knitting cases, sewing kits, and more, all available at John Lewis stores and online.

45 comments:

  1. "You have a clean slate every day you wake up.
    You have a chance every single morning to make that change
    and be the person you want to be. You just have to decide to do it.
    Decide today’s the day. Say it; This is going to be my day."

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  2. I would love to slow down this year and live in the moment a little more - it's so easy to just be on the go go go and forget to do it. I'm also going to go solo and try to make a living working for myself. Daunting that's for sure but I'm following the advice of 'how we spend our days is how we spend our lives'. Happy New Year everyone - may it be everything you hope for. hilz_lighty@hotmail.com

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  3. this is all so beautiful. i love everything!

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  4. very cute cushion
    I want to learn more sign language so that I can become more comfortable with it . It is a new thing for me and to have more goals and make a routine for myself so that I can get more things done .

    thanks , intl.
    tumblemumbo at gmail.com

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  5. I've written a post on my blog about my word for 2014 - NOURISH - to feed my family with good things from our allotment, to help them grow. Also to nourish friendships, spending time with people and doing things I love. Lou x
    Loulittlegreenshed@gmail.com - thank you!

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  6. Lovely new collaboration!

    My wishes for the new year: Looking forward to a new calm year in our new home with lots of time to get to know our little daughter. To start a patchwork quilt for our new big bed that we migh hopefully enjoy for many years to come and make a few nice toys for the little one too.

    Happy New year! ericasvala@gmail.com

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  7. I'm excited about 2014 - will work on more illustration projects including my children's book. I've realized that It really is so much about your attitude and what you make of your time that makes a good and successful year, you just have to believe in your ideas. Your imaginative characters and cheerful collections are a huge inspiration, thanks! :-)
    mail@danisdrawings.com

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  8. Such beautiful new things! Very tempted to invest in a new bag for a my knitting!
    This year is certainly a huge fresh start. 2013 was a year that made me ever more grateful for the good people around me. Now in 2014 I look forward to a new start in teaching textiles, better health and throwing myself into new adventures...and perhaps my first crop of apples come September. Fingers crossed! So, best wishes to everyone for a healthy and fulfilling year ahead!
    “The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
    r.n.whittaker@hotmail.com

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  9. This year is going to be a good one, I just know it. We don't have much money and we are trying to make our home as cosy and quirky as possible for our 10 month old son. This year we will go on a lot more adventures to the local woodlands and teach our little man about nature. This year we will see our boy walk, laugh and play and learn, it's going to be fantastic! For his first birthday we have got him Donna Wilson's Wolfie and Pablo, I'm sure he will love them as much as I do! I hope I can collect my own Donna Wilson shortly :) Much love, Kim, Josh and little Fin xxx kimii-may@hotmail.co.uk

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  10. From little acorns mighty oaks may grow. Great things may come from small beginnings so lets all start small and slow as the year begins and we all may achieve great and bigger things!
    sarah.tully@googlemail.com

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  11. I havent made any resolutions this year, but I am kicking a few bad habits which will hopefully add up to one better me! No more starbucks, no more excessive drinking, stop being messy.

    bythelock @ gmail . com

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  12. "Make today so beautiful so that your yesterday is something to smile about tomorrow"
    This year I will spend more time making beautiful things, thanks for the inspiration! ♡ tj.jellypop@hotmail.co.uk

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  13. I reluctantly turn 30 this week, time to leave my 20s behind and move forward, as a birthday treat peanut creature is on his way to me, so I don't have to be too grown up!
    Leatherpicnic@btinternet.com

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  14. I'm always so excited to make plans every new year. This year I'm finally getting my cluttered house under control. I used to get upset getting rid of anything but this time around It feels amazing. My house feels so fresh. I'm dreading tackling my studio though!
    blythechurch@hotmail.com

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  15. After a couple of very very sad years, I would just like 2014 to be a good year for my family, a year of good news..positivity and just one steady job, instead of 6 part time ones! ( jillings@home.nl)

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  16. Great giveaway

    I love the new year, it always feels like a fresh start.
    A new you! (even though the new you is still very similar to the old you)

    Zoe
    zoe.may1@yahoo.co.uk

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  17. Good old Dr Seuss puts positive spin on new beginnings - 'don't cry because it is over, smile because it happened'. Love it! x

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  18. email: susannah.greenwood1@virginmedia.com

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  19. Gorgeous stuff! When will the lovely house sewing box be available as not on the john lewis website as yet? (though most of the other delights are)

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  20. New beginnings a plenty this year with the birth of my baby girl in December and a house move in November. We have a lot of work to do on the house and two children under 2 to look after, but I' confident it's going to be a great year! I would love the tree cushion to brighten up our living room and I love all the new collection for john Lewis. I'll definitely be getting myself the tortoise sewing bag! Email rillafree@hotmail.com

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  21. I decided not to worry so much about things like deadlines and unsolved problems. To become more confident and happy with my life - which is really not so bad - I started writing to my diary every evening 1-3 good things, that happened on this day!

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  22. Oh wow I love those totes from John Lewis!
    This year I plan to continue setting up my textile business alongside my full time job and sell online, read more books, blog more, spend my time more wisely and be more adventurous with cooking!

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  23. In March this year my husband and I are expecting our first baby! This is obviously a very big new beginning and fresh start for us...we would love to be able put the Oak Leaf Tree cushion in our Little Acorns bedroom :)
    Emma and Tim Nunn (emmanunnstylist@gmail.com)

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  24. New beginnings. Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. maggie.woodcock@googlemail.com

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  25. 2013 was a wonderful year for me, I got married to the man of my dreams, as I new wife, I used the opportunity to become the person I always dreamed I could be, a more organised, less messy version of the old me that is never late anymore and knits and bakes much more!
    Im really excited to start the adventure of 2014 and find out what the year has in store for us all, we are about to start IVF in February, whatever happens we will tackle it together as a family. Everyday is an adventure we choose to make.
    kerstinduffy@gmail.com

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  26. 2014 is the continuation of the best new beginning possible- life with my little son :)

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  27. “Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” Scott Adams
    I am going to allow myself to make creative mistakes this year, and even try to embrace them knowing that without them I wouldn't have tried, and (hopefully) succeeded x
    rhireid@gmail.com

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  28. What a lovely cushion and a beautiful range for John Lewis - I'm so tempted by the tote bags. My new beginning this year is to create a cosy family home that meets the needs of all of us so that there's less division of grown up and kid friendly spaces but without feeling like we're drowning in toys! I want to make the most of each day with my little ones who seem to be growing up far too quickly :)
    janinewild2000@yahoo.com

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  29. Oh that cushion, it,'s so beautiful, fresh and to my taste! New beginnings for me are about new chances to make progress and to grow. Last year I made the Resolution to declutter 50 items a week & I did it, makes me extra excited about this years Resolutions!

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  30. The start of a new year in our garden, planning what to sow and plant, making plans, changing things round enjoying the fresh air, learning more and enjoying life.
    nicekindofblue@gmail.com

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  31. I want to figure out this year how to grow one more pair of hands.
    I want to teach flowers to speak so they can tell me where i left my things.
    I want to learn how to stretch an hour and how to send my dinners by e-mails.

    Everything else is good and i want it to stay like that this year too.

    s.michaela@gmail.com

    Keep on with good work! x



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  32. New beginnings are the essence of life. Things get stale and loose their bright because of the routine, so we need to shake them up from time to time. I've started 2013 with the birth of my first child, the biggest fresh start I've never experienced in my life. Nothing remains the same, and I feel every day is different and full of things to learn.
    nievesherranz@gmail.com

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  33. A new year, a new start. I love a clean slate, which why I always have so many sketchbooks on the go! I'm a bit of a perfectionist so as soon as something turns a bit sour, I want to start over. (Luckily, I have a wonderful family and a fab husband so life isn't too tricky!)

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  34. My new beginning was really last May when I moved to the UK to finally live with my now fiance. :) I'm finally starting to settle down and feel like I belong here, so 2014 is probably the year I stop being so homesick and the year we will start to renovate our house. mirja.hakala@gmail.com

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  35. 2014 is truly a year to remember for me full of amazing new beginnings I am expecting my first baby in June (I have already ordered my Donna Wilson Urbo2) then in November I am getting married to my gorgeous fiancé. BRING IT ON 2014!!!
    jjgregory83@gmail.com

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  36. A fresh new year with fresh energy. Hopefully our dream becomes truth to finally get pregnant this year. That will be our greatest new beginning!

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  37. oh new beginnings and fresh starts, this is truly how i feel waking up every day. i try to go to sleep each night with a thought in mind that will make me want to jump out of bed! it can be anything, from the excitement of casting on a new shawl (knitting) or planning to take an early morning hike, hearing from one of my children...
    i'm so happy this morning i found my way here, LOVE EVERYTHING! oh the tree pillow! thank you!
    i am here:
    lorix5@hotmail.com

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  38. I may shed my leaves and stand bare through the cold winter months but within I am bursting with new life and new hope. I will once again provide you with shade as you picnic beneath me and shelter you during a downpour. I will let you hide behind my ever growing trunk as you play hide and seek, and allow you to steal your first kiss beneath my boughs. As you hug me your breath gives me life and each acorn I set forth into the world reminds you that every year is full of new opportunities and new beginnings. Sometimes we just need to be a little bit brave.
    Rhiannonsharpqatar@gmail.com

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  39. my new start has been running, which is very out of my comfort zone.. but i knitted myself a running headband which is more in my comfort zone!

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  40. I love the cushion! I'd like to join the give away.
    We started the new year with 2 new cats at our house. At the beginning they were a little bit scared but now they're getting more comfortable with us!
    b.ilse3 at gmail dot com

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  41. I am starting the new year in my new home with my new fiance, hoping to make it a joyful year after the great ups and big downs of 2013. mirja.hakala@gmail.com

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  42. New beginning & new things... it's all about to happen for me as I'm due to be a Mummy any day now, your gorgeous tree cushion would look perfect in my nursery.... so fingers crossed

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  43. Ooops forgot my email...
    mrswendyp@gmail.com
    ...and to say, love your new habidashery range with JL xxx

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  44. I'm currently learning a hard lesson from my 84yr old mother in law, who keeps listing all the things she's been wanting to do for years (take up knitting again, move house, get a cat) but hasn't because it's never been quite the right time (eg the cat - she's going on holiday next month, or she might be moving, or we might visit with our dog - etc etc)
    So I'm trying to remember that instead of waiting for the right time - a new year, a Monday, a day when it's not raining - I just need to get on with it and do it NOW!
    (Today that might be going to get some of the lovely new range from John Lewis!)
    Slj.22@icloud.com

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  45. Create a life that feels good on the inside, not one that just looks good on the outside!
    Mel (mel@sowwhat.com.au)

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