Welcome to Rebecca Symonds seasonal fashion blog. Rebecca is locally born and bred and runs a business called Rebecca’s Room Knitting where you can buy handmade knitwear. She has been sewing since her mother would trust her with sharp objects and this started an interest in fashion at a young age. Locally educated, Rebecca studied at University College of the Arts in Farnham, however, in her early thirties she suffered a stroke and woke up paralysed down one side, unable to talk. As part of her rehabilitation she took up knitting and hasn’t stopped click-clacking since! She gets her inspiration from looking at people in the street, long country walks with her dog and the necessity of keeping warm whilst living in a cold rural cottage!
I think we were one of the only houses not to be using their log burner on Christmas Day. Driving around Surrey on the big day the sight was quite Dickensian, the smoke was billowing out of every chimney. For us it was a treat to just push a button. The central heating coughed in surprise and radiators shuddered with the shock of hot water moving around. Watching the paper chains that were hung up in the bay window, fluttering in a jet of effortless hot air was pure bliss.
Back to reality now and humping logs indoors through the seemingly limitless rain, trying not to tread mud throughout the cottage. I did miss staring into the golden flickering flames though this year, something was definitely missing from the living room.
The start of 2014 has been wet, but the temperatures have been very mild. Winter hasn’t really hit yet, I still have full-on winter woollies to unpack. It’s too mild to wear a woolly hat but my hair still blows around in the wind, usually into my face! The perfect solution, that happens to be on trend… headbands, AKA ear warmers.
I have a few designs in my Etsy shop, all hand-knitted by myself in Farnham, Surrey, but there are two in particular that I am going to share with you now. Firstly, my Gatsby inspired headbands (pictured at the top) feature a little bit of bling. These ‘jewelled’ ear warmers have a vintage 1930’s vibe and are made of 80% acrylic, 20% wool so that they are soft and not at all itchy. They come in a variety of colours and can be made without the jewels- just the thing for a party gal!
My latest design is Valentine’s Day inspired- the Plait signifying two becoming one could be a great gift for a playful girl. A red, hand knitted head band in traditional Aran pure new wool, finished with a wooden button and two cables entwined in perfect union- how romantic is that? I hand knitted this piece on small needles (which takes longer) but gives a superb quality dense fabric, I hope you enjoy!
All will keep the chill of your ears though, without overheating your head and giving you hat hair whilst also being machine washable! Fashionable and practical- absolute bliss!
Rebecca Symonds