Verb: pootle
poo-t(u)l To move in a leisurely unhurried way,
with no real purpose


Monday 27 January 2014

For the love of grey...

A couple of weekends ago I spent a very contented evening clicking away on Pinterest, and one of the boards that seemed to grow extremely quickly was the one simply titled 'Grey'..
Since then I have ummed and ahhed alot about why it is that I am currently having 
a bit of a love affair with all things grey.
By rights this shouldn't really be a colour that draws you in with all its usual connotations...
  grey day, grey clouds, grey mood, grey weather... and so the list goes on.

Looking grey up in the dictionary doesn't add many plus points either...
of a colour intermediate between black and white, as of ashes or lead:
(of the weather) cloudy and dull:
(of a person) having grey hair:

But, despite all of this -  quite besotted with it I am !


I wonder if it all began when we got our beautiful Weimeraner, Lilou. 
She is the most delicious colour grey, with a coat that is as soft as velvet 
and ears as smooth as silk handkerchiefs.


Does it stem from my early working days as a teacher at a boys school 
when many an hour was spent writing on blackboards ?




Is it that it lends itself to beautiful, light living spaces ?
Looking back through my blog my much dreamed of Craft Room
 is all planned out in different tones of grey.




Is it because in my mind it is calm and soothing to the eye ? 
My everyday world at Nursery is full of such riots of colour that maybe 
this is what I need to balance my daily colour spectrum.



Or is it that I am simply an 80's girl through and through , 
brought up watching Flashdance and Madonna video's and listening to
Visage singing Fade to Grey, wearing my grey leg warmers and Pineapple Dance sweatshirt ,
( no sniggering at the back please ladies ! )
Who knows ?

                                   

Now if you happened to be holding a stethoscope to my chest at this very moment 
you would be able to detect that these two pictures have actually set my
 heart beating just that little bit faster
 - I cannot explain why -
 just LOVE these nail colours, 
simple as !


I could surround myself with all sorts of ribbons and threads, fabrics and wool in every shade of grey and I would be one very happy girl.




And don't even get me started on these little beauties...


.... or these two hugely snuggly cardies.


And so, the jury's out, its a done deal, there is no reasoning or answer...



Should more proof be needed, here it is ..... 
one grey, metal jug that was crying out to be bought this week and filled with spring flowers.


( Big thanks to Pinterest for supplying all but the last photo of gorgeous grey things. )

38 comments:

  1. Ummm, I'm not the biggest fan. There are some very soft greys which look beautiful teamed with pastels though. To be honest, I think the fact that I look a bugger in grey puts me off!!!

    Your flowers, however, look stunning and wouldn't life be boring if we were all the same?

    How gorgeous are those dogs?

    Heather xx

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  2. You're so right Heather, its good to all be different ! I thinks that's what makes all of our blogs so lovely ♥
    Have a lovely week.
    K x

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  3. Hey as long as you aren't feeling grey, if you like it, go for it!! We have a bit of a grey accessories thing going in our lounge diner to go with the curtains, it is nice because it is a neutral colour, but not the normal beige or cream which can get a bit boring after a while I think. I hope that your love affair with grey continues!! xx

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  4. Glorious post I am adoring grey at the moment. Over the weekend I set up a grey Pinterest board and we seem to have chosen many of the same images - I'm just making some really cute grey crochet hearts at the moment x

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    1. Looking forward to some pics of your grey crocheted hearts.
      K x

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  5. Hi, Kate! I am so excited that you left me a comment on my humble little spot on the blogosphere. I have to run to shop for a dress with my sweet girl, but will be spending time with you on your blog this evening. I just love it so far! ~Kelly

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  6. What color grey is your walls? I've tried grey and always seem to pick the wrong color. It's either too blue, or yellow. I would really appreciate your list of the grey paints your using.

    I am a sketch artist, back when I dabbled in the medium the local paper did an article on whites to black colors. Gray tones what it is people like about these tones. For me it tends to soften the an image, it brings out the fine lines and shapes the eye normally doesn't find with color. It's why it doesn't bring your mood down. Tends to make everything flow as monochromatic does when blending all the same color tones.

    I really love your post it shows the grey's has it should!

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    1. Thank you Pamela.I think you've hit the nail on the head .... its such a soft colour and provides such a good contrast. Glad you enjoyed the post.
      So sorry that I can't help with the paint colours other than what they are labelled as above as my little grey mood board was all from Pinterest. Having said that it may be worth you have a look at Pinterest if you haven't already because there were quite a few photo's of different grey paints.
      Thanks for dropping by,
      K x

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  7. Lovely post Kate....I don't have any grey shades around our house really but it's probably the most dominant colour in my wardrobe so it's definitely a favourite!
    My goodness, such beautiful dogs!
    Hope you're having a good week,
    Susan x

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    1. Hi Susan
      Glad you enjoyed it, I too have lots of grey clothes !
      Kx

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  8. Oh Kate, I loved this post! So many beautiful grey things here. I like grey too, it's such a soft, calming colour I think and also elegant and sophisticated. Your new flower jug is gorgeous.
    Marianne x

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    1. Hi Marianne
      I agree that grey has a calmness and sophistication about it - maybe not the grey legwarmers I used to wear in the 80's though !!
      Kx

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  9. ahhhh, what calm, beautiful shades, I was smiling sublimely as I scrolled through the photos...then I saw the nail varnish and WOW! My heart skipped a beat - I gotta get me some!!! I am a huge fan of taupe and linen colours, and grey is an equally captivating neutral, thanks for the inspiration! Chrissie x (now off to google grey nail varnish...)

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    1. Hi Chrissie
      Yes, I am head over heels for grey nail varnish right now.... and in fact I have even just ordered myself a phone cover on Etsy that looks like a bottle of Chanel grey nail varnish !!
      Kx

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    2. Nails Inc., found on amazon, has gorgeous shades of grey and I discovered is the best nail varnish I've ever had! It stays on regardless what my children have me crafting or cleaning...I got the paler grey as well as porchester square...thought you'd like to know so you can check it out! :-) cx

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    3. Excellent detective skills Chrissie - I'm on it ! Amazon here I come...
      Kx

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  10. Oh i'm so with you on the grey love too. It's just a lovely colour and works so well with many other colours too. I especially love it with pink. I used it a lot last year in projects and found it gave some pieces a lovely depth that had been missing from other bits I had made previously. I cannot seem to get enough of it, and this post has definitely been a lovely fix! Thank you!

    Have a super rest of a week!

    Vanessa xxx

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    1. Hi Vanessa
      So glad you enjoyed it, I agree that its a lovely colour to add to isn't it, and pastels particularly.
      Have a good week too,
      Kx

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  11. A gorgeous post.....I love grey too! I wear it a lot, and although I love bright colours to work with I also love the quiet contrast of the colour grey. I also loved your description of your dog's velvety coat and silky ears :)
    Wishing you a happy week.
    Helen xx

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    1. I'm glad I'm not alone on this one !
      Have a good week too,
      Kx

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  12. What a great post Kate, lovely images and the 80s mention with Madonna, Visage and Flashdance brought back a few memories (leg warmers, what were they all about? Embarrassingly, I had plenty)! I love grey too, but especially with soft pink, I just think it's really soothing. Have a good week.
    Jane xx

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    1. Me too with the legwarmers !
      Have a good week too,
      K x

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  13. I'm loving the grey at the moment too and this is a fantastic collection of pictures to illustrate it! Especially the crochet one. I wish I had the patience to crochet something like that, all one colour. I'm not sure I could do it though!

    S x

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    1. Thank you Sandra, I think there's a lot of us greyists out there !
      Kx

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  14. Just thought I'd pop in and put my hand up for the grey vote. Love it. Love the visual feast you concocted there Kate. I loathe pink with a passion but there is definitely a case for dusky pink teamed with grey. J x

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  15. I'm loving all the pretty greys too! And especially that gorgeous nail colour. I'm in the midst of a grey knit at the mo too - it's so soft and warm methinks.
    Hope you're having a lovely week,
    xx

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  16. Ooh this post was written for me. First it is my fave colour by a million miles and every year I just become more in more in love with it. I love everything about it, but I really enjoyed all the gorgeous eye candy you shared here. We CLEARLY have very similar taste and yes I love it all. The jumper with the buttons on the back, faints, grey nails, my thing, beautiful grey walls, most of my house speaks of it apart from my living space, which I am desperate to pain in a dark grey, but the jury is not out as yet as pennies are scares. I love grey shading with anything and everything and yes maybe it is because I am also an 80s child who loved Madonna and flashdance (yes please!!). I remember going to the drive in to see that!! Fab post. Enjoy your weekend lovely Kate xoxo

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    1. HI Hannapat
      So glad you enjoyed, love that you love all the things that I love !!
      My Pinterest name is: katelovescrochet
      You have a lovely weekend too,
      Kate x

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  17. ps what's your user name on pinterest??

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  18. I really like the grey montage you've created and although I love colour there is something wonderfully calming about these which I think it's great to have! It's definitely now 'sad' (I saw your comment on Attic24) but more 'wow' - never expected such a quiet colour to have such potential :-)

    Just as long as there aren't 50 shades of it.... ;-) Ohhhh I bet you've not heard that before...!

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    1. Hi Nicole
      So glad you enjoyed the post - go grey !
      Just had a quick peek at your blog and you have so much beautiful crochet going on ... I shall be back !
      Have a good day,
      Kate

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  19. Grey has been my favourite colour for as long as I can remember and I've blogged about it more than once. Apparently statistically we lovers of grey are members of a pretty exclusive tribe, good to know you're a member :)

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    1. HI Annie
      How exciting - I always wanted to be a bit exclusive !
      Thank you for popping by, I always love seeing a comment from Knitsofacto as I just adore your blog,
      Hope your Sunday is a sunny one,
      Kate x

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  20. What a fabulous post! I love grey, it's such an underrated colour. It's neutral but never boring. You've selected some great images here, I can see why you love it so much. x

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    1. Thank you Gillian, it's really surprised me how many people have been with me on my love of grey. Lots of great minds thinking alike !
      Kate x

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  21. oh yes, we share a complete love of grey! x

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