Bees, T shirts and organic cotton

Organic cotton T-shirts by Inkwell Designs including Rebel Rebel, Be More Dolly and Plant Powered; stained glass panels in Nicola’s garden studio; organic cotton scarves in two Inkwell Designs patterns: Scrumptious Strawberries and Tartan Flamingos; organic cotton in a field; a bumblebee on a flower; a photo of some of the cast of Seaside Hotel

Hooray for these cooler days and nights, it seems to suit me much better than the heat. The bees and butterflies are still enjoying the remaining flowers so I'm waiting a while before chopping back the garden. 1% of Inkwell Designs goes to The Bumblebee Conservation Trust, I also help create planting projects in an effort to improve biodiversity - read more about why bumblebees need our help in the UK. We recently watched the last episode of Seaside Hotel (Badehotellet), I love the style, and we have been drawing out the programmes for as long as possible as we didn't want it to finish, it's free to watch on Channel 4 on demand.

I've revisited my T-shirt designs these past weeks, they feature Inkwell Designs patterns and sketches, and are of course printed in the UK on super soft organic cotton, with a wide variety of colours and sizes. T-shirts include: Love, Flower, Go with the flow, Plant powered, Seaside, Ski, Rebel Rebel, Be more Dolly (a little nod to Dolly Parton). They're fun and I hope you find something you like and enjoy wearing. Check out my website or go direct to the Etsy shop. The T-shirts are specially printed in the UK when you order them and are delivered to you within a few days. Matching organic cotton scarves are also available, I only have a couple of each design, and I continue to wear mine all year round.

This very hot and dry summer has highlighted just how precious water is - we've been saving what we can by repurposing dishwater in the garden, better to use it for the plants than pour it down the drain. With this in mind it is an amazing fact that organic cotton uses 91% less water to produce than conventional cotton. It is also grown without pesticides, chemicals and toxins, read more about the benefits of ​organic cotton, it's special.

Here are some quick links to:
- super soft organic cotton cushion covers in Tartan Flamingos, Kew Gardens and Friendly Anemones
- vintage scarf rings
- organic cotton tea towels in Poppy Red, Sea Blue and Sunny Yellow
- organic cotton hair bands
- zero-waste cutlery bags (perfect for taking your cutlery to work)
- greetings cards
- blank note pads

We'll be heading along to Creative Mile this weekend, I'm not taking part this year but if you're visiting and would like to collect anything from me let me know. I'm including a photo of the current panels on display in the garden studio, if anyone is interested in a stained glass commission, do get in touch.

And finally I’m sharing a petition to save Ski Sunday, a programme that is close to my heart.