Thursday 26 July 2012

Little house on the prairie - kinda

Hi there,

If you have ever wanted to experience a what I would call a 'Pippi Longstocking-moment', we have found the perfect place for it!



This wooden caravan is actually a little B&B. Isn't it adorable?! I have tried to capture the inside and hopefully you'll get a feeling of how cute it really is. It has a little kitchenette, with a cooker, kettle, coffee maker, a shower, a toilet and 2 bunk beds. The couch in the living area folds down as a double bed.

Because everything is quite petite, I think you'd better not be too tall or have claustrophobic tendencies. That said, if the weather is ok, there is plenty of space outside for you to enjoy.


Situated in a very pretty coastal village where lots of artists have found their home, this was our home away from home for one night only. But it got us thinking that we should go back one day and experience this deluxe-camping for a bit longer.

Enjoy today & TTYS

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Monday 23 July 2012

Craft marktet Hoorn, The Netherlands

Hello and good morning,

Another beautiful day is upon us and before we set out to enjoy my day outside (this corresponds loosely to waiting for the first load of washing to be ready ;-))  I thought I would give you the lowdown on the craft market we visited recently.

My oh my, what an experience! I have never before visited such an extensive craft market. There were things of interest for everyone and if the weather had been better I could have easily spent all day there, just watching people being enthusiastic about their wares.


A few rays of sunshine on this stunning display!

In all there were more than 120 stalls, many with craft materials. I saw lots of hats, necklaces, clothing, felt, books, crochet and knitting materials. So many inspiring people, happily braving the pelting rain in order to show everyone their beautifully crafted projects. 

This is a skein of duo-tone angora wool I bought for an autumn project. The photo isn't at all clear, but the wool is a kind of purpely brown mix. After a little on line research, I think it was spray dyed. This blog gives a clear description of the way it is done. The vendor explained how the wool from her own angora goats is collected, then sent away to be spun and then hand-dyed by her. How cool is that? 


The yarn is super fine and by knitting it on size 5 needles the effect becomes nice and lacy. One skein will make a good wrap or scarf. Oh, and, did you know that angora wool apparently does not shrink if you wash it? Good news for someone that succeeds in shrinking favourite woolens every time!
This was another one of the many lures of the market. Look at it: boxes and boxes of yummy colour! All there screaming "pick me, pick ME". It is 100% merino wool. 
Refusing would have been very impolite, don't you think? This is what ended up in my shopping basket:


Just little bits of it, see, I kept it very reasonable! The general idea would be to do some felting with it at some point. I have tried felting with normal wool before, but it just doesn't work well so that is why I thought I could indulge in this colour fiesta.

And speaking of felting, I have to show you this amazing site. I just love the work by Gillian Harris! Did you notice there are still a couple of spots on her September felting courses? Wouldn't that be a dream? Aaahhhh....

Have a lovely day today!
XOXO

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Sunday 22 July 2012

Racer back dress

Hello you!

Have you been enjoying yourself today? We had a good day here at the studio and I even managed to get a few shots of the dress I have been working on lately.

The idea for the dress germinated when I was reading a crafty book written by the very clever Norwegian Tone Finnanger, called Tilda's Atelier. If you have never heard of this lady or laid your eyes on one of her books or craft materials, I would recommend you do so asap because there will be lots of loveliness to be discovered!

Anyway, in the book she uses a circus theme that sat in my head for a couple of days, wanting to become something. Then, when I saw a pattern by the wonderful Crafterhours ladies, I knew what it was going to be: a little racer back dress with a circus elephant on it.



The pattern is free (A big Thank You, Ladies!) and can be printed straight from the link above. I hope you can see the print in the first photo. I apologise for the quality of the photo because my model got stroppy and this was the best I could get at the time.

I traced the elephant head straight from the book and ironed on 2 layers of non-woven interfacing to give it some stability and make sure the flowers from the circle behind it didn't shine through the light pink fabric. To be on the safe side I also put some fray-check around the edges before sewing it onto the background. I let a little pompom sit on the tip of the elephants trunk.

The collar is made by sewing two layers of dotted fringing together and attaching them at the base of the neck. I made the little flower necklace by attaching some small lace flowers on top. The Circus Elephantini lettering around the circle is in neon pink to make it a bit more visible. Oh, and I added two tiny green bells under the collar too. Just a little surprise and great when jumping!

TTYS,
XO




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Thursday 19 July 2012

Possibly ideal home

Hello there,

We have just arrived back from a few days of inspiration, and boy, did I enjoy it!

Let me start by showing you the most gorgeous little house.


Isn't it incredible?! I wonder who lives here. The garden is wonderful, even in the boring old rain my heart just skipped a beat seeing it. It was about 8 o'clock in the evening and as I mentioned above, it was raining.

Can you imagine what it would look like on a sunny day?

Well, better get stuck into sorting my photo's and hopefully I can show you some more gorgeousness soon.

Have a nice evening,
XO


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Saturday 14 July 2012

Colour blocking

Hi again,

Do you remember the shirt with the unwanted snip at the hem in this post? It sat here looking very unhappy so I had to do something to make it feel better. After looking closely, I decided to open up the sides and take them in to 'move' the snip more to the seam and at the same time making the shirt smaller to fit my girl. I put in sleeves of a different fabric.  Then I covered the remainder of the snip with a little band aid in the shape of my favourite 4 leaf clover. Ahh there, much better!

To turn this shirt into an outfit I also made a short skirt and leggings. I used an old jeans skirt pattern (the Sara skirt from Ottobre 4/2008) because I have been wanting to try it out for ages (uhmm, for about 4 years I guess).


Don't pay any attention to the creases, it has been worn all day, it was nice(r) this morning, honestly!

The skirt pattern wasn't completely to my liking. Much too long and quite straight in the waist. I ended up taking in the sides a bit and putting in some elastic at the back. The end result is very, very plain to my liking, but I seem to be going through a phase of green and blues. I am more of a maximalist pink and red girl. Need to work on that, seriously!

XOXO

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Good news

Hello there!

We are having a good start of the summer holidays, lots and lots of fun and activities (some of them quite wet), lots of relaxing, book reading and drawing.

Our good news for today is that both girls have grown! They will never be giants (phew..) but I really hope they won't be tiny either.

It didn't seem very important to me before, as I used to always be the smallest in my year and ended up feeling fine at 5.45 ft or 1.64 metres. Lots of women are around that height.
Since I met a fourteen year old that was 4.65 ft or 1.42 metres however, it dawned on me that that really is rather short, this side of the world. Ever since every inch is considered good news.


I still wanted to show you the wings I was working on, remember? Yesterday at the end of the day, the weather finally cleared and provided us with an opportunity for a quick photoshoot.






For the top I used a very old pattern that I adapted (Ottobre 2005, Singlet no 19). It is a boy cut, so originally very straight at the sides. I also deepened the racer back and front neckline a bit more. As much as I lurve the wings, I don't think they sit well on this top. I would have done better to make them smaller and  place them higher up the back. But there you go, another insight gained. If you fancy a pair, they are in the shop as of now.

XOXO

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Friday 13 July 2012

Career plans

Hello there,

Ever since we have read Alexander McCall Smith's books about the wonderful adventures of Harriet Bean the career plans of our eldest have dramatically changed.

Her plans used to include being a bookstore owner, being a part-time teacher and taking care of us when we were older. We were both very pleased about the last bit of course, because you never know if retirement homes still exist when we'll need them.

Now however, she is in training to become a cowgirl - slash - private eye. Please do us a favour though and don't tell anyone about the last part, for, as you will understand, it is to be kept a secret.
The cowgirl part isn't, so I worked on a design that would inform the world gently of this change in plans.



A pity she can't wear it at the moment; it is pouring down with rain (yes, again) and about 16 degrees.

That's it for now, hope you have a nice & cosy day inside today (or better still, that you will see the sun today and have the opportunity to go out)

XOXO


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Wednesday 4 July 2012

Graduation Exhibition

Hi There,

Yes, I was here but I just didn't have time enough in my day to include some blogging too! It is the End of the School Year (notice the capitals) and that means a lot of extra things to be done, seen to, organised etc. All fun stuff, so I am not complaining, but sometimes a bit taxing on the brain to remember everything. Ha, who needs sudokus to keep their brain in gear if they can just keep up with the End of the School Year rush?

That said, I did have time to visit the graduation exhibition of the Royal Academy of Art. It was something on my list of Things to Do (ah, those capitals..) so I was very happy to finally make it.

Of course the Textile Section was the first thing we visited. And look:


These are panels of digitally printed polyester by Kelly Leever. The effect of those tall panels, and the variety in transparency, was awesome. Such colour and vibrancy ...


I hope you can see the embroidery detail here. She also cut out little patterns which made the overall effect even more interesting to look at. And just look at these wonderful designs:

         

Another graduate is Bao Yao Fei. His pieces are all beautiful, interesting, and finished to a very high standard. I just love the chain mail effect used for the tunic and coat. 


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Not in the textile section but very interesting too, is the work presented by Eva Murakeozy. Just using uncomplicated pen and paper she creates enormously intricate and mysterious designs that create a feeling of tension. You can't help but stare at little parts of the drawing and wonder where they will lead you, as if the drawing is a map that you just don't know how to use yet...

      



Eva Murakeozy is a plant physiologist by training and you can see that reflected in the enormous amount of detail in her work.

Well, I hope that will leave you with enough inspiration for today. 

Have a nice day and try to loose yourself in wonderment for a bit!
XO





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