souvenir shopping…

Tags

deer and doe, fabric, knit, plaintain, sewing; holiday, shopping

… a short break from the grey Belgian winter in sunny California – except it rained for almost the first time in a year while I was there and apparently Belgium had spring…

… but, you can’t begrudge rain in a region that desperately needs it, and cold wet weather is good for one thing – staying in and crafting…

… and in order to craft you need to buy supplies, so the friend I was visiting, who is even more creative than I am (check out her amazing paintings), spent a reasonable amount of time in fabric and DIY shops ensuring we were equipped for at least a month of being holed up, before heading home and spending a rainy afternoon doing.

… (un)luckily the weather improved during the week, so we were able to get out and about and be proper tourists with plenty of hikes and walks on the beach, a visit to Monterey aquarium as well as a trip to the huge Alameda flea market, and many of our projects remained on our “to do” lists at the end of my trip. My suitcase was bursting at the seams on the way home.

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Artist at work

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… the only thing I made was another t-shirt, using the free plantain pattern by deer and doe in a beautiful organic hemp knit. It is much nicer than I expected, I wasn’t super excited about the pattern before I made it, but I had it on my computer. It was also an opportunity to show G that you don’t need a serger to sew knits, and they aren’t even scary. I still need to tidy up the seams and sew the hems as we didn’t find a double needle until later in the week.

… the projects I planned and will make now I am home include another long sleeved t-shirt in lovely bamboo knit, a schoolhouse tunic in a pretty floral, a pair of pyjama bottoms in another floral, a sweater in a bulky cream knit and at least one basket with rope. G found a fabulous tutorial online and made one while I cut out the Plantain. More details to follow soon!

… I also picked up more fold over elastic and clear elastic while they were readily available…

… so many projects, I think I need another couple of weeks holiday to complete them all.

a grand day out…

Tags

antwerp, bloggers, blogging, cowl, fabric, jersey, meet up, scarf, sewing, shopping, swap

… Saturday morning, Antwerp, running slightly late, Margot and I found Viggo’s coffee bar and a whole crowd of sewers…

… the lady at the next table, apparently a local politician, asked me curiously “what is the event? a school reunion? an association? I have never seen so many people in this café?” I had to explain further when I answered “a sewing blogger’s meetup, and no, most of us don’t actually know each other…”

… from the coffee bar we headed out to explore the local fabric shops, a small place with a good selection of African wax, on to the incredibly organised and well stocked Moens, passing via an intriguing looking haberdashery that was unfortunately closed. I think most of us left Moens with something, I bought a couple of things, but even 25 enthusiastic customers didn’t make the sales lady smile…

… next stop. Madame Tirette, shop, atelier and where we met Hanne. Once we had all succumbed to some of the lovely bright and beautiful jersey they had to offer, the bolts of fabric were put away and we took over the atelier’s cutting table for the much anticipated fabric swap. It is never clear whether people are more excited to be getting rid of their extra fabric, or about the new pieces they are picking up… either way, it is a win win!

… all swapped out, we packed up our bags, put back on our coats and headed to an Indian restaurant for lunch. What a fabulous place, really genuine, full of Indians, delicious food and amazing mango lassis! I think we all ate too much!

… once we rolled out the restaurant, we propped ourselves up in front of a couple of garage doors for the group photo, and then continued on with the program, to the fashion museum. Here the group split with half deciding they would rather keep shopping and visit a couple more fabric shops, while the rest of us went to learn about the rise of Antwerp as a fashion capital…

… I came home with 7 pieces of fabric: 3 bought, 4 swapped. I had taken 3 pieces to the swap that all went to new homes. I had planned on buying a piece of jersey for another self drafted cardigan, which is the green jersey I found at Moens. I also couldn’t resist a beautiful grey broderie anglaise cotton, I expect this will become another scout tee. I have a thing for jersey scarves, wearing them almost daily to work, so I snatched up a lovely piece of floral jersey at Madame Tirette, and another small piece of blue floral in the swap. The other pieces I picked up in the swap were some blue/grey jersey that will be great for a t-shirt or some other knit top; a lovely light weight brown knit that I think will make a wonderful summer weight cardigan or sweater for travelling; and a huge piece of modern geometric floral green knit, that I have no idea what I will do with, but no one wanted it, and I am sure I will find a good use for…

… home and waiting for friends to go out for the evening… I have 30 minutes, my sewing machine is out, so I quickly sew up one scarf, then the next… two down, five projects to go!

… the (possibly in)complete list of bloggers that met: the fantastic organising committee – Anneke, Lieke, Hanne and Ilse; and the rest – Heidi, Karolien, Ivy, Annie, Sofie, Lieselot, Lieve, Lindsy, Regina, Riet, Caroline, Emily, Eline, Jo, Joost, Kim, Laura… and Erika and Margot who don’t blog…

printer overdrive…

Tags

bloggers, fabric, meet up, sewing, shopping, swap

… a fabulous Belgian/Dutch sewing blogger meet up yesterday, a chance to meet some lovely fellow sewers, put faces to blog names and discover new blogs too…

… over lunch, after visiting a couple of fabric shops, where I picked up a soft, drapey piece of turquoise viscose for another 3/4 sleeve Renfrew – my first one seems to be in the wash every week, I must be wearing it plenty – came the much anticipated fabric swap. I came poorly supplied, I don’t have a stash as such, just a few pieces of fabric earmarked for specific projects, I don’t have many patterns either, I mainly use the same few over and over, or adapt and self draft patterns based on items of clothing I like. Others had plenty to offer, the table piled high, much to the bewilderment of the waitresses and the amusement of other patrons of the wonderful Houtsiplou terrace…

… While everyone went through the offerings I kept my eyes on a couple of pieces – a green on green striped jersey and a brown and yellow patterned jersey, no one else seemed as interested in them as I was, so I brought them home. I also picked up a turquoise and green jersey baby blanket that I am sure will be perfect for a t-shirt. Kamila took a magazine of Japanese patterns I had brought and insisted I chose a couple of pieces from her pile. I went for some green (see a trend here?!) waterproof fabric and, at her insistence,some burgundy red fleecy wool fabric.

… it was also a chance to meet the lovely Lelie of a bouquet of buttons and she brought me a bunch of fabric I had won in a giveaway she ran a few weeks ago…

… after lunch we went to a couple more shops, we tried to visit Le Mercerie de Bruxelles, a tiny, absurdly well stocked and reasonably priced haberdashery, but they, like so many Belgian businesses, were on annual holiday. We went to the huge warehouses of the Chien Vert, it seems appropriate that I bought some emerald green webbing here for a new dog lead…

… home, dog walked, and I started looking at my pile of new acquisitions, planning what I could make with some of them…

… I already have a grainline scout planned with my failed pyjama fabric, I decided the yellow and brown fabric would probably work well for this empire waist top from crafthabits.com and I will make Maria Denmark’s kirsten kimono tee from the baby blanket… so printer was loaded up with paper, and patterns were printed…

… I also printed up the pattern for Madalynne’s Amerson undies while I was at it, I have been meaning to give making them a go for ages, and it isn’t like I don’t have enough scraps!

… I now have a pile of paper that needs laying out, taping then cutting, so I can start sewing…

… but first a few more days of wallpaper peeling…

shopping – responsibly

Tags

etsy, holidays, responsibly, shopping

… looking for an excuse to shop? Wanting to shop responsibly?

…I don’t think I have ever hidden my love for etsy. My walls are adorned with art work discovered there; presents given are often chosen there; my wardrobe contains many items handmade by incredibly talented people from around the world found there; I have toiletries and accessories that I couldn’t resist there; even my favourite hot water bottle was bought there.

…but it is a labyrinth finding what you want there. I already mentioned the challenges of treasuries and followings, favourites and front pages… so a directory of (mainly etsy) sellers that have something in common with what you like – even if that something is a favourite blog – can only be a good thing.

… I don’t remember when I started following door sixteen, but it is one of the blogs I read regularly. Initially I loved it for the house renovation, which resonated with what I would love to achieve with a house if ever I owned one, but recently I have made recipes Anna has posted and even bought toiletries based on a D16 recommendation!

… I especially love Anna’s recent post on staying independent when doing your holiday shopping. But not only for the message which I fully endorse, but also for the invitation for independent business owners to list their shops in the comments… I have visited a few lot of them already – there are some really talented people out there, and a lot of beautiful things!

… I can only recommend wandering over and having a browse 🙂

a path traversed…

Tags

etsy, handmade, shopping, trading

… its a tangled web, etsy.

… like so many, I love making things, sometimes I get carried away, I end up with more things than I need, like the day I ended up making 10 wallets because I was on a roll, or the one I made 5 iphone cases because I was using up scraps.

… like so many I have adopted etsy as my market place. I squeeze in quietly, amidst so many talented people, people making stuff I dream of, people making things that look better than what you can find in the shops, people making such a variety of original and beautiful items. But like any market place, you need to get noticed, to draw people into your humble shack, to entice them with the things you have made, you have to be different, unique, competitive and dynamic.

… there are guidelines, recommendations, ways of getting noticed, that usually involve browsing everyone else’s shops, favouriting, creating treasuries (kind of wish lists). There are guidelines, recommendations, ways of getting your treasuries noticed, so you in turn get noticed. It takes a huge investment of time and energy.

… temptation! Such an investment wouldn’t be a problem if people weren’t listing so many gorgeous things. But a girl can only take a certain amount of monitor shopping before she cracks, slips discretely into a new found shop and makes a purchase. I have bought all kinds of things on etsy, from juggling balls to cardigans to hot water bottles and art work. It feels so good to support other artists and artisans, to help people who are launching amazing businesses, but…

… it doesn’t shift the numerous bags hanging off my radiator, the box full of wallets and pouches, the bag of scarves, the projects and creations I haven’t found a home for yet. And my idea to make a few euros to fund my crafting habits is completely lost as I spend far more than I earn!

… an etsy convo (that would be an email, a message, a conversation on any other social media!), someone launching a new initiative “do you want to trade some of your items?”. A list of people looking to raise their profile, pick up a few seasonal gifts, or treats for themselves, at the cost of an item from their own shop – seems like a win-win situation.

…a browse through a few shops that catch my eye, a scarf in Scotland, lip balm in Ireland, a bowl in Latvia, a bag in Cyprus. Messages sent, responses come in… the scarf gets exchanged for a trivet, the lip balm for a wallet… what a fabulous way to end the day!

green dogs and quick cowls

Tags

cowl, fabric, sewing, shopping

… a warehouse of temptation! Today I discovered a new fabric shop. I had heard about it long ago, a friend travelled there from Luxembourg to buy the material for her living room when she moved into her new place – about 10 years ago. Other people had mentioned it to me over the years, but I had never gotten round to visiting it. Somehow I thought it was off the beaten path, difficult to get to, hard to find. It was across a bridge from a busy square I often pass through!

… two floors that go on, and on, and on, a labyrinth of rooms and sections, departments and classifications, Japanese cottons to classic wools, heavy duty canvas to fake fur, every colour under the rainbow, and a million textures to run your hands over.
… luckily we had already been to Berger, the cheap and well stocked, if chaotic, shop first. I had already been tempted by some fun material for bags and a cowl, polka dots to line a wallet. My friend had found the grey wool mix for her next project, a Japanese dress, that I will help her make next week. It made it easier to resist – a bit.

… half a meter of pretty knitted turquoise fluff for another cowl for me and some checked cotton for the long requested pyjama bottoms for her Mr. We left relatively unscathed!

… home as the rain started, it was no longer weather to take the dog for a walk in the forest – sorry rafeiro. Instead, I whipped up the olive green jersey cowl and the fluffy turquoise knitted one in less than an hour. I haven’t taken the fluffy one off since.