sinterklaas has left for spain again, so that means christmas is just around the corner! oromono has some suitable seasonal gifts. i know that egg mercantile in amsterdam sells oromono, but i'm not sure if they have the christmas range available. isn't it just a nice idea to spruce up a scarf like this?
it took me a while, but after a long absense i'm back again! i've not been sitting still, i've been sewing and i've done a felt workshop a couple of weeks ago. i can really recommend making your own felt, it's as much a therapeutic as creative thing to do. in februari there will be a follow up where we'll be making a seamless bag. i'll keep you posted on it. for other people who live in the rotterdam area: you might want to check out atelier het narrenschip yourself.
ok, back to the actual post: these poufs by flocks have done the rounds on the blog circuit, but i found them to good to pass up on. they're the brainchild of christien meindertsma and made from hand felted yarn from kyrgyzstan. together with a knitter, spinners and a graphic designer she uses these beautiful yarns to create poufs, knitted rugs and cute cardigans.
another wonderful example of designers doing cool things with felt are these products from studio nynker based in soest in the netherlands. all the products (cap, bottle cooler, bag and tea cozy) are made from flat pieces of felt and by clever pattern making and sewing it together it gets its shape. speaking of sewing: i finished my skirt! it will make its premiere this thursday when i'll be wearing it to my sewing class. i'm really pleased with how it turned out, i'll post some pictures soon. next project will be a jacket which i bought a black quilted fabric for with stitched circles in green and for the lining the same colour green as the stitching. get on a sewing machine, it's so much fun!
ok, let me start by saying i'm a bad blogger. a bad, bad blogger. no posts for almost a week... but in my defense: i've not been sitting still! i've worked on my skirt (it's almost done now, next lesson we'll finish it by putting in a blind zip) and i've started work on a softie from the aranzi aronzo book. last saturday my friend ann and her lovely son sal accompanied me to the albert cuyp market in sunny amsterdam to purchase some new fabrics. nowadays fabric shops are not that common in rotterdam any more, but along the sides of the albert cuyp market there are loads of them! i ended up buying some grey marl jersey and some black stretch velvet to experiment with. as a start i thought it might be nice to make a soft black bear, sort of like the dick bruna black bear. not sure if it's going to turn out good, but i've got high hopes. in spite of my 'unconventional' sewing methods. shortcut is my middle name. i'll keep you posted!
i came across something exciting this evening: there's going to be an arts and crafts fair called fluff market in den haag next month! there's still room for talented people, so if you have some cool products you'd like to sell and you're from the benelux, this is your chance. i for one haven't got anything to sell, but i'm sure going to be there to meet some cool crafters. so come check it out on saturday, august 11 in den haag!
i saw a link to mijnes on bloesem a while ago and now on print & pattern. they hand-make really cute pillows, bags and other baby accessories with high quality materials. i'm really happening so much seems to be going on in holland right now, with new crafty companies springing up all around. maybe in time there will be events here like renegade and groups like craft maffia. i for one can't wait!
ik weet niet hoe bekend etsy inmiddels is, maar voor degenen die het nog niet kennen: het is een website waarop mensen, vooral zelfgemaakte, dingen kunnen kopen en verkopen. rechts onder aan deze pagina kan je wat van mijn favorieten zien. één van de leukere verkopers is stiksel, een meisje uit rotterdam die hele toffe tassen maakt van oude ptt postzakken. stiksel heeft ook haar eigen blog, klik hier om het te bezoeken.
kijk, als je je fantasie de vrije loop laat ontstaan de mooiste dingen! dit gehaakte hek is van demakersvan, een nederlands ontwerp collectief. ik wou dat ik het bedacht had!
