Tree Fall

Perpetual Motion

I'm sorry if it feels a little like things have slowed down around here over the last few days. After all the initial excitement, it may seem like I've run out of steam.
I really haven't and the fact that there are still piles of fabric festooned around the studio waiting to be shared with you, is proof of that.
However, I am a little distracted. There's some stuff going on around here that is taking a little more of my energy than I'm happy with at the moment. And that's causing more stress than I want to be dealing with right now. It can't be helped though, and I'm trying to just get on with things, but as I said, I'm a little distracted.
Not quite here.

But I'll be back on much better form in no time at all. And then we can talk about the rest of the fabrics - oh I've got some scraps that I bought from Purl  that are going to make you weep - my trip to Anthropology - it is as good as they  say it is - and finally, finally there will be pictures of the finished studio! So,  lots to look forward to. So lets do that shall we? Lets look forward.
Onwards and upwards people. Onwards and upwards.

Getting in Trim

If you're going to New York, then  you have to go to the garment district. It's the law. Well, it should be.
And if you're going to the garment district then you are obviously going to go to Tinsel Trading . Why? Because, it's the law. It is I tell you.
Unfortunately I didn't take any photo's of Tinsel Trading, but I did have a great time and I do highly recommend it.
Whilst we were in there  Jim got talking to Marcia, the owner, about trim (he's good like that) and we ended up having a very interesting chat.  And it's things like that that make a shopping trip for me. I love meeting interesting people and hearing all about how they got in to the business they're in. And I love that Jim enjoys that too. I particularly enjoy listening to him talk about how hard it is to get hold of decent ribbon and trim in the UK! That's a guy who's more than comfortable with his masculinity!
The shop itself is absolutely beautiful. And although I'm not much of an embellisher, and a lot of the stock isn't aimed at someone like me, it was still an absolute delight to wander around. And I'm pretty sure that we spent almost an hour in there, just looking and chatting.

Oh and listening to other customers. That was another really interesting part. Hearing what people were looking for and how they were going to use it. And all the staff were incredibly helpful. Even when a customer just had an enquiry and said straight out that they weren't going to get anything that day. Great service and a great atmosphere.
And although I didn't buy a lot from Tinsel Trading, I definitely could have!

Around the corner from TT is M & J Trimming, which is equally amazing, but in a totally different way. This place is kind of like a supermarket for trim. It's big and brightly lit and the staff treat you like crap. But the trim? The trim is wonderful. As are the buttons and the lace and the handles and the, well you get the picture. Believe me, it's more than worth a visit. Just be careful though, because it is very easy to spend a small (or large) fortune in there.

There's obviously a lot more to the Garment District, and you could easily spend days wondering around looking in every fabric shop and ribbon shop, but we were limited to an afternoon, so we stuck to the usual suspects of Hyman Hendler (very beautiful but very expensive ribbons), So Good (ribbons again) and of course the wonderful Grayline Linen.
Next time, (oh yes, there will be New York - The Return) I'm going to plan better and perhaps even remember to print out the incredibly helpful Liesl's  guide to crafting in New York (duh).

And finally, my little egg is at my Mom's for the next two days, and that always means a photo to keep me going. That's the law too.

Late, late Sunday

Another quickie post I'm afraid, as once again it's horribly late and I'm dreadfully tired. We have a bit of a poorly little girl here at the moment, and she's really struggled with sleeping tonight because of it. So I thought I might as well make the best use of still being up and post about a lovely Japanese craft book.

This is part of my 'I will learn to make Bella's clothes' kick. Although, since the loon now insists on choosing her own clothes I think we can all agree that the chances of her wanting to wear something that I made her are pretty darn slim. Hey ho.

The book is full of lovely girls clothes and comes with the full size patterns.

I like this book a lot. Although to be honest there aren't a ton of designs in it. I think it might be a good place to start though, as the patterns all look relatively straight forward.
ISBN 4-579109708

I'm going to love you and leave you now. But not before I show you how brave I am.

Look, do you see there? I've cut in to my beautiful linens. Oh the pain.

Hello May!

Just a quick one. I've been working on some new stuff and I didn't want to put it down tonight. Which unfortunately means that I now have no time to post, because it's half past my bedtime already. 
It's all about balance I guess.

One of my more recent purchases is this wonderful print by the fantastic Ashley G.

As she well knows, I am a huge fan of her work and seem to actually be in the process of setting up my own Ashley G Gallery! This print is one of her limited Hello series, where she produces a print a month, and then withdraws it at the end of that month ( a percentage of the profit goes to a charity of Ashley's choice each month too!).  I think this one is my favourite so far, and it's still for sale in Ashleys shop for a few more days. So rush on over there and get one. It's a thing of beauty.
Oh and while you're there, have a look at her new Stumps print (I just got that one too). Bloody marvelous.

Green

Are you bored? I'm kind of feeling that maybe this is old already? You know, there's show and tell and then there's  just not knowing when to stop.
Hmmm... Well, just tell me to shut up already if you want to and in the mean time I'll assume that you all get how much fun it is to share all of this stuff with people that aren't going to say "you spent how much on fabric?" or "but they're in Japanese, you can't even read them".

So, green then? No, not you, the colour!

This is part of the new Katie Jump Rope range by Denyse Schmidt.  I meant to get it in blue too and forgot (oh horror). You can get it here  from the more than marvelous Cia.

Next we have an Alexander Henry print that I've worked hard at resisting for a while now. Just couldn't do it any longer though!

This paisley is Amy Butler and is another one bought specifically for the new Bella dress/quilt bonanza.

This is Uptown for Moda and one that I was pretty unsure about until I saw it in person. I'm not sure how well the print is going to translate when used in smaller pieces, but I do like it's vibe.

This is another Amy Butler and a firm favourite from when it was first released. I'm wishing I got some more of the other colourways now though.

And lets just continue the Amy fest shall we? We're having fun after all.
The next two are part of her Forest range which is a favourite of mine. They're home dec weight and worth every extra penny.

If anyone spots this print in the slate colourway, please let me know because I'd love to get some.

(I do know that none of these are new prints, but I think that sometimes we forget about great prints that are out there, when there are so many wonderful new ones being released all the time).

I was probably a little too (pathetically) pleased when I saw that this print came in green.

This one is a regret of mine. I mean why would I only buy 1 yard? Why?

This is another one that didn't appeal until I saw it up close. Which is why it's possibly a good thing that we don't have decent fabric stores over here. The fact that some fabrics don't look so great on line is actually a godsend! Can you imagine? We'd all be sleeping in the garden shed, they'd be no room for any of us.

I mentioned the other day about shopping by colour without noticing and I definitely did that this day. As well as the fabrics I discovered that I also bought towels, tea towels, a calender, a plate and a dress for Bella, all in green. And I honestly didn't realise until I was unpacking it all. But then you know, you get in the zone, and a simple thing like paying attention to what your handing your cash over in return for, just doesn't seem important!

And finally for today (these posts are taking me so long at the moment that I honestly had a nap in my chair in the middle of writing this one! Wouldn't you think I could come up with something a little better for the amount of effort it takes?? Even I'm thinking that it's just pictures of fabric for goodness sake! How hard can that be?) here is my pile of linen from the absolutely fantastic Grayline Linen .

If you are going to New York it really is worth seeking out this shop. The linen is beautiful quality and incredibly cheap. The staff are also really helpful.  I'm definitely going to be ordering more online, I just don't think you can go wrong with this shop. Wonderful.

Ok people, we're on the home stretch now! Just a few more posts and then we'll resume normal scheduling, where this is a craft blog, not a shopping blog!

 

Edited to add - annoyingly enough I'm not sure which linen I bought, but I think, judging by price that it was the Warsa. I also bought a piece of the handkerchief weight, and that is just as soft , with a really nice tight weave.
If there's anyone out there that shops at Greyline, maybe you know which weight of linen is at the back of the shop, on the poles on the right hand side?
Sorry I can't help more. I think I'm going to risk it and order Warsa though.

The Long Way Round

I do remember that at the start of my mammoth NY posts, I said I wasn't going to give you a blow by blow account of it all. I guess I was mistaken. Oops.
I do promise to get back to craft posts again soon , and to those of you that have pointed it out, I hear you on the lack of Bella pictures, definitely more of those to come soon.

I was going to go ahead and share my green fabrics today, but I you know what they say, variety is the spice of life, so I thought we'd go with some new books instead.

This first one did the blog rounds a while ago, but I'm going to show it to you any way. Mainly because it's worth looking at, but also because until I saw it for myself I just didn't realise how lovely a book it is.
When I read the reviews of it online I didn't realise how thick the book was and I had just assumed that it was a little flimsy, the way the Japanese craft books are. But no, this is at least an inch and a half thick! It's a big, heavy book (yes, I did carry it in my carry on bag, they don't weigh those you know!) and whilst it may not offer too much of a challenge to the experienced sewer, it is still well worth looking at for the photography alone.

I haven't had a chance to read it properly or to check out how comprehensive the patterns are, but it's made me smile at every page turned.

I bought a load of tea towel linen, whilst I was away, with the intentions of designing something very similar to this. But with a combination of embroidery and print. An idea that was further inspired by a couple of amazing tea towels that I picked up at Anthropology.

As I said, I haven't looked at it properly yet, so I'm not sure just how useful a book it is, but frankly, who cares when it's just so damned pretty.
You can get it here.

The next book is going to make you swoon. It made me swoon and I may have even let out a little yelp when I saw it. Fortunately no one else was standing close by, so as long as it was only a little yelp, I don't think anyone noticed.

It's a book of fabric prints. Just fabric prints. From 1946-1959. Just pictures of printed fabric.

It's a relatively small book, about A5, but it's got 200 pages of fabric prints!

Just a quick aside to explain my sudden apparent obsession with the physical size of books. When I got to the bookshop in New York and saw just how substantial some books were, and how much that surprised me, I realised that it does make a difference to how impressed I am with a book. For example, this book, See and Sew, has also been reviewed on many blogs and although I always thought it looked nice, I assumed that it was a small, lightweight book like the My First Sewing Books that I had as a child, so I've resisted all temptation. Until I saw the actual book last week and discovered that not only is it a large A4 book but it's also spiral bound and nice and thick. But whilst I was sensible ( I was, I tell you!) and didn't buy it in NY,  I have actually ordered it since getting back.
So you see, from now on I'm going to include a description of the actual size of the book where possible. Just in case I'm not the only strange person out there that is affected by such things.

Back to those fabric prints then.

There was definitely a yelp involved when I saw this page.

Did you notice that I said there were 200 pages of fabric prints?  How very kind of them!
ISBN4-579-209397
Available here.

Another one that put a little extra spring in my step on those NY streets, was this fantastic book.

It's all about Scandinavian textile design.

It includes many traditional and moderns textiles, with bags, cushions and even a smock pattern.

I've photographed mainly the traditional stuff, but there's amazing new stuff too.

It's a small book, but it's packed with perfect, perfect awe inspiring designs. And I highly recommend it.
It's here .

There are some more Japanese books to share with you, but I couldn't wait any longer to show you these!

Oh and why wait when we don't have to,  lets just finish with a quick pic of the very Princess Bella.

Red and orange and pink and...

It's funny how often we  all seem to shop by theme or colour, often without even realising it. Anyone that has been reading me for a while will know that yellows, reds and grays have been big for me lately. And I didn't think that that had changed. Until I had my pile of bolts building up in Purl and both Jim and Joelle commented on how I was quite obviously in a blue phase. Uh?
And I just couldn't seem to get away from that on that particular day. Although I gave it a good go.

This one is already an all time favourite. It's a soft, lightweight canvas with a beautiful faded quality.

I had to show you this one again in the red colourway, because it's just too gorgeous not to share. And I'm still trying to kid myself that I'm going to be using it to make aprons. Although maybe I could use it very sparingly, you know, just as a border or maybe a patch. No not patchwork, a patch, a single patch. It could work.

This one was actually bought the next day, because believe it or not the two fabrics above were the only reds I got that first day. Weird, no? I really would have said that I was going out to buy mainly reds.
But anyway, the next day my colour palette encompassed a little more than just blue and I focused on some pinks and oranges.
This will become a dress for my little party girl. She is only interested in wearing girly colours at the moment, so it might as well be something I like too!

This is also a Bella dress buy. And maybe a new quilt for her too.

This is one of the Liberty prints that I splashed out on. And whilst it may sound foolish or possibly even a downright lie to say that I was restrained in my fabric buying, it is, in reality the truth. Can you imagine how much money I could have spent on Liberty alone? But no, I limited myself and only bought a few (yes I have regrets). But how could I resist this print? It's so delicate and beautiful. And it had to come home with me. 

I actually surprised myself by buying more orange than I usually would. And not just because I was out of control!
This one is a canvas weight Amy Butler print. It's aimed at home dec rather than quilting, but I'm thinking totes and maybe patchwork cushions. I like the change from the  yellow and gray that I've been liking so much to orange and gray. Don't you?

This is obviously from Amy Butlers Lotus range, but I'm including it because A. I bought it and B. until I saw it up close I didn't realise how lovely it is. The orange hadn't really appealed in the past, but this one is gorgeous.

And finally (just for today - we haven't tackled green or neutrals yet) I'm not sure who this one is by but since I was obviousy gearing up for an orange fest I thought I might as well go for it!

I can't believe that it's already a week since we got on that plane to fly back home. It's gone so quickly and is even more bittersweet because Jim's mammoth 8 week 'holiday' comes to an end when he starts at his new job tomorrow!
I can't believe how fast 8 weeks can fly by and I can't believe how little we achieved. My front room, that was half painted way back in February, is still half painted. How could I not even manage that in two months !
And don't get me started on how little work I've managed to get finished, or  even started for that matter!

One thing that I am still working on though, is getting my studio finished. I was close before our trip away, but of course, I now have a lot of new bit and pieces to fit it. (I know, poor me!).

It is suddenly all looking a little worse for wear though.

I'm determined to have it pretty much done by next week though. Because I'm hoping to have a special guest  to hang out in it with.

Turning Japanese

I mentioned fabric didn't I?

I say we jump right in. You with me?

This is a beautiful Japanese number that I bought from here   and loved it so much that when I woke the following day I knew we were going back for more. In every colour.

I'm going to go ahead and admit that I told myself that I was buying lots of this print because I would make apron/baking sets from it. It's tea cups after all. But I don't know, it's already looking like one of those non-cut-able fabrics.

Uh huh, I went back for more of this one too. I'm thinking dress for me and maybe for Bella too. Because, I am going to learn how to make clothes. Any day now. Any day now.
It's Japanese too and although I got it from Purl they don't seem to have any on line at the moment.

Isn't this one  so beautiful? The shade of blue kills me. I have no idea why, but I always describe this blue as Parisian blue.
Available here.

This one is a heavier cotton, more of a lightweight canvas. It's a little too heavy for quilting but is a really nice weight for some thing like a tote.

I'm not sure who this one is by, but I think it's gorgeous. To be one of those skirts that I'm going to make, maybe?

This is part of the Storybook range by Windham Fabrics and you can get it right here.

This one is one  quarter of a piece that has four different prints that run selvage to selvage. It's a bit of a strange idea, and I actually find it a little annoying because I would have liked to have bought a lot more of just this print.

This is another of the four prints.

And finally, I want to show you this fantastic book and fabric from Japanese designer Yoshiko Jinzenji.
Both of which are also available from Purl.

She is an internationally known weaver, dyer, fabric artist, teacher, and quilter and her work has been exhibited around the world. You can also see it in the permanent collection at the Museum of Art and Design in New York.
The quilts in this book are absolutely breath taking. And I do mean breathtaking. Just look at this.




This type of work is endlessly inspiring, with it's clean lines and simple colours. I love the fact that it's all crisp and bright. There are no sludgy colours just gorgeous brights and whites.



And just look at this. It's one of those designs that makes you feel almost too much regret to really enjoy it. It makes me regret that I couldn't think of that. That I didn't come up with it first. It makes you feel like it's really too late to get in to the game, because someone else has already won it.



Or how about these cushions. Ack.



As well as designing her quilts Jinzenji has designed a beautiful, understated fabric range.
(I apologise for the lack of ironing)



I can't really describe how the prints work, (mainly because it's 1am and my brain is in bed asleep), but it's fluid and unusual and perfect for a whole cloth quilt.



These are definitely pieces that I am going to have to think long and hard about, before cutting in to them. In fact they are so beautiful that I don't know that I'm even worthy. They may just have to sit in my fabric cabinet, just being what they already are, wonderful pieces of fabric.


Anyway,there's still a bit more fabric to show you. So same place tomorrow? I'll bring the photo's, you bring the understanding!

Arrgghh, I have no idea why the font has gone all funny, does anyone know how to fix it??

Paper.

I was going to break up the magazine fest with a post about fabric today, and then get back to the magazines tomorrow. But being an occasional dumbass, I forgot to take photo's of the fabric! So I'm afraid we're just going to have to have more of the same for now. Sorry about that.

Of course I bought Blueprint! It's another one that we can get over here, but how could I resist when it was just there ? (know what I mean Lea Ann??).

And with the article about Joelle it was particularly interesting.

Her nursery is so pretty  and I love that stags head!

And of course  it's all about the shop.

It also has some beautiful dresses in this issue. I want this one.

Badly.

And more importantly, I want to look like that whilst wearing it!

And I love this small studio space.

I have to admit to finding Blueprint a little hit and miss so far, but I really have enjoyed this issue.

Next up is Adorn which I'd heard a lot about, but it's one that we can't, as far as I know, get over here. Which is a shame, because it has some cool stuff in it. Bit's of it are a little too 'crafty' for me, but some of it really appeals.

There's a great article about the amazing Sarah  of Small Object.

Which alone makes it worth buying.
But, as if that wasn't enough of a reason to go get it, it also features our wonderful Lisa. Which can never be a bad thing!

This next one was a hit with me straight away. Because although I am still very much a quilter at heart,  I do find that Quilt magazines are all too often lacking in real  inspiration. I don't really get the whole thing of making quilts from someone elses patterns, and most magazines focus on doing just that.
But this one was full of really exciting quilts and made me want to start cutting immediately. Of course it also made me regret not getting yet more fabric!

I love this quilt and instantly wished that I'd bought more from Moda's Apple Pie fabrics.

And this one by the Prints Charming  girls, made me wish that I'd bought a lot more of their prints!
Especially the Bubble Multi print used for this quilt.

And then there's this Peas and Carrots runner. Love. And wish I'd bought .... oh you know!

As well as very effectively illustrating that I am never satisfied when it comes to fabric (and many other things), the magazine has some other interesting articles,  including an interview with  Heather Bailey.

So, a pretty good magazine and definitely one that I'd be interested in buying again in the future (Grainne??).

Next up (stop me if I'm boring you) is How. Which is all about creativity this issue.

How fortuitous.

This one is really interesting and seems like a mag that we may be able to get over here. It's a little more costly than the others, but is well worth it.

Amongst many other things, it has a small piece on Roberts   lovely online store.

It also has a great article on  typography and image, using  low tech resources, that I found incredibly inspiring.

And has really got me thinking about some new stationary that I was about to order.

There's a great article about Matthew Sporzynski's work, which anyone that reads Real Simple will be familiar with.

I really love his work and was very excited when I opened the magazine straight to his interview. In fact I bought the magazine without looking through the rest of it (of course, I was also in a frenzy and picking up anything that wasn't nailed down, so that's not saying much).

Ahh but can you imagine when I finally did look more closely (not until we were on the plane back!), and discovered an article about Collecting that included this little lot?

Truly beautiful.

I have to say that I think this is my favourite magazine so far. It's really tactile as well as being full of more than just the usual eye candy. I don't know what it's like normally, but I can highly recommend this issue.

There are still a few more magazines to share with you ( I think I bought back about 16 in total. What?) but I'm going to leave it at that for now.

As well as buying magazines, Jim and I did a lot of just walking around looking at everything and taking it all in. I'm used to big cities, having grown up in Hong Kong, but I was still surprised by how much I loved the feel of NY. It was a lot calmer than I expected and a lot greener.

It helped that we had fantastic weather of course, but it is also naturally a beautiful city. Both of us loved the juxtaposition between some pretty big skyscrapers and the lovely  old (ish) buildings nestled beneath them.

I always find it incredibly interesting to see how a city has grown. I love watching the landmarks change and shift in your perspective. In Hong Kong the actual physical landscape has changed with there being so much reclaimed land and newer, taller buildings springing up on almost a daily basis. When I lived there, you could see a particular building that sat right on the Harbour, and towered over most of the other buildings. And yet when I went back on my honeymoon, the building was about 4 streets away from the harbour and seemed tiny. It took me a moment to realise that my memory wasn't wrong, but that in fact the landscape I once knew, actually no longer existed.
When you look at the buildings in NY you can see how the expectations have shifted. Buildings that are by todays standards pretty insignificant in stature, are incredibly ornate and proud. And it's obvious that back  in their day, they were truly  impressive. Of course they're lost now, unless you can find a quite spot in the sea of pedestrian traffic to stop and look.
One place that I recommend to stop and look is a corner window on the 5th Floor of MoMA. The windows over look the tree lined streets below and it gives you a wonderfully peaceful view of a small part of the city.
I know that you can get big, all encompassing views from The Empire State Building etc, but I like the lower, smaller views.

Of course, if you go down to SoHo and the Village, you get an all together more intimate view.Everything feels more grounded. It's not about looking up, it's about looking around. And there's a bit more space to stop. And if there isn't, there's a lot of places you want to stop in.

Tomorrow I will try to remember to photograph more fabric!

Magazines? Why, yes we do.

One of the things that I was looking forward to in NY was buying all those magazines that those mean US bloggers tease us with all the time! So on the first day Jim and I headed straight for Barnes and Noble . No messing around, straight to the magazine section. Where I very greedily snatched up every single magazine that I could see! Well, ok, not every one, just the ones that I was interested in, but you get the picture. I then headed upstairs to the craft section and positively cried over all the books that I've never been able to see in the flesh before, but that even I had to accept were too heavy to drag all the way back home. I'm telling you, I cried some bitter tears that day.
However, what I then discovered the next day, was that you crazy Americans have entire shops devoted to magazines! And I'm not talking WH Smiths  here. I'm talking about every single magazine that you can think of.  Marie Claire Idees? Uh huh. Milk? Uh huh. Ottobre? yup. And you'll notice that these are all foreign magazines. Good lord lets not even discuss all the American ones out there!
So I did what I had to do. I bought as much as I could carry. And then as much as I figured Jim could carry.

One that I have been searching for for a long time is Milk. I have a friend who lives in Switzerland and a father who works in a Newsagents, and yet I still haven't been able to track down a copy of this wonderful French magazine. Until I go all the way to the other side of the world! Go figure.

It is everything that I hoped it would be.

Gorgeous children. Gorgeous children's rooms. Gorgeous children's clothes. And gorgeously French.

Ack, it's enough to make you cry. I just wish that I'd paid attention in French class so that I could actually read the thing.

I can of course buy this one over here. But why would I when I can lug it across the Atlantic instead?

Full of it's usual colour and beauty. And including a fantastic article about Kate Anderson and knotting.

Next up we have a magazine that I've never heard of and know nothing about. But this issue was all about aprons. So you know that was coming home with me.

The photography is really nice. I just think that the name kind of puts you off.
Aprons though.... Aprons.


Galore!

The top of that apron is smocked! It's friggin amazing.

And just look at this child's smock. Absolute perfection. I can only dream of creating something that beautiful.

And finally (for today), another one that I know nothing about but just liked some of the articles. Some of the patterns are too mainstream for me, but I really liked a few of the ideas.

Eyelet trim on a plain skirt.
Crochet trim and ric rac on a pillow.

And these lovely stitched bags. I particularly find this image inspiring.

Oh lets just slip one more in. The latest copy of Craft: which has many, many interesting articles, including a small piece about Lotta.

Actually, if you're in the UK and don't want to pay the £10 for Craft: that Borders charges then you can get it on Amazon for only £6.59, which is a pretty good deal if you ask me.

I'm suitably embarrassed to say that that is only half of the new magazine collection. So there's still more to come. And just in case it seems like I'm showing off, I'm really not. I just really do want to share my excitement because I love it when you all share yours. And this was absolutely a chance of a lifetime, that would never have happened if Jim hadn't been made redundant. Actually it's the only holiday we've ever had together, in nine years (accept our honeymoon), and we loved it. So I hope you'll all bear with me.