Summer top with lace

In Turkey, I bought a cheap top a cotton crinkle with raglan sleeves and rather bulky lace at the front neckline. Typical tourist top. I traced off a pattern for it and used a cotton medallion  lace in navy to go with some fabric I bought in Belgrade.

I can’t resist a paisley and although this one is very bright, worn with denim in the summer it will be fine. The fabric is very light lawn of silk and cotton I think. It is as soft as one of my mom’s old hankies. It is also very cool to wear.

I did narrow hems and I think I added some bias to the seam where I joined it to the lace.

I always planned on wearing it with dark denim or navy.

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New fabric

 

This old post was written three years ago and never published. I did make up the Fabric below a year later, a long maxi v necked summer dress line with black batiste, lining, it really doesn’t get much wear. I haven’t found any photos of it. I finished a blouse with the second fabric  and it will be in the next post.

The lace and buttons have not been used yet.

We have been away for 2 weeks on a river cruise in Eastern Europe.
We were on a tour bus in Belgrade and I saw a fabric store pass by my window. It was only about 15 feet wide, so really for fabric I have the eyes of a hawk. I had asked the concierge on the boat for a bead or button store, so when we went to spend free time on shore, the two places turned out to be close to each other. On the way to the fabric store, there were a couple of small windows, really just a couple of pillars one with pleated skirt fabric and one with some lace and buttons.

It was a bit of a rough looking corridor and staircase and the mailboxes alone were worth a picture. It got darker in the hallway upstairs but at the end I caught a glimpse of trims. Wow a little tiny shop with a couple of sales clerks with minimal English but I bought lace and buttons and I was happy. The lace and buttons hasn’t been used yet.

Next we found the fabric store,(it is the 3rd shop) 2 sales clerks and a manager, all speaking excellent English and who were excited pulling out bolts of fabric for my approval. I came away with 2 wonderful summer weight fabrics from Italy. I was quite taken with tablecloth fabric, coating, sweater knits etc, but I had very little room left in my suitcase.

In Rousse,  Bulgaria, I found a Patrones magazine. Elsewhere I found a lot of Burda magazines but I can get them a couple of blocks from the house.

Default pattern

A friend wrote a few posts ago, that her default knitting was socks. I must admit that is my default knitting as well.
I have been thinking about what I am attracted to when I see fabric. What is the must buy?

It will be no surprise to my children but my favorite pattern is paisley. Big, small, it doesn’t matter. Next test for me is colour and the hand of the fabric.
Some blouse fabrics currently in the stash.

Certain stripes, especially black and white, just make me dizzy. I have a fondness for seersucker, it must date back to my childhood, as does the paisley. I like impressionist flowers. Although, I don’t wear plaids, some I adore.

But back to paisley, I buy paisley paper for cardmaking when I can find it, and I have carved a paisley stamp. It wasn’t terribly successful no doubt I need to work on that particular skill.

We had a good time

We are back from four days in Toronto, visiting ds, dil and the cats. So what did we do?
First up was the Boat in the water show in Toronto, and while the men did that, the women did Queen Street W and Richmond street, neither of us had made it to Kings Fabrics before on our fabric jaunts.
Photo top to bottom, nylon lace paisley print, bamboo coral knit, poly print, wool herringbone green. We looked at a lot of knit dresses and sweaters, some well designed coats and Fluevog shoes, evidently the Twist Collective shoes with all their sock patterns were all Fluevogs. We both came home with fabric. We met up with the men for drinks.
Saturday, out in the pouring rain to Kitchener Waterloo to check out the wool. We got a few goodies.

Sunday was knitting and Roman Legion Re-enactment armour assembly. Our son in his gear. Heather and I took a a look in Yorkville as well and Accessity was my destination to buy a Hampton bag from Baggallini. I got the one I wanted, there are not a lot of stores in Canada selling these bags and the website is quite extensive. I intend to take this bag on all of my trips as it is lightweight, well built and has enough pockets for everything. I was going to get the bag anyway, but now it was a necessity to carry my stuff home.

I have knitted all the pieces for Hey Teach, it looks a little big but that is the way it will be. I also finished the toe on DH ‘s sock and started the second sock on the way home on the plane. Hey Teach is being blocked.

The weather is so overcast, so picture taking is iffy. When the sun comes out, I’ll photograph the wool.
Heather helped me by putting a flag counter on my blog. I am amazed at the visitors and thank each and everyone for having a look.

wool and fabric

I finally have something to talk about, the fire scarf and matching garter stitch wristwarmers are done, it was the kitchner stitch along the length of the gloves that kept me from posting earlier. The yarn was from the Skein of the Month club from Webs back in January. The dark green fetching wristwarmers was the yarn I received from Webs in March.
Now the fabric. I sucumbed to the call of the blouse weight assortment for $20.00, on my last order from Fabric Mart. The bold print in the middle is the only one I really have trouble with figuring out a plan. The black and white plains would be good for lining, pale green stripe a shirt for me, the pink plaid is in the process of becoming a blouse for my 92 year old mom, she may get the navy,pink stripe as well but she is not as sold on it as she was with the plaid. The plaid flannel, I am still pondering. The package arrived within a week of them putting it in the mail.

Fabric and Trim

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I looked for yarn stores while in Europe and only found one in Rome and it was shut the day we looked in the window. At a street market in another little town in France, my husband said “there is yarn at the next table.” I was quite excited and my hopes were dashed when all they had was eyelash yarn.

So,I had better luck with fabric stores, although they were all in the downtown core, sothey only had lovely expensive stuff to cover the rent. That didn’t stop me. I was determined to find some souvineers.
In San Sebastion, I got some printed linen in greens, the sales clerk was wrapping the fabric around my hips, measuring my length and working out the numbers. I am thinking of a dress, probably a sheath. Three clerks in a very tiny store. Absolutely no English.

I found a wonderful sweater knit in Nice, the shop was small, probably a whole 8 feet in the middle of the store with a table to cut out the fabric. Very little English, but the owner gave me an extra half meter. It is coral with a shiny metallic thread running through it.

In Paris, I found two fabric stores one near the hotel, and managed to get a remnant of 2 meters of green linen with stretch. I got the yellow pages from the hotel desk, pages of fabric stores, I managed to find quite a few in one area within 1.5km of the hotel. We were quite disappointed to find we were in the wholesale district and expected to buy a bolt. We did luck out and find a shop of notions, I hadn’t seen a button, zip or thread anywhere.[Photo]

Syage Fournitures, they had a 10meter minimum but I was able to pick up 2 trims that I had been looking for; elastic for t shirts with an organdy ruffle. I got white and beige. She said I could dye the white. They had other colours and several widths. I asked where I could be smaller amounts of fabric and she pointed out a street we had passed. I looked in a couple of stores and they didn’t seem any too friendly. But I did find one, with a fabric I liked, off white linen with burnt out area that were coloured flowers. A good price and I wanted 2 meters but he said”deux noi, trois oui” So I ended up with 3 meters and, of course, that was also cash only.

Tessuti, tejidos, tissues

Home from Europe, it was an incredible vacation and now trying to get the house back in order, (fridge and washer aren’t working) sorting out all the papers and newly acquired belongs and getting over the jet lag are going to take me awhile.

First things first, The fabric shopping report.
My friend and I kept as sharp look out for fabric stores,while in the cabs and on the buses and I had done an internet search before we all left on our trip. My husband and I travelled with the couple that we went to Greece a couple of years ago. The men weren’t much on shopping and I think quite amazed how fast we women could scout out a new location.
We did get to the Bessuti Tessuti in Rome, it did live up to expectations. It was crowded with fabric floor to ceiling(about 20 feet), there were 8′ and 12′ ladders to enable them to put the fabric back in place. I saw one man in a suit on top of the 8 foot step ladder replacing bolts above his head. He was very particular as to which bolt of fabric he was handed next. So narrow rooms, leading off from each other.. each chock a block full of eye candy, all bolts lying flat and lots kept getting rewrapped in a paper covering. Zegna fabrics were everywhere about 50 Euros a meter, and boucle, most were 90 E and one was 99E which I really liked.
The intimidating part to me was that the sales clerks were all men in suits, standing guard over the fabrics. Next was the language barrier but I did get a wonderful blouse fabric, I know it is poly but it was from Lake Como. Lake Como produces wonderful scarves and fabrics and the first run is usually poly and then if it works out the way the hope they are then produced as silks.

Ashton fabrics was right near our hotel and an armed guard stood outside, they had some wonderful eyelet with an overall print.
One other fabric store was also wonderful and I can’t remember the name.

I also scored a few pattern books, these I picked up in Rome, I’ll have to edit the photo later, as everything is correctly oriented in my computer but trying to get it to upload to blogger and flicker has turned the images. Uomo, the men’s pattern magazine will probably be still in style here for a good number of years. Some interesting clothes in the woman’s magazine, both come with the maze of patterns printed on a main sheet.

Lots of interesting clothes in Rome, I was besotted by all the fine quality. Pleats, ruffles, pockets, lots of additional details. Most women wore scares around their necks, a few men as well but mostly men over 40 were wearing dark suits. Leather handbags, shoes, belts and gloves were everywhere.
Next installment . Fabric shops in Spain.

the Fabtour 2007

Just a little yarn from Japan, wool and intended for a new scarf from a shop in Portland called Knit,Purl.
Books from Barnes and Noble and 50 % off one book. I am loving all three.

Craft goodies, bits for dolls, altered art, book binding, jewellry etc. Fabric from 3 stores, upper fabric is bamboo jersey knit, nylon mesh on the left and tencel on the right.

My friends and I had a good time on our Fabtour of Portland with a stop over in Issaquah and two stops in Tacoma, we saw Dale Chiluey glass installations, great clothes in several locations and ate good food. Lots of laughs and we were exhausted on return.

Boating adventures.

We have just come back home after 8 days on the boat. We visited some of the old haunts from years ago, Montague Harbour on Galiano, Ganges on Saltspring Island and Sidney. In Sidney we visited with family, with friends http://www.stacystudios.com/ and shopping. I found a big garden pot, my dh carried it down to the boat and it resided in the V berth until we were home.

This is going to be used for my fountain, I’d better get it up and running fairly soon or summer will be over.

Ganges was wonderful, a workout on my visa card. I found a hat, that shelters my eyes and my head doesn’t get too hot. Just a knitted bucket hat, of wool and hemp made with love in China. I found a quilting store, http://www.stitchesquiltshop.com/great fabric, then discovered the wool and then a few fabrics used in altered textiles that one burns for an unique effect, puff paint and foils. Great fun. I also got a experiment kit from Stef Francis.http://www.stef-francis.co.uk/ Ohh, it was a good day. I’ll take more pictures tomorrow.

At low tide, I could see starfish on the pylons under the dock. Two were trapped in the rotted out section of the dock support.

Toronto and Back

I managed to get some sewing done for my trip. Simplicity 4189 for a rayon/linen skirt which I loved and it was so comfortable in the heat. Simplicity 6515 for a crinkle batik with a linen trim facing which I sewed on the outside of the garment. It was cool to wear as well but the fit is not great and I need to take it in a bit.

DH and I were visiting our son and Heather of Friends Knit Together. They all worked on getting a spinning wheel working, the two men had a look at the wheels in the basement of Rommi, while Heather and I picked up a couple of balls of yarn. Then H & I hit the fabric stores on Queen Street, we both bought goodies, I got three great knits. The men waited in the the pub, this is starting to be a tradition with our Toronto routine.

I had a good time at the ROM and the textile museum with DS, showing me around TO. I was glad the subway was cool as I am not used to the heat and humidity.

Heather and I had some hands on sewing lessons and got her skirt finished, new fabric and patterns bought. I added post it notes with I hope helpful hints for the next projects.

It was a good visit, we saw relatives, ate out, ate in, knit a lot on the plane and just got caught up with the latest happenings in our lives.

I worked on the front of this jacket, I am thinking I’ll have to redo the front yokes. I guess I should have alternated yarn from two balls at once on the sleeve.

The two knits below were bought before the Toronto trip, still not made up. I have ideas for everything.