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.

DIY and Self help books

I have been busy clearing up bookcases, 5 are technically in my spaces of the house. It is very rare that I buy a fiction book and probably 90 % of my books fall into the do it your self, or are related to various crafts and whatever interests I have at the time. So naturally, I have lots to do with sewing, knitting, jewelery making, stitching and mixed media, book binding and paper crafts. There was also a fairly large section on gardening, house design and decoration.
My magazines reflect the same passions, although I have culled down my purchasing of magazines to Threads, Quilting Arts and Cloth Paper Scissors. I tend to only buy other magazines for a specific purpose or article. The first three I buy without even looking inside!

Around 30 years ago, a very popular book was “I’m OK, Your OK” and since then the books on discovering your bliss, the inner artist, the keys to good health, colouring your self beautiful, have all played apart in my reading. I particularly like books with lots of pictures, questions and approaches to the problem. I don’t often get through all of the questions and then again I very seldom used the exercises, and the list of techniques.

So the latest book to cross my path is Style Statement, Live by your own design. This was mentioned on line in one of my sewing groups. Once again an interesting group of questions. I have typed them out and am starting to answer them. In this book, you are to come up with 2 words which describe you. I wonder what words are mine.

Challenging Magazines.

One of the things that I wanted to purchase in Europe, besides a piece of fabric from each country I visited, was a sewing magazine. I have had experience witah Burda patterns which is now available in English. Lots of patterns each month, with the patterns printed out roadmap style on the insert. One needs to add seam allowances and hems.
I was successful, I was delighted with my haul.
Patrones and di milleidee UOMO have the easiest pattern sheets to trace out and idees Couture is a real mish- mash of lines to manouver.
I can generally figure out the yardage and maybe a few other words. The italian magazines have some pictures of construction, as does the French magazine.
Cidell today has posted a link on her blog to translate Spanish for sewing.

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.