Sweet Christmas wishes.

May I wish you a Merry Christmas and a very Happy 2014!...

 

 

....with this sweet John Lewis 2013 Christmas Advert

 

 

 

 

Enjoy...

Warm regards

Kristien

Autumn - Winter 2013 Liberty Tana Lawn fabrics.

In my previous post I mentioned that each spring and autumn , Liberty launches a new seasonal fabric collection , apart from the classic designs which stay.
I wanted to give you an overview of this years autumn/winter collection: "Earthly Paradise".

 

On the Liberty Craft Blog there is a lovely post with an overview of all this seasons Tana Lawn fabrics.

Some examples:

 

 

Iceland first seen.

 

Fragrance

 

 

A sense of Liberty

 

Some of the designs are commissioned from artists and designers outside the Liberty fabric business.

- This season Tamsin Greig was asked to help with the creation of the "Audio" collection.

 

 

 

 

Here you can find an interview with her about her collaboration with the Liberty design team.

 

- For the "Tattoo " collection, Mo Coppoletta - a tattoo artist - joined the Liberty design team.

 

 

 

 

 

Here you can find an interview with him.

 

- For the "Taste" collection , the Liberty Design studio asked Jamie Oliver to join them.

 

 

 

 

Here is an interview with him.

Gorgeous fabrics , isn't it?

Warm regards.

Kristien

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



The Liberty fabric archive.

In the 1920s, Liberty , - the London based store- , funded by Arthur Lasenby Liberty, began to produce small floral prints that became known as Liberty Prints. They were printed on silk, cotton and wool.
The most famous is the cotton Tana Lawn , named after Lake Tana in Sudan, where the special cotton plant used for these fine cottons came from.
Each spring and autumn a new fabric collection is launched, apart from the classic designs which stay.
Some of the classic designs date back to the late 19th or early 20th century.
Some examples:

 

Lodden

It was originally designed by William Morris in 1884, but was made into Liberty's own design by rescaling and re-colouring.

 

 

Wiltshire

This leaf and berry pattern was designed for Liberty in 1933.

 

 

Elysian

was originally designed in the 1920s.

 

During all the years a textile archive has been build up.

It is used as a design resource for new collections.

 

Here is an interesting link to the Liberty Craft Blog with a post about the Archive

and a video showing how the Tana Lawns are printed:

 

 

Interesting isn't it?
Warm regards.
Kristien

The Perfect Small budget friendly Christmas gift.

I am already thinking about Christmas; only two months away!
What I love most about it is the preparation and search for the perfect gifts.
But having to buy many presents with a tight budget can be quite a challenge.
That is why I wanted to show you some of my "Under 20 Euro" gifts in my Zest 4 colour shop.

1. First of all: something new! A Bag or Purse Hook.
I can no longer live without it.
It is the perfect, practical, yet elegant accessory for any woman.
Just unroll the hanger, hook it on the side of a table and hang your bag to keep it away from the ground.

For each hook I have carefully chosen and cut a small piece of Liberty Tana Lawn fabric, wellknown for its delicate and exquisite patterns.
The fabric is securely locked by a glass dome, which magnifies the pattern.
Some pictures:

 

 

 

There are many more to come in the shop.

 

2. My pencil cases; roomy with a practical unique zipper pull and easy to clean.

Some examples:

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Small coin purses.

Here is the first of my smaller framed coin purses.

For the lining I used a cotton fabric instead of laminated cotton, which makes it less expensive.

 



 

 

 

Want to see more? Just go over to my zest4colour shop.

And of course I can Always make something specially for you.

Simply let me know what you would like at zest4colour@gmail.com

 

Have a lovely weekend.
Kristien



 

 

 

Back to school with a Zest4colour pencil case.

The schoolholidays are nearing their end.
Some children are dreading to go back to school; (one of my boys is).
Perhaps you could soften the moment with a new pencil case.
I have some beauties on offer, hard to find elsewhere.
You may have noticed that my pencil cases are more expensive than some others on Etsy.
Why ?

 

My pencil cases are double layered and interfaced.

I chose to use laminated cotton as lining fabric. This is stronger, durable and easier to clean than regular cotton, but unfortunately also more expensive.

As a finishing touch, every pencil case gets its own zipper pull.

 

 

Here are some new ones:

 



 

 

 

Here is the link to my Zest4colour pencil case shop section.

Let your children have a look at them.
I am interested to know if they like them.

Warm regards

Kristien

 

Designing your own fabric?

Recently I came across  this interesting blogpost on Etsy.
It features the company Spoonflower, printing fabrics, wallpapers, etc designed by ...... you and me!

 

 

"About Spoonflower's Digital Textile Printing

Digital textile printers are large-format inkjet printers specially modified to run fabric. Unlike conventional textile manufacturing, digital printing entails very little waste of fabric, ink, water or electricity. Spoonflower prints using eco-friendly, water-based pigment inks on natural fiber textiles. No additional chemicals are used in the printing or preparation process.
This type of printing has the added advantages of showing greater design detail than screen printing, as well as allowing designers the ability to use as many colors as they like in their designs. All Spoonflower fabric gets printed in Durham, North Carolina, by a merry band of fabric lovers "



I am really excited about this . It creates a whole new world of opportunities.
Kristien

On Facebook!

I finally gave in...
I am not a big fan of Facebook.
I don't even have a personal account as I don't want to write about my everyday life. That is private and personal.
So I didn't think of ever opening an account until I realised I could use Facebook as a window to my Etsy shop.
Here it is: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Zest4colour-purses-and-accessories/351351621656882

 

I also added some new lovely items to my shop:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you like them.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Kristien

 

 

 

 

A trip to London Part 2: Kaffe Fassett

In my last post I already mentioned my visit to the Kaffe Fassett exhibition in the Fashion and Textile Museum in London (www.ftmlondon.org)
I am a Kaffe fan, so I was looking forward to this visit.
That day in  London was a grey day. I got there through the pouring rain; but once inside you forgot the grey and only saw colour everywhere.
This is the brochure you get; it gives an overview of his life and carreer.

Following tekst is taken from the FTM website:



" Kaffe Fassett – A Life in Colour’ is a celebration of the work of one of the great practitioners of contemporary craft. This exhibition, the first in London since Kaffe Fassett’s record-breaking show at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1988, features over 100 works within a dramatic installation designed by Sue Timney.

Exhibition highlights include extravagantly-coloured 9-foot-wide knitted shawls, coats and throws, patchwork fabrics shown in a glorious selection of quilts, as well as items especially created for this exhibit and not seen in public before. The design also features a ‘feeling’ wall that allows visitors to touch and better understand the textiles on display and their construction. From his childhood in the creative community of Big Sur, California, to his career as a painter, and later as a knitwear and textile designer in London from the 1960s to the present day, Kaffe’s ability to blend pattern, texture and colour has won him a dedicated following of enthusiasts.

It is not a huge exhibition, but truly a feast for your eyes:
Paintings, knitwear, needlepoint, tapestry and quilts from different eras are arranged against walls in different colours to create brilliant still-life compositions.

 

Have a look:
(The pictures may not always be sharp but I took them with my Smartphone and using the flash was not allowed):

 

 

 

Tapestry

 

Quilts

 

Knitting

 'The Country House Look'

 

 

The little shop of the FTM was a bit disappointing. There were some books and a few packages with fabric squares for quilting. But you couldn't buy larger fabric pieces.

For that you are directed to the Liberty store, but they don't have a wide range.

If you are looking for more, Cottonpatch has a large collection.

 

The exhibition still runs till the end of June.

My eyes and me, we loved it.

 

Warm regards

Kristien