A trip to London Part 1: Liberty fabrics

Yesterday, I came back from a business trip to London .
Whenever I am there, I always take time to visit the Liberty store, the Whaterstones bookshop etc
This time Liberty disappointed me.
I went there especially to see the Spring 2013 tana lawn collection... There was almost nothing  left!
Here are some examples of what should have been there:

 

 

 

If you want to see more, have a look at the Liberty blog.

Luckily, you can still find these lovely fabrics at Shaukat, a shop in South-Kensington and online.

 

After a delicious lunch at le Pain Quotidien I went to the Fashion and Textile Museum, to visit the Kaffe Fassett exhibition.

Now this was a feast for the eyes.

I will tell you more about it in my next post.

Warm regards

Kristien

 

 

 



Shop additions

It has been quiet here lately; but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy.
If you are still looking for a Mother's Day present, then I have some ideas for you.

I made some new pencil cases:

A gorgeous cotton fabric of red and white sweets

 

I love this one with its green-yellow-orange-brown leaf pattern.

 

 

Here, I used a fresh Liberty curduroy fabric

 

Spring / early summer is a popular time of the year for getting married. Here are some ideas for bridal / bridesmaid purses:

 

 

For this purse I used a gorgeous cotton sateen fabric

 

 

 For the top part of this purse I used a lovely Liberty tana lawn fabric from the 2013 spring collection, called Irma. More colour options are available. For the base I took a Kaffe Fassett "shot cotton", a whole new range of plain fabrics by Kaffe Fassett. Here you can see them all. It has the same feel and quality as the fine  Liberty Tana Lawn.

 

 

This is a very chique purse made of the sweetest pale pink crèpe fabric with a thin layer of soft grey-brown lace on top.

 

 

For more pictures and details you are one click away from my zest4colour shop.

 

Please let me know what you think.

Warm regards

Kristien





 

Easter Wishes

A Happy Easter to all of you from Belgium!

 

 Chocolate Easter bunny at Belgian chocolate maker Neuhaus in Brussels

Photo By FRANCOIS LENOIR / REUTERS

 

Did you know that every year , on Easter Sunday,  there is a traditional Easter Egg Hunting in Brussels parks?

Easter bunnies are going to bring 300 000 eggs in over ten parks of Brussels.

Here is a link for more information.

 

Some pictures from all over the world:

 

 

Prague, Wenceslas square

 

Cooked and coloured eggs on a conveyor belt at the Beham coloured eggs company in Thannhausen, Germany

 

 

Easter market in Innsbruck, Austria

 

A giant fibreglass easter egg called 'Hello Cheeky' by Hattie Stewart, Covent Garden, London

 

Two nuns sit at a bus stop holding easter eggs in Vatican city

White House Easter Egg Roll.

Russian Easter Eggs

What are your plans for Easter?

Enjoy the weekend

Warm regards

Kristien

(Photos via lifestyle Yahoo, and monstersandcritics)

A knitting bible.

Aside from embroidery and sewing, I have always liked knitting.
And now I think I have found the ultimate knitting bible!

Translated it is simply called : "Our knitting book"

 

Although it is written in Dutch, there are so many clear pictures, that you almost don't need the text.

It is packed with advice, tips and techniques . Many I didn't even know existed.

 

 

Part I : stitches, techniques and motives

 

 

To start with there is information for "knitting novices": chapters about starting a project (5 different ways are explained!) , basic knitting techniques, adding and decreasing the amount of stitches, finishing a project etc.

 

 

 

 

Then you can move on to more advanced techniques , knitting with more colours at the same time , circular knitting, more complicated stitches etc.

Part II: 5 chapters full of projects, for your home, hats and scarves, socks, fashion and accessories, projects for babies and children.

 

 

This book is beautifully illustrated:

 

 

A must have for knitting addicts.

I bought my book here.

You can also find it here.

Warm regards

Kristien

 



A concealed-recessed top edge zip discussion

Two of my blog posts are mentioned by Karen as part of an article in a sewing channel called "Sewing Purses, Totes and Bags"on "Sew Whats New",  a leading web community for sewing and quilting enthusiasts!



I am thrilled!
Here is the link: http://sew-whats-new.com/group/sewing-purses-totes-handbags-free-pdf-epatterns/forum/topics/zips-and-bags-3-concealed-recessed-top-edge-zip?xg_source=activity

It seems that installing a recessed top edge zip in a bag is a difficult task. But, once you know how to do it, it is not difficult at all.
Here are some examples of  a concealed/recessed top edge zip:

 

 

 

Have you tried it?
Warm regards
Kristien