textiles | 129twigandvine

Yards of Possibilities

27 Mar 2013 6 Comments

by Sue Schlabach 129twigandvine in Creativity, Design, handmade, In the Studio, Sewing, Shop News Tags: Belarus, creativity, design, field of flax, ilo collective, linen, Linen apron, linen pillow, sewing, textiles, unbleached linen

The mailman pulled up outside the studio door—always a good sign that he comes bearing something he can’t squeeze into the mailbox.

Today’s package came all the way from Belarus. Yards and yards of unbleached natural linen, and several yards of an irresistible micro stripe. Ever since I purchased my linen apron in November I’ve been intrigued by the linen of Russia and eastern Europe. And now I have my hands on some.

This linen smells like a field of flax. I sniffed it and felt waist deep in grasses and flowers.

Denise sourced it for ilo collective and ordered a sample yard or two. We got together and made an initial group of household items from that first batch. The pillow has an outer case of linen and inner case of ticking. Wandering hand-stitches complement the raw edge. A version with a magenta linen insert is also on the shop. Then Denise made a gorgeous apron, and several zippered bags with color accents. All on the shop too.

Who knows where else this linen will lead us.

Off wandering in the field of flax, am I.

Fog Linen, JaneGee

10 Dec 2012 5 Comments

by Sue Schlabach 129twigandvine in Creativity, Design, handmade, Travel, Weaving Tags: design, Fog Linen, handmade, JaneGee, Japanese design, Linen apron, Lithuanian linen, Portsmouth New Hampshire, seaside town, skin products, textiles, travel

The scene is Portsmouth, New Hampshire—just a stone’s throw from Maine. Seaside village. Cobbled streets. And the place where I found a gorgeous slate gray apron by Fog Linen in a sweet little shop called JaneGee.

I say slate gray, but I also mean rich, warm, earthy gray with a touch of mushroom. Stone gray. The gray of the sky at dusk on a rainy night. Irresistible gray.

I say apron, but this garment suggests something out of Jane Austen’s England. Or 19th century rural France.

Jane (I’m back to JaneGee)—who hails from Australia—and Emma—who is English—provided a warm welcome to our little entourage of four friends. We stumbled in from the rainy night to their warmth and kindness. The shop was white and light, filled with aged wood boxes, natural linen and hewn wood. It felt Scandinavian and English—both. We were all smitten by Emma and Jane.

I didn’t mean to leave there with an apron—but Emma was wearing one and it just called my name. The two women extolled the virtues of Fog Linen, the Japanese company who sources the finest Lithuanian linen for their line of beautiful clothes and items for the home. They extolled the virtues of the natural skin products Jane makes by hand. They were both artists and we talked about the satisfaction of making things by hand.

It was the last stop on a long and wonderful day with my friends.

And I left with the last gray Fog apron they had in stock.

Find Fog Linen near you.

JaneGee
10 Ladd Street
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
1.603.431.0335

Petit Pan Paris

18 Nov 2012 12 Comments

by Sue Schlabach 129twigandvine in color, Creativity, Design, handmade, Paris, Photography, Sewing, Travel Tags: creativity, design, Exploring, fabric, fabric mushrooms, paris, Paris Shop, Petit Pan Paris, Porte de Vanves flea market, sewing, sewing ideas, textiles, travel, Walking

Early September, my last day in Paris. I was tired and pledged not to overdo it. Take photographs. Write notes. Draw sketches.

But Paris has a habit of luring me up streets and around corners.

In the end I walked about 1o miles.

The weather was good—the morning rain turning to sunshine, warm, no wind.

So walk I did.

First I wandered all over the Marais—one of my favorite areas in Paris, with its narrow streets, beautiful squares, and eclectic shops. Then I took the Metro north to the top of Montmartre. I had been here in April in dismal weather and wanted to explore it more. The area around Sacré Coeur was overrun so I started down the steps from the hilltop.

I missed a turn for a Metro stop, and since Montmartre is on a steep hillside, I chose to keep walking downhill instead of climbing hundreds of steps.

If I hadn’t made that mistake I wouldn’t have stumbled upon Petit Pan, a tiny shop of enchantments. A mobile of handsewn dotted mushrooms (I love mushrooms!) in the window drew me in to a narrow shop lined with bolts of ditzy print fabrics, patterned paper boxes and journals, silk butterflies hanging down from the ceiling. Further in there were inventive children’s clothes and bedding. And that’s what I can remember. There was so much more.

The unusual color combinations and pattern mixes the designers used raised my blood pressure. My head was buzzing with ideas. I bought a few small things with my dwindling cache of euros, and bid farewell to the friendly women at the counter.

A short distance away I settled into a bench in the square near the Abbesses Metro. A jazz guitarist played a familiar tune. The late summer sun slanted through the tree tops and glimmered on the carousel nearby. Page after page in my little notebook filled with sewing ideas, art sketches and things to tell friends. All percolating from my visit to that little shop.

Petit Pan
9 Rue Yvonne le Tac
Paris

There are several more locations in Paris. Perhaps you will stumble on one my design or by chance!

The photos above include items from Petit Pan, with a few from other places.
They are clockwise from top:
1. Haute Nouveauté vintage fabric sample, Porte de Vanves flea market
2. Patterned bias tape, Petit Pan
3. Vintage 35 ribbon, Porte de Vanves flea market
4. Soft aqua pink floral fabric, Liberty of London
5. Three rolls of patterned fabric, Petit Pan
6. Vintage button card, Porte de Vanves flea market

Meet Fiona Douglas of Bluebellgray

21 Sep 2012 5 Comments

by Sue Schlabach 129twigandvine in Artists, Creativity, Design, Paintings, Paris, Travel Tags: Bluebell Gray, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, design, Fiona Douglas, Glasgow, handpainted textiles, Maison et Objet, painting, paris, textiles, watercolor flowers

Every once in awhile you have a chance to cross paths with someone you admire. This happened twice for me on my recent trip—once in London, once in Paris. (London story coming soon).

I have been seeing—and loving—the lively watercolor artistry of Fiona Douglas, the artist behind Bluebellgray (website, facebook page), featured in magazines in recent months. Last week in Paris I was walking the halls of the Textile Hall at Maison et Objet, the definitive home décor show, when I came upon their display. What a treat to put aside my tongue-tied attempts at speaking French and sit for awhile with three delightful women from Glasgow, Scotland.

Fiona, Georgie and Wendy were welcoming, and provided us with espresso and kindness. We were more than happy to get off our feet to sit among the plush gorgeous pillows and talk about art, textiles, how much we love Paris, the wonders of Glasgow, the buildings and designs of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and Vermont. Probably a few other things too….

Fiona’s story of creating her business began when she studied painting in art school. She was brimming with ideas and designs, but her professors didn’t respect or encourage her approach. A friend invited her to investigate a textile design program, and suddenly everything clicked into place. The switch made all the difference, and Fiona began to create the style and techniques that she is known for today with Bluebellgray.

It’s rare to find a fit for your passions during early years of training, and Fiona is grateful for her good fortune. She was pleased to tell us that her very supportive husband enabled her to start the business, and from the response in Paris, I’d say it’s a successful endeavor. I look forward to seeing where Fiona’s paintbrush will take her in the coming years.

Here’s wishing that your autumn garden is as colorful as Fiona’s paintings!

A Good Day at the Mailbox

14 Nov 2011 5 Comments

by Sue Schlabach 129twigandvine in color, Design, Interior Design, Seasons Tags: bedding, carré blanc, cosy, letters, mail, personal letters, textiles, US postal service, white, winter, winter palettes

My daughter and I play a game as we drive home from school and approach our driveway. Will it be a good day or a bad day at the mailbox? She jumps out of the car to gather the mail and then report her findings.

A friend recently lamented that the US postal service is so in trouble and that Saturday delivery will soon be suspended. She expounded on the joys of finding a real letter in the mailbox, with a licked stamp, handwritten address and a card or letter inside. And if we all started writing these letters to our friends and loved ones we could save the mail service.

I’m so on board. Are you? I love real mail!!!

But I disgress from where I was going with the first sentence…

So last week when I found this new Carré Blanc mailer among the bills and Kmart fliers I swooned. I know it wasn’t the handwritten address type of mail, but it was pure eye candy, so that qualifies as nearly-as-good.

The paper it’s printed on is enough to make me happy—all creamy and heavy with a matte finish that makes the photographs look so, so, deep and lustrous you almost feel you could dip a toe in and find yourself sucked into the scene, lying on that soft bed by the crackling fire in the fireplace.

Carré Blanc does color beautifully, but they perfect monochrome palettes like no one else. I appreciate this because I’m not so good at calm white and gray rooms, though I wish I were.

There is a Carré Blanc shop on Rue St-Denis in Montréal, and I have often wandered in there eyeballing all the Parisian designs with a crazed look in my eye that probably makes the sales clerks nervous. It’s just all so beautiful that I have a fairly strong reaction when I go there. And somehow I am now on their mailing list (joy!), so I can keep the crazed looks to myself in the privacy of my own home.

‘nough said.

I’m going to find a stamp and an envelope and write an overdue letter to a friend or two.

If you care to comment, I’ll send you a card. Will you send me one too? Just include an email address so I can get in touch with you to exchange postal addresses. Together we can save the post office (or if not, we can at least have a Good Mail Day to anticipate).

Gudrun Sjõdén

08 Sep 2011 2 Comments

by Sue Schlabach 129twigandvine in Artisanal Living, Artists, Creativity, Design, Housewares, Scandinavia Tags: bedroom, Gudrun Sjoden, Housewares, Interior Design, kitchen, Scandinavia, summer house, Sweden, textiles

Swedish artist and designer Gudrun Sjõdén just launched her new fall home collections. Two called The Allotment and The Aritist’s House particularly struck my fancy, and here are some of her luscious visuals.

Scandinavian colors and patterns might speak especially to those of us who live in the far north. I like how lived in these rooms appear and can imagine reading bedtime stories in this blue bedroom or cutting garden tomatoes at the dining table.

Which are your favorites?