Walking around Paris, peering into shop windows

I was recently in Paris for 3 days, prior to going down to Les Soeurs Anglaises to take a weeklong workshop on creative making. I had no agenda other than to have fun, so determined just to wander around the neighborhoods and find some textile inspirations. A friend had found a great little inexpensive hotel in St Germain des Pres -- a high end neighborhood full of gorgeous cafes and expensive shops. As it was August, many of the shops were closed so it turned into a time of windowshopping. Here are a few highlights: Textile Design shops -- Pierre Frey in particular.

Here is a shop selling high end jacquard "tapestry" made up into wonderful objects. Love the horsehead pillows. You might notice the graffiti from across the street, reflected in the window.

The Gien shop -- gorgeous hand painted porcelain. They were hardhearted enough to have pulled iron grilles across the big windows, but it is rather a decorative addition.

This shop, whose name I sadly did not write down!, had the most delightful things, but i could not work out if they were toys or housewares.

And a terrific shop of African made objects, CSAO Africa. Really heartbreaking that I could not go in! from hand painted step stools to Yoruba thrones.

See a related post about African fabric shops at my other blog, laurafosternicholson.blogspot.com

Les Soeurs Anglaises

Oh, I am going soon!  I have been longing to go to les Soeurs Anglaises in France ever since I first saw an ad for it in Selvedge Magazine several years ago.  I leave Friday.  Paris first for a few days, then the train down to Angouleme and on to Briancon, where this magical textile retreat paradise is located.  I have already written about Jone Hallmark, who is teaching the week long workshop I am attending -- brilliantly creative, fun, and an enchanting person, she will lead what I might term a week long party of making for us lucky participants.

OK, I might just be gloating here but look at these photos and say that you envy me!  this is a major treat for me.  And there will always be Paris -- send me your favorite textile spots in Paris and I will follow up here when I get home.

Frugality and Customer Service

I am quite fond of the book, “the American Frugal Housewife”, by Mrs. Child.  It is dedicated “to those who are not ashamed of economy.”   Written in 1832, it is full of advice for a family who want to keep within the limits of their means: a true inspiration in our own indebted times!  My own parents grew up during the great Depression, and of necessity adapted frugality which stayed with them, and many of their generation, their entire lives.  Some of that rubbed off on me and my sisters, though the ensuing decades before the Great Recession of recent years persuaded many of our generation that thriftiness was no longer a needed virtue.  I am often struck now how much we need these old lessons – my children, though raised to be reasonably economical, have no idea what skimping means and no doubt consider it a fairly shameful activity.

So I have printed a number of household items with the first paragraph of Mrs Child’s book on frugality.  I have sold hankies printed with it at my etsy shop, GreenHouseTextiles.etsy.com.  A few weeks ago I had an order for one of these hankies and sent it out.  Yesterday I received a note from the purchaser, who noted that she had found a spot on it, and did I think it might come out?  I was mortified: my studio is sometimes hazardously messy and I had no doubt it picked up something in transit – or maybe got a little smudge of ink on it during printing that had passed by the inspection process.  And I was totally out of hankie blanks.

Well, I am delighted with the spirit of the ensuing correspondence, and found that the entire episode reflected the spirit of the quote on the hankie:

NJ:  The hanky arrived with a black smudge. If I try to wash it out but am unsuccessful, may I exchange it for another one?

LFN: I am so sorry about that!  sure, I can make a refund but at the moment I am out of hankies and they are back ordered so I can't say when I could do a replacement.   I really apologize for this.  Le me know if that is what you would like.  Alternatively, I can give you a 50% refund if you decide you want to keep it with the smudge. 

NJ:  I'm going to try removing it with OxyClean gel. I'll let you know if it works! You don't have any clue what it might be, do you? 

LFN:  it may be ink from printing, in which case it probably won't come out.  Otherwise, no idea, as I wasn't even aware of it!  but let me know --  for the moment I have refunded 50% of the total to your Paypal account, but if you would prefer to send it back I will refund the balance.  I admire your thrifty spirit in trying the spot remover first!

NJ: It didn't come out, so you are probably right, but I've decided it fits perfectly with the sentiment in the quote: "Nothing should be thrown away so long as it is possible to make any use of it."

Here's another one: "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." But thanks much for the discount! 

More things to make with Ribbon

I do enjoy Pinterest.  How randomly things pop up: and some people have an incredible eye!  This morning's brief visit brought me to this fabulous handmade heart made of vintage ribbons -- It was made by LaurieMade, offered on etsy (darn! already sold).

Ribbon weaving is simple and gives glorious results.  Basically you pin the vertical set of pre-cut ribbon lengths face down on the ironing board, then interlace the horizontal ribbons, also face down.  Scooch them together carefully when done, pin every ribbon securely in place at either end, cut a piece of fusible interfacing to the size of the final piece, and iron it onto the back of what you have woven.  This will hold it together well enough to even cut it to a shape (I give more detailed instructions in my post How to Make the Ribbon Dress)

Jone Hallmark Home & Studio

I first met Jone Hallmark at the Houston Quilt Market last fall.  I jumped when I saw her name, as I had been considering taking a course of hers at les Soeurs Anglaises in France next August.  So I stopped for a chat and decided right then it was a perfect fit.  Last week I was able to visit her home and studio, and found we are truly kindred spirits: artists with a drive to design and make.  We both love dolls and tiny things.  We both design fabric (Jone designs for Blend Fabrics).  We both are insatiably creative.

I took some snapshots while I was with her.  These are all little still lifes in her home of things she has made or collected.  Saturated with charm, this home is a museum of imagination.

Kess In House Design

I have been having lots of fun lately with Kess In House design.  I have worked with them to design a number of great print-on-demand textiles.  That means you order what you want, they print it and ship it to you.  So my designs are available as shower curtains, pillows, tiles, blankets, bedspreads, pillows...  what I LOVE is the scale.  Seeing one of my designs blown up to the size of a bed or a shower curtain?  So much fun!  Here are a few examples:

 http://kessinhouse.com/collections/laura-nicholson-surkhandarya

 http://kessinhouse.com/collections/laura-nicholson-leeks 

 

http://kessinhouse.com/collections/laura-nicholson-flower-garden-mosaic

 http://kessinhouse.com/collections/laura-nicholson-leeks 

 

http://kessinhouse.com/collections/laura-nicholson-flower-garden-mosaic

 

http://kessinhouse.com/collections/laura-nicholson-samarkand

http://kessinhouse.com/collections/laura-nicholson-multi-lacy

 http://kessinhouse.com/collections/laura-nicholson-surkhandarya

 http://kessinhouse.com/collections/laura-nicholson-flower-garden 

http://kessinhouse.com/collections/laura-nicholson-leeks

PS, all of these designs are also available as fabrics at Spoonflower.com

linen - the natural source and the material source

Despite this chilly spring we are having in the Midwest, I have been thinking all winter about my favorite fabric, linen.  (I do have another favorite fabric, which is wool!)

I have been working wherever possible with linen in my adventures in screenprinting, loving its firmness, crispness, and the perfect, perfect neutrality of it raw flax grey color. (I painted the walls in my studio this color, as closely as I could match it).  It looks particularly good printed with black ink when I am shouting my manifestos about managing the household, garden, and one's personal ecology. (I sell these in my etsy store, Greenhousetextiles)

 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/100948681/hand-printed-lettuce-seed-linen-towel?

Linen can be expensive, of course.  Traditionally it had to be processed by hand.  It comes from the flax plant, the dry stiff stems, and is known as a bast fiber as a result.  It required a certain amount of wht we would call torture, were it applied to animals: retting (left in the fields after cutting, or soaking in a solution and then being left to rot until the hard bark rotted off), hackling or scutching (breaking its stiff limbs with a medieval looking machine), combing, before the usual spinning processes managed it from then on out.

I used to teach texile fiber properties to interior design students so I have these nifty pictures to show here:

Dew retted (from the fields) vs. water retted.

The resulting fibers are long, smooth and incredibly strong.  If you are reading this blog you may well be interested enough in textiles  to understand linen's prized qualities of absorbency and coolness in hot weather.  Nothing better than cool linen sheets on a hot summer night!  You may also know that the finer it is woven, the silkier it gets with washing (think linen damask table napkins.

This lesson was inspired by an email I read this morning from the best source for reasonably priced linen I have yet found (www.fabrics-store.com), and despite my rather good understanding of linen's properties, I learned a lot!

So here I quote from today's email.  If you want a good source for linen, this place is great!  The linen comes from Russia, and the color palette and weight variety is enormous.

• The Durability Is Assured. Linen has an extremely high tensile strength that provides your projects with hardiness and longevity. In fact, it is known that Alexander the Great used layers of linen, called linothrax, as armor. Not to mention, linen is what was used to mummify due to its ability to last and preserve.

• Enjoy A Fabric That Grows Softer With Every Wash. Just because it is durable, doesn't make it coarse. Every time you put the IL019 linen in the washing machine, it will become softer to the touch.

Features like these only begin to tell the story of Medium Weight Linen IL019. There are many other benefits that you'll enjoy from choosing linen:

• Unequalled Thermo-Regulation. Unlike cotton, linen is naturally insulating in the cold, and cool and breathable when it is warm. Additionally, linen whisks moisture from the skin -- that helps keep you less sweaty and more comfortable! 

• Defense Against Dirt. Because of its strong tensile strength and natural process, linen has been dubbed one of the purest fabrics out there. This gives it the ability to resist stains, dirt, and even the growth of bacteria. In fact, hospitals use linen thread for internal procedures due to its natural sterility.

• Friend of the Environment? Linen production requires five times less pesticides and fertilizers than cotton. Our IL019 linen is made from the highest quality European Flax and comes from a mill and process that is 100% environmentally friendly. This is guaranteed by the internationally recognized Oeko-Tex certification..