Meeting Kaffe...

Hi friends!        Hallo Freunde!

Just back from the trade fair and I'm still wired. As always it's going to take a while to decompress ;-)

The fair was jam-packed even on the first day! A good sign I suppose. I attended a short presentation on facts & figures on "handmade" and was informed that in 2011 German consumers spent a whopping one billion Euro on fabrics, yarn and notions!

As mentioned in my previous post I was looking to buy a few notions myself. After failing to come to acceptable terms with first Dutch and then Italian suppliers I got lucky on the third try. If all goes as planned (fingers crossed) I should be expecting a shipment of ribbons, lace and polkadot buttons (yay!) in a few weeks :)

The highlight for me was meeting renowned designer and knitter extraordinaire Kaffe Fassett. I love his motto: don't be afraid of colours. I had a chance to speak to him for about two minutes before being jostled aside by other people. The best bit was that I got to choose one of his books - I chose Quilt Romance - which he then signed with a flourish. He was there with his sidekick Brandon Mably who also signed the book. I'm going to treasure it.

Puh! Ich bin nun von der Stoffmesse zurück und immer noch total aufgedreht! So geht's mir immer nach solchen Veranstaltungen. Die Messe war rappelvoll. Ein gutes Zeichen, finde ich. Eine kurze Präsentation der Initiative Handarbeit informierte mich über die Jahresergebnisse 2011.  Fest steht der Markt für Handarbeitsbedarf wächst. Im vergangenen Jahr wurde in Deutschland von Endkunden über 1 Mrd. Euro ausgegeben. Tendenz steigend. Dieses Jahr hatte ich mir einen Zukauf von Bänder, Borten & Co vorgenommen. Beim dritten Termin wurde ich dann fündig! Wenn alles klappt wie geplant (drückt mir die Daumen), dann erhalte ich in einigen Wochen süße Bänder, Spitzen und Püncktchen Knöpfe (*freu*).

Das Highlight der Messe war den renommierten Designer und Strickkünstler Kaffe Fassett aus nächster Nähe zu sehen. Ich mag sein Motto: don't be afraid of colours. Ich hatte sogar die Möglichkeit 2 Minuten mit ihm zu reden bevor ich von der Menge verdrängt wurde ;-) Das Beste: Ich durfte mir eines seiner Bücher aussuchen welches er dann für mich signierte! Ebenfalls von seinem Kollegen und Studiomanager Brandon Mably. Ich habe mir übrigens Quilt Romance ausgesucht.

That's me in the white jacket speaking to Kaffe (on the left) in the purple shirt signing the book and Brandon handing it over to me!

Btw, the flower brooch at the top is made up of Kaffe's fabrics and one of the hostesses chose this one for me. I saw a lot of women wearing theirs and all of them were different colours/fabrics! Cute idea, no?

*

Das bin ich in der weißen Jacke. Kaffe (links im Bild) mit lila Shirt signiert mein Buch und Brandon überreicht es mir! Übrigens, die Blumenbrosche oben im Bild ist aus Kaffe's Stoffen gemacht. Eine der Messehostessen hat sie für mich ausgesucht. Ich habe viele Frauen mit so einer Brosche gesehen und jede war eine andere Farb/Stoffkombination! Witzige Idee, oder?

That's it from me today. Going to put my feet up now...looking forward to reading up on your blogs :)

Das war's von mir...werde jetzt die Füße hochlegen ;-) Freue mich schon bei euch wieder vorbeizuschauen, bis bald also

New Kaffe Fassett flower print

I have had a number of requests for a bag I made from a colourful Kaffe Fassett print. I sold this bag a couple of months ago to none other than Michelle of Maria Michelle's Furkids and Animal Rescue. And since I don't usually duplicate any of my make-up bags, I decided to look for another print similar to the previous one. I came across a lovely flower print from the latest Kaffe Fassett collection. It is very cheery and bright and will stand out on any dressing table!

Also, before I forget, I would like to say a big THANK YOU to Jenie, who generously passed on this award (my third time to receive it!). Changing the rules yet again I encourage anyone who leaves a comment on my blog to consider this award hers/his, since I already passed this one on here and here.

In other news, that non-sale I talked about a couple days ago really was more hassle than it was worth. Right now the issue is going back and forth between me and admin. Frankly, they are being very bureaucratic about the whole thing. I think I'll just consider it a write-off.

Internet connection - finally!

I switched on my computer this morning shortly before 8:00 a.m. as I always do and - nothing.
(panic mode ON)
I called the provider straight away and got a recorded message saying that there's a technical problem. Later on the news I heard that due to roadworks on the main highway a vital cable got cut leaving the entire state I live in without an internet connection!
It's 7:30 p.m. and they've supplied us with a temporary connection, because people all over are getting highly annoyed, not to mention frantic! So here I am just getting started on my work. Looks like it's going to be an all-nighter.

Kaffe Fassett make up bag

Kaffe Fassett is a well-known textile designer, innovative knitter, quilter and author. His first book 'Glorious Knitting' was the first knitting book ever to make it on the bestseller list. Born in San Francisco in 1937, he went on to study at the renowned School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and in 1964 moved to London where he now works and resides. He is the first living artist ever to have been invited to exhibit at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. He has a distinctive style, and the fabrics he designs are cheerful and explode with colour. In fact, Kaffe Fassett is all about colour. His colour-combinations are inspired by nature's wealth of colours, oriental ceramics and paintings. The jumpers he designs for Rowan Yarns may contain up to 60 colours! It's truly amazing. I used one of Kaffe Fassett's fabrics for this new make-up bag. As you can see it's colourful and just the right thing to brighten up a dreary winter's day. I altered the shape, so that more of your make up and other essential utensils may fit inside! I am also offering to ship this bag 'flat-packed' to reduce the postage. I got this piece of valuable advice from my blogging friends rkdsign88 and The sewing mom. I've alerted my customers to this alternative type of shipping in my shop and I hope it will help to increase sales.