Sandi Henderson Market Bag

Would you believe this is the first bag pattern I have ever bought? Reason being that I design/construct all of my bags, because I truly enjoy this part the most! The sewing bit is just an afterthought... But in this case I just couldn't resist, especially since I wanted to use up the vintage cherry fabric (Henderson) I bought too much of :) This is a new pattern. There are actually two bag styles to choose from. The 'Straight Market Bag', suitable for beginners, and the 'Gathered Market Bag'. I adjusted the pattern to make a pleated market bag for a more tailored look, because to my eye the gathers were looking a bit wonky. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but there seems to be one step missing in the instructions. So, if you've bought this pattern and you're wondering what to do with those two left-over pieces of canvas - attach them to your bag lining pieces before sewing them together! The bag I'm working on is coming along nicely. Pictures of the finished bag to follow shortly...

Material Wealth

I buy a lot of books. Amazon ought to give me a special rebate :) The most expensive book I remember buying (in a bookshop - no such thing as online buying at that time) was a so-called 'coffee table' book. I scrimped and saved for months before I was able to afford it. Material Wealth is a 200 page illustrated tome of innovative fabric design compiled by renowned textile designer, author, scholar and former weaver Jack Lenor Larsen. I treasure this book. Mine is so well-thumbed it isn't fit for the coffee table anymore :) This book has taught me all about contemporary textile design and the various fabric applications. Fabric design from all corners of the world are examined and explained. The colour photographs really come alive in this book. This book has helped me understand design developments of the last few decades, as well as 'training' my eye for my own creations! By the way, it's still expensive, retailing at approx. US$125,- /100,- Euro.

More changes at Dawanda

The team at Dawanda have been busy restructuring the site, and commencing August 5th (this Wednesday) will be introducing a new selling category: Vintage

I have quite a number of vintage clothes, so this is definitely something I'll be looking into. I'm going to wait and see how buyers respond first. In Germany, the term 'vintage' is not that well-known, and many buyers don't speak English. It's difficult to convey the meaning, without potential buyers thinking you just want to get rid of 'old' junk! I also own some vintage jewelry; obviously I won't be selling any of that. It's just too precious and I'm too sentimental about it. This brooch is one of my favourites. In addition there will also be a new function that lets me specify the shipping costs for each country individually. And about time too! I always thought it was a bit silly to lump all countries together as 'international', because the pricing varies greatly! The downside is that shipping still remains quite high, especially to USA/Canada and Asia. Other good news is that Dawanda is finally taking action against sellers who continue to list obviously mass-produced items - and selling them successfully I might add, because unfortunately there are plenty of buyers who don't care as long as it's cheap!