a collection

Do you remember these bags and the tutorial?
Apparently, it was greatly appreciated - and it was nice to discover how people
expressed their creativity on such a simple thing as a bag,
so I wanted to show you some I found (in random order)!

Thank you ladies!

Susan at Avalanche Looms

rose.arbor on Flickr

Angela of Kindred Threads on Flickr

Sharing the Fiber Fever

Barb over at Kindred Threads

Wow!

Museet

It was very interesting to see how traditional techniques and patterns
make their way into new designs and creations.
Something that you normally don't see in Italian museums!



The Nordiska Museet was another interesting place for textiles and crafts.
Have a look here.
I spent a quite a while opening all the drawers in the textile department
and enjoying the samples. Patterns and techniques were very similar to the Sardinian ones
I saw not long ago. There was even a couple of sample in a technique called "Noppvav"
which is exactly the same as pibiones!
North and South of Europe so far and so close!











I got this copy of VavMagasinet in a lovely shop called Svensk Hemslojd in Sveavagen.
I used to have a subscription to the magazine when it was in Swedish only
- and it came with a little booklet containing the English translation -
but now that they have the complete English version it's much better!



The shop sells all sorts of traditional textiles
- and some very nice handwovens too -

Stig Lindberg

Going to Stockholm means also seeing lots of beatiful textiles and pottery -
if you like Stig Lindberg a visit to the National Museet is compulsory!

There's a fantastic post on vintage Scandinavian ceramics over here at Bloesem
[everything you always wanted to know about designers and makers]



I'm in love with the first print!
I bought these books from the museum shop (I actually grabbed the last copy of the first book,
much to the disappointment of an English lady behind me who wanted it too...)
I need to learn some Swedish now,
because looking at the pictures is not enough, I want to know more!













I also got into a vintage shop and came home with these lovely melammine plates.
The owner told me they were designed by Stig Lindberg for Gustavsberg in an attempt
to persuade people to use good quality melammine instead of china.
Apparently people didn't like the idea and these plates were only used for picknicks, on the boat or camper.

stockholm syndrome - part II

First of all, thank you Mareet for mentioning me in your fantastic blog Visual Notes
- you can find the post here - I really like the way you arranged my photos!

...and some more strolling around the streets of Stockholm...











this last one is "pottery" by Stig Lindberg
and hungs happily in the Tourist Information Office in Hamngatan

stockholm syndrome - part I

I'm back but my mind is still in Sweden.
We had the worst weather ever recorded in June - but it didn't matter -
I've developed a strong sense of attachment.
Is it possible to miss so much something you only saw once?

Erik Gunnar Asplund - City Library and Woodland Cemetery - more here

:-)

I'm off to Stockholm for a long weekend...see you next week!

Blue de Genes

the name "blue jeans" derives from the French "bleu de Genes" - blue of Genoa.

These days Genova celebrated the world of jeans with exhibitions
in different city locations and museums.
One exhibition I really enjoyed was a display on the history of jeans -
complimented by a few dresses created by students of the course of theatre costume.

I was in love with one of them - so full of clever detailing -
the corpet was made with belt parts,
the ruffled back with an assortment of odd legs and the train a collection of pockets.
I thought it was amazing - and I wish all the best to Teresa who designed it!

Pasticcini

Today I had lunch with a friend - we're planning our next trip together...



















I found the inspiring work of Josh Blackwell
- via my other room , a beautiful blog I discovered recently -
and it reminded me of these

Yellow...and grey of course

These days I'm into yellow and grey.
Favourite colour combination for interiors.
Curtains and cushions?



and I just discovered this lovely blog - have a look at this post. Inspiring!