{Glimpses} Vintage Finds

I started visiting thrift shops and antique stores for studio inspiration back in college. I was an art major in a very small town before cruising the world wide web for imagery was even an option. Seeking out vintage typography, colors, textures, and patterns is still one of my favorite things to do. Old packaging and mid century treasures fill my studio shelves for constant reminders of things that once caught my eye and often serves as a way to stir my imagination. Here are my glimpses this week.

Glimpse 1:  Color combinations of yellow, red, and turquoise seems to be a constant favorite of mine. Pair it with cool packaging and unique typography and the chances of those items coming home to my studio is pretty great.

Glimpse 2:  Oh boy do I love all shades of green and mid century textiles and cups!

Glimpse 3: Yellow, mustard, orange, and tomato is another fun, "go to" nostalgic color combination. Vintage fisher price toys, Vera textiles, random buttons, and vintage books are things that I tend to always gravitate towards. 

Glimpse 4: I love the packaging for old games - they often include really fun illustrations. These faces make me smile. 

Glimpse 5:  When I first discovered King Penguin books, I went completely bonkers. Not only are they interesting, but the patterns are always so lovely. Unfortunately they are really hard to find here in the US - particularly the northwest. They are rare gems. 


Is there a particular item you seek out at a thrift or antique shop?

{Vintage Inspiration} chenille bedspread goodness...

When I got my hands on these vintage chenille bedspreads, I knew right away what I wanted to do with them. I really liked the idea of playing with texture & pattern in my plush critters. This particular floral bedspread made me think of my owl plush. Given that art imitates life & this was a bedspread that I was working with, I felt it appropriate to make my owl a bit sleepy.  So meet Sleepy Olivia Owl.... (she's Ollie Owl's sister).

The other three chenille bedspreads seemed perfect for some fancy slugs & I made these for hutch studio. The textures are so fun to work with... I think I'm hooked. Did your grandma have a chenille bedspread?  Or did you have one growing up?

{Fabric Friday} Sweet Nostalgia...

As you may know, I've been stashing away fabrics for quite awhile. Sometimes, I don't know why I'm drawn to a pattern but I feel a strong attachment to it & get a little bit to save for the right occasion. I decided to put together a few bundles of fabrics for hutch studio the other day that consisted mostly of vintage reprints but that are all really hard to find now. I think I started stashing most of these when I was thinking about being a mom someday.

These fabrics are sweet, nostalgic, & perfect for baby quilt or any other fun project for your child. There are 2 bundles available here. Happy Fabric Friday!  Do you have any fun & creative projects planned for the long weekend?

{Everyday Inspiration} Thirtyfive Flowers...

It's no secret that I have a love of fabrics & have a particular fondness in the history of iconic textile designers. So does Louise who makes cushions out of vintage & new fabrics for her shop called Thirtyfive Flowers. I've purchase four cushion covers from her in the last few months & felt that deserved a mention here. We have them scattered throughout our home- I love them! Here is how we live with Thirtyfive Flowers....  

My latest purchase from Louise made me a little giddy. They were cushions made with the Marion Mahler "Mobiles" vintage fabric & one made with the Lucienne Day "Perfecta" vintage fabric (the end two in this last photo). I felt it was necessary to own fabrics from these two British, Mid-Century designers & was thrilled to receive these cushion covers in the mail. So if you love vintage & gorgeous new fabrics, check out Thrityfive Flowers - you are bound to find a treasure... 

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend! We are off to an arts festival in a nearby town. What did you do?

{Fabric Saturday} Drool worthy fabric + 5 winners...

I've been drooling over this collection of Scandinavian fabric at Hus & Hem ever since Louise (thirtyfive flowers) posted about it on her blog. I suppose that my many times cruising through this collection may have influenced my fabric choices a bit for this "Textile Love" Etsy treasury that I just made. I wanted to put together a small collection of textiles that are either vintage or hand screen printed because I'm particularly fond of both. It's just nice to have a documented list of some of my favorite patterns, colors, textile designers/printmakers & shops. You can view the treasury live here.

But wait... there's something else I want to say.... I have some winners to announce for the  5 Bundle Creative Competition! Again, I had to use a random method to choose the winners- this time random.org helped me out. 

And the 5 creative competitors are :: 

1. Kari Firak  2. Ringmaster  3. Pop-i-cok  4. Heather  5. Amy Freeto 

(& Carmel- the winner of the fabric stash giveaway- is invited to play of course too). 

So, if you see your name, make sure I have your address so I can send you your bundle. You can email me at kristin{at}kltworks{dot}com. Can't wait to see what you all come up with. Remember, I will post pictures of of all 5 creations on the April 1st Fabric Friday post. Thanks to all of you who entered & shared your fabric stories. This isn't the end of my stash. There is more fun to had so stay tuned...

Happy weekend everyone! 

{shop update} dewey loves orla kiely...

Are you a fan of  Orla Kiely designs? I am & was happy when I stumbled on this shop called Thirtyfive Flowers. Not only does Louise make beautiful cushions & coin purses from vintage & new fabrics (just got this & this in the mail today & LOVE them), but she has a fondness for Orla Kiely & occasionally sells some of her fabric in little packs. I recently purchased a few bundles from her with a plan to make some plush. However, I haven't had a chance to get make them yet. While working on an order of Dewey Birds yesterday, I was able to squeeze in the time to make this Dewey that I had dreamed up the minute I received my Orla Kiely fabric. See, having our house buried in snow isn't that bad... I got more time to sew. Hope you are having a great day! 

{Real Life} big boy room

We've been gradually transitioning Sayer's room from a nursery to a little boys rooms for a little while now. One of the issues that has come up in the last few months is that he has become scared of the dark & nighttime- causing him to not want to fall asleep. While we have tried all sorts of things, changing his room around has been a part of the problem solving. Sayer told us that he was afraid of his curtains- they were a large abstract shapes and he saw monsters in them. Honestly, I liked them because of being able to see things in them so it never dawned on me that it would freak him out (that was  pre-mom thinking). So now, all of his curtains are turned inside out & we have different fabric swatches draped on all of the windows to see what will work. 

Funny thing though, on Saturday, I got an order of vintage fabric from the Netherlands in the mail. One of the pieces was an old funky curtain- ready to hang (which was a surprise- a nice one). Sayer always likes to see the fabric I get in the mail & when I said it was a curtain, he told me to hang it in his room right away. It's pretty amazing, but it fits the window dimensions perfectly. He announced that he loves it & that it's not scary in his room anymore. However, we have 2 more windows in his room that need new curtains. 

I had actually taken Sayer with me to the fabric store recently & told him to let me know if he saw something he liked for curtains. He yelled out excitedly, "I LOVE  BUTTERFLIES & FIRETRUCKS!" when he saw this fabric... 

Which is not really the aesthetic I was after for his room. But he loved it - so I got him a fat quarter & we have it draped on one of other windows. I think I've diverted his attention from it being a curtain by suggesting that I would make him a butterfly slug with the fabric.  

Meanwhile, I have to say, since the funky curtain has been in his room, the going to bed issue has been a lot better. Coincidence? Maybe, but for now my klt:plushies will have to wait- we are keeping the funky floral fabric on his window until our luck runs out (& we find new fabric for all 3 of the windows). I do love the floral in there though- particularly with the vintage Marimekko comforter. The big boy room transition is a lot of fun- we still have some projects up our sleeve. But so far it's been really rewarding watching Sayer play & enjoy his space. What do you remember about your kiddo's nursery morphing into a big boy/girl room? 

{Fabric Friday} a punch of vintage color...

I've been on another vintage textile search again lately. It's the first of the year & I need to stock up my studio with some new finds to use for ideas that I have. I'm craving the bright, bold colors of the '50's, '60's, &'70's to brighten up these dreary weather days. On one of my late night searches, I ran across Jane Foster's website and I instantly became a fan of her work with textiles.

Jane is a designer from the UK who has combined her love of drawing, screen printing & vintage fabrics from the '50'- 70's to create gorgeous cushions, totes, dolls, tea towels, & more. I love her use of cheerful designs and her vintage fabric collection is amazing!

Oh, what I would give to get a peek into her fabric stash! It must be pretty terrific. I admit, I  bought a cool vintage cushion so I could have some of her happy vintage textiles in our home. If you are a vintage fabric junkie like me, you might want to check out her blog and her shops here & here. They will definitely give you a punch of cheerful color!  Happy Fabric Friday!  {all photos property of Jane Foster} 

{Fabric Friday} vintage stash peek....

I've been so busy lately that I haven't even been able to touch the new additions to my vintage fabric stash. I have so many ideas of what I'm going to do with them & I'm just itchin' to start cutting & sewing something new. However, I thought I would share a peek of bright & cheery finds so that they aren't completely neglected. 

The top three fabrics have been added to my Marimekko stash & just arrived from Finland a few days ago. They are so gorgeous & it's driving me nuts that I can't work with them right now. I'm practicing some serious restraint & discipline to stay away. The next stack is a fun assortment that I've collected over the last few months from  Frecklewonder. Did I ever tell you that I am fond of paisley? I always have been & was really drawn to those top two paisley patterns. Looking at all of them together it appears that I have been drawn to purples, oranges, & pinks lately (but will always like turquoise).  Stay tuned, when the holiday bustle is over... I'm diving into this stack head first.  Happy Fabric Friday! Do you have a favorite from this stash?

{Fabric Friday} Vintage Marimekko...

It's no secret that I have a major fondness for Marimekko textiles. I've written about it many times. Well, about a week ago I bought a bunch of vintage Marimekko fabric via this Etsy Shop that made me giddy with excitement. I carried this stack around with me for days, sort of fearful to cut into it. After all, I bought it to use. But then had second thoughts when I saw how beautiful it was. My husband reminded me that fabric is fabric & it's meant to be used and transformed. If you are a KLT FB "liker" you have already seen this top stack of Marimekko goodness. Actually- the piece of fabric in the middle isn't Marimekko- it's a gorgeous Finnish, vintage textile that I liked too.  But the rest of these pictures will be new for you.

So I did it - I cut into the fabric this week!  My slugs just called out to these fabrics (or vice versa) - it was what I originally had in my mind to make when I saw first saw the vibrant textiles. I love playing with the bold shapes, patterns, & colors for the slug bellies. There will never be 2 exactly that same- which I really enjoy. These little guys are truly special & the colors are so darn happy! 

These vintage Marimekko slugs will be slowly inching their way into the KLT Etsy Shop throughout the next few days. Don't worry you die hard fabric collectors, I won't use all of the fabric, I have saved a bit for safe keeping. This is just the tip of the iceberg of what I will make from this gorgeous stack. Oh, and don't forget that klt:friends get a nice discount code to use for weekend. Happy Fabric Friday!

{Fabric Friday} send in the clowns...

It's a dark, dreary, & rainy day in the NW. What 's a girl to do to bring in the cheer around here? Well, the only solution that I came up with was to bring in the clowns & the circus to Fabric Friday. I love all things circus & fair related. I think because of all of the Halloween & costume hubbub lately, my mind has sort of been stuck on the traveling circus. I thought it would be fun to travel the web and find some fabric dedicated to one of my favorite themes. Half of my finds were vintage & the other have were new. Take a little gander won't you?

'50's Fairground Vintage Fabric found here & Vintage Circus Fabric  found here 

Circus Tent Vintage Fabric found here & Shelburne Circus found here 

Japanese Clowns Fabric on cotton/linen found here  & Kokka Japanese Circus Fabric found here 

I think that might have just done the trick. I feel the corners of my mouth curving up.  But now I could sure use some popcorn & lemonade... Happy Fabric Friday!