please tell me i am not the only one who gets really, REALLY sad when his/her sewing machine is broken!?
*sigh*
sewing machine blues
etsy love: DrikaB
it's been a while. i know! so sorry.
better late that never, i always say!
so, here's the latest installment of etsy love!
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this time around, it's all about DrikaB!
i discovered DrikaB via a very recent post on the exceedingly tasteful and lovely design blog creature comforts. thanks to the etsy profile page found on DrikaB's etsy shop, i learned that the maker of these beautious bags is a brazilian transplant who resides in the san francisco bay area. hey, right near me!
DrikaB states that "her primary goal is to keep making things that are practical and fun", and her line of handmade bags are certainly true to that self-motivated directive. 'colorful', whimsical, and 'designed decidedly different' are descriptives that i'd deign to assign her work. i love her modern sensibility in the use of materials and the pattern-play she employs, and even the decision to use a heavy burlap-like strapping seems genius to me...it ups the texture stakes, and provides an almost utilitarian feel to the bags that contrasts nicely with the graphic fabrics found in her work in abundance. perfecto, people!
DrikaB bags not only look super sturdy (seemingly sewn PERFECTLY, people, no dubious 'deconstructionist' look or excuse in evidence here!), they also appear to be nice and roomy. i saw one tote measuring a generous 16" by 18", for example, allowing the lucky owner of such a bag to pack it with a day's needs with utmost ease. the insides of her bags (the totes at least) are complete with pockets for whatever one likes...pads? pens? wallets? you decide.
and DrikaB is prolific! examples of her past designs can be found on her etsy sold items page. what lucky folks those current DrikaB bag owners are! just like a creature comforts...i'm almost about to cave and snap one of these stunners up myself! think one of those totes might make a good baby bag?? (haha!)
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(not so) random links
again, it's been a bit slow lately with the fashion news, especially that of the business-y, culturally significant variety.
anywho, i still have links for yoooo, albeit of the more crafty and DIY variety. which is always, always good! right? right.
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-here's the way to excite a long time vintage pattern junkie like myself! via burdastyle comes news of a commercial pattern archive hosted by the university of rhode island. said archive contains 25,000 scanned patterns, and the oldest of those patterns dates back to 1868. you can peruse the archive of these vintage patterns via a CD they have for sale. a small price to pay for a vast education of fashions of the last 150 years, i think! (more information on the u of ri's COPA website.)
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(image by laupre)
-laupre has a how-to on how you can make your own sewn 'legwarmers'...some sassy buttoned ones that to me look more like spats. spats are so, so chic, methinks. who doesn't like a piece of leather or fabric that can turn a chic shoe into a boot (so to speak!) in a second? (via craft:)
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-onegirl, a fellow blogger, maker, and crafter, is expecting a baby girl too! and it's just my luck (and your luck too, maybe!?), as she recently posted a listing of links of patterns to knit some sweet, easy little sweaters totally suited for little girls (and really, little boys, too!). more patterns for baby wearables can be found on knitting pattern central as well. baby needs to be chic too, and nothing is more chic for baby than a handmade sweater, right? :)
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and, hey...i'm putting out a call for YOU to get involved with this link fun!:
send me your links! heard or seen anything cool around the nets you want to share? tell me and i just might put it here in a future (not so) random links post.
not links to promote your own blog, really, ya?
but..more like bits of interest or suggestions on websites, cool links, other people's blogs, and news that others might find interesting too...fashiony, stylish things of any of those descriptions that you just can't keep to yourself!
got it? good!
comment away!