Saturday Fabric Shopping

 

Last weekend, I had to go to my local fabric store to pick up embroidery thread for some pillows I’m having made.  Since that wasn’t very exciting, I also wandered up and down the fabric aisles and snapped some pictures of a few that caught my eye. . .

 

 

 

I love this bold ikat.  It came in several colors and was just $12.98/yard.  In fact, I have a sample of the yellow currently hanging in our kitchen that’s under serious consideration.

 

 

 

 

I thought this map fabric could be really cool covering a big bulletin board . . .

 

 

 

Or, used on a ready-made shade. . . (Like the ones I blogged about here.)

 

 Better Homes & Gardens

 

 

I also saw a couple of fabrics that could make great artwork.  Like this architectural one:

 

 

 

 

And, these bright butterflies and bugs:

 

 

 

Fabric can become a big piece of inexpensive art if wrapped around a canvas like this:

 

Tobi Fairley

 

 

I’m not in the market for any florals right now, but I really loved this one with the blooming peacock:

 

 

 

And, this orange and pink one:

 

 

 

More ikat. . .

 

 

 

And, some fun geometrics:

 

 

 

 

I also spotted some great outdoor fabrics.  I’m already plotting new pillows for our patio next summer:

 

 

 

And, for those who are wondering, I went shopping for fabrics here.  It’s not my absolute favorite place to go, but the prices lure me in.  If you’re looking for some online sources for fabrics, Kate at Centsational Girl recently put together a great list here.

 

What about you?  Any great fabric finds lately?

 

Horizontal Stripe Fabric Source

 

I have always been a fan of horizontally striped curtains.  But, finding a good source for the fabric is tricky.  There are all kinds of tutorials out there on how to make them with paint.  And, we had to have these custom-made using two fabrics when I used them in a client’s home last year:

 

 

 

 

So, I was excited when I saw that one of my sponsors, Windows by Melissa, was finally offering a horizontally striped fabric:

 

 

The fabric is $38/yard and can be made in any color you request.  Details here.

 

Check back tomorrow morning.  Melissa, along with my other sponsors, will be offering exclusive “Christmas in July” deals for my readers!

 

A Little Leopard (in our living room)

 

Another experiment in using what I have. . . . Remember the brown chair and ottoman I had in the corner of our last family room? 

 

 

 

We’ve been using the ottoman in our new family room, but the brown was a little heavy with the white slipcovered chairs. 

 

 

 

 

I’ve also been wanting to add an animal print somewhere in the mix.  So, I ordered a yard of this fabric:

 

(Now on sale for less than $17/yard.)

 

 

The new, improved ottoman:

 

 

 

This was another project I recruited my aunt’s help for while she was visiting.  Since I’m never great at neat corners, I grabbed the camera and documented her process.

 

Start by stapling the sides:

 

 

 

Fold and staple corners next:

 

 

 

She measured the same distance on each side of the corner, marking the fabric where she would fold:

 

 

 

Folding up and stapling the sides:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The finished, neat corner pleats:

 

 

 

 

 

 

On another subject, I’ve had several questions about the jute rug we ordered from Pottery Barn and how it’s holding up.  I’m happy to report that it’s still going strong.  It’s taken a lot of abuse from our kids (some of which is probably too gross to mention)  and still looks great.  I occasionally have to trim a few stray strands here and there, but nothing major.  So, after 10+ months of use in our very busy house, it gets two thumbs up from me.

 

Cheery Fabric Finds

 

Remember the Windsor Smith fabric that I used (and happened to find in a remnant bin) for curtains in the breakfast nook of our old house?

 

 

 

I often get emails asking for the fabric source, so when I recently spotted this new Braemore fabric online, I wanted to share since it’s similar but at a much better price point:

 

 

 

 

The chartreuse is my favorite but it also comes in a few other colors . . .

 

 

 

 

And, check out these companion fabrics.  I think a combination of these would make for a really happy breakfast nook or dining room:

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

 

 

All of these fabrics are available here.

 

The Moon Chairs

Sooo, I don’t go into Goodwill nearly as much as I used to. I was going a couple times as week there for awhile and it contributed way too much to my crapification problem. ;) Now I am dropping off stuff a lot more than picking up. I probably go in once a month now. And last week I went in and found a couple really fun items. There were six “moon chairs” for $15 each and I kept walking past

Have a settee

This post is proof that good things come to those who wait…at least it came to me. This time.  ;) For about the past, oh…YEAR, I’ve been looking for something very specific for this spot at the bottom of our stairs: I thought a little settee would look quite lovely there, but it wasn’t really something I needed, so I just kept my eye out. Forever. I looked at shops, I looked online, I

Trimming out the drapes

Well hello! Hope you had a lovely weekend! I got a project done that’s been harassing me for months. Well, not really. It just seemed like the window in the living room that had been nekked forever was mocking me every time I walked by. And the extra fabric I bought six months ago to go on it was yelling at me to JUST GET IT DONE. Sheesh. Chill out already!! Anyway. You might remember when I

Pottery Barn pillows (on the cheap!)

Well hello! Hope you are having a great week! There has been awesome progress on our outdoor project this week, and I’ll show you that very soon! It is SO exciting to watch an ongoing project that I don’t have to complete myself. It’s an odd feeling to not be doing the work…but pretty a cool one. :) Anyhoo…so I may have mentioned a few times that I’m nutty for the Pottery Barn catalog. I’m

Before and After Party: Buh Bye Pleather

So….you remember that one time, when I was redoing my office? Yeah. It’s taken a while. I’m just so easily distracted, really. A few weeks ago one of my very best bloggy friends came up to help me out with a project. Traci from Beneath My Heart came to town and I could NOT have done it without her help. That’s what we told her hubby anyway. ;) I wanted to reupholster the chair in my office:

Learning to sew…again

Hello there! Hope you had a wonderful weekend! We started the Fourth festivities a little early and had a blast – I LOVE this week every year. :) As you may or may not know…if you have read this blog for two minutes…you know we just got a new sofa in the family room. And it’s created a snowball in the space (and the rest of the house, but more on that later) – but it’s the kind of snowball I

Kelly's Pillows: Source Info

    

Since I received so many emails inquiring about the lumbar pillow we used in Kelly's bedroom makeover, I asked her if she would mind me sharing the source with you.  (I obviously try to be sensitive about this since that's ultimately what clients are paying me for. . . ) 






Fortunately, she agreed to let me share with you.  Unfortunately, the lumbar pillow is no longer available through the Etsy shop where we ordered it from.

So. . . . for those of you needing that fabric, I can at least report that it's Robert Allen's "Eleria":

 

This is actually the same fabric as Kelly's pillow in the "Biscotti" colorway.  I love this print.  Floral without being too "flowery".  And, I'm pretty much in for any fabric with a bird on it :)

I recently spotted it in another blogger's living room.  How great is it with the blue piping?

 

In the Tweeds via Brooklyn Limestone

 

It also comes in "Green Tea" (which I think would be perfect in my own bedroom. . . hmmmm):

 

 

If you need help ordering this fabric, email me for more info.

 

Accidental redo

OK Squeezies. Hang in there with me on this post. I’m going to try to make sense of the way my mind works and the stream of thoughts that go on. Aren’t you so excited to get a look into how my decorating ADD happens? My mind can be a very scary place.  ;) As I mentioned last week, I’ve started a little redo of our playroom/loft. I can’t even pinpoint when it started, but it’s been in the works

Covering the (nekked) windows

Remember those nekked kitchen windows? I loved how much light they let into our formerly dark space. I have lived, quite happily, with nothing on those windows for at least six months now. I decided I was going to keep them that way until I found just the right covering, at just the right price, that I loved. If I didn’t find all of the above, they were staying nekked…FOREVA!!! OK, that

Inspiration: Hand-blocked Textiles

Remember when I wrote this post and I was gushing over West Elm’s new hand-blocked quilts and shams? 
This West Elm produced short video of the hand-block printing process in India illustrates this art which has been practiced for centuries.
It’s fascinating to see how intricate patterns are carved in blocks of wood or metal (more prevalent today) and then dipped in vegetable dyes. The blocks are then repeatedly pressed upon cotton or silk fabric.  The result is beautiful fabric usually with a single colour motif on a neutral background.




Of course the great price point and the volume required at West Elm indicates that the quilts aren’t hand-blocked individually – the pattern is a hand-block design but the bedding is factory-produced.
The following U.S. based companies create textiles using  the traditional hand-blocked process. I have only mentioned three but I’m sure there are more.

1)  Companies such as the environmentally conscious Les Indiennes, on the other hand, produce their linens entirely by hand.  You can read about the “kalamkari” process here.  They recently introduced curtains and light summer bedding to their collection.  I have coveted their indigo prints for too long.





You can see the entire flip book here.

2) Sang and Serena import these beautiful 100% hand-stitched and hand-blocked quilts from India.  There are six designs available and I just adore the pink and green one.   And guess what? They ship to Canada!
Serena emailed to let me know that the particular designs shown online are limited in edition but they  are in the midst of working on new designs and will reflect this on their website in the near future. 
They also import handmade, inlaid furniture and accessories which you can see here. 

 


3)  A favourite of designers, John Robshaw’s beautiful hand blocked fabrics have graced the pages of shelter magazines for years.  He applies his own updated, vibrant spin to traditional patterns.  He says "I redesign them and mix up the processes in ways no one has ever done before...what emerges is new and fresh, and yet retains that sense of tradition, of the handmade. When I need to hire someone to help, I pick the old printers. Their hands are shaky and their eyesight is poor, so the pattern comes out slightly off. I want to feel that human touch."




Seriously, aren’t these the most beautiful fabrics you have ever seen? (Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating just a little.)  Robshaw’s Connecticut country home, featured in the October issue of Lonny, showcases some of his fabrics.

Do you have any hand-blocked beauties in your home? Email a photo if you have one – would love to see.

And, as always, if you require decorating advice, please contact me at vanessa@vanessafrancis.com.