Showing posts with label inspiration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label inspiration. Show all posts

Inspiration: Italy

(photo of Fabrics, Milan, Italy by MarMont59)

This week's festival is Festa Italiana, the most popular of the smaller Milwaukee fests. For inspiration, I'm going literal. Italy produces some of the finest fabrics in the world. Let's take a look:

A search on Gorgeous Fabrics turns up 112 Italian fabrics. Some that caught my eye


All from Gorgeous Fabrics, clockwise from top left: Italian light weight cotton floral, Italian floral silk chiffon, Italian designer embroidered organza, Italian wide designer silk georgette.



All from Farmhouse Fabrics, clockwise from top left: Italian cotton navy and white woven stripes, Italian Pima Gingham 60", luxury Italian linen sunshine yellow and yellow & white stripes, Italian cotton shirting coral pink and white.



Clockwise from top left: Italian upholstery fabric chenille jacquard diamond from Fabric Collection, Italian Tie Silk from Mountain Heirloom, Italian linen tweed from The Spirit of Cloth, Italian designer tapestry fabric from LARobinson.



postedWednesday, July 15, 2009 0 comments
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Inspiration: France


Bastille Days start up in Milwaukee this week, so France is this week's inspiration. There are so many directions to go with France as inspiration, but I think I'm going to go the linens route. So beautiful, I especially love striped French linens. Let's take a look:

(Top photo: The French House, found via KatyElliott)



Above photo from Country Living, linens from Vagabound Vintage (could only find a wholesale link for this company)



French Tea Towels - Above left from Petits Details, right from Celestine Boutons via Au Fil Rouge.



Pillows from Red Ticking (found via KatyElliott)



Monogramed linens are oh-so-French, above left au fil rouge, above right The French House



Totes - Above left, Louisiana Brown Bag from French General. Above right, a bag for notions from Petits Details.


Just a sampling of fabrics found around the web:


Vintage red ticking from Red Ticking (found via Katy Elliott)



Cotton strip prints from Period Fabrics (found via Katy Elliott)



Gallery in Red by Faye Burgos for Marcus Brothers, quilting weight fabrics, found at Fat Quarter Shop and Strawberry Patches.



Striped fabric at French General.



Coming soon! Rouenneries by French General for Moda, quilting weight cotton (via French General blog)

**Note, a huge credit is due to Katy Elliott who discovered a number of sources for red ticking fabrics in her own quest for them on her blog!!!



postedWednesday, July 08, 2009 0 comments
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Inspiration: Outdoor Music Festivals

Since Summerfest is still going on here in Milwaukee and the ethnic fests don't start up again until next week, this week's festival inspiration is based on what to wear to outdoor festivals!


Outfit Number One: Rock concert, inspiration outfit from Urban Outfitters.


Do-it-yourself:


Vogue V8393 Halter Top Pattern, which is out of print but available at Vogue Fabrics, paired with Michael Miller's Polka Dots in Black & White, which is the fabric featured on the V8393 pattern. Also found at Vogue Fabrics.



McCalls M3341 A-line skirt pattern paired with denim. I looked high and low for washed-out denim but couldn't find any. Looks like you'd have to fade out the denim yourself for the Urban Outfitters look. Black denim fabric found at The Fabric Fairy.


Wouldn't this outfit look cute with the Curvy Clutch/Wristlet (sewing pattern) from Keyka Lou? I like the wood grain fabric from Joel Dewberry, maybe in sage (found at Contemporary Cloth).



Outfit Number Two: Jazz In The Park, inspiration outfit is the Selma dress by Christopher Deane as interpreted by Weekend Designer (tutorial). Also, red dress in this photo found on Atlanta Bartlett.



Do-it-yourself with the tutorial from Weekend Designer and:



Hawaiian Hibiscus fabric, white on navy, found at Harts Fabric.



A big bag is in order for Jazz in the Park for you will need to tote your picnic blanket and supplies! Amy Butler's Field Bag and Tote would be perfect. Maybe paired with this Strippy Stripe Cotton fabric from Gorgeous Fabrics?



postedThursday, July 02, 2009 0 comments
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Inspiration: Duvet from Layla Grace


There is something so peaceful and lovely about this bed found at Layla Grace. I love the cool colors which give it a nice, summery feel. The duvet retails for $223.00 and is made in a Fair Trade Factory in Indonesia. Not an outrageous price, but some of us might want to try our hand at making this ourselves. Here's a start:


Amy Butler's free pattern for the August Fields Duvet Cover calls for 19 different prints. I think most of us would be able to take this pattern and substitute 4 fabrics for the 19. Seriously, Amy Butler did the math, we get to play with fabrics!



Printed fabrics from Michael Miller: Ta Dots in Aqua Blule and Lime Green at Allegro Fabrics, Dandy Damask at Pink Panda Fabrics. Kona cotton solid in white from Robert Kaufman at Contemporary Cloth.

The addition of the ribbon border and ruffle trim give this quilt a feminine touch. To see how to make a ruffle trim, check out this tutorial by Moda Bake Shop: Princess Pea Blanket




postedWednesday, July 01, 2009 0 comments
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Inspiration: Music Stars (photo sessions)

This week's festival is Summerfest, a huge outdoor music festival. The bands are mostly rock with some country, blues and pop as well. I used photographs from stylized photo shoots to serve as inspiration for this week's post. There are many ways to go about using music stars as inspiration for sewing projects - especially for clothing as they are often on the cutting edge! But when scanning through photos of the various bands performing at Summerfest, I found much more visual interest in the color palettes of the posed photographs (often used for album art, I believe) than in their clothing.



Bon Jovi is the big, headlining act this year. I love the combination of slate, teal, black and light brown in this photo. I think this combination would look great for an apparel palette. Here's what I found:


Clockwise from top left: Midweight rayon jersey in slate from Gorgeous Fabrics; Kona Cotton in Teal Blue from Vogue Fabrics; White House Grid Polyester Abstract Print from Vogue Fabrics; Midweight denim medium wash from Gorgeous Fabrics.



This is country singer Emily West. I'm not familiar with her music, but I loved the style of this photograph (and, HELLO, ric rac trim!) Red, white and blue are one of my very favorite color combinations for quilts.


Clockwise from top left: Marine Stripes on White cotton/linen blend Japanese fabric from Crafty Japan; New Traditions Echinacea (or Coneflower) blossoms by Michael Sparks for Robert Kaufman from Jinny's Treasures; Lacey Petals from the Picket Fence collection by Chloe's Closet for Moda from Josie Mart; Red Dots on White from the Olivia by Ian Falconer collection by Andover from Lucky Kaeru Fabrics.



The iconic Bob Dylan. I don't know anything about this photo except that I love the soft, old Florida feel of the palette. A nice combination for a home decor project - maybe a sun room or patio? Even a bedroom...



Clockwise from top left: Floral Diamond in Blue from the Olive Rose Home Dec Collection by Valori Wells for Free Spirit from Sweet Dreams and Co; Apple Butter Flannel in Cameo Pink by Benartex from eQuilter; Tulip Glass from For Your Home Home Dec Collection by Vicki Payne for Free Spirit from Fabritopia; Love Letters by Sentimental Studios for Moda from Kathryn Rose Designs.


postedWednesday, June 24, 2009 0 comments
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