Pastel Squares Seed hand bag

Coarse russian wool in camel hair color for the base... merino wool for the squares in lila, light blue, green and white... brow yarn and a rainbow dyed yarn in blue hues make the lins around the squares. It is lined with cotton fabric and has two wonky straps...
The "Pastel Squares" Seed Handbag is already in my DaWanda shop where you can see more detailed pictures of this bag.

And there is one more to go before I hand it over to you guys....just stay tuned...!

Merry Go round: Summer

It' s time for our Merry-go-round, and this month' s topic is Seasons...this season....Summer.

"Summertime, and the livin' is easy... fish are jumping and the cotton is high..." Well, there is no cotton around here but "livin is, indeed, easy". I' m going to fall again in a comparison between my life before and after I came to The Netherlands... sorry to bore you!

-Before I came here: I was lucky enough to live accross the street from a very clean and fresh river which carries waters for a thousand km, from up high in the Andes straight into the Atlantic ocean, only 30km away from our house. The "Rio Negro" was our playground in early summer, when we still had school. We would rush back, change into our swimmsuits, grab our canoe and barefoot run accross the street to go paddle around. Hours we would spend swimming there... and in the weekends we would wake up, grab some breakfast and just run accross the street. It was so comfortable to have such gorgeous large river right there in front of you. A luxury really.

By the time January came around (high summer in southern hemisphere), we would all move to the beach house which was designed especifically to host a large number of people. It' s a refuge from technology. No computers, no tv. Music comes from and old radio and an old turn table. And until cellphones became popular, no phone either. Books lay everywhere and you are encouraged to get up and go to the beach... and we would stay there until the late hours with friends and family... laying on the sand, walking, following waves for hours now as grown ups as we did when we were kids. Summer means total relax, taking it easy... socializing, dancing, dinner parties organized that same day on the beach... staying out late with friends until the sun comes up and you walk home barefoot, tired but happy...




-FFWD to my summers in The Netherlands. For starters it doesn' t last 3 or 4 months but more like... a few weeks. I grew up so used to week after week of 30-40C that it took me some time to understand that summer in northern Europe... you don' t blink or you missed it! And there is not such a thing as total relax. Because the weather is so bleak and wet the rest of the year, in summer people rush to do all those projects they can't do the rest of the year. Fix the house, for example. Every spare minute is used in doing something productive... there is not much laying around yawning and walking in slow motion! I' m still in the process of adapting to this way of thinking. I see sun and just want to go outside and relax. My husband, on the contrary, runs around sweating, hammer in hand fixing stuff.
The very postive thing of summer now is that this is the season when we start harvesting lots of yummies from our veggie garden: berries, tomatoes, zuchinni, aubergines, beans, lettuce, rucula, spinach, carrots,peppers...and so much more. I think I apreciate summer more here and now than I used to do before. It' s shorter and, as with all those things that come in small rations, you try to prolongue it's taste.


*photos are both mine. Top photograph taken 3 yrs ago, last time I went to Argentina, of a sunset over the Atlantic. Bottom picture was taken this summer in Noord Holland on vacations...swans and an old ship. No retouches...just framing.

Please do visit the rest of the girls who take part in this Mery-go-round:

Jenny at Jenny Karlsson design
Wendren at Wren
Sara at Sara's Texture Crafts
Charlotte at Fancy Picnic
Agathe at Le Bar du Vent
Fabienne at Easterya
Ruth at Birdland Creation
Lily at LilyPang Art and Design

Tweed Delights

A few weeks ago I entered a give away that Alison from Tweed Thoughts was having in her blog. I always read and comment on her posts. How surprised was I when I found out that I had won! yipiieee! It will sound as a cliche but I don' t ussually win anything ...but we all think that, don' t we?
Anyway, yesterday the mailman brought me this big but light package which my son insisted was for him...any packages that come through the door he insists are for him...he doesn' t claim ownership of bills and taxes...funnily enough... :)
Here it is! A lovely cushion made with REAL handwoven Harris Tweed... a luxury!



Thanks Alison for this! I invite you all to check her blog where there are links to her shops for hand crafted house wares but also for lovely harris tweed plushes. Worth the clicks!

Flickr Favorites Tuesday: hot air balloons

Flickr Favorites Tuesday: hot ait balloons
Originally uploaded by Marian Florcita

Before I die, I want to see everything from above from a hot air balloon... I see them so colorful floating on ths ky quite often around here and I wish I was there too...

All the credit for this photos to the talented people who took them. Click on the picture for a larger view and data on the artists.

If you want to join the Flickr Favorites fun, visit Mitsy' s blog!

Rubies in a spider web Seed handbag

This one is for the brave women out there! The ones that like colorful bags! Red, fuchsia, orange, pink, yellow, white... silk, bamboo, wool, linen...acrylic beads, hand dyed and hand spun yarn.. stitches surrounding the "rubies" which are entangled in this most luscious spider web:


The " Rubies in a spiderweb" hand bag is already listed in my shop, where there are more pictures for you to see.

sweat shop?

...pffffffffff...it's warm.... warm...warm. See how one complains about how cold it is, rainy and gray? and now it's 37C, sunny and.... all around sticky... and one still complains!
Anyway, hot or not I had to work on some orders. Someone asked me if I could show how flat the seed bags can be folded, so here it' s the Charcoal gray seed bag photographed flat for you to see:


So, pretty easy to store or take with you in your suitcase when you travel.

I wanted to show you too, these whimsical little tea cups I made a few months ago. I was cleaning up my photograph's folders and I found them:



Not like I' m going to go have warm tea right now...I would, however, like to be sitting on top of an glacier at the moment...

Coming soon:

-new bag
- hand dyed and hand spun cotton yarn sale
-Give away... (it' s been a while since I last hosted one!)

So, stay tuned...

Joy oh joy... it' s "cooking dinner" time. Comb your hair son, we are going out.

"Fun For Me" Seed Handbag

And continuing with the Seed Handbags saga, here is a new one.

Colorful and fun...lots of bright colors. It is hand felted using merino wool and raibow dyed yarn for some details as well as stitched alongside the color bands just for a bit of texture. It looks as if it was quilted...
It is lined inside with bright orange cotton fabric which matches with the orange bands on the outside of the bag. The two straps aretwisted, strong and chunky so there is no problem in filling this bag with all those bits we women need when we are out in the town.

The "Fun For Me" Seed handbag is already listed on my shop!

Flickr Favorites Tuesday: coral reefs

Flickr Favorites Tuesday: coral reefs
Originally uploaded by Marian Florcita

Coral reefs... aren' t they beautiful...and just so fragile!
It' s sunny and warm here and I' m still spinning like mad and hopefully tomorrow I will be able to show you all. In the meantime... I dream with a coral reef. One day, I hope, I will be able to dive and look at them live and direct...that is if we humans get our act together and stop destroying them...right?

All the credit for this photos to the talented people who took them. Click on the picture for a larger view and data on the artists.

If you want to join the Flickr Favorites fun, visit Mitsy' s blog!

Productive weekend I

My husband and I went to Craftparking yesterday. It was a craft fair in an old cement factory in Maastricht, in the south of The Netherlands. It had the added bonus of a summer festival right next to it, so not only did we see lots of interesting artisans and their goods, but heard some african music and ate wonderful food from Peru, Argentina and Indonesia. I really like this kind of international fairs where you get lots of arts minded people sharing a nice sunny afternoon... and a beer or two.

I met lots of artisans from the European Street Team of Etsy and later on we went for dinner at a nearby restaurant up in a hill where I guess we would still be, had it not been for the waiters politely throwing us out! If the personel starts cleaning around you... sign that you have worn out your welcome! haahaha
We continued in the parking lot for another half an hour or so... where goodbyes were delayed as much as possible. There weren't only friends from The Netherlands and Belgium whom could reach this fair pretty easily; but also Maria and her hubby from LeelaBijou who came all the way from The Canary Islands and Kerrie from Sigmosaics who came from Portugal!
I spoke spanish, english and dutch all night long which got a bit confusing after I ordered a cold beer expecting the ussual small glass, and instead I received a huge one with half a liter of beer in it!

Here are some goodies I got from Kim, from viltalakim; Mitsy from Artmind and Kerry from Sigmosaics.



Whilst I was chatting with the girls, my husband got me these gorgeous lampwork beads. I love glass beads and since last year when I took a weekend workshop, I've been meaning to try it out again...


And that was just sunday... there is a part II to this productove weekend post!

Fibres to spin

Fibres to spin
Originally uploaded by Marian Florcita

I showed you the other day some of the fibres I dyed. Now this weekend I' m hoping to spin them. Bamboo, merino, silk and cotton.
And later tomorrow, Craftparking in Maastricht. A arts and craft market. I won' t have a stall but a couple of friends will... So, Kim and Mitsy...have fun and good luck to you! See you tomorrow.

And the rest of you...have a nice weekend!

xxMariana

Lily Seed Hand bag: Jewelled.

Someone asked me, when I was introducing the Charcoal Gray Seed Handbag and the Natural Seed Handbag, where was the colour. I' m known for my very colorful creations... well... fear not. Here it is:



This "Jewelled Seed hand bag" was also hand felted with merino wool in different colors: yellow, green, blue. To create the sumptuous surface design, hand dyed and hand spun yarn (by mio) was used; as well as linen fibres and bamboo. The finnal touch, beads hand sewn around the bag creating pockets of sparkles!
It is linned with white, plain cotton fabric.
It has two handles which, as with the other handbags, are hand felted and machine sewn to create a bit of an irregular coil... more organic.

It's already in my shop where you can also see more pictures of the details of this Jewelled Seed Handbag. It is customizable, of course. You just have to contact me: www.florcita.eu

Hand dyed Fibres

Hand dyed Fibres
Originally uploaded by Marian Florcita

This is what I' ve been up to: dyeing wool, cotton, silk and bamboo.

Last week a friend called me because she was going to dye some stuff for her kids and she wanted some help... so I came along with some wool...I thought...hey... let's try, why not? Even though we were using commercial dyes -and my goal is to learn to make my own dye baths with natural dye stuff, i.e: plants- I wanted to try.
Anything that involves colors leaves me amazed as if I were staring at a miracle! hahaha I know, like a little kid.
So happy I was, when I came home I had to try for myself. And now that they are dry...I' m spinning like there is no tomorrow! This is addictive!!!!

Click on the mosaic to see pictures with more detail.

Oh yes, and a new Lily Seed hand bag tomorrow!

Flickr Favorites Tuesday: Cotton

Flickr Favorites Tuesday: Cotton
Originally uploaded by Marian Florcita

It' s tuesday again, and these are my Flickr Favorites, with Cotton as it' s theme. I loooove this fluffy looking flowers. Are they flowers? Well, it' s called a "boll" the fluffy stuff which surrounds the seeds. Either way, I like them.
My new obsession... and I will show you tomorrow why :)
Interestingly enough, whilst looking up information on cotton, I realized that this small little plant has been in the spotlight for hundreads of years. Native to tropical lands, like the Americas, India and Africa. Inhabitants from even pre-Inca times hand spun the cotton, dyed it and then weaved it into gorgeous tapestries which were found preserved, centuries later, in tombs.
It was part of what took the Dutch East Indies Company to India, it took part of the process of industralization of England...Industrial Revolution, it stood centre stage in the Civil war in The US, Mahatma Ghandi used to spin it all day as he was doing his peaceful protests...and much more.

It is the most used fiber these days in the world.
And I love these pictures of it.

If you want to participate in the Flickr Favorites game, hop to Mitsy' s blog

All the credit to the talented photographers who took these pictures.

Charcoal Grey Lily Seed Handbag

I said there were more to come... well... here is another one:



"Charcoal Grey Lily Seed handbag" was wet felted with the softest, lightest merino wool. It is lined with a black cotton fabric.
What most women that have seen these bags have told me is that they are precisely the right size for when you want a medium size handbag. I was really thinking on myself when I designed it... when I'm running around town with my kid in tow and I want to have as less things as possible hanging from my shoulder. But it is still a good size to fit wallet, glasses, keys, a little moleskine and you know... all those bits we always carry around :)
I think this one is particularly versatile for night and also day use. You know... easy to combine.

The "Charcoal Grey Lily Seed Handbag" is listed in my shop now where you can see more pictures which will illustrate better what I' m trying to say with words!

And there are many more to come... :)

Color coordinating...

I have a friend who is a graphic designer...and a bit crazy. We were talking a few days ago about colors and how I coordinate my colors and she confessed that sometimes, when she has to get dressed in the morning and is a bit lost for choices...she uses an online palette generator to decide which matching colors she will wear in that day.... I know... not normal! hahaha
But, intrigued, I thought I give it a go...
I tried with a picture of the Natural Seed Handbag:

I first tried DeGraeve, the link my friend gave me and I go this:



I then tried the palette generator I already knew, from FlickrToys:

Second one gives lots more choices but I had to resize the picture to fit it here and the names aren' t that legible, are they? Well, but the swatches you can see.
I really like this toy! I don' t think I will be deciding my daily outfit with it, but it could come in handy for my creations!

Give it a go!

"Semillas"- Lily Seeds Handbags

"Semillas" means seeds in spanish. When you grow your own veggies, you deal with seeds almost daily. Buying them, seeding, taking care of the seedlingss, gathering seeds for the next year, etc. Besides the veggie patch, we also have a rather wild flower garden. Many of those flowers have now their seed pods hanging... waiting to fall and start the cycle again.
Well, they are the inspiration for this next line of bags, "Semillas - Seeds", on which I have been working for a while. Silently working out patterns and sizes. Color charts and felt designs.

I have a few already done and ready to be uploaded to my shop. And here to kick start this new line is the first one. Drum roll please!

"Natural":







This bag was handfelted using Russian, camel hair coloured, coarse wool for the base. Natural merino wool and merino handspun yarn were used for the seed/leaf designs on each of the 4 sides. All different. It is lined with off-white cotton canvas fabric and reinforced on each edge for extra sturdiness.
I fit my cell phone, wallet, reading glasses, keys, coin pouch and little moleskine in it... with space to spare. You can see on the botton right corner pic how it looks when you hang it on your shoulder. That ussually gives a better idea of an item's size than plain measurements.

The "Semillas- Lily Seed handbag. Natural" is listed in my shop now where you can see more pictures and read more info. It is customizable, of course. You just have to contact me: www.florcita.eu

More colors and surface design in the days to come!