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!