On my board

After working on a bunch of designs for a local sportswear apparel collection (that means lots of drawings in Illustrator), I drew these sweater/cardigan/pullover and pinned them on my board. My white leatherette board had been empty for months, except for a "Yo no canto tonteras" decal. It means something like -I don't sing silly things- and it has been like my motto since I read this phrase from Violeta Parra's last interview.

About how a tea set inspired this

There's a new felt project in progress.

I had been thinking for days of a new design for felting but I wasn't completely satisfied with what I had until I realised I was trying to approach something similar to a tea set I had as a child. I was relieved to finally visualise what I had been after and started sketching what I thought were the original motifs of the tea set, just as I remembered them. Of course I couldn't resist and had to dive into old dusty boxes until I found it. It was so nice to see again those little pieces. My drawings weren't exactly as the original design but I felt they had something in common.

In a couple of days I'll post a full view of this new motif. It's made in winter white wool felt on a cinnamon pink base (see colour sample in uppermost image).

Tartan maker

I found the most incredible and amusing textile tool with no weaving required: the Tartan Maker. Actually it's intended for generating tartan patterns for web backgrounds but it's so fun that I couldn't resist playing around for a good while, changing colours, orientation, and even yarn size. Also Tartan Maker has a sister site for creating striped patterns: Stripe Generator. It's equally fun!

Thrift shawls

These are my latest finds from a recent trip to a thrift store here in Santiago (en calle Bandera, para los que conocen). Beautiful "in the style of folk East European" 100% wool shawls, but I'm afraid they are not original, just "inspired by" pieces. It's difficult to say whether they are vintage, or should I say retro? Since reading the article Old Hat (Is vintage fashion looking dated?) in Selvedge issue number 21 I'm very conscious when it comes to putting a date on such items. It says the term "retro" should be applied to anything from to the last 25 years or between 1975 and the beginning of 21st century while "vintage" is between 1920 and 1975. Anything earlier is classified as "antique". Well, let's assume these shawls are just retro.

The black shawl was slightly felted, probably when washed, hence its floral print looks quite blurry and leaked. But for me, it just adds to the charm of it. I don't think the red shawl looks as dazzling as it is live (yes, is it any possible to be brighter than this?). The four of them have frayed borders and are constantly loosing threads, this is not supposed to be happening, isn't it?

Wool forever

My coat finally arrived! A couple of weeks ago I ordered a knitted coat from kelgwo and now it's here! Kelgwo is a small textile company based in the island of Chiloé, Chile, producing beautiful knitted and woven woolens (clothing and home decor). The coat, though very thick and heavy, is surprisingly fitted and flattering. I love the contrast of the textured knit with the bold and geometric coat style. Kelgwo website is packed with the most lovely images from their collection surrounded by the stunning landscape of Chiloé. A must-see!