brainylady

All this week here in Taiwan is the Lantern Festival. And today I happened to come across these two appropriate gems: vintage-lantern-print fabric and lantern-motif embroidery stencils.

I'm pretty happy with knitting, but sometimes I really wish I could sew. I was doing a lot of sewing before I came to Taiwan, but sewing does take space, which I no longer have. Of course, I don't have a machine here, either. I did buy some fabric in India (mostly cotton prints), which was really exciting. It was all heaped on the ground, a free-for-all, me against all of the Indian ladies. I did pretty well. I don't have specific plans for those pieces, but I think I'd like to make a quilt when I get back to Canada. I have all kinds of small pieces of excellent vintage cotton prints in storage there, left over from making handbags, and I love all the prints so much. So a quilt would be a way to preserve those prints that I love in a functional way. Anyway, that's a long way off....

But I did get to thinking about sewing today, and while there seems to be nowhere near the number of sites on sewing as there is for knitters, Sew Wrong is a nice one.

Another crafty project I plan to try when I get settled back in Canada (a.k.a. "back to real life") is felting. This felted throw, for example, looks really simple and would be really cozy (if it was done in nicer colours). Not quite simple enough for my so-called life in Taiwan, though. First, there are no thrift shops here. (I know!) Second, we have a washing machine, but not with hot water. And third, we don't have a dryer. No one does. So for the time being, felting is beyond me.

I've also been looking at a couple of sites lately that are done by very talented illustrators: Loobylu (by Claire Robertson) and Bea's Diary (by Keri Smith). Both of these places are heartbreakingly lovely.

So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to make a real Web site. Then I can post whatever I want (photos, graphics, etc.). I'll keep you posted on this.

By the way, I was very happy to read about all the anti-war protests that took place around the world this weekend. Whatever the numbers really were, a strong statement was made. Keep on rockin' in the (as yet) free world.