Tag: Mulberry

Stef’s Silk Scarf

Stef's Silk Scarf

Okay, so I did manage to get a little something done in between my increased hours at work. This was an extra little birthday gift for my mother-in-law.

I dyed the silk with tea, which came out a little bit paler than my previous experiment, but still a lovely colour. Very interesting on the silk too, as the tone seems to change in different light.

Stef's Silk Scarf

I hemmed all four edges by hand, using teeny-tiny slip slitches. Each corner has an equally teeny-tiny briolette bead dangling from it. The gemstones are labradorite, and the facets catch the light beautifully.

Stef's Silk Scarf

Each end of the scarf is embellished with leaf rubbings. Done using Inktense pencils, they picked up the detail of the leaves beautifully. Appropriately for a silk scarf, the leaves came from the mulberry tree at the Museum of English Rural Life.

Stef's Silk Scarf

Because no scarf is complete without a scarf ring, I set a matching faceted labradorite cabochon into one of Kernowcraft’s new easy-to-set rings. Because the band is adjustable, it’s perfect to use as either a scarf ring or to wear on your finger.

Stef's Silk Scarf

And here it is!

I’ve also been working on a tie-dyed turmeric scarf for myself. I did wear it last week, but I haven’t hemmed the long edges yet, so it needs a little bit more work. I’m so pleased with how Stef’s scarf ring turned out, and how incredibly easy it was to make, that I’m thinking I might need a brass and labradorite one for myself…

Selling my Sole(s)…

The Great Spring Cleaning of 2012 has begun.

Actually, it began a few weeks ago when I wore one my my beloved pairs of Jeffery~West shoes and they gave me a blister. Again. At that point I finally had to concede that I’m not a size 40, no matter how thick my socks are, and it was time to let go. I popped all four pairs on Ebay, and with the resulting funds I treated myself to a new pair of boots. Not quite in the same sort of style… but I’ve ordered a pair of Fairysteps‘ finest Moonshine boots. Mine will be in gold (GOLD!!) with round toes and silver stars. I’m trying not to be impatient, but I can’t wait for them to arrive!

Flushed with success, I thought it was about time I cleared out all of my other shoes that I bought because they look amazing, but which turned out to be impractical or ill-fitting. There are a few pairs still on Ebay, ending this afternoon. Depending on how much money I raise from those, I plan to buy one pair of shoes to replace the lot. My criteria are:

  • Hand made, or at least made in England,
  • Actually comfortable,
  • Gorgeous,
  • Smart, and black.

Current contenders are Fairysteps Clara or Quince, Conker star sandals, Green Shoes Willow, or the slightly more heavy-duty Dr Martens for Life.

You may have noticed that I’m also selling my beloved concertina, and my Mulberry handbag. I’m on a mission to no longer keep things that I don’t use, however lovely they may be as objects in their own right. An instrument that’s never played and a handbag that’s never carried are fundamentally useless, so it seemed like their time to be re-homed with someone who’ll appreciate them.

[edit]
Apparently I’m not selling my “Mulberry” handbag – Ebay have taken down the listing because it’s been reported as a fake! I was extremely indignant at first, having bought it from what I thought was a reputable place, but a little online research tells me they’re right. How embarrassing! Because I’d never owned a Mulberry bag before, I didn’t notice the subtle differences in the details that tell you it’s not a real one. All the details which I, in the spirit of full disclosure, have just photographed and put on Ebay! A classic example of caveat emptor, I suppose. *sigh*

Still, now I can’t sell it, I feel a bit less bad about making some alterations that will allow me to actually use it. Like taking off the straps and repositioning them so that they actually fit over my shoulder, for a start. Onwards and upwards…

Fairysteps Elder Handbag


Photo © Fairysteps

Look what the postman very kindly delivered to me this week! It’s a lovely new handbag, courtesy of Fairysteps.

In living proof that social media can really work for small businesses, I spotted this on Ren’s Facebook page, saw that this pink “dragon” leather was limited stock, and snapped it up immediately!

It’s going to be a replacement for my big pink Mulberry bag. I bought that back in 2007 and have barely used it since because the straps are precisely the wrong length. I’ll be giving it a bit of a polish, and popping it on Ebay, where hopefully I’ll be able to get back pretty much what I paid for it. (Thankfully Mulberry bags seem to hold their value very well – limited edition colours even more so.)

This new bag’s quite a bit smaller (you can’t quite squeeze an A4 pad inside), but it fits my giant diary and my little netbook – although not both at once. The front pocket is big enough for my phone, iPod and other assorted bits and bobs, and I can’t cram in so much stuff that it makes the bag too heavy to carry. Perfect!

I absolutely adore the clever closure – there’s something very satisfying about squishing the smooth wooden bead through the little gap in the leather. The raw edges on the front flap are so soft and tactile, I can’t stop stroking them. The first time I went out with this bag, everybody wanted to touch it. And smell it. There’s something so lovely about the smell of new leather.

Now I just need to decide which to buy next.. matching shoes, or a matching purse!

Looking for the perfect bag.

Now that the honeymoon’s booked (hooray!), I’ve started to think about what I’ll need to take with me on our trip. We’ll be walking around the city all day, and we’ll be carrying heavy cameras, so I need a comfortable bag to fit everything into.

This is a bag that I have already – a Crumpler Sheep Scarer.
It was perfect for college, and for lugging my old laptop about. It’s also perfect for days out when I’m close to home and only packing the camera and not much else. Because of the triangular shape of the bag, once you’ve got the camera and a lens or two stashed in the bottom, you can’t fit anything else in the top without having to unpack it all to get the camera in and out. Not ideal.

This is my proper grown-up handbag – a Mulberry Bayswater.
I love it to bits, but it has two problems. One, if I’m wearing a jumper or a big winter coat, the straps are about an inch too short to fit over my shoulder, which means I have to carry it in my hand. If I’m using the camera a lot, I really need a bag that’s hands-free. Two, inside it’s just one great big enormous space, which makes it very easy to fill with heavy things, and I can never manage to find the thing I want because it’s always right down in one of the corners.

So, after a fruitless trip to the local shops, I did what any sensible person would do and had a look on Etsy for a new bag.

Browing the “backpacks” category was a bit daunting – it brought up 117 pages of bags that mostly weren’t backpacks at all. (I do hate it when people deliberately tag things incorrectly to get more views.) Thankfully, on just the third page, I spotted a familiar image and went to the Bohemian Cats store to have a look.

I’ve bought bags from Baba Studio before, for Christmas gifts, and I was delighted with the quality as well as the beautiful imagery.

This is one of their three-way messenger bags. They come in black or taupe as a base colour, and you can choose from a stunning array of images for the front flap. I particularly like the way you can convert this style from shoulder bag to messenger bag to rucksack with just the one strap. So clever!

But, at only a couple of inches wide this is quite a slim bag, and I wasn’t absolutely convinced that my camera would fit inside. I contacted Karen at Baba Studio on Facebook, and she suggested that the laptop bag might be a better choice.

And wow, I think she’s right.

There’s an Etsy store specifically for the laptop bags, which are kept in stock, or you can place an order for the design of your choice from the Baba Store. Again you can decide between black or taupe as a base colour, and there are more than twenty gorgeous images to choose from. The inside of the bag has been made with brilliant attention to detail. There’s a padded section for your laptop, of course, but there’s also a drawstring waterproof cover over the main body of the bag. There are two zipped pockets, one of which has sections for pens. This is very important, as I can almost never find a pen when I need one! All of the pockets are completely covered by the flap, which I think is held in place by magnets, making it all extra secure.

But it’s not a rucksack, which is what I thought I was looking for.

Now I just need to decide whether that matters… and which design to choose!