Learning how to block-print!

I’ve grown with a number of close family members interested in textiles and textile design and when I was younger, my mother used to have a block-printing studio in our house. I remember being incredibly excited when I’d go inside and always wanted to know how to make the fabulous textiles my mother would make. Unfortunately we moved houses and I was never really able to make use of that studio.

So this summer I decided it was time for me to learn how to block-print!

Here's a picture of my first try. I was only allowed to make this border and only allowed to use one colour this would make sure that my hand would get really steady and know how much pressure to put and what not. 

And this is from my second try. Note that I've graduated to using patterns (hurrah hurrah!). 

The blocks themselves are beautiful. They're  made out of a lovely dark wood and look especially lovely with traces of left over pigment on them. 

Expect more posts about my block-print training!

Beach Fantasies on a Rainy Day

It's offensively rainy here in Massachusetts, so as a kind of relief or escape I decided to take these lovely ladies to the beach. I must have some kind of deep seeded connection between stripes and the Ocean. Can you really blame me though? 

These two girls are definitely down for some fun in the sun. Maybe some super chic ladies will follow suit in the weeks to come....hrmmm...

Embroidery and shoes.

Here's a sketch of my favourite pair of shoes! They're traditional hand embroidered shoes from Pakistan that I love wearing be it with eastern clothes or western. 

The embroidery on my shoes in pretty similar to that shown in the above image from a local bazar. 

Icelandic Sweaters

A small spread from a sketchbook I kept on a trip to Iceland in March. The Icelandic sweater tradition was absolutely one of the highlights of the trip. I would love to know the origins of the individual patterns and the recurring color combinations. I've never encountered so many cozy, almost frumpy sweaters being worn by 20-something-year-olds without a trace of irony. It made the trip that much more fun.

I've included below a little snapshot of the rack of children's sweaters at a consignment or second hand shop in Reykjavik. Some of them didn't even have tags! I like to think that means some Icelandic Grandmother made it for a little boy or girl.

Til next time!