I have a serious addiction to kitchen towels: floursack, huck, linen… you name it.  I usually only buy vintage ones, but I am in love with these two by Enormous Champion at Heath Ceramics.

(via here)

I love that the two souvenirs I bought were less than 17 Euros combined.  At this shop called Van Mij in Arnhem I found a lovely Moroccan towel and this sweet tangram, and couldn’t resist.  They were just so cheery and fun.  I really love the back side of the tangram package… I think it may end up on our wall.  The only thing I regret is not buying a second towel!

This is a little passport case I made yesterday from some leather scraps that my husband had from another project.  He cut them out in a basic pattern, and we both hand-stitched our respective cases.  Today, I did a little pyrography on mine with a soldering iron, since we don’t have any leather-specific tools, and it worked quite well.  We are off to Europe this coming week, and want our passports to look fashionable 🙂

I really like this line.  Below I’ve combined one look from Fall ‘09 (the top one just because I like it so much!) and some looks from the current Spring ‘10 collection.  They not only have beautiful designs, but they make the effort to source sustainable fabrics.

According to Racked NY, Rodarte has released some menswear for the first time ever.  Hot on the heels of their Target collection, they are calling the new mini-menswear line ‘Brodarte’ (which is hilarious) and it can only be found at Opening Ceremony.  I love the Mulleavy sisters.  It’s worth noting that these gossamer knits are definitely more unisex than anything.

So here’s the end result of my needle-felting patches onto my husband’s moth-eaten cashmere sweater (he was kind enough to model it for me).  Look here for the “before.” Super fun.  Original idea is here.  I have another sweater to do as well… this time in a cooler palette.  Have you tried your own yet?

This is a small collection of things that would make cool presents- some are limited edition, some are vintage.  I’ve also included a photo of my triangle necklaces because I do still have more of the vintage triangles left.  Sorry this is late in coming… I’m not too great with the whole gift guide thing, but here goes!

1. Bookhou tea cosie 2. The Looksee triangle necklace  3. A Detacher snake belt  4. Space Jam vintage carved wooden set  5. Efinegifts vintage ornament  6. Renilde DePeuter chair cushion 7. Future Perfect totem cups 8. Grounded hanging terrarium

So as you know, I was extremely inspired by this project by Heleen Klopper which I posted about a few weeks ago.  So I went out, bought some felting needles and dyed roving (lazy) and went at it! Two down and a bunch more to go.  Just thought I’d share.  It’s really a lot of fun…

LOVE these unisex fair-trade shoes designed by Osborn Design Studio, and made in Guatemala City.  I can’t believe I haven’t seen these until today.  These floral booties on top are my personal faves. Check out their site for more awesome fabrics.

I think this idea is brilliant.

“Wool Filler for mending holes in textiles was born out of a need to repair a hole in a woolen cardigan. The edges of such holes are rarely clean-cut and they are often surrounded by ladders, fraying or worn patches. The differences in thickness and the openness of the structure make felt the ideal solution for mending. Felt, being non-woven, attaches easily to any open structure. Fillers made for materials like wood consist of fibres and a chemical binder. Felt is different: it attaches mechanically by means of minuscule scales. Where once there was a hole, there’s now a new piece of fabric.”

Well loved cardigan… rescued!

(via here)