Stitches and Thrills

Ah! Tote bags: I've bought them for the silk screen print design, or because I like the band, or I got them as a goodie bag. But to be honest: the design of a tote bag doesn't work for me on a practical level. The handles are too long to carry it in my hand without hitting the floor, and too short to wear it on my shoulder. So I decided to improve my lovely royal blue Gabby Young And Other Animals - tote to a stylish 2-in-1 bag. It's both a purse AND a shoulder bag! Now this was going to be a photo tutorial. But Miss Smarty Pants here deleted all the photo's which were made during the process. So here's a descriptive tutorial =^x^= Step 1: The handles. Cut the handles in the middle. Fold both halves over each other and sew them together. This will provide a shorter and sturdier handle for your purse. Step 2: The long sling. Find a matching piece of fabric that will be strong enough. You'll need 2 pieces of 120 cm x 15 cm. Cut the tote open at...

As European enamelware goes the Cathrineholm factory in Norway is very famous. But The Netherlands has it's own legendary enamel and cast iron producers : DRU (Diepenbrock en Reigers te Ulft). You might know them from the DRU Holland pastel coloured enamelware with the tulip logo, but my favourite series is this one:   When I started going to flee markets about 25 years ago it must have been one of the first items I picked up: a battered black enamel bowl with tiny yellow and red dots. There just was something so adorable about it. In the years following more of these bowls did pop up on my thrift store trips every now and then, and I was always drawn to them. Mostly they were as battered as the first one I picked up, but I started to be more selective: occasionally there was a bowl and lid in very good condition! Research learned that these enamel bowls were actually a Dutch design classic. The Confetti series was designed by Willem Gilles in 1953/1954 for DRU (Diepe...