Karen Barbé

Black stripes

2009-07-01T15:12:00.003-04:00

My copy of Good to Know finally arrived (pattern to the left). Amy organised this giveaway and luckily I was one of the winners (my first time ever to win something over the internet). This Good to Know issue is all about personal style (When does one know that a personal style has developed? Is it important to know what exactly that style is?) and includes some interesting insights from different illustrators and artists on the subject. I'm still reading it but already feel comforted from knowing that many artists/designers out there share similar doubts when it comes to define one's own style.

I love the Mohair Council logo.

Grey + Lime Green + Winter day

2009-06-25T20:00:00.005-04:00

All the screen-printed tiles you've seen here before have been sewn into duvet covers. There are still some details but I can say they are almost ready.

Today was such a gloomy day that made it impossible to shoot inside, so we went up to the roof!

Sewing

2009-06-24T18:10:00.003-04:00

Isn't it wonderful when after lots of cutting, pinning and sewing you start finding the right order for optimal production?

I love that apron from Bengt & Lotta. Too nice for kitchen use.

Yellow+grey+light blue

2009-06-12T16:05:00.004-04:00

Just wanted to give a big thanks to all of you who have visited, left comments and sent nice emails. Especially to Kim who has featured my tiles on her blog. I really appreciate it.

I've been sewing (now I even have an efficient helper) and going almost nuts following the diagram of the tiles layout! I end up totally dizzy after counting, checking and double-checking that I'm joining the right tiles together. But definitely fun.

Today

2009-06-02T18:08:00.003-04:00

These piles of cotton tiles now are waiting to be sewn.
I found this nice 100% wool dress in a thrift store.

Quilting Day

2009-05-24T15:09:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was quilting day.
Thanks to my mom for her help and expertise.

Tiles – New colourways

2009-05-20T16:51:00.004-04:00

Screen-printed tiles on cotton.

Qué linda va la novia

2009-04-19T16:40:00.003-04:00

Here are some pics from my sister's wedding. Yesterday we all enjoyed the most beautiful sunny day in Quintay, Chile (at La Caracola Lodge).

Here, the bride.

The wrong side of latch hooking

2009-04-08T14:49:00.001-04:00

Just to report that I didn't like how my hooked rug turned out.

Some time ago I was wondering if there was any future with latch hooking. Today, after my first hooked rug, I say no. I recognise I didn't pick the right yarn for the rug, I just bought some knitting yarn that seemed okay and not that expensive for this first try. Not the best decision. Now I have a nice "bathroom rug" that constantly sheds loose wool fibers or "fluff" (I read this could last from a few months to a year provided that you vacuum it regularly).

If it helps anybody, I found it very practical hooking over a pillow with a solid/smooth cover.

Easter

2009-04-08T08:36:00.002-04:00

From an old Burda Moden magazine.

Nos Casamos

2009-04-01T11:50:00.003-04:00

I thought of making some different and sweet wedding favours for my sister's. First she asked me to design the invitations – they both wanted a fun and laid-back thing and somehow related to the place where they are getting married, Quintay (a fishing cove and great place for diving very close to Santiago). After printing the cards I got the idea of screen-printing the same motif on tea towels as wedding favours. But they look so cute that I think no one's ever going to use them!

Tiles strips

2009-03-13T12:17:00.005-03:00

Tiles strips now sewn, here mounted on my closet's doors to get the full picture of the layout (well, half of it at this time). Flip it horizontally to the right and you'll get an idea of the whole layout. Coming next: seam ironing and remaining strips sewing.

Tiles

2009-03-07T16:36:00.003-03:00

Screen-printed tiles on cotton. Now they are ready to be sewn together.

Red and blue

2009-03-04T19:16:00.001-03:00

Nice colour inspiration. From Nordiska Museet.

Sonia Delaunay - Swimsuits (1928)

2009-01-24T10:42:00.006-03:00

What a great artist Sonia Delaunay is. Not only did she succeed in painting, but also in fashion, textile and stage set design.Her work is mesmerizing, the use of essential strokes, shapes and colours is stunning. After reading about her on The Textile Blog I had to get a book to read more about her work so I picked Sonia Delaunay | Fabrics and Fashion by Jacques Damase (Thames and Hudson, 1991). The collection of swimsuits shown above is featured there.

When describing her fabrics, Sonia explains: "I have done fifty designs, relationships of colour using pure geometrical forms with rhythm. They were, and remain, colour scales - really a purified version of our concept of painting. (...) The rhythm is based on numbers, for colour can be measured by the number of vibrations. This is a completely new concept, one which opens infinite horizons for painting and may be used by everyone who can feel and understand it."

It only added to my delight when I discovered that Sonia was the designer behind the costumes made for the first Dada play by Tristan Tzara, Le Coeur à gaz (1923, Paris), which decades later inspired similar outfits worn by David Bowie and Klaus Nomi. Great trivia, isn't it?

On a funny note, this photo has been included in the sixth edition of the Schmap Stockholm Guide. It's just one of the thumbnails in the review of Café String but anyway it's kind of nice, huh?

Dolls

2009-01-20T16:03:00.003-03:00

I had forgotten about these photos lost on my cluttered desktop. They are screenshots of Dolls (2002) by Takeshi Kitano. I was immediately caught by the repetition of masks and paper windmills creating these striking patterned backgrounds.

Check Yohji Yamamoto featuring here as Costume Designer.

Mexican Embroidery

2008-12-23T13:35:00.005-03:00

Here are some peeks from a 1946 issue of Mexican magazine La Familia. I'm smitten with the embroideries of this China Poblana blouse and the huipil yucateco.

Chinese paper cuts

2008-12-13T10:24:00.005-03:00

I love these Chinese paper cuts found yesterday at an importer's store.

A gift from Australia

2008-12-13T09:52:00.005-03:00

Some weeks ago, Julia from Australia surprised me with this sweet message: she saw the pictures of my latch hooking project and wanted to send me over this great book just because she likes to give gifts randomly as it makes life so much nicer. Isn't that lovely? Julia loves vintage fabrics and sewing and also has an Ebay shop where she's been selling vintage patterns for eight years. Thank you, Julia!

Nanduti lace

2008-11-26T17:54:00.005-03:00

These are Ñandutí doilies, a traditional lace technique made in Paraguay. The name means "spider web" in Guaraní, the native language of Paraguay. Ñandutí was originally introduced by Spaniards who brought with them Teneriffe lace.

More examples here.
Watch here the first minutes of a documentary of Ñandutí lace.

More craft magazines rescue

2008-11-19T16:01:00.006-03:00

These magazines are from the same flooded batch. Beautiful samples of embroidery, crochet and braiding from Enciclopedia de Labores de Salvat (Spain, 1979).

Latch hook rug making or the realm of kitschiness

2008-11-12T16:22:00.007-03:00

There was this time in Stockholm when I saw a subtle green latch hooked rug in a weaving loom and decided I should try making a rug like that one. Apart from some basic knowledge from design school, I can't say I know how to weave so I started looking for lessons and tools. I was immediately discouraged when I found out how expensive it was to pay for a medium-sized loom of my own, some quality yarn and the weaving classes (besides having to carry the loom for each lesson). So, if my final objective was a hooked rug, then I could try a simpler but somehow less noble version: using rug canvas.

So here's my first attempt. Inspired by a crocheted bedspread, I created this geometric and very easy to follow pattern. The technique is rather slow so I'm not sure when I'll be posting the finished rug (I do hope to finish the nine squares originally intended and not give up on the way).

What's been really fun with this technique is that I've discovered the realm of bad taste and kitschiness. Just search around the web and you'll find sheer kitsch in pillows, rugs and wall hangings. I wouldn't like to offend anyone's work, but for one reason or the other, hand latch hooked rugs have ended being the canvas of cartoons, animals' portraits or holiday themes. Has it something to do with its resemblance to bathroom rugs that this technique has totally fallen from grace?

I'm always intrigued by cultural and social connotations given to some crafts (tie-dye will always be hippie, latch hooked rugs will always be kitsch) and how they can really change when approached to with an original focus. Sandra Backlund's knits never feel unflattering nor Subversive Cross Stitch embroideries look boring. So, is there any future with latch hooking?

Craft Magazines from 1979

2008-10-28T10:42:00.002-03:00

Today I shot these old craft magazines before throwing them away. Sadly they are totally ruined since their storage flooded some time ago. These are some of the few pages that survived (can you see the undulated paper?).

FYI Those wheel looms are intended for making Teneriffe lace.

Copihues

2008-10-26T15:23:00.004-03:00

Copihue, also known as Chilean Bellflower, is Chile's floral emblem and it's usually seen on crafts and touristic souvenirs or as a graphic icon for symbolising traditional events and locally made products. As with any other national emblem, copihues often end up relegated to the tourism business and are certainly ignored by locals but seen as folkloric and nice by visitors.

For some time I've been wondering if it is possible to take these symbols and actually create something (a pattern?) that doesn't feel like a tacky souvenir. The thing is, will ever a person want a product based on their own national emblems? Will French really like something inspired in the Eiffel Tower? Or Dutch want any more tulips in their homes? Will Chileans take in copihues for their house decoration?

I felt I needed my own share of copihues to figure it out so I added some into my home space. I was inspired by Mapuche woven textiles motifs which are very geometric and bold. Then I worked with wool felt for making this tray holder that doubles perfectly as a folder holder.

And some days ago, while visiting Pueblito Los Dominicos here in Santiago, I found these beautiful hand-painted doilies. Of course, I couldn't resist and had to buy a pair with copihues. Let's see how it feels to live surrounded by a bunch of them.

The Almgren Silk Weaving Mill

2008-10-09T03:01:00.009-04:00

Yesterday I finally visited this mill-museum I've been meaning to know since I read about it on Redgate Studios' blog (Rebecca came to Stockholm last year for the International Wallpaper Conference and got the chance to visit some other wonderful places). The Almgren silk weaving mill has been in production for almost 170 years which makes it a real living museum. Though I don't know much about weaving, I was equally impressed with the antique looms, the exquisite patterns and diagrams and the untouched working rooms, which are preserved just as they were originally arranged.