New design

I have been meaning to add a mobile phone / gadget cozy to my shop for some time now but never knew which size to chose to make it as versatile as posible. The decision was made a few days ago when my husband came home with his brand new iPhone :). I made a test cozy for his phone, making it just large enought to fit the device snugly so no velcro or magnetic closures were necesarry. There is a small pocket in the back for a card and the cozy is lined with soft and thick wool cloth for extra padding.

The second case (the first was plain, no nonsense, masculine version) I decorated with Christmas tree embroidery and red corduroy applique on charcoal wool cloth. I quite like the result and will be adding a few iPhone 4 and 4S cozies to my shop next week. Other sizes might be available upon request, I am always open to suggestions. Stay tuned...

Lovely Clusters catalog

One of the blogs I love to follow is called Lovely Clusters, a place of neverending inspiration, beautiful colours and textures. Each year Rachel from Lovely Clusters publishes two catalogs, carefully selecting and matching lovely items into colour themes.

In the new Lovely Clusters Fall/Winter 2011/12 catalog my zippered pouch got featured in Harvest Orange section - thank you, Rachel!

Just leave the new catalogue out for Santa and you won't be dissapointed this Christmas...

How many is too many?

I recently purchased some new spools of thread - they were on sale so I couldn't resist :)

But coming back home I realized I already have most of these colour shades - or do I?
I keep my spools sorted by colour in a cardboard box and the new spools didn't all fit so I had to take out those that were too close in hue. But how to choose between midnight blule and navy blue, between lemon yellow and corn yellow?

I managed to trim my selection down so now most spools fit in the box...

New in my shop

I listed another large City Tote today, this one is made from fine dark olive green corduroy in combination with cheerful striped cloth in pink, purple and pea green. Comfortable, broad shoulder straps are made from the same striped cloth and inside of the bag is lined with khaki canvas.

Over the weekend I experimented with shapes again and made this large, square wristlet from neutral linen blend - I adorned the front and back with some freehand embroidery and added a handmade bobbin lace that I've bought in Slovenia. 

The region of Idrija in Slovenia has a long tradition of bobbin lace making; this delicate lace, often with flower motifs or heart shaped, is made from fine cotton thread, twisted and pleated over little pins in a round pillow. Click HERE to read more about this fascinating technique.

I've purchased several different pieces of bobbin lace, I will mostly use them for decorating smaller purses...

Monthly Newsletter

This month I am celebrating the 10th anniversary of Loddelina, ten years of more or less continued creating of handmade bags and other accessories. I recently found a box of my very first handbag designs, the early attempts of sewing and trying out patterns (I will share some of them in one of my next posts).

I have learned a lot since then, mostly through trial and error but what other way is there? And I am still learning, my latest task was to finally start Loddelina newsletter, a monthly issue with fresh shop news, a look into my work in progress and announcements of special offers and events.
So here it is, the October issue, put together with the help of MailChimp, internet mailing service. If you wish to subscribe to the newsletter, please click HERE - at the end of this month I will randomly pick someone from the list who will receive this Loddelina keychain charm.