Merry December

Hello, dear friends,

There are few weeks left till Christmas and I hope your feet are staying warm, your mind calm and your spirits high!

November came and went, together with my birthday, first 25 cm of snow, cold cold mornings with ice covering my car, our cat Luna walking around with a satellite receiver around her neck (at six months it was time for her sterilisation) and times spent nursing one or the other family member that got sick.

December started with children rushing downstairs every morning to open another little surprise box in their advent calendar, I am making my last custom bag for this year, also finishing up little holiday presents for the family and the children are helping me with Christmas decorations.

And tidying up my sewing supplies gave me an idea to offer something new in my shop: keychain tassel ornament or purse charm, made from different ribbons, trims, handmade beads and metallic charms from my collection. The tassel is lovely to look at, to touch all the different textures and to hear it jingle between your fingers - yes, there is a little jingle bell attached to every one of them.

Veseli December

November je mimo (prvi sneg, moj rojstni dan, mačka Luna s satelitskim krožnikom okrog vratu - čas je bil za sterilizacijo, negovanje prehlajenih članov družine...), zdaj je čas za bolj prazničen december, odpiranje predalčkov v adventnem koledarju, izdelovanje božičnih okraskov z otroki, šivanje še zadnje torbice po naročilu za letos in tudi nekaj novega se je znašlo v trgovini - pisani trakasti obeski za ključe. 

October news

So much to tell, so little time! Between sewing, taking pictures and editing them there is hardly enought time left to blog about it...

The nature is changing into red, orange and yellow and such is the latest messenger bag in my shop - I added a large dragonfly metallic charm in front and the soft adjustable strap in chocolate brown was chosen over the yellow one thanks to the input from my Facebook followers :-)

The second purse is a Pippa handbag, elegant and petite bag for special occasions - I chose dove grey and dark brown upholstery fabrics with beautiful structure, silver thread for embroidery and some purple and olive green ribbons to add a bit of colour. Handmade kanzashi flower brooch is detachable and can be worn on a bag or on your top to coplete the look.

A new home, anyone? Here are the latest house brooches, don't forget the Christmas tree...

And for all of you who don't have a PayPal account,  Loddelina Etsy shop is now accepting direct credit card payments. You can also purchase a shipping upgrade if you want your package to have a tracking number and insurance.

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Oktobrske novičke

Ko si utrgam čas za šivanje, fotografiranje izdelkov in friziranje fotk v računalniku, komaj ostane kaj časa še za blog! Tukaj je nekaj novosti, dodanih v zadnjih tednih: nova jesenska torba s kačjim pastirjem, elegantna torbica v umirjenih, zimskih tonih s snemljivo broško ter tri hiške broške, ki se že veselijo Dedka Mraza... Po novem lahko v moji trgovini plačujete direktno s kartico, tudi če nimate računa PayPal, zraven pa lahko zahtevate pošiljko s sledenjem in zavarovanjem.

Autumn

I love autumn, the smell of wet leaves, the soft morning mist that promises another sunny day, chestnuts, grapes, apples,.. inspirations are endless.

I have added some autumn zippered pouches in my shop recently, together with some house brooches - I think my shop will need more of both to be ready for the big holiday season...

Obožujem jesen, vonj mokrih listov, nežne jutranje meglice, ki obljubljajo še en sončen dan, kostanj, grozdje in jabolka,... neskončno navdihujoče!
V trgovino sem dodala nekaj novih puščic na zadrgo in majhne hiške broške - obojih bom morala zašiti še precej, da napolnim trgovino pred božično sezono...

August news

August has been a slow month on Etsy and also in my studio since I have both children at home which means more play and less work... But I did manage to add four new messenger bags to my shop these past days - they are all made from gorgeous upholstery fabrics in vibrant autumn colours of olive green, deep purple, red and burnt orange.

All the bags have adjustable straps made from butter soft nylon webbing - I am so delighted with their rich colours and elegant texture that I immediately ordered more so you will be seeing these shoulder straps on all my cross body bags.

And I felt like making a few new house brooches as well, they always cheer me up! I will be adding zipper pouches next, getting ready for back-to-school, so stay tuned!

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Avgustovske novičke

Augusta je na Etsyju zatišje in tudi v mojem studiu je bolj mirno, ker imam oba otroka doma, zato se čez dan bolj igramo in manj delamo... Sem pa vseeno uspela v trgovino dodati štiri nove torbe za čez ramo, vse v bogatih jesenskih odtenkih in z nastavljivimi naramnicami iz mehkega najlonskega traku, ki se krasno nosi in barvno tako lepo dopolni torbico, da sem ga takoj naročila še v drugih barvah in ga boste zdaj videvale na vseh mojih torbicah za čez ramo. 

Zašila sem še nekaj novih hišk brošk, naslenje pa so na vrsti puščice in etuiji na zadrgo - kmalu bo šola!

Back and opened for business

I am back from my summer break, we spent two weeks visiting Slovenia, relaxing in my parents' garden, admiring my mother's flowers and enjoying her cakes (she made this red currant one for my husband's birthday).

Second week of our family vacation was a bit slow due to me catching yet another throat infection (being sick in the hottest part of summer is no holiday) so I am extra glad to be home again, back to my sewing machine, my garden and, oh well, my pile of dirty laundry...

Loddelina shop is again opened for business and I am looking forward to starting some new projects - more to follow...

Have a great week ahead!

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Spet doma po dvotedenskih počitnicah v Sloveniji, kjer smo uživali na vrtu mojih staršev, občudovali mamine rožice in se sladkali z njenimi tortami (tole ribezovo je spekla za možev rojstni dan). Drugi teden počitnic mi je pokvarila zoprna viroza in biti bolan v najhujši vročini ni noben piknik zato sem še toliko bolj vesela, da sem spet doma, kjer me čaka šivalni stroj, moj vrt in seveda gora umazanega perila...  

Loddelina je odprla trgovino in komaj čakam, da se lotim novih projektov - več sledi...

Lep nov teden vsem!

Happy holidays

The school is almost over for my children and today I made little hearts, filled with lavender, that they will take to their teachers next week.

It is also time to tidy up my sewing space, list the most recent bag in Etsy shop and prepare for a short holiday with my family. I will be back soon, with some fresh plans for the new season, hopefully some more yummy fabrics and lots of pictures you can follow in my Instagram gallery.

Have a great weekend

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Šole bo kmalu konec in danes sem za učiteljice zašila majhne srčke, napolnjene s sivko. Zdaj je čas, da malo pospravim šivalnico, objavim najnovejšo torbico v Etsy trgovini
in se pripravim na kratke počitnice z družino. Kmalu se vrnem, polna svežih idej in z novimi kosi blaga, več fotgrafij pa lahko najdete v moji galeriji na Instagramu.

Lep vikend vsem!

forget me not

We have finally gotten a break and some warmer, dryer weather is on its way.
The cold, rainy weeks haven't been very creative but time was not wasted; I spent many evenings cuddled up on the couch watching DVDs and crocheting tiny flowers.

Here is the result, a large zippered wristlet, made from dark navy blue, almost grey cool wool cloth (the kind used for men's suits) and sewn on are tiny crochet flowers in light green hues, with blue embroidered stems.

The wristlet is lined with hand dyed cotton canvas in fresh cobalt blue and it has one mint green interior slip pocket.

Since little flowers remind me of forget-me-nots, I embroidered their French name, "ne m'oublie pas", on the back.
Don't forget, the summer is bound to come!



Spominčice

Končno smo dočakali tudi toplejše in bolj suho vreme! Ker sem pretekle deževne in zimsko mrzle večere v glavnem preždela na kavču ob gledanju DVDjev, sem uspela nakvačkati za manjši travnik rožic - zdaj je v trgovini na voljo nova torbica iz temno mornarsko modrega, skoraj sivega volnenega blaga, posuta s cvetkami, ki imajo izvezena stebla. Ker me rožice spominjajo na spominčice, sem na zadnjo stran torbice izvezla njihovo francosko ime "ne m'oublie pas". 
Ne pozabite, poletje zagotovo pride!

Vibrant colours for spring

I have added two new PUPA shoulder bags to my shop recently, both made from gorgeous, shimmering chenille upholstery fabrics that I purchased during my visit to Slovenia (I could only bring back a few smaller pieces since I was traveling by plane - next car trip I will definitely get some more).

PUPA bag is a classic Loddelina design in soft, roomy shape, with a decorative and very handy zipper pocket in the back (for phone or coin purse) plus a new feature, a key holding swivel hook on a long strap that allows you to unlock your front door without even taking your bag off the shoulder!

Bags are decorated with a large starfish applique in corduroy that I freehand embroidered and shoulder straps are made from multicoloured striped canvas.

The sky is grey these days and the rain doesn't seem to stop so a bit of bright colour is just what the doctor ordered!



Živahne barve za pomlad

V mojo trgovino sem dodala dve malhasti torbi PUPA, narejeni iz sočne šenilje, ki je sicer namenjena oblazinjanju pohištva. Pupa je mehka in prostorna torba za na ramo, ki ima na zadnju strani dekorativen in zelo uporaben žep za telefon ali denarnico. Na notranji je novost, kaveljček za ključe na dolgem traku - tako lahko vhodna vrata odklenete, ne da bi torbo snele z rame.

Torbe krasi našita morska zvezda iz rebrastega žameta, ki je po vrhu prostoročno povezena, in večbarvne črtaste naramnice.

Crochet lace covered stone

Holidays are a perfect time for crocher experiments so I took my crochet hooks with me to Slovenia this week. I must have been the only one in the whole train not playing with an iPad or reading a book on Kindle but instead happily occupied with my analog entertainment, crochet.

I have long admired crochet lace covered stones on Etsy and wanted to give it a try myself. That meant going beyond the basic crochet flower and learning new stitches to cover the entire front of the stone.

I improvised a lot and managed to come to the other side of the stone, where I used a temporary yellow thread to tighten the loose hooks and then crochet around it to finish the cover. 

Pictured with the finished stone is a beautiful ceramic plate, made by a fellow Etsy artist Tika.

V kvačkano čipko oblečeni kamni

Že od nekdaj na Etsyju občudujem v čipkaste mojstrovine oblečene okrogle kamne, zato sem se odločila, da še sama poskusim narediti kaj podobnega. Najprej sem se morala naučiti še nekaj vbodov poleg osnovnih rožic, da napolnim celo zgornjo ploskev kamna, sledilo je veliko improviziranja in prispela sem na spodnjo ploskev, kjer sem zanke povlekla skupaj in jih obkvačkala. Krožniček na sliki je delo ustvarjalke Tike. 

Fabric hunt and a new clutch for the summer

On my last fabrics and supplies hunt I came across a shop in Besançon selling mostly decorative upholstery fabrics and curtains. After I explained to the owner what I needed fabrics for, he invited me into the back room and showed me cardboard boxes, full of scraps, leftovers and fabric swatches. He told me local schools often come to him looking for smaller, inexpensive scraps to make different sewing projects.

I happily dug into those boxes and found some interesting, large enough pieces of upholstery jacquard and other sturdier fabrics, mostly in neutral colours with plenty of potential. There was also a vibrant palette of chenille swatches and couldn't wait to get home and start mixing and matching the colours.

The result are these three large clutches in cotton corduroy, decorated with stripes of chenille - as there was only a small swatch of each colour, these clutches are one of a kind. All three are now available in my shop.


Lov na tkanine in nova torbica za poletje

Pred kratkim sem na lovu za novimi šivalnimi materijali naletela na trgovino z dekorativnimi tekstilijami in zavesami v Besançonu. Prijazni lastnik, ki sem mu razložila, za kakšen namen kupujem, me je povabil v skladišče in mi pokazal kartonaste škatle, polne ostankov in odrezkov. Menda k njemu pogosto hodijo šole, ki iščejo poceni materijal za šivalne projekte, jaz pa sem se z velikim veseljem zakopala v škatle in našla precej uporabno velikih kosov v nevtralnih barvah, ki jih bom zlahka uporabila. Kot prve sem razrezala pisane vzorčke šenilje, ki sem jih uporabila za proge na novih torbicah iz rebrastega žameta - vse tri torbice so že na voljo v moji trgovini.

Inspiration: France

Being an expat in France has its advantages - and I am not only talking about more than 350 varieties of cheese...
I mostly enjoy observing the local architecture, especially windows, shutters and doorways, and am always discovering charming details, be it in larger towns like Besançon and Dijon or small town houses in my neighbourhood (Pontarlier).
Here is a collage of images, taken by me in the last month and posted to my Instagram album.

Have a great weekend!

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Življenje v Franciji ima svoje prednosti, pa ne govorim samo o neštetih vrstah sira - zelo rada opazujem metstno arhitekturo, predvsem okna z očarljivimi polknami in vhode v stavbe, pa naj bo v večjih mestih (Dijon, Besançon) ali našem malem Pontarlieru. Tule je izbor slik iz mojega Instagram albuma, posnetih v zadnjem mesecu.
Lep vikend želim vsem skupaj!

Hooked

I have been working on a custom order bag this week (and it will be finished tomorrow, I promise) but I couldn't stop myself from going back to my crochet hooks in between cutting and sewing.

After my first attempt at crochet flowers a month ago I got completely hooked and this past week I have been working with the tiny hook number 1 and some skinny ecru cotton yarn to make lacy crochet flowers and rosettes. I can't read crochet patterns and have only learned the basics from internet tutorials  so I am making up stiches as I go.
I did find one very user-friendly tutorial at a blog writen by a pattern analphabet like myself  - Mandy writes a delightfully simple tutorial for a very sweet flower HERE and you can see the final results in my blurry iPod picture below (the little flower on the lower right corner of the right photo).

Zakvačkana

Ta teden šivam torbo po meri (več v naslednjem postu), a si ne morem kaj, da ne bi vsake toliko časa sedla k mojim kvačkam. Odkar sem pred kratkim spet pogruntala kvačkanje rožic, sem čisto ujeta in moj zadnji projekt so čipkaste rozetke, kvačkane z mini kvačko št. 1. TULE najdete link do še posebej enostavnega opisa izdelave luštne rožice - opis je zlasti za takšne kot jaz, ki ne znamo brati kvačkarskih hieroglifov.

Easter eggs

I am loooonging for spring, so much more since mother nature sent another shippment of snow when we were all ready for flowers instead.

I started with Easter decorations this weekend, I blowed out some eggs (for the very first time, turns out it is very easy) but wasn't sure how I wanted to decorate these empty shells. At the end I decided to leave them naturally brown and make some paper hangings instead.

A while ago I picked up a couple of old, yellowing books at the local antique store. For paper Easter eggs I ripped out some pages and leaving them together, drew my egg shape in pencil and then sewed down the middle with my sewing machine. The thread kept tangling up so I ended up piercing only the holes with my sewing machine's needle and later sewing the line by hand. (Needless to say, pardon the pun, I had to replace my needle later as paper sewing damages it too much for fabric use).

Once the sewing was done, I left a longer piece of thread on top to attach the egg and then I cut the shape out. I carefully folded all the pages up and sorted them evenly around the centre. One may use more sheets of paper to create a thickly layered egg or use less and glue them together alternating between top and bottom to get the accordion effect.

The three paper eggs hang from our dining table pendent lamp and the three natural egg shells ended up  in a little wire basket, on top of some paper straw and cuttings from the same book pages, accompanied by a pink pot flower.

Happy decorating!


Velikonočna jajčka
Že kar meša se mi od pričakovanja pomladi, zunaj pa spet nova pošiljka snega! Kljub temu se ne dam in sem se prejšnji vikend lotila velikonočnega okraševanja jedilne mize. Na visečo svetilko nad mizo sem obesila tri papirnata jajčka, izrezana iz porumenelih listov stare knjige, zašitih skupaj, izpihane jajčne lupine pa sem položila v žičnato košarico, postlano s papirnato slamo in izrezki iz iste knjige.
Veselo okraševanje!

Bag loving blogs Blog Hop

Christine, a talented blogger from ChrisW Designs blog suggested this blog hop, a wonderful way for all bag makers to get to know eachother.

If you wish to join, follow Christine's instructions:

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What do you have to do? It's easy! (Please note links now require approval due to spamming :( so will be approved after all 3 steps have been carried out! Please make sure your blog has posts about BAGS!)

Step 1) Just add your blog link below by clicking on the "Click here To Enter" link and follow the easy steps to add your blog!

*Step 2) IMPORTANT! Click on the "Get the code here" link shown to grab your copy of the code and add it to your blog! Please include these instructions so that new members will know what to do! :)

*Step 3) Grab this button: (Right Click and Save)

and pop it in your sidebar linking to your Bag Lovin Blog Hop post so that we can leave this blog hop open and people can keep finding it and hopping on! :) 

After all 3 steps have been completed, your link will be approved and added to the blog hop! :)

That's it! :)

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Happy hopping!

http://blog.chriswdesigns.com/2013/03/bag-loving-blogs-blog-hop.html


Poziv vsem "torbičarkam"!

Če želite sodelovati v tej blogovski izmenjavi, sledite navodilom, ki jih najdete na zgornji povezavi in se pridružite rastočemu seznamu blogov ter spoznajte še druge sorodno kreativne duše. Hop!

Sprrrrrriiiiiiiiing!

After I posted my last story about learning how to crochet again, the flu season came around and between nursing my children and myself for weeks, everything had to be put on hold...

But I am back, with some fresh, colourful items in my shop, which is better than a vitamin shot as far as I am concerned.

new Pippa bag with crochet flowers

First I finished the bag I started working on before I fell ill - it is a small shoulder bag Pippa, adorned with freshly picked crochet flowers. It felt strange to pick up my work after a month's pause, I am not yet sure what to think of it but as every new thing it needs time to set in. I have made some new, vibrant crochet flowers in the meantime and I am determined to give it another try.

And last week, to my great surprise, one of Loddelina items made it to Etsy's front page! Features of this kind have been few and far between so I was delighted to see how much attention little coin purse got afterwards, there were tons of hearts and shop views. So many in fact that I decided to make more of this reverse star applique design - and here they are, four new coin purses in my shop since last night.

four new coin purses are now available in my shop

I wish you all a great week ahead!

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Pomlad!

Kmalu po moji zadnji objavi nas je ujela epidemija gripe in ko sem končno pozdravila sebe in otroka, je bil naokrog ves mesec. Zdaj sem spet v formi, z novimi pisanimi torbicami v trgovini. Najprej sem dokončala torbico Pippa, okrašeno z mojimi kvačkanimi rožicami - hecno, po enomesečni prekinitvi mi prvotna ideja nekako ni več sedla v srce, a za prvi poskus bo v redu, čaka me še cel kup novo nakvačkanih rožic in odločena sem, da bom poskusila še enkrat.

Zadnji teden pa se je zgodil manjši čudež, moja mala denarnica z zvezdo je prišla na Etsyjevo prvo stran, kar se ni pripetilo že celo večnost, zato sem še toliko bolj vesela vseh srčkov in obiskov trgovine, ki so sledili. Odločila sem se, da hitro zašijem še nekaj novih barvnih inačic zvezde in zdaj so tukaj, v moji trgovini.

Lep teden želim vsem skupaj!

Learn a new craft

A new year, a new craft, that is what Etsy blog suggested the other day. So I decided it was as good time as any to finally try to learn to crochet small flowers I have been wanting to add to my designs for a long time. My mother taught me crochet basics when I was a little girl but I haven't touched the hooks and yarn since...

However, with a little help from YouTube tutorials for beginners I learned to crochet several diffenent flowers in no time! First attempts were a bit awkward but after one week of crocheting I have over 40 flowers ready to be appliqued to my bags.

 trial and error

Tiny and small 5 petal flowers (6 petals are a result of a welcome mistake in counting)

You can find the tutorials HERE and HERE.

I also llike these ruffled flowers, perfect for adding pearls in the middle or plain and simple, resembling a chrysanthemum. Find the tutorial HERE.

Do you have and interesting crocheting tutorial? Please share!

Nauči se novo spretnost

Čas je že bil, da se končno naučim kvačkati rožice, s katerimi si že dolgo časa želim okrasiti moje torbice. Mama me je sicer že davno tega naučila osnov kvačkanja, pa sem do danes vse pozabila in tako   spet prvič prijela za kvačko. K sreči je na YouTube-u polno navodil za začetnike in tako sem se v enem tednu naučila kvačkati tri različne rožice in jih do zdaj naredila že čez 40. 
Zgornje, s petimi lističi (ali šestimi, kar se je zgodilo kot dobrodošla napaka pri štetju zank) sem naredila v dveh velikostih, spodnja, skuštrana, pa je še posebej zanimiva, ker jo lahko naredimo poljubno gosto, dodamo perlice, brez pa še najbolj spominja na krizantemo. 
Povezave so pod slikami, če imate tudi ve kakšno zanimivo kvačkarijo, jo prosim delite!