BirdBrain Designs

Birdbrain

and now a bag made from a leather sofa

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Working with recycled leather is always a surprise. Before Christmas my friend, Margaret, offered me a leather sofa that her family no longer needed. I’ve used new upholstery remnants for bags before so I was eager to see this used upholstery. They kindly stripped the leather from its frame and Margaret delivered two large bags absolutely brimming with leather pieces. The sofa was a deep chocolate brown, but the back side of the leather was red. Where the leather was worn the red had come through giving the leather a beautiful burnished patina. 

Below you can see the first Sofa Bag. It is a day bag 11″ x 8.5″ x 3″ with an adjustable leather strap. Inside it is lined with red denim from the Textile Museum sale with a zippered pocket–there is the last of that great striped upholstery sample–and a leather slip pocket. The zipper is durable metal and the low-key hardware matches. This is a unique bag, making ethical use of recycled leather and making a fashion statement at the same time. 

two bags from a pair of leather jeans

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A while ago I found a pair of leather jeans in my favourite used clothing store. These are not just any leather jeans, but some that belonged to a large elegant man. The leather is excellent quality, made in Canada, and as you can see from the label, they are BIG!

I managed to get two bags from the one pair. The first bag has a double exterior pocket and the second, one patch pocket. The adjustable cross-body straps came from another piece of leather but everything else is from the jeans. Both bags have a zippered pocket inside as well as a double slip pocket. They close with a heavy duty metal zipper and have matching hardware. Each bag is approximately 12.5″ x 12.5″ x 4.5″. These bags will carry all you need for everyday of for travel.

I love to use recycled leather, especially when it is of this quality. And the lining is a remnant from the Textile Museum sale, the pockets, upholstery samples. There is so much waste in the fashion business. How great to give these jeans a second and third life!

the traveller bag in black

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After a break from making bags, I am filling orders again. Here is an up-close look at the latest Traveller bag. It is made of black Italian leather with a large exterior zippered pocket and several interior pockets including one with a zipper. This cross-body bag is meant for travelling. Carry it hands-free or shorten the strap to carry it under your arm. The bag has a double bottom and is lined in striped canvas.

The starry leather tabs for the strap are what I love about handmade. They are made from small remnants I found on a recent trip and make me smile each time I see them. Bag is 14″ x 14″ x4″.

hooked runner almost finished…finally

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It has been very cold and icy in Ontario this week. Wednesday everything was closed as we had a day of ice pellets and freezing rain. This is perfect weather for finishing my village runner. Below you see it as it was Tuesday with one block border done. 

And here it is on Friday with one border left to go. It is approximately 15″ x 40″. You can see from the canvas at the end that I was undecided about the side borders. In the end I decided that the houses were the focus, followed by the sky and that the border needed to recede, to be there as an anchor, rather than a feature.  Next steps, finish the border, whip and press. I’ll be back with the finished piece on the table in a week. Btw–if you look closely you will see some changes from the top to the bottom–little refinements which will continue until it is off the frame. 🙂

the virtuous and useful pouch–did I say they are adorable?

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I use every inch of my leather and what’s more…I enjoy it. These pouches are made from recycled leather clothing–skirts and jackets–and the final pieces of my favourite fuchsia dot and lipstick red. Their inspiration was the piece of gorgeous African cloth I got at the last sale at the Textile Museum of Canada. You can see it peaking out in the first photo.

Pouches have all sorts of uses. When I travel I always have three of four with me. The small ones are to store different currencies and to keep track of my receipts. The bigger ones are for makeup or pencils/notebook.

These pouches have a beautiful texture and that alone could justify their existence–but their virtue is their usefulness and their environmental quotient. Check the online store if you would like one.

some thoughts on 2019, slow stitching, recycling, using up and paying attention

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It has been over a month since I’ve written here. What was once a daily adventure for me, writing my blog and connecting to readers, has become a rarity. As I’ve told you before I’ve been posting on instagram and enjoying the connections and inspiration there. It’s quick and fun to hear from others and see what they are doing. Slowly I’ve been giving slow stitching, sustainability and reducing waste more and more thought. So, it’s time to share some of my musings and projects.

Several years ago I was on a cycling trip in Austria when we came upon the Geiger mill. Geiger, like Marimekko, is a brand I have loved since my teens. I was thrilled to visit the factory and to purchase some remnants. You can see the blog post here with the photo of the pile of beautiful boiled wool remnants.

I’ve been sewing in the last year, using remnants from my bins and the Textile Museum sales. (I line my leather bags with the off-cuts I find there.) There was a time I sewed all of my clothes, actually wove the fabric first and then sewed. But then a career and a family intervened. I sold my looms and packed up my sewing machines. After I retired I started rug hooking and then making leather bags. And then over the last couple of years I started slowly to make some of my clothes from the remnants I had on hand.

One of the big differences now is the global sewing community available online. Below are two pieces I made from a pattern designer in the UK, Tara at Paper Theory, using her versatile LB Pullover. I encourage you to read Tara’s reflections on ‘slowing fashion down’ and buying ‘ethically’. I’ve written here before about my principles of buying second-hand or handmade from local artisans. This year I have added to that by beginning once again to make my own fashion using recycled and remnant fabrics. I hope you’ll follow me here on my journey.

The tops below are from the Geiger boiled wool and I’ve been wearing them non-stop in frigid Ontario January. The pattern used is Paper Theory’s LB Pullover.

And below is a new day bag for an order. It is made from a recycled leather jacket. The first photo shows the jacket before being cut, the second the finished bag. The quality of the leather is high and it was a pleasure to sew with and to give it new life. 

two new bags for christmas

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Here are two new custom-made bags which are on their way to be given at Christmas. They are each 11″x 11″x 4″ with adjustable shoulder straps and metal zippers. The first is made from two textures of beautiful caramel leather with a double external pocket and inside a zipper pocket and a leather phone pocket. The second which is made of chocolate and tan leathers has a flap with magnetic closure, an external zipper pocket and three pockets inside. Both are handsome day bags which are comfortable and easy to wear. I hope they become favourites!

falling in love with Portugal part 2: Lisbon

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We had four glorious days in Lisbon at the start of our holiday. My son and I got there early in the day so had extra time to explore the city. We walked up the steep streets to an art store I wanted to check out, Ponto das Artes Chiado. (Ironically we found a second location about 3 blocks from our apartment in Alcantara–but more on that later.) The views looking back were spectacular. 

I fell in love with the sidewalks, seeing rug border designs everywhere. 

Our apartment was a couple of blocks from the LX Factory, a reimagined art and design space in a former industrial complex. The Ponte 25 Abril Bridge which spans the Tagus soars overhead.  Below  is LX Factory with the landmark bridge in the background and my sketch from an outdoor cafe. This is where, we found a second Ponto das Artas store.

   

This is the view of the Tagus from our apartment windows.  You can see the pillars of the bridge on either side of the photo. It totally dominates the area, in some cases just skimming roof tops. Below you can see the bridge from the distance of one of the seven hills in Lisbon.

And finally a photo of the spectacular colours of Lisbon. The white stonework set against the blue of the sky, the yellow walls and the clay-red roofs. This is the Augusta Street arch, Virtutibus Maiorum: to the virtues of the greatest. 

falling in love with Portugal: part one, Ericeira

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I’ve just returned from 11 days in Portugal, travelling with my older son and family. We spent a week in Ericeira Portugal, a small village about 45 minutes up the coast from Lisbon. And before I knew it, I had fallen in love with the place–the landscape, the food, and the warm, helpful people. Ericeira is an active fishing village with all that entails–the boats and nets, the protected harbour with the gnarly old men playing chess, the freshly-caught fish. But it is also a surfing spot with wonderful low-profile facilities for surfers from around the world. The coastline has been designated a World Surf Reserve–such a wise move on Portugal’s part. 

We stayed right in town and enjoyed what it had to offer–outstanding seafood, an excellent grocery store, surf shops, cafes, magnificent beaches.

I had lots of time to sketch and our airbnb had two (!) balconies from which to view the many red-roofed buildings and the ocean! My favourite cafe was right by the sea wall and it served a delicious Galao in a very sketchable mug–the colour of the tiled rooves, of course.  

There were lots of narrow streets with great shadows and geometric shapes. Many, many of the buildings in town were painted with blue stripes on the corners and bases. It was a hard blue to capture.

Here I am sketching on the top balcony with the Atlantic peaking through. How perfect. And below our first meal in Ericeira, octopus. Fabulous! 

first two hooked pillows

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These are the first pillows made from my hooked villages. Each one has a fabric frame around it, a fabric back and closes with an invisible zipper. The hooking is inspired by the work of Ton Schulten.  I love how he uses values and geometric blocks to build his landscapes. You can read the story and the evolution of the work here.