Sewing again!

I haven't sewn in some time, let's see...um, over 2 years! I didn't/couldn't bring my sewing machine to Guatemala when we moved. Moving house via luggage is not an easy task. As luck would have it, I was able to purchase a brand new machine in December and bring it back with me! It's taken some weeks to start using it but, I have and I've just begun.

*I got a Brother XL 2600i-love it a lot so far.

Workspace.



My etsy shop featuring my sewn efforts.



I gave my old appleseeds shop on etsy a new life with a new name:

Horse Drawn Wagon // timeworn mayan textiles

I am working with old well loved vintage Mayan traje (clothing). All of it is handmade from the ground up. It's all been woven on a backstrap loom and a lot of pieces are even woven with fiber harvested and made by hand. All of the designs and patters and imagery on the traje is threaded in as the piece is being woven on the loom this technique is called brocade. Guatemala is 65% indigenous Maya Indian and most of them, especially the women, still wear the traditional clothing. All of the clothing is village specific, although plenty of modern Mayans tend to wear whatever they like from which ever town but, for the most part you can tell where someone lives or is from by the huipil they are wearing. Being obsessed with the indigenous culture and absorbing it like a sponge, I find myself living the simple life they do: going to the market everyday, preparing all of my meals from fresh and scratch and just taking life one day at a time. Spending a lot of time in the markets, I have almost become bi-lingual but, not quite, I don't exactly speak 'Spainish' instead I speak 'Guatemalan Market Spanish'. I write this smiling because I think it's funny but, what it really is is just the Spanish I need for my life at the mo'. What I am getting at is I spend a lot of time in the market and that's where most of the used (and new) traje is sold and traded. I've been collecting pieces to sew for a while and it's great to finally be getting around to it!

Deconstructing a vintage Chichicastenango huipil.

The huipil from Chihi is attractive to me in several ways. First, I love the patterns and colours, second, they are thick n' heavy and feel great, third, they are three panels attached by a hand-sewn external seam called a 'randa'. I love the panels because I can simply separate the and make pillows from the outer two panels without even having to cut into them. I have lots of ideas for the use of the middle panel but, haven't gotten to any of them yet. Here are some of the pillows I've made so far:

It's all very exciting to me and I can't wait to venture on to making different things!!

Going into the Basket Business!

After yet another hiatus, I am jumping back into blogging and etsying. My main motivation? Amazing Guatemalan baskets!! I have been thinking about doing this for well over a year and it's finally high time! Yesterday we traveled to a nearby town where they are made. We wanted to go straight to the source and we did. We found the main basket making family and they were thrilled we were buying a whole bunch of their baskets to sell online. They wished us much luck and hoped to see us back again really soon.

I have big plans for selling these baskets. I hope to get them in some shops around the States and sell them like hot cakes on etsy. Check out the store: http://www.etsy.tipico.com/

This is Basket Queen, Carmen Alicia (she loved that our names were similar). She made me promise to bring her a photograph and I will....I am going to give her one of just her and her baskets but, I am going to frame the one (below) of her and her husband for them!

These baskets are incredible. They have endless uses and are super sturdy! They can really take a lot of harsh use with no sign of wear! I've had some for over a year that I use for all of my heavy market shopping and they look as good as new!

***UPDATE***
We now work with and alongside several families making and selling baskets on etsy in the tipico store. This enables the basket makers (which are all indigenous Maya) to earn more than they are used to. Awesome!

a peek at the sidedish shelves

My little online vintage store, sidedish, has been through yet, another period of neglect. But, I am most happy to say that I have the time, inspiration and perfect space to give sidedish some love! While I may fall out of habit or not have time for sidedish here and there I never fail to collect pieces for sidedish. So, here I am once again with an empty store and an excellent stock of items!

Here are 2 snapshots from the shelves of sidedish.

Little Chair Collection

Devouring my most favourite blog ever: Design Sponge ze other day I came across this picture snapped inside wonder woman: Faythe Levine's home! 

I am a long time lover of things small and cute. 

(Not to mention I am an obessive collector of things small and cute!).

 I fell in love with her 'little chair collection' pictured here on her mantle!

So, I went through to see what I could find on etsy just in case any of yous out there would like to start your very own 'little chair collection'!

valance with a view!

pretty swank!

maniera!

Lady Hawthorne

banglespark!

PJs folkart

Susana Klein

tokens of your love

I don't know if you celebrate Valentine's Day. If you do and have a lovey (or loveys!!) in your life that you want to give a 'token of your love' to here are a few gift ideas from etsy. ... .that are all super sweet and just perf!

LOVE this wall decal from: tasty suite!!

poodlebreath

I can't express enough how much I LOVE the stuffs in this store!

(if any one so feels compelled to send me a gift, please let it be this!)

This delicious apple stationary set and lovey bear pin are both from Scatter Box Originals.

Who wouldn't love to get this polar bear with a balloon??

He can be found at Pearson Maron's etsy shop.

Who ever gets this would think of you every time the coze up in this scarflette!

It's in the super cute etsy shop: knitXcorE!!!

This print is so sweet, it will make anyone feel super loved!!!!

I wish they made it in a huge poster size, wouldn't that be the most?

Find this print and a whole bunch of other rad ones at:

ara133photography.

Ciao, I hope you have a lovely day no matter where you are, who you are with or what you do!

etsy front page!

one of my sidedish items (one that i am most fond of!!!) was on the front page of etsy. that's always exciting! it was the brass peanut! which i think is just the cat's pajamas! over 400 people have looked at it and no one has bought it yet. hmmmpf! if they could see it in person, it would have been snatched up many many views ago.

letter(s)

I wonder how much we take them for granted? They are such a huge part of our lives. I started thinking about them yesterday as I was watching the Inauguration coverage on tv. They were showing crowds from FDR's Inauguration day and as I was reading the signs that people were holding up I noticed the text, the fonts...how they are some of the same ones that are widely used today. 

We are clearly surrounded by text in our modern lives, in every room, on every package, around every corner...pretty much every where we look we find words; letters.

So in ode to letters and how very special they are:

I find that showcasing a single letter in your home decor is fun & decadent even! Putting together letters to spell out something can be rather charming as well. Letters to display & decorate with are fairly easy to find. Of course, I am partial to vintage ones. I found lots on etsy. For example:



This delicious green A can be found on etsy in ModishVintage's shop.

These lovely letters PPL can also be found on etsy in jbellantoni's shop!

You can find this amazing red 

E in bluebellbazaar's etsy shop.

my etsy favourites

i am needing all of these things.

Etsy Buy Handmade sidedish