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Thursday 9 July 2015

Fabric and blue skies

Hi everyone and how is your week going? I feel I'm getting back to normal again, back to my old self with the routines of work and home life. This is good! It also means I'm thinking of sewing again, last Sunday I just didn't have the notion for it at all.

I thought I'd start by showing you some of the fabric I bought in Lisbon. The bright pink (or is it magenta?) paisley pattern was just calling my name! So I bought 3 metres of it. It's a 100% woven viscose fabric bought off the roll for about 9 euros a metre. Oh, and it's 150cm wide. I don't know what I'll make with it yet, perhaps a shirt and a top as there's enough fabric for both. I just can't seem to get dresses to fit properly on me and I suspect I'd need to do some serious muslin-ing!

Here's a gratuitous blue sky photo of Lisbon where I bought the fabric. See how scorched the grass is? In Edinburgh the grass is lush and green....three guesses why that is!

I just loved the whole experience of buying the fabric! I went to a shop called 'Feira dos Tecidos' in Rossio square. According to their plastic bag there are other branches around Portugal. Picture it...a tall, pale tourist wanders into a fabric shop full of portuguese ladies who take pity on her as she must have mistakenly walked into the wrong shop! All eyes were on me. Somehow, despite me not speaking a word of Poruguese, and the shop assistants not speaking a word of English, the cutting was done, the cash paid and I walked out the shop with two pieces of fabric.

Yes, TWO pieces of fabric. The other piece was in a box full of other fabric pieces, all at 4 euros each piece. I reckon it's 150cm wide by a metre long. It's also a 100% woven viscose.

Those are genuine-straight-from-the-suitcase creases. no fancy messing around with ironing and all that! After these photos both fabrics went straight into the washing machine to be pre-washed.

I did think about making an infinity scarf with this piece but now I'm thinking of a simple tshirt? There's enough fabric and it always seems a waste to make a scarf when you could make 'proper clothes' instead.

Belem Tower, Lisbon









More gratuitous blue sky. It really was that blue! And hot. Scroll down if you want to see some more blue sky, because let's face it, you're not going to see sky that blue in Scotland this summer!

Pena Palace, Sintra
I think Pena Palace in Sintra was where the Portuguese royal family lived in the summer, escaping the heat of Lisbon. It reminded me a bit of Port Meirion in Wales with its coloured buildings.

I've wandered off the sewing! But I wanted to show you the fabrics I bought and who doesn't love photos of blue skies?

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