Artisan Fibres News

June/July 2010

Winter is well and truly here.  We have had some torrential rain with major flooding in some parts of the country. Not here in Christchurch, I am glad to say, but it has been wet and grey.

Not wet and grey in Artisan Fibres, though.  The Gallery is full of vibrant colours with lovely cosy items to jazz up your winter wardrobe.  We have a stunning Shona Schofield jacket.  It is a luscious merino and silk felt in a warm caramel colour that puts me in mind of the finest kid suede.  One of Ria’s cocoons is a mixture of black and fiery reds which makes you feel warm even hanging on its stand.  Barbara brought some neat new patchwork purses in the other day, all sorts of interesting fabrics with colours to match almost any outfit.

Pippa has just finished a commission of a set of six quilted place mats for a customer wanting a New Zealand focused wedding present to send overseas.  We are always happy to custom make to individual requirements.  You only have to ask.

Keep warm, the winter solstice is nearly on us.  With the turn of the year spring can’t be all that far away.

Alison

April 2010

March continued to be lovely but now with daylight saving over and the clocks put back we really are into autumn.  The leaves are turning colour and falling and acorns were scattered on the path and plopping into the river when I went for a walk in the park this morning.  I love the colours of autumn and find they are an inspiration for dyeing reds, browns, oranges and ochre into my scarves - great warm colours for the cooler days ahead.

There is another festival in the city this month.  This time it’s Jazz and Blues from 5th to 11th.  The Arts Centre hosts many of the gigs in the Great Hall.  It is a wonderful venue in this old university complex.

Artisan Fibres is also getting geared up for winter.  Linda Wallace’s hand made felt hats are always popular at this time of the year and we had a new consignment in the other day.  More very popular accessories are Ria’s knitted scarves using hand dyed Touch yarns.  We do not stock this type of Touch as yarn for sale but it is a definite step up from the commercially dyed variety.  Each scarf has that individual stamp that we treasure.  Another treasure that is waiting to be snapped up is a hand woven jacket by Valerie.  It is in a light plum colour with a little funnel turn up at the neckline – very flattering and so cosy for these cooler days.

Pippa