The Wonderful World of Vogue Fabrics

Laura's Ribbons Let the love-fest begin . Combing through the vast internet I gazed at the blog of one of my favorite textile designers, Laura Foster Nicholson . Oh, I am sure you have seen her ribbons featured in Vogue Patterns Magazine and Belle Armoire . I know you must have gazed upon them on our site ( she has her own section, you know ). So it tickled me to see she was returning the love we feel for her by gushing about us. Yes, Laura, "Loyalty begets loyalty" indeed!!! So why do we love her designs so much? At once they are whimsical and elegant. You can easily adorn a silk dupioni jacket with the same jacquard you put on your toss pillows and quilted tablerunners . One customer used a whole spool of her ribbon to trim drapes and pillowcases in her daughter's room, and used the floral motif as the inspiration for a hand painted wall border. That's what Laura's designs do -- they inspire.  LFN Christmas Ribbons   So, this holiday seas...

The desire to sew has seen a resurgence in recent years.  As the economy tanked, many people dusted off their machines and sewed up items to sell on Etsy , Artfire and other “indie” outlets.  Project Runway continues to inspire us to take a 2-dimensional fabric and drape it into something wearable – the fabric version of Iron Chef .  The continued development of costume-fueled conventions like Anime Central , Comic Con , Costume Con and Reenactor Fest (to name a few) create opportunities for enthusiasts to sew up costumes and garb for themselves and their friends.    Recently on our Facebook Fanpage I posed the question: “What’s on your sewing table right now.” A couple of people were altering clothes or sewing for their kids, but there were a many RenFaire costumes going on (For Bristol Renaissance Faire , per chance?), and several faithful were sewing for their church.   If I were to psychoanalyze this, I would say that the garments...