Monday, May 18, 2009

Ikat Patterned Nation

What is it with Ikat? I love it!
It has popped up in countless stores including: Anthropologie, Pottery Barn, and Target. They have created displays which proudly host this ethnic looking fabric.

The primary colored pillows are sold at Pottery barn. They have exaggerated features of the Ikat pattern. None the less, they still carry the theme.


This patterned rug, in a bright unexpected color like pink, is so ecclectically cool.

Because I just finished up my beginning fabric design class, I wanted to know where this pattern comes from.



This woven pattern has many homes across the globe. India, Japan, and areas of South East Asia have used this weaving technique for the longest, but many other countries in South America also use the pattern.
The markings and weaving techniques vary according to their origin.


"Designs may have symbolic of ritual meaning or have been developed for export trade. Ikats are often symbols of status, wealth, power and prestige. Perhaps because of the difficulty and time required to make ikats, some cultures believe the cloth is imbued with magical powers." (Wikipedia.com)


The following pictures were taken in Indonesia by Linda Devolder. (They can also be viewed on her website: http://community.webshots.com/user/lindadevolder/profile)

This is the initial stage of Ikat making…The warp threads are bound with dye-resistant fiber so that they will be protected from the dyebath.

The dye-resistant fibre is removed leaving white uncoloured and indigo-dyed parts.

Ikat ready to be woven.



The weaving of ikat. In Sumbanese weave there are more warps per cm than wefts. By doing this the warp thread can be seen and it is this thread that carries the motifs and decorations. In good quality ikat the weft thread is always very dark, black or dark indigo.



Ikat ready to sell!


Sikkanese ikat weaving is predominantly in maroons, blues and browns. Uzbekistan Ikat fragment






Ecuador

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Indonesia

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Visit this blogger's website:http://indigodye.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Anthropologie sells Ikat patterned bowls like the orange one above. They come in green & blue too! And Ikat clothes!!? I want that dress on the bottom row! (Seen below as well)


The Famous in Ikat

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Craftstravaganzaa Weekend


The Weekend is off to a good start! I was accepted into the Photography program at UGA!



While riding the bus one day...

I saw this house and fell in love with her curtains. The blue & red printed cloth blew in the wind and the sun baked it's lower half.

It Kind of Made My Day.


Melissalee & I about to go into an Athen's thriftstore...AGORA







The Yellowish ones would make great juice glasses...I like short ones.




At AGORA I picked up a fashion magazine and came across this page. This is a dress made out of Metropolitan Museum of Art clips. I saved mine when I went...but I can't imagine a whole dress made of them!

Dream World...Rilo Kiley (press play)


Can't we all just have fantastic closets?!

I'm not a clothes-horse but I wouldn't complain if I had a closet with enough room for a seat and some awesome lighting.



Ah. To live richly.




Ah to have ONE ROOM that replaces a small closet.

Clean

Elegant

Light

Friendly





I especially love the frosted glass sliding doors.

Mod

Pink

Fresh

Sleek


Monday, April 13, 2009

A Healthy Growing Anthropologie Girl

If I could sleep, eat, and work inside of an Anthropologie catalog I would be completely satisfied.
This would be the equivalent to living inside of a snowglobe.
Wonderful


Are those apples??!

And all of the month of april has been eaten!
Did you notice that all the A's are red?
After all, A is for APPLE.


Where to even begin? Anthro has so much to say...





















She has the ability to showcase ordinary things...bringing out the beauty of an austere item. Plastic Bags? Coffee Filters? Old Books? Marshmallows? Paper? Balloons? Cardboard? Plastic Milk Containers? Paper Bags? Plates? String? Clothespins? Straws? Ornaments? Boxes? Socks? Bread??


How cool. You could just use a pamphlet and take more than a couple of pages, curving them to the center, then repeat in collections of 8 or 9. I don't know, maybe they used phonebook pages...












I often ask myself: How long did that take?