Creative vibe!

I've been on a bit of a creative high lately. I'm super-inspired AND I have a lot of energy, so I'm getting things done!

Lucas' swimming bag.

For the start of the school year everyone needs bags, lots and lots of bags. I'm not over-ambitious, so we bought the school bags from the store.

Neat drawstring tunnel.

Pieter is simply using the same bag we bought 2 years ago, when he started primary school. But the need for PE bags, and ballet and karate and swimming bags gave me a good excuse to buy some pretty novelty fabric and get sewing.

Bright orange cord.

So I went by my favorite fabric stores in Leuven last week.

Love the piping!

We used to have just two left: Pauli and Het Wolwinkeltje, but because sewing and knitting is hot again, new stores are popping up all over the place. They all have their own vibe, so I like to scout them all. They might see each other as rivals, but I think it's nice to have the different vibes.

Neat and simple finish with hardware.

Pauli carries only fabric, lots of it, in all qualities and price ranges. There are always a few fabrics I like, and when there is a coupon I like, I buy it, to have some stock for improvised, guilt-free little projects.

Happy robots by Kaufman.

Het Wolwinkeltje has everything for traditional patchwork and quilt, including batting by the yard and good quality sewing thread. They are also the only store I know to carry such a large collection of good quality knitting yarn.

The polka dot fabric is from Pauli.

Habiba is the place to be for funky novelty fabrics, and a small but high quality collection of haberdashery.

Marieke's ballet bag.

I buy my piping there, even though it's twice as expensive as in Veritas. It's simply more beautiful. It's more tightly woven and the cord is white, whereas in the Veritas piping the dark cord shines through the loose weave of the biais ribbon. I want piping to give my work a fine finish, and if the product itself screams 'cheap', I don't see that happening.

All fabrics and piping from Habiba.

I'm not a frequent shopper at Studio Adjectif yet. It's a bit out of the center, although very close to my work.

It's like I'm dreaming...

I generally like the small selection of ecological fabric, but the prices are quite high. It's a very small store, so I can't browse like I can in the other stores. I'm almost always the only customer, so I tend to feel a bit watched. That being said I do like the feel of the store, and I bought the very pretty robot fabric for Lucas' swimming bag there.

Bright pink cord, matches our brigt pink chair cushions.

Veritas is the large chain store, where I go for eyelets, some buttons, zippers, sewing needles and other basic sewing necessities.

Pretty finish.