LaTouchables Bags and Things---a little story with a thread running through it...

Olive and Bark

2012-01-30T13:59:00.000-08:00

I was inspired to make a very simple thing, using color and texture as contrast, and nothing else, with all new materials, and a vintage bone bead.

Like my niece, I'm inspired by people, and one of my online friends (actually one of 'you') made a suggestion in another blogpost that I couldn't stop thinking about. Sandra, of zsazsazsu, said that simple designs are the best. Her beautiful modern minimalistic accessories (found HERE) can attest to that.

I know it's simple, but it smells good!

Remember Green?

2012-01-26T05:56:00.000-08:00

...last May...

...remember the taste of fresh tomatoes?

Remember being at the top of a mountain in short sleeves?

Things start looking real GOOD here right around April...just two more months!

My first woven piece...

2012-01-24T01:18:00.000-08:00

Learning a new discipline is fun, albeit time-consuming and nerve-commanding...

After realizing that the rest materials I was using from my instructor's stash was producing a beautiful and itchy scarf, I decided to literally 'cut' my losses and make it a gain.

I am in love with the stripes I made! I chose the colors with purpose, as each rest came to an end. The effect I was working for was warm and cool, clean and bright, with neutral parts that highlighted the brights. A seemingly random effect was achieved--as if I had effortlessly groped in a basket of colourful yarn, choosing the first that came to hand. That was the exciting thing about it--and it took ten hours!!!!

Okay, I'm a beginner.

Weaving is far more complicated than I had hoped, but who am I to complain--weaving is an ancient art developed over thousands of years ago. I have gained far more respect and appreciation for all materials, and will never look at a hand-woven product in quite the same way again.

This will become something--a curtain or wall hanging or table runner, or little pillow...

More experimenting...

2012-01-21T05:20:00.000-08:00

Something primal, primitive.

A bangle made of wool, silk, bone, and leather...

While photo-editing I was listening to this sad song that actually made me happy...

...because it's so beautiful--the song (here)

Faraway Eyes...work in progress...

2012-01-18T21:24:00.000-08:00

I love the 'yarn' I've used in the front of this pouch--I was inspired by a technique I saw in a piece made by Yael, and I had to try it right off.

This is a pouch for carrying your glasses, or anything you love having close to you.

It is to be worn around the neck, and falls to the stomach.

It's gorgeous, and soft!

The Face of LaTouchables! Interview, with one-word answers (we tried) :-)

2012-01-15T07:20:00.000-08:00

Stats:

Straight-A student, whiz at math, chemistry, physics, English. Speaks English fluently, Spanish, reads Latin...reads heavy literature in English. Studying Kafka in German. Loves noodles, steak, apple pancakes, navy blue. Expert at skiing. Brilliant at tennis. Goes jogging. Loves going to hockey games. Loves reading thrillers in her free time...LOVES Friday nights!

...and much much more...

A little interview:

'What is your favorite food?'

'Rosemary potatoes!'

'If you could do anything in the world, what would it be?'

'Fly to Mars!'

'Okay, I could do something else--be completely social-thinking and give out houses to everyone who needed one. But I was thinking egoistically. Oh my god!'

'Music?'

'Adele.'

'What was a key moment in your week?'

'My key moment--as if I had key moments!' *ha-ha-ha-ha!*

(I'm quite sure that her whole life has been a key moment up till now---ahhh, to be 17 again!)

'What inspires you?'

'People.'

'Ask us a question...'

'What a silly question!'

*What is she thinking of? Which planet does she come from?*

'Okay, what is your source of inspiration?'

'Where would you like to be in ten years?'

'Let me think, I'll be 28...at least I'll have ended my studies, and can travel around the world with a great job, and a pocket-full of sunshine!'

Zaz, Je Veux--some feel-good music...

2012-01-14T09:09:00.000-08:00

Open this link to listen to a wonderful song by the French sensation, Zaz: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ9zeDd0mpg

Experimenting...

2012-01-11T12:24:00.001-08:00

It's soft, and feels good on the wrist. I love the look--hard to describe--can you help me?

Frances decides to show her eyes today...

2012-01-10T02:53:00.001-08:00

Although quite shy, Frances decided to show her eyes because she wasn't posing in the nude.

It's a cool-to-the-touch cowl, small, loose, to be slipped over the head. No seams, made entirely of easy-to-wash, ocean-spray grey viscose, simple and elegant for that woman who wants a little something around her neck but can't stand warmth or tightness.

Are you ready to see her eyes?

I'm warning you, she's drop-dead gorgeous...

Almost 60 years old, and never ever had a surgical treatment. Doesn't even use moisterizer...

That's Frances. Sometimes she scares me when I walk into the dark studio at nights...last night I jumped!

Never ever thought I'd make a pink tote. And it's really not my color, but this material is so beautiful, and the tote is absolutely lovable. My nod to Valentine's Day.

100% cotton fine wale corduroy, ticking, leather, magnetic snap, 2 slip pockets, one pencil slip, and a caribiner on a cord. All new materials....

But what does it look like on?

2012-01-06T11:11:00.000-08:00

Yayyy, I finally got a good photo of this bag...

I love it! Thank you, Sweetie!

Colour Inspiration...

2012-01-04T07:10:00.001-08:00

This tunnel leads me into the tobacco fields north of our village. I speed through on my bicycle, ringing my bell, and soon I am into sunshine, a world of birds, brooks, meadows, insects, trees, light flickering through fluttering green leaves, bathing the bicycle path in shafts of golden light..........who am I kidding. In winter, on a day like today, everything is in hibernation. But...

...today I went to the city and visited the little shop where I can find lamb skins. It was closed, but the old man let me in and said, 'I am open for you.' I could have danced the tango with him--without falling down because his shop is so tiny and stuffed skywards with boxes, papers, odds-and-ends...and I found this wonderfully soft skin in shades of metal grey.

Then just a short walk away I peeked into another little workshop--my Togoan contact, who keeps a tidy pile of wax cotton from West Africa and Indonesia--this piece spoke to me--from The Ivory Coast. Look at the sheen. The quality is remarkable.

Working on a band...

New Year, New Beginnings...

2011-12-29T07:51:00.000-08:00

Life seems to be just beginning...

...in my 50's.

The time is here to explore...

...it will never stop for me, so I must merge with it...

There is no better time...

Being in tune for now...

...is the best I can do.

A Walk Before Night Falls...

2011-12-26T09:51:00.000-08:00

Three minutes by foot from our back door...the playground is empty, just a couple of dog walkers in the distance...

It's late, and I won't have time to do the roundtrip I had planned...but a little walk is better than no walk at all.

...oops, missed my face.

...there are some gardens which border the farmland at the edge of the woods.

...and some chicken coups.

Providence...an empty bench. How does the world look supine?

Oh wow...a glider.

Austerity meets grace.

Take care, our storks have returned. Please do not trespass on their territory reserve. Thank you, the local authorities.

Back the same way I came. This red-head has caught my eye.

...and I have caught theirs.

...back into the woods. Look--do you see that? Doo-doo-do-doo--del-al-la-la-laaaa...

They breath...

Duration: one hour.

Feeling: great! :-D

Into the wonderful...

2011-12-19T02:15:00.000-08:00

I just got loose with this...

How can you take ticking seriously--it should be fun!

Someone slept on it, afterall :-)

Bleached, laundered, and dried in the summer sun, this ticking is at least twice my age...ur, I mean, one and a half my age.

I love how this bag folds.... easy to take with you and super-comfortable to wear.

A fun bag :-D

Random thoughts in cold and wet December...

2011-12-16T09:35:00.000-08:00

This morning I put a pot of beans on. I'd forgotten to soak them, so I used the quick-soak method. To pep it up I used celery root, lemon leaf, and Italian bacon.

Tomorrow, Saturday, I'm going to drill two holes in the livingroom wall, for a grouping of two black and white photos--this one, from Frances J. Melhop, of matchstickgirl.etsy.com. is a secret santa present from our street team on etsy. I am in love with it--you can tell right off she is a professional photographer--and I'm thrilled and honoured to have this particular piece. I'll talk more about Frances when I get the photo on the wall. :-)

I bought this bread yesterday, and to be honest, when I took it home and opened the paper bag I thought it was the tiniest heaviest most undone brick dumpling I'd ever seen in my life...

...till I tasted it (heaven on the tongue!!!) This was lunch today--my fennel and pear salad with walnuts and lemon in my Lady Macbeth bowl from Jill.

I got this utterly delicious scarf in the mail last week--from the amazing Cait of barefootweaver.
I wear it like some women wear a favorite piece of jewelry. It makes me feel beautiful. Because I prefer dressing in jeans and tee, this is something colorful and glamourous around my neck...and I love it! I'll model it more in future photos, but I couldn't get motivated this week to use the camera much...therefore...

...a flashback of some sunny moments at the top of a peak,... (my man)

...and on a passage in Greece.

Remember the last time you danced?

A secret place on earth...

This is the view outside our window...

The only thing left to do is turn up the music and move...(Inger's shawl)

Who's that girl? What kind of woman wears my bags?

2011-12-14T02:41:00.000-08:00

An artist and a superstar of the heart, on the other side of the pond!

Creating is about developing relationships. It would be meaningless were it not for the beautiful people who pass our way in this short time we get to be here (I know I begin to sound corny when I get sentimental, but I'm that kind of girl :-)

Work in Progress...

2011-12-13T04:44:00.000-08:00

I loved so much how the last bag turned out, that I decided to do another bag from the top down, again...

This is the strap.

...this might be the body. Don't know yet, and don't know if I will keep it or not...but stay tuned :-D

Camelus, an Animal About Relationships...

2011-12-09T03:54:00.000-08:00

This bag is about relationships. In this picture alone you see six distinct sources based on commerce, trust, friendship, or love, and sometimes all of them together.

So many things--well everything, went right here. I am very happy--ecstatic :-D Here's the story:

The white linen body: I was visiting a friend in Bavaria, a woman about ten years older than me, with literally thousands of books in her home, including a wood-burning furnace, and I was talking about my bag-making (this was three years ago), and she pressed this beautiful vintage luxery-linen from Italy into my hands. She looked into my eyes and said, 'Do you know how much the women I know spend on bags?' She was just trying to be helpful, to perhaps emphasis the reality of the situation. But when she said 'on average 500 Euros for a bag, every year' I was just dumbstruck. This would almost be the price of a roundtrip ticket to the States. But then she said something that I remember today--'those same women, they might be looking for Gucci, but a few of them are looking for something so exclusive it cannot be had.'

To be honest, I do not go for Gucci. I would never want to look like a walking label. The older I get, the more I stick to my eccentric beginnings. Under no circumstance would I want to get into hardware, or slick leather...yuck! I am a snob of the purist genre...

The label: somewhere, in Florida, there is a woman with the most prudent eye and discerning taste who has my welfare in mind and is one of my biggest fans and emotional supporters--my mom. She picked up this beautiful antique embroidered linen band (originally used to hold together linens in a rich household). I tea-stained it and made a label. I will never make a label with my name on it. I cut off the labels on my clothes.

The strap: I'm taking a weaving course from a master-weaver in our village. I asked her, rather sheepishly, if she had any throw-away scraps I might be able to use--and she gave me a small ziplock bag full. I was a little let down--she had so few scraps, but when you weave you use almost everything for the end product--but when I got home I got to experimenting, and a beautiful strap evolved. More beautiful than I could imagine. The underside is barkcloth I bought at an antique market on the beach in Florida, one breathtakingly sunny winter's day...

The Bedouin embroidery: some beautiful person trusted me, heart and soul, and trusted I would put some of her precious material to good use. I was a complete stranger--but she trusted me...and a beautiful friendship has blossumed. Not only that--getting my hands on this exquisite embroidery gave me the freedom to stretch my creativity further than I would have dreamt.

The lining (inside of bag contains two large slip pockets, a large zippered pocket, and a magnetic snap): I have a little tailor in the city next door, who has a shelf full of Dutch and London waxed cotton. He keeps a few precious items in a glass cabinet, and this handmade waxed cotton on damask went for a pretty price. (translate that--it was expensive). It was just a small piece, and I've nearly run out--after making myself a pillow and kitchen curtains and a few other bags. My Togoan friend looked at me critically. It was difficult for him to sell this piece as it was near his heart. I asked him why he was asking so much for it, and his answer--'You cannot buy this. It was a special order from me. An old man in the capital city of Ghana made it. It's become a lost art. It's very complicated and strenuous to make. It is the only piece.' Well, I could tell the difference right off between factory-made waxed cotton--which I've often used and has it's beauty, and this waxed cotton which is beyond beauty. It's the same difference between store-bought butter and hand-churned butter, pasterized and handmade raw-milk cheese, Wonderbread and homemade bread from stone-ground wheat from the farm next door. It's that difference that only shows up in the flesh-and-blood.

The leather: this week I went to the city next door looking for leather. I don't like heavy bags, and I was looking for a leather that I would be able to make a sturdy, yet light-weight bag with. This lambskin leather in brick red was singing to me (yes, lambskin is expensive, especially napa, and I had to buy the whole skin, which made it even more so, but I thought I might get two bags out of it)...but it was unsuitably thin for making a large bag. I remedied that by attatching it to the linen body. (I have enough for a small bag I'll talk about next week). The result is delicious! It is maleable, soft, just the right weight, and of course sturdy. I wouldn't drag it through a mudpuddle or throw it in the washer--but who does that? (dry-clean or spot-clean)

My model: that's not my model, that's me. My model has a life, and I hope I can get enough light to have her model the bag over Christmas. It is going to be one of my more expensive bags, and that is why I thought I might write at length on just what went into the sourcing of the materials.

The actual designing, cutting, and making of the bag is something else--has taken me year's of hard-earned experience...and a lifetime of being 'me'...purist snob and all :-)

This Bag Begins from the Top Down...

2011-12-04T05:10:00.000-08:00

I'm talking about the strap. Frances, my model, agreed to be photographed in the buff as long as I didn't include her face in the picture. I always defer to her wishes.

This strap is made from handwoven silk, linen, and cotton. I pieced it seemingly randomly, but there is nothing random to it. A lot of thought goes into how thick each piece should be, where to place them, and how to get that 'wow' effect. (the neutrals needed a kick, which comes from the small eye-popping inclusion of turquoise next to cinnamon, and the flash of lime and orange from the underside.)

Don't you wish you had her hips and waist?

For a fifty-something, she is just smashing!

I admit, this is one of my favorite pieces, and I don't even know what the bag will look like--I LOVE this strap!

The underside is barkcloth. I might keep this one for myself, or maybe not...we'll see...

Snow Leopard

2011-11-29T08:10:00.000-08:00

In my other life I was a nightclub singer, belting out heart-wrenching songs in small smokey spaces in Siberian bars or isolated ports...

...back to now--it is a rare and wild breed--the snow leopard. A most fascinating book with that name, by Peter Matthiessen, engrossed me, and still does.

(A little review of the book: The Snow Leopard. Makes a fantastic Christmas present for any man or woman)

This is my first full-size leather bag. Still, it is small enough to be intimate, large enough to carry your wallet, your keys, a cellphone, and a lipbalm. I wouldn't want to stuff it. It's for the no-nonsense woman with innate style and sensuality. Falling to the hip, worn cross-chest it fits to the body, and glides against you. Deep, it is accessible only to you.

It was a challenge, though made of the softest most buttery lambskin, I had to come up with solutions regarding construction--namely sewing through so many layers of leather without compromising quality and workmanship. If you notice the attatched pieces of leather around the magnetic snap, those are the natural ends which when stretched and tanned fold and create a delicious edge. The challenge made me make decisions and push my limits to beautiful and simple solutions.

This bag already has a name on it--goes to Long Island--is very close to my heart--and almost has a surreal beauty.

I think you have to touch it to know it. I sourced my leathers in Munich, at a specialty leather-goods store. I wanted to feel the leather. Also to get a sense of the true olive color. The fleece is baby lamb. The wood elements are Popcorntree. The lining is Togo waxed cotton. The strap has shibori from Japan, antique hand embroidered linen, mudcloth from Mali, and vintage Bedouin embroidery from Israel.

*sigh*

Do you think I should do more?

My giftwrapping for guys...

2011-11-27T05:11:00.000-08:00

This goes to a guy--a great guy! ;-)

Heart on a String...

2011-11-21T08:48:00.000-08:00

My wonderful friend, Yael, has inspired me with her irresistible heart sachets! Check out her link, (here), and be ready to be blown away by her beautiful creations!

Gathering energy for the long-haul...

2011-11-16T08:00:00.000-08:00

Winter in Middle Europe can be long.

London waxed cotton and brushed cotton.

Wool and silk...in progress...

Cashmere--for my man.

Click for the full glory--I just gave it very fine hems on each side and left the finished ends open--magnificent--he will love it, I know I do!

(Even cashmere is affordable when you purchase increments of it...just like saffran and paradise :-)

Today, I visited the lion's den...

2011-11-09T07:18:00.001-08:00

Weavers are not nervous people. They have their feet planted firmly on the ground, if not on six pedals. But don't let their steady gaze fool you...they are addicts. :-)

Here are some scraps I asked for from my future teacher. She was pleased that I would make something out of them...extend their life. Renew them. I was ecstatic.

Of course I made something right off. Handwoven material makes me a little scared because I love it so much. That is one reason I just adore mudcloth (seen in the strap I'm working on for a bag for myself). I can't wait to begin.

Weaving, along with felting, is one of the oldest arts known to man.

Even this simple piece breaths life. The outside--wool, the inside--cotton. She has seven machines, I think--the whole basement is a studio. Some of the machines are well over a hundred years old...

This could get to be a habit...I wonder. Warp and weft. Before today, I didn't know which was which.

If you have never seen a person weaving at a machine, then it is incomprehensible to understand just how much labour is involved. Hours and hours and hours...days, weeks.

It is like carrying your water from the well to your house...

...on foot, kilometers away.

An idea always has a beginning...

2011-11-07T02:53:00.001-08:00

I discovered a master weaver living in my neighbourhood. I am sorely tempted to take one of her courses. Even if it means that as an absolute beginner I would be making the simplest of things...

This blanket has more years experience behind it's making than I am old.

The Wind is Whipping Up...

2011-11-03T02:45:00.001-07:00

...and our walnut tree is shedding it's leaves.

I love the texture of all the different stages of decay.

Tapinade...

2011-11-02T08:02:00.000-07:00

Color!!!

2011-11-01T04:01:00.000-07:00

I love the colors of this little pouch!

...found these pears on a walk in the countryside around where I live...

They are not ripe enough yet, but in a couple of days...

...they will taste heavenly!

Weekend Musings...

2011-10-29T15:25:00.000-07:00

Late October, and each sunny day is a gift, not to be scoffed at.

And yet, I had a feeling of dread and melancholy (obviously a false set of emotions bestowed on me by body-snatchers).

How to get out of it?

Kitchen therapy...

First, I cleaned the kitchen. Then I surveyed the day's catch at the market.

What better way to fill the air with good scents, than to make apple sauce.

...the perfume of steaming apples and filter coffee dripping are two of the happiest olfactory sensations imaginable.

My favorite vegetable. Swiss chard.

...check on the apple sauce. Looking good!

Pour myself a steaming coffee...

While I cook I peruse the paper.

This most striking drawing has grabbed my attention. It appears that one of the biggest art forgers since the early last century has been apprehended and sentenced. What is most endearing about this case is that this particular forger did not duplicate pieces of famous artists, he INVENTED new pieces! His work is so convincing that he has been honoured a light sentence...I mean, I wouldn't mind having a piece of his art...

The whole flat is filling with good will. I need to paint a new painting for the living room. The flowers my students of a special group gave me are still so beautiful...

There is a wonderful sunshine flooding the space--my olive tree looks good...

The orchids are coming to life again, after a quiet summer...

I notice some beloved objects...a painting from my niece in Florida.

...a beautiful crocheted stone, a barometer, ...

I'm starved, thinking about art and beauty and intriege. Just so you don't get the idea that I'm perfect, here's the proof...open up my favorite fastfood, prepared beans from Greece...

Lunch, yes, that's pesto on my swiss chard--a pure narcotic...

First Earring!

2011-10-27T03:44:00.000-07:00

I'm excited about my first earring...already listed!

...it's a single one, but it is a beauty--kind of like wearing a flower in the hair, or near the hair.

Now what I really must do is get silver earwires!

Inspired by Street Fashion Style...

2011-10-26T09:17:00.001-07:00

I used to date a guy like this...(not really 'date', just went out a couple of times)

I think I even looked like this for a while in the 80's (my hairdresser talked me into it): clothes from thrift shops, my parent's closet, and a haircut to match. My boss told me he'd have to fire me if I cut my hair up top.

Never owned a pair of leather jeans, though.

I had this beautiful linen jersey in a mud color, and made the teeshirt I've made a zillion times.

All I have to do is hem it.

The Best Cookie Recipe in the World...

2011-10-25T06:18:00.000-07:00

While eating lunch today I flipped through an article on vegetables--the ancient ones that are slowly being replaced by modern agriculture...don't you just love beet root greens? When was the last time you saw them at the market? I was practically begging the market woman to put some away for me as she furtively took down my recipe. Steam them, a touch of olive oil and finely chopped red onions, salt and pepper...

...you will think your grandmother walked into your kitchen and began cooking for you again, like grandmothers cook...

Food was on my mind, as it often is in autumn when the wind sharpens, indoors becomes a refuge, and food the cured fuel for the wood-burning stove that is your stomach...

Claudia Roden's Arabesque spoke to me for the moment, and I pulled it off my shelf.

Now is the time for fresh pumpkinseed oil. I like it on raw or cooked vegetables.

The book is bright, colorful, and full of easy-to-follow and memorize mouth-watering recipes.

...bulgar...

Not much of a dessert person, I do love cookies, and this is the cookie time of year. But...they are calerie bombs, no kidding. And who can stop at one? I get into the habit of making wheatless, eggless, sugarless, and practically fat-free ones that are not only delicious, they are satisfying as well, could substitute as a meal on-the-road, and did I mention they had no milk?

This has sugar--but not much. I had some fresh plums that took a month to ripen, and by the time they were edible they looked like shrunken lumps of coal, so I made this delicious plum marmelade---believe me, with a little peanut butter on toasted bread, almost as good as cookies!

...my eyes wander over my kitchen, searching for my cookie recipe. They light upon a golden heart that I see every day, first thing mornings.

Okay, this recipe has gone around the web all over Europe, (I got it from a fellow maker), and I have to say you can alter it any way you like--it's almost impossible not to turn out well.

More information on Claudia Roden.

This stuffed lavender necklace reminds me of the stuffed fig sugar cookies my grandmother used to make.

Those are the best in the world, and I don't have the recipe.

Flight, a Poet's Bag

2011-10-23T09:46:00.000-07:00

I grabbed the last remaining light to shoot again more photos.

My husband dropped a complement that boostered my ego by a million miles, ...

'Not bad,' he said.

Translate that into, 'Beautiful!'

I realized I need to make photos in broad daylight, outside against a plain wall.

...and I forgot to shoot the back, with it's detail and extra pocket.

I love my poet's bags, each and every one--they are perhaps closest to my heart.

A Poet's Bag...

2011-10-22T09:05:00.001-07:00

At the moment I have a few things sitting on the burner, but before I began I wanted to do a bag--rather, finish one that I had already begun.

After finishing this I realized that orange is difficult to photograph well, especially paired with white and brown and black, in these very dark days...

...better photos tomorrow!

An Italian Interlude...(then and now)

2011-10-15T09:05:00.000-07:00

This was me 22 years ago, on an Italian holiday. I used to take the night train to get there, and often passed the lovely Lago Maggiore on my way.

Now (a month ago), just a six-hour's drive away--bella Italia. Lago Maggiore. We got a deal for an apartment overlooking the lake, so we packed our walking shoes and a picnic and headed south through the Saint Bernodino tunnel (the Alps) into sunshine...

We lucked into this beautiful little flat.

Evening view from the balcony...

We chose a three-and-a-half hour hike for our second day. It took us four hours to reach this peak, because we got lost...but it was breath-taking, however much torture endured, and we got down before sunset. All-in-all, six hours underway...

In order to recouperate, the next day was spent walking through a tiny village up in the mountains, reachable only on handkerchief-sized roads.

Few people live up here. Arcumeggia is an open-air museum. Artisans of the 1950's spent several years painting frescos on the walls of the houses in an attempt to draw tourists to this spot.

Many are in dire need of restoration, however I am ever one to believe in the natural forces of nature, and I found the paintings as they were in their decay to be moving and beautiful...

...as well as buildings that were gutted and quietly awaiting for love and restoration...

Some of the works are being restored to their former beauty.

(double-click for a stunning visual)

That same day we found a secret secluded beach (from the guide book), and lucky for us it was pristine and empty! That is the advantage of traveling outside of the season.

It was a little paradise.

The beach was sunkissed...

...the water refreshing.

Another beautiful day was spent going by boat to the small rocky islands, one after the other.
Die Borromäischen Inseln...

Where we had fish, and visited the island Isla Bella.

I'm not much one for including a lot of historical information.

That was magnificent--especially when we saw the old castle, in the shape of a ship, with a portrait of Caternina dé Medici, and paintings by Tizian, among others, especially the tapestries that hung on the walls of the great hall, and Napoleon's bedroom...swoon. I did notice that he had a really big bed--much larger than he, in fact, and I thought, now how could such a small person need so much space to sleep?

Here is a view of the gardens...

...and look what I got at the sewing shop yesterday--island-inspired! I have the knitting IQ of a peanut, but I fell in love with this ball of yarn and got three...now to go find an online tutorial for casting on!

:-)

Rose Petal and Plum...(revised text)

2011-10-10T12:00:00.000-07:00

There once was a girl named Rose Petal...

...in love with a man named Plum.

...she went to sea without him...

...which drove that poor man to...

I'm really making myself hungry...does that ever happen to you? Fall sets in, and hunger returns...

...all I can think of is food.

Chocolate, buttermilk biscuits, cornbread, plump raspberries, whipped cream, steaming butternut squash soup...

:-D

Featured Seller on etsy: thank you, friends...

2011-10-01T03:11:00.000-07:00

...uh, testing, testing, a moment of silence, (scream!!!!)... uh, guess what--I'm an etsy featured seller!!!!!!!

(click on above link to read the article)

(fireworks, champagne, a marching band, a big party...)

Here's a thanks to all of you, this weekend...from the bottom of my heart, if it weren't for the friends I've made online, their tireless support and encouragement, and that of my family, cat and friends, I'd have never made it this far. I haven't been able to mention most of your names--beaucoup kisses, thanks for the support, and I hope you feel as good as I do...

:-D (all I can do now is blather like an idiot, so I'll best leave words for another time)

Love you!
XOXOXO Dawn

My Master and Commander Piece...

2011-09-28T12:29:00.000-07:00

H-O-L-D F-A-S-T

This is a necklace like you've never seen--found on the Galapagos islands, in a sealed teak box. Belonged to one strange man--Stephen Maturin, naturalist, ship's doctor, and spy during the Napoleonic wars.

...what is the broken heart about? Look closely, there is some rare vegetation illustrated in the etched ivory. Drops of crusted blood still drip from it...is that a button from his blouse? What about the ticking--perhaps he slept on that mattress...

...and what is the heavenly perfume that eminates from this artifact? Apparently he wore it against his skin, many many years. Were he alive today, I'd give it to him. A pity he lost it, running after a lava lizard.

This reminds me of...

2011-09-27T13:09:00.000-07:00

Cappuccino and raspberry.

Black walnuts, hazelnuts...

...a shell washed up on the beach after a storm. Some lavender...

...green moss...

...Venice...

I'm going to call it, 'Venus on the Jetty'.

:-)

The Little Engine That Could...

2011-09-25T02:30:00.001-07:00

When I was a child this was one of my first picture books: TheLittle Engine That Could.

It must have got into my blood...because I just won't give up on something I love.

That's why I re-shot photos of The Floating World.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

Here's a sneak peak of a luxurious long-long cowl with a twist...I used up all my lovely Italian jersey knit for this one, so when it's wrapped twice around the neck it is a little chunky--and when worn open, extemely elegant!

Equinox...

2011-09-22T14:50:00.000-07:00

I love working when the days turn shorter, the nights are longer, the light is richer, my room is cleaner... :-) The material on the right is fresh new white batiste cotton, so smooth and fine it feels combed. I've hand-dyed a part turquoise blue (material in the middle). The pieces on the left are the most scrumptuous beet-red pieces of Bedouin embroidery I've ever seen or touched. In the tray above, is a collection of Mali glass beads, and in the plastic bag are thrums. (double click on picture for details).

Here I am hand-dying some batiste red, like my shoes.

It's the loveliest way to spend moments with my big baby boy...

...sitting beneath the walnut tree, looking at the way moss grows on a stick.

I seem to be searching out strong color these days...

I can't wait to prepare squash, pumpkin, ...

...sweet potato, cornbread, bean stews...

...gratin, sauerkraut, baked apples...

...and I love fall and winter for the fresh Swiss chard, the parsnips, leeks,

brussel sprouts, lamb's lettuce, ...

pomegranates, chinese apples, mushrooms, champignons, ...

XOXO

Emily in Mali

2011-09-20T14:33:00.001-07:00

You don't have to be a lover of the written word to wonder about Emily...

What if she hadn't been of delicate health...

What stirred her life so much that she, reclusive though she was, had hardly ever set foot outside her own home, and...

...could write lines like this:

I asked no other thing,
No other was denied.
I offered Being for it;
The mighty merchant smiled.

Brazil? He twirled a button,
Without a glance my way:
"But, madam, is there nothing else
That we can show to-day?"

She obviously took trips around the world in her head.

...and we get to reap the benefits in her masterful poetry...

...a maverack (Synonyms: nonconformist, individualist; free thinker; loner, lone wolf) in her day.

Back from a hike in the mountains...new energy!

2011-09-18T12:36:00.000-07:00

My wonderful accomplice visited today, and I was happy to get these great images!

I loved making this scarf because of it's buttery quality, and just the whole hand-dying process and creating of textural interest through gathers...it's simple yet effective!

...creates a whole look.

This cuff is made of a vintage embroidered collar found in my grandmother's trunk.

...made with ticking!

Here is the silent dissident.

...and a new mudcloth necklace, with a striped hollow glass bead and a faceted glass bead...

Thank you so much, Sweety! XOXO

A Day With Good Intentions, ...

2011-09-07T10:28:00.000-07:00

Many times in my life I'll wake up and have good intentions--do this, do that, make it work. Well, sometimes things don't go nearly as smoothly as I'd like--but that's okay.

My infinity scarf, made with expensive batiste which I spent time and effort hand-dying a beautiful olive green (now, that was a successful hand dye!), and carefully designed in my head, laid out, gathered pleats, pinned, stitched...well, it's definitely not a warm scarf. It's a beautiful summer scarf, and feels wonderful on the skin, like bed-sheets made in heaven.

Frances co-operated beautifully, smiling throughout the whole thing.

But I'll have to model it myself, as Frances doesn't have shoulders. However, she has a great spine! (PS, she's been carefully washed, but years of modeling has tinted her ageless skin a desert-brushed hue--nevermind, I think she's even more beautiful :-)

The Silent Dissident

2011-09-06T06:31:00.000-07:00

Dedicated to the Janes I've greatly admired...

Goodall, Eyre, and Bowles. (who cares if one is fictional)

It's rather plain...

...and lovely, all the same!

(my aim was to make something as simple and magical as possible, fashioned out of Harris Tweed and tee-stained lace)

Frances

2011-09-05T14:04:00.000-07:00

My grandmother Frances, born in 1909, would have worn this dress at the age of 13 in 1922.

Made of wool jersey, by either herself or her mother, notice how the neck is hand sewn, and how beautiful the pleats fall. It wouldn't surprise me if Frances, herself, had made it.

The back is a masterpiece of elegance and tailoring. My great grandmother took great pride in her daughters--all nine of them.

I found some beautiful new cotton batiste at the fabric store in the town next door, and bought a piece, brought it home, hand-dyed it olive, and am now deciding what to do with it.

It is of incomparible beauty!

There Can Be Only One Highlander

2011-09-04T09:46:00.000-07:00

I'm such a sucker for that film. Every time I see Cristopher Lambert with that long hair, and that skirt, well, that just does it to me...

He's so educated and good-looking, you can easily forget his age (500 years old, at least).

I have this most beautiful Harris Tweed, which a friend sent me--I am so thankful. :-)

Things seem to flow when I have materials that are a match in heaven, like this silk band for a lining, and these antique single hole buttons made of shell, bone, horn, glass and resin.

And a beautiful vegetable ivory button.

Happy September, everyone!

Hunter and Gatherer

2011-09-03T06:03:00.000-07:00

I've always admired my cow's head. I found him (or her) years ago, and it has been love ever since. He (or she) reminds me of who I am.

This is the fun Saturday link of zsazsazsu...check out the other finds :-)

Listing soon! (no, not the cow's head--the necklace!)

Figaro, Figaro, Figaro, Figaro...

2011-09-01T23:25:00.000-07:00

Fiiiiiii---ga--rooooooo!!!!!!!!!

....or pizza?

Piz--zaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!

(featuring my beautiful hat by Lois of 13threads)

Highlight on 13threads

2011-08-30T23:34:00.000-07:00

Thank you, Lois, for inpiring some beautiful pictures in my photoshoot!
(her shop 13threads, and her beautiful blog (here)

I wanted to have something from Lois because I have always admired her craftmanship and vision, as apparent in her work and aesthetic. The materials that she uses are of a quality difficult to purchase 'across the counter', and quite frankly, so is her design. Because, this is design with style crafted right into it. You cannot find it 'ready-to-wear'. It's a rare find, and I'm one of the lucky few who can enjoy it. From Edinbourgh--how romantic can you get?

At the beginning of summer I purchased this hat for myself, in preparation for fall and winter. Now I am grateful for that because the days are visibly getting colder. It is that perfect accessory for warmth, lightness, and it's jazzy, too! I just love it!

(I am teaching today, so more photos tomorrow and this weekend. New listings, too!)

Rive Gauche

2011-08-30T13:35:00.000-07:00

The best photos ever--I am so lucky!

More tomorrow!

Bleeding Hearts, Broken Hearts, Mended Hearts Club

2011-08-30T02:12:00.001-07:00

Here you can already see there is something seriously wrong with this heart. The far chamber is squashed and sausage-like, instead of plump and perfect. (I never said I was perfect :-DDD)

...and it's puckered at the top, and the closed seam is horribly stitched (thank goodness for the internet--just got my first ladder-stitch tutorial)

...and worst of all is the botched up repairwork of surgery--it looks like an alley doctor got to this one--a bit finer, subtler work would do the trick...

(I know it's kitchy, but it's so fun!)

Today's Work...

2011-08-29T13:22:00.001-07:00

Just began this poet's bag...

Pretty things from my great-grandmother's wood trunk.

Another lariot, finished...

I am in love with this coral!

Voila!

Saturday Shopping Day Fun, Earth Lines

2011-08-26T09:57:00.001-07:00

It's been cooking all day long...I needed literally hours to stitch this together, and it's not ready yet...(yes, those are my tools!)

The colours make me happy--it's like I spent the whole day, going to the apple orchard, picking the apples, making a butter crust, slicing the apples, rolling out the crust, etc. etc...

To me, it's like pie! (antique cross-stitch embroidery on linen, cut on the bias, thrums from my aunt, a master-weaver--thank you Aunt Mary Jane XO)
:-)

(Check out the other links for Saturday finds on Zsazsazsu!)

A better picture...

2011-08-24T11:28:00.000-07:00

Here's the monk's cloth bag in a better picture...

And this is the pink bag, nicely folded up--oh-so-soft!

In the beginning there was...

2011-08-23T10:26:00.000-07:00

...this is my very first bag, not counting the one I did when I was nine. I took a vintage nubby cotton and dyed it blue. Lined in rust linen with a pocket made from my husband's silk tie, and embellished with my granny's vintage coat button. I still love it--impossible to give away or sell.

Today was so hot, perhaps the hottest day of the year as yet...my boy cooling off on the tiles of the stairway.

Me, at work in my studio.

Getting back into the moves...this is vintage hand-embroidered monk cloth with new ticking for a lining.

I think it's rather pretty myself. Have to make some decent photos. :-)

My crazy quilt patch clutch...(meaning I designed the crazy in it...)

2011-08-19T23:57:00.000-07:00

Here she is--ready for the opera, work, movies, night out, or daily to-do's...

Will carry a wallet, lipstick, kleenex, keys, and cellphone...

She has a nice backside.

...a beautiful topside...

...and a cute profile. Imagine, she is large enough to carry what you really need, and petite enough to throw into your shopping tote.

...always stylish--what pretty underwear, and look at that incredible bone closure--spliced pieces of white and black.

Work In Progress....and Today's Curriculum

2011-08-17T10:33:00.000-07:00

I started making my own crazy-quilt patch, and thought it looked better small...

...and irregular.
So I decided to make a clutch...

...this after teaching a great group of seven today.

Our conversations in English was like a crazy-quilt. We spoke about...

...funerals, office romance, Indian textiles, sex and profit, wildlife conservation of the cheetah, and civil law...

What a blast!

My own little cheetah.

Another Wall Patch Art Piece

2011-08-15T10:43:00.000-07:00

I retook the pictures and they came out nice!

Will list it in the morning.

Here I muted the colors of the exposure, but parts are still blurry and hmmm, I'll have to really start experimenting with picture styles. This piece is 5 X 19 inches. There's a part you can't see in any of these photos...

Lady Falconer

2011-08-14T12:49:00.000-07:00

I had this last piece of brochade--a lady falconer, so I made a cuff with a real huntress feel to it. Made of Normandy lace, damask cotton, lined in mudcloth, and finished with these wonderful discs an etsy friend sent me.

(Thank you, friends.)

I'll try to get a model for this.

Baked Chicken

2011-08-12T13:55:00.000-07:00

I have a great love of a good chicken. But, a good chicken is hard to find. That is why I grabbed this one when I saw him at my butcher's. I always think of chickens as male. I know they all aren't, but that's how I think. I want one who is a little muscular, but not too...he should smell good, be tender, and when he's naked on the plate, he should look proud.

Once I asked about a bio-chicken at the organic food store, and the guy brought out something flattened and squeezed into a plastic sealed envelope with all the air sucked out of it, and I backed off instinctively. Not my style...

My fondest memory is of a French guy--(the famous Poulet de Bresse), with his firm flesh and proud carriage. Now that was a Foreign Legion guy, the kind you had to make a date with a week in advance. I used to order him, based solely on his red hair and blue feet...but of course he came to me headless and footless too (good thing, he was so fresh he might have run away).

Am I digressing?
I got this recipe in my head, but it comes originally from my Patricia Wells French Bistro cookbook.
The vegetables were everything left in my fridge.

...a glance at other cookbooks I love...

...sigh...so many ideas, so little time.

He turned out delicious! Those green beans were the very last from our garden.

Our vegetarian in residence. :-)

Tweeking Till I Love It...

2011-08-12T04:54:00.001-07:00

I went back and made minor but significant adjustments to this piece, adding a bone bead, moving the button, adding some lace, doing some reinforcement stitching, reshooting.

I LOVE it!

Goes to show that sometimes something just needs a little more love, and then it shines.

Normandy Lace

2011-08-11T12:29:00.000-07:00

This stack of beautiful lace resembles pancakes, or the thin galettes of Bretagne.

It's called 'Normandy Lace'.

Sent to me by my mom, with an explanation below:

Thank you, Mom, and Gertrude!

A Pillow for Your Thoughts...

2011-08-08T22:49:00.000-07:00

While everyone is on their summer holidays...

...in coastal France, the Toscana, Sylt, Costa del Sol, or Fiji,...

I made a pillow!

It's small--10 by 16 inches...

...but it's big enough for your neck, or lower back.

...subdued and pretty. :-)

But what does it look like on?

2011-08-07T09:24:00.001-07:00

This is what it looks like on :-)

It can be worn at a longer length (by at least two or three inches) by wearing the closure fully extended, but I love how this shows off the jaw, and doesn't choke at all. I love the asymmetric look as well.

Explorer

2011-08-05T10:30:00.000-07:00

Bali, France, Germany, Kenya, (and other places)...hand blown glass, bone, horn, lampwork, wood and seed...

I am so happy with the way this turned out. It's asymetrical, cohesive, and strong.

...elegant and beautiful!

The focal bead has been tea-stained and designed into a flower form.

For any woman with a sense of adventure!

The Mystery of a Bead...

2011-08-04T00:49:00.001-07:00

Nice story: got this in a box in the mail from my mom. I was immediately drawn to it, to the matt finish, the simple beauty of it. My mystery bead. Mom found it at an estate sale--a daughter was sifting through the possessions of her mom who had passed away after a full life of adventure, including years on a small sailboat that had sailed around the world. There was very little left of her beader life, just some tiny pliers (I got those, too), and a hand full of beads. This one JUMPED out at me. It's 3/4 of an inch in diameter, and 1/2 inch tall (2 centimeters by 1.2).

So, I'm frankly a lover of beads, but basically a beginner. A year ago in Munich, I met a woman in her charming atelier, and she urged me to purchase the 'insider' book by Peter Francis, Jr. ('If you can find it--it may be out of print, but it is THE comprehensive guide!') I thought, huh? In the internet I found that I could get one if I wanted one, but it seemed to possess so few pages and was just a paperback.

I looked up the author's name in the web, and discovered he had passed away, and had been regarded as one of the most highly respected bead experts in the world. His picture sold me--a scholarly looking man in a tie, but who seemed better suited for jungle clothes and perhaps possessing of a wonderful sense of humour plus a taste for good wine. Imagine how my brain works! After months of wallowing through an ever-increasing sense of ignorance, I went for the book.

Thank you, Peter Francis, Jr. for helping me to confirm what my source said about this prehistoric bead--identifiable by the hourglass-shaped hole.

Shaman beads were almost exclusively used as ritual objects by the peoples who made them (in the time before drills)...

Can anyone identify the bead at the top? (Sandra?) :-) I was thinking it came from Africa, is a chevron, but I am still in the process of searching--do you have an idea?

Just For Fun!

2011-08-02T08:31:00.000-07:00

I know--what is it? Art? Some pieces are just soooo much fun, such as this miniature thing you could put in a frame, even under glass. The photos are so bad--I've never had to photograph a broad 2-dimensional surface, and the light was all wrong.

It's abstract, and I was influenced by the small works you find in Europe in museums featuring stuff from the last century. Yes, I did incorporate a piece of cut-up cuff :-)

Well, it's a first try. It's about 9.5 inches by 5.5 (or 24 x 14 centimeters).

The title is 'Unde', and is a Latin word with many meanings: whence, from where, how, from whom. ??? :-D

Bead-making...I LOVE it!

2011-08-02T02:01:00.000-07:00

This bead is one of my all-time favorites. I had a lot of fun hand sewing it with the hand woven cotton trim. Altering something so that you have an entirely new and novel thing--it's a process I love, and it's like cooking with what you have in the fridge--no recipes, no preconceptions. Just pure creating.

That molasses-coloured bead is bone, and the top bead is resin.

Linen Loveliness...

2011-07-30T08:55:00.001-07:00

I got real excited making this out of nothing but pure linen, all new materials with a little vintage metal button and a brass trumpet button (new).

Because it's so elemental and simple, design was everything. I wanted the linen to shine through, and still be able to show off the charm of hand-stitching that I so love.

A relaxed fit, it's also narrower, and thus taxed me to the limit to get it just right...hard to believe, but simple things require even more skill and exactitude to work well.

I think it's beautiful!

The Quite One

2011-07-29T14:02:00.000-07:00

This is subdued and carefully crafted for a simple effect. Look at that vegetable ivory beauty of a button!

...minimal and abstract, with a tiny mother-of-pearl button...

...three inlays in grey...

...hand-stitching...
Looser and beautiful!

My Boy

2011-07-27T09:39:00.000-07:00

My Big Baby Boy...

A Shaman Art Necklace

2011-07-25T10:35:00.001-07:00

This is actually the back. 'Fete' is Mali mudcloth stuffed with fresh lavender and sewn shut with red mohair yarn. See the bell? It makes a delicate tinkling sound as you move or walk. The horn closure is goat horn from France, and the three pastel beads are hand-blown glass from Bali. The olive colored glass bead is African. The patch is antique linen cross-stitched with the word 'Fete', which means 'festival'.

I've always wanted to use this prehistoric Shaman's bead I have in my possession--center quartz disk. So I decided to make this necklace--without realizing how entirely difficult it would be to photograph it. The closure is at front, and the necklace falls to the heart. The middle element is a water vessel made of plastic from the 40's.

The kind of woman who wears this--well, she is singular. Loves mythology, enjoys having a conversation piece around her neck, love's color and lavender and sound (the little bell)...

She's just special!

Isn't that the cutest little sachet? It's a real mini!

Happy Sunday...:-)

2011-07-24T04:41:00.000-07:00

I'm working in the studio, and having fun :-D

What are you doing?

PS: what does a person do when he/she should be doing laundry? That's my husband's old shirt (I saved for myself--so soft and the color!)

White Moth...

2011-07-21T12:15:00.000-07:00

Just as fun as making the focal bead...

...is selecting the other beads.

Even in it's simplicity...

I want it to look effortless.

Effortlessly beautiful.

Chrysalis Necklace...

2011-07-18T07:34:00.000-07:00

Bead-making has gotten into my blood...I just want to make beads out of everything. This gorgeous piece of vintage lace was shouting out to me.

It's even better in person. Reminds me of a butterfly chrysalis.

One is Firenz, the Other is Rive Gauche

2011-07-17T08:47:00.001-07:00

This one is Firenz.

I love to make something with great impact and singular elements...it's like putting together a puzzle.

...and this is Rive Gauche.

That lace bead reminds me of a corset, and the round beads, the beginning of the new era in art a century ago...

The square bead is exciting next to the lace...and that little horn bead.

These are mostly art, music, and literature-inspired. I love making them!

Prêt-à-porter

2011-07-15T07:32:00.001-07:00

Lately, I've been thinking about a simpler style of necklace I could offer at a lower price.

One that still carried my mark, and a definite stylishness, beauty and freshness...that anyone could afford.

I love this, because you can see yourself wearing it. It falls just to the ribs, has a swingy loveliness, and rich colors. Can be worn year-round, over a tee, a turtleneck, a blouse...

This is where simplicity breaks the beauty barriers.

I LOVE it!

Rework till you LOVE it!

2011-07-14T05:59:00.001-07:00

I always felt that Kouri-Vini was unfinished.

So today I went back and reworked it, adding two bakelite buttons and removing much of the lacy fringe till there was just the right amount.

...if it rolls around on your arm, it still looks good from every angle.

Now, like a seafood gumbo, I LOVE it!

(ps., I was lucky enough to live in the Deep South for a few years, and was deeply moved by southern literature, cuisine, dialect and nature...)

Experimenting with a prototype...

2011-07-14T00:43:00.000-07:00

I don't know where this will take me. It's an experiment from yesterday, and I wanted to do an even skinnier cuff, and try patches on it...

I used linen canvas, green linen (lining), linen patches, hand stitching and a fantastic green plastic button.

It was fun to do, and required time for the hand stitching, and I think I have to work through some considerations--colors, textures, etc...

...and a photo style. It's like a doodle of my imagination...love working in the sloooowwww summer. Let's see where it goes...

This reminds me of the Three Penny Opera...

2011-07-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

...it must be the patches.

I like the idea of wearing the trim towards the arm.

...working for a mix of masculine and feminine. Delicate and classic, and yet a little amusing!

With details of vegetable bakelite, bakelite, hand-crocheted lace trim, patches, fern linen lining, grey linen plaid...

And the trim even looks nice pointed towards the hand, and not at all frilly. I wonder what Bertolt would have said...

Summertime...

2011-07-07T03:49:00.000-07:00

I decided to make a lariat necklace--with a Hebron bead, a hand-carved goat horn button, two bakelite cube buttons, a handmade ceramic glazed bead, a glass wedding bead from Mali (these were made in Venice in the 19th century, then imported to Mali), and a polished glass shard from Mali (with a little chip out of it). Oh, and a glass German bead.

I tie the knots between the beads so tight they are unable to be opened...

...so that when I make the piece, it is a commitment on my part.

The hand-woven loop takes me time and concentration. I have thrown a few away because they just weren't up to par. This kind of loop is beautiful and strong. I also use the expensive kind of waxed cotton cord, (a cloth covering over a clear nylon line much stronger than leather, and longer-lasting). The one I have around my neck is more than a decade old, and I wear it every day. Yes, I have swum in it.

The garden is in full bloom. These are corn flowers...

...fresh green beans...

Wild coriander growing in the flowers.

My gooseberry and strawberry jam. I got seven jars out of three quarts.

Work in progress. That's a bag. :-)

I took the Canolli, but didn't get to it...

2011-07-06T00:11:00.001-07:00

...because last weekend I was on the trail...and drinking café au lait. And isn't that a beautiful tree? Can you believe it is still alive--and happy, too!

A good book is worth a second read! Pictures of gooseberry jam, tomorrow!

A Gooseberry-Inspired Clutch...

2011-07-05T02:37:00.000-07:00

Just back from the French Vosges, and re-inspired to do a basic clutch. So many times I have wished for a catch-all, instead of a big bag with tons of pockets. I think I'll do more of this size...isn't this material incredible? It's vintage Guatamalan fabric, thick and soft as a baby's blanket, and it smells so good!

Oh, and I made gooseberry jam, so that's the inspiration, plus mountains and fresh air!

The Mountains Are Calling...(to the music, La Vie en Rose)

2011-06-28T22:49:00.000-07:00

France: vin, fromage, chanson, croissant, fleur, champignon, joi de vivre, café au lait...(double-click on this image for a great view!)

...le soleil, la montagne, mon ami (mon marie), enchanté...

See you soon!

New and narrower...I think it would look good with a , oh, you really don't need to wear anything...

2011-06-26T04:06:00.000-07:00

:-D Okay, it would look GREAT with anything black! Very Sophia Loren!

Mom sent me this beautiful very old piece of wool, an envelope for a pillow--no zippers, no buttons, all handstitching, the wool hand woven, with hand-embroidery in cross-stitching (you can tell by studying the back). It was completely handstitched, in pristine condition, and smelled wonderfully laundered.

Mom bought it from an antique market, and the woman, whom I know personally, told her it was from Greece or Italy, and VERY old. I hope she meant older than I am.

I decided to make a simple hand-stitched cuff.

It is just an inch-and-a-half wide, and is lined in green linen. It closes with a metal button.

I love the classic simplicity of it.

But what does it look like on?

2011-06-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

This piece looks intimate, personal, individual and feminine. I try to scale pieces to the human body, for the most part, in order that a woman would want to develop a daily relationship with a piece she wears.

Often, photos of jewelry get lost in hair and overwhelmed by other images in the photo, unless taken at a very close range, editing out most of the face and body. The exception are photos of larger graphic or extravagant pieces (an arm full of bangles that run up the wrist, a huge collar).

The back of a necklace is a design element I find very intrieging to expound upon...

...it should balance the front, complement it and...

...show off a beautiful part of the body.

Squid Ink

2011-06-21T11:09:00.001-07:00

In this piece I was working on pale pink with black and bone...modern, graphic, and tribal.

Glossy and matt.

Striped and diamond.

It has a quality of polished elegance and animal sensuality...

I think :-)

East of East

2011-06-18T06:30:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I'll make something and just can't wait to show it off. This is one of those pieces where the elements just SING together. It's delicate, strong, exotic, yet simple enough to be worn on a daily basis. The colors--cucumber, peach, cream, and fuschia--I love them...

Here's what goes into the making of such a piece:

That jade bead is old, the antique multi-part button of cut-steel and copper rose with accents of red is older--over a hundred years old, and expensive. The Bedouin embroidery (no longer made of this quality and minute fastidiousness) is old, too. All the pieces come from different places around the world (The Middle East, United States, Germany), where the individuals concerned carefully packaged them and took them to the post office to send to me, like rare spices, because they believed I could cook something with them. The cord on the jade is hand-crocheted silk. My loop is hand-woven, the embroidery is hand-embroidered. I hand-sewed the bead from the hand-embroidered Bedouin cloth. It took many hands through many generations to make this, and then it took a whole lot of time and enthusium to scout for certain elements. I didn't just throw this together, I horded each element till I saw some sense and poetry in them. And then I took my experience of long winters, springs, summers and falls--51 years, to call this a design and pull it together. So, something like this isn't just a lark. (You can't buy it at Walmart. You can't get it at the art museum in the big city next door. There's not another one like it in the world.)

It's my hope that it looks like it was born to be. :-)

The Spice Thief

2011-06-17T08:54:00.000-07:00

We did this photo-shoot in fifteen minutes.

I thought of the costume before I went to sleep last night.

...at least the clothes pins part.

This morning when I tried putting the clothes pins in my own hair, I saw some mechanical deficits...

The headband was perfect!

Flowers in my coffee...

2011-06-14T08:14:00.000-07:00

The first time I found flowers in my coffee, I was speechless.

I'm not the most talkative person in the morning...:-)

I think I'll put flowers in my coffee tomorrow morning...we have lavender blossums, sage blossums, rose blossums, but what I really want are orange blossums. I'll just have to put some lemon skin in my coffee...that's good too!

A Whit Sunday Photo Shoot...

2011-06-12T12:58:00.000-07:00

The face of LaTouchables...

This was a fun and effortless shooting that happened spontaneously and quickly.

Ideas transformed themselves from pragmatic to fantastic...

A man's shirt became a turban became a hood, an art photo...

A cardigan...

...transformed into haut couture...

She's absolutely wonderful. Work becomes much more meaningful when viewed on a human form. The translation of the piece is instant.

Thank you, sweety!!!!!! XXOO

Look what came in the mail...!!!

2011-06-09T01:59:00.000-07:00

Do you know the wonderful designer, Lois of 13threads? She designs incredible dresses, skirts, coats, and hats to-die-for.

My haut-couture hat makes me feel beautiful!

(a nice thing when you get to be my age)...

I will love it FOREVER!

It goes with my whole wardrobe. I had seen it in her shop and had coveted it for a long time before I realized I had better snatch it before fall came. She uses Liberty of London cotton in weepingly beautiful prints, and that combined with the wool got to the very heart of me...

XOX

Cartoon of the week...

2011-06-08T23:49:00.000-07:00

Every week I get the New Yorker in the mail, and the first thing I do is look through the cartoons.

(double click for full impact)

:-DDD

Do you remember Ferdinand?

2011-06-07T02:53:00.000-07:00

I always thought his mother was the very best kind, even though she was just a cow...

...she let him sit in the shade of the cork tree and be the bull he was, albeit an atypical one...

(my very first childhood book--I swooned when I saw this in a window of an English bookstore in Munich)

It's a miniature sachet, for the woman who has everything...;-)

Went down to the pond with a cup of coffee...

2011-06-04T09:47:00.000-07:00

...in my new all-time favorite cup by Jill, of GlazedOver...

We have river heron that steal the fish out of our pond. They even caught a couple of frogs...sometimes I can come upon them suddenly--magnificent birds. I put a plastic snake in my mint to try and scare them off. They aren't impressed. I'm happy about that--I love herons, their great breadth of wing...

On the soily banks you can find seashells from Florida...

Juicy!

2011-05-31T08:16:00.000-07:00

I'm going to call this one, 'Blood Orange'.

!!!

I love it!

Whatsa madda, you don like pizza?

2011-05-28T10:09:00.000-07:00

Pizza, ta night fa dinna! Don be late!

(I like to practice my Italian accent in print--how is it? Go ahead, be brutally honest. Actually, it sounds a little like Bugs Bunny--more the better!)

She's Ready

2011-05-27T00:02:00.000-07:00

As you may recall a few posts back, after I had completed this, I found a fault line in one of the wood beads...

So I dissassembled the necklace, which entailed destroying the knotted cord and hand-woven catch, weaving a new catch...

...replacing the faulty bead with in a new one...

...and now she's ready.

My Creative Space...

2011-05-26T02:44:00.000-07:00

This will be a slender cuff, completely hand-sewn with primitive dense stitching.

Gasp--I just looked up the price of Corticelli pure silk twist, and it's astronomical. Well, now it's hunting time because this is my last spool--I'll need it all because of the dense stitching. Anyone have any ideas where to purchase it--or something similar? Pure silk adds that extra bit of glamour.

For more creative spaces look here.