HELLO, SPRING!

I have been a busy bee with family and friends, food, deconstruction and sewing.

Here is my new Koos jacket, V1277...

I was inspired by my dear Paris traveling companion, Ruth, who was wearing this magnificent jacket the day I met her...

I used only stash fabrics for this, sticking to black, gray and silver

(in great number in my fabrics).  The primary fabric, a black and gray parallelogram taffeta, was from Marcy Tilton, 

 as were the rest of the fabrics.  I was able to use a fun silver trim from Paris for the bias sleeve seam.

Here it is on Ethyl, my dress form , where you can get a better idea of the fabrics I chose.

This was one of the more time-consuming projects I've taken on recently, due to the piecing, and to the making and applying of miles and miles of striped silk bias tape, but I enjoyed it, slowing down and listening to my Audible books. I listened to LaRose, by Louise Erdrich, and the first three of the Tana French Dublin Murder Squad books, In the Woods, The Likeness and Faithful Place...loved them all! I'm on #4 now.

Despite all the work involved, I enjoyed it so much that I am working on ANOTHER Koos jacket, a different pattern, which I will show you next time.

The weather here has been all over the map, and one morning recently, I went back in the house for another layer...and found a coat I had bought in Paris, had

put in my coat closet, and FORGOT ABOUT!!! I'm afraid that may be a sign that

I have too many clothes😜. Here is the coat:

It's by Lauren Vidal. It was in the window of the LV store which Shams and I passed on the way to a fabric store with the group. When we were finished, we whipped back to the store and I bought the coat immediately. It is gray felted wool with an irregular black splotchy design. The inside is quilted silk, and it is piped with silver leather. YUM!

It's hard to believe I forgot about it, and I will be building my wardrobe for an upcoming trip to London and Scotland around this coat.

Maggie and David came up for a few days last week, and were joined by some friends of theirs from Las Vegas. There was the usual amount of companionable cooking in the kitchen...

This was a tasty barley and vegetable bowl, topped by expertly poached eggs
by Maggie.

THIS gorgeous arrangement was a surprise from SIL David. Among the orchids and roses are half a dozen highly fragrant lilies...Over a week later, they are still perfuming the dining room! Thanks, David! You know how to impress your MIL!!!

We enjoyed their visit...we took a picnic lunch up the mountain one day, flew their friends's drone.

The deconstuction I mentioned is the frightening amount of work we are having done for a serious termite infestation. Among other things, our very large deck has to be replaced, and while they were working, they found some dry rot...

It actually makes a lovely abstract painting, but it has to be repaired...😟

I was honored to be the subject of an article in our local paper recently...

Here's a link to a readable page if you're so inclined...it's on page 14.

Our Teddy boy is doing well; he's learning some new hand signals and goes to

doggy day care twice a week; he comes home EXHAUSTED from playing with the big guys, which is such a help!

Then he goes to sleep...

One last picture before I go to roast a chicken for dinner...

Dave came in from collecting the eggs the other afternoon and showed me this...it must be a first attempt by one of our new hens. Back to the drawing board, Henny-Penny!

I am traveling over to Patti's Visible Monday today...come admire the Visible
Women!

TTYL

FASHION, FOOD AND FOOTWEAR!

I carved out some studio time over the last two weeks and worked on this;

I returned to V1510, Sandra Betzina's vest pattern from last fall. I have been holding on to this verrrrry interesting fabric from EOS which I got a long time ago. It's a medium weight black jersey with squares of faux leather glued on. It looks a little like an alligator, but with a lot more texture...and you know me, I'm all about texture!

..

I removed the extended shoulder, drafted a facing, and changed the pockets to folded patch pockets. The facing, collar and pocket lining were out of a lightweight faux leather, also from EOS.

Here are closeups of the collar and pockets:

The vagaries of the fabric made this a little hard to fit, but it's unusual and subtle and I really like it! The snuggly boots are my latest Stuart Weitzman find on eBay..."Humzozomay Shearling Studs Wedge Boots"

Dave came in the other afternoon with the first harvest of our "Moro" blood oranges...so we had these at cocktail hour...

 Blood Orange Margarita with Ginger  Beautiful AND Tasty!


Since I had the camera out yesterday, I also took pictures of an outfit I bought in Paris at Juliette Ozouf.I would characterize her clothing as high-end boho...simple shapes, exquisite fabrics, subtle textures.

These are mostly wool, but so lightweight that I can wear them in my climate at least half the year.

Dave and I celebrated our 41st anniversary last week...with a fantastic meal and a bottle of good wine.

To celebrate the arrival of my Rancho Gordo Bean Club quarterly box, I used

the RG Cassoulet beans to make one of my favorite recipes:

Here's the recipe: it's Caramelized Onion Cassoulet and has no meat or cheese in it. It's OUTSTANDING! And while I was at it, I made this: Bon Appetit's Best Chai Masala.

I'm drinking it as I write.

Books? I read "The Dry", a debut novel by Jane Harper set in Australia, which I quite liked. I'm listening to "The Mischling" by Affinity Komar...a very hard book,

but the writing is gorgeous. I listen to it in small segments. It's about a set of twins in Auschwitz. If you can handle the subject matter, it's well worth reading (or listening to).

And finally, sad news about our Teddy...he is deaf. He was not deaf when we picked him up from the breeder, but he is now, and is proving very hard to train.

But we love him dearly and will do everything we can to help him learn his manners.

That's it for now...I'll be heading over to Patti's Visible Monday to join up with the other Visible Women. Come on by!

TTYL

PARIS TRIP, PART 2, AND A WARDROBE REVIEW

More time has passed that I had anticipated...but the memories of the Paris
trip are still warming my heart!

photo by Shams

 This was at the large flea market at Clignancourt, which Shams and I visited to test our Metro skills before the Tilton Tour began. A lotta red!


One of the thrills for me was the evening boat trip on the Seine, in the rain. In all my trips to Paris, I had never done this, and it was magical!

We had a few days of rain on the trip, but not pouring, and for this California
girl, the rain was welcome! Here are the beautiful clouds after a storm.

 The cool weather made dishes like this bouillabaisse all the more welcome...

 Here I am at Cafe Strada for a quick lunch with Shams...

 photo by Shams

I amused myself by taking a "Shamsian" shadow portrait...

and this is a photo of me at the Musée Galliera...

There's that sillhouette again!

TRAVEL WARDROBE REVIEW

I was pretty happy with my choices for the travel wardrobe; I took more clothes than usual, mainly because we were staying in the same room in the same hotel for a little over two weeks. Not having to continually re-pack and schlep a suitcase from place to place was a 
true luxury.

I wore everything I took except for the last-minute red pants. I preferred wearing jeans and I had red jeans in the suitcase, added after this storyboard was made, which were better suited for the weather. 

I also wore the Minoru Coat, the inspiration for the wardrobe, only once. Again, the other jackets and raincoat were better suited to the weather.

I LOVED my raincoat and wore it often.

I wore all the tops a lot; the silver shirt jacket not so much. Again, turtlenecks plus vest plus jacket or coat was more suited to the weather.

I wore all the vests (except for the "Keith Haring" one, which I pulled out at the last moment), and didn't wear the poncho. I find ponchos a little fussy at the best of times, and it just didn't suit the occasion and the weather.

I wore all my boots/shoes (bought 4 more in Paris, of course!), both hats (bought some hats,
too!)and both bags. I carried the Professional Tote as my plane carry-on, coming and returning, and used it several times in Paris. I need to add a strap to it so that I can wear it
cross-body.

So, I'm pleased with the wardrobe; again, I wouldn't take quite as much if I was traveling from place-to-place.I took just the right amount of jewelry and scarves, and the only reason I had
to buy a new suitcase was because of the shopping I did!

I cannot emphasize strongly enough the joy that I experienced on this trip...Marcy and Katherine are the perfect leaders, sensitive to the needs and desires of the group, extremely knowledgeable about where to go in Paris, and a heck of a lot of fun to be with! DO IT!

I made a very good potato recipe last night...Crispy Parmesan Potato Stacks... I halved the

recipe and we're having the other half tonight! Highly recommended!

Books? I just finished reading My Name is Lucy Barton, by Elizabeth Strout, and enjoyed it quite a bit. I haven't been spending much time in the studio, so the Audible book I'm listening to, Moonglow, by Michael Chabon, is still being listened to. It's good, so far!

Teddy is growing and thriving...he turns 7 months on the 20th. Here he is in my office...

and this is our usual view of him in the kitchen while we are cooking dinner...

I probably won't post again till after the holidays...we are having a quiet Christmas, and leave for Iowa on the 29th to attend our oldest grandson's wedding on New Year's Eve. I am watching the weather reports to make sure I take enough warm clothing.

A very happy holiday to those of you who celebrate, and to those who don't...

from Margy, Dave, Teddy and Micmac

I will be hanging out over at Patti's Visible Mondays; come on over and say hi!

TTYL