A VEST OF VENERATION

Almost five years ago, in this post, I wrote about my dear friend, cherished role model and beautiful human being, Laura.

At 104, Laura is presently transitioning to the next life, and in love, gratitude and honor, I finally made the quilted garnet silk vest I wanted to remember her by.

Laura taught me so much, by example, by her everpresent interest and fierce support in whatever
I might be doing, by the way she dressed, and by the love which she carried within her that was unmistakeable and available to all.

I bought this quilted velvet 5 years ago and made another Vogue 1453.

I'm also introducing my new hat, a gray felt handmade '40's type hat, made by 

UnaHats and sold on Etsy.

Maggie and David were up last weekend and lots of cooking and hanging out took place. Lovely as always! I have a new cookbook, Gjelina, named after a much beloved restaurant in Venice (CA) that Maggie took me to several years ago. I dipped my spoon into the waters with

this,

Roasted Beet Salad with Avocado, Oranges, Toasted Hazelnuts and Sherry

Vinegar, recipe here.   YUMMM! It was particularly wonderful because the baby beets were from the farmstand next door to me, which recently reopened after a few months off for the winter. Their baby spinach is to die for, too...

And last night I made Roasted Mustard Chicken by The Barefoot Contessa...

which we will have tonight, also, along with a bottle of champagne, to toast 

the last (sob) episode of Downton Abbey.

I'm sliding in under the wire at the beautiful Style Crone Judith's Hat Attack...

come see who's wearing what!

TTYL

MAKING A STORYBOARD...AND CATCHING UP!

Since I last posted, I drove up to Redwood City to attend another AIF, Artistry in Fashion. This is my 3rd time in 4 years...it's always fun to see friends, make new friends, see fashion shows and shop the Vendors. There are usually several blog readers who introduce themselves to me...I love that!

Here are Shams, from Communing with Fabric, and Ronda Chaney, Program Coordinator of the Cãnada College Fashion Design Department; she is responsible for this wonderful event.

Friends Dorothy, Ann and Barbara, all models in the Fashion Show, in their outfits...

and here, in their "real" clothes.

and here they are with Shams. As always, I walked away with some special things from the wonderful vendors.

I decided to stop sewing new things and start putting together my travel wardrobe for Portugal; we leave in 2 ½ weeks, so this is none too soon.

As I was accumulating items for consideration, I happened to have all my red footwear on the floor in my closet, and I was amazed to find I have so many
red shoes!

Red is truly a neutral for me...

Also, as I was choosing what to pull out of my closet, I took advantage of the chance to rearrange my tee shirts and turtlenecks, moving them from hangers to drawers. MicMac took advantage, too... (Marie Kondo would be so proud of me...

I decided to try a new way of "storyboarding" my travel wardrobe, so I thought I'd share with you how I begin. I took pictures of each article of clothing that might potentially make it to the final cut. I hung a white sheet on a pole and hung the clothing item on a clothesline in the foreground. For instance:

This is my latest "Trifecta" pant, in a black bengaline with silver stripes from Marcy Tilton.
After a little Photoshopping, I had this to add to my possibilities:

After all the photographing and Photoshopping, I made a file of all the pants

all the vests

and all the tunics

I do this for coats and jackets, tee shirts, and accessories. When I am finished, I put them all together and begin the culling (I know, TMI, what can I say, I'm a geek...)

Speaking of accessories, I am breaking in these gorgeous Stuart Weitzman boots as I write...

With that lug sole, they should be great for Lisbon's cobblestone hills. They are supremely comfortable.

My friend Joan had a complete knee replacement a few days ago...I went to visit her earlier today.

A couple of friends had just given her this enormous goofy hair bow...which I of course had to try

The necklace I'm wearing here is one of my "finds" from AIF...it is made from

the balls in a roll-on deodorant bottle...that makes it even more "special"!

Joan's beautiful sister is taking care of her...

    "Nurse Linda"

That's all for now...TTYL!

OREGON LOVE, PART 2

Picking up where I left off, I am ensconced in Willie's wonderful condo in Hammond, Oregon, watching the ships, tugs, sea lions, geese, mallards etc. out of the window.

We stayed close to home on Tuesday and Wednesday, but on Thursday, we headed south. We went to a few cute "cottagey" shops in Gearhart;

Here's Willie with some of the FABULOUS Rhodies in bloom, and a few pretty little snowdrops.

We had fish tacos for lunch at Pacific Way in Gearhart.

Then, sustained with food and drink, we headed down to Cannon Beach.

First stop was the Sea Soles Shoe Boutique. I got a pair of Fly London Sandals in Pewter.

I am ashamed to say I introduced Willie to Fly Londons, and she succumbed
to these lovelies, which I bought last year in Santa Fe...

We went into a store whose name I forget, and both bought some pretty, light weight loose rayon print pants in black and white. (Willie and I dress alike, in case you hadn't noticed...) I'll post a picture when I get home.

Then on to Organic Boutique, where Willie and I genteely fought over a black Prairie Underground coat...I WON. Here is a picture from online, which shows the details

 and here it is on me!

After browsing in a few more stores, we crossed the street and went into

Dena's Shop on the Corner. Fabulous clothing, jewelry and shoes.

After much trying on of clothes, I fell in love with this outfit from Alembika,

an Israeli design house I love.

I asked the saleswoman for a light tee to try on the outfit with, as the top is sleeveless, and she came up with this

Don't you love the name? It's almost as good as the product, which is available in many colors and fabrics online. And, as you may have noticed, I also
got a pair of Gladiator Sandals...

After all that exhausting commerce, we went home and collapsed.

Yesterday, we took a long walk and did some errands;then we went out to dinner with two of Willie's friends. Today, we played in Willie's closet (always a fun thing to do), she took the above pictures, and we're off to a concert this afternoon. Tomorrow, I fly home.

Happy Mothers' Day!

BITS AND PIECES...

This post is to catch up with all the little bits and questions I've been asked! In no particular order...

Our trip next fall, to North Eastern India; this will be my EIGHTH trip to India and I have wanted to go to Nagaland since my very first trip in 1990. Why?

"The uncontested 'wild east' of India, Nagaland is probably one of the reasons you came to the Northeast in the first place. A place of unparalleled primeval beauty, Nagaland's dazzling hills and valleys – right on the edge of the India–Myanmar border – are an otherworldly place where until very recently some 16-odd headhunting Naga tribes valiantly fought off any intruders. Of course, the place is a shadow of its once savage self today, and much of the south of the state is fairly developed. In the north, however, you still stand a good chance of meeting tribesmen in exotic attire who continue to live a lifestyle that is normally only seen within the pages of National Geographic" 

Read more: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/india/northeast-states/nagaland#ixzz3GkOk0Z2Y

I was attracted to their textiles the first time I saw them...maybe you can see

why...

I must have been a Naga woman in a previous life... travel to Nagaland has been difficult in the past, but Lesley Robin, who specializes in textile tours, is

inaugurating this new tour next year, so we're on! I've traveled to South India with Lesley in the past. I'll let you know more details as I get them.

That's not to say we won't take another trip between now and then....

Several readers have asked about my fabric data base which I showed a picture of here. I use Bento, a Mac program that was developed by FileMaker, and unfortunately is no longer offered or supported. Since I had already set up my own templates for my fabric stash and my patterns, I continue to use them.

I have experimented with Evernote, which would probably work, but to tell the truth, I haven't spent the time necessary to set up the application as I would like it.

This is the "form" view which consists of a picture of the fabric and all the data elements I determined I needed. As often as possible, I copy the description of the fabric from the website of the vendor (in this case, Emma One Sock). This is the first step.

This is the thumbnail view, which shows the picture of the fabric and the description.

This is the list view, which can be sorted by all the different fields I chose...I really like this app, and will continue to use it as long as I can. Like any database, it only works if you keep it up...:(

I set up a similar data base for Sewing Patterns...if anyone wants to see it, email me and I'll go into the details.

The giant hook and eye tape I've used here

and here

came from (I think) Fabric of Vision in Ashland, Oregon. It appears to also be

available on Vogue Fabrics' site.

And one last share...my mother studied at the San Francisco Art Institute (then known as California School of Fine Arts) in the late '20s and early '30s. As well as Fine Art, she studied dress design and designed and sewed most of her own clothes, as well and mine and my sister's, all her life. When I last cleaned out my studio (waaaaay too long ago) I found some note books she kept in the early '50s, chronicling her designs, mostly of my sister's high school graduating outfits and the wardrobe my mother made for her when she went to the University of Washington. There are a few outfits of my mother's and one or two for me (I was about 14 at the time).

I thought you might like to see some of them...

Aren't those fun?

TTYL...