I’ve been thinking about my holiday cards this year. Actually, I haven’t sent any out in the past few years, I start too late, and making most of my gifts, the cards get pushed aside. This year though, I have an idea, a greener idea, that involves email, but hopefully won’t be deleted. (Not that any of my family or friends would EVER delete one of MY emails) I’m thinking a “card” that can be emailed, and printed out and hung on the tree, or mantle or framed to be KEPT FOREVER.
Then, this morning, while clicking around, I found these:
I’ve always been fascinated with charts and information. I love how each item is carefully placed on the page, either illustrated amazingly well or photographed beautifully.
The two images above were found on , which is an extensive collection of images and information, prepare to spend HOURS.
From .
I could pour over the antique and vintage wall charts.
Have you seen the , a Flickr group where you can find similar charts and collections of curious things. Also, , another Flickr group, perhaps the modern version of the older wall charts. . . . . . .
I loved my visit to NYC. I took the train in early hoping to visit the MET. About 5 minutes from Manhattan the train stopped, for over 2 hours. Electric trains don’t work when the wire runs out, obviously.
But I made it to the MET anyway.
I think the has to be one of my most favorite places on this planet. Every time I walk into the lobby, I get a little teary and overwhelmed. (It’s not the flowers, my allergies aren’t that bad! – this week anyway). It’s a lovely place filled with history, talent and inspiration.
When I was in I had a costume class that met every week behind the scenes of . I was in heaven. I’ve always love clothes, accessories, fashion and textiles. With my little white gloves on, we were able to handle Vionnet, Grés, Schiaparelli, Dior, Balenciaga and, well, everything. We were allowed to study the fabric, the techniques, the embellishments, all the handiwork. Everytime I visit the MET, I head to the Costume Institute first. This time I arrived on the final day of .
The collection presented for this exhibition was impressive displaying fantastic period pieces as well as innovative ideas from present day designers. I had my favorites, and while I was DYING to take pictures, I didn’t thinking there would be a printed catalog, but there isn’t. The pictures on the are small, but there is lots of information to explore.
Tara Donovan has an at the MET as well. I am quickly falling for her work, I love discovering the materials used in her pieces. Here, she’s used Mylar tape. I find that I really like the way light plays a part in each piece.
I’ve been craving Spring, so a walk through Central Park was next. Lots of budding color. I love NYC in the spring.
I was in NYC for . I was working with , a source for vintage inspiration. Here’s what our lovely booth looked like. This is another piece of heaven for me, I love textiles, especially textiles with a story. Makes my heart pitter a bit faster. For the show, there was a lovely selection of clothing, paintings, fabrics and wallpaper. yum, yum and more yum.
We finished set-up early and cabbed it off to dinner. On West 37th Street, they were filming something…Evangeline Lilly and Clive Owen in the middle of the photo. Anybody know what they are shooting?
Another experience :: Wine in a Cup. Don’t try it. Yuck.
I ran into an old friend from college – and out to dinner we went. Hi ! It was FUN! See, Andrea and I used to stop and have lunch on our way back from our class at the MET at an Italian Restaurant on 86th St, so we had a lovely dinner in Little Italy. It was delish!
My last day in the city I was delivering a package when I walked by the Broadway Windows @ NYU. I’ve always loved that they make art accessible by having shows here. And, it was the that I’ve been fascinated with, and I’m so in love with the ocean right now anyway.
I did love my visit to NYC. I miss living there. I’ll keep visiting, and I hope to bring Iz with me next time. I took the bus and met Iz and Rob in NJ. I missed them so much! At least this time, there was no pneumonia.
Big thanks to for being my Guest BlogStar while I was away.
Wool is good. Felt is good. Blankets are good. Lists are good. This is going on my project list. I found this picture of a felted wool blanket in progress by . I can’t tell you how much I LOVE it.
I love it for many reasons. Using found materials is high on my list and finding things at thrift stores is not only fun, it’s good for our environment.
I love that wool is such an amazing medium. I learn more and more about wool all the time. Needle felting is something that’s on my list of things to learn this year.
And I love blankets. Maybe it’s the drafty and sometimes chilly house we live in, or maybe it’s the comfort of being wrapped in a warm blanket.
It could be a big project. But nice and warm. Maybe I’ll start with a small one, one for Iz to keep in the car.
Iz has been working on some of her Christmas presents. Here’s a sneak peek:
I’ve been busy with my AWESOME HomeSchool Sewing Series Class. It started on Wednesday. We spent a good half of the class learning about the sewing machines, how to wind a bobbin, how to thread the machine and what all the lines and numbers mean and what happens when you move them all around. Then we made soft trees. We made our own patterns (because you know I like to do that…), but it was all inspired by . Check out what these creative and super talented kids made and their wonderful personal touches of beads, stitches and embroidery:
Check out the
Later that night there was another Bag Sew :: Sew-cial at :
Bag Sews will be happening at least once a month at , and they happen at other times too, at other places around the Valley and Hilltowns. Sew-cials happen almost every other Wednesday at .
And then, I just have to share the most wonderful note I received just a few hours after a class:
Original art card:
Years ago, I started making my own Christmas cards (I can’t believe I don’t have any pictures!!! argh). It started out of necessity really, I was a college student, completely broke, but wanting all my family and friends to know that I have been thinking of them throughout the year. Being in , I had tons of supplies, and my beau at the time (now my husband) was handy with the paint and paper, and he helped me make the cards. I think we made 30 that year. So every year since (barring the year I was pregnant, and the past 2 years), we’ve made our cards.
We’ve always used things from our stash, but sometimes complemented them with tin and velvet and beads and cellophane. I would start thinking about cards after every new year, try to get started during the summer, but never really start until mid-December. For the few years while this has been on hiatus (due in large part to becoming a mom and figuring life out again), I so wanted to make cards. I think about family and friends all the time, but I’m not as fabulous at keeping in touch, and I always feel like these cards are my way of saying, “I’ve been thinking about you all year long…”
It’s been on my little to start again this year. So, now that it is after Thanksgiving, I thought it would be a good time to start. It’s a family affair. We’re making cards, working on them after dinner. The list has grown to well over 100. Tonight we started prepping, cutting and painting cardboard stars. Everything is from around the house. The only thing we’re buying this year are the stamps.
It was a lot of fun. I think Iz is about the age where memories stick around. I love that we can do things like this as a family. Family traditions are so important and can be loads of fun. I get pretty giddy thinking about the memories we are making as a family and wonder what Iz will remember and cherish. I love the holiday season. I love taking the time to make things that will let our family and friends know that we are thinking of them. I can’t wait to do more tomorrow night.
I’ve been trying to find out more about the bed linens in . (I think the overall art direction of the movie is quite spectacular…candy for the eyes in my book.) So every once in a while I , lots of good articles to read but don’t really come up with anything telling me about those beds!
I did get my most recent issue of , and noticed the amazing by . Beautiful little gems of scarves, crocheted with really amazing color combinations, and they really remind me of those precious blankets on the kids’ beds in Nanny Mcphee.
Below scarves available at
Her are really, really precious. I love these little star flowers.
The Victoria & Albert Museum exhibit, opened yesterday. (Makes you just want to jet off to London, doesn’t it?)
The exhibit looks spectacular, with wonderful selections from innovative designers.
There are more reasons I love the exhibition. Open Source Sewing! You can for the and MAKE YOUR OWN couture inspired dress. Can it be any more fun than that?
It does get a bit more fun…you can enter the , which will be judged by Professor Jimmy Choo. And you can always pick up the .
via
While you’re visiting V&A (whether on-line or in person), be sure to check out .
That’s right. Send a t-shirt, a skirt, a scarf, hat, bag, bib, onesie, and he’ll hand and machine embroider it with his sporozoan. He’ll send it back with his art embroidered on it in the SASE you sent with your article. You can find out more about the sporozoan on his and .
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