Friday Television Review

It's been an interesting week. I was feeling really stuck and empty. Then I started to feel creative ideas forming in my head. Then I started to feel more at peace, more in the moment and accepting. Then I started doing little things with a sense of purpose and happiness. Then I got two emails from friends of friends asking if I would like to meet for coffee. Then I got a job.

Yep. One of the places that I had left a resume at called and asked if I would come down and talk with them, and I got the job. I will be at a "job" 3 days a week. I think the structure will be good for me. [more on all that later]

I wanted to say that I also saw 2 documentaries on TV this week that really inspired me. One was on the Australian public tv - ABC. It was about the craft revolution. I was glad to see that this topic had made it to television. It is called Making It Handmade. The other one is from the fashion channel here. It is called Vivienne Westwood's London. What an unexpected treat! It was sweet to get to see some of the interesting and artsy sided of one of my favorite cities. But the real treat was hearing this fashion queen talk about art, culture, civilization, history, and humanity. I was so drawn in, it made me want to always remember to think like an artist, live like an artist, and stay engaged in the big issues of our generation.

Somewhere in the World - Barcelona Spain

In 1985 my husband (then boyfriend) and I went to Europe. We had studied the cooperative society of the Basque city of Mondragon in an organizational psychology class and we wanted to go explore and possibly live in Spain.

We traveled from London, through France and Switzerland, to Barcelona. It was January and, much to our dismay, wet and frigid when we arrived. The city looked dismal and abandoned as we trudged through the streets trying to find food and our pension (a small, low-cost hotel or home with rooms to let). We got some bread and peanut butter at a convenience store. We left our coats on in our room as we ate, then crawled under the covers to get warm, and fell asleep.

About two hours later, we woke to what sounded like crowds of people outside our window. When we opened the shutters, the streets were bright, bustling, and alive with shops, restaurants, families, young people, old people, dogs, laughing, shopping, strolling. We realized that we had arrived during siesta, and our opinion of the place immediately flipped from bad to good.

We spent about ten days there and didn't get to see everything. It is a city full of spontaneity, passion, creativity and flair. I loved the Gaudi, the Miro, and Picasso's Guernica. I loved strolling and shopping on the Ramblas and eating groceries from the Mercat de la Boquería, Barcelona's gigantic central market. There are stalls with everything from flowers to cheese, to hanging legs of jamon (Spanish Prosciutto). I loved the old narrow winding streets and most of all, the fashion sense of the Spanish people.

When we went it cost $3.50/night to stay in a small but clean and safe room. Dinner was about 2-5 dollars. It was before the olympics were there and before the Euro. It is much more costly now but I think it is still very much worth the experience.

From the bottom up, the photos are:

Check out Annafabo on etsy. She lives in Barcelona.

Don't forget the fashionable children! Here is one from Melimelon.

The Market.

A map of the area around the Miro Museum!!

An overview of The Ramblas.

Wrap Around Joy! (Skirts Project)

Does anyone remember the wrap around hippie skirts of the '60s and '70s? Whether it is an Indian tapestry hippie skirt with the hem down to the ankles, or a short tennis skirt, or a stylish classic length kilt, the wrap around skirt always seems to have staying power.

I saw these little girl skirts by Rare Birds Clothing, on Etsy and it reminded me of how fun they can be. They are easy on and off, and they can be adjusted to whatever feels comfortable on the waist or hips. There is something really free, sporty, and a little sassy about a wrap around skirt.

My Mary Jane skirt (the brown hemp one) is a wrap and it is a pretty good substitute for pants. With the extra bit of fabric I can sit on the ground, I can move around easily in it, and I always get compliments on it.

Here are some fun examples from a google search and from Etsy - starting at the bottom going up:

I love this vintage pattern from Cemetarian Vintage.

How about this fun dotted one from Elle et Lui Indian Exports.

Are these not the coolest from Fantasy World Heroes? They are meant to be worn as an outer layer to keep warm and dry when you only have a short coat!

My absolute favorite is this retro looking one from Katinkapinka.

And this is on my wish list for my birthday this year - Made With Love by Hannah.
Reversible little girls' skirt by Rare Birds Clothing.

Check out all these great shops and remember, you don't have to be a hippie to wear a wrap around skirt!

Yes You Can Shovel Snow in a Skirt

It seems the only thing to write about is how much snow we are having and how it is effecting our lives. The girls have another snow day and we are unable to go anywhere. Under these circumstances, it might seem more practical to put on some long pants, but my warm boots, thick tights, and wool skirt are just as good.

I think I'm starting to get a little boring and unfashionable with my outfits. This is partly because I have run out of cute things to wear, and partly because my imagination is weakening. I got a dose of inspiration on Friday when I met a friend in Sedona and was asked to help organize her closet and revitalize her look. I was telling her that you have to have a look or a theme in mind when you put things together. For example, a glamorous top can go with old jeans if you are going for a rock star look. The point is to be deliberate.

So I am going to try to take my own advice and see if I can get back to a stylish 4/5 skirts project. I am already thinking about my summer vacation and how little I will need to pack!

Textile Tuesdays : #13 Pantone Color Chart

One of the things about fashion that I actually like, is the shifts in color trends. A person can look at a particular color fabric and guess what decade it came from. Yes, there are patterns and styles that give you clues, but sometimes it is specifically a color.

The most famous of these are based on dyes that were widely used, or just discovered. Indigo is quite old, "turkey" red, that was made from Madder root is associated with the Civil War era. Avocado and orange make us think of the '70s, and magenta and fluorescents mean '80s.

It is true that there are many subtle variations and things come back around and around. But the shifts give us a sense of time and hopefully a feeling of newness and change.

Pantone is a company that makes color swatches for designers of all kinds. I found this website with their color trend predictions for Spring 2010. It is based on their research of a cross-section of designers and what is most commonly popping up.

I happen to love this palette! The colors are natural but bright and there is a different take on typical hues. For example, the red is more of a tomato, the turquoise is moving towards a calmer teal. I also like the idea of mixing a bright color with a neutral that is not just black, brown, white, or grey. In fact, it seems that black and white are missing... interesting. Can you give up your black? or your whites?

The shirt is by Isla New York, the chairs are by Fabulous Pieces, and the blanket is by Turtle Murtle. They are all sellers on ETSY. The runway model is from Carolina Herrera.

Textile Tuesdays : #11 Furry Fashion

When I was little, my grandmother had a fox stole. She was a stout, no-nonsense Irish immigrant woman who raised 5 children in a working class neighborhood in Detroit and this was one of her little bits of luxury and glamour.

We used to play with the string of foxes when we went to their house to visit or to spend the night. It had two foxes with heads, tails and feet. The mouth of one opened and closed to attach to the other one when you wore it. It could be considered cruel fashion, creepy or disgusting, but as a child, I just thought it was beautiful.

Nowadays I prefer "faux" fur. I am not sure how eco-friendly it is. It's not natural and it may be more polluting, but nothing is killed in it's production. I would normally prefer wool - but there is something fun and cozy about a big furry stole, hat, or vest. Big furry coats and boots remind me of glam-rock or the 70's and 80's. There is also something a little exotic about it like it is from Russia or Mongolia.

I am completely opposed to the idea of fur coats. I can't begin to write about the bloody industry of fur, especially wild and endangered animals. So, it is sort of an ironic, playful statement to wear an outrageous fake fur item - the more obviously fake, the better.

The neck warmer is from Karmology. The giraffe hat is from Brown Bunny by Iris. The blankets are by Urban Mutt. The Roses Are Red is modeling her necklace with her fake fur hat.

The vest is by Coogi on a site called DrJays.com.

seeing spots

I like watching the t.v. show "Monk". It just wrapped up its final season and ended the story. At one point, Monk was poisoned by someone who wanted to kill him. He knew something was wrong when he started seeing spot.

I am just seeing them since I wrote my recent post on polka dots. Now I am noticing them all over the place. I went with my husband to a matinee today to see "Up in the Air", the new George Clooney movie. It was really wonderful - sad, sweet, humorous, insightful. I really enjoyed myself and would have been totally absorbed in the story except I kept noticing the polka dots on his tie, then I started noticing all the tie patterns and all the fabrics, textures, patterns. I know I'm not poisoned but I guess I am just obsessed with textiles and pattern. I liked the small pink polka dot on a navy tie.

More Dots, More Snow, More Cookies

I found these photos in my archives. The green bag is one I made a year or so ago. The other things are just items I favored. I think the rose and dot bag might be Kath Kitson.

It snowed again yesterday so the old piles of black, melting snow have a new layer of fluffy white frosting for Christmas.

I stayed in my PJ's all day yesterday but I will take a shower and get dressed today. I guess I'll wear my brown skirt since it is the most lounge-worthy. My big accomplishment yesterday was making more Christmas cookies. I made my mom's traditional Snow Balls with walnuts, butter sugar and flour - they are like a short bread. But I added cardamom and finely chopped fresh rosemary. I had been wanting to try something in this new strange spice combo trend.

They are delicious.

Textile Tuesdays : #10 Polka Dots

I won't go into a long essay on the history of the design or the name. I wasn't able to find an exact answer, but you can go to this link and get an unofficial summary: The Word Detective. This has more to do with the name and not the design. My guess is that uniform dots in a uniform pattern is too generic to assign it to any one source; kind of like the stripe. I bet there were polka dot type patterns in Babylonia.

Anyway, what I do want to say, is that I love polka dots. I love the combination of the fun, cosmic, round dot arranged in an even, organized, respectable order. Usually it is printed in fun colors with white dots. But it is equally fabulous in black, pale pink, or even tan, and the dots can be colored on a white or different colored ground. The dots can be tiny, pin dots or gigantic, one inch dots.

I am thinking here of fabric and clothing but the polka dot pattern has been used on pillow, curtains, dishes, and toys. It is typically playful but has recently been used in post-modern design as an ironic, nostalgic backdrop.

I like the big dots that are in style now, but I have to say that my favorite is dotted swiss. Does anyone besides me remember what that is. My friend recently showed me a photo of a cactus and I said it looked like dotted swiss. She had no idea what I was talking about. I am planning on making a stuffed cactus sculpture out of dotted swiss (if I can get my hands on some). I will post a picture of it when it is done.

I guess it might not technically be a polka dot since the dots are not completely round. The kind I like best is round because the dots are printed on and flocked with some cheap polyester fuzz. Maybe that is not technically a dotted swiss. I like to make up my own rules in these and other matters so, I am sticking to this story. I wonder if I could make my own flocked dots out of natural fuzz on organic cotton. That would be really cool.

The pictures at the top are by: , Jesse Mosher, Apron Anatomy, and LA Drama Queen. The collection is from an etsy treasury made up by Retro Labs. All of these people are on etsy.com.

Thursday Skirt Recap

Well, you have probably noticed that I am not taking daily photos of my skirt adventures. This is partly because I can't always get someone to take my picture, and partly because I get bored with looking at myself everyday. I Thought that it would be an entirely different idea to do a project where you had to ask someone every day to take your picture. That would be good, huh?

Anyway, I am still wearing the same 4 skirts. It has been about six weeks and I must report that I am really getting bored with it. Observing my feelings and reactions is part of the experiment, right? I still have not gotten any reaction (verbally) from anyone else. I have gotten no comment what so ever from anyone on any of my wardrobe! I have to say, I am a little bit hurt. I have tried to mix things up a little to see if anyone would say anything. I went for 3 weeks of wearing the same skirt all week - that got no response. I decided to be more free with my make up and accessories so people wouldn't think I was dressing to suit laziness and boredom - no response. I even tried to wear things that didn't match like my black and brown flowered Zara skirt with pink and grey argyle knee socks pushed down around my ankles with green clogs and a white torn t-shirt with a print from the Textile Museum. I think it actually looked kind of cute and fun, but no one complimented me or said " what is the deal with your outfit?"

In the end though, I think it is more of an exercise for me. It is like being on a fashion diet. I want the ultimate goal to be getting used to less, not craving what I can't have. I have seriously come close to throwing on some jeans the last few days. When I had my headache yesterday, and the day before when it was cold, I cringed at the thought of picking out a skirt outfit. However, when I went into my room and saw the skirt, I just put it on. It actually made it easier to get going.

I am still pulling out new items to wear with the skirts, so really, I am not wearing the same thing over and over. I am looking forward to sporting my scarves, knee socks, jackets, sweaters and boots. When I get through all of those, I don't know what I will do. Part of it is my wanting to stick with something that I started. So, for now, I plan to keep it up and to keep trying new ideas to make it interesting and worthwhile. I may have to get the scissors and thread and alter the skirts to make it more artistic. That sounds fun to me!