Attempt #1, meet attempt #3

Momma skirt meets little girl skirt

Scrap skirt Project #1

Well, the skirt is actually attempt #3... (But who is counting?
Besides me.)
Attempt #1 was a mommy sized one that will make an appearance, but it
is definitely a first attempt. (it was a little too "spinny" for my
taste, but someone else thought it was just right and requested one of
her own)
Attempt #2 was for the Design Director, but I told J that she would
look at it and deem it "not spinny enough". I was right. To her
credit, she was so grateful and tried bravely to be sweet in her
disappointment, but it was apparent that she found it greatly lacking
merit.
Enter Attempt #3... Of which I am quite proud and the Design Director
has stated that she wants to "wear it everyday."
Hooray!

Don't ever plan something with me unless I have my calendar

HAPPY HOLIDAY WEEKEND!

In my jumbled, bumpy brain, I don't do well with logistics or plans... I was so excited to get together with my sister this weekend - hopefully one last girl shindig before baby #3 comes along for her, but I forgot that I was already doing a bunch of other things that were scheduled... in reading this string of emails this morning, I laughed so hard that tears came to my eyes. Here is some insight into life as me...

From: libbyGmail
Sent: Thursday, July 03, 2008 8:43 AM

To: Victory
Subject: Re: Beach anyone - Saturday, July 5 9:00AM :)
Sorry about the mixup.I'm feeling a little stupid
J said (not unkind), "what were you thinking?"
My response, (after really thinking about it)
"I guess I was picturing this week had two Saturdays, now that I think about it"
... Now you can see why I try to never plan things without my calendar...

From: Victory
Sent: Thursday, July 03, 2008
To: Libby

Don’t feel stupid… it’s not that big of a deal.
It kind of does have 2 Saturdays… except for one of them is Friday. (I’m being serious).

(My very organized sister is extending grace here)

I've never mentioned it here before - but don't ever play cards with me, either.
I can't tell the difference between Jacks and Jokers.

The second side...

The Design Director always wants to be in the photos.

Today's project

Trying to come up with good gift ideas for the Design Director's many
birthday soirées... We made this one today modeled after one Great
Grandma made for me a few years ago.

I have the coolest friends (Poor Pitiful Pearl)

So, by now, you know I love love love patchwork, assemblage, vintage, quilted artwork of nearly all kinds. I love it in my house, I love it on my body.... I love to make it, buy it, sell it.

So there's no question why I love Poor Pitiful Pearl. Shauna at PPP used to live here in LA and was a friend of a friend... I fell in love with her work and immediately began buying her skirts and tops for myself and Miss M. We love it.

I love that PPP is all about recycling, I love the style and flair that she has, and I think Shauna is a fabo' designer. (I've been meaning to write about her for the longest time)

Here are some of her images, and some of my own PPP possessions (I'm currently waiting for my 2nd PPP skirt - a short one)...

I have to admit, though, that I have had the hardest time figuring out ideas of ways to use our own scraps (which I instruct our seamstresses to NOT throw out the scraps so we can use them in our bags, etc) in wearable ways that don't emulate or draw away from PPP's fabulous style and language...

...but my ideas are coming to fruition and I hope to start taking some of my new sketches to reality in the next few months for some one of a kind scrap skirts of our own. They will not look like PPP's skirts, though - so you'll have to buy these from her.

Couture and scrapbooking... my theories

So I haven't been sewing this week, but I have been trying to "catch up" a little with my scrapbooks. I am two years behind in all of our family albums - as well as the kiddos' albums, so technically, I believe that makes me 6 years behind.
But not to worry - I am the speed demon of scrapping and I have very low standards with how these albums will look... I like to think of it this way...
a few years ago I read that one of the big name guys (I think it was Karl Lagerfeld) in design couture said that he never wasted his creative juices on dressing himself and wore only black as a result.
Well, in that universe, I am the Couture designer of scrapbooking, then, I guess...
I waste NONE of my skills making works of art that will sit in books on shelves - though I have to admit, I even recently bought a scrapbooking book because the designer (really, ARTIST Ashley Calder) who wrote it was so skilled and inspirational to read about that I have it around for eye candy... (It's called SCRAPTASTIC - I know, the name belies its artistic value, but the work in it is lovely, really art and poetry together)
here are some images from her book...











So I am punching it out this week, trying to catalog in three different places -
the past two years, which I am still not quite sure I have survived.

In the meantime, though - my head is germinating and LOVING some new ideas I have for skirts... ooooooooh... more on that later.

Too hot

I've got a zillion ideas and projects that I want to work on, but I
can hardly function in this heat. I'm just a porch dweller today.
(this morning we hit up every store with a/c that I could think of...
In LA you don't always need a/c, but the days you do need it hurt!)

Wow. It is really hot.

skirts on sale

in the mindset of "spring (really, summer) cleaning"...

I've put some skirts on sale at our etsy store...

Quilts make me happy

I was given this vintage quilt, and another as well - as a part of an early inheritance from J's Grammy.
I treasure it already. The fabrics make me dream and I just freak out every time I look at the hand stitches that hold it together.
Amazing.