Team Finds: Celebrate Women's History Month...
By buying handmade by women from our team shops for the awesome women in your life!
See links to the shops below.
A Family History of Embroidery
Nordea's blog piece on Artful Embroidery (September 19) reminded me of my teenage years when my mother, a crewel embroiderer, taught me some simple stitches. We lived in the middle of Long Island, where there was never enough for kids to do.
My mom was a craft person extraordinaire. She made braided rugs, like this, for the rooms in our home by going to rummage sales on the last day when a shopper could fill a bag for $1.
She loaded up on wool jackets and pants, cut the material into strips, sewed the strips together at the ends and folded as she went. She braided the folded strips and then sewed the braids into an oval, like this.
The artistry came in blending the colors that would sit next to each other in the rug.
My mom also made pictures from wool thread, called crewel embroidery. She made mostly simple flower and fruit compositions that went with our New England antique furniture: ladder back chairs and butcher tables and pewter sconces and mugs.
Crewel is a style of free embroidery thousands
of years old, done on linen or cotton and many
stitches allow the sight of the linen through and around the design. These
pieces, like the pillow below, she would frame and hang on the wall above the couch in the living room.
Both my parents were painters,
as were relatives on my mother’s side. One of them lived in a lighthouse and
painted it, as well as other shore scenes. Some painted the farmlands of
Hicksville, Long Island in the early 1900s, which is where they lived, on
potato farms. My father painted landscapes in oil and my mother used all media
for her pieces. She painted well into her 80s, traveling to Italy to live and
paint in Rome for a month.
All my embroidery was done on faded blue jeans.
My masterpiece was a blue jean skirt that I made from a cut up pair
of jeans. I put a few flowers on it, like this:
But I kept working on it over
time. In the end, it had the feel of this piece:
According to my mother, I wore it every day from Memorial to Labor Day.
It had fringe and hanging threads on the bottom. It was not something that
could be purchased at the Smith Haven or Walt Whitman Malls, which is where
everyone shopped. It was probably the most comfortable thing I ever wore, and I
made it.
WinkandFlip
Fall 2012 Color Trends
As the weather starts to cool off just the tiniest bit, my mind is definitely turning to Fall. I can't wait for crisper mornings when I can wear my favorite sweaters and scarves!
In addition, I'm becoming more and more excited for New York Fashion Week, which kicks off with Fashion's Night Out on September 6th. As I was taking a look through the Fall 2012 collections, I noticed several colors that kept popping up over and over. These colors are going to be big this fall and I can't wait to wear them!
In addition, I'm becoming more and more excited for New York Fashion Week, which kicks off with Fashion's Night Out on September 6th. As I was taking a look through the Fall 2012 collections, I noticed several colors that kept popping up over and over. These colors are going to be big this fall and I can't wait to wear them!
Tell me: What colors are you excited to wear this Fall?
By Nnenna of star-crossed smile
Fall 2012: Fashion and Knitwear
I know it's still a bit early, but with all the buzz about Fashion Week in September, I'm starting to get excited about the fall months ahead. Even though it's still pretty hot and sticky here in NYC, I'm dreaming of crisp fall mornings and cozy knits to wrap myself in. As I was browsing through the collections from last Fashion Week, I was inspired by all the wonderful fashion knitwear that I was seeing. Take a peek at some of my favorite looks below!
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Tell me: Are you still in summer mode or are you ready for Fall to arrive?
By Nnenna of star-crossed smile