New Girl in my Life: and a Crochet Beret for Baby

Pleased to say that I have a little granddaughter!  And so, what fun to be able to design and create clothing for her. My goal.. to have coordinating hats, as she grows. The hat you see below is crocheted in the round. This is an original design, utilizing Italian yarn. Of course, I used Garment Designer to plan the shape and size.

Here we are!

And now... an sequence of shots, while my little one decides she doesn't want to wear her new hat any longer!  Click on it for a larger view!

It's under wraps: Holiday Gift Wrap in the Mesa College Fashion Program

My Draping students took the challenge to dress some mannequins for display in the library of our college. What a great project, and how fun the results!

Another Year, Another Tree

As has become my creative practice, each year, I build my 'creative' Christmas tree.
This year... I had most items on hand.

Ingredients:

Books, from my textile art library

Lights... some new types

Table

Then, I added a little help from a colleague and a student:

Gabe, one of my students

Meegan, a fellow Professor at Mesa College

And the result?  A book tree.

By daylight

At night, with the lights on

And a few close-up shots

Happy Holidays to all.

Happy Halloween

And the process.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Project Runway Bradon McDonald at Mesa

Yesterday, Bradon McDonald spoke at Mesa College in a joint venture between the San Diego Chapter of the American Sewing Guild and the Fashion Program at Mesa.
Bradon was a finalist in Season 12 of Project Runway.

He brought with him, garments from his final collection at FIDM in Los Angeles. He is an amazing speaker, and his message to our students was encouraging, realistic, and inspiring.

Here I am with Bradon, and below that the link to his runway show at FIDM where he showcased the clothing he brought to share with us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPYuDmZvIdU

Creative Hardware

While on retreat with our New Mexico group for this year's Garment Designer workshop, I came across some unique hardware-encrusted items. I am particularly interested as I've been collecting door hardware for a few years now, from various cities and countries.

These get the creative juices flowing.








- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Taos, New Mexico

Street Views, Verona

I'm now in Verona... and in the middle of the Food and Fashion Retreats.

Here are a few images of the views I see from my apartment window. The first weekend, it was dance and music... and then a parade in Medieval fashions.

Love the ballerina.

Combinat: Vienna Austria Fashion

In Museum Square (Vienna), there is a shop that features local designers of Vienna and some from neighboring countries. Here are a few shots of the entrance to their shop and a closer vie

Knitting in Austria... Dessert

While visiting Vienna a few weeks ago, I happened upon the window of a knitting shop. It was so 'Vienna', pastries, that is.

Here are some images to share.

Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna

As a big Klimt fan, I was overwhelmed with all the Klimt art I saw while in Vienna a few weeks ago.

And as far as museums go, the Kunsthistorisches museum is at the high end of the list for amazing buildings. 

A view of how the art is hung in the museum.

The stairwell

And of course, the museum cafe

More views of the art

Klimt's art... note the women up high

Café in Vienna

For those of us who are coffee lovers, Vienna, Austria is a haven. Consider that you have great coffee, amazing atmosphere in many of the older cafés, and simply an ambience of creativity.

A few shots of the cafés and of coffee itself.

A creative café latte, presented in layers, and served with a class of water.

Two other styles of coffee

Ambience...

More ambience

A great window display... café.

I wish I had written a poem, or worked on a new song....

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Joy

And here is how I am celebrating my return. A stroll through my rose garden, and a few selfies with my gatherings.












- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:San Marcos CA