frames...

i have been meaning to post about the Brooklyn Flea for ages. for you new yorkers and brooklyners in particular you have probably been to the Flea already this season....but have you been to the new location in Williamsburg? i went a couple of weekends ago, when it was still on the nippy side, but it was amazing. it is out on the pier at the end of 7th street, so you are looking over at Manhattan. the sun was shining and despite the wind it was great. i also thought the showing was the best i had seen. with plenty of room for all the amazing food vendors, the artists and vintage sellers had great stuff. i would highly recommend a trip out there.

the friend who i went with was looking for frames. she wanted to do a cluster of different  frames on the wall over her couch. she was in luck. we found lot of old frames ranging from $3-$10. it made me think of a picture i had seen on one of my other favorite blogs. 

i love Meg's mix of frames and that they are touching. i might have to steal this idea.

weddings

all the pictures of the royal wedding had me thinking about my future wedding... how can you not? the idea that every little girl dreams of their wedding day really did not apply to me growing up. my parents had essentially eloped in a tiny Quaker ceremony with only 4 of their friends present and none of their family. this gave me the sense that Quaker weddings were small and simple and i spent the first 20 years of my life assuming mine would be too. 

newlyweds
july 24, 1983

but when i got to college i made friends with Catholic girls and girls from the south who talked and dreamed about their big fancy weddings. i don't mean to make myself out to be naive but i had just never really thought about it. upon moving to new york and starting work in the fashion industry weddings inevitable came to be a part of my work. we often were working on custom wedding dresses and bridesmaid dress in our sample room. as a trim and embellishment designer i was given the opportunity to make hair pieces and veils for brides. here i was the simple Quaker making beautiful things for big fancy weddings...

...that leaves me day dreaming about my own wedding one day. and thinking maybe it will not be as simple as my parents. if you too are day dreaming about your wedding (or even planning a real one) you should check out my three favorite weddings blogs:

100 Layer Cake

Style Me Pretty

Brooklyn Bride

royal wedding

i know i am a week behind in giving my opinion on Kate's wedding dress. 

so i will keep it brief. 

i loved it...not for me, but for her. 

it was the perfect dress for the occasion.

 the second she stepped out of the car all i could think of was 

Grace Kelly. 

a perfect dress is 

one that looks modern for a twenty-first century bride 

while also looking timeless and traditionally romantic.

best wishes to the new "peoples princess."

a gift that keeps on giving...

i am really lucky, because i have a boyfriend who is really good at giving gifts. he listens to dropped hints but also has really good taste. for christmas he got me sweet headphones. i stupidly forgot them on a bus trip this weekend but remembered to slip them in my purse this morning on the way to work.

there is nothing like being stylish and drowning out the noise on the subway.

hi!

so sorry for my absence last week! i had trouble balancing the job and the blog last week! but i am back with lots to post about. i saw a few of my beloved readers this weekend and i totally felt the love. most of the time this sort of feels like talking to myself. but its's so nice to hear someone is actually reading!

for now i am just going to leave you with these shoes 

which i LOVE. 

all i could think about this weekend 

was tan legs and cute summer shoes.

to do before i die...

my surrogate little sister suggested i go check out the Shelia Hick's retrospective at the UPenn Institute of Contemporary Art the next time i am home in philadelphia. that spurred me to look up her work and found some very inspiring images. she is doing serious trim and embellishment on a grand scale.

cut it all off...

do you ever have one of those mornings 

where you could just about take scissors 

to your hair and cut it all off? 

today was one of those mornings.

 i don't think i would look as chic as her...

luckily no cutting took place.

TGIF.

i see paris...i see france...ICU

so this little posting is long over due. i have been mean to give one of my dear RISD friends a shout out. she is currently living and working in paris (though i hope she eventually makes her way back to this side of the pond). she recently got a new gig doing media relations & design for this sweet french jewelry company. one of her responsibilities is keeping there blog. and that is where i found her hiding.

make sure to check out their website...the stuff is amazing.

stop and photograph the roses: part II

my roommate pointed out to me 

that she had taken a very similar photo 

as my friend 

during her own brooklyn trek. 

larger embroideries

i shared some small embroideries i had done earlier this week. these are some larger (about 4x5") embroideries that i also did during that project. i love these. they are very mixed media. i got to use felt, ribbon, beads, thread, fabric and yarn. i think it would be fun to add one to the arm of a jacket to brighten it up.

stop and photograph the roses...

i had a lovely sunday brunch with a dear friend and then took at long walk through brooklyn. it was a walk i have taken a hundred times before but my friend had not. when she pointed out how neat the view was i nodded. but then she actually stopped to take a picture. "i have to be better about actually photographing things i see, i need to remember the inspiring things around." she said chiding her self aloud. she is a designer too, but the sediment is applicable to us all. it is important to not only stop and notice the beauty around us, but sometimes we need to document it too. here is her photo:

little things...

my new job is a full time commitment and i have had to accept that i will not be able to continue freelancing. mostly that is fine. but i am sad not to be able to continue to work for the bedding company. i love the work i get to do for them. i recently got pictures of all my past work and wanted to share. these are some very small embroideries i did mixing yarn, thread, and beads.

a few thoughts...

i wanted to make sure i took some time to sit down and write about the things i learned while "unemployed." a lot of these thoughts i have expressed to my friends and family in conversation but i wanted to make sure to put them down all in one place. i know that the clarity i have now will fade with time... i know how easy it is to forget what it feels like to struggle once everything is coming easy again.

all work is work...

i could also say; "the grass is always green on the other side." while struggling to decide to quit my last job and go freelance i was so sure that freelance work would be so much better and i would be so much happier. and in some ways this was true. i would choose doing a beautiful beading while sitting on my couch and watching Oprah over balancing a budget in Excel any day, but it is not that simple... even in the freelance world i often had to do things i didn't enjoy. negotiating rates and invoicing clients is never fun. also doing crazy amounts of work in short periods of time which often means working well outside the normal 9-5 hours. also i wasn't able to quite survive on my freelance design work, so every month i supplemented my income with many hours of babysitting. and i love kids but babysitting long days sometimes starting at 9am until 11pm was definitely work. so as i start this "dream job" i must remember even a dream job is work.

i need very little to be happy...

i never really have thought of myself as being materialistic or not materialistic. growing up Quaker but also wanting to be a fashion designer meant i had to find a balance between living simply and being fabulous. and i like to think i have done a pretty good job...my clothes are always fashionable but never very expensive, i always have had nice things like computers and cell phones but have used them until they have worn out rather than get the next hot thing the minute it comes out. but over the past few months i have had no disposable income to spend on anything... no makeup, no clothes, no shoes, no jewelry, no impulse shopping sprees at duane reade. i thought this would be really hard but week after week slipped by and i didn't spend and didn't really miss it. when i did finally have a little extra money i thought i would run out to spend on me...yet all i wanted to do was take my sweet supportive boyfriend out to dinner. and that was kind of how it went for the past months. every time i did have a little extra cash at the end of the week i ended up spending it going out with my friends. seeing my friends always felt more important than having any material possession. i won't lie i have a list in my head of things i will buy with my first pay check...yet some how i doubt i actually will. i have a feeling i might just go out to a nice dinner with my friends. :)

friendships are what makes life sweet...

this i already knew but it has only been re-enforced. the only hard part of leaving my job was leaving my friends. when you see certain people everyday it is hard to imagine how they will fit in your life when you don't see them at the office. yet these friendships never skipped a beat. yes, it takes a little more effort to keep in touch but a true friendships moves forward even without daily contact. but beyond my work friends i also got such amazing unconditional support from my friends else where. friends from philadelphia, boston, memphis, florida, england and france reached out and followed up once they knew i had left my job. and over and over again they asked, how i was doing and when i did get my new job the congratulations were amazing. i literally could not have gotten through these time without my friends.

i can do anything...

i have to hold on to this, because in some ways i feel that i have failed since i could not make a living off of freelance work. but i did live 4 months in new york city on my own, with no constant source of income...and if you know anything about this city, you know what a challenge that is.

if you have stuck with me until the end of these thoughts; thank you. i just need to make sure i said them before i forgot.

let's go here!

it is nippy today in new york. i wore a light jacket this morning and my pants cuffed, but i can not pretend i was not under-dressed. why do we rush into spring clothes? is it because we are sick of our winter wardrobe? or just because we some how make ourselves believe that wearing lighter clothes will bring warmer weather?

today i want to be here. in the dry heat. 

wearing shorts and sandals 

and letting the sun beat down on me.

casual thursdays...

I wish I had invented blue jeans. They have expression, modesty, sex appeal, simplicity - all I hope for in my clothes.

~Yves Saint Laurent

the one left behind...

i made it through my first hump day in more than 4 months. i can't even pretend i am not exhausted. i have spent the last few days so tuned in. i feel like i left work everyday mentally fried. but you know what? it feels good. its like the first few weeks of a new work-out...your body hurts and you are so tired, but in that good way. i know that with each passing week i will have a better understanding and the work will get easier...and that is an amazing feeling. confidence.

at the same time i did find myself looking at the clock a 4pm today and wondering who was on Oprah. during my time off Oprah was my daily break, my self proclaimed lunch hour. i would curl up on the couch with Adlai and enjoy it. leaving Adlai is hard. today my sweet boyfriend took glamour shots of him for me. i had to share.

a little help...

up late tonight working on the last of my freelance work...

luckily i have some help.

first day...

my first day went great. everyone was so nice and welcoming. i don't plan on writing to much about work here. mostly because i don't think that would be very professional (and i am really trying to be more professional this time around.) but i did want to share the view from my new desk. because this really feels like making it.

(yes, that is bryant park!)

don't worry i am not going anywhere...

thank you all for your congratulations! i have been asked two questions over and over again since i posted my big news....


A) what is your position? well see that is where is gets really good i will be the Beading/Production Development Designer. that mean every day i get to go to work and bead! clearly no job is perfect but i am optimistic that working hard on a product i love will bring happiness at work.


B) are you going to keep the blog going? this was most people first question which really made me feel the love! and after some careful thought i decided YES! i have fallen in love with blogging and just can't imagine giving it up. i hope to keep a good pace and continue to post everyday despite working. i have too many projects and ideas i still want to share. i guess i am just too narcissistic to give this lovely spotlight up. i hope you will all continue to follow!

BIG NEWS!

so i knew this day was coming 

but i cannot believe it is actually here! 

i am thrilled to share with you all that i have landed my dream job. 

check out the company here.

the whole reality is still sinking in.

i have a lot to say...

but most importantly thank you all for your support!

come have lunch with me

don't you just want to have lunch here? i do. i have been SO sick for the past 3 days but am getting well. also i have big news tomorrow...so check back in.

its cold and snowy today, dress appropriately!

crochet for spring

saying that i love anything that is embellished sometimes makes it sound like i love gaudy beaded tops from the 80's. not at all. sometimes embellishment just a beautifully simple detail. love this top from anthropologie. 

get it here.

for my roommate...

my roommate has filled our apartment with flowers. and it is lovely. yesterday and today she has been under the weather. so when i saw this picture which reminded me of her i wanted to post it as a little get well shout out. 

garment district

i have to share this beautiful video by the new york times about garment district workers. i am always trying to explain how amazing the factories are that still exist in new york. these are not sweat shops, they are highly skilled people working for families that have owned these companies for generations.

please check it out here.

rain

it's raining in brooklyn today...and probably other places too. i ventured outside for that interview (which was disappointing) but now i am home safe and warm. these first weeks of spring are shaky...rainy and cold is not fun. but unlike rainy and cold in november there is hope for warmer sunny days coming. i am going to make myself a green tea and work on my quilt. a perfect rainy afternoon.

big interview today

i think i have to admit here that the full-time freelance thing is not working. i am just not making quite enough money. i can pay my bills and rent but that is it. no money left over for health insurence, savings, or having fun. so for the last month i have been appling to jobs. i have had a few interviews. but today i have a big one. a position i really want, for a company i really want to work for. so please send me some good thoughts!

quilt

i previewed my quilt last week when it was just a huge pile of 2x2 squares. it has come a long way since then. i actual started this quilt two years ago but at some pointed it got abandoned and put in a box under my bed. but after doing that baby quilt i was thinking how i wanted to make a grown up quilt...and then i kind of remember; wait i already started one. so i dug the bags and bags of 4" squares out from under my bed and started again. 

my in-progress quilt

i don't pretend to be a real quilter. my quilt is what they would call a crazy quilt. crazy quilts actually have a rich history. the most famous group of crazy quilters are the women of Gee's, Bend Alabama. starting in the 1920's these women developed there own distinctive style of quilting. derived partly out of necessity and partly of pure creativity. their quilts were made completely of found fabric; old clothes, bed sheets and worn table clothes. but the best part was that they did not feel limited to the finished rectangle. they started quilting and when they finished the quilt was done.

Gee's Bend quilt (1962)

my crazy quilt is just simple squares, not so free and inspired as Gee's Bend. but it is definitely found fabric. i have my 8th grade graduation dress, my parents bed sheets, an old pair of corduroys and a plaid bandanna from my moms childhood...as well as lots of fabric from my time as a dress designer. so far all the squares are sewn together but i am waiting on the batting to come in the mail this weekend. hopefully i will be able to finish and share it next week.

quilt

i previewed my quilt last week when it was just a huge pile of 2x2 squares. it has come a long way since then. i actual started this quilt two years ago but at some pointed it got abandoned and put in a box under my bed. but after doing that baby quilt i was thinking how i wanted to make a grown up quilt...and then i kind of remember; wait i already started one. so i dug the bags and bags of 4" squares out from under my bed and started again. 

i don't pretend to be a real quilter. my quilt is what they would call a crazy quilt. crazy quilts actually have a rich history. the most famous group of crazy quilters are the women of Gee's, Bend Alabama. starting in the 1920's these women developed there own distinctive style of quilting. derived partly out of necessity and partly of pure creativity. their quilts were made completely of found fabric; old clothes, bed sheets and worn table clothes. but the best part was that they did not feel limited to the finished rectangle. they started quilting and when they finished the quilt was done.

my crazy quilt is just simple squares, not so free and inspired as Gee's Bend. but it is definitely found fabric. i have my 8th grade graduation dress, my parents bed sheets, an old pair of corduroys and a plaid bandanna from my moms childhood...as well as lots of fabric from my time as a dress designer. so far all the squares are sewn together but i am waiting on the batting to come in the mail this weekend. hopefully i will be able to finish and share it next week.

generosity...

i am kind of at a loss for words today.

 i have been the beneficiary of amazing generosity this week. 

firstly...my boyfriends mother is a hospice nurse. it is an incredibly emotional profession and she often becomes very close with the families of her patients. one of her neighbors who she helped care for passed two weeks ago and the family asked her to help then clear out her house. this woman was a life long crafter. from sewing clothes to quilting to beading. she had done it all and had collected and organized her supplies for years. she had a specific love of beads. she bought them from craft stores and cut them off thrift store garments. and then carefully sorted them into bags by color. so my boyfriends mother packed all her beads into two large boxes and sent them to me! to inherit this trove of beads is overwhelming. i look at the bags and see years of inspired projects. i am so thankful that she thought of me and took the time to send them. <3

secondly... i am helping my dear friend with her wedding. she is also a designer so it is more like a collaboration and is completely inspiring. we  were thinking about doing an embellished sash or a hair piece to go with her wedding dress. the ideas are flowing. on a recent business trip india she picked up all these beautiful metallic trims to use. we will not use all of them, so she is letting me keep them! i am so excited to incorporate these into some garments i am dreaming out.

feeling so thankful!

brooklyn

i tell people all the time that moving to brooklyn changed my life. i always knew i wanted to "live in new york city" but what that actually meant was beyond me. i moved to manhattan in 2007 and it was great. i had two lovely roommates and a nice but tiny little apartment in alphabet city. but something was missing...i toyed with the idea of moving back to philadelphia my home town. instead i moved to brooklyn in the summer of 2009 and can honestly say, i will never leave. i am not sure how to exactly explain how a neighborhood could make me feel so free...maybe it is the commute over the bridge where i can see the whole city i call home...maybe it is the 10 foot high ceilings in my apartment...maybe it is my friend Aziz who owns the bodega on the corner...or maybe all these things. spring is coming in brooklyn...

lonely

some days i really don't know what i would do without my kitty cat companion.

jade plant

my friend Becca has a green thumb when it comes to jade plants. her tiny manhattan apartment is filled with plants growing in all different containers from large planters to small tea cups. it gives the apartment the most amazing feeling; winter through summer. it  is warm like a greenhouse during the cold winter...dry and airy like the dessert during the hot summer. Becca was kind enough to give me a small plant so that i could start my own jade garden. a few months later one plant has become many. 

wanna get married?

i won't lie; i love wedding blogs. when my friend Amanda got married a few years ago she told me about all these blogs she would look at for inspiration. i just got hooked. i am not getting married or planning a wedding. but nothing is more fun that looking and pictures of the "happiest day" in someone's life...a girl can daydream, right? anyways, the talk of the wedding blogisphere is Anthropologie's new bridal line BHLDN. love this untraditional dress.

check it out.

a project for your weekend.

i have to share this super cutie project posted by one of my favorite west coast bloggers Bleubird. today she shared how to make this beautiful flower crown. it makes me just ache for spring. i hope to go to Michael's Crafts this weekend and pick up supplies for this project.

check out instructions here.

preview...

so i am not sewing an article of clothing this week. 

but i am sewing something else. 

here is a little peak at the beginnings of the project...

can't wait to share the final project next week!

napkin sketch

i got a request for the napkin sketch that started the baby quilt

...clearly i took a lot of liberties.