Special K - Special Day

I've been crisis sewing the past week and a half. Kristen, my good friend and drumming mentor, and Kweku, her love and soulmate, got married on Saturday after a whirlwind courtship! Kristen asked me to help make her wedding dress about 2 weeks ago - and, oh yea, she said: "Do you think you could also make something for my mom and dad to wear to the ceremony? That won't take too long, will it?" Oh........well...........!

So somehow between a my "real job", a trip to Eagles Mere for a family reunion, and myriad other of life's obligations (in those 2 weeks) - I finished the top to her wedding garment, a tunic for her dad and a dress for her mom.

Kweku's sister gave to Kristen a wedding skirt and top made from exquisite Ghanian fabric. The skirt fit her like a kid glove. But the top of the garment, shall we say, did not! I so wish we had taken a photo of the original top as it was quite remarkable in its design and construction. So I draped a new top for her (thanks to Susan Khalje's course) and after three fittings in so many days - here is the finished product! The fabric is a fine cotton batik with gold wax imprint...it is just amazingly beautiful.

And here is Kristen, her mom - Patrice, her dad - Dwight, and her sister - Erin.

Her dad's tunic is made from Ghanian fabric that Kweku and Kristen brought to me from Ghana. I used Simplicity 3704 for his tunic - what a treat to make a garment for her dad to wear at her wedding.

Her mom's dress (doesn't she look like an African Audrey Hepburn?) also is an African batik but purchased here in DC. I literally threw her garment together the night before the wedding. I only had her measurements and no luxury of fitting - so I draped the dress on my new best friend, Roxy - my dress form - and much to my surprise the dress fit her as if I knew what I was doing - phew!

And, of course, I needed something to wear - so, 2 hours before the wedding, I picked out a lovely piece of fabric that Kweku brought to me and voile! All you need is a rectangle of fabulous fabric, a little elastic, and one seam! ! (P.S. - Isn't his smile to DIE for!!!)

And some images from the ceremony!

The parents of the bride and groom must tie a knot in the middle of a length of Kente clothe and then the bride and groom tie a knot on top of the parents' knot.

The entire wedding party is wrapped in a ginormous piece of Kente cloth and the priest pronounces the bride and groom married while all are enveloped in the fabric!

Beautiful people. Beautiful day.................

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Keeping the memory of loved ones close....

Tracy Grant, a Washington Post writer and editor, penned this lovely article, "Cleaning Out a Shared Closet After a Spouse's Death Is Not Mere Housekeeping", about finally confronting and dealing with her deceased husband's clothes. It's a wonderful piece that deals, simultaneously, with house-keeping and soul-keeping. I wrote to Tracy and thanked her for sharing her experience and offered her a suggestion about how to re-purpose those flannel shirts that she thought would never be used again:

Make pillows.
To hug.
In bed.
To remember.

Betz White, Stitch Beautifully; Tread Lightly, offers some great hints about how to re-purpose beloved sweaters, shirts, and jackets into pillows.

Thanks Tracy. Thanks Betz.

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Can One Live on Buldoc and Muslin Alone???

Okay, stop whatever it is that you are doing and IMMEDIATELY register for Susan Khalje's Draping Class with Julien Cristofoli. As always, Susan has a true gift for getting these sorts of opportunities just right for the audience, content, time and space. As someone who has a finite amount of time and resources it is very reassuring to know that her classes will be worth every moment and penny. Twelve sewists from all corners of the US gathered in Baltimore and spent four days learning the art of moulage. About half of the group owned, or were planning to start, their own design/sewing enterprise and the other half were there to better their skills for personal sewing (I am in the latter basket). Julien is an UBER skilled teacher and incredible designer - he pushed every design limit I had last week - what a pleasure! Enjoy the photos of our time together...

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Oh Snap - Four Days and Counting

Just days away from this:

The Khalje/Cristofoli Extravaganza!

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Finally - Another Female in the House!

For 18 years it had been me and the two Y chromosomes! Then KPG headed to UVM and Lauren moved in for 6 months - pure bliss to have another female in the house who "got" all the hair-brained "stuff" that I love! Alas, Lauren moved out (welcome to the adult world of life) and enter Bogey - outnumbered AGAIN! But today - my new BFF arrived!! Welcome "Roxy" - my new collapsible arm professional dress form - from Roxy Displays in NYC (actually East Brunswick NJ, but close enough!). I think she just might be the perfect roommate!

Ah bueno!

Join DC Threads for a Private Tour of the Textile Museum's Contemporary Japanese Fashion: The Mary Baskett Collection

The Textile Museum has graciously offered to host, for DC Threads, a private tour of two extraordinary exhibitions: Contemporary Japanese Fashion: The Mary Baskett Collection and the Fabrics of Feathers and Steel: The Innovation of Nuno. The Contemporary Japanese Fashion exhibit includes avant-garde garments from the collection of Mary Baskett, an art dealer and former curator of prints at the Cincinnati Art Museum who has been collecting and wearing Japanese high fashion since the 1960s. The Nuno exhibition features 18 examples from the Nuno studio, dating from the time of the company’s founding in 1984 to the present day. Nuno (meaning “functional fabric” in Japanese) integrates the techniques, materials and aesthetics of traditional Japanese textiles with cutting-edge technologies in order to create some of the world’s most innovative and influential fabrics.

When? Saturday April 3rd from 11:00am -12:00nn

Where? Textile Museum 2320 S Street, NW Washington, DC 20008-4088 Phone: (202) 667-0441

How Much? a $5 donation to the Textile Museum

How Do I Snag a Spot? We need to limit registration to 20 enthusiasts - so register SOON for this event at our registration page here.

"Fashion Fights Poverty" & the Wilson HS Clothing and Textile Program - A Seamless Match Made in Design Heaven!

Don't miss this fashion and design event! Fashion Fights Poverty has partnered with Woodrow Wilson High School to fund its Clothing and Textile Program (CTP), a program that began in the 1930s as part of the Home Economic and Arts curriculum. The program has evolved over the years and typically includes up to 225 students, 75% of the school’s total enrollment. Providing $5,000 worth of school supplies, materials (including fabric, notions, scissors, among other materials), and curriculum support (including dress forms and other props); FFP is committed to the education and development of Washington, D.C.’s future design leaders and fashion experts.

Thursday, February 25, 7 to 10 PM

L2 Lounge, 3315 Cady's Alley NW (between 33 & 34 off M)

Washington, DC

Suggested donation $5

Come on out and represent DC Threads at this event!

Drumming in Ghana

Kristen we love you ..... and your pants...

Check out Krisen's blog for news about her trip to Ghana...

"Instead of Dying, I Learned to Sew"

This is the opening sentence of Gioia Diliberto's "The Collection" - an historical novel about a young seamstress' journey from provincial France to Coco Chanel's atelier and the world of

Paris

couture. Her

stitches

were her

essence

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This book, my good fortune to meet Isabel Toledo and hear her discuss her craft, reading Richard Sennett's, "The Craftsman", and hearing how Sophie Theallet describes her approach to her work have led me to consider my life as a SEAMSTRESS. I sew. I love to sew and construct and problem-solve and create - but, honestly, I don't think I'm much of a designer! Probably not where my karma lies. Maybe in my next life.

So now I am focused on these women who

I admire

, whose craft is making beautiful garments, and understanding how the seamstress lives within them.

All this leads me to May Asaki. I "met" May today - in the Washington Post obituaries (yes, I read them daily). May's story is compelling - just like Isabelle Varlet's in "The Collection", and Isabel Toledo's, and Sophie Theallat's - because she is seamstress who made a life sewing beautiful garments.

Here is May's story - sadly too late for us to get to know her

An excerpt:

"Much to her relief, however, she found herself rejected by the prospective groom [after her parents tried to arranged her marriage]. His family had concluded that the slight and cultured May Asaki would not make a suitable wife for a chicken farmer.

Her mother quietly arranged for her to move to Los Angeles to attend a fashion and dressmaking school. May Asaki had been sewing for most of her life and designed her first dress, for a younger sister, when she was 12. In high school, she made clothes for her teachers.

Decades later [following internments during WWII], her skills as a seamstress would launch her on a globetrotting career with some of the greatest ballet stars in the world...."

(

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/16/AR2010011602782.html).

And Isabel.....

Toledo designs clothes that are structured, even architectural, and sometimes (as she says) "rather severe-a lot of black and strong shapes." She has always started with a shape, usually a circle or a curved line: a circle skirt, a curved bra, a flared apron overskirt, the sweeping arc of a coat. "I'm not a fashion designer," insists Toledo. "I'm a seamstress. I really love the technique of sewing more than anything else." She believes it is crucial to know fashion from the inside: through cutting, draping, pattern making, and sewing. Among the designers she admires are women like Madeleine Vionnet and Madame Gres, who also worked in three dimensions rather than from a flat sketch. Toledo sees definite advantages in being a woman designer, because they experience the way the clothing feels. Men, she believes, tend to be more "decorators of clothing."

The Fashion Encyclopedia

Isabel Toledo on her love of sewing (1989):

"I really love the technique of sewing more than anything else…the seamstress is the one who knows fashion from the inside! That's the art form really, not fashion design, but the technique of how it's done."

And Sophie

On the inside of the clothes: It’s really important because when a woman takes off her dress you can see how beautiful the dresses are inside. I think it’s important to see the construction of clothes and make the finishings beautiful. The people who make them are really proud of their work. What we try to do is everything I learned in the studio of Mr. Alaïa. I really want to open a little shop with an atelier in the back with my two seamstresses whom I really respect because without them I cannot survive. They are so proud and I think it’s the team that’s very important.

Fashion Weekly Daily

Describing her style as “classical with French know how and polish,” Théallet’s designs are made in a little factory in New York...... Theallet’s seamstresses work like Parisian ones (read: flawless pleats, tiers, pin tucks notable for their finish). With two extremely well-reviewed collections behind her, Théallet remains obsessed with cut and fit. “Being a female designer, I know how some women don’t want to show their arms, others want to distract from their knees or like to accentuate their waist.”

The Daily Beast

So, I will spend 2010 searching out seamstresses - the famous and the-not-so. Who are your seamstress heroines and/or heroes??? Are you a seamstress or a designer?

xxoo

Laura

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Please Keep Haiti In Your Hearts and Head

The Grina/Lee's have many friends in Haiti and we are hoping that they are all well and safe. We have friends who have died and others who have lost everything! Please think of them often and keep them in your hearts! The health care needs of Haiti, baseline, are staggering - but a tragedy of this magnitude is beyond comprehension! Please consider making a modest donation to Partners in Health. Paul Farmer's PIH has been in Haiti for years and is one of the few healthcare delivery organizations that are still standing after the earthquake - so donations to them can be used immediately to provide care in light of the destruction of nearly all of the hospitals in Port au Prince.