Evening. Highland Park, Los Angeles.

One of our succulents in the front yard is blooming. This is the first time it has done this!

Woodland blouse

Above: Display technique borrowed from Le Bouton!

This is the blouse version of the pattern I created for this dress.
More images on Flickr.

Hope you are having a nice weekend...

Andrea Zittel & J. Morgan Puett

Above: Andrea Zittel
Below: all J. Morgan Puett

I first recall coming across the work of Andrea Zittel and J. Morgan Puett in the 90's as an art student. Now that I am learning to make clothing, I find myself thinking about the work of these artists. The last photograph is a part of a project by J. Morgan Puett: "RN: The Past, Present and Future of the Nurses Uniform." Interesting stuff- sort of historical document melded with science fiction. Although I'm not too sure how practical a garment with an opening down to one's you- know- what would be for a nurse. It would keep the patients entertained I suppose ;)


*** And...Please check this out: The Uniform Project
"The Uniform Project is also a year-long fundraiser for the Akanksha Foundation, a grassroots movement that is revolutionizing education in India. At the end of the year, all contributions will go toward Akanksha’s School Project to fund uniforms and other educational expenses for slum children in India."

Sheena, the force behind the Project, has pledged to wear 1 dress for a year. Every day she reinvents the dress with layers, accessories- most of which are vintage, handmade, or hand-me-downs, and then posts a photograph of the results.
So inventive...and it's for a great cause.

Corner View: Music-13 Most Beautiful

Lou Reed

Edie Sedgwick

Baby Jane Holzer

Photo Credit: All photographs by Dean Anes

I've blogged about Dean and Britta before. If I had to pick a favorite band/group right now-it would be Dean and Britta.
My friends Dean, Christine and I went to go see them play last week at the outdoor venue (quintessential California!) Ford Amphitheater.
The performance was a live presentation of Dean and Britta's soundtrack that was commissioned by the Andy Warhol
Museum to accompany 13 of his screen tests that were shot between 1964-66 at the Studio.
It was truly an extraordinary experience. The music perfectly expressed and enhanced the psychological drama of the screen test subjects. Mary Woronov, Warhol Superstar (& one of the screen test subjects included in the presentation ) was there in person to introduce the show. In her introduction she said that she felt the screen tests were living portraits- they were a way for Warhol to observe his subjects without any intrusion. He could sit and watch them privately for as long as he wanted and whenever he wanted. Wow.

It was so good- and went by so quickly! Amazing.

Click here for more musical corner views!

Click here to see more of the 13 Most Beautiful

Socialite Dress

I'd like to think of this as the "Green Acres" version of Anna Maria's Socialite Dress... Loved this pattern. It's easy and the results are so cute. I'll definitely wear this outside of the house! More images on Flickr.

Sajou

I love these rabbit motif embroidery scissors & scissor cases made by the French company Sajou. So many gorgeous items in their catalog!

new post

New haircut (My bangs are back)!

New Dress that I'm working on (it may end up being a house dress...a mumu if you will...the fabric is a bit on the thin side). Pattern by AMH.

New Napoleon (by Cheryl Cambras).

Photo credit: Cheryl Cambras

New Season this weekend! Happy almost 1st Day of Summer-
June 21st!

Corner View: Street Fashion

Look at how dressed up the street is! All the pretty paint... Here I am on the street. Tomory is on the street, too. Look at all the colors. Very chic. Click here for more Street Fashion!

*** You probably know about these blogs already-
but just in case,
my favorite street fashion blogs:
Garance
&
Scott

(Of course I love Scott's blog...but I kind of favor Garance's female perspective! The fact that they are partners makes it even better!)

And it would not be a street fashion post without mentioning the King of all street fashion...

More York

Here are some more photos from the Eagle Rock/ Highland Park Art Walk.


Above: Rebecca Ripple (sculpture detail) at Kristi Engle Gallery.

Below: All Photos taken at MorYork Gallery.

Artwork by Clare Graham.

A. lot. of. rosaries.

Hairy Eyeballs.

Yardsticks, telephone wire, and soda pop cans...oh, my!

Zillions of pop can tabs.

Above: Installation View of Daniel Brodo's sculpture.

Mama's got a brand new bag

Finally finished Anna Maria Horner's "I'll Have One of Everything Bag." You can see a couple more photos on Flickr. With each object I sew, I learn something new. My brain still has to get used to the idea of making something that is 2 dimensional (fabric) into a 3 dimensional object/ garment/ bag/ etc. This was a fun pattern, and I think the bag would be great for going to the farmer's market, or holding your yarn stash/ knitting projects.

*** Bonus recipe ***
Peach Salad
Cut up 1 Roma tomato, 2 small-medium ripe peaches, mix in a bowl with a handful of chopped fresh basil leaves, & a handful of cubed buffalo mozzarella. Season with salt, and drizzle with a nice balsamic vinegar to taste. Enjoy! (serves two as a side dish)

Outpost for Contemporary Art

These photographs were taken during the Eagle Rock/ Highland Park Art Walk yesterday. Our first stop was The Outpost for Contemporary Art, which was featuring (among others) the work of Liz Kueneke.
She has created a series of hand-embroidered maps of the state of California, Highland Park, CA. and Barcelona, Spain, where she currently resides when not touring the U.S. and other countries.
The work is interactive, in that viewers are encouraged to mark areas on the maps that have some significance to them with small bits of embroidery. I chose to mark Twenty-Nine Palms, CA. where I recently got married. Someone else before me had marked the area with a pink dot, my embroidery is the blue around the dot.
Sorry for the dark and blurry photos...it's June gloom here (dark and overcast, cooler temperatures- it reminds me of Seattle).