Artistry in Fashion, 2011 - Review

I'm not sure I can add much to JillyBe's excellent review of yesterday's AIF event. But it was the best one ever! This year was the 20th anniversary of Artistry in Fashion. It is "must do" event if you are anywhere in the vicinity and love to sew, and/or to wear beautiful clothing and accessories. It is like immersing yourself with a hundred kindred spirits and is a sure-fire way to jumpstart one's creative mojo.

This year Margy (Margyh on SG) drove up from southern California. She and I have talked via email, and she recently started a blog, but this was the first time we've met in person. I was also happy to meet Leslie (Lessalt on SG) and her sweet husband, who drove in from central CA. I was happy to see other friends that I have seen before, such as JillyBe and Joan (Joan71 on SG). And, of course, there were many other people whose company I enjoy and are without blogs or internet presence. ;)

It was really nice to see Lyla Messenger speak and present a trunk show of her designs. I also enjoyed both "stylist" presentations, which showcased items for sale, styled into outfits. And, for me, one of the highlights of the show is shopping. :)

Here is what I bought yesterday:

I have wanted one of these sweaters for years. Finally, this one is mine, and it's red and black! With polka dots!

I just love the simplicity of this necklace! This is a stone tumbled in the ocean.

The artist who made this scarf had a beautiful, hand painted, silk chiffon top featured in the stylist presentation. I would have bought it, but even though it was "one size fits most", it didn't fit my bust. She hand stamped this silk scarf, but she also paints and silk screens her scarves.

I bought this fabric from Lyla Messeger's booth. This interesting piece is double sided, contains lycra, and the black centers have little holes in them.

Three of us who closed down the show were in no rush to end the fun, so we decided to have dinner. JillyBe, Margy, and I headed to Redwood City and drove around until we stumbled on a restaurant. We had a great meal, sharing experiences of the day, and our favorite shopping resources. Finally, I drove them back to their cars at Cañada and we grabbed a few pictures with JillyBe's camera. But, by now, it was windy and cold! There are no pics of all three of us because we were completely alone in that parking lot.

Yes, it was cold and extremely windy, but they still look good!

Can you tell how cold and windblown we are in this pic?
A fun end to a fun day.

Color me Tickled - StyleArc's Shaza Pant!

Wow, I have never had a pattern named after me before! I'm pretty stoked!

Have you seen Style Arc's new Shaza pant yet? If you have followed my blog for long, you know I love me a good harem pant. In fact, the Alexi pant was one of the first Style Arc patterns I made:

And, if you are wondering just where the name Shaza originally came from, it's my Klingon name and I have been using it on the internet for over twenty years.

And how does one learn their Klingon name, you ask? Well, you take the first 3 letters of your first name + the first two letters of your last name. So, if your name were Shams Zackary (mine isn't, but if it were) your Klingon name would be Shaza.

So my geekery is now fully exposed to the world.

Shaza is my married Klingon name. My unmarried Klingon name would have been Shabi which, you have to admit, isn't nearly as cool. My Klingon self would never answer to that.

Here are the Klingon names of a few of my sewing friends. You will know who you are: Suskr, Heani, Sarbu, Carno, Ronch, Pegst, Marho, Marmc. (Who doesn't love Ronch!!)

This algoritm works better for some names than for others, but I say you can craft your Klingon name however you want, because no one is going to gainsay a Klingon, not unless they are a total petaQ.

Artistry in Fashion 2011

Yesterday was Artistry in Fashion and I was there for the entire day. It was that much fun. The weather gods smiled and granted us gorgeous weather.

I met several internet friends in the flesh, such as Margy (Margyh on SG) and Leslie (Lessalt on SG), which was great! I hung around with lots of fun people, which was super great. I bought a few things, which are great. I heard a lecture and saw two styling shows, which were great. I had butterscotch pudding with toffee bits and whipped cream, which was pretty orgasmic.

I did not take my camera though many pics of me were taken. One picture has already been sent to me, so here is me and Margy. I met her in the flesh yesterday and we both bought the same sweater! (And isn't she gorgeous? She just started the greatest blog, A Fool 4 Fabric.)

Not my best photographic moment, but Margy looks great! We are modeling our new sweaters. Thanks to Sarbu for this picture!

When I have more pics, I will do a full post.

Today will be a day of sewing! Artistry in Fashion never fails to inspire the mojo!! By the way, I don't have the Shaza pant yet, but you know I will get that puppy in my October order and sew it up!!

Happy Sunday!