October Status Update

One of my outfits this week. The jacket is purchased and the cream corduroy pants are Style Arc Linda pants.

Sewing Room Pictures - Before

I feel like I've been absent for awhile, though it's really been just over a week. What has been going on at Chez Shams:

• I spent the entire weekend before last working on the house. Over the last couple years I have taken over the living room, dining room and kitchen with my sewing. Now that I have a real sewing room, it's time to move the sewing out of the rest of the house. So I spent time sorting, organizing, moving. Some things went into the sewing room, and some things into the basement (formerly my bedroom). This is a herculean task and I have cleaned out the kitchen, and most of the living room, but I still have a fair amount of work to do in the dining room. It's getting there.
• Last week I went into work twice, for fun reasons. One day to play team-building bocce ball, and another day to have a team lunch with the uber boss (my boss's boss).
• On Wednesday, DirecTv came and I now have TV in my sewing room! For me, this is an essential part of a sewing room. ;)
• For some reason, I was reluctant to actually start sewing in the sewing room. To be honest, I think it's because I miss my kids. But I finally forced my way through that reluctance this weekend and made a bit more progress on the coat.
• This weekend I had several activities, which also limited sewing time. I had an appointment involving DD2 on Saturday morning. On Sunday I went to the Picasso Exhibit at the De Young with friends (so much fun!), and then on Sunday evening DD2 and I had a movie date. We saw The Third Man (1949) at the Castro Theater. It's a wonderful Art Deco theater in the Castro district that shows old films. I had never seen this film before but really enjoyed seeing Joseph Cotten and the young Orson Wells. DD2 tells me she wants to learn swing dancing and she's taught herself to play the theme from the movie (which was quite famous) on her ukulele. Kids. ;)
• I am now back to sewing in the evenings. I have decided to take time on the sewing room "fixup". There is no rush and, for now, I can keep cutting out in the dining room.

Sewing Room Pictures - Before

Here are some "before" pictures of the sewing room. I took these before DD1 started to move out. The room was not cleaned to take these pics. I'm glad I have these to remember what a neat room she had. :)

The door on the left exits the room - this kid has always had a passion for calendars and wanted 5 or 6 every Christmas - 4 for my house and a couple more for her dad's house. The mirrored door on the right is her closet, which is now full of my in-process pieces, overflow clothing, and some fabric that needs to be hung.

Her bed and stuffed chair. When she was young, there was a chiffon canopy over the bed, which hung from the ceiling. She took the mattress but left the bed frame and the chair behind.

The view from the door. I love love the windows, the light, and the trees. The best view in the house. It's so quiet and peaceful - you would never think you were in San Francisco.

Three females and one bathroom? I could see the writing on the wall and bought her this vanity and makeup stand at the age of 11. It saved a lot of bathroom arguments, believe me. She spent a lot of time at this table.

The crystal chandelier. I feared you might think it was some huge thing, but my ceilings aren't that high. For her, this was one of the most important features in the room, along with the colors. She really wanted yellow walls, a blue ceiling, and a green carpet. "Like nature." Well, she was 11. ;)

Her desk and armoire. I gave her the tall bookcase as a Christmas gift last year. She took it with her (rats). She left behind the desk and the armoire. The armoire is now full of fabric, patterns, notions. The picture on top of the armoire is my senior picture - I was 17. She took it with her. :)

She left behind her toe shoes. While she continues to dance recreationally, she is done with toe shoes. I took a few pictures and then threw them out.

This kid started dancing at the age of three. It is her passion. Before having her, I never knew much about ballet. I didn't like ballet. At all. But after all these years as a ballet mom, I do respect it. These dancers look fragile and dainty, but are tough as nails. Blood and sweat are their daily fare.

So, stay tuned. Over time, I will update with pictures as the sewing room develops.

Saturday Notes - Au Bonheur, Where Art Thou!

Edited to Add: It's Official

I love you guys!

I woke up this morning and really enjoyed reading your comments on last night's post and on the post before. You really know how to make me smile. Thanks soooo much for your insights on your experiences with your own sewing rooms!!

Several of you asked about the independent pattern company Au Bonheur des Petites Mains. Actually, I was planning to bring that up, but hadn't gotten around to it yet.

I think the news is not good.

• The last time they put up patterns for sale (which was last spring - in early April), they immediately took some of them down again. A few people who ordered quickly, managed to get them, but most (like me) were out of luck, as those patterns never reappeared.
• Over the last six months or so, they have closed two of their stores in France.
• Their website has consistently been down for some time now. I've been checking and checking.
• They have not answered any email I have sent to the address that, in the past, they used for correspondence. But my emails have not been returned as invalid, either. So, either it's unmonitored, or it's unmonitored by anyone that speaks English.
• I was on their mailing list. The last bulk email they sent out was on 6/21/2011. I dumped the text into Google translate. It says is that they are having a big sale, which is possibly right before they dissolved (if, in fact, they have dissolved). Here is the original French, for those of you who can shed more light on this mystery.
  

  Mesdames, Messieurs, Chers Clients
   
  Votre magasin « Au Bonheur des Petites Mains » de CERNAY
  vous propose ses
  
  SOLDES de FOLIE
  Des centaines d'articles soldes entre 50 et 80%
  
     Apartir du mercredi 22 juin 9h00 et pendant toute la duree legale des soldes
  
  aux heures habituelles d'ouverture du magasin.
  (9h-12h et 14h-18h jeudi et vendredi
  samedi 9h-12h et 14h-17h)
  
    Rappel: nous ne prenons toujours pas la Carte Bleue,
  donc paiement en especes ou par cheque
  
  A tres bientot
  dans votre magasin de CERNAY
  8A rue de La Sauge
  68 700 CERNAY
  03 89 37 44 60
  
  Vous recevez ce message en tant qu'ancien client de www.patron-de-couture.fr 
  Si vous ne desirez plus recevoir nos messages, cliquez ici
  Conformement a la loi informatique et libertes du 6 janvier 1978 (art. 27), vous disposez d'un droit d'acces et de rectification des donnees vous concernant.   
  
  Copyright © patron-de-couture.fr  - Tous droits reserves
  

I think they are gone which, if true, is a real shame. I am so glad I bought as many patterns as I did.

In fact, Dorothy just posted an Au Bonheur's t-shirt review on Pattern Review that is so amazing, I am sure that many have been trying to buy the pattern and are wondering what the heck is up. I've included the picture here so you can drool some more.

Don't you just want to climb into this picture and have some tea and scones with Dorothy and talk sewing?

Both of these t-shirts are from pattern 60005, T-shirt Effet Asymmetric. I never bought this pattern, thinking it would not work on my bust but, after seeing Dorothy's, I am rethinking that idea. Lucky for me, Dorothy is in my sewing group and may let me borrow the pattern.

Pure gorgeousness, Dorothy! Though, to be honest, if you were wearing the proverbial gunny sac, you would still be pure gorgeousness! (And if I had better Photoshop skillz, I just might prove that point. ;) )

If you have any further information on the status of this company, please post it here. I am sad if a source of such creativity has dried up forever!

Here are some related links you might find useful:

• My Au Bonheur posts on this blog.
• All Au Bonheur reviews on Pattern Review. (You have to have a Pattern Review account to see these, but the free account works fine.)
• Au Bonheur's size chart, converted to Imperial measurements by moi.

Edited to Add: It's Official!

Thanks to Véro, who commented on this post, we have confirmation that Au Bonheurs liquidated their business on August 7th. Thanks so much for investigating this, Véro! I wish the designers all the best. If anyone hears that any of these designers have resurfaced and are designing for another pattern line, please let me know!!!

Friday Ramblings - incl. Vogue Website Anomaly

Table of Contents:

• Where is Shams? (and Sewing Room news)
• Vogue Winter Patterns
• And Sewing!
• Artistry in Fashion 2012

Where is Shams? (and Sewing Room news)

Just a quick update. When I've been quiet people start to email me and ask me what's up. ;)

• Work is keeping me pretty busy. The usual. Next week is some team-building bocce ball. That should be fun. ;)
• DD1 has moved out! Yes, she is embarking on the next phase of her life. She is attending a local university part time (she's not sure what she wants to ultimately study, but is considering fashion merchandising) and she has secured a retail job at the gigantic Westfield Mall in downtown SF. That place has been her mother ship for many a year, so she's enjoying her new, deeper, mall relationship. Along with these developments, she decided she wanted her own place and she has moved into a tiny studio apartment. She and I now schedule lunches and time to see each other. It's all new.
• DD2, a high school junior, is primarily living with her dad, who is closer to her school. We also schedule time to get together, such as the movie night we have planned for next weekend - this kid has a special love for old movies and we are seeing some movie her British grandmother loved as a girl - I've never heard of it.
• That means I have my house to myself! Just me and the unsociable, but demanding, cat. After much cogitating, I decided to reclaim DD1's bedroom (the former master bedroom) as my sewing room! WOOT! And every closet in the house is now MINE! WOOT! WOOT! (Twenty years ago, before having kids, I used DD2's smaller room as my sewing room.)
• When DD1 phoned to say she was on her way, a week ago, to come get her mattress and her most needed items to start sleeping in the new place, it wasn't 10 minutes before I was moving my sewing machine and ironing board into her room. When she showed up an hour or so later, she just stood, staring and blinking. I don't think she expected me to move so fast.
• Building a sewing room will take time. I plan to do this in phases.
• Phase 1 is to get DirecTv in the room. I have an appointment for next week.
• Phase 2 is to get rid of the bed frame.
• Phase 3 is to get a cutting table.
• Phase 4 is to replace her crystal chandelier with some cool tract lighting. (Wow, I was a nice mom to get her a crystal chandelier - and how weird is it for an 11-year-old to desperately want a crystal chandelier?)
• Phase 5 is to get some sort of seating that converts to a bed. The research has begun.
• Later phases include getting new work tables so I can have all my machines up and to get more storage. This will take time.

So, what to do this weekend? There are a lot of sewing activities this weekend, such as PenWAG, and I may participate in one or two, but mostly I plan to work at home. Do I sew? Or do I dismantle a bed and get rid of it?

You see my dilemma.

Also, I've been walking. I am so inspired by my walking friends, like Margy and Peggy. I've always loved to walk but haven't done much lately. Then, on Monday evening, I walked 4.5 miles, towards the ocean, returning in the dark, with blisters on my feet. Today (Friday) I had an appointment in downtown SF, and I decided, very impromptu, to save the $2 bus fare and walk home. Six uphill miles later, I returned home with blisters under my blisters.

I need some better shoes. :)

Vogue Winter Patterns

Did you hear about (or notice) the weirdness on the Vogue website on Thursday? They were having a 4-day BMV sale that ended Thursday night, central time. On Thursday, they released their new winter patterns. After a short while (during which many people blogged and talked about the new patterns on various forums) they were yanked from the website. Evidently, they didn't intend to post the new patterns until after the sale.

Then, at 9:15pm Pacific time, they re-appeared. (Thanks to Marlene who alerted me!) There was a 45-minute window that they were on the site and the sale was active. I swooped in and bought a dozen patterns, half of them new. I love the new Koos coat, the Tilton patterns, the Mizono top. There is some good stuff in the winter offerings! Then, at 10pm Pacific time, the sale was over. Phew! I got in just under the wire and my 12 patterns were less than $40 (plus shipping).

And Sewing!

I am very close to finishing a coat. In fact, I accidentally published the post before the coat, or the post, were finished. I took it down immediately, but the partially completed post (I write my blog entries as I sew), still appeared on Google Reader. Several eagle-eyed people asked to me about that.

Progress has been slow because I have been too tired, or too hot, to sew most evenings. (We had a little heat spell, which is not conducive to sewing a wool coat.) But it's coming!

Artistry in Fashion 2012

Oh, by the way, did you notice that Ronda Chaney commented on my Artistry in Fashion review post? The date for next year's AIF is Sept 29th. Just so you know!

Happy weekend!

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!

Woah! Whatta Week.

My summary of this last week:

• A daily commute to a clock tower, where I and a dozen others were closeted, creating three certification exams.

• The fun of choosing clothing to wear to work, as opposed to choosing attire for sitting on the sofa and maybe walking to the post office, or the coffee shop.


• Getting up at 6am, leaving the house at 6:45, and returning somewhere between 7 and 9:30pm.


• Sore feet, unused to wearing the same pair of shoes for 12 hours straight. Yes, even comfortable shoes.


• Spending $160 on gas.


• The delight of having catered, delicious meals: breakfast, lunch, snack and, on one evening, dinner. Plus endless supplies of coffee, sodas, and OJ. (My favorite day was Indian lunch day. Mmmmmmm.)


• The mental exhaustion of non-stop intense concentration.


• The exciting news, on the second day, that I've gotten a promotion.


• Not one second of sewing. Barely even thought about it.

It was fun, it was challenging, and thank goodness it is over!!! I like being with people, but am ready for some alone time!

In order to avoid traffic this afternoon, after work I checked out a mall near work and a couple boutiques. The boutiques are more interesting and much more dangerous. :)

Here it is Friday night and my feet are still up. I have no idea what I will do this weekend. I may do a certain amount of finding myself standing still, staring into space, and wondering, "what next?"

Yup, that feels about right. :)

Just Thinking - the Creative Process, 9/11

Today is certainly a day of thinking for me. Lots of thinking.

First, there's the 10th anniversary of 9/11. It is hard to believe that ten years have passed already since our world changed. The event is still so fresh. The only reason I do know ten years have passed is because my kids were little back then, and they are almost adults now (well, one is an adult). They grew up in a different world than I did. That makes me think, too.

On a much lighter subject, yesterday I heard Kenneth King speak at PenWAG. I took classes from Kenneth over twenty years ago at Sewing Workshop when he lived in San Francisco. I lost track of the doings of the sewing world in those years I didn't sew. When I came back to sewing and learned he had moved to New York, I was surprised. He touched on that topic yesterday and how 9/11 factored into his decision to move to NYC.

But what was interesting, to me, was his creative process. The talk was called "DeMystifying the Creative Process" which, of course, was about his creative process. It was interesting to watch the evolution of his work and what inspired it. He was (and is) greatly inspired by architectural detail, especially architectural detail of the Belle Epoque. This shouldn't surprise someone who knows his exuberantly embellished work, but it's interesting to see how certain inspirations translated to specific pieces. He is also inspired by Art Nouveau jewelry, such as the very stylized pieces of Lalique.

It's just so interesting when a designer can absorb pieces of art, works of architecture, or sights in nature, and then re-interpret these things into their garments. I am in awe of that creative process.

How many times have you heard an artist, when speaking of his/her creative process, say, "I don't know where that came from." Kenneth says that, too, of some of his innovative pattern designs. (And I wish he'd release a pattern or two with Vogue!) It feels as if this creative process, in that phase, is a result of a connection with some higher energy.

Having worked with some of Issey Miyake's designs, it's clear that one of his influences was origami. I wonder what other things inspire him. He is able to work in the 3D space with such a unique language - it's hard to fathom what his thought processes are like. (I speak in the present tense, because he is still doing interesting work, though he has handed off his design house.)

I have often wished I could climb into Issey Miyake's brain and watch his creative process. But, then, I would no doubt be very confused and frustrated, because I don't understand Japanese. :)

I have an intense work week this next week, so I am doing some simple sewing this weekend. A few more Teagarden T's are in process. This pattern, which I have made many times now, is an Issey Miyake design, and I never cease being amazed at how this single pattern piece (plus a gusset) morphs, with various seams, into one of the best fitting garments I've ever had on my body. It's a magical process.

Have a peaceful day.