“What fresh new hell is this?” You might rightfully ask upon seeing the photo below. Okay, sure YOU might not ask this, however these were the exact words that came to mind when I set up my sewing machine yesterday afternoon, only to realize that when I traded in my Bernina 880, which was plagued with problems, for my 790, I didn’t realize I was getting a sewing machine that has a smaller throat and therefore my Koala Cabinet insert would no longer fit it. So I did what any sensible person would do, I gerry-rigged it and here we are. It’s in the “it will have to do for now” category.
I know, I know. But sometimes one has to make do. And of course the bigger question that all of you are asking is, “Why?” Not why did you trade in your Bernina 880, because it was an amazing machine and I loved it, when it was working, the problem was, about 60% of the time it wasn’t working properly. In the three years that I owned it, I had to take it in for repairs more than a dozen times. Once we even sent it back to Bernina and had them fix it, only to have another problem a few months later. So eventually I said, “enough!” and traded it in for this sleek, beautiful thing. Only I didn’t do my homework and just assumed the 790 had the same wide throat that I loved about the 880. And as I rarely sew on a machine these days, I haven’t spent much time using it until now, that is. Which leads me to the more pressing “why?” as in “Why is your sewing machine out and where are all of your threads and hand stitching?????”
Should I have led with that? Yeah, probably, but then my first question wouldn’t have worked and I wasn’t willing to let that go. 😳 So, here’s the thing… I signed up for one of my friend, Pat Pauly’s workshops that I’ve always wanted to take. Seriously for several years, I’ve been wanting to take her “Take Two” workshop and then I saw that she had added one to her schedule, so I signed up. And today is the first of the two-day workshop, which I’m really, really looking forward to. The thing about Pat is that she’s just so much fun. Seriously, the woman could make cleaning out a gutter seem like a blast and you’d feel as though you were lucky to be able to do such a thing with her guiding you. So this workshop is guaranteed to be a fun two days, even if it means that I had to clear my table of all evidence that I’m really a hand stitcher. Do you think the ill fitting machine is a give away? Never mind. I’m sure no one will notice.
My fabrics are pulled and ready for me to do some damage.And this is a tiny window into where I shoved all my beloved hand stitching threads, needles and other things…More threads stashed…
And then, of course, there’s the whole mess that I’m not even going to photograph and show you, but suffice it to say that for the next two days, I’ll be knee deep in fabric and sewing on a sewing machine. I’m just hoping I don’t trip over the little piles of hand stitching stuff that I’ve wedged into various corners of this already small room.
On a separate note, if you haven’t watched my A Spring Stroll in New York City’s Meatpacking and West Village video, go take a walk with me. I included old photos of some of the places I visit to show what they looked like back when I first moved to NYC, as well as lots of stories about my ill spent youth in New York City. I can say that now that I’m over 60.
I’m knee deep in writing instructions to various projects that I’ll be doing workshops on. I have to admit I don’t love writing instructions. It’s kind of tedious, exacting work, but it has to be done. Also it’s been kind of grey and rainy out, so one must grab the sunny moments to venture out when one can. I’ve decided to break up the monotony of instruction writing with a little walk. Spring is in the air, and though it’s still a little chilly out there, the flowers are beginning to bloom.
I thought a little stroll in the West Village would be fun. There are still a few cobble stone streets left in New York City and the West Village is one of the places where you can still see them. So off I go, and while I’m at it I’ll get the blood work done that my migraine doctor asked me to get. It’ll be an adventure!
This Thursday I’m hoping to be able to share some exciting news, but until then I thought I’d share this video and besides there’s zero chance I’ll get any footage of bear cubs while out and about in the West Village! For those of you who might be wondering, my mother did not send this to me, but I think she’ll enjoy watching it.
My father’s father, Maximilian Oscar Zürcher, my grandfather, imported Swiss lace to all the Couture Houses in Paris. Originally from Teufen, Switzerland, he moved to Paris where he and his wife raised my father, who was born in 1919 and my Aunt Jeanne. This was the extent of my knowledge regarding my grandfather. And then one of my patrons on Patreon asked if I’d demonstrate working with vintage lace for our monthly livestream. As my eldest brother had sent me some of my grandpère’s lace years ago, I pulled some out and along with it, came upon a sketch book that I’d not spent much time looking at.
And inside was a treasure trove of beautiful sketches that he had done.
When I realized that these sketches were my grandfather’s I was both proud and astonished. How was it that this book had been sitting on a shelf along with dozens of samples of the beautiful Swiss Lace he imported and yet I never realized he also designed and was an artist?!
A few samples of the Swiss Lace he imported.
And then I remembered that my Aunt Jeanne, my father’s only sibling who lived in Paris until her death, had given me a photo album filled with photos of Grandfather’s lace used by the fashion houses in Paris, where he also lived and where my father and his sister grew up.
Grandfather’s lace used by Christian DiorNina Ricci – Spring 1957SchiaparelliSchiaparelliRobert Pignet
Almost all the photographs were marked on the back with the designer. A few even had other notations in French: the year, the model and where they were. And then I came upon this watercolor drawing.
Lanvin Watercolor Sketch
As I looked through the photographs it was like stepping back in time…
Mme de Salis: 195219321929192419101904
I haven’t tried to translate all the writing, most of it is in either French or German or maybe even Swiss German, I can’t tell, and the handwritten script is difficult for me to decipher, still it’s something I’d love to do so that I could read what he wrote.
I cannot describe the feelings that are coming up after seeing all of this. When I was at Parsons, I knew fairly quickly that fashion design was not for me. At the time I felt that I had somehow failed. Here we had spent a small fortune getting me through college, and yet I knew I didn’t have it in me to devote the rest of my life to fashion design. But there was something about fabric, threads, fiber that continued to call to me. I began designing hand knits, I ventured off into designing fine jewelry, but I always felt the pull to return to fiber of some kind. Finding all of these things from my grandfather, a man I never knew as he died before I was born, has been nothing short of astonishing. It feels as though things make more sense. Could it be that this man whom I knew nothing about, my father rarely spoke of him, had never-the-less influenced me? Is there some genetic component to what one feels drawn to? Who knows? Regardless, I am incredibly grateful to have these small treasures that were once his.
I have a couple pieces I’m working on simultaneously at the moment. One is a piece I began for my Improvisational Stitching Workshop. We are having SO much fun! As I was working on it, I decided to do a video on one way I like to create organic looking shapes. That video is premiering at 1pm EDT today, so if you’re around, come join me as I will be watching with you and can chat as we watch. Typically I go online a few minutes prior to the release time so that I can chat with anyone who is waiting. The Premieres are lots of fun and a way to connect with each other.
Another piece that I’m working on is what I thought was going to be a Stitch Along and then got stuck and decided to play around with a few different ideas before I committed one way or the other. That piece is just beginning to take shape. So far so good. I talk about it and begin working on it a little in the video below.
And then finally I’ve got another improvisational stitching piece that I’m just beginning and that is much larger than what I have done before. It measures about 44″ x 36″. So exciting!
In other news we continue to steam ahead on my website, which we’re hoping will be up and running by the end of this month. And I’ll be adding some fun workshops, a newsletter and lots of other things, so stay tuned!
By the way, that silk scarf I’m wearing in the photo at the top of this post? Yup, that one. It’s made by my friend Pat Pauly, who does the most gorgeous work. If you aren’t familiar with Pat’s work, go over to her website. She’s fabulous!
My mother sent me this photo of a herd of elk near where she lives in Colorado. We used to see herds like this often, but increasingly less as time went on, so it was wonderful to see this.
I actually laughed out loud while watching this one…
And then there’s this for all you dog lovers out there… Too adorable.
Recent comments