Exquisite Fabrics From Helen Haughey

I met Helen Haughey about 5, maybe 6 years ago. She was in Chicago showing her fabrics to a Susan Khaljie class. A member of our group, The Haute Couture Club of Chicago arranged for Susan to come and speak at our June Banquet and for Helen to show her fabrics. I was in love and managed to drop a bit of money on some incredibly beautiful fabric. Now, whenever I am around Helen, I manage to continue to drop a bit of money!!   

The good news is that she is having a sale!! I've pictured a few of the fabrics that are on sale. The fabric that she carries is of the highest quality from Europe.  

Below is a beautiful mohair lace on net. I have seen this fabric in person and it is lovely. I'm thinking about getting enough for a skirt.

 Below is a red/black/green light weight wool boucle.

 Another boucle in blue, great for a suit or that French jacket you've been dreaming about.

Embroidered Mohair, great for a coat.

She has a number of fabrics for sale, each just as gorgeous as the last. You can check them out for yourself on her website here, http://helenhaugheydesigns.com/Site/Photo_Gallery/Pages/Featured_Fabics.html#1.

Enjoy!

Thoughts For a Thursday Morning

Typically, I would save this for Sunday evening, but it is so beautiful and I feel that it should not be saved, but shared...now. It will only take 10 minutes out of your day, but I feel that it will add so much more than it takes away.



OH, caught my attention and made me present in this moment
MY, connects me with something deep in my soul
GOD,the personal journey that we all long to be on, to be inspired, to feel connected to a universe that   celebrates life.

As this last day of the first month of this year comes to a close, may we all be mindful of the gift that it truly is. May we not just race through our days and not know how we spent our time.

I wish for you an OH MY GOD day!
Rhonda

The Wednesday Showcase

Wednesday sure rolls around awfully fast!!! It's such a good day...I say it almost every week, but it's a day that I get to meet two new people and that's a very good thing. Before I get started, please allow me just a moment to share a few thoughts. My husband made a comment to me a few months ago. He said that the blogs seem to be a modern day vehicle for pen pals. I thought about this and I have to agree. We share our lives through our blogs. You write about your life, I write about mine and in return we post a short comment, a response to the letter. It's lovely. I recently received an email from a follower/friend. I knew that there had been some horrible weather in her country. My thoughts went out to all whom I've "met" through their blogs. It's difficult to send personal notes to all, but my thoughts were with all of you nonetheless. Words have power and I believe that thoughts and prayers do as well. An ancient art form, sewing, has brought us together and I know that I am richer for it.  

Have you read the book, The Outliers? The full title is "The Outliers, The Story of Success." The book isn't a self help book about how to become successful, rather a book that explains how people have become successful. If you have not read it, I highly recommend it as it is a very interesting read.

Now, the reason for the little commercial about the book is to introduce our first showcased blogger. This book  inspired her to start her blog. Pretty powerful! Her name is Victoria and her blog is  http://tenthousandsewinghours.blogspot.com/, I will allow her to explain the title of her blog in her own words, "I love to sew! It is like the air I breathe! I'm constantly trying to improve my skills. Experts have said it takes 10,000 hours of hard work to become an expert seamstress (before you panic read my first entry for more info or read the book, "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell:). I'm on a mission to test this theory. You're welcome to join me on this journey---one hour at a time!" I may need to change what I said about the book not being a self help book. Wow, did it ever inspire Victoria!!!
Here are the goals that she has set for herself,
 -Try to Complete a sewing project each week (2 weeks max for complicated projects.- Devote 1000 hours a year to sewing or doing sewing related activities. This amounts to 83 hours a month or ~3 hours a day.
- Keep track of all the time I spend sewing and reading, studying, or watching sewing related material and post it.
- Explore pattern drafting
- Explore draping
-Familiarize myself with the work of famous Fashion Designers.
Quite an ambitious task!!
Here are a few of her lovely creations from this past year. You can see all of her creations from 2012 here.

 Check out those yellow shoes. I WANT those yellow shoes!!

 I am always a sucker for a mother/daughter picture. Isn't this sweet?!!

Victoria is well on her way to accomplishing her goal. She will be giving all of us an opportunity to accomplish a little something new this February. She's calling her challenge,

Victoria explains the challenge,
"I've ALWAYS wanted to have a month set aside where I could attempt/tackle sewing projects that I've always wanted to but have always been put on the back burner due to reluctance, intimidation, or plain laziness. Come on, you know what I'm talking about. It's the project that you ALWAYS find an excuse not to sew---for one reason or another. What is it? A coat, tailored shirt, pants, suit, vest or skirt??? How about we go through the list of excuses."
If you would like to take the challenge, you can read more about it and join here http://tenthousandsewinghours.blogspot.com/2013/01/fearless-february-blog-button.html


Up next is an incredible seamstress with great talent. Her name is Adriana and her blog is http://www.rainforestcouture.blogspot.com/. I'll let her introduce herself,
"Greetings from the rain forest!! I am a fashion designer specializing in custom made wedding and evening gowns. My work is my passion, and I thank God every day for giving me the talents needed to make many girls happy with a wonderful dress. I lived in Europe for many years and started my career there and I am absolutely in love with Couture and everything that has to do with arts and crafts. Moved back to Costa Rica and found out that it was so difficult to find lovely details that I needed to make clothes, so....decided to make them."

 Above is a lovely example of her wedding gowns.

 This silk stole was made for a friend. Adriana did the dying as well as the pleating. Lucky, lucky friend!!

 Not only does she sew, she crochets and makes the loveliest pieces.

The macrame above...she made this!!!!!!

This is the work of her students. Adriana teaches a wonderful on class on doing this inset work.

 Another top by one of her students. I want to go to Costa Rica!!! 

What a lovely and talented lady. I know you will enjoy Adriana's blog!  

Another Wednesday Showcase comes to an end. Can't wait for next week!

I hope you are all having a lovely week.

Rhonda

The Incredible Workmanship of Chanel

This video was posted on the Haute Couture Facebook page yesterday. I tried to find it on YouTube with no luck. Ann Steeves of Gorgeous Fabrics just posted it on Facebook so I was able to get the link. It will only take a couple of moments of your time, well that's if you only watch it once!! The music is beautiful  and the opportunity to see the seamstresses in action is a treat.
Enjoy!



If you have a little more time, 17:03 minutes to be exact, here's the entire spring show.

Monday Morning Inspiration

We have made it to the end of my pile of Modes Royale pattern catalogues. I have had an awfully good time sharing these with you and I've loved your comments. I think the most often shared observation has been the emphasis on a small waist and hips. Remember, everyone wore girdles on a daily basis. You just didn't leave the house without one. When I was doing bridal gowns, a good portion of my business was reworking vintage gowns. It was interesting to see just how much girdles changed the body. Although my brides were quite thin, they were not the same shape as their mothers or grandmothers. The new generation has a very straight shape where their mothers and grandmothers had a waist, and a small waist at that. The catalogues that we have been viewing are before the days of photoshop. Rather than photographing a model and then thinning her down, everything here is drawn and so the artist can draw the "ideal figure." I love to shop for vintage clothes and I have found that just like today, women came in many different sizes. We really haven't changed that much, we just don't squeeze into girdles like we did at one time. Hopefully you have been able to take away a few ideas for a collar, a sleeve, or a pocket treatment.   

Next week I have something rather fun, and vintage to share with you. I think you'll find it interesting. So, until next week...enjoy my last Modes Royale catalogue. This is the Fall/Winter 1952/53 edition. 

Wishing you all a wonderful week filled with inspiration!
Rhonda

Sunday Night Reflections

Life Is Short
I am reading more and dusting less. I'm sitting in the yard and admiring the view without fussing about the weeds in the garden. I'm spending more time with my family and friends and less time working. Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experiences to savour, not to endure. I'm trying to recognize these moments now and cherish them. I'm not "saving" anything; we use our good china and crystal for every special event such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, or the first amaryllis blossom. I wear my good blazer to the market. My theory is if I look prosperous, I can shell out $28.49 for one small bag of groceries. I'm not saving my good perfume for special parties, but wearing it for clerks in the hardware store and tellers at the bank. "Someday" and "one of these days" are losing their grip on my vocabulary. If it's worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to see, hear, and do it...now! I'm not sure what others would've done had they known that they wouldn't be here for the tomorrow that we all take for granted. I think they would have called family members and a few close friends. They might have called a few former friends to apologize and mend fences for past squabbles. I like to think they would have gone out for a Chinese dinner, or for whatever their favorite food was. I'm guessing I'll never know. It's those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew my hours were limited. Angry because I hadn't written certain letters that I intended to write "one of these days." Angry and sorry that I didn't tell my husband and parents often enough how much I truly  love them. I'm trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that would add laughter and luster to our lives. And every morning when I open my eyes, tell myself that it is special. Every day, every minute, every breath truly is a gift from God.

This was written by an 83 year old woman to her friend.

Sunday's Soup

Before the day gets completely away from me, I wanted to share a very simple soup that I love to make. It all begins with a packet,

This is the most wonderful stuff!! If by chance your store does not carry this, you  can google the name and find the company. I have ordered this, so regardless of where you are, you can get this little packet of wonderful. Inside the package are two small packages. For this soup, we will use both.

I call this soup,

Creamy Coconut Ginger Cilantro Soup

 I like to make this soup when I'm in a hurry. It does not take long to make.
The ingredients;
1 package of A Taste of Thai Coconut Ginger Soup Base
2 14 oz. cans of Lite Coconut Milk

4 cans of water, or you may use a chicken broth
2 cubes of Knorr Vegetable Bouillon

2 cups of cooked brown rice
1 bunch of green onions
1/2 cup of finely chopped cilantro
Juice of 1 lime
4 to 5 carrots sliced
1 10 oz. package of fried extra firm tofu, you can also use chicken or even shrimp

Open ginger packets and place in pot. Add the 2 cans of coconut milk and the 4 cans of water. Slice carrots and add to pot. Bring to a boil. Add chopped green onions. Cook until carrots are tender.

Add the juice of 1 lime to the rice and stir in cilantro.

 Chop up tofu or your choice of meat. 

Once carrots are tender, add the rice and the tofu to pot. Allow to simmer for a few minutes. Your soup is ready!

I can't wait for dinner!!
This soup is very aromatic. I have not read the ingredients on the package of the soup base, but whatever is in it, it's GOOD!!
Hope you have had a lovely Sunday!
Rhonda