Sunday Night Reflections

Fun With Sneakers

I made a fabulous soup this past week that I will share, but my time is a little short this morning as I am taking a class this weekend. So look for the soup recipe on Tuesday.

A friend of mine sent me a note about a leather sneaker class that was being offered at The Chicago School of Shoemaking and Leather Arts. I have wanted to take a class, but I haven't made it a priority, so my desire continued to be placed on the back burner. When my friend told me that she was taking the leather sneaker class and asked if I would join her, I said, "Sure!," and I am SOOOO happy that I did.  

I did a little research before I went to the class, but just wasn't sure about what I would like to do. When I arrived, the sample pictured below grabbed me, and that was it! Loved the design.

Below is a sneak peek at what I am doing. When  I arrived, there was a table full of leathers to choose from. I vacillated between a red crocodile embossed leather and the teal blue crocodile embossed leather that you see below. I went with the teal blue, after all it is my favorite color :)

You're seeing the sides of my shoes and the tongue. In the background you see the inspiration sneaker. So today I will be sewing the shoes all together. Can't wait to see them all come together. 

I'm off to get dressed and head out for a super fun day! 
I'll post the finished shoes tomorrow.

Happy Sunday!

Rhonda

Sleeves On Saturdays Hits The Road

Last Saturday I had the the opportunity to spend the day teaching a class on sleeve design. And guess what?!!!, I learned something too! Actually, as we were going through the drafting of a particular sleeve, I realized other design possibilities, and I can't wait to give it a try. But today, I wanted to share a few of the pieces I prepared for the class. You've seen them before, but I think it's always fun to see them in other fabrics and maybe with a little bit of a different twist. 

For all of the tops that I put together, I used Londa's Creative Threads Terrific T pattern. This pattern makes a wonderful block to use as a foundation for any design you might like to do in knits. There is a darted and non-darted version.

What I suggest is to make the top up and adjust the fitting. Once you are happy with the fit, remove all of the seam allowances, and then transfer the pattern to poster board. The reason for removing the seam allowances is that it can become quite confusing once you have done your design as to where seam allowance should be added, and where it should not. So if you remove the seams from your block, once you have made design changes, you'll know to add seam allowance to each seam. No confusion :)

  

This is going to be my go to top for the summer. I just love the design and the ease of wear. With this top, I did a boat neck neckline, front and back. 

This was the original top I did for the blog. You can find all of the instructions HERE. With the original top, I did a v-neck opening in the back. 

This is one of my favorites, the Draped Cowl Sleeve. In an upcoming post, I will show you how I drafted the neckline of this top. Once again, this is the Terrific T from Londa's Creative Threads.  

This is the original top that I drafted. Take note that although the neckline is a cowl, it is quite different from the one I did above. This one has an asymmetrical drape, and is much more fitted through the bodice. A bit more complicated to draft than the top above. You can find the original post and all of the instructions for drafting the sleeve HERE. 

The top below is not finished as I haven't quite decided what I want to do with the neckline. While I love the fabric I used, it wasn't quite the best for showing the design of the sleeve. The fabric is a washable merino wool that I purchased at Fabrications in Michigan. I am in love with washable merino wool! It feels like silk in your hand. So lovely. 

The front of the sleeve does not show the design.

All of the design takes place at the back of the arm.

This is a picture from the original sleeve that I did. Here you get a better idea. It's a lovely sleeve to wear, and such fun to draft. You can see the original post HERE with all the drafting instructions.

I began the class by telling everyone that I believe everything is easy, you just need to know how, and I was there to show them how :) What I loved most was at the end of the day, a number of the ladies came up and said, "Your right! It all looks so complicated, but it really is easy once you know how." A successful day! 

Tomorrow I will be attending the class on making leather sneakers at the Chicago School of  Shoemaking and Leather Arts. I'll give you a peek at my day in my next post. Always fun to learn something new :)

Rhonda

The Wednesday Showcase

Still trying to get back on track :/

Last Saturday I had the best time as I had the opportunity to spend the day teaching sleeve design. It is such a treat to look out at everyone and see a glimmer of "I got it!" I began the class with my my motto, "everything's easy, you just have to know how to to it." The best part of the day was having people come up and say, "it really is easy. I can do this!" Success!!! :)

Since I'm still trying to get my steam engine rolling, I will only do 1 showcase today, but I know you are going to love getting to know this special lady. Her name is Sally, and you can find her blog, Cashmere Sally HERE. I had the opportunity to meet Sally back in March when she came to the Haute Couture meeting. She told me that many have said that they have a hard time finding her blog. She blogs through the Bloglovin' site, so it's not the typical Blogger or Word Press setup. But, I have made it easy, so once again, just click HERE and you will find all of Sally's wonderful sewing inspiration. 

Sally loves great fabrics, beautiful colors, and fun designs.
I love the Kantha jacket she is wearing below.

I was blown away by the workmanship Sally did on this vest!

Sally used the Saf-T-Pockets T-Shirt Trifecta to create these amazing pieces.
 

Just love how the fleece scarf takes the top...over the top!!!

 
When I met Sally, she was wearing this fabulous jacket. She used Vogue 9275 to create this throw it on and go piece. You can check out her post on this jacket HERE.

I so enjoyed getting to know Sally. She is fun, energetic, and so inspirational. I think that you will also love getting to know her :)

Wishing you a fabulous day! 
Our electricity is supposed to be turned off at some point. I have a feeling it will happen when I am right in the middle of something important ;)

Rhonda

Monday Morning Inspiration/Sneakers and Printing

This morning I awoke to find an email from a friend who had forwarded a link to a class that she's taking this upcoming weekend, and thought that I might like to take it as well. Here in Chicago, we have a wonderful school devoted to working with leather, Chicago School of Shoemaking and Leather Arts. This class will be  a 2 day intensive on making your own sneakers. I don't know if the class has filled, but in the event that it sounds like fun, there is a discount code, 25KICK. The code will give you a 25% discount at checkout. You can find a link to the signup page HERE. Below are a few of the examples that others have made in the class. 

One of our Haute Couture members has taken a number of classes at the school, and everything she's made has been fabulous. Next Monday I'll show off my new kicks!

For those of you who are Project Runway fans, you may remember Miranda Levy from season 12. 

She lives in Milwaukee, WI and she will be teaching a class in July at the Jewish Museum Milwaukee on the craft of working with wood blocks to create repeating patterns using traditional Indian patterns. I am so excited as I think it will be such a fun afternoon. 

Below is an example of the traditional wood block that is used to create the prints on fabric.

Below are a few examples of the printing being done and the lovely fabric that is created.

If you are anywhere near the Milwaukee area and think you might like to take the class, it will be held on Sunday, July 15, 2018. In the class, you will be making a silk scarf. All supplies are included. The fee for the class is $42.00 for non-museum members. You can find all the info HERE along with a link to register.

Have a fabulous week!
 Rhonda

Sunday Night Reflections

Sunday's Soup/Greens at Their Best!

My first experience with a radish was when I was about 3 years old. I was hungry, and had been told that I had to wait until lunch for something to eat. Well, being the industrious child that I was, I thought that I would just go out to the garden and pick a carrot. Now, I have always loved carrots, at least raw carrots. Although, it wasn't until I was in my early twenties that I really began to love cooked carrots. So, I went bouncing out to the garden and made my way to a row of what I thought were carrots. I remembered that the seed packet had a picture of "white carrots," maybe just a different variety??? Well, how surprised was I when I bit into that so called white carrot and got the shock of my short life when it burned my mouth! I threw that awful "carrot" on the ground and went running into the house in search of a drink of water. My father found the "carrot" with one bite taken out of it laying on the ground. He came in holding it in his had and asked if I had pulled it up and taken just one bite. I admitted that I had, but that it was sooo hot. I found out that it wasn't a carrot, but a white radish. Well yuk!, and thought, "I will never eat another radish as long as I live." Amazingly, I now love radishes, even the white ones ;)  

I especially love getting the huge winter radishes.

My favorite breakfast is a piece of great seeded bread, a slice of good cheese, sliced radishes, topped with sliced avocado with a sprinkle of herbs, salt, pepper, and finally a sprinkle of olive oil. YUM!!! I eat this for lunch, too! 

A while back, I shared a recipe for a Rustic Radish Soup. I had purchased a bunch of radishes from the farmer's market and I just couldn't bear the thought of throwing out the greens. What a lovely soup. Over the winter, with all the radishes I purchased, I decided to look around for another recipe and I discovered a delightful food blog, Taste of Beirut. I love Middle Eastern food, so when I saw her recipe for Peas and Radish Greens Soup, I thought it would be worth a try, and I am so very happy that I did.

What makes the soup special are the spices, cumin and turmeric. Along with the radish greens, and peas, there are 2 potatoes along with onions and garlic. So it's a very simple recipe. The author included 2 cups of yogurt. I did not add the yogurt. So it adapts well to a vegan version of the soup. A beautiful, green, satisfying, aromatic soup.

Just a quick note about my bowl. I loved hammered aluminum serving pieces. I found this piece some time ago. It has a glass insert, and the lid is so special. Take note of the pea pod handle. Sadly, I only have one :( 

In the end, I am happy that no one holds me to the declarations I made as a child. Little did I know when I was 3 that I would one day grow to love a radish!

Enjoy :)

Rhonda