 For a fabric reconnaissance in Italy you really do not need a lot, because you can always buy it there. Good walking shoes are a top priority because designer heels are banned, at least in Cinque Terre. I wore my heavy Vasque hiking boots on travel days so I never really had to pack them.   You will want to carry your passport, cash and bank cards with you at all times. This scarf I designed with two secret pockets, accessible with an invisible zipper, worked well. No problem with pick pockets.   A good travel pillow is a must. This one from Pandora de Balthazar, filled with Hungarian goose down, easily squishes into a day pack and is perfect for the long plane and train rides.  Leave extra room in the pack for finds!  Luggage for two, each with a carry on and day pack, ready for the 50-somethings' version of
backpacking in Europe.
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Finally got around to slipcovering this armed parson chair in coordinating Jackie Von Tobel fabric quatrefoil and suzani in kiwi. These parsons chairs were made in Hickory, North Carolina, by Carrington Court Direct and are so sturdy and comfortable. They now live in NoDa, Charlotte's hipster historic arts & entertainment district. "Charlotte's got a lot" and now Charlotte's got custom slipcovers from Pencil Me In. Oh mercy me. My 6th grade English teacher would so redline the previous two sentences. Forgive me Mrs. Babcock! 
Throwback Thursday inspires me to dig up photos from a road trip to the Moses Cone Memorial Park on the Blueridge Parkway near Blowing Rock, NC. Here we are standing in front of Flat Top Manor. This 13,000 square foot mansion, built by Moses in 1901 in the grand colonial Revival Style, now serves as home to the Parkway Craft Center. Moses Cone, a prosperous textile entrepreneur, conservationist, & philanthropist, was affectionately know as the "Denim King" in the late nineteenth century. In 1895, Moses purchased a defunct steel mill in the Greensboro, NC area and developed it into a large cotton mill called Proximity that produced brown and blue denim, soon becoming one of the biggest producers of denim fabric in the world. His company was a leading supplier to the Levi Strauss Company for nearly a century, and maintains the relationship today. Moses was also instrumental in the development of Watauga Academy, now know as Appalachian State University. Listen to the link for more information about the Moses Cone Memorial Park.
Last week I wished for a few cold winter's nights so I could get back to finishing a couture project, and this week I got snowed in on Snowden. Night time temps have been single digits in Raleigh. Be careful what you wish for! 
Last night I worked on hemming my couture jacket. I couldn't find a good match in hem tape, but Joann's Fabrics had three colors of this lace. One was the perfect match. I used pins I purchased from Susan Khalje to hold the lace in place for hand stitching They are so sharp and have glass heads which can be ironed over and are great for delicate laces and fine fashion fabrics like the silk organza underlining. You can purchase the pins and the silk organza here: Susan Khalje Store 
Once the bottom of the lace was stitched to the folded up hem, I pressed the lace with just enough steam to shape it to the curve of the bottom edge of the jacket. Malleable materials that can be molded together feel like clay in a potter's hands to me. The fabric I chose for the jacket is 100% linen from Brazil, in color celestial, and reacts wonderfully to just a bit of steam. 
At the top of the lace I am using a catch stitch. Working from left to right, I first catch the lace and then catch the silk organza interlining. That way there are not any pick stitches showing on the outside of the garment. Well maybe a few misses. But only a few. 
Looks like celestial snowflakes to me. Melting on celestial linen. Too bad this is only the hem on the inside and will not show. But that is the beauty of couture inside and out. Rumors of more snow always welcome. I'm ready for another late night of fabric play. 
So just how much is 25 yards of English floral linen?
Tub fulls.  You don't need to be a master chef to know the difference between imitation vanilla and real vanilla. Anybody who eats can taste the difference. Your slipcover diet is all about fiber. Cool comfortable covers begin with the right ingredients. Keep it real. Show your great taste and add natural cotton and linen to your summer diet. Been digging through my photo files in search of floral slipcovers, and in all honesty not many surfacing. So here are a few more linen floral fabrics. Only those that are daring designers choose bold florals. Do you know who you are?
I double dare you. I've had a few bites on the English floral in my last post, but still looking to hook you. Choose to commission an English floral slipcover. I double dare you.  So pleased to offer these lovely florals shipping direct from England. From Edinburgh Weavers of Bolton. Available for purchase in 25 yard bolts. What does 25 yards mean in slipcover speak? A frilly sofa and a few pillows, or a pair of pretty loveseats, or a set of six parson's ... you get the idea. The more floral packed into the room, the grander the statement. More floral is more floral. I am dying to begin creating slipcovers in the Emperor floral shown below. This fabric is on a ship to America as I type. Be the first to contact me as soon as possible to make a claim on this bolt and commission a slipcover in English Emperor floral.  |
