 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.  Rainy days on Ocracoke last week meant unexpected waterfront accommodations and lazy days rocking on the porch. Between naps and daydreaming, I had some time to think about my bucket list. I'd really like to see the garment district in NYC, and tour the Madame Alexander doll factory. I'd like to stay at the Prairie and meet Rachel Ashwell. I'd like to scrounge around the Round Top Antiques Fair in Texas. And shop Brimfield. And I'm hoping to meet Toma Clark, Antiques Diva, in High Point. And maybe venture on one of her European Antiques Tours. And I'd like to visit Angie Knowles' Threadneedle Studio in St. Petersburg, Florida, and stay in the Acorn Cottage. And while I'm in Florida, I must see Pandora de Balthazar's exquisite collection of over 2 million antique lines in Pensacola. But I think I'll start by road tripping to the John Blue Cotton Festival in Laurinburg, NC October 12 & 13, 2014.
What am I missing? Slipcoveristas, what's on your bucket list? 
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.
Summer is a great time for field trips, and sometimes the best places to visit are right in your own town. I've been meaning to get to Raleigh Denim's Curatory for like forever. My daughter and I trekked to the flagship store on 319 West Martin downtown Raleigh in a quest to secure a pair of the best jeans in the country. The jeans we purchased were made by non-automated jeansmiths,
who craft denim the old school way. The jeansmiths work right around the corner from the retail shop and you can see and hear all the traditional stitching equipment making jeans of the very best denim from Cone Mills plant in White Oak, NC. The friendly store manager pinned my jeans to length and they were hemmed on the spot and I walked out brown bagging my jeans.  It was my good fortune to spend the weekend in 12 hours of private lessons at the Wiliamsburg School of Needlework, a vocational training school for the linen industry based on the European model. I love the school's philosophy:
"Old World Skills requires Old World Time". Ever since I acquired "The Book Of Fine Linen" by Francoise de Bonneville, I have wanted to master this art of embellishing fine fabrics. In class we used a lighted magnifying lamp, 5x power, to accomplish the exquisite details of fine stitchery on the linen sampler. To be quite honest, this fineness of hand eye coordination under the microscope did not come so naturally to me, and even threading the needle with the embroidery floss was challenging. I can understand why it was explained that any new skill requires approximately 3 months to master. Certainly it will take many hours of practice to complete the samplers from class, but I've got my writing desktop cleared to make space and time for practicing an old world skill. And while I may never master this embroidery technique, I am sure to sharpen the eye as 5x is a powerful and magnificent way to see the details. In the meantime, something else I noticed under the magnifying glass is that it's time for a manicure! If you would like to know more about my experience at the Williamsburg School of Needlework, please contact me privately. 
This coming weekend my sisters and I will travel to Tarboro for a girls weekend to celebrate Mama's birthday. So happy my sister Marilyn from Arden made a pit stop to the workshop today and that she brought her creative spirit with her. During some Appalachian winter's nights, she had reimagined some fabric remnants into colorful braids and needed a strong machine to zigzag them into a rug. The Sailrite LS-Z was just the machine to do the job. Can't wait for more fun projects this weekend! Time spent with family is priceless. 
 REBOOT week five was spent in a dreamy sort of unhurried way. It was my great honor to be in the House of Khalje for six days of Couture School with a fantastic collection of students, twelve in all, dedicated to learning the time honored traditions of couture. This house in Baltimore was peppered with accents literally from all over the world. And while we came from different places, we all had one thing in common: fabric dreams.
We all dreamt of fashioning fabric for the body and soul. Throughout the week, we shared our dreams and stories of life events - past, present, and future. Directing our fabric fantasies, Susan Khalje seemed to go about the art of passing on couture techniques with seemingly effortless grace. I may have only come away with a taste of this world of couture, but I can now begin to imagine what it might be like to apprentice under a master couturier in a Parisian fashion house. This week was memorable and remarkable. This week was pure. Couture! On REBOOT week three, I unplugged on Ocracoke Island. I learned to appreciate daily sunsets, to look for the harvest moon, and to know what to let go of. Edwards of Ocracoke provided classic accommodations, perfect for my relaxed classic style. The cottage was on a quiet less traveled street, offering the original charm of the village atmosphere.
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