What I Am Wearing
Lately it seems when reading about fashion words such as slow fashion, traditional craftsmanship, deadstock, remnants, restyling, restoring, and/or vintage fashion are encountered. A fromdeepintheheart.com post of February, 2023 titled “Using Vintage Fabrics in Fashion” introduced the idea on this platform and featured a skirt made of vintage embroidered handkerchiefs embellished with seed pearls from a broken necklace and vintage sequins. Today’s post continues to consider traditional craftsmanship and features remnants of crocheted lace…
Creating Garden Drawings from Photographs and Life
Old engravings or prints of garden plans, and as in this photo, people enjoying a formal garden are appealing to me. Searches in vintage shops, print shops, and used bookstores didn’t result in my amassing a large selection of garden plan drawings.
Sketching En Plein Air in the Texas Hill Country
Working out on the land has become a passion for me. Wearing hiking shoes, a long-sleeved tunic, loose denim pants, a straw hat, and short or long gloves depending on where the work is happening, time and the rest of the world cease to exist. It occurred to me to try to document with sketches the life of these native trees and other aspects of our small piece of the Hill Country. So, I began with the purchase of an inexpensive, well designed fountain pen.
Vintage and Antique Cufflinks: Beyond Sartorial
As a child I was sometimes allowed to borrow jewelry from my mother or grandmother. Most pieces came with a story. On rainy or hot days in the Texas Hill Country when gardening is not an option there is nothing better than a trip to a vintage shop and moments spent searching every inch of the glass display cases for something of interest. For several years this interest centered on cufflinks.
An Interest in Decorative Pins
This set of diamond flower brooches from the Russian Imperial Family Collection came up for auction in London in 2004, part of lot 36, Russian State Jewels. They remind me of the astonishing jewels on view in the Lester and Sue Smith Gem Vault at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. My favorite of the collection not one of the jewel encrusted tiaras or necklaces, but rather a set of antique diamond flower buttons which belonged to a queen– imagine having buttons made of diamond clusters! While we may not have diamond brooches or buttons there are many fascinating pins to be had and just as many ways to wear them.
History of My Bibliotheque
“Everything here has a story,” exclaimed a recent visitor to my home. For many of us, the things with which we surround ourselves are much more than furniture or objects; they provide us with inspiration, quiet moments of joy, memories, and more.
What I Am Wearing
Full skirts are filled with happy memories for me…twirling around in a pink seersucker skirted dress with a starchy net petticoat made inside, trailing the train of a raspberry taffeta ball skirt along the path of Market Square park on my way to dinner and a show, the rustle of my Grandmother’s skirt, sitting close to her on the sofa and listening to her read aloud.
Living and Growing in a Hill Country Garden
From my first glimpse of the blue leuder stone grotto near the bottom of our piece of land I imagined sitting in this quiet space and contemplating nature. A dead tree formed half an arch and one day we tied it to a native sumac to form a natural arch at the top of the grotto.
Wall Painting in the Grisaille Style: Creating a Memorable Powder Room
Growing up, my friends had posters of Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix adorning their bedroom walls. I had a poster from a grisaille exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. Grisaille, rooted in the French word for gray is a technique of monochromatic painting in multiple shades of gray or gray based tones.
Reupholstering Chair Seats for a Customized Look
It’s always a thrill to find a way to redesign or repurpose something you already own. For me, reupholstering a chair seat is a fine way to freshen up a room, bring a chair into a new location smoothly, or create a focal point with a chair.