Monster R.I.P

Monster died last night. He had heart failure and his human had to put him to sleep.

It was all very sudden and unexpected.

Monster leaves behind his brother Boo and his human Kathleen who both grieve his departure.

Monsters favorite things to do in life were to lay in the sun, be adored by humans, and dip scraps of fabric in his water bowl. He also liked to delicately touch his human's face with his paw for no apparent reason.

Monsters' greatest accomplishment in life was overcoming his disabilities. He was not the smartest cat on the block, but he had soft fur, pretty eyes, and a heart of gold. He also became very adept at greeting his human at the door every night - no matter what the hour.

He will be missed

BITCH

You love them
You need them
You gotta have one..........

Or some bitch does!

kathleencrowley.etsy.com

HGTV

I am OBSESSED with HGTV!!! I go to sleep with it and wake up with it. I just got cable again and I guess I'm making up for lost time. It isn't that I often LIKE what they are doing - its that there are so many endless possibilities to improve your living space. I like to see what people do or dont do with thier living spaces.

I especially like the new home virgins and staging for resale. I try to watch the new young college designers redo people's homes, but that's too hard to watch. They usually do a nice job, but the process is torture. I know they have to enlist as much free help as they can, but when it comes to actually sewing something and they show someone do it - I simply cringe. I would rather watch a slasher film.

Seriously.

I thought about entering for the free green home and hybrid car being offered at Tradition Hilton Head, SC. But once investigating where that actually is, I realized that I would hate it there and would get run out by a craZy mob with the modern version of a pitchfork. But it will make someone somewhere very happy. If I could win the house - its soooooooooooooo cute - and take it somewhere else, I would enter that contest every single day! And with the economy as it is, selling it could be a nightmare.

I'm all about power tools now. When the time comes to move to a bigger workshop, I would love to have a table saw and a nail gun.

Yes Dear Santa, I want a nail gun. And as a former and hopefully future home owner, I vow that I will use it too.

Are we the Borg?

Ive started jumping in on the comments about Chris March's collection. I dont understand this aversion many people - and I will say most americans have - for anything that is not "safe" and prescribed to sell to the masses. Basicly anything that is not made in America. If it is not made overseas and sold through the major clothing companies and advertised as THE THING to wear this season, we cant seem to understand anything else. Dear people, this isnt about style, its about making money quick and easy and catering to our ADD sensibility. RTW has to change constantly and it has to be made very badly for the most part. It isnt about art. Chris is an artist. Rami is an artist. Christian is an artist. Nobody has to like it, but it is what it is. Everyone wants to be a critic. Maybe its just jealousy.

The simple word "costume" seems to throw everyone into a tizzy. I would say that from what I read and hear, most dont even know what the word means.

Can we not as a nation start thinking about style and individuality?

Do we STILL not understand that couture is art and art is an expression of what is going on inside the designer/artist and also in the world around us?

Can we not just step outside of the box a little bit and stop being afraid of our shadows?

Are we the Borg?

kc.costumecouture@gmail.com

Red And Black Fluffie Rufflies

Pirate
Steampunk
Dancer
Daydreamer

Comfy
Well-made
Designed, cut, sewed in San Francisco.
Thats Right - Made in America

Etsy

kc.costumecouture@gmail.com

Sunset Idea House part two:

Of course, none of the materials I used were green by any means, but I used Sunbrella's indoor/outdoor fabric, which is always fun. I like the use-ability of it. It is heavy enough to endure some elements and they have many fun patterns, colors, and textures to choose from.

I made some outdoor cushions for the upstairs deck. They turned out very cute. The fabric is not really my style, but I liked it because it is very cheery and goes well with the layout and greenery they chose. I'm so oldie fashiondie, but sometimes modern is better.

I also made other cushions for the inside of the house, but I had to run off to England for a much needed vacation and couldn't get the photos that I wanted. I am posting some of the pics that I took while working on the project just as an example of the fabric choices and how they look well together.

I post this photo of my intern, Molly whenever I can - She makes working with me look like so much fun...........



kc.costumecouture@gmail.com

Sunset Magazines' SF Mission Idea House

Last fall, I did a little project for Sunset Magazines' Idea House down in the Mission area of San Francisco. I liked this project because they did try to use recycled and sustainable materials as much as possible to create a "green" living situation. It was a gorgeous house on the inside. I'm a little too old fashioned for the modern exterior, but it was very well done. Ok.....buy me the house and I'll live there (sigh).


I really loved the window treatment fabric they picked for the master bedroom. Very sheer and soft, yet modern at the same time. I added a little chain to the hem to keep it in place and not be too billowie - to keep it all in place.


And here is what I did with the scraps left over.
Well.......I like it anyway!


kc.costumecouture@gmail.com

Up To My Ears In Ruffles

Its all piled up around me! This flu just did me in. I'm all recovered now, but I keep hearing about relapses. What can you do? I had to go with it and rest. I don't have backup to sew when I'm down. That must be what dying feels like......you just know you are going and you go with it. You cant worry about all your bazillion responsibilities. (hope so anyway.........)

So my Easter weekend is sewing lace and stripes like a crazy mad woman. One of these days I will farm some out or bring a sewer in, but then I will have to relinquish some control.

I didn't realize what a control freak I am - I hide it well. No?

kathleencrowley.etsy.com
kc.costumecouture@gmail.com

Time For Spring Cleaning!

I cant believe its easter already. Wasnt it just St. Patricks' Day? That passed me by too.

Well, Happy Easter Everyone!
Its spring now, so its time to get your aprons and feather dusters out and dust off the shelves - do some spring cleaning!

Or you can just buy one from me and eat bon bons all day!

Etsy.com
kc.costumecouture@gmail.com

April is for Apron

I know its not April yet, but Ive decided that April should be Apron Month. Ive been putting up some pretty cool aprons for sale on Etsy. Ive been seeing them on the Runway in Paris. Ive been seeing more and more vintage apron patterns resurface. They are just the best things ever. An apron can be just for decoration. It can be used as a little something extra to funkify and cutify your everyday garments. You can wear them with jeans. You can wear them to dance in. You can wear them to paint or sew or build a house in. I use mine at work. I make nice deep useful pockets and they keep at least some of the threads off my usually black outfit of the day. I dance in them when the gig allows. They blend into that tribal ATS or folkloric gypsy Rom style and they are a fun, colorful accessory. I use them on the occasions when I actually go out and vend at a festival. They saved my neck at Tribal Fest and Rakkasah. And they attract a lot of attention.

Steven LeMay from Retrofit is camping it up in one of my little aprons. I believe that one has been sold, but there are more available - no two are the same. And they are little works of art.

kathleencrowley.etsy.com
kc.costumecouture@gmail.com

Too Tired To Moddle

I'm about to tear into this striped pile of fabric. It will be a stripie jacketie polonaisie thing that will be worn on a trip to Europe in a week or so. No, its not for me. Im not going back this year - next year though. And perhaps I'll have my own stripie jacketie thing to wear. Because next time I go, Ive got my own agenda and I will not be making the trip over to be at the beck and call of everyone Else's schedule. A week in London. A week in Paris. And I would like to explore Ireland a bit better. Perhaps stay in Cork for a while, since my last visit was a little short - sheeted.

Isn't this Gualtier ad just the best?
Thats about how it sums up my vibe these last couple weeks with the flu.
Too tired to moddle. Thanks for sending me that, Lynne! Soon, you will up to your pretty neck in stripes!

I did join a gym though. Picking the scissors up and putting them back down, just isnt enough weight training.

Gotta look good when I make my stripie jacketie polonaisie thing for my own European vacation.