Finally Some Curtains..........

Its that time of the year when sunlight floods into my studio and I feel exposed to the world without curtains. I have been in this studio almost two years and have never been been able to get more than some lace scraps and borrowed Christmas lights up in the front widow above the door. Ive been waiting for the right fabric and the right hardware and could never decided just what to do with it.

But yesterday, being July and all, I just had to take those lights down and get on the ball with this. I needed more of a feeling of privacy and I just had to get the thing done. So I measured the area, took some fabric that was hanging off the wall, borrowed a rod from the back room, dug out a bunch of those little cafe rod clippie thingies, pressed out that fabric and got to it.

I would have rather had something more dramatic and romantic as a window treatment, but maybe I can accomplish this in another two years or so. (just kidding) In the meantime, Ive got a nice white brocade keeping out prying eyes and giving me some privacy. It doesn't look great, but it doesn't look too bad. It doesn't fight with anything. It gives me some peace of mind until I put up better curtains (I actually need a taller ladder to do something nicer, so that's next on the list)  and I didn't hurt myself putting them up.

I am continually hearing people these days lamenting the price of sewing lessons and workshops. Well, my dears, those people deserve a living wage as well as you do. There are online classes and there are books and there are people who teach at lower rates also - so if you cannot afford for someone to come out and measure your windows and then make drapes that hang properly and create a pleasing ambiance for your environment, go make your own! YouTube is chock full of tutorials and little classes! You might not have as much fun as you would have in a hands on class, but you can learn useful things. There really is nothing more satisfying than having made something with your own two hands! Not only will you take pride in your accomplishment, you will understand what it takes to make something and to make it well. And hopefully you will understand that people with skills need to be compensated well for those skills. We don't just wiggle our noses to make it work. There is some expertise involved and lots of overhead. We all need to earn a decent living.

Ive got some info here about classes that I offer. Please email me if you would like to learn some sewing skills that you can use to get that great feeling of accomplishment! My prices are very reasonable and I like to laugh - so we'll have a good time as you learn!

hmmmmmmmmm.................as I look at this photo, I see now that I'll need that taller ladder soon. Ive got ideas.....................shirred short shears (say that 5 times really fast!) on two thin rods in the back and I want to replace the short upper curtains with drapes that go to the floor and puddle over the already puddling drapes - not practical - and who cares! And I need to find a chandelier, but one of those HUGE  paper lanterns would do.

Old Califronia Charm

Usually when I set appointments for the weekends, I try to have people come in after noon. Its not because I need to sleep in. I give myself a morning or two to come hang out in Port Costa to have coffee, cornbread, and hang out with friends in  Earls' storefront cafe! There is a lovely community of diverse people here. People from all walks of life happen by. I have had conversations with tourists visiting from other countries, new neighbors, old neighbors, and Ive even found old friends from back in the day that disappeared. This is one of those magical places where you just end up and keep coming back for more! It has the flavor and vibe of an Old California - a time we'll never have again.

A few weeks back, I wrote a post about some pillows that I had made for the Burlington Hotel .  I call it my Pet Pillow Project. This hotel is a true hidden and relatively unknown gem of the San Francisco Bay Area! The hotel really should be recognized and preserved as a landmark. Through the efforts of a wonderful group of people, this old lady is being spruced up and revived. I am so pleased that I get to help in my small way with this sprucing up - for I love this old lady with all my heart! Port Costa is pretty popular on the weekends. I'm very sure that soon, this area is going to be visited quite a bit more!

My photos cant quite convey the charm of this place or the work that is going into it, but come by and take a look, have some strong coffee and cornbread, have a beer over at the Warehouse Cafe, peek into the windows over at the Theatre of Dreams, stroll through a little town that is surrounded by wild countryside and farm land, and walk the tracks along the Carquinez straits................and then if you plan ahead and let me know you are coming, you can drive back through Crockett and come visit my studio! Perhaps you'll end up going home with a new pair of Sampants! Perhaps you'll find a treasure that you cant resist!

Pet Pillow Project

Throw pillows have to be the easiest things to make and the best way to utilize all those scraps of fabric piling up! These will go to the Burlington Hotel in Port Costa which is slowly but surely being given a little spruce up. This is my pet project at the moment. There is a story here, but I'm having a hard time sitting down and blogging right now. So you'll have to wait.......................don't you just hate it when people do that?

Just Your Average Fabric Shopping Day In San Francisco

Unsinkable Molly and I went fabric shopping in town the other week. She has a big new loft and needs curtains for her dance studio. She also has a lot of bright windows that need to have the sun blocked out in the morning.......a lot of yardage is required, so off we went to Fabrix and Discount Fabrics.

Fabrix on Clement St. should always be your first stop on your journey through the fabric world here in in SF. It is very hit and miss - you never know what you are going to find. Sometimes nothing - sometimes you hit the jackpot! We didn't come up with much this time, although I found some cotton lycra in colors that I don't normally run into in these parts. And Molly found some great stuff for new dance pantaloons. You wont find many wools or the nicer fabrics - but like I said...its hit or miss. You just never know what you are going to find. I usually end up with yards of  bargains that I had no intention of looking for!

At $2.99 - $3.99 a yard, you cant beat it. I always head here first when possible. Ive found amazing deals!

And since it was Chinese New Year, the lions were out on the street chasing away the demons and bringing the community good luck -I felt so blessed to be fabric shopping while the lions were dancing around us in the aisles!

We hit up Satin Moon while we were on Clement st. This place is the the exact polar opposite of Fabrix - a whole other world of silks, brocades, fine velvets, novelty cottons, and upholstery textiles that you wont even find at Britex.(Britex is a whole other world - do not act like an imbecile when in there - they smell fear) Not for the feint of heart. Quality and service. They also carry patterns. Obviously we were not shopping for our bargain fabrics there, but I like to take people in to drool. I prefer shopping for Bridal materials here when possible.

We found what we were looking for at Discount Fabrics on 11th and Howard. Molly chose a great tree branch print which will be perfect in such a huge space! The boyfriend nixed the yardage on the right - I guess I cant blame him, but this would make an amazing costume! (that isn't him there in the background - I don't know who that was) We had to put it back as it wasn't in the budget that day. She went online to find the blackout fabric that we needed as DF didn't carry it wide enough.

Discount Fabrics doesn't often have the knit fabrics that I use in my garments, but I still can find many a treasure here. And if you need yardage at a reasonable price, this is the place to go!

And while we didn't go here that day, I need to mention Fabric Outlet on Mission st. and 17th. This is a large underground fabric store that carries a large variety of textiles and notions. Sign up on their mailing list so that you don't miss their huge 40% off sales!!!!!!!!!!!!

kc.costumecouture@gmail.com

1/1/11 Happy New Year!!!!!!

There is much a brewin in my humble little Sugar Shack. Its true, I live in a Sugar Shack! How many people can say that????????

The winter days are long and often gray and bleak, and the outside of things can  appear dismal and not very exciting right now. But its whats on the inside that counts - and I count my blessings and my lucky stars every single day. Here is where I will start to be more creative in the new decade and where I will focus on making this world a little tiny bit better if I can.

Thank you one and all who have supported me and shown me the path and the means to my new studio - my new place to stretch out and let my creativity take wing!

Ive got plans. Plans to make my Sugar Shack cuter and more pleasing to the eye. Plans for promotion, plans for patterns, plans for new designs - maybe new directions. Plans for a new little computer, a decent camera, a roadworthy car - plans to expand both in the physical world and the spiritual. Plans to get you out here to visit if I can and have a little studio party. (Can I say "plenty of parking"?)

It just doesn't work to have one without the other, now does it. And when both combine, we have creativity. And being lost in your creativity is to experience the Divine.

Enough of the New Age sentimentality: I'm just feeling inspired!

And in the meantime, I still need your support. All independent artists do. Please don't forget us after the holidays as this is usually our down time and life must go on as usual.........bills and rent to pay.....food and materials to purchase. Local artists and artisans (and I'm speaking for all of us) need support to keep making and doing nice things for the world. If we cant stay afloat until easier times, some may have to go work at MacDonald's. And I shudder to think it. We all suffer when this happens.

If you read this far, I'm offering you a 10% off coupon code for anything in my ETSY store during this weekend of new beginnings! Just enter this code at checkout and it will do the work for us both. (Yay!)
HNY2011

Happy New Year Everyone! Happy New Decade! Happy New World!!!!!

                                 
kc.costume@gmail.com

RIP Darlenes' Fabrics

Another fabric store closed its' doors today. I did a lot of business with them and they used to give me great deals when they could. Darlene's on Mission Street is gone. I guess they will still sell down in San Jose, but I dont get out that way often. That will have to change, I guess. And I will be depending on buying supplies in LA more and more. This isnt a bad thing, its just not as conveniant as running down the road and buying that ivory lace that I just  ran out of. But what am I saying........I'm leaving town anyway!

So buy fabric. Sew. Use that sewing machine. Its a skill that you have to practice, like dancing or throwing a basketball. Just do it. If you don't, we will have nothing but cheap, ugly clothing at Ross to buy. I'm serious. There is nothing more satisfying than wearing something that you made and having someone come up to you and ask you where you got that skirt/dress/hat/pants/whatever.......

There just are no excuses. The stores have great sales - get on their mailing lists! The styles nowadays are not so difficult that with a little determination, you can make yourself a cute little dress. The pattern books are full of basic patterns that you can learn to work with.

This reminds me that I will offer sewing lessons to anyone willing to come out to Crockett. Maybe I could make it like a day long workshop thing so that you feel like you actually accomplished something. Light bulbs have clicked on over my head - can you seeeee the glow?

Now I have to go cut out the last bit of lace that I have and pray that I can find more somewhere. I will, but  this sucks.

Go wander the aisles of your closest fabric store and see if anything stirs your imagination. Feel the textures. Soak in all the hues and tones of the color pallet!  Hold the fabric up to your face and stand in front of a mirror - discover what colors suit you. Maybe you will get inspired!

If you dont buy it, it will all go away.

kc.costumecouture@gmail.com

The Language Of Cloth

What Perfect Timing.......as I was cleaning out old photos from my multitudinous computer files, I ran into these images of a valance and some drapes I had made for Lynne Rutter last summer when I was working in a little shop under her lovely house.

This valance is made from vintage Vietnamese fabric that she got from one of her friend Dan's trunk shows: The Language Of Cloth

The fabric is beautiful and precious and we wanted to put it up so that Lynne could see it in all its' splendor, but I didn't want to wreck it. I wanted her to be able to take it down and use it for something else later on if she wanted to - so I lined the back with blackout curtain fabric to protect the fibers from the sun and we used velcro to attach the runner to the backboard over the drapery hardware. We may have used a staple or two in well disguised places to take care of the buckling problem. I didn't see that this would ruin the tapestry and I really didn't want to handle the fabric any more than I needed to. The backing was hand tacked to the face fabric.

The drapes are a wonderful linen from Discount Fabrics. I cut it up into 4 pieces, surged the edges, and threw it into a hot washer and dryer. It came out looking a little rustic and now she can just throw them in when they get dirty without a care!




The back door curtain is a vintage tablecloth that we hung to keep out the sun and keep in the charm......I love using older textiles that may be worn a bit. It adds so much warmth to a room - not that Lynne's kitchen would ever suffer from the lack of charm or warmth - but, well, its such a nice touch!

kc.costumecouture@gmail.com

My Dream Sunday

Life is kind of settling down now for me into a pleasant new hum of activity without the previous stresses of my prior daily life.

Thank You Universe! I got Exactly what I asked for!

So yesterday, I had packed up a bunch of orders and did a little photo shoot with Kristine Adams and her niece in our hallway. Feeling like I had gotten a lot done that day, I hitched a ride with Kristine and friends to go pick up some furniture at the Warehouse in Port Costa. And then some other friends were going as well, so it turned into a little party.

When we got there, it turned out that Wendy Addison from Theatre Of Dreams was going to be letting us into the building. So I FINALLY got to go inside her Amazing Wonderland of a shop and meet her. I felt like I was meeting the Queen. Rarely do I "idolize" people (for lack of better word - maybe an artists' crush would be more like it?) - but there I was being the nervous fan. Silly but true and she hugged me. Does it get better than that??????

Now Kristine and I have great big glass glittered WC letters on our bathroom door!

So we loaded up furniture, had drinks at the warehouse, had fun and intelligent conversation, headed back to town, unloaded furniture and then we all went out for dinner in the Haight. One of my more fun and all-too-rare-these-days impromptu adventures..........


Such a nice Sunday!

Photo stolen from Wendy Addison's blog - this is one of her beautiful walls!

kc.costumecouture@gmail.com

Im In Love

I'm In Love with my new home. Its Valentine's Day and so it is fitting that I talk about the things that I love. Not only do I love all my friends, I love my customers and clients. I especially Love My Son. I love my new home, I love my neighborhood and all that goes with it. Ive traded gangs for your typical San Francisco "charactors" - and that's just fine by me!

I love what I do. I love what I make. I love that I can wake up and have coffee and go to work without walking out the door. I love that I can walk to the fabric store and hop on a bus that takes me where I need to go. I love my Roomie and her pets. I love my cat. (If you come by, you cant be severely allergic or afraid of animals - sorry - I cant live without animals in my life!)

~Don't worry - I keep all animals away from the clothes and fabric!~

And I love that after just a short time, my home actually feels like a home instead of a sea of boxes! (thank you Kristine!)

I just seem to have a lot to be thankful for these days and I love that!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!!!!!
XXXX

Nesting

I should be working because I am overwhelmed with so much to do right now, but I just cant help myself - I found a home! I can rest. I can nest. I can work when I need to and the commute will be very, very short. The neighborhood is great. The bus stops a stones throw away. Im surrounded by cheap eats, good produce, and the hippest shops. Im sure that I'll be in heaven once Im all moved in. And ........tada! Im a short walk to a good fabric store! And best of all, hell aint freezin over yet - so thats a good sign, right? (unless you are over on the other side of the country)

Ive been needing to nest for a long, long time now, and every time I try, Im just up against a wall, so now I can. Its been a long adventure - and lets just leave it at that. Not only will I be happier, but a happy Kathleen gets her work done quicker and can actually go have fun now and then!

I found this photo of a nest. And it led me here - a great green reuse crafty blog! So read it because its full of fun little crafty ideas! And you can learn to make this nest! Every home needs one. And a house isnt a home unless you can nest.



Here is one of my new room mates!
Isn't he just adorable?

So I probably wont be working for the first week of February and although Im overwhelmed with the amount that I have to do before then, hey, I am never bored.

kc.costumecouture@gmail.com

Good Things Come To Those Who Wait

And Ive been waiting for a trip to Britex.

I was supposed to be working on my Dicken's outfit today, but then Lynne came down to the shop to discuss all the fab things we've been talking about making........and ended up playing hookie and shopping downtown.

Britex. I love it. Some don't. They cant believe the prices. I cant believe one would complain. I love it there. I would curl up in a bolt of boiled wool and hide out if I could. If you sew, how could you NOT love Britex? I would run through the aisles and drape myself with all the hard to find pretty materials and then take pictures of myself being an idiot. But I don't. And if you are a serious shopper, then they will take you seriously. Don't ask stupid questions. (Save that for Discount Fabrics - my all time favorite hated question was "how much fabric do you need to make curtains?")

Anyway, we came back with a stash so heavy our arms were hurting!
Jackets and skirts and pants, Oh My!

I'll be very busy this winter and up to my neck in lovely wools. I'll be using some vintage patterns as the base for her ensemble. Am I in heaven?

Oh Yeah!

kc.costumecouture@gmail.com

Hadley Northrop

What Ho! July is filling up with lots of fun things to do!
Hadley Northrop is having a show starting this week!
Her work is filled with warmth and life and when I
finally have walls to put art on again, hers will be there!


CITY ART GALLERY

828 Valencia Street, SF, CA 94110

(Valencia between 19th & 20th St.)

Wed. - Sun., 12 - 9pm

415 970 9900

cityartgallery.org

Opening Reception: Thursday July 3, 7 - 10pm

Exhibit on Display: July 2 - 27, 2008 (open Independence Day)

kc.costumecouture@gmail.com

A Day Of Rest

Yesterday I took a much needed day off and headed up north to visit my dear friend Moonalisa.

I love visiting Moona. Her home is always so inspiring to me - Sensual, mystical, warm, fun, happy and filled with light and laughter.

Victoriana, Gothic glamor, rich colors, glorious scents, eclectic mixes of ancient, mystic artifacts to hardcore heavy metal to 70's kitch - her home reflects her soul. She creates a rich environment that reflects her art. Or does her art reflect her home? It is all one and the same. To see the packaging on her amazing products is to see into Moona's life.....to see into her soul.


I was given the last drop of of Haunted - a scent that she created with me in mind. All sold out folks - and now I see why. This stuff is pure magic. Like perfumes of old, the scent morphs gradually until what you get is a wafting of what smells like rich, dark woodland earth. I am honored.


So when I can, and that is rare any more, I take a trip to Moona's house and sit under a canopy by her herb garden and sip tea, or go eat lunch at the Warehouse Cafe in Port Costa, or have a craftie afternoon concocting all sorts of trouble, or eat chili popcorn and watch horror movies.

And now she's expecting a sweet little baby boy.

It doesn't get much better than that!



kc.costumecouture@gamil.com

Sew A Seam

I yearn for simpler times!

kathleen.crowley@yahoo.com
http://www.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.

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

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

Canned Creativity

Canned Creativity

Lin Schuler


So many times,
In a month,
In a week,
In a day,
I hear,
"You are so creative,
How do you do it,
What is your secret,
You are so lucky."


I smile,
Shake my head,
Shyly say it's nothing,
Because that,--
This is what I'm expected to say,
That is their illusion.
They don't want it broken,
The truth,
Might rock their reality.
They might have to alter
Their expectations of themselves.


They want to believe,
I go home at night,
Take a can opener,
Open my mind,
Drop in a suggestion,
Stir a second,
And -- instant idea.
They want to believe,
It works that way.
They want to believe creativity,
Is a gift,
Given to a chosen few.


Sometimes,
I have the strongest urge,
To take them,
Shake them,
Tell them they live,
In a greater fantasy than I do.
Creativity is not a gift.
Gifts are free.
Creativity is so damned expensive,
It takes everything you are,
Then demands more....




I found this online somewhere. Its perfect. Most people have no clue how things are done. How things are made. What goes into the process. The sacrifices involved. And then they often want it for next to nothing.

kc.costumecouture@gmail.com