The Creative Connection and the Torse Bead

This past week I was in Minneapolis for the Creative Connection Event - organized by Jo Packham, Nancy Soriano and a handful of other talented people - Amy Butler was a keynote speaker as well as MaryJane Butters and Ree Drummond. There were hundreds of women from all over the United States that came to craft, shop, eat and learn about the creative side of business. I taught a couple of different classes - including a three-strand necklace workshop where I introduced my new favorite bead...the torse bead. Used as military adornment beads on epaulets during the French Revolution, torse, which means twist in French, are small 2mm gold plated beads with a nice size hole for beading. Marcia, of Tinsel Trading, laughed every time she was in the room and I introduced the petite bead to my class - I think she figured the beads were made in India last month - and I am getting all excited over nothing. But these little beads are a big deal - having survived the last 200 years - they are the perfect accent bead for vintage-inspired jewelry. I felt the same way about the Creative Connection - after spending the last twenty years working in a creative industry, like jewelry making, it is exciting to be a part of a community that is now celebrating the business of craft.

A Troop of Winners

How could I resist choosing Elissa and her troop of Girl Scout Cadettes as the lucky recipients of our Craft Hope Giveaway? I was a Brownie and Girl Scout for many years - and remember all of the badges I earned - they were they beginning of my creative expression. Elissa - please send me your name and address and I will send off a copy of Craft Hope, the apron material and an extra bag of scraps for you and your girls to create with. The Girl Scout creed is: "Always leave a place cleaner than you found it." The Girl Scout motto is: "Always be prepared." The Girl Scout slogan is: "Do a good turn daily."
Thoughts we should still try to live by.

Craft Hope Giveaway

About a year ago, we were asked to design a project for Jade Sims book Craft Hope - Handmade Crafts for a Cause. Craft Hope is an organization that combines a love of crafting with a desire to help others. The hope is that the projects in this book will be made and donated to specific charities, to help make their mission a little bit easier.
Sewer extraordinaire Jody designed and made up this cute little apron using fabric from our first collection with Moda, Rouenneries. We chose The Food Project as a suitable charity for handmade aprons.The Food Project's mission is to grow a thoughtful and productive community of youth and adults from diverse backgrounds who work together to build a sustainable food system. The Food Project works with teens and thousands of volunteers on its farms to grow nearly a quarter-million pounds of food annually without pesticides and donates thousands of pounds of this food to local shelters.
If you would like to be the lucky winner of this wonderful book, as well as the Rouenneries material to make your own apron - please leave me a comment. Hopefully, once you see how easy the apron pattern is to sew, you will be game to make up a handful of aprons to send off to the Food Project - or a local charity of your choice. Merci!

Cameo Love

A while back, my friend Pam was wearing a ring that I really liked - it was a polished cameo that had been worn for so long and rubbed so hard that the details were almost nonexistent. She told me how she had worn it for years and then one day she lost it. She really missed it. Then, as if it was meant to be, she found it - I can't remember how - maybe she saw a friend wearing it or maybe someone else found it and gave it back - somehow, the ring was returned to her. That's when I came into the story - I coveted Pam's cameo.
I decided to start looking for my own rubbed out angelskin cameo. I looked high and low and never really saw one that spoke to me. I saw Victorian cameos, Edwardian cameos - cameos carved in green lava, sardonyx, red coral and even tortoise shell - but I couldn't find my cameo.
Last week, my friend Penny came to the shop all a flutter with pictures of an angelskin cameo she had bought in England on her last trip - the trip where she went to see the quilt show at the V & A. I thought about my missing cameo - the one that I still hadn't found yet and decided I had better start looking again.
Friday, (trust me this story is going somewhere!) I went up to Summerland to visit my friend Cathy and before we even had a chance to sit and catch up about France, woad and family, she handed me a small box - and inside was an old cameo ring. Cathy had found a perfectly rubbed portrait set into pink gold - exactly what I was looking for. I'm not really a romantic and I don't believe too much in fate - but I think this was meant to be - I was meant to wear this old cameo and put some new life into it. So I'll rub it once in a while and make sure I leave my mark - and then pass it on to Sofia or someone who shares my cameo love. Merci Cathy!

Pressed Botanicals

Aren't they grand? I have picked up old pressed plants for years - the old ones - the one's that look as if they have been packed away forever - the flatter the better. The first book I bought - ten or twelve years ago - is filled with hundreds of pressed leontopodium alpinum - otherwise known as edelweiss. When I inquired how much the book was, the dealer asked "Do you know what this book is about?" - I nodded and looked at her like, yes - it's about pressed flowers. She was hesitant to sell it to someone who had no idea of what she was buying. Since then, I have learned that edelweiss blossoms were given as a token of brave nobility or courage to soldiers in the war. Someone must have been collecting them and pressed them for safekeeping. Edelweiss is also a highly protected species in many countries in Europe - so the gatherer must have been fairly brave to have collected so many.
This summer in Montpezat, at an evening vide grenier, I found another collection of old pressed plants - hidden underneath a pile of books - there were 50 or so handmade manila folders - each holding a couple pages of plants. Although mostly weeds and wildflowers - each is marked with their proper Latin name and a short note about where and when the plant was found. The book dates from 1902 and is still in almost perfect shape - save for a few bugs here and there - bugs that have been living for over a century...but that's a whole other story.

Letter to John Derian....

Dear John......
Haven't seen you in a while but popped into Target today and was, once again, excited and inspired, upon seeing your new line! Remember all the fun we used to have behind the curtain at the old French General? You always came to our soirees ready for a good time and were always the perfect gentleman. I am so happy that you have collaborated with Target to bring your beautiful designs to those of us who love your work! Keep up the good work and hope to see you again someday soon!

Love,

Kaari (Molly's sister!)

Repaired Quilt, 1880

Last spring, I bought an old French quilt from one of my textile dealers that was a real doozie - a beautiful floral printed linen which had darkened over the years from dust and dirt. Looking for an afternoon project, my sister, Lisa, an avid sewer and textile collector, and I decided to dig (or rip) a bit further into the quilt. We just had a feeling that there might be something underneath the 1880's floral that could be worth exploring. Dating old fabric and trying to figure out how fabric was printed is something we both enjoy - Saturday afternoon fun!
We started out with a seam ripper, carefully pulling apart the hand-sewn center seam - but eventually moved right to the scissors and simply slid them down the center as the fabric fell to each side.What we found underneath was exciting - even though it was much smellier and dirtier than the top layer: a much older, probably 1780-1800, madder printed quilt - with huge sections completely thread worn or missing altogether - leaving patches of the wool stuffing. We instantly knew why some dear soul had covered it with the floral linen - the original quilt was, literally, falling apart. Instead of recycling the quilt, someone repaired it - what a concept.
We decided to take the top piece off completely - which was a much bigger job than we had anticipated. Two hours later, and Lisa was saying to me - "Why are we doing this?" But once we started, we couldn't stop - the idea of having two pieces of fabric, when I thought I only had one, was just too exciting - almost like a twofer! This doesn't happen very often - but when it does - I feel like I am discovering some unknown source of history - a wisp of something that was once beautiful and functional - colors that were preserved because they had been covered for the past century.
Covered in dust, and who knows what else - we finally had the original quilt and the cover in two pieces. The floral linen will debut as part of our new collection for Moda, Pom Pom de Paris, and the original madder stripe quilt is carefully tucked away waiting for a new life.
My sister Lisa is visiting again this weekend, I'm looking forward to a little more textile trouble.

Mrs. Smith's Velvet Heart

Please send along your shipping address and we will send out our Petite Coeur Kit. Thanks to everyone for playing!

So Long, Patricia

When I moved to New York in the winter of 1989 I knew absolutely no one - but I had the phone number of a girl that was willing to let me sleep in the extra bedroom of her apartment on 79th and Amsterdam. After walking up five flights of stairs and meeting Melora - we both knew - almost instantly - that we would be great roommates.
I worked for the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Melora worked for Patricia Neal. Every night we would come home and share our stories - mine usually involved tales of getting lost in the museum - trying to find the film department and Melora's usually involved some funny incident Patricia had gotten them into. Eventually Patricia was taking us both out to meals we couldn't afford - but she thought it was important that we got out and dined at restaurants with white tablecloths.
I remember Patricia had a guest book on her entrance hall table and I would always flip through it to see who had stopped by since I had last visited. She kept her academy award in the library and I would run in and hold it for a minute or two - always surprised how heavy it really was. One night she pulled out her jewelry box and told us to each pick out a jewel - I was so overwhelmed with the choices that she finally just picked up a jade flower ring and said - here this is for you - and Melora was given something opal. We spent weekends at her home in Martha's Vineyard - which was the home where Herman Melville wrote Moby Dick. One weekend JZ and I went up alone and lasted only one night - the banging windows and doors had us convinced the house was haunted.
Patricia was an old friend - someone that I hadn't seen in years, but someone who made a mark on me when I was very young. She was honest, direct and didn't put up with incompetence, but she was also gracious, funny and loved life. I will miss her glamour and earthiness - and the way she balanced them both.

The Creative Habit

I cannot overstate how much a generous spirit contributes to good luck. Look at the luckiest people around you, the ones you envy, the ones who seem to have destiny falling habitually into their laps. If they're anything like the fortunate people I know, they're prepared, they're always working at their craft, they're alert, they involve their friends in their work, and they tend to make others feel lucky to be around them. (Twyla Tharp)

This summer, at the chateau, we were lucky enough to have Anna Corba join us for a week to teach us a workshop about book binding and beeswax - as well as offer morning yoga to anyone who was so inclined. At one point, before the week was up, Anna and I were talking on the patio and she mentioned how lucky she felt to be a part of the week and to have the opportunity to teach at the chateau. I mentioned my new favorite book, The Creative Habit, (recommended to me by Susan Fuquay who publishes American Quilt Retailer) written by Twyla Tharp. The book emphasizes the work habits that lead to success. Habitually creative people are, in E. B. White's words, "prepared to be lucky." I paraphrased Twyla's quote above to Ana and thought it fit her perfectly. Anna's spirit is always positive, generous and uplifting - she's such a calming presence to be around - and we were so lucky to have her join us for our Chateau Getaway this summer - thanks Anna!

Creative Connection Giveaway

Well - it's that time - time to get back to work! We've had our fun playing in the sun, now it's time to buckle down! First job on my list is to make up all of the kits for the upcoming Creative Connection Event in Minneapolis, September 15-19. This will be a great week of inspiration filled with lots of crafting and women from all over the country - so many talented teachers and panelists coming along - there is something for everyone. Wendy Addison, Marcia Ceppos, Amy Butler, Joanna Figueroa - just to name a few! I heard there are still a handful of spots left in my Petite Coeur Workshop - so just in case you are on the fence about taking the class - I thought I would do a giveaway of one of the kits so you could see what we will be making. First, we'll be stuffing an old velvet heart with lambswool - or lavender - and sewing it closed. Then we'll be making up all sorts of charms and chains with vintage beads, baubles and cabochons, that can be worn together or individually. Gluing, looping and jump ring work will all be taught - including some fun ribbon work with antique Napoleonic brass beads. By the end of the workshop, the hearts should be dripping with jewelry and charms - all pinned on with old pearl pins.
I read that the French gypsies used to make these small stuffed hearts and they would keep all of their trinkets and charms pinned to the hearts while they were traveling. I was also told, by a customer the other day, that when her mother was in convent school in Buenos Aires, the girls were chosen to go to the mother superiors room and pull a thorn out of the purple velvet heart if they had done a good deed. So - somewhere between safekeeping our amulets and doing good deeds, leave me a comment and we'll choose a lucky winner to try out our Petite Coeur Kit. Merci!

Souvenir Shop

There is an old souvenir shop in the parte vieja of San Sebastian that opened in the 1920's, it is still owned and operated by the original family. I stumbled across this old shop on one of our first visits to San Sebastian and return every summer to pick up treasures for French General. For years, I bought out the hand-painted santos, recuerdos and holy water fonts - but the stock has dried up - no more to be found.
This summer I spent almost a whole week negotiating a sale - seven days trying to convince Anna, the owner's granddaughter (who is older than me) to show me the goods. I'm not sure what part was confusing - the fact that I don't speak Basque, the fact that I want to buy more than one of each item, or the fact that I was willing to get dirty in the pursuit of old stuff - whatever it was - it was a long week of haggling and convincing Anna that I actually prefer to dig in old basements - I like the thrill of the hunt. The first day turned up some beautiful old glass pearls - made in Mallorca in the 1920's - in perfect condition. Anna asked if I would like a dozen - yes please - maybe 100 dozen? The next day, I found boxes of mantilla pins - pins used to keep the mantilla lace in place atop one's head. Boxes and boxes of pins attached to original cards - old stock that hadn't seen the light of day for years. Would I like a couple of cards - or maybe a couple of boxes??
All of this was enough to wear me out - but I continued to go back every day - knowing that eventually something would turn up that would totally surprise me. This morning, as Sofia and I went to pay our bill and call it a day, Anna pulled out a box full of 1930's French celluloid bangles - beautiful, simple and exactly what I was looking for! I asked her how many she had, and in her Basque-Spanish-English indicated that she had hundreds - great - I'll take them all! Hundreds turned out to be 50 - which was still fine by me - I've learned I have to take what I can get at this little souvenir shop - beggars can't be choosers! So, off we went - my boxes full of old trinkets that were made for the tourist to take home - a small piece of Basque history.

Back Home in the Basque Country

Almost every year, for the past 22 years, JZ and I have traveled back to his family home in San Sebastian. Located in the north of Spain, on the Bay of Biscay, San Sebastian is a small, elegant seaside town where his family has lived since moving back from London in the late eighties. The Zabala family is large and proud - numbering in at over 100 - there seem to be uncles, aunts, cousins and distant relatives at every corner. Our stay usually begins and ends visiting family - either on the farm or in one of the small villages that line the coast. Both of his parents grew up on farms outside of San Sebastian - so a visit to the place where the grandparents were born is required. All of the farms are still in working order - making everything from cheese to cidre to ma mia - a local yogurt. The Zabala's are also in the coffee business - roasting coffee and serving it up at all of the local cafe's and bars. Although neither Sofia or I speak Basque, we sit for hours listening to the aunts and uncles talk about the old days and laugh about how JZ ran away when he couldn't have a bag of crisps - was he 4 or 14? - no one can really remember.
Summer after summer we return, for Sofia, for Jon and maybe even for myself. Coming home to JZ's roots is a gift that we have given ourselves and now give to Sofia - so she knows where her dad is from and how to appreciate how the family has grown into the 21st century.

Bon Appetit!

I am always interested in food - breakfast, lunch or dinner - I enjoy a good meal. At the chateau this year, we brought in a couple of private chefs who served up wonderful regional home-cooked meals using local, fresh ingredients. Each morning, we would awaken to the smell of fresh croissants baking in the oven, homemade muesli and fresh fruit - as well as eggs cooked to order and french toast or crepes on occasional days. Lunch was served outside on the patio or, if we were lucky, a picnic in a nearby garden. Our evening meals were usually multiple courses including: salad, meat, potatoes and vegetables - and always followed with a homemade dessert. Lizzie, Renee, Charlotte, Sujia and Corey worked hard to make sure no one left the table feeling hungry. From the first "Bon Appetit" to the last, we were treated to the finest culinary talent - something that will be a treat to return to next summer!

The French Type

After digging through countless brocantes, vide greniers and antique shops here in France, I've found plenty of linen sheets, old mother of pearl rosaries and boxes of buttons. I've bought way too many rolls of ribbon, hemp convent nighties and embroidery books from the turn of the century. But still.....we continued to stop at each and every flea market we ran across - never knowing what we would find next. When we arrived in Toulouse this week, I was still in search of the piece de resistance - the one item I didn't even know I was looking for. Something that would bring me inspiration and joy just by the mere sight of it. I think I found it: Lettres Peintres - an old typography book printed in 1902, full color, with 38 plates of different French type. What is it about French type that makes me think the French might have created the art of type? Beautiful, rich colored letters and numbers - filled with artistic swirls and shadows - I can almost see the brasseries signs in Paris painted with these letters.Sofia and I tried to bargain - the dealer wanted 50 euros - we offered 40. He shook his head and said no - you will never see a book like this again. And so I ran to the bank for more euros and happily handed him what he had originally asked for - something I rarely do at the brocantes. I carefully brought the 14x12 book back to the Hotel Albert and studied each sheet of letters. After Molly and I had counted and recounted the plates, and photographed each one, we agreed - we would never see a book like this again. I can leave France happy - I've found it!

Thirteen Shades of Blue

One of my favorite days on our Chateau Getaway has to be Wednesday, because Wednesday is woad day. Each week on Wednesday, Denise Lambert from Bleu de Lectoure comes to the chateau to teach us about the magical allure of the woad plant. Arriving first thing in the morning, Denise goes to work setting up the vats of dye by using the mixture from the mother vat she brings from home. This year Denise made up two different shades of woad - a light blue and a deep, classic blue - both typical shades of woad. After an informative and fascinating lecture, Denise shows us all how to properly place our whites into the vat to achieve a consistent first dye - making sure to get all of the air bubbles out of the clothing is a bit tricky, but is quickly learned by all. Although everyone brings a handful of white pieces to dye - either from home or collected at the flea market on Sunday - most of us were running up to our rooms and digging through our closets to pull out more! White linen pants, blue jeans, t-shirts,scarves and socks were all instantly dyed from yellow to green to blue - thanks to the alchemy of woad. Denise mentioned in her lecture that there were originally thirteen shades of blue that could be obtained through the dye - so I set out to see if I could come close by dying small scraps of hemp.
During lunch the second week, I decided I could no longer hide my enthusiasm for Denise and her knowledge of woad, and asked her if she would ever consider coming to California to teach - and to my great surprise - she said yes! So we have made a plan for next Spring and my mind hasn't stopped thinking about it since. So here I am, still in France and already planning the next big thing!

Finding Gold in France

We've been in France for a couple of weeks now - we've visited the flea markets, the hat factory, the farmer's market and been exposed to some of the local arts and crafts in the area. We've dyed with woad, visited medieval villages and made lots of french-inspired jewelry. We've met wonderful women who came along on our Chateau Getaway - all who seemed to love digging for old bits and pieces, crafting, and eating the local specialties.
Everything was going according to plan - until one day when Lizzie announced we would be visiting one last hat factory in Septfond - on the way home from Montauban. I have been on dozens of old digs, crawled up onto piles of old crates and seen many, many boxes of old stock that was still as fresh as it was at the turn of the century.....but.....I never expected that I would find a factory in France that had been closed up for years and was still brimming with antique stock - hundreds and hundreds of boxes upon boxes of old trim, feathers, flowers and hats - and then another room and another room and another room! As we walked into the old building, first we gasped and then everyone scurried around and found their special digging spot. I just kept wandering around thinking "this is as good as it gets!" - and instantly said to Molly, "shoot everything and shoot deep."
Everyone loaded up a box or two or three and went outside where Guy, the 78 year old owner's son, shuffled through each box and then announced the price - there was really no bargaining with him because he was practically giving everything away. There were a few bits - like the antique scissors and the faded pincushion that he took out of my box - family heirlooms - but otherwise, everything was for sale. Later that evening, as we were all showing off our treasures, someone said "I was putting my hand in dark places I never should have -and finding gold" - exactly what I was thinking! More to come....

Lumiere de Noel Winners

Thought I'd better pick out a couple of lucky winners of our fabric giveaway before I hop on the plane to France! Sounds like everyone is pretty motivated to stat making their holiday crafts - nothing better than a handmade Christmas. I love all of the ideas - here is a quick look - mostly quilts but a surprising variety of other goodies....

Holiday quilt
Table runner
Place mats
Lap quilt
Fabric ornaments
Wall hanging
Tree skirt
Apron
Napkins
Stockings
Pillows
Holiday bunting
Advent calendar
Duvet cover
Shams
Handbag
Shopping bag
Round table runner
Scarfs, belts and headbands
Christmas throw
Market bag
Gift bags
Lap throw
Wreath
Flowers
Basket liners
Christmas cards and tags
Dolls
Travel bags
Fabric necklace
Quilted handbag
Dress up clothes
Yo-yo doll
Pillow cases
Laptop sleeve

Sofia chose two numbers - and the lucky winners are:
#7 Ruth B
#89 Annelies

and then I chose two numbers:
#21 Northernstar
#121 Robin C.

Please send me your information when you get a chance to notions@frenchgeneral.com and we will send out some cuts of our new line. Thanks so much for playing along - I hope you have a chance to see the fabrics up close in your favorite quilting store - or you can see the whole collection of Lumiere de Noel at Moda.

Merci!

Christmas in July Giveaway

It's taking me some getting used to Moda's fabric schedule. I never thought I would be able to even think about Christmas in July - the thought of it always wanted to make me want to run! But - here we are - with the release of our first holiday fabric collection - Lumiere de Noel - and I am loving it! So instead of waiting till November - and starting to think about projects you may want to create for someone - think about it now! Moda figures it will take you a few months to sew up that holiday quilt - so they release all of their holiday fabric during the month of July. To get you started - I've pulled a few of my favorite prints and made up a couple of swatch bundles - leave me a comment about your upcoming (!) holiday project and we'll pull a few lucky winners by the end of the week. Joyeux Noël!

The Month Gone By

Can it already be July?? What happened to June? The funny thing about being able to "take the summer off" is that you really just have more to do before you can actually "take the summer off". So this past month of June I've done all my work for July and August - well, almost! I've designed our July and August collection of notions and our holiday 2011 fabric line, as well as received our holiday 2010 collection of fabric, Lumiere de Noel. I've thrown a couple of kids parties, gone out to dinner a few times and started swimming laps in the slightly less than freezing pool. I also met up with a wonderful quilter who is going to start helping us design quilt kits and spent hours on the phone with a sewer who is quietly answering questions about long arm quilting as well as what to do next. Oh - and I just received the sample yardage on La Petite Ecole - a wonderful line of French school book inspired prints - soft reds, old French blues and subtle shades of grey. And did I mention I have a 13 year old in the kitchen!