Friday, April 27, 2012

The Bees Knees

Where did this expression come from? We humans have cute knees but they give out after a certain amount of use. Bees have spindly knees but I've never heard of a bee knee replacement. Maybee we need to learn from them. Fly instead of walk. Does that lead to shoulder surgery? Just asking.

Tomorrow and Sunday I'll be at the Red Poppy Fest along with thousands (I hope!) Should be lots of sunshine. Please come and enjoy all the music, food, family activities. It's been a buzzy week leading up to it. Special orders coming in. Looks like I'll be buzzy as a bee in the month of May!

I am skipping the Wilmington Flower Market. I'll miss all my fans there. Always a good show for me with lots of returning girls. Fun to see them grow. Maybe next year. In the meantime if you are used to finding me there, try my etsy or facebook pages.

Bee good and enjoy whatever your buzzy weekend brings!! Remember you can find me on 7th street in downtown Georgetown on the street outside The Exchange's new location. Parade starts at 10. Come early and stay late.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Red Poppy Time



Some Georgetown Poppies. Proudly, we are designated red poppy capitol of Texas and celebrate with a 2 day music festival. Weather cooperating, more than 30,000 visitors crowd our streets to listen to good music, sample fair food and shop the best handmade arts and crafts vendors from inside and out of Texas. Mama Ds and I are part of it all. Love all the crowds, commotion and confusion!!! It starts with a parade at 10 and goes to the late hours with a street dance and concert on Saturday. Sunday opens at 12 and closes at 5. Come one, come all. Great family fun. And if you're not familiar with downtown Georgetown, it is a good time to explore the many restaurants and stores. If it has been awhile since you've been here, there are new shops and restaurants you really need to see.

Link to Red Poppy Fest Here

Friday, April 20, 2012

Earth Love

Annarella Girl is dedicated toward making our garments earth friendly. How,? you ask. I am weary of living in a disposable world. Torn, shoddily made with cheap materials became the norm as fueled by discount stores and big box, low priced warehouse stores. By wielding huge buying power, they demanded impossible standards for manufacturers. Quality was lost in the process. When I started Annarella Girl I wanted to make garments that lasted through many washings, much playing. Ocasiionally, I question my dedication to sturdiness, it does take longer to make a dress with all seams finished and more fabric for self-faced ruffles and bodices. After a show where I hear one too many times - "I (or my mom) can do this for a lot less," I think maybe I'm the only one who cares. Just churn it out, cut corners, who cares? But I can't bring myself to do this. I want the garment to have a long history, to be passed down to younger girls, to end up being sent to a resale store where it can make another little girl happy. It's an heirloom dress with a long life for several happy girls. That's  my dream. Ending up in many closets and out of landfill.

Happy earth day!!!!!

Thursday, April 19, 2012

American Bandstand, Shirtwaist Dress and Penny Loafers

When I heard Dick Clark had died, I immediately flashed back to my teens. My high school years were spent in Wilmington, Delaware. At that time it took an hour to drive to Philadelphia, but only an instant each afternoon after school. Just a click of the on button and my friends and I were in Philly with Justine and Bob dancing on American Bandstand with Dick Clark and the regulars. Following all the current moves, teen romances, singing idols. Our uniform was the cotton shirtwaist dress with Peter Pan collar anchored by a circle pin and loafers with a shiny penny. Or in the winter a twin set in pastel colors with a strand of pearls. This was styling with Dick. He understood what music we wanted to hear and what was cooool! Philly was the center for awhile with Frankie Avalon, Fabian, and the Four Seasons. It was a less complicated time Less angry. Less mean. He was our shepherd through adolescence. He was a trusted  adult who understood how the music of the day spoke to us and for us.

I moved  on, grew up, fell in love with the music of the 60's and 70's, but my roots were planted in American Bandstand wearing my shirtwaist dress and penny loafers. Thanks, Dick Clark, for being such a positive part of my youth.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Sewing Steady

When I take a few days off, my fingers, brain and creative spirit are ready to work hard. I find myself just putting my head down and working to catch up. While I was gone this time, I lent my machine to my partner who had hers in the shop for repairs. Let her keep it for the weekend, and I did lots of cutting out and prep for this week. So yesterday was first one back with the machine. Sewing and thinking has ensued.  Love getting back to it. It is my comfort zone. If you had told me 15 years ago that this is what I'd be doing almost daily, I would have laughed at you. Told you all the ways that would be impossible,  but look where I am.

Do you find yourself on an  "impossible" path? Life is full of twists and turns. Gotta love not really knowing what lays beyond each bend.

Friday, April 13, 2012

New Orleans, I Loved You!!!

Just back from 3 days in New Orleans. Now I have a new city to love. Not Bourbon St which is for 18-30 year olds with its garish neon, bar by bar, general seediness and vulgar odor. No it was all the other parts as shown to me by passionate tour guides, chatty cabbies, pedi cab drivers. This was the friendliest place I have ever visited. Got to hear some good music. Took a tour of the ninth ward where the reconstruction of the poorest cottages still continues. Enjoyed a buggy ride as dusk turned to dark. Saw some blue heron and one very large alligator sunning itself on a lawn on a swamp tour. Ate dinner where a zydeco band played and the dancers ranged from an elegant couple who glided across the floor with every song to kids dancing with wild abandon. Spent some time at the French Quarter Music Festival listening to good N.O. jazz. A varied trip, but by the end I felt like we had soaked up some of the atmosphere of this unique city. Beignets. Streetcars. Smiling people proud of living in the city that survived such a devastating disaster. And I have fallen love with all. .

Monday, April 9, 2012

A Break in the Action

Taking 4 days away from the sewing machine. Will my fingers be able to stand it? My eyes will welcome it. As noted often in previous posts or maybe on Facebook, by the end of the day with so many allerens in the air, my eyes are tired, very tired. So from my brain to my eyes to my creative muscles, I'm taking a break.

Everytime I take off I lose some of my readers. I hope you'll bear with me. I want to see all of you when I'm back Have a good week!!!!

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Easter Candy, Yummy

Do you like licorice? I love it even if it does make my teeth black. Not so crazy about the heavy, imported stuff but love licorice jelly bellies, licorice Brach jelly eggs, black Twizzlers and hard to find Black Crows. These are my all time Easter favorites.

Next come the chocolates. I realize that people sing the praises of dark imported chocolates, but I was raised not too far from Hersey, PA and milk chocolate kisses are the best!!!! or as they do for Easter, the milk chocolate eggs. Second favorite are the Lindor milk choclate balls, the ones wrapped in red. When we first moved to Geneva, CH, we lived in a hotel. Every night there was one of these on each pillow. What a treat!!! Third, a marshmallow bunny covered in dark chocolate. My excveption to the milk vs dark. Here the sweet of the marshmallow is offset by the more bitter chocolate.

The last to go from my basket are the peeps. Does anyone eat those? Cute pic on facebook last night of a yard that had been peeped. Front lawn strewn with different colored peeps. Now that is a cute use of peeps! The other left-over is gum drops. In fact, now that I think about it, I hardly see them anymore. Are they extinct?

What is in your Easter basket? What do you eat first? What ends up being thrown out?

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Easter Eggs Traditions

Talking to my youngest son yesterday and reminescing about coloring Easter eggs. He said that in conversations around the water cooler at his work, many mentioned finding eggs with money in them. Poor boy, a tradition he never got to experience. Told him how lucky he was that his parents were purists - boil the eggs, color the eggs, hide the eggs - no plastic, fill them up eggs at his house. How lucky was he to be  spared from the corruption of crass commercialization of cash eggs. (Gotta love such a blatant use of alliteration!) lol.

Don't feel to sorry for him. Baskets were over the top filled with toys, chocolates, jelly beans and peeps. Put on foot of bed until he graduated from high school. Always with the piece de resistance of a big bunny. Hmm, shall I start nibbling at the feet or ears?

Happy Easter!!!

Friday, April 6, 2012

Blooming



Good Friday. My birthday. I time to ponder life's glories. My little lime tree has survived another winter and is optimistically blooming once more. Ahhh, the persistence of nature is a wonderous process!!!

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Projects I Would Love to Do

Recently I have several inquiries that sound like they would be fun.

First, a qestion about flower girls dresses. Wouldn't that be cute? Using colors of wedding. Lots of flowers in fabrics. Longish - mid calf to ankle lengrh. extra long ribbon sashes. I can picture them. Haven't heard back from inquirer. She can probably find cute alternatives closer to her home, but it's been a thought-provoking email question. Good creative dreeaming.

Second, working backward from a really cute headband to create a dress to complement. Reminds me of the very common adult process - finding a killer pair of shoes, usually on sale, and then searching for the perfect outfit to go with them, usually not on sale. Now tell me you've never done that! Dreaming up a yellow, blue, pink sundress!

Have a good Thursday. I am laboring at the sewing machine. I think I can complete my special order. I think I can. I think I can.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

The Best Years of My Life

Followed a discussion on "The View" about what years were the best. They chose 28 and 35. Got me to thinking. Twenty-eight was when I realized I was an adult. That year 18-21 year  olds suddenly seemed to be so much younger, less mature' and with the wisdom of age I realized how much emotional growing one did in those years. I liken that explosion of emotional maturity to a baby's first year of physical growth. At 18 one feels so adult with answers to everything and all dreams possible. By 21 one realizes how much there is to learn and how many dreams have yet to be even formed. There are exciting years but full of drama. Highs so high and lows so low. But from all that comes a sense of oneself and an acceptance of the future, where one is going and how one can  get there. One is by no means done but one is certainly entering adulthood.

At 35 I was in the throes of parenthood. There were aspects of parenhood I would definitely never want to change, but it was a lot of hard work which having survived I don't want to repeat. I don't want to ever repeat being so tired.  (Although this allergy season I'm feeling that mind-sapping, leg-weary energy drain which has a familiarity with the lack of sleep of the 30s.) And having to have all the answers for kids I found scary.

Rather I loved my 50's and early 60's. I began to appreciate my talents. Found the special love ro and from adult children. Finally started the process of becoming comfortable with my place in the world around me. Stopped searching for normal and embraced uniqueness. All in all such fulfilling years. Maybe I'm just a late bloomer. Oh there are still the highs and lows, the ebb and flow of life, but as my wise mother pointed out, "How can you enjoy the triumphs, if you don't experience the disappointments?" Life keeps moving along, not always smoothly but in lurches.

Reminds me that I haven't shouted to the rooftops my word of the year lately, but I keep whispering it in my mind. FORWARD!

Wishing all of you the best day, week month and year!!!!

Monday, April 2, 2012

Monday, Monday

Starting off my week by losing time. Not a good thing. I have a big order due next week, so I created a work schedule on Sat. Sunday my husband informed me I had dates wrong for trip to New Orleans. Now I find I have 2 less days. So cancel my birthday eat-a-thon, no time. Maybe next year. Of course to keep it all in perspective I get to chew my way through New Orleans, not a shabby substitute.

Posts are likely to be short and whiney coming up for the aforementioned reason. Need more time or less to do.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Fooling

What kind of fool am I?

Fools rush in where wise men fear to go.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me.

(A fool) is born every minute.

To fool or not to fool, that is the question.

Foolish thoughts.

Every (fool) has it's day. Today is it. Make the most of it. Do something foolish. Play. Run bare foot through the grass. Swing. Lay on your back and see what the clouds make. Pick dandelions. Skip stones. Get a friend and play leapfrog. Climg a tree. Dance instead of walking. Inspire a belly laugh in a stranger. Ride a bike with feet off the pedals, Express inner child in paint and out on refrigerator door.

Share what you did, foolishly.