exotic samarkand

I have received 2 spools of my new Samarkand ribbon from Renaissance Ribbons this week: one is online already and possibly in the stores. It is glorious, if I say so myself. We are also producing it in jewel tones of emerald, amethyst, and sapphire, which will be coming soon. Today's offering is the ruby red on pale pink, and it looks smashing with hot pink silk.

My suzani ribbons are an homage to central asian embroideries called Suzani. Samarkands are some of the most recognizable suzanis to those of us here in the west. The current craze for all things Suzani is inspiring; I follow them daily on ebay and have watched prices skyrocket over the last year as the trend grows here. Suzanis, you probably already know, are made by women, primarily as dowry items, from countries such as Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

The pattern is drawn on handwoven cloth seamed together from narrow strips; then after the drawing is made the strips are separated and taken home by the various family members to embroider, then re-joined in a small miracle of matching. Some suzanis are vintage and even antique but it is good to note that there is a terrific trade in brand new needle work. These cloths often feature natural dyed silk threads embroidered densely over hand-woven silk/cotton fabrics. The quality is remarkable.

and now for something completely different

You can always make a headband out of one of my ribbons. Here, if you look above the bikini line, you will see that one of the girls on Survivor has in her emergency kit a length of LFN Textiles Dandelion ribbon tying back her tresses. Thanks to my sharp eyed friend Bari for spotting it last night!

spring sewing

I had to make up a number of sachets for the Reading Public Museum's shop today -- they are hosting the Cranbrook Hothouse exhibition, which includes one of my tapestries, and wanted some LFN items for the shop. They got little zip bags, sachets, eye sachets, and larger zip bags, all trimmed with ribbon.
Here are a few of the things I made.

in Vogue!

Yesterday Renaissance wrote and told me that my ribbons are very beautifully illustrated in the April/May 2008 issue of Vogue Pattern Magazine. See for yourself!

flowering sachets

Sachets again! I know I seem to make far too many of them, but the lavender is lovely and cheering to work with when you have a headache or low February spirits.

Here are 4 sachets I sewed with assorted silks and the new ribbons. They should be out soon -- they will be posted on Renaissance Ribbons under What's New, and if you check my web site you can find online vendors who will soon have them.

spring flowers

Spring colors and spring flowers, and yet we have an inch of solid ice outside today!
Here are 3 of the new ones from Renaissance Ribbons -- my Poppy re-colored in pale pink on pale grey-green, my new Moonflower in honeydew and olive, and Morning Glory in blue on yellow.

some fresh things

I have long been fascinated with Auricula flowers, and have worked with their odd and colorful faces many times. Ten years ago I wove a lovely linen jacquard with large blooms; this then translated to an upholstery fabric for my short-lived LFN Textiles Upholstery line.
Recently I Licensed the design to Crate & Barrel for use as a kitchen towel. Not finished yet! I spent the last few weeks making some applique fabric samples to expand my design vocabulary (usually I just design at the loom or on the computer screen) to include more warm & fuzzy reality in my portfolio. I have had a wonderful time with elementary materials such as wool felt, along with my usual staple, DMC floss and a few high-end decorator fabric snips thrown in. So here are the Auriculas from that cycle.