A Tribute to Italian Design While we were in Milan ( see my blog on  Milan fashion week) wandering and window shopping I spied the most awesome store front in the plaza across from the famous La Scala Opera House.  The first floor of a block-long building showed the interior of a high-end haberdashery shop. …

Milan Fashion Week We recently returned from a short trip to Italy, beginning with Milan during Fashion Week.  Milan, capital of the Lombardy region in northern Italy which stretches from the Alps bordering Switzerland to the flat plain of the river Po, is both the financial and fashion capital of Italy.  A fashion design rival…

Spider Silk On the outside of the patio door to my office is a huge spider web.  I would say about 18 inches in diameter and tethered  to various hanging baskets.  The spider responsible is an enormous orange garden spider who appears occasionally in the center of the web, otherwise I don’t know where it…

Referencing Pre-Columbian Peruvian Textiles After visiting the Amaco museum of pre-Columbian Peruvian textiles in January (See my blog Textile Treasure of Ancient Peru, 2/19/17)    I was inspired to do more research on the cultures of ancient Peru.  Here are only a few of references I am using.              …

Magic Cloths of  Power For many years I have been asked to present lectures on various textile topics.  One of my very favorite topics I will share with you over several months : Magic Clothes of  Power. I once had read a book by Barbara Michaels about a “bad” quilt.  It was not poorly constructed,…

Eyelet Eyelet fabric can be described as a combination of lace and embroidery.  It can be found in a variety of patterns which cover the fabric surface from selvage to selvage.  Usually produced in white but occasionally it can be found in colors. The design is punched into the fabric ground by a series of…