Sewing at the Library

In August I had the opportunity to visit the Noe Valley Branch of the San Francisco Public Library. My dear friend Jean Sweeney is the librarian in the children's room. She had me come out and teach a short sewing program to young children.

It was super fun!











We worked with felt embroidery floss and jewels to create little pouches. It's a great quick project that packs a punch. I had 4 students and 1 helper Student (Aka - Emma my daughter!) aged between 4 and 9.

Each child picked their favorite color felt, folded over, like an envelope and stitched the sides up using embroidery floss.


Afterwards the boys and girls got to decorate with glitter, jewels and sequins.

My daughter feels pretty lucky because she not only got to make one, but got to keep the example that I made too.

Check out all the lovely designs the children came up with.

All the while we were joined by our favorite American Girl, Kaya. Kaya loves to join in on the fun!

Pickling with Mona!

Mona Personius of Mona's Table here in Alameda, gave a terrific class today on pickling! We pickled cucumbers, asparagus, cauliflower, carrots, and all sorts of veggies. I felt so old-fashioned and domestic. It was great! Mona led the brigade through the process (no pun intended) and we had a great time.

The veggies were cleaned, sliced and prepped. Mona prepared the brine, which was a combination of vinegar, water, herbs and spices. And, for sweeter pickles she added a little sugar.

Preparing the brine:

I made a jardiniere batch with cauliflower, corn, onions, celery and carrots. The one Mona had for us to sample was amazing! (I kept at the jar the whole time. Yummm!!)

After preparing the brine, we blanched the vegetables that needed to be blanched, in the brine, then stuffed the previously sterilized jars.

The sterilizing of the jars, lids and bands is a crucial step to ensure no "funkiness" happens and to keep it all safe.

After the jars are filled, then we poured more brine into the jars and capped them off with lids and bands. The jars are then "processed" in a boiling pot of water. We were told that they needed to be on an even surface and then left undisturbed for a while afterwards in order to make sure they are properly sealed. I think I'm writing all this down to keep it properly stored in my own memory as well as sharing the experience with friends. There is a lot to remember!

While all this was going on, Christina from

the Alameda Point Collaborative, was cooking up some blueberry syrup. (Pictured with Michelle, who is helping her out).

On the outskirts of all this action, Mark Hardwick, our fearless Slow Food Alameda leader, plodded away, filling his jars with green tomatoes, garlic, jalapenos and curry parsley.

When she wasn't helping Christina, Mona's friend Michelle filled her own jars with gorgeous tiny vegetables. She used both a savory brine as well as a brine made with lavender (wow!).

Rick & Julien

from the Feel Good Bakery were on hand to help and put together jars of bread and butter pickles, dill pickles and cucumber Kim Chi.

What a great day! Thanks Mona!

Fashion Sewing Camp Week Two

Maria Janeff and I had our first week of Fashion Sewing Camp together. There were a whopping 13 students this time. It's amazing how different each group of girls tends to be. This group was particularly good at making inspiration boards and a little shyer on the runway. The girls did an amazing job all around and turned out a fantastic show on Friday. Here are a few pictures of all their great work and awesome fashions.

All Things Swedish

It's summer time and I've been working on my house projects. I do this mostly because my daughter is in school and I have time to get my hands dirty. Right now the kitchen cabinets have been sanded bare and I'm trying to decide what colors to paint, what kind of counter top would look best (in an ideal world) and what kind of tile backs plash will go with the fantasy countertop.

I'm so grateful that my good friend Kelley Flynn can help me make these decisions. You see, she's an amazing interior designer. So, I'm very lucky indeed!

Over the Spring Break I went to visit some dear friends in Portland Oregon and as always we go to Broder, which is one of my favorite restaurants. Of course they have a fabulous kitchen and the space is very cool. It's a little Swedish Bistro with lovely pickled beets on the side. So, I got to thinking about it as inspiration for my own kitchen and also about all the other wonderful and inspiring Swedish delights out there in the world right now. Here are some of my favorites. Let me know about some of yours.....

Broder and friends :

I could just spend the whole day at Ikea! Not only can you purchase your butcher block counter top, but you can outfit your entire pantry with Swedish Yummies, AND have lunch while you rest.

Oh, there is also Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren, with her Villa Villakula -

And ABBA.....

And the Millenium Series by Author Stieg Larsson -

Not to mention True Blood Star Alexander Skarsgard!

Stories of Frannie - Part 1

My Grandmother, Frances Anna Heger Askin Beniades introduced me to the world of fashion. When I was small, just a young girl of eight or so, she started her stories.

Frannie grew up in San Francisco, and then Oakland, California. Her father was an exotic animal dealer who also invested in Real Estate. Grandma Fran was raised in a household with her mother, father, sister and brother alongside dogs, cats, monkeys and the occasional cheetah. She was born in 1904, lived through the Great Earthquake of 1906 and then went on to experience the roaring 20's in one of the most interesting Cities in the United States.

She often made her own clothes, designing them and then sewing them. She desperately wanted to study design. In that era, however, Fashion Design was a man's profession. So, ironically, she became a model. In that capacity, she was able to wear all the amazing clothing of the times. She was photographed in these clothes (see photos) and she modeled them informally at I Magnin in San Francisco, wher

e she walked the store, glamorously clad in gowns, furs and jewels.

Fran was an independant girl. She refused to meet a bo

yfriend at the "employee entrance" and instead walked out the front door of the store she worked in, never to see him again. She claimed to have been one of the first ladies to wear pants in San Francisco during the 1930's. And after her husband died in WWII, she ran her own boarding house.

Always in style and my own personal fashion Icon, my grandma Fran continues to influence my life. I think about her daily and I miss her very much. She died in the winter of 1996 after a long battle with Alzhiemers. She was almost 92 years old. I hope you enjoy these photos of her in her youth. They remind me of the stories she told and the adventures she had in the prime of her life.

Starting a Blog

Welcome to my Blog! This is my first posting and I'm hoping it will interest you.....I'm working the bugs out - like learning how to use my scanner and where everything appears on my blog, so be patient. I'll get there, I promise.

Last week was week one of my Fashion Sewing Summer Camp and we had a great time. There were 9 students, myself and my excellent camp councilor, Bennett Smith.

Each girl brought their own sewing machine and made at least one garment and in some cases, a whole outfit with accessories. Some of the girls hadn't even sewn before. It's so incredibly awesome to see them learn how to use this machinery and empower themselves with a new skill. On Friday we had a fashion show with all their new clothes. The runway was set up with lights, seating, even a little paparazzi!

During the week the girls also learned how to create mood/inspiration boards as well as beginning fashion illustration on a croquis.

I can't wait for Week 2 of Fashion Sewing Camp and my next group of future Fashion Designers!

Stick around and there will be photos. Please feel free to leave comments. I'm looking forward to hearing what you have to say!