cathy of california

elke sommer paints in the studio behind her holmby hills home, late 60s

what i love most about this image is that hobby horse. it's very much in the style of gemma taccogna.

(from hollywood life - the glamorous homes of vintage hollywood  photographs by eloit elisofan)

courreges sweater accessorized with a handmade flower

and i really like this skirt + flower too. as usual i totally splurged on jananese craft books at kinokuniya while i was in new york.

(from a japanese craft book ISBN 978-4-579-11094-0)

"vintage craft day" saturday may 2nd @ the craft kitchen

it's "vintage craft day" @ the craft kitchen on saturday may 2nd.  i'll be teaching my papier-mache class from 11am - 2pm and then the flower loom class from 3 - 6 pm. you can take just one class or if you sign up for both you'll get a little discount. please visit the craft kitchen website for more information.

it doesn't have to be "perfect"

i must admit that the title of this blog post is not really something i often say. you could say that i have been either blessed or cursed by the need to make things perfect. little details - most of which i am likely to be the only person who notices - are very important to me. most of the time i am actually quite comfortable with being a "perfectionist" (it's just something i'm hard wired for) but the major downside is that it can take up alot of your time. let's say for example that it might take most people a "x" amount of time to accomplish a particular project (making a craft, writing a blog post, cooking dinner) - times that by 2 and that's likely how long it will take me. given the amount of projects and deadlines i have going on now i am finding that my tendancy to ponder/over think particular details is just not working for me. it's really not such a bad thing since it's forcing me out of my comfort zone and making me rethink some of work habits. i would be lying to you if i said this was easy for me but it's not as hard as i thought it would be either.

last month i took denyse schmidt's improvisational patchwork workshop and it was just what the doctor ordered. the workshop was on the last day of my trip to new york for martha. i had only 3 weeks to get ready for the show and those 3 weeks were total non-stop insanity trying to prepare and of course it was all about being totally absolutely beyond "perfect". i think i was able to pull everything off but didn't realize it at the time that i really needed to wind down (something i also rarely do) from that experience. i've never made a quilt (and don't envision myself becoming a quilter) so my intention in taking denyse's class was really nothing more than something i had been wanting to do because i admire her work so much. in the workshop you create your patchwork by randomly (without looking) pulling small bits of fabric out of a bag. you have to work with what you get - no mixing and matching of colors and patterns which freed me of the time it would take to ponder over design decisions. it was a very liberating thing for me to do and it's what has put me on the path to rethinking and confronting just how my tendency to always want things to be perfect can sometimes not be such a good thing.

one of my many current deadlines is gathering together elements for show that i'm going to be in. i needed a fabric backdrop of some sort and my first course of action was to try to source some vintage fabric but had no time to hit the flea markets/swap meets/thrift stores and was too overwhelmed by the 5,578 ebay search results for vintage fabric. i wasn't too sure about the fabric i had on hand (we won't go into it here but another major problem i have is that i often run out and buy something that i already have but forgot about) but i pulled out my plastic bin of fabric ayway and discovered that i did have what i needed if i made a patchwork and since the show's theme is all about memory and family the bits and pieces i have left of my mom's fabric were perfect (see there i go again). i was able to cut just enough squares to make the patchwork that would fill in the backdrop - that part was easy. but it was a whole other story when it came to sewing them all together. i had to work fast because i have so much to do and began to notice that the squares were not lining up perfectly. of course my first reaction was to start over and take the time to make them line up - so i stopped and thought about it for a little while. deep down inside i wanted it to be perfect - after all i was using my mom's precious fabrics and this is something that's going to be in a museum - so the pressure was on. but finally came to the conclusion that what i was doing was just fine and forged ahead and finished it up. i suppose that by posting the picture of it here is just a little "progress report" for you on how i'm doing while dealing with this whole perfectionist thing.

flower loom class @ reform school: home ec - friday april 17th

i taught martha how to use a flower loom - now i can teach you!

i am so happy to announce that i will be doing a flower loom class at one of my favorite places in town - reform school: home ec in silver lake on friday april 17th from 7 -10 pm. my class is just one of many amazing classes they have scheduled for this month.

i will teach you all the basics of how to use a flower loom, a little bit of history about the popularity of loomed flowers during the 60s + 70s and i will show you how to turn the flowers you make into completed projects such as pins or hair clips.

your supply fee includes all materials as well as a flower loom kit that's yours to keep. in the class we focus on flowers made with raffia but you can also use yarn, string, wire and even old VHS tapes on the looms.

to sign up for the class (scroll down to the image of the flowers and hit "buy now") and for more info please visit the reform school: home ec website.

reform school: home ec is at 3902 sunset blvd (sunset junction/silver lake) - and if you to want to grab some coffee or dinner before class there a few nice places in the area.

flower loom class @ the craft kitchen - saturday april 18th

i'm also doing a flower loom class at  the craft kitchen in santa ana on saturday april 18th from 11am - 2 pm.

for more information and to sign up for the class please visit this page and scroll down to saturday april 18th and hit "the sign me up" button to register.

the craft kitchen is at 2202 1/2 north main street in santa ana - just off the 5 freeway in orange county

button it up - 80 amazing vintage button projects by susan beal

my schedule has been so insane lately - i totally forgot to mention something very exciting! susan's new book was recently released and i am very proud that she chose me to be one of the contributors - and it looks like i'm in very good company. just like all of susan's books button it up is chock full of super fun projects and is beautifully designed, photographed and illustrated!

please visit susan's button it up flickr set to check out some of images from the book.

you can purchase a signed copy here (and she's even throwing in a few little extras to help you get going on your first project!)