CHRISTMAS WINDOWS NYC 2011

We did our usual tour of the Christmas windows in Manhattan on Christmas Eve so here are a few photos of the high points.   First is Barney's with a Lady Gaga theme:

 Gaga's boudoir with everything covered in hair.

Another window at Barney's

Then it was on to Bergdorf's.  The side windows were fashion shoots with manequins in animal heads. 

The main windows gathered together items made of one material.

This was wood.

These items were paper.

A small window

This window had sea creatures made of tile.

This window was fiber animals.

This was the metal window.

This was the bead window.

Then it was on to Henri Bendel's

One of their smaller windows.

Tiffany's was doing a circus theme...

but they removed most of the jewelry from the windows, making them rather empty.

This was Diesel, not a Christmas decoration but an interesting facade.

Tommy Hilfiger wrapped their store in a big bow and the store next to it did their usual filagree belts.

Cartier wrapped their store in the traditional red bow.

The Rockefeller Center tree framed by trees with blue lights.

Bananna Republic.



Anthropologie: not Christmas but a fun background.

Sephora, which used to be the Charles Scribner's Sons bookstore.

Lord and Taylor did Christmas scenes.

These two windows with a beagle are for my parents.

More Lord & Taylor

 Macy's did windows that were full of motion and a little nightmarish.  The theme had something to do with the magic of ornaments.  Since everything was moving, I took short videos to give the idea.

Then we went home to watch for Santa.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL

Both Don and I have been so busy with theater work (the poor guy is still at the shop now on Christmas Eve) that we decided not to drive ourselves crazy decorating a tree or buying presents for Christmas.  Feeling bad that we couldn't put up a Christmas tree this year, Don remedied the situation a few days ago.  Behold this year's version of presents under the tree:

So may you all be as creative and unstressed in you holiday celebrations:  Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Kwanza.

ENCHANTED FAUST

 The months since September ran together as I worked on three knitted costumes for two operas for the Metropolitan Opera.  The first project was a lovely but challenging machine-knit sweater for the very pregnant Marguerite, played by Marina Poplavskaya, in a new production of Faust.  The costumes were designed by the talented Paul Tazwell. 

The yarn was two strands of different variegated yarns that were made in Italy.  The shopper thought that the yarn was cotton but, working with it, I came to the conclusion that I was knitting with cashmere.  It was very soft and light.

After that I was on to more chain mail for a new opera entitled Enchanted Isle, a mashup of Shakespeare's The Tempest  and A Midsummer Night's Dream. I had to make as set of chain mail for Neptune, played by Placido Domingo, that was supposed to look like it was distressed from being underwater.  After many samples, the costume designer, Kevin Pollard finally chose this sample: 

You can see the sketch for Neptune here:http://www.wqxr.org/#/articles/wqxr-features/2011/dec/06/wqxrs-met-opera-preview-enchanted-island/slideshow/.  Scroll through the designs to number 5.  I am curious to see the final costume.

After I finished the chain mail pieces for Mr. Domingo, it was decided that I should knit another set for the understudy, a singer with the voice of an angel and a 63 inch (160 centimeters) waist.  So I madly knit another, bigger set that was finished on December 17.  Now I can take a break from knitting and get back to some beadwork designs with fast-approaching deadlines.  Oh, and  I think there is a holiday or two coming up.

INSIDE CROCHET CORRECTION

Wow, it has been so long since I have had a chance to post that blogspot has changed their setup.  I have been so incredibly busy with knitting costumes and beadwork design (more about that in the next post) that I have had no time for anything else.

Late though it is, I want to let everyone know that November's issue of Inside Crochet did indeed publish a lengthy correction with  proper credit for my bead crochet designs in the Turkish Delights article in Issue 21.

Here is a photo of the correction on page 71.  If you have trouble reading it, blame the current fashion of magazines printing text in grey.

Thank you for all of the comments that you left on the original post about Inside Crochet leaving out design credit for my beadwork.  I still don't know what happened, other than a representative of Inside Crochet told me that it was their fault.  Luckily, the matter was corrected.

MY WORK IN INSIDE CROCHET

I was going to wait until Inside Crochet published a promised correction so that I didn't have to do a grumpy blog post about not getting design credit but too many people have been asking about this, so here goes.

The latest issue (September 2011) of the magazine used photos of my designs without giving me credit.  A woman named Phyllis Serbes contacted me in February ago to ask permission to use some of my research in an article on Turkish crochet, the craft of her ancestors.  After I said yes, she asked for a few photos of my work for possible inclusion in the magazine.  I sent her some photos.


So now the article is out and I find my work used  as examples of anonymous crafters from Turkey.  Here is my Ziggy Snake Necklace described only as showing typical patterns of flowers and use of vibrant colors.  Aside from the fact that it is my design, the inspiration was actually Balkan.


Then we have my Turkish Delight bracelets--again no design credit-- with the description that Turkish crochet uses color combinations seen nowhere else.  Really?  Not even in my design studio?



Next we have one of the snake bracelet projects from my book Bead Crochet Snakes: History and Technique.  These were just described with  "Snakes are common creations in beaded crochet."




As an added tweak, the magazine also used the photo of my Side by Side bracelet design-- again with no design credit--and then published the strikingly similar pattern below by Phyllis Serbes in the same article:



Now, I don't think it is quite copyright infringement because I did put a free tutorial for the Turkish Flat Bead Crochet stitch on my website but it just seems bad form to omit design credit on the photo of my bracelet and then offer a pattern that is clearly taken from my bracelet.  I like the macrame closure, it's cute; so does that mean it is okay for me to start using her closure in my Turkish Flat Bead Crochet Bracelets?

Phyllis Serbes seemed like a nice lady and a representative from the magazine said that the design credit omission was their fault but this whole thing has spoiled the magazine for me.  I probably won't be buying any more issues or contibuting anything else to them.

SABINE'S SPARKLY CLASSES, DAYS 1 AND 2

As we sit here waiting for Hurricane Irene, I thought I would do a blog post about the two classes with Sabine Lippert that I took at Beads by Blanche earlier this month for those who haven't seen the Facebook photos.

I got up nice and early to go out to Blanche's in Bergenfield, NJ--it is actually easy to get to by bus.

Here are most of the class getting to work. Sabine is at the head of the table.

Here are some examples of Sabine's work. For those of you who don't know her, you can find out more at http://www.trytobead.com. She is fluent in both German and English so we had no trouble with instructions.

This was Sabine's sample of Sparkling Spots, the first project of the day.

Here is Sabine showing off her fun side.

This is my finished Sparkling Spots bracelet. Wendy, at Blanche's did a wonderful job of putting together color combinations for each class project. I managed to find this lovely clasp at Star's Clasps http://www.starsclasps.com on our trip to Bead Fest Philadelphia last week.

This is my finished version of the Riddle Pendant, our second project of the day.

Here are my friends Maureen Chin and Yoshie Marubashi posing for a photo on Friday. Maureen is a former New Yorker who came up for the class and it was great to see her again. Some of you may know Maureen from bead shows and classes in the North Carolina area (http://www.maureenchin.com. Yoshie's work has been seen in publications and exhibits all over the world (http://yoshiesjewel.com).

This was one of Sabine's pieces that we admired during Friday's class.

Here are some of Sabine's rings. These she does for fun and does not write up her instructions.

This is one of Sabine's samples of the Renaissance bracelet,

Friday's challenging project.

This is my version of it in progress. Although the bead combination looked good in the tray, there is something about it that I don't like once the beads were together . I bought some other beads at Bead Fest and will play around a bit.

So, we had a great time and I learned more about building three-dimensional shapes with needle weaving. Plus I have some new jewelry to wear!

SPARKLY CLASSES WITH SABINE LIPPERT

It is hot and sticky outside and I am in bed with a cold; to lighten my mood, I have been thinking about Sabine Lippert's upcoming classes at Beads by Blanche from August 11-14.

Blanch has divided the classes into two 2-day sessions and I am signed up for the August 11-12 session.




On August 11, we will learn the Sparkling Spots Bracelet (above and right) and the Riddle Pendant (below).

The Riddle Pendant.

On August 11, we will learn the Renaissance Bracelet.

Another view of the Renaissance.

The August 13 class will learn the Zanzibar Bracelet (at left) and Granada (below).

The Granada pendant.

The August 14 class will learn the Petit Carre Bracelet (at left and below).

For more information and registration, visit http://www.beadsbyblanche.com.

I am looking forward to seeing Sabine again and can't wait to learn some of her lovely stitches. Now, though, I am going back to bed.