SpyGirl

Good Buy/ Goodbye: Mini Skirts

2025-08-15T04:00:00.000-07:00

I had a sketch/ journal session with the theme Sketch Favorite Things.
I chose mini skirts, since I knew that was the theme for Shelbee and Nancy's Good Buy/Good Bye Book this month:

this was for a free workshop series...
it went on with multiple sessions every day for a week...
I got distracted and only did this one Zoom-along

I sent Shelbee this selfie wearing the SUNO knit mini:

I acquired this back in heyday of my Fashion Blogging days (2013?)
SUNO was an interesting design house, not sure if they're still in business...
Their IG's latest post is from 2016 and the bio link goes nowhere.

I also tried looking up the designer, Max Osterweis, and his IG went silent in 2017.

I bought this from LYST, (which had an affiliate program back in the day) and it was reasonably priced for a "designer" item. I love the knit pattern! This is a keeper, even if I don't wear it that much these days.

Aditionally,

In my mini skirt selfie search, I found this photo of the red "butt cover"

Haha, the back patio, unedited! Now you know!
Photo from January 2023

Jean sent me this along with what she calls armlets, upcycled from a cashmere sweater.

I've been known to throw this on if I have errands in wintertime and my top and sweater are too short.

Keeper, despite the large moth holes (they add character).

Linking up with

Shelbee On the Edge

10 on the 10th: Would You Rather...

2025-08-10T08:11:00.000-07:00

10 on the 10th is a fun monthly thing instigated by Marsha In the Middle.

This month it's ~~ten~~ eleven "Would you rather" questions

1. Would you rather eat deep fried Twinkies or butter?

My question is, is it possible to deep fry butter?

I asked ChatGPT:

Yes — but you can’t just toss a stick of butter into hot oil unless you want a greasy fireworks show.

People do deep fry butter (famously at state fairs), but they do it by:

Freezing the butter first – usually cut into small chunks or rolled into balls.

Coating it very well – dipped in batter or wrapped in dough/breadcrumbs so the hot oil doesn’t melt it instantly.

Frying quickly – just long enough to crisp the outside before the inside turns molten.

The result is basically a warm, melty butter center inside a crunchy shell.

And here's a recipe!
You're welcome.

2. Would you rather eat a hot dog cooked or uncooked?
Hot dogs were one of my specialties when I babysat my siblings.
Even I would not stoop to serving hot dogs raw, no matter how much the sibs annoyed me.

I would rather not eat a hot dog at all.

3. Would you rather dig for gold or dig for gemstones?
I'll go digging for random facts any time!

4. Would you rather plant your feet in the sand or in the snow?

Sand!

Rena's and my red toes in the sand, from 2017

5. Would you rather read a book with no chapters delineated or a book with no chapters at all?

What's the difference? I don't care, as long as it's well written.

6. Would you rather wear flip flops with tights or high heels with tube socks?

The toe thong on flip flops bothers me, I'll go with the heels.

stolen from nectarinedreams.com

7. Would you rather wear the twins Polly and Esther or their evil cousin, Latex, for a posh evening of your choice?

If you squeezed me into Latex, I'd look like Divine (Pink Flamingos), but without boobs.

Modern polyester is almost tolerable.

8. Would you rather watch a really bad movie with your bestie or a really good movie by yourself?
I'm all for streaming solo. I can watch whatever I want with no judgement.

9. Would you rather color in the lines or outside?

10. Would you rather drink warm root beer or cold “hot” chocolate?
Cold hot chocolate is the same as chocolate milk, right?

Bonus: Would you rather have taco chips or celery string stuck in your teeth?

Since I despise celery, I'll go with chips, despite the pain factor. Yes, been there, done that.

Be sure to check out Marsha’s post and her link party for more responses!

Linking up with
Marsha's 10 on the 10th
Shelbee's On the Edge

Goodbye 15 years of Comments

2025-07-20T18:22:00.000-07:00

I had to quit Discus, my comment plugin.

They started running ads at the end of my posts - they were awful.
Like this:

There might have been a way to customize what ads were shown, but I have better things to do.

Now I need to figure out how to get a widget for "read similar" because that was broken as well.

Ah, technology.

10 on the 10th: Dogs

2025-07-10T07:07:00.000-07:00

10 on the 10th is a fun monthly thing instigated by Marsha In the Middle.

Her prompt for this edition was very simple: dogs

I was surprised to discover that I've sketched more than ten dogs...

I know there are more... but a baker's dozen is plenty!

Be sure to check out Marsha’s post and her link party for more responses!

Linking up with
Marsha's 10 on the 10th
Shelbee's On the Edge

AI Fooled Me

2025-06-23T04:57:00.000-07:00

I got duped by AI.

It was an AI generated image with a sponsored post on Instagram.
I got angry, took a screenshot, then fired off an emotional response.

screenshot from Facebook, with original caption

What got me all riled up? Fast fashion and the situation in Ghana, where the bulk of used clothing "donations" are shipped:

photo credit Haptic and Hue - listen to her podcast on this!

My post has since been amended:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by anne m bray (@annembray)

I was set straight by an old blogging friend, Stephanie Chow.

Despite falling for the fake post, my intentions are still good, and I'm leaving the post published.

The message? Buy second hand! Mend! Keep your garments out of the waste cycle!

SpyGirl, at your service.

Good Buy/ Goodbye Summer Sandals

2025-06-15T06:19:00.000-07:00

It's halfway through the June and time for another episode of Shelbee and Nancy's Good Buy/Good Bye Book. The theme this month is Sandals.

I have many pairs of sandals that I love dearly. My most favorite pair has to be the Fluevog Sandals that I purchased in 1992. They were the second pair of Fluevogs that I bought.

Here they are, freshly back from the cobbler in 2017
These have been rejuvenated by cobblers twice!

I got these signed by John Fluevog himself when he came to the Venice Fluevog shop during his book tour.

December 2019

John has since released an updated version of these, and I wonder if I had a small part in that happening...

When I started sketching Fluevogs as part of an A-Z blogging challenge in 2017, little did I know I was starting a series that is still ongoing! I now offer my sketches on Redbubble products and on Spoonflower home goods, fabric, and wallpaper.

These sandals were the second item that I sketched, and I got myself a dress to go with my sandals!

2017

Obviously by now, you have figured out this was a Good Buy!

And they cost under $100 in 1992. A Good Investment too!

2025

Here are other posts that include these sandals:

March 29, 2013 - Foot Fetish Friday: Fluevog

April 2, 2017 - Vintage Vogs: Clog Sandal #ifjm2017

May 27, 2017 - The 70s Called - They Want Their Fluevog Clog Sandal

June 26, 2017 - The Fluevog Sandal Clog Has Risen

August 1, 2017 - Is It Wrong To Match Your Shoes To Your Dress?

May 4, 2021 - #thevintagefashionchallenge Day 4: Yellow

Linking up with

Shelbee On the Edge

10 on the 10th: June Loves

2025-06-10T06:47:00.000-07:00

10 on the 10th is a fun monthly thing instigated by Marsha In the Middle.

Her prompt for this edition:

Instead of just answering some questions or such, let’s try photos of ten things we really like or even love.

I'm all for the love! And not just things!

1. Must be Severo!

2. Mr Lou

3. Morning ritual: Earl Grey loose tea, Hi-Lo souvenir mug, bakelite handled spoon

4. Celebrating my birthday with Ube Macapuno cake

5. Fluevog shoes, making repeats, embroidering them
Bonus: will be creating and exhibiting a total of 50!
The show will be in Pacifica, CA (near SF) in September

6. Road trips, then making art
This is 1-10, West Texas and will soon be available in a flash sale for $100

7. Textile Arts LA group
I'm curating a TALA group show for a pop-up art fair in Torrance July 11-13!

8. Music! In this case, Nada Surf in 2024

and in 2011

9. Fragrant flowers! Check my IG to see what happened when I took this photo...

10. Russel Wright dishes.
Some pieces are from my childhood, though Mom is still holding on to one forest green serving bowl.

Be sure to check out Marsha’s post and her link party for more responses!

Linking up with
Marsha's 10 on the 10th
Shelbee's On the Edge

Let's Get Poetic

2025-05-19T07:55:00.000-07:00

I'm writing haiku again and thought I'd turn it into a linkup party.

Here's ~~today's~~ a recent effort:

I've been thinking about an old project that ~~went nowhere~~ fizzled out, the Haiku To My Closet.

My 2019 SpyGirl post included a call for poetry link-up and it's time to revive both!

Composing haiku are kind of addictive - they're a structure of 3 lines with 5/7/5 syllables.
I recently did TWO art collaborations with haiku included in the presentations.

They're traditionally about nature, I just follow the 5/7/5 format.

You will find me walking around muttering to myself and counting down syllables on my fingers.

For now, I'm keeping this link-up open until Labor Day (9/1/25), it may extend longer.

Linking up with

Shelbee On the Edge

Marsha In the Middle

10 on the 10th: May Questions

2025-05-09T21:22:00.000-07:00

10 on the 10th is a fun monthly thing instigated by Marsha In the Middle.

This month, she has questions!

1. Would you rather live in a tiny house in the country or on a boat on a river or lake?

I'd like to try the boat on a lake concept. Waking up to a horizon of water would be glorious!

Piseco Lake, NY available!

2. Would you rather be a character in a Shakespeare play or a Stephen King movie adaptation?

Shakespeare for sure.

3. Would you rather your kitchen was full of all black appliances or all pink appliances?

Pink! There are lots of shades of pink and it doesn't necessarily have to be Barbie pink.

Look what I found!

source

4. Would you rather be allergic to cake or chips?

Would it be a mild reaction or near death?

5. Would you rather have a five minute conversation with your past self or your future self?

Past self! This girl especially... it would take more than five minutes though!

1978

6. Would you rather be rich or famous?

Rich in friends, rich in memories

7. Would you rather drive a brand new big, big truck or a slightly used small car?

I will drive my 2009 Prius until it stops working (230,000+ miles and counting). Then I'll get another.

8. Would you rather live with your parents or your kids?

Since I'm a cat mom, I'll go with the cat kid (who's an old cat man)

9. Would you rather have an ugly tattoo where everyone could see it or a beautiful one that no one could see?

I'll put a temporary one wherever. Nothing permanent.

10. Would you rather eat a peanut butter and Spam sandwich or a strawberry jelly and lettuce sandwich?

I think with enough tweaking of condiments, you could get an Indonesian vibe going on your PBnSpamwich.

Or this! (Google can be a wonderful thing)

5 star rating! You know you're curious...

Be sure to check out Marsha’s post and her link party for more responses!

Linking up with
Marsha's 10 on the 10th
Shelbee's On the Edge

MendMarch 2025

2025-04-01T14:43:00.000-07:00

MendMarch, the brainchild of Kate Sekules, is one of my favorite Instagram challenges.
Kate comes up with daily prompts

@visiblemend

and the cohort of menders post their interpretations.

Here are the links to mine!

Linking up with
Shelbee on the Edge

PSA for the Blogging from A-Z Challenge 2025

2025-03-25T13:25:00.000-07:00

The Blogging from A to Z Challenge is held every April. The challenge is to blog through the alphabet every Monday through Saturday. The “A” theme is blogged on April 1st, “B” April 2nd, etc.

I created this undated badge because I started to dislike the graphics they provided
Feel free to steal it, if you want

I've been doing it since 2015. At first, I did it on more than one blog! Insanity!

I find it a great structure for writing content on a regular basis (a problem I seem to have on ALL my blogs!)

I want to solicit some fellow style fashionistas to join in!

Look how lonely I am right now on the Official Master List, the only blogger doing "Fashion" posts.

Maybe I'll do a second series again this year... not sure yet.

Revive the "Haikus to my Closet" that I attempted in 2019? (Yikes. That long ago?)

I've recently been writing haikus for an art collab and have been enjoying it. (Find them on IG)

Hey, as long as it's entertaining, right?

More about the challenge can be found on the official Blogging from A to Z Challenge Blog.

It's a lot of fun! Give it a try! Please?

Past A-Zs

SpyGirl A-Z posts:
2015 Scarves (only did one here on SpyGirl!)

These are the posts on my Pattern blog. They're sketches and patterns of Fluevog shoes:
2017
2018
2019
2021
2022
2023
2024

I'm doing Fluevogs again this year.

Random other A-Zs:
2015 Southwest artwork

2016 Tartans A-Z plaids for US states and Canadian provinces

2017 #dailytruck A-Z or, coping with my commute

2018 #dailytruck A-Z

2019 #dailytruck A-Z

2020 #dailytruck A-Z

2020 Stitching the World, A-Z embroidery project

Good Buy/Goodbye Winter Coats

2025-03-15T06:18:00.000-07:00

It's halfway through the month (what?!) and time for an episode of Shelbee and Nancy's Good Buy/Good Bye Book. The theme this month is Winter Coats.

First, my submission, a favorite:

See how I wore it in 2014

I have WAY too many winter coats.
Did a culling in 2023 and now they're in my Poshmark shop.

Sad to see that camel color/leopard trim one go. Can no longer wedge my arms into it.

That scarf is on Poshmark too!

Linking with
Shelbee's On the Edge

10 on the 10th on 3.14

2025-03-14T03:14:00.000-07:00

Answering 10 questions! This is a fun monthly thing instigated by Marsha In the Middle.

To quote Marsha's prompt post:

Do you know when Pi Day is? It’s March 14 but looks better if you write it 3.14! And, that is pi to two decimals. Pi goes on to infinity which means it’s not rational. Do yourself a favor and don’t look up the definition unless you’re a math major. My daughter, who was a math major, explained that a rational number can be written as a fraction. Irrational numbers cannot. Pi is irrational because it can’t be written as a fraction! So, have at it, my friends and tell us about the ten irrational (as in not logical) things you would do! And, remember, it’s so much more fun when you give reasons for your answers!

I did some research and found 7 irrational questions from past 10 on the 10ths:

4/23

7/23

10/23

12/23

2/24

6/24

2/25

Note the trend towards CHOCOLATE!

And 2023 was a banner year for irrational questions.

Then I went to ChatGPT and asked "this or that absurd questions involving chocolate"
The Chat called it "Absurd Chocolate Dilemma":

Eat a chocolate bar that tastes like broccoli OR a broccoli that tastes like chocolate?
Swim in a pool of melted chocolate OR have it rain chocolate syrup for a week?
Have chocolate-flavored toothpaste OR brush your teeth with melted chocolate?
Wear clothes made of solid chocolate OR shoes filled with hot fudge?
Only be able to eat chocolate-covered vegetables OR chocolate-covered insects?
Have fingers that constantly ooze chocolate OR cry chocolate tears?
Be cursed to always have chocolate melted on your hands OR never be able to taste chocolate again?
Replace all the water in your house with chocolate milk OR have your furniture be made of solid chocolate?
Live in a house made of chocolate that melts in the sun OR a house that constantly smells like chocolate but never has any?
Have chocolate hair that you can snack on OR chocolate skin that melts in the sun?

Marsha, you are welcome to use any of these for your next "This or That" 🤣

Seventeen [a prime number] questions in all and if I must answer one...

Chocolate hair! Except I'd quickly become bald from nibbling on it all the time.

Be sure to check out Marsha’s post and her link party for more responses!

Linking up with
Marsha's 10 on the 10th
Shelbee's On the Edge

Rena's Fine-Whatever

Getting Into Sol LeWitt

2025-03-04T08:15:00.000-08:00

Marsha posted this artwork for the bi-monthly Style Imitating Art challenge:

Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing No. 652

Immediately, I thought: I have a shirt like that!

Why not put the two together?

notice I fixed the wonky perspective on the art

This was so entertaining, I'm considering doing more!
I want to virtually pose before ALL the Sols! Haha.

Linking up with
Shelbee's On the Edge
Rena's Fine-Whatever

10 on the 10th: Valentine's Edition

2025-02-11T11:25:00.000-08:00

Answering 10 questions! This is a fun monthly thing instigated by Marsha In the Middle.

1. Would you rather celebrate Valentine’s Day at a cozy restaurant or at home cozied up in your favorite jammies?
Leaning towards Home. Restaurants are too crowded in V-Day.

2. Would you rather eat red velvet cake or wear red velvet?
I'm happy sketching a red velvet cupcake!

Red Velvet Mini, 2011

3. Would you rather receive a heart shaped box of candy or a heart shaped piece of jewelry?
Heart candy for sure!

4. Would you rather eat Reese's Pieces or a Reese's Peanut Butter Heart?
I'll take Reese's in any shape or form (despite the fact that most non-cup Reese's look like 💩 Haha.)

Evidence of my Reese's addiction:

8 Reese's weavings, 2020

5. Would you rather watch a Valentine’s Day themed movie or an action movie?
Valentine movies are too sappy for my taste and a lot of Action movies are too much.
I'll take a twisty Whodunnit.
Just finished streaming Snow Girl on Netflix. It gets gory in parts, but is a good mystery.

6. Would you rather give a box of chocolates to your person or a less than wonderful homemade card?
Who says my homemade cards are subpar
I'll go with the chocolates, Severo will share!

7. Would you rather go to Tahiti or Iceland for Valentine’s Day?
Would I go to Iceland to maybe catch the Northern Lights?
(I just looked up daylight hours there and was surprised to see it's around 8 hours)
Tahiti with warm sun and beaches?
Tahiti for the win!

8. Would you rather sing “At Last” by Etta James or “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith to your person?
I will PLAY Etta and not SING Etta. No one needs to hear me sing.

9. Would you rather celebrate Valentine’s Day for a week or not at all?
I am OK going without. Don't need a designated day for romance and chocolates!

10. Would you rather eat a really sour piece of candy or a single Brussels Sprout dipped in chocolate?
Marsha, Marsha, Marsha. Always dipping weird things in chocolate.
Do I dignify this one with an answer?
I like chocolate, but not on everything!

Be sure to check out Marsha’s post and her link party for more responses!

Linking up with
Marsha's 10 on the 10th
Shelbee's On the Edge

Rena's Fine-Whatever

Tell Us About Challenge: Confidence

2024-11-21T00:05:00.002-08:00

This is about that time I posed nude. This year!

watercolor by Nicole Rose Gelormino

The occasion was a live nude sketching event hosted by Kristine Schomaker during The Brewery Artwalk in October. Members of the public were invited to sign up to pose for 30 minute sessions for a group of curated artists over the course of the Artwalk weekend. Models were given the opportunity to purchase the art after their session.

I was one of the sketch artists and I also modeled!

Here are some of the artists. Kristine stands in the doorway.

Each model had two poses: a 5 minute and a 15 minute. They could choose whether to stand, sit, or recline.

I was called to pose earlier than I expected, as one of the signups didn't show.

Perhaps this helped alleviate my nerves.

For my first pose, I stood. Five minutes are longer than you think when you trying to hold one position!
Not to mention the naked part!

As I stood, I kept up an inner dialogue of "Be bold, stand tall, have presence, be confident."

Ink sketch by Rachel Berkowitz

I sat for my second pose. Five minutes is long. Fifteen minutes is an eternity!

All I can remember thinking was "Don't move."

Pencil sketch by Lorna Herf

Not sure if I'll ever pose nude again. But it was interesting to see everyone's interpretations of my body.

I'm joining these seven other bloggers on the subject of Confidence:

Debbie likens confidence to boldness and reminisces about her YEAR of being BOLD. Confidence is something she never thought she had a lot of but perhaps she was wrong! http://www.debs-world.com

Rosie's taken a fun approach to this subject with a little personality quiz. https://rosieamber.wordpress.com/

Gail at Is This Mutton is a shy introvert, but over the years she has taught herself number of tricks to be confident. Find out more: https://www.isthismutton.com

Confidence is an elusive thing for Penny, it’s there and then in a flash, it’s gone. But it does reappear again. Capturing and keeping hold of this thing called confidence is going to be a major target over the next few years. https://frugalfashionshopper.co.uk/

Marsha writes about the confidence she found in the most unusual place. https://marshainthemiddle.com/

Suzy writes about her journey with confidence, sharing how simple lessons learned as a teen—like the power of walking tall—sparked a path toward self-assurance. From dancing her heart out at parties to finding confidence in front of the camera later in life, Suzy reflects on her own growth, amusing moments, and helpful tips for those days when confidence feels elusive.
Find her post at www.suzyturner.com

Leslie has chased confidence all her life. Has she ever caught it? Stop by to find out. https://onceuponatimehappilyeverafter.com/

Tell Us About Challenge: School Days

2024-10-17T00:05:00.000-07:00

I'm joining 9 other international bloggers opining on the subject of School Days.

In August, I wrote a post about my "school life" from toddler (1957) to teacher (2017).

What else is there to say?
I'm currently teaching again, and I've boarded the struggle bus!

Photo by Santiago Gomez on Unsplash

I'm teaching two classes in Digital Design for BFA Fashion Students at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles. The classes are held weekly on Zoom, which is fine by me.

My sophomore class meets on Thursday from 4-7pm (originally they wanted to have it 7-10pm and I said no way!) They are learning techniques in Photoshop that they can use on their fashion illustrations. Their demos for homework are all prerecorded (I watch them as well and make notes) and they mostly work on their own.
I briefly meet with the whole class and then I do 1:1 critiques on their homework. (Yes, I now know how to make two Zoom rooms!) I believe last week was the first week that I got through all the 1:1s before 7. Phew!

I like to meet with them in the order they submit their work.

Here's our instructors' example of half of the above assignment (they had to realistically bend plaids on the provided figure):

All the efforts from last week's midterm test.
Can you guess the "A"s?

My junior class is meeting asynchronously. That means we don't have a regular class meeting, they just have to turn in their homework by noon, Saturdays. I then record my 1:1 critiques on Zoom and upload it to the course system. It takes me a long time!
They are learning advanced techniques in Photoshop and Illustrator and applying them to their design coursework.

They just had their Midterm test, which was drawing a flat (like a garment blueprint) from this garment photo:

excellent student work

All in all, I'm working on getting a good rhythm going and it's getting incrementally better. By the end of the semester I'll have it figured out! And then it will be too late! Meanwhile, I cross off getting anything accomplished on Thursdays and Saturdays.

Here are more thoughts on School Days/Schooldays

Debbie shares memories of her schooldays in Australia, and sending her daughters to school in Cheddar (UK) where (by coincidence) she’s currently staying!

Gail from Is This Mutton serves up some amusing memories from school, including the missing gerbil and her mum's ride home in a hearse.

Jill gives us her take on this one is a smattering of memories from her long ago schooldays.

Leslie at Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After reflects on a long but beloved career as a school librarian. Find her at onceuponatimehappilyeverafter.com/

Marsha spent the majority of her life in school, either as a student or as a teacher, and sometimes both! She writes about her earliest teaching memories.

Mary Katherine ponders her Schooldays, and what she learned that she actually used in later life, at mksadventure.com/

Penny goes a bit off-piste with this theme. She does look at her schooldays, which were sooo long ago! But she also looks at the British class based system of schooling; as in private v state schooling. This is because it not only impacted her life but also it has huge consequences for British society as a whole.

Rosie is talking about her village primary school and a very special 'School Girl' rose!

Suzy reflects on her varied and memorable schooldays, from culture shocks and cherished friendships to inspiring teachers and unexpected changes. Find her at www.suzyturner.com

10 on the 10th: Birthdays

2024-10-10T11:11:00.000-07:00

10 on the 10th is a fun monthly thing instigated by Marsha In the Middle.
For August, Marsha asked us to list ten things we like about birthdays.

1. Birthday cake!

2024

Severo always gets me Ube Roll with Macapuno (baby coconut) filling.

2. Birthday cake the next morning for breakfast

3. Silly birthday cards

4. Birthday parties

1958

5. Unwrapping presents

1959

6. Celebrating with friends
1960

7. The Facebook Happy Birthday posts

8. Giving gifts

Severo's birthday present this year: some rolls of gaffer tape.
He really loved it!

9. Did I say birthday cake? Haha
2013, back when there was ube cake

10. Celebrating another year alive!

Be sure to check out Marsha’s post and her link party for more responses!

Linking up with
Marsha's 10 on the 10th
Shelbee's On the Edge

Is This Mutton's WOW on Wednesday

Everything I Have Is Blue

2024-08-16T07:11:00.000-07:00

That time I coordinated with the stools. HAHAHA

This is what I wore to an International Pop Overthrow concert in a dive bar in downtown LA earlier this month.

The shirt is from 2000! I usually don't wear it outside the house.

A good friend gave me the Carlos Falchi purse years ago.

Aqua blue elements:

Fabletics leggings,

Cole stripe socks,

Fluevog Aimee shoes.

(For someone who doesn't like aqua, well... as long as it's far away from my face, it's OK).

afternoon pix in the back always make me laugh...
that religious "rays from the sun" effect

I'm including a silly video that Severo and I made at the Jarritos "Experience Nook" in Grand Central Market before going to the gig.

It was right across the aisle from where we were eating our dinner.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by anne m bray (@annembray)

Far out, man!

I submitted this to The Good Buy/Good-Bye Book, a monthly series hosted by Shelbee and Nancy.

September's theme will be Wide Legged Pants.

Linking with:

Shelbee's On the Edge

10 on the 10th: School Daze

2024-08-10T05:55:00.000-07:00

10 on the 10th is a fun monthly thing instigated by Marsha In the Middle.

For August, Marsha asked us to recount memories about school - good or bad.

I will start by saying, I grew up on school campuses, I went to school (of course), and I've taught Fashion Design at Otis College of Art and Design (in LA) on and off since 1993 or so.

1. I don't remember the days that my parents lived in the dorm at Berkshire School (in Sheffield, MA)

I'm almost 3 here

but I DO remember prowling around in them during the summer, when no boys were on campus. I also loved doing research in the library. Things took a bad turn about 5th or 6th grade when boys would hoot at me from their dorm windows. I started timing my walks across campus to when they'd be in class.

2. Speaking of 6th grade humiliations, in 5th and 6th grade I had a long 45 minute bus ride to Berkshire Country Day School, in Lenox. Maybe it's time to let go of the memory of a busload of mean kids chanting "Annie Fannie" at me. Horrible. This is why I won't let anyone call me Annie.

3. We moved to Millbrook School (Millbrook, NY) in 1969, and I loved it there. The school had a zoo! With a tapir (of all things)! Fun trivia: Robert Kennedy Jr, currently running for president, was a student there then. He was very much into falcons and hawking.

I went to Dutchess School and there were only 10 kids in my class! I was queen of my queendom and full of myself. I wore 15" miniskirts, fishnets, and a red bra that showed through tops.

summer 1970 but we're wearing fall clothing
alas, the photo album with all my weird ''68-70's sewing creations can't be found
so no red bra pix

4. For high school, I attended Emma Willard, a girls' boarding school in Troy, NY. I chose it because they had a very free-form curriculum (hardly any requirements!) and a great arts program. I studied Fine Art (duh), Modern Dance, Fiber Arts, Photography, A/V (such as it was in the early 70s: slides, reel-to-reel audio tape and whatnot)... the list goes on and on. Literature classes came with the expectation of 10-page papers! I think the school is embarrassed about those 4 years (or however long it went on) of "free" learning, but I thrived.

dance performance, 1974

5. College, round one: College of Creative Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara. Adventure awaited! Transplant a naive 18 year old onto a coed campus of 10,000 or so students, living in a half-way converted motel with no kitchen in Isla Vista (the right next to campus college village). There were surfers (did not understand their lingo). There was a nude beach (creepy older guy briefly lured me into his net). Boyfriends! Sex! Well, it was a time of discovery for me. CCS was fantastic. The dean, Marvin Mudrick, created it as "grad school for undergrads" in the arts and sciences. No grades, just scaled credits by how much effort one put into a class. My kind of place! I only lasted through Fall quarter of junior year because I fell in love and moved to NYC with a writer in the program. A story for another time!

art show invitation

6. Seven years later, I went to Otis/Parsons for their Fashion Design program. (I had moved to greater Los Angeles in the Fall of '82, too late to start until '83). I chose fashion design instead of fine art because I wanted a creative career that made money and fine art wasn't cutting it, plus I liked to sew. The Otis fashion program was (and is) Fashion Boot Camp. Very much like Project Runway (Tim Gunn was a dean at Parsons and I'm sure he modeled the show on aspects of the department's curriculum) with longer time constraints. (Our projects ran for a few months vs 24 hours). Otis was brutal and rewarding simultaneously. I learned a lot and got good jobs as a result.

I designed, draped, and tailored this red wool coat, senior year at Otis

7. My first return to Otis (93?) as an instructor in the Fashion department was a total disaster. I was to teach Sophomore Design (sophomores are the worst - they know "everything". Yeah, I remember being that way too). I was thrown to the wolves, with no experience and no one guiding me. I had to do 1:1 critiques with students and figured out that I had about 12 minutes with each for the 2-hour class. Then there was my aesthetic. I was also working at Mattel designing Barbie clothes and let's just say my design direction to the students was not based on reality! This came to a head when a second instructor was brought in and she did a class crit of everyone's designs and kept saying "Where would you wear this?" Mortifying. Those students hated me.

8. In '94 I took a class in Photoshop from Otis's Continuing Ed department. Early days with Photoshop, to be sure! A friend sat beside me, and I helped her a lot. This is when I realized digital design was my happy teaching place! Woohoo. Digital classes were also offered in the Fashion BFA department and I let the dean know that I was available. I became a TA. First there were just Photoshop classes, then Illustrator got added. Illustrator I didn't know. So I'd sit in the morning session, learn the day's lesson, and then help students with their glitches in the afternoon session. THAT's one way to learn software fast! But yeah, no design critiques, just solving technical problems. Perfect fit.

9. After a few years of teaching Digital Design in Fashion and the same class in Continuing Ed, I morphed the latter into two separate classes - one for fashion and one for surface design (making repeating patterns). I LOVED teaching the Digital Surface Design class. But a wiley former student stole the class out from under me, to my continued annoyance. How dare she.

10. My tenth memory transpired in 2017, trying to teach Photoshop to Fashion sophomores (sophomores again. Cue doom music). I know Photoshop. I know MY way of using Photoshop. I DID NOT know the techniques devised for the class. Again, I was in a situation of learning during class. The students sussed that out very quickly. I didn't know how to fix their problems. ARGH! And this time, I had to grade the work. Grading took forever. Not fun. Not a positive experience!

me asking fellow instructors how to grade something

I hope you enjoyed this long trip down memory lane.

I sure did!

Be sure to check out Marsha’s post and her link party for more responses!

Linking up with
Marsha's 10 on the 10th
Shelbee's On the Edge

Is This Mutton's WOW on Wednesday

Crazy Quilt Dossier: 2024 Repairs Are DONE!

2024-07-26T16:30:00.000-07:00

Here it is, all mended for this year.

My "in process" posts fell by the wayside. Too much life happening.

I was more diligent on Instagram, you can click here to see just those posts (probably not in chronological order because IG has ruined hashtags).

Anyhow, I will eventually get to them, and will back date the posts to the proper days (just as I am with this post - haha).

Here are quilt iterations from years past:

2020

2012

Another plan I have is to create a proper index of all the quilt posts.
I'll save that for a day when I want to procrastinate on something.
I find writing blog posts is a great procrastination technique!

Linking up with:
Is This Mutton's WOW on Wednesday

Review: Snag Tights "Shorties" Chub Rub Shorts

2024-07-17T06:50:00.000-07:00

It's halfway through the month (what?!) and time for an episode of Shelbee and Nancy's Good Buy/Good Bye Book. The theme this month is Shorts.

I offer you these Bad Buy Chub Rub Shorties from Snag tights.

   Why are they a bad buy?
  Reason 1:
  They are not what I expected!

Basically, they are the short version of tights. I purchased them to wear under dresses in the summer heat. These purported to be wicking and cool but they're not! They run hot! Like tights!

Road testing under an outfit to an art opening.
Fail.

Reason 2:
The bad return policy of Snag Tights

Snag Tights' corporate headquarters is in England.
Despite the fact that my order came from a distribution center in Texas, if I want to return my extra two pairs of shorties [yes, I was overly optimistic and trying to reduce the shipping cost, as one does] I have to return them to England. And pay for the postage. That's $20! I checked at the post office. Yikes!

BAD BUY!

I am offering my two unopened pairs on Poshmark, Size F (2X, I think) if you are at all interested.
Which I doubt, after reading my rant - haha.

Linking up with
Rena at Fine-Whatever

Shelbee's On the Edge

10 on the 10th: Ten Summer Memories

2024-07-10T04:42:00.000-07:00

10 on the 10th is a fun monthly thing instigated by Marsha In the Middle.
For July, Marsha asked us for ten summer memories.

1971: that summer I started painting my toenails red
I wrote about it in 2012!

1972: that summer I took a printmaking class
Woodblock, Dry-Point Etching, Silkscreen, Lithography (with stones!) - a great class through what was then called Munson Williams Proctor Institute, in Utica, NY. It kept me busy.

1975: that summer I mended the quilt (and I'm still mending it)
The quilt origin story
Current mending saga - patch by patch

Mr Lou, the Anti-mender. He's getting ready to bite me.

1976 that summer I backpacked in the Wind Rivers for 10 days
No walk in the park! Photo will come later. Too lazy to look.

1978 that summer in a Upper West Side NYC apartment on the ground floor
and there was a fire in an upper floor and I was taking pictures out the window of "the pretty light"
No image, sorry, still lazy.

1979 that summer of the ill-fated hitchhike around nova scotia honeymoon
If only I'd known it was a harbinger of things to come...
I'll just leave you with a piece of plein air art I did then... Nope, later.

1980 or 81 the summer of Banshee Barbie
Chloe's Barbie was missing her head. So we crafted one out of tinfoil.
Oooooooh! Banshee Barbie!

1994 that summer I learned to paint in the dark in Bennington, VT
It was a week? 2 week? workshop taught by Rafael Ferrer on the campus of Bennington College.
I was super productive.

1996 that summer I lost my mind and lived in Indianapolis for 6 weeks
I turned 40. What can I say? I was thinking with parts lower than my brain!
I got some good paintings done in my basement studio though...

199? that summer I went to NYC and my hair smelled like an old tennis shoe
[Severo and I can't remember what year this occured. Have to consult my old photos].
I'll eventually go into this on my newish Substack Notes. It's a good story!

Be sure to check out Marsha’s post and her link party for more responses!

Linking up with
Marsha's 10 on the 10th
Shelbee's On the Edge

Crazy Quilt Dossier: 6.29 Fiorucci Patch and Bear Patch

2024-06-29T07:41:00.000-07:00

Before

To cover the navy rayon bamboo print patch, I wanted something with red...

Rummaging through my "Red" scraps bag, I found a favorite Fiorucci shirt that I bought in the 80s.
It is super faded, but then I looked at the inside...

Nice and bright!

On the right side, I used a kid's conversational print patch. This came from a weird tiny garment bag that Larry let me have.

Done!

I also added some needle weaving, here's a closeup:

Crazy Quilt Dossier: 6.28 Marni Patch

2024-06-28T06:17:00.000-07:00

Before we get to the patch work, let's pause for a cuppa

The colors of the Russel Wright china matches the star graphics perfectly!

I was sad to see those holes in the top star (thanks/no thanks to Lou the cat).
This patch came from a tee that I purchased at Canal Jeans (NYC, RIP) in 1996 and wore when I went on safari in Tanzania that fall.

Decisions...
Visible mend or patch?

Patch!

This came from a Marni dress that I got from Mel in a clothing swap at a blogger meetup in Vancouver BC in 2015.

Was that ever fun!

The dress was always too small (I grabbed it for the print) and I deconstructed it before COVID.

Admittedly, this bit came to mind because it had escaped the Mending Bag and was on the floor in plain sight.

Done!