New Year Greetings

Greetings for a New Year

Time to get ready to welcome a other new year.  Whatever great and wonderful things you accomplished in 2013, try for even great successes in 2014.  That is my only resolution, to do better.  I think that covers it all.

Margy

Holiday Message

Holiday Greetings

We are very fortunate living in Santa Fe where there are many different cultures and traditions.  Especially around the holiday season there are concerts, ballet and dance performances.  The Plaza is alight with decorated trees and a large menorah celebrating Hanukkah.  There are farolitos (brown paper bags filled with sand and a lit candle, called lumenarias elsewhere) lighting roof tops and pathways.  This is also the time to celebrate the winter solstice, Kwanza and traditional feast days of the various pueblos.

However you celebrate the season, may your traditions bring you peace.

Margy

Cold Weather Means Flannel Shirts

Cold Weather Fabric

This has been rough weather for the US Midwest and East Coast.  Large snowfalls and very, very cold weather with high winds have made this late fall one to remember (yes, it isn’t winter quite yet).

During cold weather we turn to “comfort” fabrics: wooly socks and caps, fleece jackets and chenille robes.  One such fabric has been a part of the winter textile scene for many, many generations: FLANNEL

Looks as if I am partial to red flannel!

Most of us can remember flannel pj’s (some with feet!), flannel sheets for the beds and flannel shirts.  Every outerwear catalog still offers these textiles as they are easy care, warm and relatively inexpensive.

Flannel is a type of weave, there are no fibers named “”flannel”.  Flannel  fabric can be created by using cotton, wool and manufactured fibers.  Having originated in Wales, the word “flannel” is derived from a Welsh word “gwlamen” which means related to wool.

Wool flannel is known for its draping qualities and is usually used as a suiting fabric.

Remember hearing about the movie “The Man in the Gray Flannel suit”, 1956, with Gregory Peck?

Most flannel textiles today are made from cotton and/or acrylic fibers. The woven fabric is napped.  Napping is a finishing process which uses a cylinder covered with teasels or wires over which the stretched cloth is passed raising a nap on the surface.  The protruding fibers cause the finished cloth to be warmer, more compact and softer

For those of you in Winter's path, stay warm and please stay safe.

The T-Shirts in My Dresser Drawer

Planet Money Makes a T-Shirt

There is no article of apparel more common to every closet than the T-shirt.  From infants to grandfathers, from NYC to Beijing, T-shirts are an integral part of everyone’s wardrobe.
Why?  They are comfortable, easily laundered, available in thousands of colors and patterns, and can be personalized with logos.  But, above all, they are cheap!!  Not only reasonable, but down-right cheap.  Sure, there are "designer" shirts available at a heftier price point, but the vast majority of these garments are the common, hard wearing, everyday, cotton tops we wear nearly everyday.

I recently reviewed a web presentation by NPR (National Public Radio) on a project that began with the farming of cotton, through distribution of manufactured t-shirts to the consumer.

The US remains the leader in cotton farming and one example was given of a Mississippi farmer with a staff of 13 and  20 machines which harvested 13,000 bales per year which translates into 9.4million shirts!!!

Next the presentation took me to Indonesia where the cotton fiber was spun into yarn , then shipped to Bangladesh (and to Columbia) for sewing.

But, how could this shirt be produced so cheaply?  Clearly the overhead is much cheaper in the far East .  It turns out that the real savings are a result of reduced shipping costs.  From the US to Indonesia to Bangladesh and back to the US consumer the shipping costs were "far less than $1 per shirt".

I learned a great deal by viewing this instructional.  There is both video as well as written text.  Also included are additional references for further reading.  I recommend spending a few minutes at www.npr.org/shirt.

Giving Thanks

Giving Thanks

Now is the time for planning harvest feasts, entertaining friends and preparing for the coming holiday season.  But the real reason for Thanksgiving, is, of course, reflecting upon our blessings.  Would it not be better, actually, to spend a few minutes each day acknowledging the good things in our lives instead of waiting an entire year to do so for one day only? 

Happy Thanksgiving

Margy

A Bit of Fashion in Russia

Vintage Clothing in St Petersburg, Russia

Spending time in Russia this fall, fashions didn’t seem too different from those at home.  There was a bit of a uniform look, though, amongst the younger women.  This look consisted of black leggings or tights worn with a long tunic knit top or very, very short black skirt and high black boots.  Actually, this was very flattering for most of these tall, thin, long-legged women, but perhaps a bit boring.  Occasionally, one would see a beautiful jewel-toned wool coat worn with a floral shawl.

While in the southern Siberian city of  Irtusk I happened upon a St. Petersburg newspaper (thankfully in English) with an article about  growing enthusiasm for vintage clothing. 

                  The St. Petersburg Tlimes, Wednesday, September, 25, 2013

We take the vintage look for granted and spend many hours scouring sources for great, unique items reasonably priced, of course.  That has not been the case in Russia.  Dressing in ”Vintage” is a fashion revolution which goes against concepts that dressing in style requires wealth.  The article proposed that dressing in clothing from the past may remind one of previous, “trying times” and wearing used clothing is not practiced commonly in Russia because “ it is normally associated with being poor”.

Those interested in dressing in unique style, can do so at a fraction of the price of current clothing.  There is a “minimum of 20% mark-up added onto clothing by western brands available” in St Petersburg.  The author looks 5 years into the future and sees the trend in retro growing and individuality replacing the “uniform look” seen on city streets. 

Vacation Destination - China Part 3

Vacation  China – Silk Part 3 – A Great Product

Of course, you cannot visit China without encountering every type of silk fabric and many, many products made from this luxurious fiber.  There are dozens and dozens of workshops that will tailor a suit and deliver it to your hotel within 24 hours.  Hundreds of lovely scarves and shawls are folded on counters in every department store.   But there was one silk product I had not considered and I found it at the Yuanlong Silk Factory.

Yuanlong Silk
No. 55, T i antan Road, Dongcheng District
Beijing, China

I saw a small description of the factory-showroom in our Beijing travel guide.  I was intrigued by the description of a teaching area of sericulture and their show rooms of products, not to mention an English-speaking “tour guide”.  We found the factory was located  a 15 minute walk from a  subway station and near The Temple of Heaven where we had planned to spend the afternoon.  So off we went.

The foyer of the showroom was filled with vintage photos and maps relating to the silk industry.  A series of displays featured cocoons,  larvae, manual looms and other machines used when silk weaving was a cottage industry.

  Now, all aspects are automated and factory produced with one exception.  Silk-filled duvets!!!  Instead of a feather or down filling, these bedcovers are filled with silk filament, straight from the cocoons!

A small opening is made in the top of the cocoon and the larva removed.  The cocoon is then softened and stretched over a small frame.  The cocoon is constantly massaged and stretched over larger and larger frames until a large sheet of silk filament is the size of a mattress. Just one cocoon!!  The filament sheets are piled depending upon the weight of the final duvet.  For a 2,000 gm cover there are 4,000 cocoons used.    The mat of filaments is enclosed within a cotton cover and then packaged. 

There are sizes for all mattresses and 2 weights, 2,000 gms and 2,500 gms.

In addition to the duvets, themselves, there are covers for purchase in evey size and conceivable color.  You can get a beautiful silk brocade or a more practical cover made from a combination of cotton and bamboo fibers.

 This product is possible because of the properties of silk filaments. Due to layers of protein build-up, silk is noted for its softness to the touch and brilliant sheen.  The basic filament has incredible fineness but is pound for pound stronger than steel, yarn only 1 mm in diameter will support 100 pounds.   It has impressive insulating properties and is mildew resistant. .  

Size chart and packaged duvets










 I couldn’t resist with winter on its way.  It was so light that the compressed package fit easily into our luggage  So far, our duvet is surprisingly warm for its light weight,  and it will get much more use than a hand-tailored  suit!!!