Author: KL

  • Mindful Mending: Repairing a Vintage Cotton Apron

    Mindful Mending: Repairing a Vintage Cotton Apron

    What is it with the 1950’s and poodles?

    For some reason, poodles seem to be the decade-defining embellishment in our collective cultural memory of the post-war, pre-hippie decade. However, I have never before handled a genuine mid-century garment adorned with the famous silhouette of a well-groomed poodle.

    In a jumble of aprons my grandmother had acquired over the years, I found just such a treasure: a home-sewn cotton apron with a repeating red and blue poodle design. Closer inspection revealed the apron had sustained some minor damage in its previous life. The most obvious issue was a small L-shaped tear in center near the waistband.

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  • The Open Window: A Timeless Pleasure of Oncoming Spring

    The Open Window: A Timeless Pleasure of Oncoming Spring

    Isn’t it a pleasure to open your windows on a gently warm Spring day and welcome in the breeze?

    Where I now live, in central North Carolina, we experience four fully-fledged seasons. Winters are mild, summers are muggy. And, like most, I’m grateful for climate-controlled spaces during the most extreme temperature swings of the year. But, each year, I savor that sweet spot right before the annual explosion of pollen turns the whole landscape yellow. Mild, short-sleeve-worthy days haven’t yet given way to the sweaty, sweltering ones.

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  • A life of layers: the Lens of Material Culture

    A life of layers: the Lens of Material Culture

    Some bits of material culture come and go. Others stick with us for centuries.

    I am fascinated by what stays and what goes. How do our objects, our clothing, our pastimes reflect our present and our past?

    These are questions I want to explore here.

    I hope you join me for the journey.

    Draped linen fabric image