Surprisingly, I miss the smell of mothballs and rotting, moldy fabric. I miss how cold and dark it would be on a hot, summer day. But what I miss the most is the amazing surprise each box would be as uncovered some amazing suit made in Paris or a box just overflowing with heirloom styled petticoats. Do you know how much restraint it took me not to try anything on? lol! Yes, big no-no indeed!

The San Fransisco Museum is having a exhibition on the great couturier Balenciaga. Now, I honestly only knew of this designer in high school from the infamous Balenciaga motorcycle bag that all my friends covereted. Now everyone has a copy hanging from their arm. It wasn't until my great discovery of couture that I realized how beautiful his work was.

Back from spring break and now overwhelmed with work...

I have three major papers to write this week and not much on the sewing front has been completed. I've been knitting a bit, a row here and there. Sometimes I get quite a lot done in a sitting, but then sometimes I maybe knit just a row before my hands get tired. Though, over break I was super excited to finish up my first ball and move onto the second.

Happy Memorial Day

Last night my father invited me to a BBQ up in the mountains. I got my kitchen supplies and drove as fast as I could. There is something about the mountains, the air is crisper and the colors are more vibrant. I made my spicy barbecue bean burgers and an anti-pasta salad. We had the traditional corn on the cob, which we left on the grill too long and blackened on the bottom. I took some shots of the farm valley between my father's home and my mothers on the drive back, I just missed the sunset but it still is just as beautiful at twilight. Soon, around July and August, the fields will be lite with fireflies and I promise when it happens I'll take plenty of pictures.

So, everything is unpacked and I'm back to work...

I can officially call it summer. However, most of my peers won't call it summer until Memorial Day. What a perfect time to start on some cotton, floral frocks! I just finished Simplicity's 2250 by Cynthia Rowley. I did a few adjustments, such as doing a muslin lining, omitting the tie, and elastic in the ruffles. All the fabric manipulation in the top isn't visible in the white cotton. I do think it would show better in a dark color where you can see the contrast if you're focused on that detail. It's intermediate, at best. The top takes a bit of finesse doing all those tucks. It resembles a bit of a puzzle piece, it took a bit of marking and basting. But, if you have patience and can follow directions it might be the best challenge to a experienced beginner.

The back ruffles are a great detail...

You might be able to tell that I only attached the zipper to the underlining. It's something we do at work all the time when there is a light overlay like organza or chiffon. It keeps it nice and light, doesn't add bulk, and makes the zipper sit well when you're using a lining.

VIA There are things I miss working in a costume archive...

Dunn's best friend and fellow Jackass star Bam Margera was also in attendance with his wife Melissa Rothstein and parents April and Phil, who were also close Ryan.
Mournful black: Dunn's best friend and Jackass associate Bam Margera and his wife Melissa Rothstein
It comes on a painful day for the 34-year-old stuntman's loved ones after toxicology reports confirmed Dunn was more than two times over the drink-drive limit when he crashed in the early hours of Monday morning, killing himself and passenger Zachary Hartwell.
Wednesday's memorial was held at the DellaVecchia, Reilly, Smith and Boyd funeral home and comes ahead of a full funeral, which is set to be held later this week.
Meanwhile a controversial church from Kansas has released a statement, saying it plans to picket Dunn's funeral.

Remembrance: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia stars Glenn Howerton, left, and Rob McElhenney cut a sombre figure
In a statement which will no doubt cause fresh anguish for Ryan's loved ones, Westboro Baptist Church proclaimed: 'Ryan Dunn is in hell,' adding: 'WBC will picket any public memorial/funeral held for Dunn, warning all not to make a mock of sin, & to fear & obey God.'
Westboro was started by the Rev. Fred Phelps in 1955. The website for the group outlines plans to send parishioners to Philadelphia to protest at the funeral in Philadelphia.
Funeral director Joseph DellaVecchia told CNN today that he didn't expect any disturbances at the memorial- but admitted he had heard of Westboro's plans.
He told CNN: 'We can’t stop someone from coming to a public funeral, but this is private, and the police have everything under control.'
Support: Bam's parents April and Phil Margera, who were very close to Dunn, arrive hand in hand
Time to reflect: DellaVecchia, Reilly, Smith and Boyd funeral home in West Chester, Philadelphia, where the memorial was held
Dunn was heavily intoxicated at the time of his deadly high speed crash, police revealed yesterday.
The star's blood alcohol level was 0.196, more than twice the legal limit in Pennsylvania, which is 0.08, West Goshen Police Chief Michael Carroll confirmed in a statement released today.
Mr Carroll added that the toxicology report from the Chester County Coroner's Office indicated there were 'no drugs of abuse detected'.
The 34-year-old had been drinking at a bar with friends in the hours before the crash, which also killed his passenger, Zachary Hartwell.
He is said to have drank three beers and taken shots before getting behind the wheel shortly after 2am on Monday morning.
Over the limit: Ryan Dunn, seen here in a Twitter picture hours before the crash, was twice the legal limit at the time of the crash
It has emerged that Dunn had notched up 23 driving convictions, including ten for speeding, before his accident, it was revealed yesterday.
Dunn, whose Porsche sports car slammed into a tree at 130mph, had also been arrested for drink driving.
His driving record was revealed as friends from the Jackass films mourned his death and visited the crash site in Pennsylvania.
On Tuesday, Margera was in tears as he stood on the roadside where Dunn and his passenger Hartwell were killed in the early hours of the morning.
Wreckage: The charred remains of the Porsche 911 GT3 is towed away as police survey the scene

Fresh details: A statements released by the West Goshen Township Police Department revealed details of the the toxicology report
Police say Dunn was travelling at around 132mph and 140mph in a 55mph zone when his Porsche 911 flew off the road in West Goshen and burst into flames.
It is not known if the pair died from the crash impact or were unable to escape the vehicle as it exploded in a fireball.
West Goshen Police Chief Michael Carroll, who was involved in the accident reconstruction, described it as the worst crash he had ever seen.
Ghoulish: New footages shows 'treasure hunters' at the scene pilfering bits of the car wreckage
Cashing in: Some people told reporters they were planning to sell the mementos on eBay
Court records showed that Dunn received at least 23 driving citations in the last 13 years.
Ten were for speeding and careless driving and three others were for driving on a suspended licence.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer 90 per cent of the citations ended in guilty pleas.
Dunn was drinking with friends in the hours before the fatal crash.
Meanwhile it has emerged that 'treasure hunters' are pilfering debris from the car that Dunn crashed.
Heartbroken: Bam Margera returns to the spot where his best friend and Jackass co-star lost his life in a horrific car smash in the early hours of Monday morning in Philadelphia
Devastation: Dunn's car span off the road, through a guardrail and into the woods
A video report by Philadelphia Fox News captured footage of people collecting ghoulish mementos along the stretch of road where the accident happened in the Pennsylvania state.
Reporter Chris O'Donnell said that some had told him they were planning to sell the parts on eBay.
'You should have seen these people pilfering away,' an outraged O'Donnell reported back to the studio, while reporting from the scene.
O'Donnell added that police had told him taking parts of wreckage from an investigation scene is illegal.

Where the night started: Dunn and Hartwell were both at Barnaby's in West Chester hours before the accident
Bam Margera Breaks Down After Hearing About Ryan Dunns Death

source: dailymail

VIA Grim-faced Johnny Knoxville leads the mourners at memorial service for Jackass star Ryan Dunn

On June 15, 1215, in fields by the banks of the River Thames at Runnymede to the west of London, England's King John agreed to the demands of his rebelling barons and accepted the Magna Carta, Latin for "Great Charter", which for the first time placed the monarch under the rule of law.

In the centuries since, it has taken on huge global significance, becoming the basis for the U.S. Bill of Rights, the U.S. Declaration of Independence and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Three of its 63 clauses still remain on Britain's statute book.

"What happened in these meadows eight centuries ago is as relevant today as it was then. And that relevance extends far beyond Britain," British Prime Minister David Cameron said.

He said the document had changed the world, inspiring people from the founding fathers of the United States and Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi to Nelson Mandela in South Africa.

"Its remaining copies may be faded, but its principles shine as brightly as ever," Cameron told the ceremony attended by the queen, other royals and global figures including U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

Magna Carta came into being during a period of great political upheaval in England with conflict between King John, his nobles and the English church.

It was essentially a peace deal to address the problems of the day and was annulled by the pope shortly afterwards. But updated versions, which included two original clauses regarded as pivotal in establishing the rule of law, were re-released regularly by or on behalf of succeeding monarchs.

The clauses read: "No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land.

"To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice."

Originals Exist

Four original copies of the document, written on a single sheet of parchment about the size of A3 paper, still exist.

At Monday's ceremony, a new art installation was unveiled and the American Bar Association's Magna Carta Memorial, which was erected at the site in 1957, was re-dedicated.

U.S. Attorney General Lynch said the charter was a bedrock to free societies globally, while Cameron also used the anniversary as a political opportunity to underpin his plan to overhaul human rights laws and reduce the influence of Europe.

However, John Dyson, chairman of the Magna Carta Trust, said King John and the barons would have been bemused that the document would garner such interest hundreds of years later.

"They would surely have been astonished that over time Magna Carta came to be regarded as one of the most important constitutional documents in our history," he said.

"They would not have believed that barons' lists of demands would become a symbol of democracy, justice, human rights and perhaps above all, the rule of law for the whole world. But that is exactly what has happened."

Author: Stefan Wermuth | Source: Reuters [June 15, 2015]

Emergency workers say thunderstorms are hampering efforts to find survivors as 1,500 rescuers search for missing
Family and friends of the missing post moving appeals for information on Facebook and blogs
Storm Prediction Center says more violent weather expected with further tornadoes through the middle of week
Devastation: Destroyed homes and debris cover the ground as a second storm moves in on Monday in Joplin, Missouri
Thousands of people were left without homes to go tonight after the deadliest single tornado to strike the United States in over 60 years touched down on Missouri, reducing the city of Joplin to rubble, ripping buildings apart and killing at least 116 people in a 6-mile path of destruction.
Authorities said they had rescued seven people alive on Monday, but emergency warned that the death toll could climb higher as heavy winds, strong rain and hail quarter-sized hail stones hampered the search effort.
Meteorologists issued a new tornado warning for the devastated city as forecasters warned large swathes of the country to brace for more big storms on Tuesday.
Path of destruction: No house escaped the wrath of nature in some of Minneapolis
A tornado watch was issued on Monday for Oklahoma and parts of southern Kansas due to an 'evolving tornado threat', said Russell Schneider, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Storm Prediction Center.
'We are currently forecasting a major severe weather outbreak for Tuesday over the central United States with strong tornadoes likely over Oklahoma, Kansas, extreme northern Texas, southwest Missouri,' Mr Schneider said.
The National Weather Service said the tornado packed winds of up to 198 mph.
The weather service's director, Jack Hayes, said the storm was given a preliminary label as an EF4 - the second-highest rating given to twisters. The rating is assigned to storms based on the damage they cause.
Hayes said the storm had winds of 190 to 198 miles per hour. He said survey teams from the National Weather Service are on the scene and will make a final determination on the rating Tuesday.
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard to help out after one of the worst disasters in the state's history.
Homeless: Ted Grabenauer sleeps on his front porch the morning after a tornado ripped off the roof of his home when it hit Joplin, Missouri
Ruins: A view of the devastation after a tornado blew the roof off the St John's Regional Medical Center, rear, where about 180 patients cowered and were eventually evacuated
Desolation: A residential neighbourhood in Joplin is seen after it was levelled by the tornado
President Barack Obama called Nixon and offered his condolences to those affected, assuring the governor that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would provide whatever assistance was needed.
'Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to the families of all those who lost their lives in the tornadoes and severe weather that struck Joplin, Missouri, as well as communities across the Midwest today,' the President said in a statement sent from Air Force One as he flew to Europe.
Map: Infrared image of the powerful tornado that spun through a densely populated part of Missouri
'We commend the heroic efforts by those who have responded and who are working to help their friends and neighbours at this very difficult time.'
Caring for the injured was made more difficult because the main hospital, Saint John's Regional Medical Center, had to be evacuated after suffering a direct hit - the tornado ripped off its roof and smashed all its windows.
Cries could still be heard early Monday from survivors trapped in the wreckage.
Despair: A tree stripped of bark and leaves frames St John's Regional Medical Center
Eye of the storm: The tornado tore a 6-mile path across southwestern Missouri
Relief: Maggie Kelley and her husband, Trey Adams hug their dog, Saint, after finding him amid the rubble of her home in Joplin
Mr Nixon said he feared the death toll would rise but also expected survivors to be found in the rubble.
‘I don't think we're done counting,’ he said. ‘I still believe that because of the size of the debris and the number of people involved that there are lives to be saved.’
Crews found bodies during the night in vehicles the storm had flipped over, torn apart and left looking like crushed cans.
Triage centers and shelters set up around the city quickly filled to capacity.
At Memorial Hall, a downtown entertainment venue, nurses and other emergency workers from across the region treated critically injured patients.

Efforts: Rescue workers in lime-green jackets search for bodies and survivors inside St John's hospital
Re-united: A man carries a young girl who was rescued after being trapped with her mother in their home
Devastation: Emergency personnel walk through a neighbourhood severely damaged by a tornado near the Joplin hospital. There are are no firm details on the number of dead or injured, as the hospital is out of action
Memories: Evelyn Knoblauch looks at a picture in what is left of her daughter's house
At another makeshift unit at a Lowe's home improvement store, wooden planks served as beds.
Outside, ambulances and fire trucks waited for calls. During one stretch after midnight on Monday, emergency vehicles were scrambling nearly every two minutes.
On Monday morning, survivors picked through the rubble of what were once their homes, salvaging clothes, furniture, family photos and financial records, the air pungent with the smell of gas and smoking embers.
Others wandered through the wreckage with nowhere to go, their homes or apartments destroyed.
Kelley Fritz, 45, of Joplin, rummaged through the remains of a storage building with her husband, Jimmy.
Search: An emergency vehicle drives through a severely damaged neighbourhood in Joplin
They quickly realised they would never find the belongings they stored there, and that they had lost much of what was in their home after the tornado ripped away the roof.
Their sons, aged 20 and 17, went outside after the storm and saw that every home was destroyed.
‘My sons had deceased children in their arms when they came back,’ Mrs Fritz said. ‘My husband and I went out and saw two or three dead bodies on the ground.’

Soul destroying: Jean Logan surveys the damage to her home in Joplin after the tornado. She had taken refuge in her laundry room with her granddaughter
A total mess: Rachel Hurst picks through her belongings that were strewn about from her garage that was blown away in Minneapolis on Sunday
Mrs Fritz said she was surprised she survived. ‘You could just feel the air pull up and it was so painful. I didn't think we were going to make it, it happened so fast.’
Tornado sirens gave residents about a 20-minute warning before the tornado touched down on the city's west side.
Staff at St John's Regional Medical Center rushed patients into hallways before the storm struck the nine-storey building, blowing out hundreds of windows and leaving the facility unusable.
The hospital was among the worst-hit locations.
Emergency: Extensive damage can be seen at the St John's Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Missouri. An emergency agency spokesman says fatalities had been reported but was unsure of the exact figure
The Joplin twister was one of 68 reported tornadoes across seven Midwest states over the weekend, stretched from Oklahoma to Wisconsin, according to the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center.
One person was killed in Minneapolis. But the devastation in Missouri was the worst, eerily reminiscent of the tornadoes that killed more than 300 people across the South last month.
Residents said the damage was breathtaking in scope.
‘You see pictures of World War II, the devastation and all that with the bombing. That's really what it looked like,’ said Kerry Sachetta, the principal of a flattened Joplin High School.
‘I couldn't even make out the side of the building. It was total devastation in my view. I just couldn't believe what I saw.’
Emergency management officials rushed heavy equipment to Joplin to help lift debris and clear the way for search and recovery operations.
Governor Nixon declared a state of emergency, and President Barack Obama said the Federal Emergency Management Agency was working with state and local agencies.
Raised to the ground: Blocks of homes lie in total destruction after the devastating tornado
Unbelievable: Destroyed vehicles are piled on top of one another in the parking lot of the Joplin Regional Medical Centre

Desperate: Amy Langford carries items from her house that she was in with her husband Mark when the tornado hit their home in Joplin
Jeff Lehr, a reporter for the Joplin Globe, said he was upstairs in his home when the storm hit but was able to make his way to a basement closet.
The storm tore the roof off his house, but he was safe. When he emerged, he found people wandering through the streets, covered in mud.
‘I'm talking to them, asking if they knew where their family is,’ Mr Lehr said. ‘Some of them didn't know and weren't sure where they were. All the street markers were gone.’
Justin Gibson, 30, huddled with three relatives outside the tangled debris of a Home Depot. He pointed to a black pickup that had been tossed into the store's ruins and said it belonged to his roommate's brother, who was last seen in the store with his two young daughters.
Mr Gibson, who has three children of his own, said his home was levelled and ‘everything in that neighbourhood is gone. The high school, the churches, the grocery store. I can't get hold of my ex-wife to see how my kids are.
‘I don't know the extent of this yet,’ he said, ‘but I know I'll have friends and family dead.’
In Minneapolis, where a tornado killed one person and injured 29, authorities imposed an overnight curfew in a 4-square-mile area, including some of the city's poorest neighbourhoods, to prevent looting and keep streets clear for emergency crews.
Levelled: Red Cross representatives say 75% of Joplin is gone - here, vehicles and houses in the vicinity of Twenty-fourth and Main Streets are a jumble of rubble after a the tornado swept through
Condolences: President Barack Obama talks on the phone with Missouri Governor Jay Nixon during his visit to Dublin, Ireland. The President extended his condolences to all impacted by the deadly tornadoes
Widespread devastation: Another tornado in Minneapolis damaged at least 100 homes, toppling hundreds of trees and injuring at least 29 people
Community spirit: Residents of Joplin help a woman who survived in her basement after a tornado tore a path a mile wide and four miles long destroying homes and businesses
Mayor RT Rybak said one liquor store was looted right after the tornado hit late Sunday and a few burglaries took place overnight.
He said it wasn't immediately clear how many homes were affected, simply saying: 'It's a lot.'
Though the damage covered several blocks, it appeared few houses were totally demolished. Much of the damage was to roofs, front porches that had been sheared away and fences.
The tornado left part of a garage door in a tree and many large trees were left leaning against houses.
Pat Trafton said her family escaped unharmed after a tree was left leaning against her house.
Mrs Trafton, 67, said: 'It's been a crazy day.
'They say it was a monster tornado. It all just happened so fast.'
It was the first tornado to hit the city since August 2009. 'There was no doubt right away,' the meteorologist said.
North Minneapolis resident Tiffany Pabich was taking a nap just as the tornado blew through.

Bettered streets: Debris is scattered about in Minneapolis. On Sunday night a tornado warning was issued for several areas in central states
Crushed: Vehicles were picked up and dumped across the city by the tornado which left 30 people dead and dozens injured
In the north-east Kansas, powerful storms spawned funnel clouds and hail that ripped limbs off of trees and shattered windows.
About 200 homes were damaged in and around Reading with the tornado sweeping through the small town around 9:15pm Saturday night, said Kansas Division of Emergency Management spokeswoman Sharon Watson.
A man was pronounced dead shortly after being taken to Newman Regional Hospital in Emporia, about 20 miles from where the tornado hit, hospital supervisor Deb Gould said.
Ms Gould said two other people were brought in with injuries but she had no further details.
Five people were injured in all, along with the person killed, said Ms Watson.
Reading, a town of about 250 people is 50 miles south of the Kansas capital city, Topeka.
Carnage: Rescue vehicles line up along northbound Rangeline Road in Joplin, Mo. after a fatal tornado swept through the city
Reverend Lyle Williams, who is a pastor for about 10 worshippers at the Reading First Baptist Church, said the church suffered extensive damage: 'Yeah, it's pretty bad,' he said. 'My daughter was out there and told me about it.'
'I'm not going to be able to have church today that's for sure,' he added, saying he's been a pastor at the church for 21 years.
In Jefferson County, a mobile home was destroyed with an elderly couple was trapped inside, Ms Watson told CNN. She said responders cleared the debris and rescued the couple unhurt.
Wreckage: A man stands amid the remains of a Wal-Mart store, after it was hit by the tornado, in Joplin
Power had been restored in the town by early Sunday and a shelter was being set up at a local school.
The National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado also touched down in Topeka and northeast of the city near Lake Perry, where damage was reported at a nearby campsite, Ms Watson said.
While many states have been struck by severe storms this spring, Kansas has been having one of its lightest tornado seasons in decades, according to the National Weather Service.
A taste of spring? Trees were stripped of branches and many were left resting against houses
Flattened: Reading - a town of about 250 people, 50 miles south of capital city Topeka
Twister tragedy

Joplin Missouri 2011 Tornado May 23rd 2011 Massive Monster Killer Twister Tornado EF 5 MO 2011

I WILL PRAY ~Joplin Missouri Tornado Tribute~ (5/22/11)

source:dailymail

VIA America's deadliest tornado for 64 years: Terrifying twister cuts six-mile swathe through a Missouri town, leaving up to 116 dead