Debut of the Velvet Jacket and The Misfit Children Gallery Opening!

So very much has happened so quickly in the world over the past couple of weeks that I am now just catching my breath and adjusting to all the changes. Of course, just when I think I have it figured out and I am OK with it, something else crazy happens. We all have our own stories to tell and our own feelings to feel so no need for me to expand. You all know exactly what I am talking about! And by all, I mean every single person on the planet! (which is, by the way, hard to wrap my mind around!!)

I wanted to share with everyone the debut of the navy silk velvet jacket that I made for my sister! I am giving myself a big pat on the back and an even bigger sigh of relief- it FIT and my sister looked amazing and comfortable and confident in it.  You can read the post on construction HERE.

My sister, Jen Torres, and myself at the Gallery talk of her show.
Same picture below excepted lightened up so you can see the details of her beautiful outfit better.

Just as a reminder I only ever did a fitting for in muslin and not in the actual fashion fabric. SO once it was completed and wrapped so very carefully in tissue and mailed off to her I did not get to see her in it until the day of the Gallery talk for her show Misfit Children - landscapes & creatures from the mind of Jen Torres.

The opening Gallery Talk was only done with a much smaller group of people than originally planned. This was the very start of the Covid19 pandemic hitting the United States. So the talk was just the family, minus my brother from the Netherlands due to flight restrictions from Europe, and a couple great friends. The Museum - The Tennessee Valley Museum of Arts did a great job of an on the fly live streaming of the gallery talk on Facebook!  I may be a little biased but I think it was an excellent artist gallery talk. I suspect that it is partly because my sister is AWESOME and partly because she is a college professor. You can find the talk HERE! (Don't worry only the first few minutes are sideways!)

I have always loved my sisters art. This collection is one of my favorites!  I love the colors and the details, the changes in scale and all the varied aspects of the pieces. It is sooooo hard to pic my favorites. If you check the links above there are many more pics on the museums website and in the Gallery talk on Facebook.

Here are some more candid photos of Jen in in her beautiful Jacket during her gallery talk. She is vey passionate about her work and as you can see from the photo's she likes to talk with her hands.

 Congratulations to my sister on her show and her grace in dealing with the every quickly changing environment in dealing with Covid19. Grace under pressure!

Family and friends gathered together to celebrate Jen!
(minus the princess... she was off running around somewhere!)

My immediate family is spread out all across the United States and the world. Illinois, Mississippi, Delaware, New Jersey and the Netherlands. We don't always get the time to all be together and it was so nice for most of us to get to spend a lovely weekend together. Celebrating my sister, eating, drinking, singing and just having some good old family fun together! It was nice to give big hugs and hold each other as we said our goodbyes and headed back to our respective homes and into the uncertainty that we are facing with this COvid19 pandemic.

Stay Home, Stay Safe, Stay Well!! And a big THANK YOU to all of the essential workers out there keeping our society safe and working!!

Happy Sewing!

One last parting shot of the Princess enjoying her Great Aunt Jen's artwork!