More observations from DAR State Conference

Talk about some beautiful suits....At the recent Mississippi State Society Daughters of the American Revolution State Conference in Jackson, Mississippi, I saw some drop-dead-gorgeous suits. 

Now, I am a sucker for the sophisticated look of a lady-like, beautifully tailored suit!  My favorite suits at the conference were handwoven silks. 

One inspirational suit (of which I did not get a photo) was a stunning turquoise handwoven plaid blended with other shades of similar blue tones.  The edge was bound (bias seam binding) in a turquoise paisley.  Because of the many shades of blue in the fabric, the paisley binding did not scream for attention.  It was a artistic blending of patterns and colors.

There were some stunning hats that came out for the Memorial Service at which we honor the DAR members who have died in the past year. Several of my DAR friends were wearing fabulous vintage hats!  (Carol G. of Jackson and Charla J. of Brandon).

Thanks to a lovely cold snap, the furs came out of storage for the Conference.  I had a grand time petting the sleeves of my friends and hinting to Gordon that he should expect to gift his wife with fur in the future.  *grin*

One of these days, I must tell you about my one and only ski trip to Park City, Utah.  After the first day spent bouncing around on the cold hard snow, and not on my feet, I  soothed my bruised ego by visiting fur shops and trying on fur coats for the rest of the trip.  Aaaahhh, those are happy memories!

This huddle in the halls at State Conference was around the J.E. Caldwell table.  It was the table to the left of our fund-raising table, and Gordon stood guard to keep me from straying over there too much.

That is because J.E. Caldwell is the official jeweler of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.  They make all of our official DAR insignia that I talked about here.

If you are into Longaberger Baskets, you might recognize the Banker's Waste Basket from a few years ago.  I forget what the yellow striped fabric with blue roses was called, but I fell head over heels for that lining and have it in every basket I bought from Longaberger.  This was pre-marriage and pre-hubby-spending-management!  LOL

Don't get me wrong.  I am proud of Gordon's money management, and he makes the best and wisest decisions 99.9999999 percent of the time.  (Yep, I am already buttering him up for a future fur!  he he he)

DAR is anything BUT a fashion show.  A tremendous amount of volunteer work is done each year in the areas of education, literacy, genealogy, historic research, historic preservation, support for our military, and many more worthy areas! Here is the National DAR website if you want to read more!

This has not been a serious reporting about State Conference, as you can tell! Every lady attending worked hard, networked, brainstormed, learned, volunteered anew, planned ahead and  supported fund raisers! It was exhausting and renewing/refreshing at the same time!

We've been in a full-out run this week, getting an order ready for a special commission for the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C.  It is a special commission for a family that has had three generations of women intimately involved with the Cherry Blossom Festival.

At the same time, the Sewing Lady has been running us ragged, trying to get a big order ready by Monday.

A nice surprise this week was an order for a selection of my brooches for the gift shop at the National Museum for Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.  My sculpted pieces have sold out several times in their gift shop in the past.

Three new designs are in various stages of sculpture.  One is a historic building in Mississippi.  Gotta have that one ready by mid-March.  One is of an iconic symbol of our State Capitol building.  The third is another Cherry Blossom design in conjunction with the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

I'll keep you posted.  If I write about or think about any more of the many projects waiting to be finished, I will be too nervous to sleep tonight.

Comments

[Discount Longaberger Baskets]

I just love the Banker's Waste Basket. I've seen some of them with some terrific lids that I really love, as well.

Alicia Smith