Wrap Me in Lace and Silk

We're wrapping up Fine Fabrics 3rd Annual World's Finest Lace Show, and I must say this year's show was a huge success. Clients, new and old, came from far and wide, and ooh'd and ahh'd, and let out a sigh as they pondered the creations they might make and wear, and marveled at the intricate hand work, creativity and details exhibited in each piece. Here is a list of the favorites, which we're adding to the collections of FineFabrics.com and are available for immediate delivery beginning mid-September:

A client selection from the Paris Haute Couture Collection from Solstiss Lace. Delicate chantilly ombre lace, light beige at one selvage, traveling through celadon, teal to black on the other selvage. Clients of Fine Fabrics are having made a peasant style blouse, the body of which is black and the hem, teal moving up to the face and nape of the neck in the back. The celadon meets the teal at the raglan seam, moving down to the light beige selvage at the sleeve hem. We love working with clients who have the style sophistication to discover the way to work with these exquisite pieces that can be worn as easily with jeans, as it can with a black velvet skirt.

More ideas to come.....

Solstiss Show Opening

The Santa Barbara Fiber Arts Guild enjoyed a sneak peak of the Paris Haute Couture collection from Solstiss, after enjoying an educational presentation by Jane Burge from SolstissBucol.

100's of guests arrived, most of whom live in Santa Barbara, but others visited from Ohio, Maryland, and Kande Hall and Len Grabiner traveled from the South Bay of Los Angeles to join Fine Fabrics for the opening of its 3rd Annual World's Finest Lace show.

Those are purses made by and using Solstiss lace in the background.


Many brought, or wore their own lace and beaded creations.

Santa Barbara's and Fine Fabrics' resident couture expert, Tim Carty gave draping presentations.

to the pleasing harp music of Signe Wilson.



Yep. That's a 2-pin drape of one of Fine Fabrics most beautiful pieces of embellished Solstiss lace. It dances in the light and coordinates with greens, violets, blues, copper browns as well as it does black.

My morning Masters swim buddies, Susan Dickinson and Gloria Ochoa graced us with the hostess skills and loaned us their French Florists' vase to hold the 50 very tall white Amaryllis cut from my home garden.


Santa Barbara Fashionista favorites will be posted to FineFabrics.com, some to FineFabrics.com prive' (contact susanne @ finefabrics.com for access) throughout the month of August. Both will be updated daily. Fine Fabrics 3rd Annual World's Finest Lace Show is on exhibit through August 31, 2009.

Rapelling from a Helicopter

It might be hard for someone who doesn't sew, or who never stretched the limits of their sewing ability, or who never cut into $687 per yard French beaded lace to understand that this isn't women sitting stiff backed in a circle with embroidery hoops in hand waiting for the men to come in from the hunt stuff. There is an adrenaline rush. Your heart pounds as that sewing machine needle pumps up and down through the layers of lace and silk, tracing the boundary of beads cut from the seam line. I imagine its not unlike the rush my son might get when he is rapelling from a helicopter on a mission as a member of the Sierra Madre Fire and Rescue Team, or the rush my husband might get when swooping down an undersea canyon wall.




Here is the progress I made today. May not look like much to someone who doesn't sew, but you just wait until next week, when I will wear this dress, completed at the opening reception for Fine Fabrics 3rd Annual World's Finest Lace Show.

Bringing Out the Color

One of the benefits of owning Fine Fabrics is that when it comes time to make something for myself, I have, well you can see at FineFabrics.com what constitutes my fabric stash.....

We have a piece of Solstiss lace that has been teasing me. Many times I have pulled it from the shelf in an attempt to find the perfect color 4-ply silk crepe to match and use both to make a gown. Every time, the colors that worked best with the lace made me look, well, old.

To make myself something new to wear for the August 1 opening of Fine Fabrics 3rd Annual World's Finest Lace Event, I once again pulled down this piece of Solstiss Beaded Lace. This time, I pulled every piece of blue and green silk chiffon we had in the store. Bringing out the intricate detail and color of these very best of embellished laces is the enjoyment of working with them. I found that if I build layers of aqua, seafoam and turquoise chiffon, over a base of deep forest green 4-ply silk, the multiple colors - forest, moss, silver and teal - in this beaded lace POP!


The weight of the lace and 4-ply crepe are balanced by the flounce of the silk chiffon layers. I have the basis for a dress that I can wear for the opening of our August Lace Show.

I'll be cutting the fabric today and tracking my progress here during the next 2 weeks. You can see the finished product when you join us for the opening of our 3rd Annual World's Finest Lace Show. Contact Solstiss @ FineFabrics.com for an invitation to the opening.

The Paris Haute Couture Collection will visit Fine Fabrics of Santa Barbara through August 31, 2009. We are open Monday through Saturday, 11:00 am - 5:00 pm. Don't miss this exclusive opportunity to shop the World's Finest Lace.

Silk Appliqued Coat

All of Santa Barbara is getting excited in anticipation of what we will see at our 3rd Annual Lace Show. Solstiss is sending to us selections from the Paris Haute Couture Showroom that will be seen no where else. We, at Fine Fabrics, are honored to be the exclusive host of the collections' visit to the United States.

Today, two of our very special clients brought in a coat made using fabric custom made for, and procured from Fine Fabrics at last year's event. A black silk georgette, appliqued with a deep aubergine silk faille coat, designed and made by Letizia Alta Moda of Santa Barbara for her client Ceil Pulitzer. With their permission, I am sharing it with you here. If you are interested in seeing more unique pieces like this, please join us at Fine Fabrics 3rd Annual World's Finest Lace Exhibit.

Celebrity Fashion Fabrics

At Fine Fabrics we're busy preparing for our 3rd Annual World's Finest Lace Event. Someone asked whether there are any celebrities wearing garments made using Solstiss Lace. So I went to an authority on such matters - In Style - and reviewed their celebrity fashion gallery. What struck me was how many of the most striking garments were elegantly simple in design execution, but excelled in presence because they were made of exquisite fabrics. I chose a few examples of pieces that were made by top designers using Solstiss lace. These pieces exemplify the quality of fabrics made by Solstiss.

I encourage to look around "In Style's" "Look of the Day" gallery. All are fashion inspirations....... and we look forward to seeing you in Santa Barbara in August where you'll see 100's of fabrics and laces at Fine Fabrics, some even more exquisite than used to make the garments shown in the following list.

5th confirmed sighting is Isla Fisher in a green with black chantilly Solstiss lace overlay dress from Stella McCartney Winter 2009 collection at the Bruno LA premiere, June 25, 2009. The link is provided by Stella McCartney's Twitter Team.



4th confirmed sighting is Kerry Washington in a Louis Vuitton bubble dress with Solstiss Lace overlay at The 2009 Costume Institute Gala, May 5, 2009 in New York City. You'll find a picture at Instyle.com.... more to come

Third confirmed sighting is Anne Hathaway at the Cartier 100th Anniversary Celebration in New York City in a Jill Stuart minidress made using Solstiss lace. You'll find a picture of it in the May 1, 2009 installment of "Look of the Day" at Instyle.com......more to come

Second confirmed sighting is Liv Tyler at the Time 100 celebration in New York City in a Stella McCartney dress made using Solstiss lace. You'll find a picture of this "In Style" Editor's Pick dress in the May 6, 2009 installment of "Look of the Day" at Instyle.com

Our first confirmed sighting is of Gwyneth Paltrow in a stunning dress by Balmain from In Style's "Look of the Day" December 23, 2008..... more to come .......more to come

Grant House for City Council

Santa Barbara City Mayor Marty Blum, Ms. Fine Fabrics (Susanne) and
Santa Barbara City Council Member Grant House

I met Grant House in 1985 when he recommended I buy a Bernina 1040 Sewing Machine. With its perfectly smooth stitch and stable motor hum, it is still my favorite machine. Today, Grant House announced his campaign to run for a second term as our representative to Santa Barbara City Council. My husband and I had the pleasure of joining he and his wife Peggy, Mayor Marty Blum and a cadre of Santa Barbara political officials to kick off his campaign for a second term as a Member of City Council of Santa Barbara. Need I say that I endorse his campaign? A small business man, a compassionate and supportive man, who knows as much about sewing machines as any and can sew too! How can anyone resist him?