Vintage hat with silk ribbon

I just found this hat in an old hat box, while cleaning out my studio.The hat, from the forties received a bit of an update with an embroidered ribbon. The motif, in the woven ribbon, was duplicated in silk ribbon, onto the brim, then a "pouf" of tulle netting and an ivory wire-edge ribbon bow, with loops of pearls, were added. The hat box and hat were featured in a magazine. What a sweet hat body.

 The dumpster is parked just outside  the barn doors and the studio is going through a ruthless purging. How ruthless can one be, when walking through nine rooms of treasures collected over a lifetime? Bags filled with fabric and trims have been making week-end journeys to my favorite thrift store.  Each room is filled with remnants from past lives.

One room still holds huge cartons of boxes, created for a popular chain store, that announced it had gone bankrupt; after the first shipment of infant clothing from the studio, winged its way to Chicago. Memories of waking up in the middle of the night, in the studio, draped over one of my machines, in the throes of whipping up bibs and burp pads, goes out the door, with those cartons.

 Leftover wreaths, painted mailboxes and flower pots, stacked on production tables; all used for products sold in a New York showroom, make me recall my first trip to New York. A few supplies left over, after numerous trips made to nursing homes, still sit in the corner.

Supplies used for booklets and videos created for Plaid Enterprises and JoAnn Fabrics sit in old bedroom dressers. An Emporium, filled with stitching supplies, designed and decorated with tulle and chintz-covered walls for Victoria Magazine and a taping for The Discovery Channel, still makes me smile.  A packing room filled with shelves holding threads, spools and spools of silk ribbon and shelves of silk fabrics, begs to be "fluffed up".

 A sitting room with a china and silver-ladened buffet, working fireplace, crystal chandelier and old wicker lounges; that hosted wonderful days filled with women enjoying time in the country, while learning to create their very first Spider Web Rose.

 A kitchen table, always lined with  bottles of dye from my most recent dyeing excursion, lets me dye ribbons while I look out the window into the back pasture. Any undyed ribbon or piece of silk fabric, holds promise of that sought-after color combination.

I am the luckiest broad on this planet and overwhelmed with Gratitude. And now the gift of reconfiguring the studio with the goal of enjoying all that clean, open space!