Author: Louis Dell'Olio

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……………….March 2001 was my second year at QVC, and my third show…….it was still all so knew to Jac and me……..Cotton stretch for jackets and bottoms, cotton/acrylic blends for sweaters [I’m sure if you still have sweaters in this blend they are like knew. It was a great quality yarn], and silk crepe de chine and silk georgette for solid and printed shirts. In the early days China was the only place where you could get silk. Actually it still is. Since they had a monopoly over the silk worm fiber silk fabrics were very inexpensive at the time. Europe still to this day imports silk fibers from China. They spin it themselves and make their own fabric, but the yarn all comes from China. I remember when printers in the Como area of Italy tried to grow their own silk worms and make their own fibers. It was a disaster….the worms died. Elaine used to say to me design silk, design silk, because the fabrics were incredibly priced. For years we made everything in silk. Then one year China decided to raise all the prices for silk and that was that. Silk disappeared from the Linea line overnight…….Above, is a wonderful drop shoulder, unlined cotton stretch jacket. The inside was all piped in contrast color. The under collar and turn back cuff were also contrast color. The bottom row of sweater were all in the cotton/acrylic. In the middle is the reorder sketch of the “Jockey Shirt” in new colors. The top row has two print silk big shirts. One is a take on an Hermes scarf print with harnesses, straps and horse bits. The stripe shirt next to it was a stripe with no repeat…..meaning the entire shirt was made with different printed stripes. We introduced a suede and leather color block tote to work with the entire collection…….The bold stripe sweaters at the right did incredibly well and were reordered for 3 years straight!

………………………The March 2001 group was quite large…….I probably had a 2 hour show. Yes in those days they gave the new “hot kid” on the block 2 hour shows…..LOL….The polka dots and stripes were silk. The sweaters were all cotton/acrylic which was incredible soft, washed well, and the colors dyed beautifully. All of the bottoms were in the cotton/span except the drawstring pant which came in silk dots ans solids……………It certainly was a fun colorful grouping.

…………………HALLELUJAH!!!!!…………2021 has been a long time coming…..When I was searching for a picture to post I came across this, and it touched me! A person jumping over the great divide. 2020 has been an historic year in almost every way possible…..I think everyone can’t wait to leap into the new year, and leave the old one behind……The only year that personally was worse for me was 2017. Health crisis has hit my family hard this year, and we will be dealing with it into 2021….so…..even though I hope for the best in 2021, I know it won’t be a bed of roses. At the start of every year I think this is the year…this is the year when everything will get better, and with each year it seems to have gotten worse…..but…….I like to think of myself as an optimist…..so I will continue to hope and pray that this new year coming will bring brighter things for every single person on this planet………………………………………..Happy New Year to one and all……………………much Love……………………..Louis

……………………..For as long as I can remember Jac and her mother always had a Stolen on Christmas morning. Jac’s mother’s family has been making this Christmas bread  as far back as they could remember……at least the 1800s…….I haven’t had it for 4 years…..the last time Jac baked one. Her sister, Marianne was making one for this Christmas and sent me a text photo of it. I thought it was time I gave it a try. She sent the receipt to me…..I couldn’t find Jac’s in the stacks of receipts she has. We went over it step by step and I started…….flour, yeast, eggs, water, milk, mace, butter, sugar, currants and powdered sugar. It takes all day between waiting for the 4 rises after kneading the dough forever. What you see above is already half way through the process. The braiding of the dough with the currants already mixed in is the job Jac always gave me. She just couldn’t get the braiding right. I’m not sure if my braids were 100% right, but thy were good enough. After the braid is made on a cookie sheet you cover it with towels, put it in a warm place and let it rise over night. The photos at the top left show the braid. The photos at the bottom left show the bread after the overnight rise!!! It was always fun in the morning to uncover the bread to see just how big it grew. All I can say is the yeast did its’ job!It was enormous!!! It lapped over the cookie sheet. Into the oven it goes at 350 for 30-35 mins.. The pictures at the upper center show the bread right out of the oven, slightly golden brown, and basted with melted butter. Then you wait until it cools and sprinkle powdered sugar all over…….Jac used to call me and say it’s time to put the snow on the mountain…..That was a fun part……Now it’s ready to eat……………..For my very first time I would give it 8 out of 10….not bad……………..It really tasted wonderful, and brought back lots of Christmas morning memories.

Hello everyone, I can see from my comment that I regretfully opened a Pandora’s Box. Firstly, I am sorry for bringing the Trump family into the conversation. That is a line that should never ever be crossed. Family, especially children no matter the age, should always be off limits…..However, I stand by my comments about Trump…..Nowhere in my statement did I mention or refer to Republicans or Democrats. Many members of my family including my brother, SIL and their adult children are Republican. We respect each other, and respect each others views. There are positions that the Republicans take that I do agree with, likewise their are positions the Democrats take that I oppose. I do not walk any political line blindly……Be clear this is not about Republicans or Democrats…..It is only about Trump…..From day one when he boasted his inauguration had the biggest crowd ever which was an total exaggeration, and quickly proven wrong, then  to his vile comment to Billy Bush about touching women….I knew this man did not deserve to be sitting in the Oval office as the head of this country. It always astonished me how so many women gave him a pass. Over the four years he has given us a litany of lies which have all been proven to be such. Has he done things that I agree with, yes. I do think illegal immigration has gotten way out of hand, but do I agree with his methods, absolutely no. Children taken away from their parents [many are still lost, and have not been reunited with their parents] just to scare others from entering this country was wrong and heartless. This is not the way America should behave or be seen as a nation. His constant goading right supremacists, and telling them to be on the ready is unconscionable to me…….Where is the dignity that this office deserves? Have other presidents done wrong things, for sure, but this president has taken it over the top. If he could he would be the next Putin. He behaves like a dictator, not the leader of the free world………There are those, most of which I have never seen posting on my website before,who have taken this opening, this opportunity to blow my statement totally out of context, and to use my website to expound their views…….Let me be clear….I said nothing about Republicans or Democrats…..my comments were directed totally about Trump. Has he done good things or bad things, I will let historians decide. I only speak about the character of the man, which I firmly believe is such that he should never ever be the spokes person, the leader, the head of this country. You may agree with me or not about Trump, but again let me me clear….my statement was not political….it was strictly about the individual. I hope this puts an end to this conversation and we can go on to enjoy 2021.