Dandelion Factory

Headbands

2008-10-02T18:46:00.000-07:00

Today I made some pretty cute (I think!) headbands. The thing that I love about making them is that they are a great way to use up scraps of fabric, and they don't take up much time at all. Here are today's selections:

Here they are reversed. The beauty of these headbands is that they are reversible. Two looks for the price of one!

Here are 3 more. The outer layer of the middle headband is a piece from an old sofa. I got that fabric in a thrift store. Somebody gave me both the fabrics on the far right. I love them --- very early 70's calico.

Here they are reversed. I love the little windmills. It's a reproduction of a feedsack type of fabric.

On the right is another incarnation of that same sofa upholstery. Different fabric on the other side, though. And on the left, is another reproduction pattern.

And on the left in the below photo is a groovy paisley print. I made a wrap skirt from it that is in my etsy shop. Wearing the headband at the same time as the skirt may be a little much!

On the right, is a vintage fabric that I scored at the free shed at our local trash collection center. People put things in this shed if they think it is something someone might like. Well, I sure did!

Here they are reversed:

I have a good stash of leather, so I thought it would give a leather headband a try. I think this one is pretty cute, especially if you like the 1970's. Haha! I cut out the two shapes, glued them together and did some fancy stitching. It's nice, because it is a very heavy duty headband.

Here is it reversed:

Then my eyes fell on my grommet maker, and I got all inspired. Same technique, but I added a row of grommets. It's awesome!

And reversed.... I can't decide if this is Rocker Chick, Harley Mama, Xena Warrior Princess, or early 1970's. Anyhow, I think it's pretty cool.

The leather ones are on etsy in my shop. I mailed the fabric ones to Down Creek Gallery in Ocracoke, NC where they are sold. But, I can always take special orders! Hint, hint!

Feedsack Charm Squares

2008-09-19T09:31:00.001-07:00

I love feedsack fabric. I love it so much that I decided to write another post about it. But, I am going to be lazy this time and not provide you with another illuminating, albeit brief, history of this type of fabric. If you are dying to know ALL about (okay, a little bit about) feedsack fabric, you might want to check out my last post. Today, I am only going to present you with pictures of some small pieces I have.

My sister, a supremely talented quilter, gave me a big stack of feedsack charm squares. I am not sure why they are called charm squares, but maybe because they are cute and charming? Anyhow, they are 4" squares that are pre-cut and I assume they are used for patchwork quilting. However, I don't quilt, so I don't know for sure. I suppose I could do some top notch research and find out via google, but it really is all I can do to publish a blog every so often. I just love the fabric, so I will leave it at that. I think there are about 40 in the stack I have, but I have only included twenty five. These are all pretty great, I think.

Gotta love these colors....

More fantastic colors. I really, really love this one....

More pink and blue....

Simple, darling....

This is one of my favorites. It has a kind of Pennsylvania Dutch feel to it....

I think this is another favorite. The colors are unusual and fantastic...

This is another pretty unusual one that I have seen...

More loveliness....

More really cute pink and blue....

Maybe those are violets and asters? Maybe they are made up? Who knows. I just like the colors!

More crazy fake flowers...

This one is pretty spare, but I love it...

This is neat. It looks like it might be from the 1950's....

A really great shade of blue. I think that is supposed to be a poppy, but do they actually come in blue?

I would love to see this one as a big piece....

Oh, absolutely gorgeous!

Another beautiful red and white piece....

another geometric....

And again. This might be my favorite shade of green. Or of any color, for that matter...

This is a super cool pattern with great colors....

More green geometry....

Okay, now this is one of my favorites....

And this one. Actually, can you have more than one favorite? I guess since it is my blog, I can do what I want! Haha!

More funny, imaginative flowers....

And, lastly, stripes. I love the variety of widths and colors.

I am not sure what I am going to do with all these. I might make some coasters out of them. But probably not a quilt! If anyone has any knowledge about charm squares and feedsacks, I would love to know more about them.

Feedsack Fabric

2008-09-19T06:11:00.000-07:00

I love where I live. I really do. It's really beautiful here, just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. We are about 15 miles from the closest big town, Waynesboro, and about 30 miles from Charlottesville. Sometimes I get tired of driving, but then I look at those mountains!

Okay, why am I telling you this? Because, being out here means that I don't have access to high speed internet service. I do have something called cellular broadband which uses a modem to access a signal from a cell phone tower. Usually, this works pretty well. It's kind of fast, but not the real deal. The biggest issue I have is that it takes FOREVER to load a photo to blogspot. It can take anywhere from 3 minutes to overnight to never. This is not a lie. I have tried to make sure the files are small (they say they can load pictures that are up to 4 MB, and mine are generally about 600 kbs). Thus, sometimes blogging can seem like a bit of a chore. But enough of that!!!

I have had an obsession with feedsacks for quite awhile. They are becoming more and more collectible, which means more and more expensive, so that means I don't get to buy them. That makes me sad, but such is life. If you don't know what feedsacks are, they are the cotton bags that feed, flour, sugar, etc. used to come packaged in from about 1840 to about 1950. Originally, the sacks were plain white in color with a company's logo on it (the logo's were originally round, because barrels were used before cotton sacks. The logos would be on top of the barrel, which was round). Gradually, around, the 1920's, companies began to use colors and patterns on their feedsacks. As women had been using the feedsacks for quilting and undergarments, manufacturers realized there was a huge marketing opportunity to be had. If they could make their feedsacks prettier than the next guy's, the ladies would be more likely to buy their sack of flour rather than the competitor's. Pretty smart! So, there became a big industry in designing lovely prints on these double duty sacks.

Feedsacks died out in the 1950's as the manufacturing of paper became less expensive. Now you can find them at quilt shows, antique shows, ebay, junk shops etc. Or maybe in your grandma's attic! I have only a few large pieces of feedsack fabric, as they are quite pricey.

I really love the colors they used.

This is a neat one, with the gray and orange.

I love the gold tones mixed with the turquoise.

Again, gray and orange. This is one of my favorites.

Some companies are reviving the feedsack type of pattern, but I have yet to see them in larger prints. Mostly they are small, calico type prints. This color is too gorgeous.

I haven't done anything with these, as I am waiting for the perfect project. I might make some coasters with them. Just simple squares, but then they will be scattered around the house, and we can all admire their beauty.

I got this information from http://www.womenfolk.com. She has lots of great information if you are interested in quilting and history.

A Word About Mending: Part 2

2008-09-04T06:40:00.001-07:00

As I noted in the previous post, I am all about mending, recycling, saving money, etc. (smoked salmon, $16/pound cheese, and free range chicken notwithstanding). Here is another example of my thrifty, some might say Depression Era, ways. I bought a set of expensive Wamsutta sheets several years ago. Finally, after many nights of use, these sheets have become incredibly soft and cozy. However, that softness, I assume, can be attributed to the breakdown of the fibers. Breakdown of fibers leads to weakened threads which leads to holes. Holes lead to rips. Really big ones. As a testament to my thrifty ways, I decided to not throw out the sheets but instead to mend them. I found some fabric that was similar in weight and kind of matched (but not really, since it is a different color!) and decided to work my magic. I did the patching technique which I explained in my previous post. And I'll be damned if it doesn't look god-awful! The irony of this story is that my sheets are really no longer all that comfortable. I mean, shouldn't I have known that adding another fabric and stitching the heck out of it would kind of ruin the texture? So now I just keep that section at the bottom of the bed, and I curl my legs up in the fetal position. Problem solved. I think the true purpose of my blog is teach others who sew how to do a better job.

(These sheets aren't dirty, just old!)

A Word About Mending: Part 1

2008-09-02T18:14:00.003-07:00

I truly believe that mending has become a lost art. Too frequently, people just toss things into the trash that are ripped rather than sitting down and mending those holes. Because I am cheap, it is my intention to revive the lost art of mending. Here is an example of two things that I mended recently. By the way, this example can in no way be called art, either in reference to mending or otherwise. It is more about function rather than fashion.

Here are a pair of shorts that my husband ripped.

Fortunately, he works alone, so he wasn't faced with the humiliation that would normally accompany a rip such as this. You might wonder why in the world I would repair these shorts rather than tossing them, raggedy as they are. Well, my husband works in his vineyard and winery, so it really doesn't matter how nice his clothes look. As a matter of fact, I think he makes it his personal goal to ruin his clothes and then hand them over to me to attempt to clean and repair. Perhaps he thinks I need some challenge in my life. Anyhow, this is what I did.

First, I found some fabric of a heavy weight that approximately matches the shorts.

Then I cut out a rectangle of the same size as the rip, and I pinned it to the inside of the shorts.

Then I used a zigzag stitch on the inside to secure the fabric and make a sort of patch.

On the outside, I zigzagged around the tear to stop it from ripping some more, and to close the hole.

Okay, so it doesn't look that great. Perhaps that will encourage him to not tear his shorts anymore. Right. Or maybe I should put a Hello Kitty patch on the outside.

Leather and LacES (or, The Toe Protector's in Town)

2008-09-02T04:35:00.000-07:00

Not too long ago I posted about some leather jewelry I made, and I called the post Leather and Lace (well, not really). Now I am kinda wishing I hadn't used that really, really awesome title, because this time, it's for real!! I made some toe covers for my roller skates. I made them out of leather. And you can thread the laces of the skates through them. Get it? Leather and LacES. Oh, how I crack myself up.

Anyhow, in the rough and tumble world of roller derby, a girl can do a lot of damage to the toe of her boots. There's falling, sliding, dragging, etc, and once there's a hole in the boot toe, that's the end of the boots. Well, maybe they can be repaired. I don't really know. I also can attest to the fact that I try to avoid falling, sliding and dragging as much as possible. But, sometimes it can't be helped. And in the short time I have been participating with the Charlottesville Derby Dames, I have done a bit of damage to the toe of my boot.

So, I set out to protect them.

First, I made a pattern.

Then I cut it out of leather. I am hoping that this will be durable.

I stitched up the sides. It kind of looks like a bug, don't you think?

To add a bit of cuteness, I have added a leather heart to the toe guard. This will add extra sturdiness, sort of an extra layer of skin for the rink floor to get through. I found it easier to just stitch back and forth through the heart rather than stitch around the perimeter. I think this will also make it wear tougher.

Then I used an exacto knife to cut holes out of the top for the toe stop to go through. I used my grommet maker to put a grommet in for the hole, but the grommet was too small to allow the toe stop through. I don't think it is necessary for the grommet anyway. For the top part where the laces thread through, I added little eyelets.

To increase durability, I have added thick interfacing to the back side.

Here is the first one. Here is the one that has the upside down heart. Sigh. Luckily, I figured that out before I made another one.

Here are a pair that look right.

Look how beautifully it hugs the toe of the boot! Ah, if my skating skills were half that nice.

I haven't tried this model out. I did, however, make a set that was blue with no heart or interfacing on them. I used them one night in practice, and they got pretty scuffed up.

I am hoping these will hold up better. You can buy a set in my Etsy shop!

A Hanky Quilt

2008-07-31T05:38:00.000-07:00

My dear friend, Kathryn, hired me to make a quilt for her mother's 60th birthday. It was a unique challenge because A) I don't quilt and B) she asked me to make it from her grandmother's handkerchiefs. I was happy to take it on, however, because the hankies were just gorgeous. Sadly, I did not take many pictures of this project, and I wish I had photographed some of the individual handkerchiefs. She had a stack of 24 that were beautiful and made from vintage linen and cotton batiste, and it was up to me to figure out how to put it together. I took them to my local fabric store, and the kind ladies there helped me figure out how to make it work. It was decided that I would lay them out in 3 rows of 8 and separate the rows and hankies with lace. So, I bought a ton of lace (I used a couple of different kinds in order to get a wide enough row), which added up in price pretty fast.

I laid the hankies out on a large piece of cotton batiste (actually assembled to make it wide enough), arranged and then rearranged them. The challenge was that they were all different sizes, so I had to find a way to make it so that they wound up in a sort of rectangle. Also, I needed to make sure they were placed in a manner that made sense, color and pattern wise. Then I sewed the lace to each handkerchief.

And that is when my trouble began. As it happens with all new projects, there is a learning curve, and this one was kind of steep for me. It took a while for me to figure out how to sew lace without it getting all funky in the machine. Then, trying to keep it flat while going around the corners was another challenge. But, eventually, I got it sorted out and I got all these handkerchiefs bordered by lace. I attached them to the batiste, pinned batting to it, and I machine quilted it. Another obstacle was that once they were on the batiste, the hankies tended to puff out a little. I really didn't want to sew through them, as that would mar their beauty. So, I pressed and starched the hell out of them, and that helped a little. In retrospect, it would have made much more sense to attach the hankies to the batiste first and then sew the lace to the batiste also. I have no idea why I didn't think of that.

After the stitching, I put on a backing of royal blue silk satin. I planned on tying the back on with small individual stitches, but that idea deflated pretty quickly. I was supposed to ship the quilt to her the next day, and I started the tying on at around 7 that night. Me, being the time challenged person I am, thought that it would only take an hour or so to do that (did I mention that I had never made a quilt before?). After about 30 minutes and about 3 stitches later, I decided to just use the tying on mechanism on my sewing machine (you know, the little start/stop button), and things sped up considerably.

Finally, I finished it at around 2 a.m., and I was able to ship it off. Kathryn's mother absolutely loved it! She didn't know that Kathryn had all these hankies, and she was very touched that she had thought to make something with it. It turns out that K's mom remembered some of the hankies as being HER grandmother's also from when she was a child. I am sure it brought back many fond memories.

For me, I have not as many fond memories of quilting, and I consider myself retired from the profession.

A Wrap

2008-07-09T07:03:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law, who is a bit of an ebay freak, gave me this fabric several years ago for Christmas. And it has been just sitting in my stash. Why I haven't used it until now, I don't know. Except, perhaps it was meant for this particular project. Perhaps it chose to not be used until now. Is it possible that the fabric has controlled my life and my choices? Well, sometimes it seems that way. If you saw my stash, you might think that it does, indeed, control at least some aspects of my life.

Anyhow, I got a cool book on skirt embellishments. The ideas are really quite unusual. I decided to try to pattern in the book to make a sample skirt. This skirt has no embellishments, but, with this crazy print, it doesn't really need much else, right? After cutting out the pattern and trying to make the skirt, I realized that maybe the book is only good for the decorative ideas. Because the pattern stunk! I mean, it was baaaaaaad. Even my studio mate, Susan L., couldn't make head nor tails of it. I am a semi-moderately skilled seamstress, but Susan L. has been sewing all her life. So, basically I just used it as a template sort of thing and figured out the assemblage part myself. In the end, I think it turned out pretty cute. It's on my etsy site if you want to buy it. Hint, hint!

This is the back. Obviously, it is a size small.

I lined it with a pink cotton lawn. I left the lining free so that, if the wind blew, you could see it. I think it makes a nice contrast.

Really, a wrap skirt is one of the greatest inventions. They are comfortable, adjustable (this style would be the perfect choice for your Thanksgiving dinner- hahaha!), and classic.

Leather and Lace (well, not really)

2008-06-26T05:32:00.000-07:00

My sister has a sweet connection with a manager of a large home furnishings store (I dare not give away my source here), and occasionally she give me huge sacks of upholstery samples. They are perfect for lining handbags. And every once in a while, I get some seriously nice leather pieces. I have a huge stack of small ones-- they measure about 4" x 8"-- which are perfect for little wallets and what I am about to show you.

I made these little pendant necklaces out of the smaller pieces of leather. They were super fun to make, and I wear one all the time. This is one example:

I took a rotary cutter with a rippled edge and cut out a circle. Actually, I cut out two circles and glued them together. With leather, it is important to fix the pieces together with glue before you sew them. If you don't, then the leather slips when you sew it, and that is massively annoying. Then I made a little red leather star and glued that on. Using a leather needle, probably a size 100/16 (and a teflon sewing foot comes in real handy), I stitched it with the radial lines and sewed the button on. On the back, I made a little tab out of leather that I stitched on before I applied the star. That way, it wouldn't show. Then, I strung a cord through, added jewelry findings, and now it is a super cute necklace! And you can buy it on my etsy site!

Here is another made with white leather. Same method, different look. I love the button on it. Vintage.

This one sports a little flower I made from thread. Using a water soluble interfacing, such as Solvy, you can make all sorts of shapes. It is a very cool product. You just have to make sure the threads all overlap, or it will fall apart.

Here are two more fun ones in black:

Different shape, different color, different design, oh-so-cool vintage button:

Then I branched out and made a bracelet.....

And that is a story for another day.... In the meantime, check out my etsy site! Did I already mention that?

Some Things I Have Made

2008-06-20T13:42:00.000-07:00

Whew! Computer troubles stink! But I think I got it all straightened out and now I can get my blog back on track. In the meantime, here are a few things that I have made that I am proud of. I will admit that some of the photography is lacking.

I really love this bag. I made it from a recycled Old Navy backpack (the pink part) and pieced it with a piece of vintage fabric (the blue). I think it turned out pretty cute!

A friend saw a bag in the Sundance catalog and asked me to make one for her. I actually found some very similar fabric and made a pattern quite like the one in the catalog. It turned out pretty well, I even managed to make leather straps for it.

This next one was made from a large piece of killer bark cloth. I got it at a little antique/junk shop in Charlottesville. I really, really love this fabric. I even made a shower curtain from it!

Then I made it into a zippered clutch.

Here is a basic tote made from a really cool piece of yellow flocked fabric. I think it used to be a tablecloth. I try to use thrifted and recycled fabrics as much as possible.

Same style, different fabric:

Same style but in oilcloth. I really, really love oilcloth. It's not terribly easy to sew with, but it sure is cute!

And another oil cloth bag. I really love this one. Unfortunately, they are hard to photograph, because the flash always makes a reflection.

And another....

And another....

Actually, I haven't made any bags in awhile. Actually, I haven't made anything in awhile. The kids are home from school for the summer, and they seem to be taking all my time. Hopefully, soon...

Vintage Quilts

2008-05-04T11:16:00.000-07:00

My friend, the veteran yard saler, recently sold me a stack of beautiful vintage quilts. As I am a sucker for any kind of vintage fabric, I snapped them right up! Now, on occasion, I drag them out of their box and gaze lovingly on them. And that's about all I do with them. I am sort of stuck as to how to put them to use. Of course, I don't want to use them on our beds, as they seem a bit fragile. I certainly am not going to cut them up and make them into other projects for a couple of reasons. First, it would seem sacrilegious to cut them up, and also, I really don't know what I would do with pieces of vintage quilts. I'm not too into the quilted clothing thing (believe me, I need as little bulk as possible in my clothing!). I could make pillows or something, but, again, I would be afraid they would get ruined. And, I am not really into hanging quilts on walls. Not my style, but I can appreciate it in someone else's house. Who knows... maybe I should sell them? Meanwhile, here are some pictures. I apologize for the shots. They aren't great. It was a nice bright day, so no flash, but I think they look a little out of focus.

Quilt 1:

A couple of up-close shots:

This is the back. Beautiful, huh?

The interesting part is that there is a whole other quilt underneath. I have no idea how old this quilt is. Anybody want to hazard a guess? Here are two shots of the quilt underneath:

Here is another large quilt:

And some up-close shots. I think that a lot of the pieces are the coveted feed sack fabric. So, maybe these quilts are from the 30's? I have no idea.

The colors are just so great!

This is a vintage crazy quilt.

I suspect the same person that made the previous quilt also made this one. There are a lot of the same fabrics, specifically the red, white and blue striped pattern. But, she got all crazy with the second one!

Some great pieces with gorgeous colors....

This one is really stunning.

This is a little pillow cover.

And the back of the pillow cover:

And the last one....

Some close-ups:

I love the orange and green in this one.

So, if anybody out there has any information on these fabrics and an idea of the age of the quilts, I would love to know!

Needle Books

2008-04-27T18:01:00.001-07:00

My friend, Deb, who gave me the funny cards to sell, also has given me these needle books to put up on my etsy site. I really love them, and I think it is a shame that businesses don't make useful things like these anymore. Just like with those beautiful vintage flour sacks, needle books have long ago gone by the wayside. But aren't they neat? Little advertisements on your ever useful set of sewing needles. I like this one for Society Snuff. It's so fancy!

This is another snuff company:

And here is the interior. The packets that hold the needles and the threader are little works of art:

Tops also made these cute button cards.

Underneath the button card on the left, there

is a little calendar! This one was dated from

1953.

Moore's Lumber company had a very simple needle card with just its logo on the front. I think this is a great graphic.

Isn't it funny how these masculine products are advertised on ladies' needle books?

I love this one for Acme Markets.

And, of course, the piece de resistance is this one with the space ship and the women sewing on the cover. These women are featured in a number of different styles of needle books. One is called Sewing Susan, which I happen to have one of (someone gave it to me for obvious reasons!).

I am planning on listing these on my etsy site, so if you want to buy them, you can do so there.

Telephone + Closeness

2008-04-25T05:20:00.000-07:00

In a previous post, I mentioned that my sewing club (who still needs a name... an idea is The Threadheads, but there has not been any agreement on that. If someone has a good idea, let me know!) decided to do a sort of monthly art challenge. Two words are selected out of a hat and we have to make something that utilizes fabric to express those words. Last month, the words we chose were "telephone" and "closeness". On Monday, we had our meeting and unveiled our creations.

First, Susan L. showed us her cell phone case that she made. I took a photo of her using a telephone, and she Photoshopped it. Then she printed the image onto a special fabric that you can run through your printer. She sewed a cover for her cell phone, and then embroidered and beaded it. Pretty cool, huh?

Rose took a pair of black vintage elbow length gloves and gave them a telephone motif. She made covered buttons that she embroidered numbers on, and turned a spaghetti strap into a coiled telephone cord.

These are beautiful!

Susan Skalak (yes, almost half the group is named Susan) is an engineer. So, her take on the theme was to express sound waves and put it into a quilt. Pretty impressive, I think. Believe me, this is the last thing in the world I would have come up with!

Kate took the word "closeness" and used the sound to interpret into "clothes". This darling pinafore is what she made. And it even has telephone buttons on the front! I love it. And she made the box just for transporting it, but we decided that it sets off the pinafore beautifully.

Connie was not present at the meeting where we picked these words. Thus, she thought we could use just one of the words in the project. She chose "closeness" and expressed it in the form of this amazing turtle quilt (unfinished). She and her youngest son are very fond of turtles, and she is making this quilt for him as a surprise. It is really, really beautiful. I love the barnacles on the turtle's back.

Lastly, my project did not have quite the level of sewing that the other women's did. I had a couple of ideas for the project, including an 80's New Wave style t-shirt involving images of Blondie and the song Call Me. It was turning into a disaster. So, the morning before our meeting, I came up with this:

It is a very old telephone covered in plaid fabric and the note attached to it says: "Sorry - no longer in business. I've gone fishing in the nearest loch. Alistair Brody." Get it? Closed = close. Nearest loch = close Ness? Get it? Isn't that just hilarious???? Okay, so it was a bit of a stretch, but I was desperate. Forgive me.

The two words selected for next month's project are "rain" and "winged". Should be interesting.

Juggling

2008-04-22T05:13:00.000-07:00

I have been hired to make juggling balls. Yep, that's right! A fellow in my county is an accomplished juggler. He gives lessons and sells juggling balls to his students. His wife used to make them for him, but now she has a new job keeping her busy. Since she doesn't have time to make them anymore, he has sought me out, accomplished seamstress that I am (actually, he bumped into me by accident). I agreed to try making the balls to see if it would be cost effective for both of us.

Basically, there are two strips of fabric that you line up like a T, with one strip perpendicular to the other, centered in the middle. Then you sew around the outside, turning the strips up at each edge till it makes a box. Luckily, he is going to turn them inside out and stuff them, so I don't have to worry about that.

So, here goes...

Nice!

And another.... Not bad!

A few more, and now I have a nice little pile of juggling bags. Now things are looking pretty good!

And again.... HUH?!! What the?!

Well, apparently, if the edges are not lined up exactly equal in the middle, this is the result. And it is a sorry sight. Sigh.... this happened several times before I figured it out. Apparently, sewing juggling bags are not as easy as I thought.

Say What?!

2008-04-19T07:02:00.000-07:00

On Etsy.com, you can post vintage items to sell as well as handmade items. A friend of mine, who is an expert yard saler, has supplied me with a few neat things to post to fill up my section of Vintage Items in my Etsy Shop. Among them were these greeting cards. I figure they are from the early 60's, and they are too hilarious. You really don't see them like this anymore!

Aaah, yes, Political Incorrectness at its finest:

Remember when they put "dunce caps" on kids? Well, I don't remember myself, because that was a little before my time, but I think they did it!

Feeling down in the dumps?

How about some pep pills?

Can you believe how mean this police officer is? She(?-- it's hard to tell with police dogs) won't let this other dog vandalize this fence!!!

Somebody snapped them up immediately when I posted them (now I wish I had priced them higher!!).

The Giant Cushion

2008-04-13T19:00:00.000-07:00

First I want to say something about my last post. My sister said she liked the idea of making a quilt out of the old photo of my parents (the one to which I had added a photoshop filter) after I "challenged" her to do it. She said, "I like the idea of the quilt throwdown." Cracked me up. Is that something the folks in Quilting World say? Kind of like a Quilt Rumble? Maybe it's a tradition that the Jets and the Sharks started. ha ha! Anyhow, I will keep you posted.

Some friends of mine asked me to upholster a large cushion for a window seat they have in their house. Although I don't usually do upholstery, I agreed to do this. So they bring this cushion over, and it was gigantic! Really humongous. They had to special order the foam to fit the bench, and they actually had to glue two pieces together to get the right size! Yikes.

I have reupholstered cushions before, but I did by taking apart the old fabric and trying to figure out how it was done. My attempts have been pretty good in the past, but it always took me a loooong time. This time, I was fortunate to have my studio partner, Susan L., help me. She worked for a while in a high end upholstery shop in Charlottesville, VA. She kindly walked me through all the steps, and I think it wound up looking pretty good! The fabric was pretty, and I had some red that contrasted nicely for piping. So here I am sewing that on.

Mission Piping Accomplished (doesn't it look nice?!):

The next step was to glue the batting onto the cushion. I just discovered spray on glue! Is there no end to the world of crafting supplies? So, I sprayed the cushion and then put the batting on. Then I sat back and looked in horror at the miserable job I did. It really couldn't have been more crooked. It was a joke. Fortunately, my sewing saviour, Susan, helped me set it right. We trimmed it and sewed it on around the edges (that's Susan L. below).

Then I put this gianormous zipper on, which, luckily, went quite smoothly. All done. Except for wrassling that baby on to the cushion. And, voila! I breathed a huge sigh of relief when my friends picked it up and were happy with it.

New Items Listed!

2008-04-10T08:31:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to let you know that I listed a bunch of new stuff in my Etsy shop! Check it out!

Photoshop for Textile Artists

2008-04-10T04:14:00.000-07:00

I took a short class in Photoshop last month. I realize that it barely scratched the surface of what one can do with that program, but it was amazing how much I learned in that short course. One of the things I did was to work on this picture of my parents that was taken when they were dating.

I would place it to around 1954. My father was a midshipman at the Naval Academy and my mother worked at a bank in the suburbs of Philadelphia. They visited each other when they could, although neither one's parents approved. My mother was a Good Catholic Girl and my father was a Good Greek Boy. (Needless to say, neither of them fit into the other parent's expectations).

This picture was very grainy, and the color was faded. It was scanned into the computer, and I tried to do with it what I could. Really, there wasn't much that could be done, but I think I made it a little richer.

The fun came when I started messing with filters. This effect is called Cut Out.

My studio partner, Susan Leschke (who took the class with me), suggested that it would make a great fabric collage or quilt. I agree. However, quilts are not my thing. They require far too much precision (although, this one looks like it would allow for some inaccuracy). Therefore, I think I will pass this potential project on to my talented sister, Marianne. She is a most excellent quilter and is the president of her area guild, The Cabin Branch Quilt Guild. I will let you know if she takes on this project!

Like It Came From the Grave!!!!! or My First Foray into Costume Design

2008-04-06T13:48:00.000-07:00

The building where my studio is also is home to a wonderful theater: The Earl Hamner Theater (http://www.thehamnertheater.com). This past fall, they put on a play called Poe and All That Jazz. It was a story of Edgar Allen Poe and all the women in his life. It starred one man and one woman. The man played the character of Poe and the woman had the unenviable task of playing many women (although, if you are an actress, it probably would be pretty fun). The theater folks asked me if I would like to make the dress for the play. As being a costume designer has been my dream job for a very long time, I jumped at the chance. The requirement was that it be historically accurate to 1805 and that it look like it was from a walking dead person. Sort of like someone who came back from the dead. Gosh, easy enough, right? So, I bought a pattern online from a company that makes historically accurate patterns, and I made the dress. It was pretty fun, and I think it turned out well:

(I hadn't added the buttons to the back when this photo was taken)

Then to make it look all creepy, I attacked the entire dress with a box cutter. I sliced and ripped it to shreds. I had a lot of friends suggest that it must have been sad to destroy my work, but I was kind of sick of the dress by then. It actually felt kind of good.

Then to creep it to a new level, I painted the dress on all three layers (the top was a diaphanous type of polyester, the middle layer was a crepe polyester-- not terribly historically accurate, but cheap!-- and the bottom layer was cotton muslin) with watered down clay and acrylic paint. It worked like a charm! I went with this, on two artist friends suggestion, because polyester fabric will resist dying. So this was really painting. After the clay dried, I had to actually vacuum the dress, because the cast was choking on the dust during rehearsal!

I enjoyed that experience, and I certainly wouldn't mind doing something like that again.

Monsters

2008-04-04T05:45:00.000-07:00

One of my biggest problems is lack of focus. First I decided I would make and sell handbags, and that is ALL I am going to do. Then, I discovered the fun of making headbands (gotta use up all those scraps, right?), then it was baby accessories, then skirts, then monsters! Well, needless to say, making monsters is pretty fun. These are made from socks. Aren't they cute?

I don't guess I will give up making any of these things totally. I should just plan on rotating my interests. Because I will always find something else that's fun to make!

Oh, and by the way... regarding that first sentence: if lack of focus is one of my biggest problems, I think I have it pretty good!

Machinery

2008-04-03T04:57:00.000-07:00

I have pretty recently acquired two pieces of machinery in my studio that are very intriguing. Okay, so one is really a tool, but it seems pretty machine-like in my book. The first is my beloved grommet maker.

My dearest husband gave this to me for Christmas. I bet I am the only gal in Nelson County, okay, maybe in Virginia, whose husband gave her a grommet maker for Christmas this year. And, I LOVE IT! Look at that baby! You just place the grommet pieces in the tool, stick the fabric in, pull the handle, and Voila!, you have a grommet.

It really couldn't be easier. I used it to put a bunch of grommets into a leather backpack that I made for my sister-in-law. It worked like a dream. Maybe I will throw away all those buttons and cover everything in grommets instead....

Now this little baby does not quite give me the pleasure my grommet maker does.

My friend, Jenny, has loaned it to me. It is quite a nice serger, according to the repair dude who did the tune-up. I really do appreciate how lucky I am to have access to it, but, unfortunately, I am a bit afraid of it. I don't know why it scares me. Sergers are supposed the be the greatest thing ever (but people who say that never had a grommet maker), and I know there are many folks who have paid quite a pretty penny for one. I have tried to use it several times, and it worked okay (although the tension takes a bit of tweaking). So what's the big deal? Maybe, like everything else, it takes some getting used to. I think it is time to give it another try. I will let you know how it goes.

My Sewing Club

2008-03-26T06:14:00.000-07:00

My studio partner, Susan, recently told me about a newly formed group of women interested in fiber arts. I was thrilled when I was invited to join. Since last fall, we have been meeting twice a month to share our mutual interests in crafting and sewing, show off our current projects, get inspiration, etc. It has really been fun, and I have enjoyed meeting some new people.

At our meeting last Monday, Kate, who is has a unique sculpting talent, showed us the mascot she is busily making for our local children's museum (The Virginia Discovery Museum: www.vadm.org). Right now she has the head constructed of what is sure to be a most amazing kangaroo. Here she is showing it off!

And trying it on:

We also talked about and looked at pictures of a dress that Rose made for a Home, Health and Heart Show in Charlottesville. It was made of organic fabric and woven, appliqued, and sewn. Truly a work of art! Rose makes custom clothing and bridal gowns (she has an etsy shop, also: http://www.rosalba.etsy.com).

As an incentive to encourage us to expand our creative horizons, the group decided to come up with a monthly "art assignment" using fibers. After much discussion, we decided that the theme for the month would be determined somewhat randomly. We all wrote several words on little slips of paper that were put in a basket. Someone drew out two words, and, voila!, we have a theme! The assignment for this month is to make something, anything, using the words "telephone" and "closeness".

Susan Leschke has started working on her project. It is a cell phone case in which she has printed a photoshopped image of herself onto fabric. She is going to stitch and embroider the hell out of it (all beautifully, as is her way). So, get it? She is going to have a telephone close to her! I will post pictures when we have our meeting.

In the meantime, I would like to say "thank you" to all of you who have posted comments regarding my button collection. While I appreciate all of the, er, helpful ideas on ways to use the buttons, what I was looking for was ways to organize them.

I will let you know when I finish the Coat of Many Buttons.

So, What's Up With Blogging?

2008-03-20T17:49:00.000-07:00

Yes, I do enjoy reading blogs. No, I have not enjoyed setting this thing up. If I ever thought for a second that I had a future in computer programming, I can now officially say that I will not be pursuing that line of work.

Anyhow, the point is that I created this blog as a way of showcasing my work in the world of crafting, and to also keep in touch with other crafters. I have set up a nascent etsy shop (see link at right), and I am hoping to add more and more items as time goes on. If all goes well, I may even sell a thing or two!

I set up a studio in an old school down the road from me. It is a rather run down building that has a certain charm. Mostly the enormous windows that let in loads of light, the wooden floors, the plaster walls. I love it! I share the space with a lovely woman named Susan, also, and she makes dolls and other very cool and artistic things (check out her etsy shop: Threads of Inspiration: http://www.threadsofinspiration.etsy.com

My newest obsession is wondering how I am going to deal with my pretty impressive button collection. I have been collecting buttons for awhile, and now I am trying to figure out how to sort them. For awhile, I was putting them in this tray that has separate compartments:

Obviously, the tray got a little full, so I had to come up with another plan. Then, I found this wooden tray at the thrift store:

I could store some buttons in here, but it will eventually fill up. And that is because I also have all these buttons:

And these:

One day, in an effort to avoid cleaning (a skill that I am quite gifted at), I sat down and decided to organize the white buttons that were in the black tray. So, I took floral wire and strung the matching ones onto it. That system might work, although I am not thrilled with it.

In a seeming stroke of brilliance, I bought this darling set of little watchmaker's cases that come in these boxes (I got them from my favorite gardening catalog, Lee Valley: http://www.leevalley.com )

Each box has a bunch of really cute containers. I decided to put the buttons in them, so I started with the red ones. Needless to say, I filled most of them up in no time, and I barely made a dent in the button collection.

While I would love to use these cases for all my buttons, I really can't afford to buy the number of cases it would take to house them all. So, if anyone out there has any good suggestions for my dilemma, send them on!