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Textile Tuesday::Stress Reducing Sewing

by Filed Under: Art & Design, Handmade, Inspiration & Education, Textiles & Pattern, Wellness & Mindset 2 Comments

A very talented and good friend of mine, Betz White, sometimes asks me to do a little pattern testing for her when she’s preparing something new and wonderful to publish. I had volunteered to participate in some testing for her recently and when she sent me the pattern my initial reaction was to be kind of freaked out. The pattern in question required some piecing involving sewing hexagons. Oh boy, I am not a quilter and I would consider myself only a moderately skilled seamstress. I took a step back and thought/read through the pattern and decided to give it a shot. I love hexagons and since they are part of my logo and my brand identity I though it might be cool to be able to sew some hexagons and incorporate them into my art and designs in the future.

I decided to use some scraps of silk dupioni I had done some rust dying on. The aesthetic of these are very different from what Betz uses but I was working with a limited selection from my stash that I have here in my temporary home. I choose 2 contrasting colors, the silver and a dark red brown that both had rust spots. The repetition of the process is quite fun and can be done in batches, first cutting out all the pieces, laying them out, pinning, stitching, pressing, stitching etc…

The only part I got a little unsure of was the back side of the Y shaped union where 3 hexes come together. It’s a little figity to get them to press flatly. There can also be a very small hole here which I was worried about but in the end realized it was fine (I’m a bit of a perfectionist!). There is a certain amount of patience and care needed to do this and I found it stress relieving because it forced me to slow down and focus on the process. If you have the desire to try piecing hexagons, take some advise from Betz and go check out Lady Harvatine’s video. I can’t show you the finished piece but go check out Betz’s patterns and keep an eye out for the new pattern she has previewed here that will use hexagons!

I love the way these turned out! I will be doing more of this, I guarantee it. Like I said it was a very soothing, repetitive, tactile process for me. I did this project in the midst of my in law’s kitchen table over a 2 day period with limited space, materials etc…never the less I feel I learned a beautiful new skill and got a beautiful piece from this process. Maybe you would like to give sewing Hexagons a try? I’m not saying I’ll be turning to quilting but I will be incorporating this new skill into my work in the future. Do you enjoying doing repetitive projects to reduce your stress?

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Studio Sunday::Seaweed Pressing

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Seaweed Pressing: Before spreading and drying

: Seaweed Pressing: After spreading and before drying. This will stay pretty much the same once pressed.

Textile Tuesday::Experiments with Bits of Cloth and Thread

by Filed Under: Art & Design, Handmade, Inspiration & Education, Textiles & Pattern 1 Comment

In the midst of the moving madness I’ve managed to continue to do a bit of textile work. Expanding upon my rust experiments I’ve done some rust dyeing on silk scarves, which I realize may compromise them in the long run but I couldn’t resist the rust!

This is a detail of one end of a long narrow scarf. I am so intrigued by the metallic shades, rainbows and oxidation that occurs on the fabrics. The effect here partially washed away after I rinsed the fabric.

I’m embarking upon the exploration of natural dying, slowly trying to learn a bit more about it because I’ve never really done much of it but am now very interested. It seems a natural progression bringing together my interests in gardening, sustainability and textiles. I’ve started with onion skin collected (from my local CSA) over the last couple years (because I don’t need to MOVE them!), both yellow and red.

I got a variety of hues and shades on both fabric and yarn varying from a green gold to a warm pale brown. I experimented with silk, cotton, wool and linen and used alum as a mordant.

I’ve also been experimenting with the process of natural dying via bundling bits of dirt, bark, lichen, leaves and other debris in fabric Ala India Flint. These experiments haven’t been tremendously successful but it’s new and fascinating to me so I’m enjoying the process. I think it’s time I get India’s Book “Eco Color” though so I don’t waste too much time and fabric in the learning process. I did have some faint success with fern leaves and with mud so far though.

Finally I’ve been trying my hand with a little textile and mixed media assemblage. This is a work in progress that I’m playing around with.

…PS…Knitting season has returned (I usually put down the needles in the summer) so I’ve picked up the needles again and have a couple projects going (they are gifts so I can’t show them yet).

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Friday Field Trip::Pile of Craft Roundup

by Filed Under: Art & Design, Handmade, Inspiration & Education 1 Comment

I’m currently on my way to my biggest field trip of the year! I’ll be at Penland School of Craft for the next two weeks so postings will be spare in my absence. I can’t wait to participate in The Art of Fiber Collage with instructor Jason Pollen! I’ve shared bits and pieces about this upcoming excitement but honestly, this is something I’ve wanted to do for over 10 years. Since I now have the flexibility being self-employed I took the opportunity back in early spring to apply for a scholarship and YES, I got one! I’ve been super busy over the last week or so preparing for this “Camp”. The list of supplies is lengthy and I’ve been challenged to remain very organized in my preparation! Even though I typically am very organized about travel, this trip requires many extra supplies including art and craft and some borderline camping type supplies. Laundry facilities will also be limited so I’m having to pack more clothes than I normally would for a two-week trip. Lists, lists and checking my lists…The last remaining item for me to decide on is my sewing machine which was listed as a item that is suggested but not necessary. I guess if I can fit it in the car then it goes!

While I’m away I’ve prepared a few posts and in the spirit of Field trips I’ll leave you with some favorite items from vendors I saw when I helped my friend Betz White with her booth at the Pile of Craft show in Baltimore.

I love when craft crosses over into organizing, these re-purposed denim & fabric buckets fit the bill for anything from yarn to makeup or mail sorting.

The “neighbor’s” on one side had these adorable figurines. On the other side of Betz was Volta Organics. The photo I snapped wasn’t so hot but do check out their products. I fell in love with the Vanilla and Pepper scrub (they were brilliant to put a sample of this in one of the bathrooms at the show!).

Across the way from us were these beautiful Japanese print and sewn textiles from Namoo. Again, these HUGE paper clips are another crafty way to get yourself organized. What a great way to keep papers sorted by category!

The worn but beautiful architecture in this old church is a charming setting for the show.

I didn’t catch the name of these two vendors but I love the “scrabble” coasters and leg plant ID “tags”.

Gorgeous threads from re-purposed goods made by Malagueta fall into my wishlist category.

I crafting in motion and several booths including Hello Craft and Carlybird Weaves had demo’s set up.

And finally a few familiar finds including Claire McDermott’s recycled skateboard accessories and jewelry. There were some brilliant repurposed and recycled items at the show, I love seeing this category evolve and become more sophisticated.

One last thing we did before we left the show was step into the photo booth of Annaeka Photography and get a little goofy. What a blast to have an old school photo booth right at the show! We accidentally walked away without picking up our photo’s and Anna was super sweet to send them to me right away, thanks Anna!!

I’ll see you back here with a full report of my field trip to NC in a few weeks.

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Favorite Fibers Friday Fieldtrip

by Filed Under: Art & Design, Handmade, Inspiration & Education 6 Comments

Happy Friday! This has been a relaxing week and we’ve finally gotten some real snow. As I sit here writing this there is snow on the ground and more falling. Due to the snow this week I was unable to get out for my weekly field trip so today I’ll bring you some fibery goodness from around the web. These are some of my all time favorite fiber artists (not an extensive list though). I hope I’ve shared a few new artist and designers with you here, or some old favorites. All photos are courtesy of the individual designers and artist websites and if you click the photo’s you will be directed to their sites.