Go ahead, ask me!

I'm very creative. Lots of people tell me so, and I agree.

I love sharing my ideas.

And I love a challenge.

So I'd like to invite you to go ahead and ask.....

Have you got some fabric you don't know what to do with?

Are you wondering what to do with your mom's old tablecloth---such pretty embroidery but it's stained or requires an hour of ironing?

Are you like many of my sewing & quilting friends that found a cute pattern but just gets overwhelmed when you walk into the fabric store or try to shop online?

Did you make something that didn't come out the way you wanted it to but can't stand the thought of throwing it away (especially at today's fabric prices!)

I've got ideas....lots of 'em!

So please....go ahead an ask me.  I'll give you some suggestions, maybe even Skype with you to show you what I have in mind!

Quilt Art: Uncle Ray's Place

My husband, Ernie, has a big family reunion every year in far southern Ilinois.  It's held on an acreage that has been in his family for generations.  Uncle Ray built a pavillion, enclosed on 3 sides and landscaped the area with beautiful flowers.  He works really hard each summer getting everything in top shape for the September get-together.  One year, as a thank-you, I created this wall-hanging from panoramic photos I had taken.

 This wall hanging is done in raw-edge applique, embellished with thread painting and decorative yarns/threads.  I didn't use any pattern for this---I just eye-balled it, as they say.  Doing it this way gives it more of a folk-art look, which I like. What I really wanted to do was experiment with texture.  Texture draws people into the piece, and touching is allowed on my quilts.

The pavillion is has cedar siding, so I used a scrap of wide-wale corduroy to make mine.  I used a satin stitch around the roof line and on the appliqued windows.  For the flag, I had some flag-print fabric from which I cut a little flag and folded it as it hung from the flag pole (no breeze down there on that hot summer day!)

The trees on the hillside are done in a variety of batiks, commercial prints, and maybe a hand-dyed cotton or 2.  I cut basic blob shapes similar to what I saw in the picture, then did various free-form stitching around the edges---trying to soften them a bit.  Then I thread painted (a machine technique I've posted a tutorial for) the trunks and branches with various shades of brown embroidery thread.  I also thread painted some of the flowers in the garden, as well s the 2 bushes behind the fence.

 The other, very textured flowers and greenery are made by couching decorative threads.  I used long tweezers  (like what come with a serger, or what you use in surgery if you, dear reader, happen to be a surgeon) to hold the threads/yarns in place as I free-motion stitch them into place with clear nylon thread.  Bunching and scrunching the yarns give a very full look, which also screams "feel me"----so you may not want to do this if you don't want people touching your wall hangings!

Dreaming of Hope

I'm feeling conflicted around the discussion of profit in my HSHB course, "where passion meets profit".  We creative types want to be able to generate income with our ideas and talents, and understand that everyone needs income.  Everyone has their own comfort level for lifestyle, supported by their income.  But something, somewhere deep inside me, feels troubled.

I was raised by a father who was a "company man".  He was smart, worked hard, was dedicated, and was rewarded by promotions over the course of his career to the point when he retired with wealth.  His basic feeling is that he earned that money, he deserved it.  And he has continued to profit from investments over time.  (I can't help but view "investments" as "gambling", both of which require education about odds and risk-taking. You win or you lose.  Winners think they're smart and deserve their winnings.  Losers had bad luck and hope for better luck next time.)

In contrast, I am married to a man raised in extreme poverty.  He was smart, but college wasn't even a consideration.  He, too, has that old-fashioned "company man" mentality.  He's worked hard for over 20 years in his field, is extremely dedicated, had a perfect work record and many instances of going above-and-beyond, and was rewarded by a demotion when the corporation took out the middleman (the contractor for whom he worked).   

I'm raising 4 sons who were in their late teens to early 20's when this happened.  My father always thought he was setting such a good example for his grandsons, proving how hard work and dedication pay off.  I asked him when my husband lost his position how he could justify or explain this to his grandsons.  I asked him how you can inspire someone to work so hard, make those sacrifices to achieve a position you can be proud of when this is the reward.  He, of course, had no answer.

This isn't the view I wanted my sons to have of the future, but there it is.  When we were discussing CEO multi-million dollar salaries, my father said those people earned their salaries.  Really?  I know he is justifying his own wealth.  The corporate side of the economy appears so out of whack to the 99% that it's hard to get our heads around.  Huge rewards in spite of huge losses.  Demotions for the little guys at the top of their pay scales to "trim the fat".....trimming self-esteem and aspirations in the meantime. 

My son with Down Syndrome lives and works at a not-for-profit organization in a nearby town.  This place so so wonderful, so caring, so compassionate and we feel so blessed to have Dean there.  Our state (Illinois), run by the same mentality of folk who run (other) corporations, has so much red ink in their books they've run out of red ink.  Trim fat they must----and my son's place of work and residence had ALL their grants taken away.  Now, of course, there will be lots of money for who knows what kind of waste.  But these innocents....without a choice as to their conditions,  without a voice to scream with, without the money for lobbyists.....they are an easy hit.  And they have been hit.

Dean's rent had to go up.  We are grateful because he still has his home with friends and staff and activities. But now the rent takes every bit of his social security check.  His rent includes a food allowance, but doesn't include toiletries, personal expenses, medical expenses, activities (Special Olympics bowling nights, monthly movie nights, etc.)  He works in a training facility, aspiring to a minimum wage job in the community.  His last 2-week paycheck was $43.  

I dreamed for better things for Dean.  And I'm hoping my poem about him, "I Dreamed", will generate some income to help him and Illinois Valley Industries.  I plan to create cards with this poem on them which  I think would be so nice for new parents.  I hope larger prints and posters could be framed in homes, hospitals, schools and other institutions to remind everyone that we can have our dreams AND be blessed with the unexpected.  

I'm troubled with senses of entitlement and justification for extreme wealth and materialism.  I also know that people like my son are entitled to a good, comfortable life.  And parents who think their dreams have been shattered are entitled to comfort and hope.  I'm hoping this poem, which I've always considered to be a gift to me, will be a gift to those who need it most.  I hoping, and dreaming, that "I Dreamed" will be a bridge of hope and support between souls in need.

IS YOUR HAIR ON FIRE?

My son Dean has Down Syndrome and he's very bright (a mom can brag, can't she?)  But at age 2 he wasn't talking much yet, in fact he was still using sign language quite a bit.  But he had some words, and one of them was "yes".  Actually it was "yea".


So one lazy morning Dean, his dad and I were sitting on the bed talking.  We wanted to engage Dean in the conversation, so I started with the typical
"Do you love Mommy?"
Dean smiles, "yea"
"Do you love Daddy?"
"yea"
"How about (brother) Ryan?"
Still smiling "yea"
"Do you want some milk?"
"yea"
Dean's dad winks at me and asks Dean
"Is your hair on fire?"
Without missing a beat he chirps "yea"

Dreaming of poetry and art

I left this meat tray with powdered paint sitting out on my kitchen counter (for days) after playing with some fabric painting.  The fabric didn't turn out to be what I needed, but I snapped a photo of the paint powder.  I love the bright, intense colors and the texture of the powder.  And I thought, "Hmm, that could make a pretty background for something!"

Coincidentally, I've had some new ideas about my poem, "I Dreamed."

 It came to me in essence as a gift, and I love sharing it when I can.  It seems to be as meaningful to others as it is to me and I've been thinking about ways to further share it.  There really aren't many poems about Down Syndrome or any other disability.  I guess it's not the kind of thing people get inspired to write about.  However, there is a need for meaningful, inspiring messages for parents and teachers and service providers.  So where I'm going with this is the possibility of a poster, a postcard (or some smallish size) and a greeting card.

The greeting card seems especially important----when a baby is born, people want to send a card.  They all say "Congratulations on your new baby" but I know people are hesitant to send such a card, knowing many times the parents are in some state of emotional shock or grief.

I imagine that this poem would bring a message of inspiration and hope, as well as acknowledging that this child is not necessarily what everyone dreams of.  And I think it's important to acknowledge that.

I'd love to know what you think, and any suggestions or ideas you might have!

Deserving Happiness

I just read the new A-ha's posted in my Hello Soul, Hello Business class and was especially touched by a class member's post about simply feeling the freedom to be happy (and to give that joy to her customers as well.) It's funny how such a small thing can have such a huge impact on your life.


I will NEVER forget being on the phone with my cousin 15 years ago, so miserable in my marriage, and he said "You deserve to be happy." Profound A-ha moment. No one had EVER said that to me before! My life's mission up to that point, as I understood it, was to make others happy. It had never occurred to me that I DESERVED to be happy.....simply because I'm a human being, I deserve that. He was a cowboy of few words, but what he did say mattered and I trusted him, and so I believed him. THIS was a major turning point in my life. And I still hear his voice telling me I deserve to be happy as a kind of mantra for my life now.

Dreaming of possibilities and opportunities

I was blessed to have the opportunity last night to speak to a group of about 60 teachers.  I began by reading my poem, "I Dreamed", then went on to discuss some of my experiences, passions and loves about raising a son with special needs.  This is the text of my talk:

I Dreamed

I dreamed he'd be born beautiful and healthy.

He was.

I dreamed he'd tell me that he loves me.

He tells me every day.

I dreamed he'd be bright and funny.

He is—his humor is wonderful.

I dreamed he'd ride a bike, catch a ball, and wrestle with his big brother.

He does and his brother loves it.

I dreamed he'd have big birthday parties with lots of friends and cake and presents.

He's had six.

I dreamed he'd one day get on a bus and go to kindergarten.

He did it yesterday – my heart full of love and my eyes full of tears.

I dreamed he'd make us proud.

He has.....and he's inspired us.

Dean has Down Syndrome.
I never dreamed that.                                                                                                                                                  

©Amy (Opalk) Cavaness 1994                                 

I just wanted to share something I learned almost 24 years ago when my son with Down Syndrome was born. I didn't know before his birth that he had this condition, and no one told me the night he was born. I didn't notice...and that's ok...and I wasn't told til my pediatrician came the next morning, 12 hours after his birth.

A Couple of my Landscapes

Here are a couple of my landscape quilts/wall hangings.

The one of the left was a commission. A gal sent me 3 pictures she wanted combined into 1 picture.  The 3 are shown together above the wallhanging.  One is a picture (taken through a glass window) of a sunset.  Below it is a painting of 3 horses running through water.  The 3rd is a photo of her friend's view from his house.

The job was to combine the 3 pictures into a single landscape, which I think I did successfully.  (She was quite thrilled with the result!)  The wall hanging is all fabric.  I used a combination of commercial prints and batiks and hand-dyed cottons.  I also painted (with water color pencils) the sunset, as I couldn't find a fabric that looked like what I needed.  "When in need, make it yourself!"

The landscape on the right is also created completely in fabric and thread (as that is what I do!)  I made this for my cousin's 50th birthday.  He lives in Phoenix and I found a photo on Google Earth of Camel Back Mountain there.  I used the photo as inspiration for my artwork.  I have to say, this was the hardest landscape I have ever done.  I will also admit that I like how it came out!

Batiks and hand-dyes were a great source for most of the fabrics. I also did a lot of thread painting for details like grasses. (See the detailed photo)  And, once again, I painted the sunset with my water color pencils.  I love the challenge of finding just the right textures and colors in various fabrics to create pieces of my pictures, but the skies, if I want them to look somewhat realistic, have been too much of a challenge to find!

I had scraps of fabric from my experiments with the sky and decided to use a piece for my label on the back, which is also pictured.

This is Cody.  We've known each other for about 3 1/2 years and it's been wonderful.  He's got a personality the opposite of mine---he's very reserved.  He still looks away when I first approach him---too much energy coming from me aimed right at him!  But he trusts me.  He'll drop his head, a sign of relaxation, and approach me.  When we first meet-up, he likes me to face the same direction as he is, and tuck my shoulder under his neck so our heads are next to each other.  I rub his cheeks and neck and speak softly.  Then I turn and wrap my arms around his neck and chest.  He really loves a big hug!  In fact, when we're doing ground work, when I call him to me, his preferred approach is to walk all the way up to have his chest against mine, asking for a hug.  Lately, when I start to pull away, he'll wrap his neck around me as if to pull me close again.

I never knew it would be like this............

Islands of Genius

Today I'm thinking about the coalescence of some ideas this week.  When speaking with the director of the place where my son with Down Syndrome works/lives, she commented that people with special needs tend to only be able to do 1 thing really well at a time.  I remember read a book on child development when my son was little that talked about "touch stones."  The concept was that as little children are having developmental spurts learning to walk, or talk, or potty train, or grow their fine motor skills---whatever---they tend to backslide in other areas of their development.  If, say, a child was potty trained, and then started wetting himself again, it was important to look at other areas of his life: was there some new developmental milestone or touchstone?  I shared this with the director--she'd never heard this theory before, but it certainly fits with what she experiences with the adults in her facility.

  

 Dad and Jack


I've documented my process here on my blog and it's finally finished!


I used the dark blue from the bottom of the quilt on the back.
I put a rod pocket across the top and I added a couple of other special touches.  I added a pocket to hold the copy of the photograph.  I also added a label for the name of the quilt, my name and date, and that this quilt was a gift for my father's 85th birthday.

Portait in Fabric: Almost Done!

DAD AND JACK:

This photo shows the background I chose. First I had chosen just the dark blue (at the bottom) but I realized the  figure was just floating in space. When I looked at the original photo, I saw the ground/sky line---EXACTLY what was missing in my picture!  So, I found in my stash a nice mottled light blue "sky", and used the dark fabric for the ground.  I loved the angle of the ground in the photo, so I tried to emulate that in my picture.

 

 Here is my picture with the boarder on.  Using my color wheel, I found the triadic complementary colors for my red/orange (sepia) hues were red violet and teal. I seem to have an affinity for these three colors---I've discovered several projects from workshops where I used this exact same combination!

Anyway, I found this nice batik with all three shades in it, which I like very much.  Also notice that I let the dog's tail come outside the frame.  It really helps bring the whole figure forward, I think. I'm not used to adding the border before I've even finished the picture, but it was necessary in this case so I could finish up the stitching on the tail. I really like doing it this way.

Here is a close-up of the face.  I was not happy with something about the face as it was. I realized I didn't have the shadow on the forehead or along side the nose quite right before.  Here you can see I added a bit of fabric on the right side of the forehead and narrowed the shadow on the face so there is better definition of the cheekbone (it's evident on the original photograph.)

I guess I could spend another week fiddling with little things---I've torn out other stitching, added more here and there---but this must be finished up today!  This isn't perfect, but then neither am I!

I will post later about the back of the quilt.  I'm doing a couple of special things there, too!

Fabric Portrait: Cutting out the pieces

AR

The previous posted ended with my decision on color for the figure of my dad (age 9) and his dog, Jack.  "Sepia" is what I'm calling it.  More thoughts on my color choice: I thought if I went with black and white, it would give the impression of an old photo, yes, but I didn't want to be caught up in trying to exactly match all the shades of gray.  I know, it might be easier that way, but I guess I'm just too independent minded to take the easier route.  And I really think lifelike color could have made the whole thing too contemporary--my dad's turning 85, the photo is 76 years old, I want my art quilt to tell that part of the story.  So, that's that!

I had my pattern all traced on (taped together) tracing paper.  There are many ways to create the fabric pieces from this point. Some of the choices depend on just how exacting you want to be.  I rather like to allow myself to be "in-exact" as this is, after all, ART, not another photograph!

Creating an art quilt which has sewn edges is a whole other creature, which we'll not get into today!  I'm doing raw edge applique.  I love fabric, I don't mind my pieces looking like they're made of fabric, and fabric is made of threads.  So, there are going to be some threads, or edges, evident.  In fact, I like to use those textural possibilities in my pictures!  This is Fiber Art!

One nice method for raw-edge applique is to use fusible webbing on the back of all the fabric pieces.  Steam-a-Seam is great, the pieces can be moved around before they're ironed down for permanence.

 

My thought here was, I just didn't want to be bothered with all the ironing of the Steam-a-Seam.  I've done this type of quilt before (tho never a portrait) and have used another method successfully.  I put my tissue pattern on my light box, anchoring it with some scotch tape on each side.  Then I placed my chosen fabric over the area and trace my piece's shape directly on the right side of the fabric using a sharp pencil or very fine point pen.  This is quite easy, of course, on light colored fabric.  You can see, though, that I have quite a bit of dark fabric.  I still traced it this way.  I drew with a light gray chalk fabric marker (any light colored marking pen or pencil is fine.)  And I re-drew, darkly, pattern areas where I couldn't really see my lines through the fabric.  I also flipped my fabric back frequently to double-check where my pattern lines were.  

Where the pattern areas were quite large (like the dog's body, the boys' coat) I used a couple of pins to anchor the fabric to the tissue.  You can also tape the fabric piece to the tissue, then carefully peel the tape away when you're finished tracing.  I left those large pieces pinned to the pattern for quite some time as I worked on getting pieces cut.

Pieces have to be cut with consideration for overlap.  Edge-to-edge piecing can end up with lots of gaps.  Think about what piece laps over which and add a little (1/8" to 1/4") seam allowance in those areas for glue.

Some considerations about cutting the pieces:

 I use small, very sharp scissors (some Fiskars, actually).  It's usually best to turn the fabric as you cut, rather than the scissors.  That way you keep your hand and scissors at about the same angle and can keep control and precision.

I've learned from experience that, though I think I'm drawing a fine line, it's still best to focus on cutting on the outside of my drawn line.  It does make a tiny bit of difference, which can be a big difference when you're putting it all together.

And it's OK to re-cut a piece.  Give yourself permission to get it the way you want it. It's not like you're wasting a yard of fabric!  This all takes time, and it's a bit tedious sometimes, so be patient with yourself.

After I cut a piece, I lay it right over my pattern to see if I've got it about right.  You can lay it under the pattern tissue as well (this works especially well for piece placement.)

You can see I started in the middle, with the dog's body.  I'm not sure it matters exactly where you start, but starting with a large piece makes things a bit easier.

I did have to be careful, and re-do a bit, with regard to the dog's nearly white body and all the darker fabric around it.  Sometimes I thought it would look nicer for the dog's body to overlap another piece, but sometimes you could see through the white too much, so I had to make very small seam allowances, or change the lap.

 The way I attached my pieces to each other was with some watered down craft or fabric glue.  I pour a little out in a little plastic lid or something and use a toothpick to dab glue under the edges I want to glue to other pieces of fabric. I did not glue all this down to the tissue!  A bit did stick here and there, but I could easily pull it off.

To be quite honest here on my blog, I'm posting a couple of pictures of Dad's face as I worked on it.  This was definitely the hardest part.  I had very small pieces to shape and place, and fabric choices were kind of difficult (though I find that part really fun!)

Here's the face when I played with some fabric that had stones on it. I was using the wrong side for its subtler colors.  I liked how I could get the highlight on the tip of his nose and the shadow at the bridge of his nose.  However, it just wasn't an improvement over what I'd done before. Kinda weird looking, actually.  :-)

Another change in this photo is the mouth.  Previously, I'd gotten the lips too dark and they looked too big (tho they were the right size according to the pattern.)  It all had to do with fabric choice.  This time, the upper lip is just a shadow, and the bottom lip is, well, there isn't a bottom lip!  What I've done is just place a little piece of fabric that creates a pale shadow under his bottom lip, creating the effect that his lip is there.

There comes a time when I know I better leave well enough alone.  So this is it.  I did cut out some "whites" of his eyes and some little dark pupils.  They are not glued down--more just to play with.  I may use them, or I may paint or thread paint the pupils. Just don't know yet. But overall, I'm satisfied.

So what I've created is a big applique piece that I'm going to put on a background piece, which is yet to be discovered!  When I get going on all the thread work (thread painting, quilting), this piece will really come to life!

Next post will have a background and some (if not all) stitching done.

Thanks for reading!

Creating a Portrait in Fabric

Dad's 85th birthday is coming up in a few days. I wanted to create something really special for him, something that he wouldn't expect. I've had this photo of him at age 9 on my bookshelf for a long time. A couple of days ago I was finally inspired----to create this photo as an art quilt!

I have begun the project and will chronicle it here. My first consideration was color. The photo is in black and white. I could copy this, but aside from not being very inspired, I don't think it would reflect what I want it to. I want the piece to be interesting and reflect his long life. I

thought about doing it in life-like color, but I don't know what color Dad's hat and coat actually were. I have been looking at challenging myself by doing a monochromatic quilt, focusing on shade and tint, texture and line. I have decided to do the picture in sepia tones. This will give it an old-fashioned look, yet being a very contemporary style of art.

Next I had to enlarge this photo to a size I could manage. The original (something like 4X6") is too small to replicate. I used my photocopier to enlarge it (in sections) 200%. The main figure itself is now about 24" X 14", so it will finish to

about 30" tall. This will be manageable (I can finish it in 10 days) and large enough to be substantial (otherwise, why bother, right?)

The next step is to create a pattern. I have laid tracing paper on top of the enlargement and traced areas from

which to create fabric pieces. I kept in mind that I can't have pieces too small to cut and place successfully. I also know that I will thread-paint details, so that will take care of some of the small issues.

Now......fabrics! I keep my fabric sorted by color, so it wasn't too hard to pull out lots of shades of brown. I didn't bother to research "sepia" to authenticate my color choices, instead I'm choosing shades and tints of yellow-orange. I've learned something about the importance of contrast to add interest to a piece, so I tried to find my very palest and very darkest pieces. I did discover that I have some browns that are more green-brown, and some are more gray-brown, so I tried to keep with the yellow and red-browns. I also got out a bit of solid black. There are a few prints with other colors in my piles....you never know, they might be interesting somewhere in the picture!

More to come.................

Gift Certificates Available!

Gift certificates for my shop are now available!

See my Artfire Blog for all the details!

Organizing Tips for a Sewing Room

I love great organizing ideas!
I do a bit of every type of sewing, so I have yardage (for garments, quilt backs, and
upholstery) plus tons of little scraps of hand-dyed and batik
cottons, commercial print fabrics, trims, art supplies and loads of books and patterns.
I have reads loads of articles, books and blogs about how to get organized. It's a lot more fun to read about it than do it, that's for sure! I also like to recycle and reuse what I already have when possible. I must admit, from experience, that it's sometimes better to buy something that will really work for you rather than waste time looking for something (every time you need it) that you stored in a container that you already had but isn't really very functional. That was a long, awkward sentence to say your time is valuable, your materials are valuable, and you are wasting both if you can't find something easily!
Keep in mind about stacking: tall stacks of folded fabric become very messy, very easily. Many short stacks are much easier to grab fabric out of. Most shelving units I've owned had shelves that were really too far apart to make usable stacks of fabrics in and not waste a ton of space.
This is where boxes come in: uniform boxes with lids that stack well can be the best answer. When you find a size of box that fits your type of fabric or materials and stacks well in your shelves, try to buy enough of them to hold ALL of whatever it is. Clear boxes can be the best, though I use several types of boxes that are NOT clear and work very well for what I use them for.
Here are some organizing tips from my studio:
Comic book boxes are great for holding patterns--you can even put
in dividers for different types of patterns
Mug racks--those little stands that are a vertical "stick"
with 2 horizontal cross bars to hang your mugs on. I have
found 2 at garage sales. These little things have finally ended
my habbit of losing my scissors and rotary cutters under all my stuff while I'm
working! The scissor handles are so easy to slip on the rack and I've
tied a little loop of fabric on my rotary cutters so I can hang them,
too. Small scissors on the lower racks, long ones on the upper
bars. I've made loops and hung other gadgets on, too.

Baseball card boxes--I use these to organize fat quarters and all
smaller scraps of my landscape fabrics, grouped by color.
They're all folded and stand on their folds so I can scan across them
quickly. When I'm working on a landscape or other type of applique, I lay the open box out on my table til I'm done. It's not fabric I use every day, but when I want it, it's easy to grab ALL of it and quickly find pieces (and replace them) as I work.

Plaxic shoe boxes--I store all my commercial cotton prints (fat
quarter & smaller) that read as solids in these, grouped
mostly by color, then I have a box of novelty prints, a box of
florals, a box of brights. I stack 'em 3 high on some book
shelves, and I can see into the end of each box so I don't have to mess
with labels.

Library card boxes or drawers have been a great way to store
things like trims, zippers, velcros and rolls of bonding agents,
bindings, etc. I have about 8 of these and it's great to just
pull out the drawer and leave the holdidng box on the shelf.
I've labeled each so I can grab the one I need quickly.
I've tried sorting and packing up ALL of my fabrics but I can't stand
working (or daydreaming/designing) without being able to look up and see my stash! So I'm
now using a hutch with glass doors on top for my main fabric
yardage.
I've realized over the years, however, that I don't need to
see all of my plain solid cottons so I keep them in deep drawers--black
and white in one, other colors in another (I would use big plastic
bins if I didn't have drawers). Another deep drawer/plastic bin
holds interfacings, stabilizers and batting scraps.
Plastic drawer units-- I a few of these use for all my art
supplies, glue guns, etc.
Printer's drawers (from antique shops) are a great way to organize
my (tons of) buttons. These are the big, shallow drawers divided into many little sections of different sizes. The drawers can stack under my shelving unit, on
top of a dresser or can even slide under a bed (I put a piece of
cardboard over them to keep out the dust--not that I have any dust in
my house! Ha!
Cute mugs with broken handles find their way into my studio to
hold pens, pencils, marking supplies, screw drivers, paint brushes, and other tall
objects.
I would love your comments and ideas, too!

Christmas is Coming!

I posted earlier about finding this Grandma Moses barkcloth on ebay. Well, I think it made some really cute Christmas stockings! I've made quite a few different ones for markets this fall. The one on the left has a cuff made from vintage chenille and fringe. Doncha love that curled-up toe??? The other (traditionally shaped) stocking has a cuff made from a vintage napkin. I sewed a bunch of fun buttons on it for accent.

Here are a couple of other fun uses of vintage materials. These 2 jackets are from the same pattern---they look so different! My friend Maria is wearing a jacket I originally designed for myself. I took it to a market before it was finished, just in case someone came along who might be interested in this type of jacket. Well, Maria came along and wanted THAT jacket! She came over the next day to pick out buttons and I finished it up for her. You can tell from her big grin that she loves it! So I went ahead and created another jacket for myself, pictured on the right.

I am frequently asked, "What IS barkcloth?" Barkcloth is a cotton fabric with a rough, nubby weave, thus the name. It was popular in the 1930's, 40's and 50's, primarily used for curtains. Because curtains don't get much "wear", they have survived in great shape. There were several popular pattern styles---tropical, asian, floral and "scenic". The colors are different than what I find in contemporary fabrics (like that funky lime green) which makes it hard sometimes to find coordinating materials.

My Pursuit of Happyness!

Lots of people like to window shop online. It's fun, free, and your feet don't get tired! The main thing I shop for online is fabric. The types of fabrics I find most interesting and inspiring are mostly vintage materials, which I find on ebay or at estate sales (when I'm lucky enough to be able to get to one!) The hunt for authentic barkcloth, in a pattern I like, at a reasonable price, is a favorite break-time activity.

I just love my most recent barkcloth finds and thought I'd share some of them with you!

This fabric I've already used for beautiful purse (custom order) and have cut out a jacket for another order.

I found this pretty grey/pink color way of the same fabric I just used for the messenger bag! One of my sons' girlfriend has already ordered the messenger bag in this one. Just need to find some great lining fabric!

I'm not sure if this one is really barkcloth, but it's the same type of texture. The little country scenes are so cute--can't wait to applique some of it on some denim pieces!

This is my grand prize (for now!) Some real Grandma Moses "Springtime on the farm" panels. It hasn't even arrived in the mail yet, can't wait to see it! It will be great for jackets. I'll have to see it in person to really formulate some ideas.

Barkcloth florals are pretty easy to find, but the rural, farm-type scenes are much harder to come by. So finding and using them in creative ways has become my little "niche" in the handmade market.

Barkcloth laptop bag/diaper bag/tote!

This summer I was given the opportunity ( by another Artfire artisan) to submit something for a silent auction at the American Business Women's Association convention at the end of this month. Paula was collecting Artfire items to put in a bag---I jumped at the chance to make THE BAG!

I've been buying some gorgeous vintage barkcloth this summer and thought the brown and turquoise would be beautiful for fall. I did buy some commercial cotton for the lining because I didn't have anything to match.

I designed the bag around the print on the fabric. This created a rather large bag, so I measured my laptop to make sure it would fit, as long as it was going to be that large. The bottom of the bag is firm and padded, so it's "laptop friendly". It's also a great size for a diaper bag or just a general tote.

There are pockets inside and out and the top zips closed---should be very nice to use.

The button on the flap is my favorite button in my collection--it's from my grandmother's estate. It just looked TOO GOOD to not put on this bag!

I'm very pleased with the results and have posted it in my Artfire studio, as I can create more such bags if they are custom ordered.

Old Fabric and New Bags

I'm so enjoying working with my collection of vintage fabrics. These are the only 2 "big" bags I've made with them lately, but I love them both. The first bag I designed completely around the fabric print. I love that wrought iron gate behind the flowers, so I created an arched shape for the center of the bag. Then, to give the bag a more "girly" shape, I cinched in the sides with a little belt. I'm really happy with it.

The second bag has been brewing for a while.........I had the barkcloth with the red and pink leaves for quite a while. I hadn't been used to working with red and pink together, so that took some contemplating. Plus it's a really large scale design. Then I had this little remnant of what I guess was a tablecloth--the piece with the big peonies. Same colors.....hmmm........had my red and white pillow ticking in my big pile of working materials.........and then it all came together! I like the different scales of the graphics, and the contrast of stripes with floral. I think it works. Because of the shape of the table cloth piece, I was kind of stuck with a square-ish shape, and the bag became a big tote. I can't leave well enough alone, so I pleated the outer corners a bit. It needed some type of large closure piece, so I played with my vintage buttons til I found this stack. I added lots of pockets inside and a little one on the outside (I love those for keys or phone) and it's done. I like it!

If you want to see more pics, go to my Artfire Studio. They're both for sale on my Artfire site, but if they don't sell, I wouldn't mind keeping them!!!