Published!

Late last month I received my contributor's copy of the new book Stitched Jewels: Jewelry That's Sewn, Stuffed, Gathered & Frayed, by Marthe LeVan. I designed a lotus choker and a set of earrings, based on the flower piece I made for an earlier book, and was eager to see what the other artists had come up with.

The book covers everything from the very basics on how to do hand-stitching and machine stitching, to the properties of different fabrics and what to expect when using them. Since the focus is on jewelry, there is also a section on findings and jewelry construction, all presented in a simple, easy to read format. Gallery images of fabric jewelry are scattered throughout the book for inspiration. The projects range from simple to sophisticated and I am very proud to have been included in this book with the other talented designers. It's a great book to have on your shelf, and if you have even a small fabric stash and the desire to make something fun with it, this is a good book to start with.

Crafty Chica's Latest Book

In between all the mad dash to finish Winter White for the Parkersburg Art Center show, this wonderful new gem arrived in the mail. Crafty Chica's Guide to Artful Sewing has all the elements I've come to expect from the enthusiastic and inspiring designer/author: bright colors, funky images and textures and most of all an encouraging "you can do this!" attitude which infects everything she touches.

The projects in this book include wearables, items for your home and a great section on purses made from anything from a funky towel to an Indian placemat. Throughout Kathy offers tips, techniques and anecdotes from fellow crafters, all with the result that even those who were intimidated by the sewing machine will find themselves happily scouting the dollar store, yard sales and thrift stores for items to alter, and fabric stores for the fabrics to make their projects sing. A list of suppliers is included in the back, including a list of sewing machine manufacturers, to help you find the right tool for your new sewing adventures.

I was really delighted with this book, but I must admit I love everything Kathy does. Even if it is a project I probably will not make, I can take ideas away from it and apply the ideas and techniques to something else. Congratulations on another job well done!

FAQ

The Parkersburg Art Center show is hung and the opening over, now I am playing catch up with a bunch of things I let hang while I was in the studio. For instance, getting flyers out to local businesses about sponsoring the Studio Art Quilt Association conference in May, reviewing Crafty Chica's new book (it's a great one!) and revamping my website.

With that in mind, I am putting together a FAQ for the website that has more to do with my art and processes and a little less about where we get our beads, etc. So I am asking for questions that you are curious about, things you may want to know about how I make the work, processes, materials, etc. I am curious to see what someone else would want to know about these things. Since I am the one making the work, sometimes it is hard to step back and see the big picture. Thanks in advance for sharing your questions with me.

More blog later, as I have photos from the opening, a book to review, and lots of fun stuff to catch up on!

Portrait Commissions

While finishing up the final piece for the Parkersburg Art Center show, I have also had to clean the studio to search for fabrics and yarns for that piece.  As usual, cleaning and finding things I’d forgotten I had has proven to be a huge inspiration.  I realized that I miss my old smaller embellished pieces, and would like to do some more of them.  So in that spirit, I am launching a new venture, commissioned portraits, based on old family photographs and/or family treasures such as old baby dresses, etc.  Here are a few examples of what I am talking about, to whet your curiosity while I get the official page up at my site.

April 7, 1967, based on a found baby dress from a thrift store, and a photo transfer of me on my third birthday.  This piece was done for the “It’s My Birthday!” show, and was exhibited at Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine.  The work is embellished with crocheted flowers and beads, and the crown is stitched with perle cotton and embellished with shisha mirrors.

“Mom-Mom and Me” photo transfer fabric journal.  Velvet cover embellished with mother of pearl, bead and thread embroidery, using a photo transfer of my paternal grandmother.  Inside pages include more photo transfer, applique and embellishments, all telling stories of activities I remember sharing with my Mom-Mom.

“Ophelia” made with a found baby dress from a thrift store, and embellished with photo transfered images of my daughter.  This piece has a lot of work, the entire background is covered with shisha mirror embroidery, and there is a beaded heart in the center of the bodice.  This piece was featured in the FAVA Artist as Quiltmaker show, and the image was used on the tshirts from that show.

I can also do pet portraits in this style.  “Study for Dita” was based on the photo of my friend Lisa’s beloved cat, Dita.  This piece was all hand and machine embroidery, embellished with beads and set in a quilted frame.

I am really excited at the opportunity to be able to work in this way again.  I will post the web page as soon as it is up, or you can email me at andiandmarty (at) gmail (dot) com to talk with me about arranging your own personal piece of artwork.

Blog Break

I have been working on the Winter White piece since my last post.  Doing the math, if it ends up at 15 strips of 100 pieces each, that is 1485 strips I had to cut and. sew back together.  So far I am up to 11 strips, currently piecing strip 12.   At strip 9, I ran out of the original pile of fabrics and had to shop the studio for more.

Fortunately the local furniture place had a box lot sale of their upholstery samples several years ago so I have a lot to choose from:

Here are the strips before cutting further:

And the extra bits and bobs left from cutting the 1” x 4” strips:

A pile of strips waiting to be reassembled:

The large cone of bobbin thread I’ve gone through, and an empty spool of brown polyester I was using for the top stitching is also in this picture.  This has been some heavy duty sewing (though the bobbin cone was not all used for this piece).

The new even larger cone of bobbin thread.  I think this one should last a while.

Strip in progress on the sewing table:

And the pieced piece.  Since it is made of 99% upholstery fabrics, it definitely will match someone’s sofa.  :)

Hoping to post quilting in progress soon! T minus 18 and counting.

Break over, back to sewing.

Wednesday Already?!

Wow, I can’t believe it is Wednesday already.  I have been busy trying to get things together for my art group’s show at the Parkersburg Art Center.  We were all under the impression that the show was running from April-May, but we found out on Monday that the work is due at the Center on March 7 or 8.  I have been cataloging items and finishing up works since then.

I was hoping to have a jumbo knitted item for the show, but I am not sure there is time to not only make the i-cord but then knit the object (of the two, making the i-cord is actually the more time-intensive part).  So today I am upstairs, madly piecing.

This is what I was going to work on:

What Lies Beneath (detail), 2007-present  It is one of the water tower pieces.

I was planning on completing the applique on the turtle.  I was also going to make some freemotion lace coral for around him and perhaps the pods in the center of the piece.  If you look closely, you can make out the fish skeletons I quilted in the background.  I just love this piece.  I think that is one reason I’ve been taking so long to finish it.

But the power flickered while I was making bobbins and I decided I did not want to risk being in the middle of sewing a large freemotion piece if it did go out.  So instead I switched to piecing more of the Winter White piece (title still to be determined, something White though I’m guessing; or something Winter). 

I am really enjoying how Zen piecing this has been.  I have been working on enjoying the process and not obsessively counting each strip as it is sewn down, as that makes it take longer.  The strips are not complete because I am trying to get a feel for how wide the piece will be with “X” amount of strips.  In reality there are only three complete strips made and it is coming up time to cut more fabric (isn’t that everyone’s favorite part of quilting? ha ha).  Not my usual bright bright colors at all, but it reminds me of how the hillsides  usually look during the winter around here, with flashes of the occasional moss and cardinal in the woods.  I am excited to see how it looks at its full planned size of 60” x 60”.

For now I am taking a shoulder stretching break and blogging.  Tonight at stitch n bitch I will be sewing the sleeve and label on my Tyger Tyger quilt.  The Parkersburg Art Center has a beautiful gallery space and I’m looking forward to really representing in the show.

Hurrah!

Baa Hurrah that is.  I received a wonderful set of size 10.5 knitting needles in the PhatFiber box last week.  Pointy tips and smoothed to a mirror like sheen.  When I checked out the site to see what else Beth had to offer, I found she takes custom orders, for needles up to size 35 and up to 36” long.

Well, I had been intrigued by the video going around of Rachel John and her Extreme Knitting, and so I emailed and asked for a quote. 

I was very pleased to find out that a pair of straights in size 35, 32” long, would only cost $16, and a set of 5 double points would be a little more, so I placed my order.

In the meantime, I made my yarn:

I-cord on one of those hand spool knitters, made so far with about 12 ounces of mill end acrylic. 

And today the box arrived (yeah, I know you can see both sets of needles in the picture above, but still…)

It was huge.   And it gave me a giggle when Marty walked in the door box first.

And the double points:

With the original 10.5 next to them for comparison.

And the straights (full picture later when they are in use)

I think I need a bigger yarn.