Super Sewing Summer!

Once the students graduate and the Alumni have come and gone, the Ross Museum goes to a reduced schedule, leaving me with time in the morning to spend in the Art Barn for sewing!

This summer, I've been going through my stash of thrift shop finds, cutting things up, trying out new designs, and generally having a wonderful time. So far this month, here are about half of what I've made up:



Dresses, tops, slips with lace and ruffles to wear under other things.....I usually finish at least 1 piece every day this month!

My next project will be to re-organize all my fabric storage, since things have gotten a bit too jumbled to easily find what I'm looking for, and to think about having a "Supply Reduction Sale"...but that's for July!

Red Panties on Parade

The show is UP and looking....okay, I guess. Artwork that I "pin", or admire, or really, really like is so much better than mine. I feel mine is rather cartoony, which isn't a bad description considering my life is very much like the Simpsons! But, it IS mine, and for what it's worth, it's on display at the bottom of the stairwell in Courtright Library at Otterbein!


I was happy to get the Panty quilts out in public again, it's been awhile!

I do feel happy with this particular piece, Watch What You Say. The shiny bits are the inside of a chip bag. The open mouth is printed on vellum, and the old diagram lines connect to my sewn lines leading to the words "hate" and "lies", which have the big red "NOT" circles on them. Click on the photo to see it more clearly.


Lots of other words on this one, too....."mirror, mirror"; "mind your tongue"; "do you like what you see?".

I also finished the central piece in this grouping...I don't consider them a triptych, but they hang together nicely. "Redbuds" because I love them in the spring!


There will be a little reception on Sunday, April 19th 2-4pm, so if you're around, stop by! The show will be up until the middle or end of June.

Old School Selfie and New Repurposed Clothing

I don't have a smart phone.....I'm not that smart, plus, I have a really old, grandfathered cellphone account that gives me 5 phones for under $130. I keep checking and talking with them, but if I switch to smartness, my bill goes up over $100, and that's just for 1 smart phone! Yikes!

So...this is me wearing my recycled cashmere and men's shirt top....yep, in the bathroom with a regular digital camera! But the weather is so pretty, and I love wearing it so I wanted to share.

I've entered March like a lion, roaring thru the first weekend and making 1 new top a day on Saturday, Sunday and Monday! They're all listed in the Etsy shop already, and I really think they're pretty and perfect for this time of year.

This weekend I have GOT to clean, though! My bedroom & the inevitable upstairs bathroom are calling my name, so at least Saturday I'll be a no-show in the Art Barn.



I got accepted into a really cool craft show in May, so I've already started stacking up plushie "skins" to be sewn and stuffed for my booth. I'm also working on a new item since the show is right before Mother's Day; a sort of everlasting corsage from cashmere sweater scraps and vintage buttons. I'm messing around with the flower shape right now, but as they come together, I'll share!

February Wrap-Up

As we near the end of February 2014, it occurs to me that despite my best couch potato efforts, I have actually accomplished several projects this month! Amazing, I know, but there you have it.

Last night I finished knitting the first of a pair of socks, very pretty! I did FINALLY finish up my brother's Christmas pair of socks, but as they are serviceable black, I didn't photo them.

Yesterday I also whipped up a top for myself, I love it! I got some delicious woven stripe linen at Joanne's of all places....off white and "blackberry". Paired it with a 100% fine cotton knit sweater from the thrift; extra-small sized, ha! One sleeve is the button up front of the cardigan, and the other is the solid back. I had to radically piece them both, but totally worth it to incorporate the pretty silk chiffon trim from the button placket. I even dug out the roll hem foot for the Bernina, PRACTICED on a scrap (whaatt???) before hemming the bottom. I still need to finish the neckline with bias trim, but that won't take but a minute.





Monday I did all the quilting on a new piece, inspired by a photo taken by musician Tim Perdue, who is making quite a name for himself about town as an excellent photographer. Very sensitive images, evocative. I had these blue "bricks" laid out on a stark white background, but apparently I really wasn't sold...a week ago a friend came to the Art Barn to play, and encouraged me to go with my plan to switch out the white for a gray color. She helped me lay out all the bricks & pin them down again. And then....Monday I woke up and realized it was wrong! I had the bricks all lined up vertically, and they really cried out to be diagonal. So I took out all the pins, cut a few more bricks, laid it out, voila! Much better. The quilting is intended to evoke raindrops. I obviously need to bind it, and my plan is to then sew on many, many pearl buttons, like raindrops. Oh, did I mention? Every piece of fabric is from thrift shop clothing! Yep! and so are all the buttons I plan to use. I have been invited to display my work Spring 2015, particularly pieces from reclaimed textiles. So I'm concentrating on some new pieces that use more of those materials. It's really not difficult, given that I use them so regularly in the clothing I make.

That same friend laughed while I sewed up some new Kashmere pets....foxes!! I think they're cute! I love it when I can find argyle cashmere, it gives each animal a distinct personality.

Enjoy the pics, as I start my second sock, and stay warm and cozy as March comes roaring in!

First projects for '14

Oh, I had such plans for the Christmas break! I did finish up some presents, and am still working on a few more (thank goodness my family all understand the madness that is handmade!)

But I spent some time this past weekend in the Art Barn, and did accomplish a few things. I took apart a teeny little Talbots linen top, and now have 71 (yep, seventy-one) lovely pale coral "jewels" that I can use to embellish something new. I cut & sewed up 10 feet of linen bias binding, so that's all ready to go. And I still have some of the fabric left, to piece into a new creation. I'm thinking I'll probably use some of the jewels on something for the Dear Daughter, as she really likes and looks really lovely in that shade. It's always nice to have bias binding ready to use, in lots of colors, and when's the last time you saw linen binding? I think not ever in the big box stores!



I also whipped up something for myself, because I just really needed to....a long raglan style top, with gray cashmere sweater sleeves and a man's fancy dress shirt for the body. Both were from the thrift store, and cost less than $7.00 total! The shirt was really cool; silvery gray, french cuffs and the front placket was meant for studs, but it came with the button tape that I just left in there. The best thing is the print: little champagne glasses, and the bubbles coming out of it are part of the year "2000"....obviously a New Year's Eve shirt for the millennium. The fabric is a jacquard, so the reverse is just as fun as the right side. I used the entire shirt, the sleeves are the darker panels in the back. I've since finished off the neckline edge, and it's ready to wear!

A thrift shop duvet cover + linen shirt equals.....

Some cute new Gardening Aprons! Just in time for the Scioto Gardens Gardening & Arts Festival!

The reversible duvet cover was just languishing in the Art Barn, black & cream check on one side, toile on the other. A couple of linen shirts for pockets and bias trim, and voila!

I think they turned out really cute, and there are lots of times they would come in handy. I like the full coverage in the front, and the crossover back. I might need one of these when I'm painting or dyeing fabric; I don't like to get messy, and this would be practical!

New plush Pattern Results!

So last week I shared my thrift shop score of cashmere sweaters, and the new patterns for soft toys that I'm working on....you saw the sad little "skins" laying on my worktable, ready to be stuffed and embellished!

Here they are! a lovely argyle Owl.....




a sweet little pale blue Lamb!! (I like his little gray face, don't ewe?)







and HERE is what happens when you use a ribbed sweater to try and make a lamb...the stretch is out of balance! I was so disappointed, and also it cracked me up, but I think it looks like a pink hammerhead shark! I debated just pulling the stuffing out and tossing the thing, but it's grown on me...I'm going to make a little shark face!

Working and loving it!

Busy working in the gorgeous studio.....I have a pile of cashmere sweaters from the thrift shop all washed and ready!

See the pile? so pretty!

I'm scheduled to do some arts & crafts type festivals this May & July, so I'm concentrating right now on increasing my inventory of super-soft and cuddly Kashmere Kitties....not only are they cute, but they're environmentally-friendly!


See the cut & sewn up "skins" that I made next?? They look a little creepy and forlorn like that, I know.


I've also drafted NEW patterns for cashmere plushness! I've got a pattern that doubles as either a lamb or a puppy (see the pink & blue skins lower left) and I re-patterned an Owl, mostly for Dear Daughter. That will be the argyle "skin" on the bottom right!

Stay tuned, I'll post pics as I get them all stuffed and pretty!

It's the new & improved Art Barn!

When we first moved in, the poor place was a disaster! If we weren't sure where to put it, it ended up in the barn. Piles and stacks and bins, oh my! See the Disaster Site.

I did finally get a bit of organization going, setting up a sewing area...see, it was my Little Slice of Heaven!

Well, things have REALLY changed! Last Black Friday-day after Thanksgiving, my baby brother pulled up with his truck & trailer and unloaded a ton of wood & tools. We built a loft! Or as he calls it, a mezzanine. It is gorgeous! Sturdy, BIG, proper stairs, tons of space for storage!
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Dear daughter & I spent the next 6 weeks hauling stuff to Goodwill, to the trash, organizing, emptying bags, boxes, tubs and bins. Hubby installed the new eco florescent fixtures baby brother gave me for Christmas, and a great shop fan. And now.....


Unveiling the new & improved Art Barn!! There is a lovely seating area, with a coffee pot next to the furnace & fridge. There is Floor Space! There is organization! I actually KNOW where things are, and more importantly, can GET to them! Storage bins are upstairs, labelled. The only bins I still need to empty & organize are the fabrics, although those are semi-sorted already.



Room for cutting tables, all the supplies sorted and grouped together, Ana has her own area, plenty of room to move stuff around! My jewelry bench is finally put back together. Okay, so that area still needs sorted out, but at least it's all in one place! Stereo equipment & speakers are hooked up, and the CDs are actually right next door. I can put things AWAY and find them again the next time! Room for visitors, classes, parties, it's so wonderful!



Yes, I have been working, although most of what I've been sewing are UFO's (Un-Finished Objects) getting them done and tagged & properly put away. It has been really great to work in the new space, and I kind of hate to mess it up! That pile of tubs in the back, near the overhead door?? Empty!! There are still a couple items that need to go to Goodwill (anyone want some GIANT speakers?) but my, it is so awesome!

Re Vamped Hoosier Cupboard DIY!

My neighbor Mr. P remembered me saying ages ago, that if they ever got rid of their Hoosier cupboard, to let me know....well, a couple weeks ago, he called, and so on my back patio there's a cupboard!











Now, it needed a bit of a re-do, so I washed, sanded, primed and painted it with the help of Dear Daughter & Hubby, and now...Voila! A fresh cupboard in my blue room!

Originally of moderate quality, probably always painted, now super sweet! I ordered jadeite green glass knobs and they got here on the very day we were ready to move it into the house, yay! Dear Daughter "fluffed" it when she got home, so it's all done.

Now, I'm going to paint my OTHER cupboard to fit into the kitchen....I'm thinking red glass knobs this time!