Two years, too long

It's difficult for me to believe that I haven't posted in 2 years! With a change in leadership at my day-job, I have been very busy at work, but trust me when I say, I've been Very Busy at ArtWork, too!

I've had a group show of my work, I started a new little series, of course I've been sewing massive amounts of clothing for myself, my mom, and dear daughter!

Rather than go into alot, I'll just share pictures! More to come!

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!

Spring Break fun in the Art Barn

Last week I was on Spring Break from the museum job, although of course there were things I still took care of. I did manage to do some fun things for me!

I've had lots of fun going thru the Yarn stash, knitting up these little hipster hats...I can see these covering up those man-buns, can't you? Although I did make one for myself, because they're comfy and warm, and easy to wear.(that's the hubby, being a good sport)



I splurged at the fabric store and found this great textured knit to make a cute little dress for Dear Daughter...I can see it with a skinny black belt, and maybe even a jacket or shrug. There are nice pockets, too, always handy!>

Made myself a basic grey tank dress for layering in any season,


and this burn-out knit was perfect, in white/black/cobalt and a nice purple-y mauve. I'm thinking over capri leggings and cami this summer!>

I also cut up a washed and shrunken boiled wool jacket, it has great embroidery all over it. I love my little monster pouches, but had in my mind something else....Lips! What else for holding my Burt's Bees lip gloss??!


March is National Craft Month, you know....what are You making?

My apologies!!

I don't know WHERE the time has gone! So many, many events in the family, but the bottom line is, I've neglected the blog!

So....


I finally finished the Spirit House quilt! Here's some photos, although since it was taken, I have gone in and added 3 more little houses on the hill, just to really finish it out. I wrote the haiku myself, and when I finally decided on the hands, it all came together really quickly. I'm very pleased with the results.


I've had fun at some craft shows, and whipped up some little monster pouches from recycled thrift shop sweaters. Zippers for mouths, buttons for eyes....they are so funny to play with!


I've been getting rid of all the Red Panty clothing, and have stopped sewing up any new cashmere kitties....I feel the need to change directions. I'm not sure if I'll still make clothing to sell: I'm still looking inside myself, figuring out where I need to go from here.

I've been winnowing out the Art Barn, because it's becoming quite the dumping ground...between moving Dear Daughter home this summer after graduate school, friends making "donations" of various items, accumulating vast amounts of supplies, whatever, it's just TIME to clean it up! I looked at photos of the Art Barn, after I finally got it all fixed up and situated, and I long to return to that state of cleanliness! So that's my goal, to get it finished by New Year's.

What's YOUR end-of-the-year resolution?

Altar Cloth & Paraments: Dedicated!

Sunday was the dedication/blessing of the completed parament set for First Presbyterian Church! I think they looked really good in their new home. I hope they bring lots of joy to the worship there for many years to come.



(CLICK the photos to see them bigger & better!)

Done! Liturgical cloth with applique

Yay, I'm done! This was actually quite enjoyable, and felt really great to be contributing to the overall worship experience. Here's photos: of the sketch for the applique to go on one side of the altar drape.


Then there's the photo of the applique pieces I created from fabric.....



There's the completed applique, waiting for the gold thread embroidery....



and here's the finished cloth! The church will use them for the first time next Sunday, and they've invited me to attend their worship service. I'm so glad, I wanted to get a picture of the whole set in place, so I'll share that next week.

Happy New Year 2015!

It's a New Year! Yay! Another chance to keep all those resolutions (didn't make any) pay all those bills, (working on it!) achieve all those goals! (sooo many goals!)

After lots of crafting for Christmas, I have started a sweater for ME, but I've had to take a time out...

Working on a commission for a local church, for a new set of Paraments (altar cloth, bookmark, and lectern scarf) for their Ordinary Time. That means, Green! Lent & Advent are purple, special days like Easter & Christmas are often white, Pentecost can be Red, etc.

So, after a very fun day at the fabric store, and about 10 different 1 yard samples of green fabrics, I settled on a combination of a cool green & gold brocade paired with a printed textural cotton. I'm thinking about the juxtaposition of the mundane and the divine, the ordinary and extraordinary, our daily, imperfect lives, and the sacred, holy ideal life we strive for.

This is a pic of the Lectern scarf, prepared as the sample for the church committee and it shows the style of patchwork I'm doing. Here's a sketch of the altar cloth, which is now actually a finished top, ready to be appliqued this weekend with grapes and wheat instead of a cross and flames.

Many yards of fabric, to be sure, but it's been kind of fun. I did have to switch from my beloved Bernina 1120 to the 1948 Singer Featherweight my mom gave me a few years ago when the Bernina started to protest last weekend. Squeaky, clunky noises are not good! So she's in the shop, getting a "super head cleaning". I'm sure she needs cleaned & oiled, because I really put her to use.

Next up: working on the new quilts for my exhibit at Otterbein, and trying to sneak in more clothing to sell.

Gifts and Such

A good start on winter time creating....did a few craft shows this fall and it was quite fun! Made a custom cashmere kitty for a friend of little brother, she really liked it! And now wants a custom cashmere fox, holding not the classic bunch of grapes, but some sausage links...I'm sure there's a story there!



Knitting little treasures for Christmas: lots of pretty washcloths, to pair with some handmade soaps I bought at a craft show. Some llama and alpaca wristwarmers, 'cause they just feel so nice. And a little pair of orange traffic cones, for said little brother to place on his desk at work. Don't tell him, though, they're supposed to be a surprise!

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!

Pleasant labor on Labor Day Weekend

With Dear Daughter off to grad school, this 3-day weekend was mine to enjoy! I was gifted with 5 huge boxes of decorator fabric samples, just in the nick of time, since I gave away the last little zipper pouch in my stockpile.

I use lots of the pouches myself, as a mini-sewing kit, as a change purse, you get the idea. I've been including them as a free gift whenever someone purchases a Red Panty clothing item from my Etsy shop, and I sent the last one out last week. But I've gone thru all the suitable fabrics I had, so I was just about to call up my interior designer friend and beg for samples, when out of the blue, someone emailed me to offer 5 giant boxes of fabrics for free! Snapped them up right away, they're great!


Mom & I went through all five boxes, with the result being I'm left with about 3 boxes worth. So Saturday I spent most of the day in the Art Barn, cutting, sorting, sewing! I like the feeling of accomplishment when I'm done, seeing a tall stack of finished items. It's not art, nor brain surgery, but it is a satisfying moment! I made 26 little zipper pouches....why 26? Because I did not have 27 zippers! Ha! I did use up all the zippers I had in the correct size, though, every single one. Hardly made a dent in the pile of fabric, though. I ordered a new assortment of colors, 50 in all, online from China, so I'll be able to make some more soon. It was fun using up what I had; I noticed that alot of the zippers were "Vintage", some from the 1960's, some from the 70's. Others were upcycled, saved from the thrift shop clothing I use to create Red Panty clothing. So besides saving a bunch of nice fabric from the landfill, I also managed to use up stuff of my own!


I also finished 3 more D-Town Totes to place for sale in the Beehive Bookstore, and there's plenty of tote bag potential in that decorator fabric pile!


The Smiling Scotsman cracks me up!