can-can

best in show sounded better than 1st place, so that's what i went with. i was being inspired by the more daring and colourful of the victorian tastes, as well as guavas. because the eyepatch is worn on a 3-dimensional surface, you can really see the beetle green backing fabric and deeper pink sheer ribbon peeking through from underneath the top layer; it made me think of petticoats and crinoline, which i love. this is one of my favorites.

in all their variety

i was searching through my ribbon drawers to find material for my latest eyepatch, and started sorting them a little better (purple in the pink drawer! peach which should be in the orange drawer! is this brown?!). the aubergine ribbons looked particularly lovely, so i had to take a snapshot of them. i love the dusky cornflower running into deepest amethyst, with the areas of mauve and fuchsia playing amuck along the borders. so many colours get filed under one name; there's such diversity to them, they're all deserving of being distinguished.

here's a sneak peek of my 5th eyepatch, it has something to do with ribbons...

back in the saddle

i had a desire to create more pins last night; sadly, i had ignored the making of them for some time. so i dumped out my scrap bags, gathered my sewing needle and thread spool and set to work.

the first is of limes and sky, with glow worms floating on a gust of air. my ode to the last days of summer.

the second is my halloween inspiration, with the warm pumpkins and dusky grays of trick or treat eve. cozy wool felt and silver edged tulle, remind me of the coming cooler days.

they won't be going in my etsy store, as i will be away for some time and have put it on holiday mode; but if you would like either one, just email me before the 27th of this month.

change

while researching my upcoming trip i found out that i would be carrying around a lot of change. which seems strange in and of itself, as here i rarely ever have cash on me, and what change i do have fits into a teeny tiny pouch.

but apparently, japan is a cash country, and for denominations below 1,000 yen it's in coin form. so, i added 'change purse' to my list of needed things. and then i thought to myself, "myself, i think we should sew a change purse for ourselves." and i agreed that would be a good plan.

i had a zipper left over from a camisole which didn't need it, some lovely pale aqua piping, and two prints that went well together. one, a lime seersucker, and the other a double gauze cotton print from heather ross.

i thought about what size would be a nice fit for my purse and to carry around lots of heavy change, then i stalled a bit while figuring out what shape i wanted it to be. some fullness would be nice, a little bottom heavy perhaps, definitely easy access to see coins would be a good idea.

so after messing with pleats and the fabric i came up with something satisfactory. i like it, it's so puffy! hopefully it will be big enough.

a dress for the party

well, in my convalescence i was able to finish the dress i started a month ago. i'm really very thrilled, a lot of it was hand stitching, with some machine stitching along the skirt and waist connection. i was inspired when i saw the above photo in vogue a couple of months ago. the print reminded me of the nani iro coururiere fabric, and i thought "i can do this...but not this short".



surprisingly, it turned out just as i had imagined when i started. the sash is a piece that i made during metals casting, i used the lost wax method; it's of an ammonite. the ribbon is in one of my favorite colors, chartreuse. overall it's a very bright dress, i love it. i have a wedding to go to next summer and i'll wear this, as well as my birthday next month.

quilting for the wall

exploring free motion sewing is very exciting; i can merge my two favorite arts, fabric manipulation and imagery. my schooling was in illustration, which sadly i have let fall by the wayside. but using the sewing machine i can draw again using fabric as the surface. this way i can further my use and love of textiles with my own renderings, my own signature.

i really like the linework and containment that patchwork provides, together with the softness, curviness, and free spirited stitches of the octopus. french knots have been one of my favorite embroidery stitches since taking classes in japanese embroidery where i learned a really easy and 99% accurate way of making them.

the lime is a linen material, the light blue is cotton, and the charcoal grey is a felted wool, each has a certain thickness and feel. i love incorporating tactileness in my work; you should be able to not only see, but feel. touch is very important to me, it's a sense that at times is lacking in our environment; human touch especially.

there are studies that have proven that human touch is essential to us, it creates a better balanced and receptive person, helps heal wounds and surgery sites quicker, and eases stress and pain. the human spirit and body become damaged when touch is withheld, it's one of the cruelest things you can do to a person. even if you are not comfortable having others touch you, it is imperative to reach out and touch a pet, animals, the earth, feathers, wool, living things. petting your cat, or dog, or pet lowers blood pressure and reduces pain, be it emotional, physical, or mental; this is an incredible thing!

i wanted the back of this piece to be interesting as well. i think it is just as important an area as the front; i love when pieces of jewellery, artwork, and clothing have creative things happening where you don't expect it. in the case of the octopus, i saw a constellation in the lines from the french knots, so i embroidered silver stars and wrote out the constellations name.

on pins and needles

do you ever have moments of intense boredom even though there are at least eight things you could and perhaps should be doing? not that the choices are dull, in and of themselves, but you just can't gather the enthusiasm to work on them.

yesterday was a day like that for me. usually i just try to force the day gone; hoping that when i wake up the next the boredom will have passed. "forcing" time to go faster means immersing my brain in a book, a favorite movie, or lallygagging around the internet. for the most part any one of these helps my boredom pass and i can get things accomplished. yesterday was such an awful all encompassing period of boredom i had to try all three (dead and loving it, highlander, notcot.org) before i was able to work my way out.

i haven't a clue how much time on this planet i have, so i really don't like wishing it away; but there are days. though luckily i was able to work on and finish a pin last night, it being the perfect short time activity to pick oneself up with.