small works 2011

the five cushions i sewed last year (or maybe it was the year before that) are in a juried show/holiday sale, at my alma mater. i'm tremendously thrilled, and hoping some of them will sell. that would be cool. the exhibitions staff really placed them beautifully; apparently they built custom shelves for them, i like how they become almost wall art. it's interesting how the feel of them changes because they're at eye level.

i plan on participating in more shows next year. there's a new series i've started work on that's been gently simmering in my brain for a couple of weeks now, which i've sketched up drawings of. i'm really excited about it, and will be able to use a lot of the skills i've picked up.  

first to finish

i had large ideas for the aqua textile piece i first wove, but then decided to focus on the yellow piece as it turned out so lovely. paired with linen (my love), minty satin ribbon (my obsession), and sewn into a kapok stuffed boudoir pillow (my soft spot), i think it is something quite special now.

i love how it turned out; this whole creating textiles thing is absolutely fascinating to me.

seeing an oft disliked color differently

there are a lot of superstitions regarding the new year and one in particular comes to mind; what you're doing on the first day of the year is a premonition of the coming 365 days. so i decided to get to work on a new cushion instead of lazing about mindlessly watching the tv and playing games on the computer.

while taking a workshop at my alma mater this last spring i was rummaging about in the scrap bins looking for some lovely bits of discarded fabric when lo and behold i came across two narrow pieces of a fantastic vibrant silk pattern. i looked deeper, but couldn't find anymore.

i've been keeping the two pieces but didn't have anything quite like it in my collection until i bought some liberty tana lawn. one of the prints that caught my eye had similar colors to the silk strips, so yesterday i finally put everything together and created a long narrow cushion mirroring the horizontal patchwork center.

i have to say that this one is a bit of a departure for me, what with the darker hues and use of black. but i rather like the vibrancy of the composition.

i survived the storm

and lived to create another day! i finished up my ode to inspiration cushion. it's very delightful, with the bright blues and cheery oranges. every time i work with natural linen i am amazed at the variety in hue that is available; from lightest tans to deep wheaten browns. the tiny bit of firmness linen gives to the shape of the cushions is very nice, not too stiff and not too slouchy.

where does inspiration come from?

sometimes just when you're leaving a room and something catches your eye; either a pattern, or a color combination that just didn't show itself to you before this point. i'm at work on a pillow that hopefully will be finished tomorrow. if the house doesn't blow away. storms with tornado warnings really scare me.

my little display area

here are some photos of the display i had at @home. i like the tallness of everything. i'll be posting all of the pieces that didn't sell on my etsy store within the week; i just need to get pricing on shipping when the post office opens on monday.

looks like sorbet

i've started work on the dress that i bought the nani iro coururiere fabric for. the bodice is all pinned, i just need to pick up thread that matches the scrumptious salmon pink. it just so happens that i was also working on a cushion yesterday that could really use some of that fabric, so it kind of kick started my actions.

i made this one shorter, much more a long rectangle than the previous ones. this size is good, it's about 9.5" x 16". i'm really enjoying all of the linen material that i bought from variegated, the variety and differing thicknesses of the weave are incredibly nice.

the nani iro fabric is really very incredible, when you just have small sections of the greater piece all of the little details like the lace, dots, and hems are quite beautiful. the creative possibilities in this one print are numerous.

first trunk show

i'll be taking part in @home's 1st trunk show, which is great, as it will be my 1st trunk show as well. i'm very excited and have been busy creating pieces to sell (which you may have noticed, as i haven't been adding anything new to my etsy page in awhile).

guava

there's a restaurant in savannah that deals in pizza which i've heard has a pesto pie with guava. i would really like to try this. maybe this week i'll find out and let you know how it tastes. i love guava juice, and the color of its flesh is amazing; not quite pink yet not really peach.

while thinking of this, i felt the need to put together this color combination for a cushion. i've titled it "the importance of being guava". i haven't actually seen the whole film the importance of being earnest, nor read the book. i feel it fits though, in whichever weird convoluted way works for you.

the linen that i used for the front is exceptionally awesome; the texture, the weave, it's softness, the lightness of the natural linen against the white cotton. yum. i was thinking it would be very nice to have an article of clothing in this material.

diversifying

think of it as a family tree; from one word pincushion grows two, cushion and pin. i've been working on the cushion part for a week or two. it kind of started from creating too large of a pincushion patchwork, and not wanting to trim, i decided to expand.

it had been mentioned to me a little bit ago that i would be better off creating cushions, and for awhile i put the thought aside. there were several issues relating to this decision; i don't like large scale, i don't want something too busy, and also being able to use my bits and scraps of fabric wouldn't work if i had to make larger blocks. but, i did not forget this idea, i just needed time to ruminate on it until i thought of something that worked for me. then along came the too-big piece colliding with recent research of the selvedge magazine kind, and voila! a cushion.

working along the same lines of the pincushions, of being kind to the environment, i used kokka's organic cotton for the back, and kapok for the filler. kapok is an environmentally friendly fiber obtained from the seed pod of the kapok tree. it has a nice fluff and lightness to it very similar to down.

i've since made two, and have no interest in stopping. so expect to see more in the future.