Wild Thang....I think I love you!

Last March, while taking a mini class with Diane Ericson in her wonderful Ashland studio, we were lucky enough to meet her son, Miles Frode.  He's a multi-talented man.  He paints, writes poetry, performs his poetry (check him out on UTube) and is a fantastic teacher.

He gave us little lesson on his method of painting canvas for garments.  And, he brought in several canvases for us to look over and purchase.  I swooped down on three large ones and held on tight until I figured out what they wanted to be. 

Katherine Tilton's B5891 won.  I made the jacket without sleeves because I love this shape so much.  This is my third time making it, first time in a vest though.  I would have made a jacket but I didn't have enough fabric.

I'm so in love with this painting, er, vest!  It's true wearable art and what a beautiful canvas it will be when I wear it.  Just about any color will pair nicely with this.  His colors are bold but earthy, saturated and complex.  I'm thrilled.

I auditioned several buttons at my local fabric store,  Hart's Fabrics.  I wanted something that would stand up to the art but not compete with it.  These buttons are about 2" square and come in all kinds of great colors.  These are a dark taupe.

I didn't want to mar the canvas by making gigantic buttonholes so I made loops from old silk cording in a dusty smudgy pink.  Both of these colors; the buttons and the cording have their own integrity and richness without standing out.

I faced the collar with a cotton net that I got from Marcy Tilton at a DOL a long time ago.  I wonder if she still has some?  I've used it so much I'm out and would love to re-stash.  It feels and looks like it's vintage.  Very low-key and textural.  I felt I had to face the canvas on the back of the collar and this was the least obtrusive fabric I could find.  I'm hell-bent to use what I have these days!

The pattern calls for inseam pockets but I thought they would be too bulky so I made ones that are sewn on, single layer.  The facing is the same fabric I used to face the collar.

I left most of the edges raw and used a cover stitch at the edge to finish it a bit.

The back had a place where the painting was a bit sparse so I used another piece of the canvas and patched it on the hem.

I'm particularly fond of this side.  Wish I could see it more when I'm wearing it.

A little close up.

And another close up.

Thank you, Miles!  I'm going to wear this to the fashionART Santa Cruz fashion show on Sept. 20th here in Santa Cruz.

Anytime Dress

Here's another version of Marcy Tilton's latest dress pattern V8975.  This is the second time I've made it.

Boy, do I love making this dress.  It's just so fun to put together.  The pattern works well and the sizing is perfect for me.

Here it is in a two way stretch woven I got from my friend Sharon.  I love those DOL giveaways.  One person is over it and another person is all over it...if you know what I mean.

This is a grey, slightly nubby stretch woven with shots of black and white.  Very versatile, and by that I mean when I spill something on it, which I will do, it won't show.

In my climate I can wear this garment all year.  I will always wear it with a pair of leggings.  Shorter ones in the summer, longer in the fall.

For the winter I'll pull another layer over it, maybe a short fleece vest.  I could also wear it with thicker tights in the winter.

Whatever I do, I'll use this as a canvas to highlight colorful jewelry, scarves, leggings and shoes.  Plus, it doesn't wrinkle...Sharon, what were you thinking?

This dress can look deceptively simple in one color that is dark.  But when you put it on the shape comes to life and really looks good.

Try it!

Oh, one detail.  There are two places, one in front and one in back, that require you to join the pieces in a "v" or angle.  I adhered a bit of tricot fusible interfacing to stabilize the join.  Especially in the front there seems to be so much weight on that join it may pull out in the future.  We'll see how this works.

In the meantime, I think I'll wear it to a meeting tonight!