Rubber Bling

 I'm continuing to play with jewelry making.  It's so portable and wearable.  It's varied and tactile.  It's visually stimulating and there are so many materials to work with.

I'm not really interested (yet!) in metal work.  I like found or recycled materials and cloth.  Here are some examples of necklaces and earrings I've been making out of used bicycle inner tubes.

I'm using the old inner tubes cut into pieces and attached to an elastic cording I get from WAWAK.  It's inexpensive and comes in a huge roll.

I start with a length of cord that feels long enough, maybe a little longer, than I need and make a sliding jeweler's knot so I can change the length if I want to.

Then I cut about 5-7" of elastic cord and use a big needle to attach two squares to each length.  

Then I tie them on.

Simple and effective.  Light and fun.

I've made two, one with slightly larger squares.

And then I moved on to earrings.  I am in a jewelry think tank of sorts with a few artist friends.  It's so inspiring to sit with other makers and think up ideas for jewelry.  None of us makes jewelry with metal.  It's cloth, paper, you name it.

I got a bit carried away one day and made five pairs of earrings.  I love them!  

I'm also continuing to use my grandmother's buttons.  Here I used cloth beads I learned from my friend, Lisa, that make a pendant on the bottom.  I'm not totally satisfied with how that part looks so it's in process.

Any ideas on how to make these beads make sense?  Do I need more?  Another element?

And then there's always kantha cloth.  This necklace was made using squares of styrofoam I patched with the cloth.  This one is in process, too.  

So, there you are, that's part of what I've been doing.  I have two or three more posts ready to write...just no time to do it!

Enjoy the long days!  Happy Summer Solstice!

A Dress For Summer...

I almost forgot that I made this dress!  It was about a month ago during a mini heat wave we had here on California's Central Coast.

That was the last time we had any heat or sun.  I've been wearing my winter wardrobe ever since.  Not that I mind, it's my favorite type of clothing.

The pattern is Marcy Tilton's  Little French Housedress.  I think I've made 4 or 5.  I wear them with leggings.  The fabric is from Marcy's collection.  It's a lightweight linen with a very pronounced print...yes, I'm still trying to work through all those prints I bought.

This was difficult to lay out.  I couldn't figure out how the print should be placed.  In the end I had just enough fabric to make it work this way...and only this way.  Took at least twice as long to lay out as it did to sew it!

I'm working on several jewelry projects and have drafted a tunic from a ready-to-wear garment that I've made a wearable muslin from.  I've just gotta get them photographed and then I'll show you.

Until then, sew on!

Trying Out The Paganoonoo Patti Blouse Pattern

I've made many tops out of thrift store men's shirts.  They are always fun because it's an art project.  The garments evolve like a painting or sculpture would.

I wanted to try one of Michelle Paganini's patterns for designing this type of shirt.  It's always instructive and interesting to see how someone else would approach a technique.

She has three shirt patterns with another for a flower brooch that are available on her Etsy page under her company name,  Paganoonoo.

They are designed to be a blueprint for how to construct a shirt using three men's shirts.  There's plenty of leeway to change them and create what you want or you can follow the directions to the letter which makes these patterns useful for both beginners and those who have done some "re-shirting" before.

I enjoyed the experience.  It went how it usually goes when I remake men's ware.  I sew some, like some, rip some out, sew more, add some, rip out here and there...

With this shirt it took me about 10 days to get what I wanted.  Slow sewing...good...I have enough clothes as it is, I don't need to whip out garments in a day anymore!

Here's how I approached it.  I used two shirts; a piece of vintage French ticking I got at the Paris flea market (the brown stripe) and a snippet of an old shirt with white and black flowers which I used for a pocket and a couple of single appliqués.  

Notice the pocket is free hanging on the bottom since it comes down farther than the hem.  I needed a bottom to the pocket but also wanted to use all of this fabric and liked the idea of an asymmetrical hem.  I solved that problem by inserting an inner pocket hidden under the one that shows.  I used a pocket from one of the shirts.  So, it looks like a huge pocket but is actually much smaller.

You might catch a glimpse of another pocket on the front that I didn't show.  It's set higher than the one in the photo.  I like the way it looks on but didn't like any of the photos.  I made it from a piece of fabric I got from Marcy Tilton.  It's white cotton with holes in it that are outlined in black.  

Finally, I did some hand stitching with Pearl Cotton.  I'll wear this a couple of times then I might add a bit more stitching.

This was a fun make!

Flounce Vest #2

I'm loving this self drafted pattern.  This vest is very wearable...meaning I'm wearing it twice or three times a week right now!

The fabric is a textural woven from Japan (I believe).  A friend gave it to me after I saw Sham's jacket made with the same fabric.  Japanese textiles make everything look good!

I'm still loving the pocket.  I use pockets all the time instead of a purse.  But,  I'll have to curb my habit of walking around with my hands in my pockets because I just heard that those of us older than 60 shouldn't walk with their hands in their pockets.  The doctor who leads our local brain trauma clinic says that he sees 10 cases a month (!) having to do with people who fell while their hands were in their pockets!  Yikes!

On a happier note...here's what Joe and I had for dinner last night.  We cooked together!

Halibut and shrimp roasted in parchment with thyme, green olives and lemon; oven roasted Yukon Gold potatoes and celery salad with parmesan and Pepitas.  Life is good.

Oh Look! A Vest!

This vest was self drafted.  The fabric is from Marcy Tilton.  It's one of the pieces I got up at the Sewing Expo in Puyallup especially for this vest.  It worked out really well.  It's a ribbed cotton knit. I like the weight and drape.

And, as I was saying last post, it has the right kind of print for me.  Nothing that draws the eye away from the lines of the vest but not a solid either.  This is the kind of print I'll be looking for in the future.

I have no idea why these two photos came out looking so different.  I took them at the same time, in the same light.  

I'm in the process of making the second vest.  I've cut the collar down a bit.  This first collar wasn't interfaced...bad on me....so it flops down.  Actually, it's not that bad.  If it stood up it would bug me anyway.

I love the free-hanging pocket.  It doesn't really show from this photo but it's only attached from the top.

I'm off to the studio for my Sunday church service...Prairie Home Companion!

This And That

It's been a busy couple of months and not much sewing to show for it.  But I do have some catch-up pics to share.

I continue to be drawn toward making jewelry.  I seem to have so many ideas popping out of my imagination I want to do them all at once.  I'm still experimenting, not ready for prime time exactly but wearable...sort of.

Here's a goofy one I made on a rainy afternoon.  Wore it that night to a local Indian restaurant and the waiter said, "Did you make that!"....do you think that's code for, "You need to go back to the drawing board?"  Does it need more pins so it looks even more outrageous than it already does?

I made it using my grandmother's stash of safety pins plus a few extra.

This one is all new pins.  It's not exactly what I wanted, it's a bit skimpy and skewed but so comfortable.

And then there's my grandmother and mother's button collection.  I vow to use those suckers and find a way so it doesn't look like 'loving hands at home'.  I'm somewhat averse to button jewelry but I do see lots on Pinterest that look good so I'll soldier on.  

The buttons are mostly vintage pressed plastic.  I used a 1/16" black elastic I got from Wawak.  One of my sewing pals, Kay, used it on a beautiful necklace she made so I bought a roll.  Very cool stuff.

This tunic was taken from a garment I bought in New Zealand many years ago.  I like the length; I can wear it with leggings.  The fabric was purchased in Nashville.  I fall in love with prints sometimes then get home and wonder how in the heck to use them.  I'm going to try and curtail that tendency from now on since I don't think prints look that great on me.  Smaller prints, sure.  

Another detour into large prints, I can't help myself.  I have to learn the difference between liking the print and wanting to wear it!

Here's are two details using some scraps.

This is my first time making a Cutting Lines pattern.  This one is Light and Shadow.  I made the small and it's still a bit big.  Does this tendency run in all of their patterns?

I do love this and I'll make it again.  This one is a heavy grey ponte.  It hangs beautifully and is super comfortable.

And now for my latest idea.  I was listening to an NPR segment about the US opening more travel to Cuba.  Of course, it's for visiting relatives, giving concerts, teaching and that kind of thing.  The minute I heard teaching it dawned on me that Cuban women could really use classes on making clothes using recycled clothes!  

I learned, while studying with a clothes designer in New Zealand, that people on islands have to recycle far more than those of us on the mainland.  That CERTAINLY would apply to Cuba! Those people have so little.  They might be delighted to have their young women learn this fun and profitable skill.

I'm just starting to research.  If anyone has any information that might help me in this endeavor can you let me know?  This is a long term, maybe long shot idea.  But who knows?

That's all for now.  I'm just about done with a new...vest.  

Puyallup, Seattle and Bugs

I went up to Puyallup last weekend for the Sewing Expo.  I wasn't going to go but when I heard Marcy Tilton say she might not attend the show in the future I booked my flight.  Didn't want to miss what might be her last fashion show and incredible booth.

She and her sister, Katherine Tilton, hold court in their booth all weekend.  It's the place to be if you want to see all of your DOL sewing pals, plus many you've never actually met before.  After attending a DOL...that's Design Outside The Lines; a sewing design retreat... you are included in an email group so I've been reading emails from women I've never known in person.  But sure 'nuf many of them were at the booth!  Really fun.

My good friend Sharon, another DOL gal, picked me up at the Seattle airport and we dashed to the show to catch Marcy and Katherine's incredible fashion show.  You can see the garments on Marcy's blog if you go to her website and click on her blog.

The show was such a shot in the arm.  I didn't realize I needed it but after the first show (we saw it twice!) I wanted to go straight home and start sewing.  It has wonderful pieces, designed for my style plus they share so many insights into fashion, sewing and design during the show; what a treat.

We spent two days at the expo, Sharon bought a new Bernina!  That was fun, I always love to be with someone who buys something I would love to have!  And we bought way to much fabric from Marcy.  I need to sew down my existing stash, not buy more!  But her selection is always too tempting.

Katherine (left) and Marcy Tilton (right) enthrall the audience at their fashion show.

I wore this new coat dress.  It's a self drafted pattern from a garment I love.  I got the fabric two years ago in Ashland at Fabric of Vision while attending a DOL.  I couldn't figure out what to do with it and finally, out of desperation, I cut this.  Glad it worked.

After two days at the expo Sharon brought me back to Seattle where she lives.  We then proceeded to burn up that town for two days visiting food and fabric shops, thank goodness we have the same passions.  These flower arrangements were gracing London Plane, a bakery/take out/restaurant.  There were about twenty of them on a huge worktable.  They just blew our minds!  Spring has sprung in at least some places.

Sharon in a moment of contemplation at one of my favorite places to eat in Seattle, Bar Sajor .  We had a lovely meal.

Thank you, Sharon, for such a wonderful time in your city, I love Seattle.

The doorway at Bar Sajor.

And here here's the bug part of the post.  These were my first attempt at making beetles from the DOL in Santa Barbara last month.  Karen Nicol, the textile artist from London, taught us how to make freestanding elements for garments.  I'm not 100% satisfied with these but they were my first try.  I have dreams of making a beetle dress like the one I pinned on my Pinterest "insect" board, check it out.