Just Dreaming - Art to Wear

Button-inspired Couching

2012-01-26T12:41:00.000-08:00

This new jacket is coming along very well. The time spent on the careful cutting and basting to an interlining are really paying off in the construction process. I've already got the body of the jacket put together, including the decorative couching. I thought I'd share my progress.

Here are the pictures of the front and back.

For the couching I am using the Stef Francis 5400 rayon thread. I just love the pizazz these threads add and the colors are just yummy. For all the top-stitching on the seams and over the rayon thread, I am using an Oliver Twist variegated thread. The couching pattern was inspired by some great buttons I bought a couple of years ago from Penny Faich of WeGotTheButtons.

Don't the colors coordinate well with these silks? I plan to put one or two along the side of the front overlap so I thought the couching should echo the lovely lines in the buttons.

Today I spent a meditative day listening to some of my favorite music and cutting and basting sleeve pieces. Tomorrow I'll start to put together that sleeve. I like the immediate gratification of going back and forth between the preparation and the construction. So on to the next part.

Planned Piecing This Time

2012-01-23T13:36:00.000-08:00

Last week I started on a new project. I'm creating a wrap jacket for Kim to wear for the rehearsal dinner for her son's wedding in June. This dinner will be in Vermont near the Quechee Gorge during the hot-air balloon festival--a spectacular setting that requires a really special outfit. I am so honored that she asked me to make this for her.

She saw my work at the Merrimack Valley Artisan's show in October and then came to my studio in December to make it official. We met again earlier this month to select fabrics and discuss the design. Last week I started work in earnest. This one is a fitted jacket that requires much more planning than the more free-form Japanese jackets I've been making lately.

Here's the basic style. It's an old Vogue pattern that I will modify. She likes "more going on" rather than less, so it will be pieced from a variety of blue, aqua, and purple silks with some couching to tie everything together. I wanted to echo the lovely neckline curves in the piecing plan. To make sure that I could keep everything flat and fitting together well, I decided to do lapped seams. The piecing process is going very well, but it does require very careful planning and preparation.

Here's the basic process. First I created the piecing pattern. I copied each of the pattern pieces onto heavy white paper. I knew I'd be doing an asymmetrical plan so I needed separate patterns for each of the sleeves and for each half of the front and back. Once I had those, I drew in the lines for the seams.

Once I was happy with the interplay of the seamlines, I had to figure out the order in which the seams should be sewn. I wanted to make sure that I didn't have any places where I'd have to turn a corner in a seam. The other part of the construction plan involved figuring out which side would be the top that lapped over the adjacent piece.

Here's what one of the sleeve patterns looks like. The seams are all numbered in the construction order. Each side of the seam is labeled either upper or lower. After labeling the seams, I then marked the grainline on each of the pieces. I'm working with "shot" silk that is woven with two different colors in the warp and weft so if I use the same fabric with the grainlines going in different directions, the color of the fabric totally changes.

Once all that is done, I can cut apart the pattern to use it to cut the fabric pieces. The pattern pieces have no seam allowances for any of those internal seams, so I have to create those as I cut. I use a rotary cutter and a ruler to add 3/8" seam allowance to the upper side of the seam and 5/8" to the lower side. The smaller seam allowance on the upper side makes it less likely that I have to clip to get the seam to lie flat.

The next step is to baste each fabric piece to a silk organza underlining. I hand baste along the seamlines following the edges of the paper pattern. The silk organza stabilizes the fashion silk and makes nice crisp curves that lay flat when I stitch. Having the seamlines marked for stitching assures that everything fits together properly and that I haven't changed the size or shape of the jacket section.

As I cut the fabric pieces I pin them to a padded board so I can see where I've been and where I'm going. Here's what I've got cut so far.

At this point I decided to stop cutting and basting for a while and to start actually stitching some of the seams. I wanted to test out my methods to make sure that the construction process would go as smoothly as planned, just in case something needed adjustment. Luckily everything is working as envisioned.

In this picture you can see that all the seams in the left side of the jacket back have been completed and I've added some of the couching. Since taking that picture I've added some couching on the right side of the back and gotten all the seams in the back completed.

Tomorrow I'll go back to more cutting and basting...I need to figure out the color pattern for the left side of the front.

Obsession

2012-01-18T11:20:00.000-08:00

Here it is January 18th and I'm just getting to my first blog post for 2012. I had a wonderfully relaxing time over the holidays and hit the ground running at the start of the new year. I've had lots of administrative things to take care of, but I have managed to finish another jacket to share.

I call this one Obsession - because I just couldn't stop working on it. When I started I planned to make a vest. It was going to be a quick project, probably something for myself. I decided to do the couching by hand so I'd have something to work on at home when I was watching movies with my family. I put two different yarns together and did a herringbone stitch over the top. I loved the look and kept adding more lines of it. Here's a detail so you can sort of see the couching.

Then in the process of sorting out my fabrics I found a nice linen that worked well with the other fabrics that I'd started with and suddenly I had enough to make a jacket instead of a vest. That meant more stitching to work on, so I spent my holidays as a couching potato. (Sorry I just couldn't resist!)

I used a nice striped fabric for the lining instead of the typical plain fabric. It's a bit heavier but I love the way the colors coordinate. It adds a some heft to the jacket making it perfect for cooler weather. With the neutral colors and the combination of plain and embroidered fabrics it should be a very versatile addition to someone's wardrobe.

Here's the back. (My photography skills are not the greatest. I don't know why but the colors didn't come out as well on this one even though I shot it in just the same place and with the same settings--I think.)

Finished Jellyroll Rag...and on to the next thing

2011-12-21T11:43:00.000-08:00

I think I finished the red jacket in record time for me, not too many interruptions this time. I called this one Jellyroll Rag. The swirls made me think of dancing and jellyrolls and the color was just like the filling in the bakery jellyrolls I remember from childhood. How's that for free association...

Here's a detail shot so you can see the insets and couching work I've done to add spice to an already beautiful fabric. I've added those sparkly threads inside the paisleys and along the swirl. The couching helped to smooth the edges of the insets, and then I needed to add the threads in other places to tie things altogether.

Once I finished this jacket, I needed to work on some of the more mundane tasks around here. A jacket commission motivated me to do a major sorting and organization of my fabric stash. Kim wants a wrap jacket in blues and aquas for a wedding rehearsal dinner in June. So I needed to go through what I have to see what my possibilities were. I wanted to make sure that I'd left no stone unturned, so I decided to go through literally everything we have.

Here's what our work area looked like while that was in progress. It's a mess, but there's actually a method to that madness.

Once I got everything sorted, I realized I needed a better way to store the fabrics to make them easier to access and use. (One thing always leads to another, doesn't it...) So I made a trip to Target and bought a dozen large clear bins. Now everything has been put away and the bins have been lined up and labeled. I can see what I have and can get at things easily. What a big improvement:

The tabletop is nearly clear now and I'm ready to start the next project...but after Christmas. My son comes home tomorrow, so I'll be taking some time to hang out with my family. Hope you have plenty of time to do that in the next couple of weeks too.

Happy Holidays.

Red This Time

2011-12-09T12:59:00.001-08:00

Three blue jackets in a row made me realize I needed to do something different this time. Following my usual pattern yesterday afternoon I pulled out a bin of fabric to see if I could find something that called my name. I started with a bin of silks and never went any farther. A set of red fabrics nearly jumped out of the bin and into my arms.

For me red is about as far from blue as I usually get. It's not that I don't like red, I just hardly ever work with it.

Here's the set of fabrics I pulled out. The big piece with the swirls and paisleys is one I've had for along time. I just love the patterning and the fabric has a nice soft hand.

I didn't have a good idea of what I was going to do with the fabrics, I just thought that they went together well. Some of them hadn't been prewashed yet so I took them home to do that last night and just let the ideas stew.

Today my ideas started to come together. I decided to do some reverse applique to incorporate motifs from the flower and fern fabrics into the empty paisleys.

Here's my test piece. After I did a couple of these on the sleeves, I decided it needed a little something more. I've started couching some sparkly threads around the outline and along some of the swirls. It is coming out well, but I sure didn't set myself an easy task. I did three and then decided that was enough for today. It requires way too much patience for a late Friday afternoon. I'll keep going in the morning when I'm rested.

Dance Rhythms

2011-12-08T10:56:00.001-08:00

I just finished another jacket that I'm anxious to share. I call it Dance Rhythms because the wavy lines make me feel like swaying in time to some jazzy music. Does it make you feel that way too?

Here's the Front

And the Back

The background fabric is a great African hand-dyed damask I bought from Becky Hancock of St. Teresa's Textile Trove at the Quilt/Surface Design Symposium this past June. My photograph doesn't really do justice to the wonderful interplay of the patterns from the dye and the weaving. You have to see this one in person to get the full effect. I've added inset waves that I've pieces together from lots of my scrap fabrics. To top it all off, there are handmade glass buttons from Penny Faich.

I'm pleased that I got it finished in time for Holiday Open Studios this weekend. Maybe some lucky woman will find this under her tree on Christmas morning...

Fruit of my Mind

2011-11-16T13:04:00.001-08:00

Last night I finished another jacket. When I looked back at my blog posts, I realized that I started it a month ago. I am definitely not a speed demon with my creations. Here's what it looks like. Of course it's not exactly what I had in mind when I began, but it's close and I'm pleased.

I called it "Fruit of my Mind" as a reference to the stylized fruits in the fabric and the ideas that come from my head in creating it. My ideas always change as I design the fabric/embellishments and put the jacket together. There are always things that happen in the process that require me to rethink my plan. That's the challenge - and the fun for me.
As soon as I had finished this one I was eager to move on to another. Usually beginning another means pulling out bins of fabric, sorting and more sorting, before I know what I am going to do. This time it was a much quicker process. Two ideas came together very quickly for me.
I am going to work with an African hand-dyed damask fabric that I bought this past summer at Q/SDS as my base. Into that I am going to set curvy, pieced strips.
I'd been wanting to go through my scrap bins and start piecing together similar colors into long strips - just to have on hand for when I "need" them. I had a bit of time last night and decided to just start. Then I noticed the length of damask and realized it would be a great background for my pieced strips. The light bulb went on.
Here's my bit of beginning. I can't wait to see where it will take me.

Great Time at the Merrimack Valley Artisan's Show

2011-10-28T12:02:00.000-07:00

Well last weekend was my first formal foray into the world of fine arts and craft shows. I participated in the Merrimack Valley Artisans show--bringing jackets, free lace scarves and art cards. It was a lovely show and I felt proud to be a part of it.

As a "newbie" with primarily pricey merchandise, my goal for the show was to gain experience and exposure. I definitely did both and even made some sales, so I was a happy woman at the end of the weekend. There is so much more to doing these things than you ever realize when you start out. Just managing to get your booth set up and taken down without major mishap is a major accomplishment. I'd purchased a black metal gridwall system thinking that it would look nice and give me a great deal of flexibility for future shows.

It proved more difficult to set up and take down than I anticipated, but I think the look is worth it. I got many compliments on how nice my booth looked. Thankfully I learned several tricks that I think will make it easier to manage the next time I do this.

Response to my jackets and scarves was heartening, giving me good motivation to keep going and looking for appropriate venues for getting my work out there. Another artist who's a colleague of my husband, Jacqui Hawk, encouraged me to participate in the Women's Works event sponsored by UMass Lowell's Center for Women and Work on December 1. I'd considered it before, but the personal encouragement was just what I needed to make the decision to go for it. It'll be held at the UMass Lowell Inn and Conference Center in downtown Lowell from 2-7 p.m. If you're in the area, stop by to say hello.

Fall Rhapsody

2011-10-21T08:21:00.000-07:00

Fall Rhapsody is a good description for my mood yesterday and it's also the name of a jacket I sold during the recent Lowell Open Studios Event. Martha came to pick up it yesterday and she let me snap her picture.

She was on her way to work and was quite worried that she wasn't dressed appropriately to show it off. That didn't worry me. I may be prejudiced, but I think it looks great even with her jeans. (She's promised me she'll have her husband take another picture of her wearing it when she's all dolled up for a night out.)

I have to say that it is an enormous high for me when one of my jackets meets its new owner. This one fits Martha to a tee and brings out the red highlights in her hair. Everyone commented about that when she tried it on during open studios. So, even though I made it some time ago, it looks like it was made just for her. I guess it was, I just didn't know it at the time.

So I'm still grinning ear-to-ear today...a good feeling to carry over into my first fine crafts show this weekend. I hope you'll join me at the Merrimack Valley Artisans show in Chelmsford, Massachusetts either Saturday or Sunday. Maybe you'll find the jacket that was made for you.

Starting a New Jacket - Finally

2011-10-14T13:29:00.000-07:00

After spending my summer working on Free Lace Scarves, I am finally getting back to working on jackets. What with cleaning and organizing our new studio space to get ready for Lowell Open Studios and preparing for the Merrimack Valley Artisans show later this month, it has been a very busy time. Until a couple of days ago, I couldn't see my way clear to starting a major new project.

I did manage to finish a jacket I'd started last spring so I'd have something brand new for Lowell Open Studios. Mostly though I've been cleaning and organizing. The little time I set aside for creative work, I've just been making Art Cards with little bits of embroidered piecework. Fun but not quite the same level of satisfaction as a jacket.

Here's the jacket I finished. I call it Calm Waters. This was my first wool jacket and the first time I added a button closure to my one of my Japanese-style jackets.

The button doesn't show up very well in my photo. It's a beautiful handmade glass button from Penny Faich. The background is dark with a bit of iridescent turquoise to match the colors in the jacket. Penny and I have frequently been vendors at the same quilt shows. When I see her I always buy at least a few of her buttons knowing they will add a wonderful finishing touch to some future project. The jacket is fully lined with that lovely watered silk that I've used for the collar and cuffs. The creative piecing is enhanced with couched threads to draw together the colors.

This week I started itching to start something new. I spent a good part of two days pulling out fabrics from bins and making piles all over our new work space. I hadn't done any fabric organization since we expanded so it was a major project. I made many, many piles by color, texture, and weight trying to see what would call to me and what I had enough of for a project. I finally decided on a gorgeous embroidered silk. I tried to stay away from it because one of the predominant colors was jade again and I felt I should do something different. But I've been wanting to work with this fabric ever since it came to me, so I decided to just go with it.

Here's what my initial idea is:

Even though the colors are similar, you can see that this one will be very different. I'm excited to be back at it again.

More Free Lace Scarves

2011-08-18T10:56:00.000-07:00

My summer art push has been Free Lace Scarves. I've been traveling back and forth between my home and studio in Lowell and our summer house in Maine. Between that and other projects (such as major accounting software problems), I've often felt my time was too fragmented to work on jackets.

Creating free lace scarves has been the perfect project to keep the creative juices going and make me feel productive. Turns out that the counter in my kitchen in Maine is just the right height and length for laying out the threads and creating the design. I can tape the stabilizer to the counter so things won't move on me. Check out my Facebook page for those pictures. Then I have my sewing machine set up in the corner of the living room for doing the stitching.

This great view keeps me entertained while I'm working. You can't get bored with a water view; it's always changing. Tuesday it was rainy, but late in the day there was an unusual rainbow across the lake. It was very low to the horizon and quite spread out. I'd never seen one quite like it before.

So I keep playing with threads, ribbons, silk cocoons and stitching patterns to try to keep every one fresh and new. Here are the latest ones.

More to come soon. I still have more ideas to try out. Stay tuned.

Balancing Art with Everything Else

2011-07-13T11:40:00.000-07:00

Lately I feel like I'm in spinning-plates mode, trying to keep several projects in the air without anything coming crashing down. So far I'm managing, perhaps just barely, but at least one of my projects is a vacation. A real one this time, not just working out of town. We're headed for Montreal in the morning and on Saturday we're boarding a cruise ship for a leisurely trip back to Boston. It's a belated celebration of our fortieth wedding anniversary which occurred while I was in Columbus for QSDS.

One of the things I just did to get ready for my trip was to cut some more little fabric pieces to make into original cards. I mentioned in my last post that this was how I spent my down time while vending at QSDS adding some embroidery to each of the little bits that I'd brought along. Then over the last couple of days here in the studio, I mounted them on blank cards--doing some layering with some abaca papers and other handmade papers. It's been fun and I'm pleased with how they came out so I decided to do some more on this trip. Here are some examples of the completed cards.

This first one started with a commercial fabric that had Paintstik rubbings on it. I layered a sheer fabric with a bit of couching over that, added some sparkly abaca paper, and finished with a little embroidery to hold it all together.

This next one started with a bit of fabric with some nice shiny couched threads. I filled in one of the spaces with French knots, then layered it over a sheer handmade paper.

This last one started with a pieced remnant from a jacket I made a few years ago. A little embroidery and an underlayer of more sparkly abaca paper was about all it needed.

I love handwork; I find it very relaxing so it's a great vacation project. I've been so busy with various administrative projects lately, that it feels really satisfying to make some art again.

In the last six weeks or so these cards and one free lace scarf is about all I've managed to finish in terms of artwork, but at least I'm doing something to keep that plate in the air. Here's the scarf I finished. I tried something new in that I made the ends of the scarves quite different from the middle. I like the lacey look, I think I'll try that again.

Greetings from QSDS

2011-06-17T06:08:00.000-07:00

I've been away from the studio now for almost two weeks - spending my days in a room without windows, vending at the Quilt/Surface Design Symposium in Columbus, Ohio. Here's a little view of my area. We're in a classroom at the Columbus College of Art & Design. My sales area is shown in the left part of the picture. I think I should have focused on that rather than my rather messy work area, but I think you get the picture. I've brought as much stuff as I could fit on three 8' tables plus two small book shelves. There are three more vendors in the room with me--Judy Robertson of Just Imagination with her hand-dyed fabrics, Bob Davis who has Helene's hand-dyed fabrics and shirts, and Becky Hancock of St. Teresa's Textile Trove. We have all vended for QSDS for many years, so this is sort of like old home week for us.

Between customers I try to keep busy with some type of handwork, just to keep the creative juices going at least a bit. This year I brought a bunch of small swatches of "leftovers" from various projects. I have been adding a bit of embroidery to each one as a sort of finishing touch. My plan is to fuse them to blank cards. I don't know if I'll then try to sell them or just use them myself. I guess I'll see how they all come out. Here's a look at the first ones I've done. Some are more successful than others--as is always the case--but they're keeping me busy and that's the most important part.

We are also managing to get in a bit of sight-seeing while we're here. One morning we walked over to a topiary garden that's only a couple of blocks from the college. It was delightful. It was started in 1989 to not all the figures are complete but that does not take away from its charm. The garden was planned to reproduce Seurat's Walk in the Park in 3D. Here are a couple of views.

Here it is sort of as if you were looking at the painting.

And here is the pond at the back with the boats.

Playing with Color and Texture

2011-05-27T11:30:00.000-07:00

I'm trying out new technology today. We recently broke down and bought a small laptop computer for our business. My main motivation was to be able to take it with me to the Quilt/Surface Design Symposium next month, but now I'm finding many other uses for it. Today I'm learning about sharing pictures and documents from my office computer via the web. I'm hoping I can add pictures to this post via a new service my husband set up for me. It is my test run to see if I can manage this on my own. I'm pretty computer-literate, but for many things I still feel like a newbie.

In my more hands-on world, I've been creating more Free Lace scarves. The gallery I am working with in Newton has requested longer ones than I've made before. Customers want to "make a statement" with their scarves. My previous ones didn't have quite enough length for that. I made a big push and made four scarves in four days this week. I wanted to make them as different as I could.

Here's the first one. I've incorporated triangles of shot silk as well as threads of various textures, even one with some sparkle.

This is the second one. I had just a bit of some beautiful yellow threads that I wanted to use. There wasn't enough for a big project and I also wanted the challenge of using yellow. It's not a color I work with often. The overall reads green to me because of the combination of yellow and blue threads, but the yellow adds a liveliness that pleases me.

Here's the third. This one incorporates triangles of silk and squares of an embroidered sheer. With this one I got to a place where I thought it should be done, but it didn't feel quite special yet. I had a random square of sheer fabric setting on my table that kind of jumped up at me to say "use me." It was a fairly small sample that had an embroidered grid pattern filled with circles. I loved it but didn't know what to do with it. I realized that the colors worked well with my design and the sheer was soft enough to work well in a scarf. So I cut it up and added it in. Another example of why it's necessary to keep a stash of fabric and supplies on hand even if you don't know what you're going to do with them.

Here's the last one - another challenge color for me - orange. The color alone makes a statement. I've toned it down a bit with some purple, but it's definitely bright.

So I have to say that it's work I'm pleased with. I hope they find good homes.

I also have to say that I'm pleased that I've managed this new system and gotten my blog written with pictures included even though I'm away from my office computer. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

Need Lead Shoes Today

2011-05-09T11:05:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted for a while because I was working hard to finish the jacket commissioned by my neighbor for his wife. The hard work paid off - I delivered it right on time last week. Today I got the nicest note from her. She'd worn the jacket four times already and had received many compliments and lots of questions about where she got it etc. She felt great and her husband was very pleased with himself for ordering it. Makes me feel so good.

So here's a look at it:

The bands on the front and cuffs are crazy log cabin squares. I worked in many colors so she could coordinate with lots of things. As an added challenge - and more fun - she had given me several fabric remnants from her 87-year-old quilter aunt to work in if possible. I am pleased to say that I managed to use at least a bit of all the fabrics she gave me. I think it's wonderful that the jacket has that added level of meaning for her.

Now the secret of this jacket is that it is reversible so she can get double the wear. Here's the "inside."

In my original plan this side was going to be just plain, but as I thought more about it I realized it needed a bit of spark to be sure that she would really get double the wear. That's when I decided to add the couched threads. These are the Stef Francis 5400 rayon threads that I love so. They add great color and shine. (Don't tell her but these were leftovers from Sonja's wedding dresses. The colors were perfect.) In her note she said she'd worn both sides already, so I guess it was a good decision.

So now you see why I need those lead shoes - to weight me down to the earth after all the good news. I've got lots to do, so I can't just go floating away...

Walking on Air

2011-04-19T14:12:00.000-07:00

I think I need someone to pinch me to make sure I'm not just dreaming. So many good things have happened this past week that I find it hard to believe I'm really awake.

It started last Tuesday. First I had lunch with a very good friend that I hadn't seen in a over a year. It was great to catch up on everything. Lots of good things going on in her life.

After lunch, I went to check out a wearable art store I'd heard of from Barbara Poole, another fiber artist in the area. I wanted to see if it might possibly be a venue for my jackets. I am absolutely thrilled to say that the store was beautiful, it really does sell one-of-a-kind items, AND the owner was happy to carry my jackets. (I had brought pictures, just in case.) So as of today, my kimono-style jackets and free-lace scarves are available at Dahlia, 97M Union Street, Newton Centre, Massachusetts. I hope you'll stop in there when you're in the neighborhood and help me spread the word.

The next wonderful thing that happened last week, was that one of my neighbors commissioned a custom jacket for his wife. This will be the second jacket I've made for her. When we got together last week, she told be that she'd worn the first one at least 200 times! And it still looks great if I do say so myself. This one will be a quilted, reversible hip-length jacket with pieced bands up the front and on the sleeve cuffs. She wanted blues. Here are my preliminary choices. We'll see if she approves.

Then Friday my daughter Sonja e-mailed to say that she'd received an award for outstanding performance in her division at work. It was so nice for her to get recognized by "the powers that be" at work. It's just not the same when it's your mom telling you you're great.

By the weekend we were both riding high, so when we heard that the studio next to us here at Western Avenue was going to be available in June we decided to jump on it. Sonja will give up her little personal studio down the hall and we'll double the size of our joint studio. We'll knock out part of the wall to make one big space. It will allow us to expand our display space, hide all our messy supplies, and have more room to work. It's going to be a lot of work to reorganize everything, but it will be awesome when we're finished.

...so if I'm just dreaming, I don't really want to wake up.

Riding the Roller Coaster

2011-04-08T10:27:00.000-07:00

I've had quite a ride this past month. I hope I can stay off the roller coaster and on more level ground for a while. I've spent a good deal of time working with my siblings to get my mother moved into an advanced care assisted living situation. If you've been there you know how much mental and physical work is involved. Luckily the four of us work well together and we found a situation that we are all happy with. Our mother seems pleased as well, so we're hoping things will settle down for a while.

With all that going on, I haven't had much time for sewing, but I did finish a jacket yesterday. I call this one "Persuede Me." The fabric is a nice, buttery-soft micro-suede.

I think the fabric was designed with chair covers in mind. It consisted of panels with what looked like organic "squares" screened in the middle of a beige ground. I loved the patterns and the colors, but it took me quite a while to figure out how to use it. I finally decided on my "default" of cutting it up in strips and then putting the strips together to create a new whole. Once the new fabric was created, I added couched squares to add texture and echo the squares and rectangles. Then I found a beautiful sheer fabric with a woven leaf design for the collar and cuffs.

Here's the back:

I'm trying to keep up the momentum by moving right on to a new one. A bit ago I pulled out several lovely wool fabric remnants in coordinating shades of jade and a lovely watered silk. Now I need to figure out how I can put them together for another one.

New Jackets Completed

2011-03-08T09:03:00.000-08:00

Since my last post I have finished two more jackets. This first one I call Sheer Magic.

I had built up a stash of beautiful embroidered silks, including several sheers. They'd been calling my name for some time, but I couldn't quite decide how I wanted to put them together. I thought about creating a sheer jacket, but I knew it would need all French seams. That process was just too daunting.

In my usual fashion, I decided to just start in and see what happened. In the process of laying out the fabrics to use, I noticed that layering the sheers over the other fabrics gave a beautiful haunting effect and that settled it for me. In the body of the jacket the embroidered sheers are layered right over other embroidered fabrics. In the collar and cuffs I've layered the embroidered sheers over a plain color.

The final design detail - couched rayon threads - was inspired by my daughter Sonja. She'd pulled out several Stef Francis 5400 rayon threads for an order one day. Turned out she'd taken out an extra one, but noticed that the colors coordinated beautifully with the fabrics I'd laid out on the table. So she left it out for me to see. The colors worked so well I just had to use it.

My most recently completed jacket also incorporates embroidered fabrics but this time I used embroidered linens.

Again I added couched threads to accentuate the vine designs and add a hint of color to the tone-on-tone fabrics I'd chosen.

Finding the Right Amount of Challenge

2011-02-18T10:58:00.000-08:00

I learned about the Sketchbook Challenge back in December. The organizer contacted us (Friends Fabric Art) to see if we were interested in becoming a sponsor. As I read more about it, I decided that not only should we sponsor it, but I should participate. I thought it be a good incentive to be more diligent about keeping a sketchbook. My previous efforts with sketchbooks have been sporadic at best. I thought that having the monthly challenge structure would spur me to do more and the sketchbook aspect of it seemed loose enough that I wouldn't be too intimidated. I'd taken a drawing class back in college but I was so scared of it that I took it pass/fail. Though I enjoyed it, I just haven't done too much "real" drawing since then. I guess it's still "work" for me, not "fun."

Sad to say, the January theme for the challenge proved too much of a challenge for me. The theme - Highly Prized - just couldn't take me past the idea that I needed to draw something specific on that big empty page. I just couldn't think of something that I prized highly that I felt competent to draw. I thought about it a number of times during the month. I even brought a sketchbook on my vacation, but I just couldn't make myself do anything. I wasn't off to a very good start.

Thankfully, in February's theme - Opposites - I found some ideas that I could wrap my head around. To reduce the intimidation factor, I decided to use a very small sketchbook for the project. That helped and I actually did three little pages. Each page is just about 2-1/2" x 3." On each I played with words and colors:

I started out just playing with words with opposite meanings and reflecting them in the colors and patterns. By the third page I was playing with the idea of opposing the words and visuals--writing the word Stop in the color green and the word Go in read for example. It was fun to do and I hope it has given me enough of a start to this that I can continue through the year.

In the meantime, I also realized that my personal complementary color scheme small quilt series fits very well into the opposites theme so the sketchbook challenge also helped get me back into that project. I'd gotten kind of stuck on #5 in the series. I didn't like it very much so it was lagging. I finally managed to finish it and get myself started on a sixth. This one I'm much more excited about.

Here it is as of a couple of days ago. I'm having fun with a scrap of hand-painted fabric, bits of silk cocoons, some pulp lace ribbon, a sheet of copper foil and some scraps of plain and embroidered sheer fabric. Per my usual I am adding lots of hand embroidery and quilting with embroidery threads. I may add some beading too. I don't know yet. I am much more comfortable "sketching" with a needle and thread than I am with pencil and paper. We'll see if the sketchbook challenge can change that.

Overcoming Artist Block

2010-12-17T12:50:00.000-08:00

One of the hazards of working with donated, repurposed fabric swatches is that sometimes you just don't have enough for the project you have in mind. That happened to me earlier this week and at that point I felt like I'd hit a wall.

I'd finished another Free Lace scarf and was ready to get going on another jacket. I remembered some fabric that I'd received in my last batch of donations that I really liked and wanted to work with. I knew there wasn't a lot, but I hoped I'd be able to find some other fabrics that would work well with it. I proceeded to dig through almost all the fabric that I had but I couldn't find anything of the right weight, color and texture. I was so disappointed, that I just couldn't think of anything else I wanted to do. It took a while for me to climb out of the box I'd created for myself and move on.

Once again I was grateful for my large fabric stash. I realized that in order to pick up my spirits again I just needed to start on something. I knew that if I could just find any coordinating fabrics that constituted enough for a jacket and started to put them together, the creative ideas would come. Thankfully, that truism--Just Start Something--worked for me again.

I found a set of fabrics of similar weight and brown, gold and beige colors all with linear patterns--plaids, stripes, and boxes--that I thought I could work with. I started putting strips together and then started couching threads over the top to pull it all together. I started with a sparkly copper & brown thread similar to the main colors in the fabrics. Then I found another heavier "yarn" that helped bring out the blue in the stripe. As is usual for me, I wasn't too sure of my selections until I got fairly well into the process. Luckily, once I got a large section done and was able to step back and look at it as a whole, I started to relax.

I think I'll call this one Crazy Brown Study. I think it looks much better "in person" than in my picture. I'll let you know how it comes along.

Finally just to put closure on my last post, here's a picture of the completed Free Lace scarf with the silk cocoon flowers. It definitely has the delicate lacey look I was envisioning when I started.

Getting Bolder with my Free Lace Scarves

2010-12-13T12:19:00.000-08:00

Today is another day for "mindless" stitching. Working on Free Lace scarves is a good way to spend the Monday after a busy Open Studios weekend. I can be productive doing the machine stitching without using much brain-power.

Lately I've started incorporating more things into my scarves. For a while I had been staying pretty basic--just playing with colors and textures in pretty straightforward stripes. That was fun for a while, but I needed to do more. In my last few, I've been working in other shapes and textures through the use of fabric bits and silk cocoons and carrier rods.

I had stayed away from incorporating fabric bits because I couldn't decide how I would treat the edges to keep them from fraying excessively. Then when I was digging through a drawer looking for something else, I discovered that we had a rotary cutter with a wavy blade. I decided to try that on some sheers. I thought the wavy edge would be interesting and control some of the fraying.

Here's what I came up with. I cut lots of sheer triangles and then overlaid them with a thin green ribbon and a brown yarn that included a sparkly copper colored thread. The edges of the sheer fabrics did roughen up some in the rinsing process, but just enough to give the bits a sort of distressed look. I guess it was a successful experiment because it sold within a day or two of putting it in The Loading Dock Gallery.

From there I went on to try adding other shapes and textures using the rods and cocoons. We get so many questions from our studio visitors as to what the rods and cocoons are and how you use them, that we're always looking for new applications. I knew that the silk wouldn't be hurt by the water needed to dissolve the stabilizer so I thought these scarves might be a good use for them.

I figured that even if the process of dissolving the stabilizer dissolved some of the "starch" holding the cocoon and rod pieces together, I'd have enough machine stitching to hold the fibers in place. I thought I might get some fluffy bits in the scarf, but that was okay with me. Somewhat to my surprise the pieces I used held together very well and the look didn't change very much at all after the rinsing process. Here's my first attempt.

I cut flower shapes from the silk cocoons and used the rods in their basic rectangular shape. With both the cocoons and the rods, I separated them into layers to make them softer and more fabric like. Separating them into layers also gives you color and texture variations that still blend all together. Some of the layers are very thin and sheer, while others are thicker and more opaque.

For the next one, I again used the rods in their basic rectangular shape, but I cut the cocoons into spirals. Pulling the layers apart and flattening them gives some great funky shapes--not spirals really, but more like waves and question marks.

For the one I'm stitching on today, I've again made flowers from the cocoons. Instead of using the silk rods, I've used wavy bits of silk. This one is going to be very lacy and soft looking. I haven't finished the stitching yet, so the stabilizer is still there, but the picture will give you an idea.

I really like using the Mokuba stabilizer for this work. Even when they are separated into layers, neither the cocoon shapes or the carrier rods are totally flat. The clear film included in the Mokuba packages holds them flat enough to make the stitching easy.

Big Weekend for Art

2010-12-06T13:58:00.000-08:00

I stayed home for a while this morning, trying to catch up on some of the cleaning that I didn't get done this weekend. I spent just about the entire weekend at the studio. Friday night was the opening reception for Winter Lights III at The Loading Dock Gallery downstairs. All the artists in the show wore my jackets and two others along with two other young women did some walk-through modeling. It was a great time. As I've said before it is great fun to see your work on real people.

Here's Peter Zimmerman in my new wescot. He's in his studio just before the reception began. As you can see he's a glass artist. Peter is looking pretty serious and "grown up," but it wasn't all seriousness at the party. Here are the two youngest models. They really got into it.

The rest of the weekend was taken up with Open Studios here. We were open both Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Saturday especially it was really hopping around here. I hope that bodes well for next weekend too. We'll be open both Saturday and Sunday afternoons again. (December 11 and 12 noon to 5)

New Man's Wescot

2010-12-02T12:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I managed to finish the man's vest I committed to for tomorrow night's opening reception for the Winter Lights III show here at The Loading Dock Gallery. What a relief when I took it down for Peter to try on and it fit. He hadn't been around at the times during the construction when I needed a basic fitting. With the timing of the reception I didn't have the luxury of waiting for him before going on. At those points I nabbed whoever crossed my path and made them try it on. Luckily at both points I ran into a man who was at least somewhat similar in size and build. Based on those "fittings" and the basic boxy style of the vest, I was just trusting to luck that it would work out all right. Thankfully luck was on my side.

So here's what I put together from the fabrics I discussed last time.

I call it "Off the Beaten Track" since it is not my usual woman's jacket. I learned a lot from creating it. Although the basic pattern is in the book Making Kimono and Japanese Clothing by Jenni Dobson, I do not follow her construction methods. In order to create a piece that will look really good for many years to come, I incorporate fine tailoring techniques. Thus each new style requires a lot of careful thought about how it all goes together and each time I make it the process gets refined. This is definitely not quick production work, but I sure enjoy myself.

I'm pleased with this result and will make more of this style. With this one, the main fabric is heavily textured, while the neckband and insets are a mid-weight cotton. This means that the decorative bars on the front have a depth that helps them stand out.

If you are in the area, I hope you can join us at the reception tomorrow night - 6 to 9 p.m. Details are available on Facebook. If you can't make it tomorrow night, we will be open both Saturday and Sunday for the next two weekends for our annual Holiday Open Studios. Please stop by to see us.

Defending my Fabric Stash

2010-11-19T08:55:00.000-08:00

There seem to be two camps in the textile art world - those who believe that they're being "good" when they refrain from adding to their stash of threads and fabrics and those who unabashedly collect whatever moves them. I am definitely in the latter camp. For me, limiting my stash directly translates to limiting my creativity. So often, the process of going through my stash to collect fabrics for a new project takes my idea in a new direction or brings it to a new level.

Case in point, the vest I'm going to make for Peter Zimmerman to wear at the Winter Lights III reception on December 3. When I started considering this, I had in mind a hand-dyed, discharged and printed fabric from Mary Walters paired with something pretty neutral - and masculine - maybe black. When actually pulled out the black fabric I had in mind it seemed deadly dull to me, even when I tried to imagine it with the piecework I planned. So I kept digging through my fabric bins. I came up with this combination which I found much more inspiring.

Mary's fabric is in the center and I'm seeing it featured front and center, but in a relatively small amount. The heavily textured fabric on the left will be the main fabric and the "michi kanji" fabric on the right will be the lining. With this selection, I'm excited to get going. I want to do something on the main body of the vest to echo the design in the center fabric. I just need to figure out what.

Mindless Stitching Isn't so Mindless After All

2010-11-17T12:46:00.000-08:00

I'm working on a "Free Lace" scarf today - doing the machine-stitched grid that holds it all together. This is the stage that, before doing one, I thought would be totally boring. I had been afraid that I would not enjoy making these scarves because the machine sewing would be such a chore...more famous last words. I am finding that this sewing time is actually creative time. While doing this rote sewing I can let my mind float on to the next project.

It's looking like my next project is going to be a man's jacket or vest. I've been asked several times if I ever make jackets for men, but project hasn't yet risen to the top of my list. As of yesterday I have a reason to put it there. Here's the story.

I am participating with six other artists and artisans in the Winter Lights III exhibit at The Loading Dock Gallery here at Western Avenue Studios. Yesterday we decided that all of us will wear my jackets during the reception on Friday night December 3rd. As you've probably guessed, one of the artisans is male, but we don't want to leave him out. Right now I'm thinking about a boxy Japanese-type vest. I've got a rust-colored fabric from Mary Walters that I'd like to feature, but I need to figure out if I have coordinating fabrics that won't make it look too feminine. Hmmm, maybe black??? Which of my "usual" embellishment techniques can I use to add interest but keep it masculine - or at least unisex??? This is what I've been day-dreaming about as I stitch.

If you're in the area, I invite you to come to the show opening to see my latest jackets and the work of the other six artists:

The reception happens from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday December 3. There'll be good food, good friends, live modeling of my jackets and great holiday shopping. Hope to see you then.

The Thrill of Seeing Others Wear Your Work

2010-11-10T11:37:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday night was the Art of Fine Fashion show at A Quilter's Gathering in Nashua, New Hampshire. I had three jackets in the show and it was such a joy to see them on real people - not a mannequin or dress form. Unfortunately, my camera batteries were lower than I had realized so I only got a few pictures.

Here's the best one. I took this one of Nancy in my Sebago Days jacket before the show. She walked out into the hallway while she was waiting for it to start and I nabbed her for a picture.

The pictures I took during the show definitely leave something to be desired. I am not a people/action photographer!!

The Art of Fine Fashion

2010-10-29T11:42:00.000-07:00

Today's one of those days when I feel really scattered. I'm having trouble focusing, I have so much going on lately--some setbacks but mostly good. I'll skip the details to go right to the best news.

I have two things to make me especially happy these days. First my son finished his active military duty as of yesterday. He spent four years in the Air Force and much to my relief, the only overseas duty he did was a three week stint participating in war games in Germany. He will continue to work for the Air Force in a civilian capacity, but he is coming home for a visit first. I'll be so glad to see him.

Besides that personal happiness, I'm thrilled to share that I've had jackets accepted into another fashion show. A week from tomorrow I'll have three jackets in The Art of Fine Fashion show that is part of A Quilters' Gathering in Nashua, New Hampshire. The show will be at 7:30 p.m. Saturday night November 6 at the Radisson Hotel at 11 Tara Blvd., just off Rt. 3 in Nashua. I'll be there and I'd love to see you there. I won't spoil the surprise by putting in pictures of the jackets now. You'll have to wait till it's over. Stay tuned.

To Facebook or Not to Facebook???

2010-10-20T08:28:00.000-07:00

That's the question I've been stewing about for what seems forever. Earlier this month I finally decided and made the plunge. I signed up and Sonja and I set up a page for Friends Fabric Art. We don't have much up on our Friends page yet, but our goal is to highlight new products there, including pictures of how we've used the various products available in our web store. We hope that it will also be a place to gather comments from our customers on how they've used things and what they've particularly liked (or disliked). Yesterday I posted pictures of my latest series of small art quilts.

I have always enjoyed handwork and since I started quilting more than 20 years ago I have almost always had some type of handwork project going. Since I started really concentrating on jackets, I'd gotten away from my small projects. Over the summer I realized I really missed that and needed to get back into it. To jump start my enthusiasm I decided to work with a Stef Francis Creative Embroidery kit that had been hanging around here for years. However I found I just couldn't get my head into the specific project suggested in the kit. The colors and materials in the kit kept calling my name, so I just decided to ignore the "project" totally and just play with the fabric, threads and beads in the kit.

Here's what I did. The hand-dyed silk noil, the threads, and the beads came in the kit. The ribbon was something that I bought from another vendor at a quilt show a while back. The photos on fabric also had been hanging around here for a while. The choices were all inspired by the color scheme in the kit.

The color scheme in the kit is so unusual for me, but I liked it so well that I decided to challenge myself to continue working with it for a while. I want to see if I can do a dozen of these small works (9" x 12") all in that blue & orange theme. I'm going to see what all unusual things I can incorporate in to them.

This was number one. I'm currently working on number five. You can see the entire series in the photo gallery on our Friends Fabric Art Facebook page.

Kerouac Concert Kicks off a Great Weekend

2010-10-04T10:50:00.000-07:00

Despite the rainy weather, Friday night's Kerouac festival concert/poetry reading at the Old Court in Lowell made for a great start to our weekend. We went early to hang our kimono and were very pleased at how it looked against the black wall. With the spotlights, it stood out well.

Antje (Duvekot, shown here) and Dave Robinson, Urban Village Arts event organizer, were very complimentary about it and pleased to have it there. They had seen pictures of it prior to the concert, but had not seen "the real deal." It was great to be able to share it with them and to have a small part in the festival.

Their response was a good omen for our weekend. Saturday was the regular "First Saturday" Open Studios here at Western Avenue Studios. We had many visitors during the afternoon and Sonja sold one of her newest works and had inquiries about another larger work. I had someone schedule an appointment for later today to discuss creating a custom jacket for her. By the end of the day we were residing on cloud 9 again. Not a bad place to be.

Kimono to Participate in the Kerouac Festival

2010-09-29T08:30:00.000-07:00

You may know that Lowell is the hometown of Beat poet and author Jack Kerouac. Every year at this time Lowell celebrates his work in festival of poetry readings, films, pub crawls and more. This year's festival has been expanded to four days starting tomorrow and continuing through Sunday, October 3. We are excited that Sonja and I are going to bring a visual arts element to one of the events. The kimono that we made for the Brush Arts exhibit earlier this year is going to be used for the backdrop at a concert and poetry reading on Friday night.

What's the connection between Jack Kerouac and our kimono you might ask? Believe me there is a connection. The link is the song 'Long Way' by one of Friday night's performers, Antje Duvekot which talks about a road trip a la Jack Kerouac.

When we began to plan our kimono we read about and studied pictures of kimonos from different eras. We were especially drawn to kimonos that were inspired by poetry and/or nature. That gave Sonja the idea to use Antje's song as the basis for ours. We contacted her and she gave us permission to use it. We've incorporated the full lyrics and images from our own cross country travels and reflects the excitement of travel and the wonder of nature. We call it 'Wandering.'

When we learned that Antje was participating in the Kerouac Festival this year we contacted her and the festival organizers and offered our kimono as a backdrop. Yesterday we got confirmation that they want it. We are totally thrilled. So if you are in town on Friday night, the concert is at 8:00 p.m. at the Old Court restaurant at the corner of Central and Middle streets in downtown Lowell. We'll be there.

An Unexpected Boost

2010-09-16T13:47:00.000-07:00

I have a great story to share with those of you who sometimes get down thinking no one is noticing what you do.

I came in to the studio late today due to a dental appointment and several errands. It meant that I walked in with one of the other artists on my floor that I don't know particularly well. She congratulated me on having my work in the Globe this past Sunday. Of course I responded that I was thrilled about it and commented that it was quite a fluke that I'd even seen it since I don't get the Globe. At that she said "oh no - I'd have brought it to you. I recognized your jackets." The emphasis is mine. Her comment made my day.

Now if you read my last post about the article, you might remember that none of the items shown were attributed to the creator. I never expected that anyone would know that those were my jackets without my name there. I often worry that my work is all over the place and that I do not have a recognizable style. I've often felt that in order to have a style, you have to decide to do that and work toward it. Now I realize I can relax, do what I like, and my style will just come through. That is so freeing.

It was also quite a boost because I never really expected that this person paid much attention to my work. Most of the time she doesn't remember my name. It just goes to show that you don't always know who is paying attention. At the time, I didn't expect much from the Bead + Fiber fashion show. There was no commentary during the show and the only attribution for the artists was a listing on the side of the building. But, obviously Tina Sutton, who put together the Style Watch page for the Globe was there and the page will help me even if my name isn't right there. So I guess I'll just put my head down and keep working.

That said, here's the jacket I just completed.

Softly Intertwining

This is one that I just wasn't too sure about until I got well into the project. It's made from an embroidered cotton that I've had for some time now--one of those that I had just large swatches of. I had a hard time to decide what to do with that fabric because I thought it was a problem that I didn't have many complete flower motifs or many samples of the same colorway. I finally realized that was inside the box thinking. Once I could see the motifs more as color and texture, I could expand my possibilities of how to put it together and what other fabrics I could use with it. I was pleased with the results.

Made the Boston Globe Twice Within a Month!!

2010-09-14T13:21:00.000-07:00

I've been telling myself for at least two weeks that I need to get back to blogging, but I just haven't managed to tear myself away from other things. Last night, though, something happened that I just have to share.

My husband was teaching and I was home leisurely perusing the Sunday Globe. I turned the page in the magazine section to a spread of fashion photos and immediately recognized one of the dresses as one I'd seen in the Bead + Fiber show this past May. My eyes drifted to the top of the page and I realized I was looking at one of my jackets that had been in that show! As I recuperated from my shock, I realized that the layout included not one, but two of my jackets. There was no attribution for the creators of any of the clothing pictured, but as you can see, I've fixed that in my version - well at least for my work. The jackets in the top row, center and far right are mine.

This was especially exciting for two reasons. First, I had no idea that this was going to happen. But more than that, it could have so easily gone right past me without my ever knowing. We don't get the Globe ourselves, our neighbors pass theirs along to us when they are finished with it. Often we get several days of papers at once, so if I'm busy I just glance at a few sections or sometimes just put it right into the recycling bin. I guess I'd better start paying attention, especially since this is the second time within a month that my (our) work has been featured in the Globe.

On Sunday August 29, the kimono that Sonja and I made was pictured in the Globe North section. The title of the article had nothing to do with our kimono and you had to read carefully through the article to find the short bit about the show here at The Loading Dock Gallery that it's in. Still the kimono was clearly attributed to us and it looked great even in black and white in the printed papers.

With all this, I'm working on Cloud 9 somewhere...

Trying to get back to the sewing machine

2010-07-15T08:55:00.000-07:00

I have been away from this for so long and so much has happened since my last post, I hardly know where to begin. I guess I should just start where I am right now and I'll fill in backwards over the next few posts.

I am working at home this morning--waiting for a repairman to fix our ice-maker. No ice in the hot weather we've been having is difficult to say the least. Even the dog misses the ice. He has such a sad look when I go to the freezer without tossing him a cube. He says the lukewarm water from the tap is a poor substitute.

Since I knew I'd be home this morning, I went through my fabric stash yesterday to select fabrics for my next jackets. I filled a bag with selections to bring home to wash and iron. That way I can feel that I'm on my way back to my machine and my art. Tomorrow I'll add some pictures so you can see what I'll be working on next.

For the last month and a half I've been concentrating on our fiber art supplies business--getting ready for and then vending at the Quilt/Surface Design Symposium, and then dealing with all the aftermath. I'm finally nearly finished with the bookwork and inventory restocking and am ready to work on jackets again.

Up until now I've been creating my jackets one at a time, start to finish. I'm beginning to wonder if I need to change my style, to have more than one underway. I have at least three different ideas pent up in my head and anxious to burst out. Perhaps I need to let them all flower at once and see how that process works. Perhaps that will help when I run into a problem on one--I can give it a breather while I go on to another. Right now I try to force myself to fix problems immediately because I have to finish that one before starting a new one. Just thinking aloud here...but sometimes you need to shake up the way you work to keep moving ahead. Right now I'd better just get at it.

Getting Ready for Q/SDS

2010-05-27T12:04:00.000-07:00

I am in the middle of packing up books and fiber/mixed media art supplies to take out to Columbus, Ohio for the Quilt/Surface Design Symposium. This will be the 5th year that I've been a vendor at that conference. I decided it was time to take a break from the chaos and post an update. It's such a lot of work to get ready. You can see the mess I'm dealing with...

...boxes everywhere. I shipped a couple of boxes of light things, but everything else has to fit into my car. (It's amazing what you can get into a small, hatchback.) Today is my day to make all the final decisions about what to take and get the boxes packed. Tomorrow it all goes into my car. I head out first thing Sunday morning and will drive all day to get to Columbus. Monday is rest and set up and Tuesday the conference begins. If you're in the area, I hope you'll stop by.

The conference is in a new location this year--at the Ramada Plaza Hotel on Sinclair Road. I'll have to learn a new area of Columbus this year.

I've been very busy since my last post, not just getting ready for Q/SDS. One of the most exciting things that happened was The Practical, The Impractical, and The Artrageous Fashion Show during the SOWA Art Walk weekend in Boston. Sonja and I took a bunch of pictures and hope to add a slide show to our web site one day soon. In the meanwhile, here's just one picture to give you a sample. You might recognize the jacket from a previous post.

It was SO exciting to see my jackets in such a professional show.

Well I just looked at the clock and realized I'd better get back to packing.

Labor of Love

2010-05-13T11:51:00.000-07:00

Here's my most recently completed jacket - a combination of Judy Robertson's hand-dyed cotton sateen, a pale green remnant with corded and textured stripes, and couched threads--rayon and cotton gimp and a sparkly metallic. It's a size small because I didn't have enough of the corded stripe to make anything bigger and I just loved the combination of these two fabrics.

I called this one Tranquility because of the soft colors. As I was sitting here the other day hand stitching the binding and listening to some of my favorite music on my i-pod, I realized that the name was apropos for other reasons than the colors. It was such a lovely, relaxing way to spend an afternoon that working on it certainly enhanced my tranquil feelings.

Oh I know that many people recoil in horror at the thought of hand stitching, but it's one of my favorite activities. Unless I run into an unruly thread or other problems I find stitching quite soothing. I almost always have a stitching project ongoing and I almost never watch television empty handed. As I get ready to go to QSDS, one of the things I have been thinking about is what stitching project I will bring along to fill the quiet times.

I am on a roll with couching lately. My daughter, Sonja, definitely has my number on this one. For Mother's Day she bought me two skeins of gorgeous Italian "yarns" in my favorite cool colors. They have a wonderful sheen and great texture. I've been looking at them now for a week and mulling over what fabric to put them with and what styling would best show them off. One idea is putting it with a soft raw silk/linen fabric that has a subtle woven stripe and the other idea is using it with a shiny pale green silk. In the first combination the yarn would primarily add textural depth, while in the second it would add both line and texture. The first would have a softer more casual look, while the second would be more dressy.

I'm leaning toward starting with the second combination, but the silk hasn't been prewashed yet. I'll either have to wait until tomorrow to get started or begin with the raw silk/linen. I always prewash my fabrics in the washing machine in cool water and a delicate cycle. Then I dry them in the dryer, again on a delicate cycle. Since most of my fabrics are remnants, I often don't know for sure what the fiber content is and I never have care instructions for them. By prewashing them I can make sure that my jackets will stand up to a careful wash when they go home with someone. Legally I have to provide care instructions for my jackets, so I need to figure out what I can recommend. If I can't wash the fabric, I don't want to use it.

With some of the fabrics, that first wash is a bit nerve-wracking, but so far I haven't had any disasters. Overall, I have been quite surprised at what I can wash without problems and often I am happier with the hand of the fabric after washing than before. I'll be anxious to see how this silk washes. It has been laminated to a lightweight knit to give it body, so I'm curious whether it will stand up to a wash. Better to find out now if it won't. I'll let you know my results.

Catching Up, Getting Ready

2010-05-10T13:15:00.000-07:00

I realized today that I haven't posted since I returned from my trip to Wisconsin. Last week was a transition week - catching up on a variety of things after the weekend away, and starting to get ready for my trip to the Quilt/Surface Design Symposium. It's hard to imagine that in three weeks I'll be in Columbus again. There are so many things to do to get ready.

Last time that I posted, I had just finished a wall quilt that I was going to give my mother-in-law for her birthday. Well here she is, just after she opened it. I am happy to report that she was very pleased with it and has picked out a nice spot for it in her living room.

I was pretty sure that she'd be happy with it because it includes lots of phrases from an e-mail that she'd sent me about her mother. Still I was a bit nervous because I'd cut up the quilt I'd made from a top that her mother had made. I know that many people would consider that sacrilegious, but she found it as meaningful as I did. Phew!!!!

I thought I should share this picture of the birthday girl. Don't you hope you look that great when you get to be 90. I think that's something we all wish for. We all enjoyed the party. It was very nice to connect with so many people that you haven't seen in many years - and at a happy occasion.

So as I mentioned, my next big trip is to Columbus, Ohio for Q/SDS, where I will be vending. I just realized that this will be the fifth year that I've done this. Oh my. I hope that if you're in the area, you'll come by and say hi.

Since returning from Wisconsin, I've been reviewing my inventory stocks and deciding what I should bring, ordering things to fill in, making lists of things I must do before going (like remembering to pay last month's sales tax), and working on a jacket. I have another one almost finished. I decided that I should make at least one more featuring Judy Robertson's beautiful fabric since she will have so many fans there. And of course, I also hope that it will help her business too. I'll show you that one in my next post.

Revisiting Grandmother's Flower Garden

2010-04-30T08:50:00.000-07:00

I've been madly trying to finish projects this week before flying off to Milwaukee tonight. This post was basically the last thing on my list. I wanted to share the picture of the wall quilt I finished last night for my mother-in-law. It's her 90th birthday on Sunday and we're having a party for her to celebrate.

So here it is - finally complete. I've been working on it for so long, I'm not sure how I feel about it now that it's done. I'm not sure it works artistically, but it contains so much history and sentiment that I'm glad I kept at it.

I also finished that jacket I've been showing you. Before I leave today I'll take it down to The Loading Dock Gallery. Tomorrow is open studios. Maybe if the stars shine on me, I'll come back on Monday and someone will have decided that it was just the thing for their mother for Mothers Day. That would make me absurdly happy.

Yesterday I went into Boston to drop off jackets at Bead + Fiber for their wearable art exhibit and fashion show next month. Mary, a weaver who was gathering the things for the show, was very friendly and made me feel great by raving about my jackets and one in particular. She asked if I did custom work, since it wasn't her size. I let her know that I am very happy to do custom jackets.

After dropping off my jackets I walked over to Chinatown and met Sonja for lunch. The food was great - and abundant. I ate all I could and still have enough for a couple more lunches.

Whenever I finish a jacket I always try to do one small clean-up/organizing project around here before starting the next one. So I guess that's what I'll come back to on Monday. After finishing Summer Sunset I cleaned out my thread drawer. I had received a gift of about 20 spools of thread and needed to make space for them. Here's what the drawer looked like before I got to work.

I went through and rewound thread ends on the spools and anchored them and sorted them by color family. Now it looks like this:

Not only can I more easily find things now, in the process of organizing I also found some threads that went very well with the Taj Mahal fabric and added them in. It was well worth it.

The Practical, The Impractical & The Artrageous

2010-04-27T12:15:00.000-07:00

I had a doctor's appointment scheduled for this afternoon, but my doctor got held up at the hospital with a poky baby. I thought I'd use this unexpected time for another post.

This is a busy week with lots of details to think about and tasks to finish up--all related to good things. First, this is the week I have to deliver jackets to the Bead + Fiber gallery in Boston. I was thrilled to learn last month that my jackets had been accepted into The Practical, The Impractical and the Artrageous - a fashion show during the SOWA Art Walk in Boston next month. As part of this, my jackets will also be exhibited at Bead + Fiber during May and June. This is my first Boston show, so to say that I'm excited is the understatement of the year. The jackets are all done and ready to go (except for one price tag), but I've been busy with other details--the inventory list, updating and printing my resume, finding PR materials to leave at the gallery, etc.

So Thursday I drop off my jackets, then Friday I'm flying off to Milwaukee with my family for my mother-in-law's 90th birthday party. Before we leave for that I have to finish my gift for her. As usual it's a project that's been underway for a LONG time, but still it's going to go right down to the wire to finish it. Of course when I started this project I didn't think I'd have a deadline to finish it. It was only when I decided that it really should be for my mother-in-law that the deadline came up.

So what is this project anyway? If you're a long time subscriber to our Friends Fabric Art newsletter you'll have heard me talk about it. It's a wall-quilt I've made from remnants of the first quilt I ever made. We had on the bed at our lake house until it started to fall apart. The reason I thought that my mother-in-law should have it is that the original quilt was made from a top that she gave me that her mother had made. I backed it and quilted it. It was the project that got me hooked on quilting.

It was a Grandmother's Flower Garden; all done by hand. I'm calling the new one Revisiting Grandmother's Flower Garden. I've stitched together the good parts of the original and then covered it - almost completely - with embroidered flowers and leaves. I also embroidered in phrases about her mother and my thoughts about making the quilt. I can't find the picture of it right now, so I'll try to add that in tomorrow. I need to bring it in here to back it and bind it.

In the meanwhile, in among these other projects I've managed to make good progress on this latest jacket.

It took me a couple of days to couch the decorative threads on it, but once that was done it came together more quickly. There is more couching on the back center panel. Today I'm working on the lining. I'd better get busy - I need all the sewing time I can find this week.

Productive Week

2010-04-23T13:13:00.000-07:00

As I look back over this week I realize I've made a lot of progress. I finished one jacket, got a great start on another one, and have ideas for a couple more percolating in the back of my mind. When I finished Summer Sunset, I spent the rest of my day going through my fabric stash and making piles of fabrics that might go together. I ended up with at least 6 or 7 piles, but in all but one pile, at least one fabric had not been prewashed yet. I filled up a big bag of fabrics to take home to wash, but left that day feeling a bit frustrated. I wanted to be able to start on a jacket right away the next day, but realized I wouldn't be able to get the fabrics washed and back to the studio for a couple of days.

As I tried to figure out what to do, my mind kept going back to this one beautiful brown and maroon fabric with these great woven motifs. Although I almost never make a jacket from a single fabric, I thought I could do something interesting with the motifs - especially if I added some couching to highlight them. I felt so much better now that I had a plan.

My next step was to "audition" possible threads and trim. I know that most women would like to look slimmer, so when I create my jacket designs I think hard about how I can emphasize vertical lines. Making your eyes travel up and down the design helps the slimming effect. One of my favorite techniques with a pattern with Princess seams is to add bias strips in the seams. When going through my stash, I found some small pieces of a shiny maroon and gold fabric work with my motif fabric. I was delighted with the way the colors and textures work together. I also found a great brown and copper sparkly thread for the couching. Can you tell I'm getting excited about this new one?

Yesterday I spent almost all day fussy-cutting the pieces for it. It took some time to figure out pleasing placements for the motifs. Today I got a good start on the couched accents.

Summer Sunset Jacket Complete

2010-04-21T08:55:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest addition to my collection - completed just this morning. I have to admit that I'm pleased. Everything came together just the way I had imagined. I love the way the colors blend together and how the Stef Francis threads and the buttons catch the light.

When I first exhibited my jackets at The Loading Dock Gallery a couple of years ago, my friend Maxine convinced me that as works of art they needed individual names. Sometimes it is hard to find a name that says something about the jacket, but this time the "right" name for it came to me early on. The color combination and the bits of light kept reminding me of a Summer Sunset.

Here's a detail shot of the buttons and threads. If I were a better photographer you'd see that the buttons actually have two levels--with textured sparkly gold over an iridescent bronzey purple. They are gorgeous.

Now I need to figure out the next jacket. I took several fabrics home to prewash last week, but none of them have caught my fancy just yet. After lunch today I'll dig through my stash again to find a combination that excites me enough to get me going on the next project. If I'm lucky enough, maybe I'll find more than one.

Auditioning Fabric for the Next Jacket

2010-04-14T11:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon I finished the jacket I've named "Just a Peak." Here you can see the front view. The back is similar. I think I made pretty good use of fabric I found in an antique/ thrift shop and in the "trash." (I don't think I said before that the gray & white fabric was being thrown out by the office furniture maker in the building here. That's one of the perks of being in a big building like this - someone is always putting out something "valuable" for free-cycling. It's great.)

So as soon as I finish one jacket, I move right on to planning the next one.

When I start a new jacket, the first thing I do is to go through my fabric stash to see what I might want to use. This time I found a nice purple cotton with a woven pattern. Purple is one of my favorite colors lately, but I find I don't have much of it in my stash. That's probably why this one appealed to me yesterday.

Here's the selection of things I'd pulled out at the end of the day yesterday. To go with the purple I found a gorgeous cotton sateen hand-dyed by Judy Robertson of Just Imagination, a commercial cotton batik, some rayon thread leftover from our recent kimono project, and some variegated machine threads. I have been collecting Judy's fabrics since I met her at the Quilt/Surface Design Symposium 4 years ago. I generally save her fabrics for very special projects, but I think this piece is just what I need to perk up that "plain" purple.

Once I have the basic selection of fabrics I want to work with I usually pick out a pattern or two that I think I can use given the amount of fabric I have. Then I generally let my ideas stew for at least overnight. When I'm at this stage I often wake up once or twice during the night and find that various design possibilities have come to mind. I usually work these things out in my mind or by laying out the fabrics in a rough approximation of the design rather than sketching. Here's a photo of what I mean.

I am envisioning a style similar to the last one with Judy's fabric in the center front panel, the batik edging the panels, and the rayon threads drizzled down the front. Oooh and just as I was writing this, I remembered some handmade glass buttons I bought from Penny Faich who was vending next to me at a quilt show last month. The colors are just perfect so I think this one will have to have buttons.

Well now I'm really pumped about this one. Time to get going.

Kimono Show & Craft Boston in One Weekend

2010-04-12T11:28:00.000-07:00

This was an art filled weekend for us. Saturday afternoon was the opening reception for Tea, Swords and Stitches at the Brush Gallery in downtown Lowell. The exhibit, subtitled Contemporary Interpretation of Traditional Japanese Arts, features kimonos, kimono accessories, netsuke, and embroidery. Sonja and I created a kimono for this exhibit and it was thrilling to see it hung. The turn out for the opening was fantastic and we received so many compliments on our work, it was a real high for me. It was especially rewarding for me because I had felt so intimidated when we were first asked to participate and heard about all the other who would also be showing work. In the end I felt we acquitted ourselves well and we were proud of what we accomplished. It is such a joy for me to work with Sonja. She has been blogging about the kimono project so you can see pictures and read more about it there: Art-Textilian Blog

On Sunday we went to Craft Boston at the World Trade Center on the waterfront. There was so much splendid and innovative work there it was almost overwhelming. We were definitely tired by the time we got home. One reason for going this time, was that I have considering whether participating in a future Craft Boston should be a goal for me. So besides just enjoying the works, I was trying to figure out just what it would take to achieve that--how much work would I have to produce, what display materials would I need, would my work fit it well, does it seem to be of comparable quality to the current participants, and so forth. It is hard to know because so much of what I see is really production work--beautiful and creative--but designed by one person and made by others with the same item available in multiple sizes. That's not the direction I want to go in. There was at least one wearable fiber artist who did do truly one-of-a-kind work though, so it is not out of the question for me to try for it.

One of the other artists here at Western Avenue Studios participated in Craft Boston this year--Tarja Cockell, a weaver. It was her first time for it. She has been encouraging me and sharing lots of tips. It is a great benefit of having a studio here--the wealth of information and support available.

Well it is time to get back to my current jacket project. One thing I did learn this weekend is that I need to produce many more jackets if I even want to consider trying something like this. So I better get busy.

Jacket called Surprise

2010-04-08T13:23:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of the fabric that was calling my name for my current project. I found this fabric at a local "antique" store on Middle Street - called appropriately enough Found. I was so excited when I saw it, I couldn't pass it up. It is a hand-dyed Japanese Shibori - 100% cotton. Tom, the owner, knew I'd put it to good use and sold it to me for an amazingly low price. If you happen to be in downtown Lowell, check him out. You never know what you're going to find there.

I'd been thinking about this fabric for a long time trying to decide how to use it. It's such a bold pattern that it doesn't fit just anywhere. I like to use unusual fabrics and unexpected combinations, but I also like to make jackets for "real" women to wear in their "real" lives--jackets that make subtle statements rather than screaming at you. This fabric could easily be a screamer so I was stumped for a long time.

I finally realized it would be a good candidate for my "peek-a-boo" technique where it could spice up an otherwise bland fabric. I have paired it with a subtle woven pattern of white and light gray. The gray and white will be the outside of the jacket and the Shibori will be the lining. When you open the jacket you'll get quite the surprise of the dramatic patterning, although it won't be totally hidden. I cut holes in the outer fabric to allow some of the pattern to peek through. To make sure that the pattern would show through in a pleasing way, I laid the pattern piece over the Shibori fabric and drew in the boxes and rectangles where I wanted them. I then transferred the pattern for the holes to the back side of the outer fabric using tracing paper.

Once I got all the holes cut and faced, I laid the outer fabric over the Shibori pieces again to check the design. I liked what I saw, but felt that it needed something a little more. I'd topstitched around each of the openings in a matching thread and it just seemed a little bland. I'd originally imagined creating little "frames" around each hole using bias strips of shot silk in shades of blue and green, but had discarded that idea as too difficult to implement. I decided to try couching threads around the openings instead. I had a nice thick and thin thread in shades of blue, green and purple and thought I'd try it.

Here's the result. I'm very pleased with it. I love the way it echoes the Shibori pattern and really makes it pop.

I finished all the holes today, so now I'm ready to start putting all the pieces together. That part will go along more quickly, but we'll see what other design changes I find I need as I put it together. That's for tomorrow.

Welcome

2010-04-07T07:33:00.000-07:00

I should start with an introduction--Ann M. Lee, co-owner of Friends Fabric Art (with my daughter, Sonja Lee-Austin) and maker of art-to-wear jackets. I work in a studio at Western Avenue Studios in Lowell, Massachusetts. This is my first venture into blogging. But, I have been doing needlework since elementary school , sewing clothing since I learned to operate a sewing machine in the seventh grade, and making quilts since my son (now 25) was an infant. My plan is to share the details of my process, progress and learning as I create my art-to-wear jackets.

Like most new bloggers, I suppose, I am excited and nervous about starting this. I have been writing newsletters for our Friends Fabric Art business for years now, but somehow blogging seems quite different. I guess because this will be focused on my work specifically and that feels intimidating. By joining an on-line book club, though, I found that being forced to write a brief review of each book that I read caused me to think about each book and why I liked it - or didn't like it. That process is surprisingly enjoyable and seems valuable to me. Therefore it is my hope that this blog-writing process will help me with my art in the similar way and that perhaps my learning process will help others as well.

So for this first post, just a bit more by way of introduction...

I consider myself a fabric artist rather than a fashion designer. I create each of my pieces from start to finish, from the pattern work to cutting the fabric to sewing it all together to embellishing it. I generally start with a basic commercial pattern for the size and shape of the jacket but adding surface design to make it unique. My favorite surface design techniques include piecing, applique, couching, and lately adding peek-a-boo holes to let the lining show through to the outside of the jacket. In every case, I start with a selection of fabrics that "calls" to me, determines the style of the jacket, and suggests the surface design techniques needed. As I go forward I'll try to give you a sense of how that process works for me. Right now there's a project calling to me, so I think I'll get to work on and fill you in on it tomorrow--including some pictures.

Thank you for reading. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas too.