Stitch Adventures

Fabric Design Class

Have you ever dreamed of being a fabric designer? A few years back, I did a career test, and the results astounded me. One of my ideal careers, they told me, was to be a textile designer.

Well, I do know a lot about fibers, the weaving and spinning process, dyeing, etc. And one of my greatest loves is fabric. I’ve collected it since I was 8 years old, and sew nearly every day! But designing patterned fabric, now doesn’t that take drawing talent? Which I don’t have?

One of the things I learned about myself a long time ago is that I will take a class, a workshop, a lesson, a lecture, a talk, or watch a demonstration anytime, anywhere. I even like the ladies who give away food samples at Costco. Imagine having that many people just waiting on your every move!

But my greatest love of learning is taking any kind of fiber/creative/sewing class that comes my way. Even after I graduated from college, I kept going back to the local community college to take ceramics, sewing and quilting classes. But there was one type of class that I couldn’t get through. And that was drawing.

I’ve never thought of myself as an artist. I am a crafter, a weaver, a knitter, etc. But I can’t draw or paint. Or so I’ve told myself over the years.

How in the world do you draw shadows?

Oh, I tried to take the drawing class, several times. But I could never get beyond the shadows. Trying to use pencils to draw an object was fun, and I could actually make recognizable objects. But then the teacher would get to the part where we would “have to” draw oranges on a draped white sheet, and I’d quit. I don’t understand shadows. I see them, but I have no desire to draw them. What color is a shadow anyway? I’m sitting here looking at a brown wooden table, and the light shining on it is what color? White? How do you draw shiny? Being a textile/fiber kind of person I think shiny is metallic.

So finally, because I also like researching colleges, I started looking for fabric design classes. Just to get my toes wet. I finally found one close enough to me (Otis College- 80 miles away in Los Angeles), and at a reasonable cost.

The good side of my head said "Take It! - sign up! It doesn't matter how far, how much!" The bad side of my brain said "You? You can't paint - Don't waste your time!"

I tried to talk my artistic daughter into going (I think she should be the fabric designer, because she can draw – she’s an incredible artist!). She refused.

I decided it was time to step out of my comfort zone, and finally signed up for the fabric design class.  Maybe I’m not an “artist”, but maybe I don’t need to be. Maybe someday, my name will be on the bolt end, as fabric designer of a “Free Spirit” fabric. First step is the hardest, right?

You should check out this video - I found out, later, that you can take photos and have fabric printed through some companies online.

Transformed another sewing project

This quilt block started at a quilt workshop that I went to in January at Road to California Quilt Conference. http://www.road2ca.com. If you are a new quilter, "going to Road" will absolutely overwhelm you -but in a good way!  There are many workshops to choose from, 100’s of exhibits, vendors, and just great eye candy.

The workshop I took, “Dahlias”, was lead by the designer, Sharlene Jorgenson.  Her website www.qheartlands.com, shows the quilt (gorgeous!) that was to be our inspiration.

The Dahlia pattern and templates that I purchased were well written and easy to use.  We spent the entire day making the most perfect ¼” seams, just so the dahlias would come together exactly.  Well, I should have brought my husband’s micrometer. He owns a machine shop, and all his measurements are in hair widths.  Or smaller.  That’s how exact the seams needed to be.

I finished the block when I got home.  I can do this, yeah.  But do I want to make more than one dahlia?  Nope.   That’s why the one dahlia block that I made ended up in a grocery sack.  There it sat, in a pile on my fairly clean sewing table. 

Then, my good friend Maria, came back from her 6 month trip to Cape Town, South Africa.  Over sushi and wine, she related all her amazing adventures, and then brought out a present for me – a package of fabrics from South Africa! 

One of the fabrics immediately jumped out and said – these are the same colors that you used in your dahlia block.  With just a small strip of fabric to use (it was a remnant), I sewed it around the perimeter to make a perfect frame around the dahlia quilt block.

Once the dahlia was framed, I had to do something with it.  Make a table runner, pillow or a tote bag? Too many pillows in my life, for now, but if I made it into a tote bag, it would be useful. The tote bag was born, and finally finished.  It’s pretty special, maybe a little too good for hauling drippy cartons of milk from the grocery store.  So, I’ll use it as my spring knit bag.                                                              

 

P.I.G.S.

Pigs - Projects in Grocery Sacks

A few years ago, my new year’s resolution was to finish as many of my unfinished knitting projects as I could during the year. And I ended up completing about 10 different sweaters and pairs of socks, which was fun.

But Pigs, come to find out, are more than just farm animals. I read that there’s a name for all my unfinished sewing – “projects in grocery sacks”. (I belong to the American Sewing Guild, Los Angeles chapter, and they used this term in their newsletter).

I have an entire pen of pigs! An entire drawer of unfinished sewing projects in grocery sacks. You know, my biggest concern when I vowed to use canvas bags for my groceries was “what am I going to put my projects in?”

So when I was cleaning one of my sewing rooms – a real thorough cleaning – I opened that drawer and found some really neat stuff! Probably a dozen bags of fabric with pattern, thread, ribbon, etc. – all ready to go.

Now I have to admit some of those pigs are a wonder – as in “what was I thinking??” But I think it would be fun for me to do something with those patterns and fabric – even if the original intent is unclear or unappealing. Now that’s a challenge to my creativity!

I think I will do one "old pig" for every new garment I make. If I start working on some of this old sewing, I can actually have fun, and maybe get rid of some of my “pig guilt”.

First grocery sack in the drawer that I pulled out to complete was a half finished green fleece sweatshirt. Ugh. But it's perfect for the cool foggy days that preceed the blazing hot summer to come.  

You can see how I added some extra length on the bottom where the pockets originally ended.  I didn't want it quite so short as my original intentions.  I've installed a separating zip, and didn't add a lining because I don't need the extra layer for the weather here in California.  Nice thing about sewing fleece is that the edges don't need to be finished.  They don't ravel.  So this truly is a quick project.

The Red power suit

I’m reading this book, Trappings, about how our clothing makes us feel powerful. It really has me thinking about why power dressing is so important. I’m not talking necessarily about the red suits that all women senators seem to wear (although that’s a perfect example), but rather about what us regular women wear on an everyday basis.

I get so disheartened when I go to the mall to watch people and see what’s new. There we all are, running between stores with our shopping bags that are packed with new clothes in the supposed “height of fashion”. Yet, what we are wearing is too tight jeans and sloppy t-shirts, or those stupid blouson tops that make even the skinniest of models look misshapen.

Why do we spend all our money buying new things, and then wearing the same old jeans and flip flops? (Okay, that’s Southern California).

What I want to write about here is power dressing - wearing clothing to feel your power. We all have that power – we just need to show it.

Compare, if you will, how you feel when you're dressing for a party. You spend time thinking about what you’ll wear; you put on some makeup, make sure your hair is clean and maybe even styled, and walk out of the house feeling really GOOD about how you look. You exude confidence; you act powerful, and are happy about life.

On regular days you sleep too late, throw on a pair of jeans or ill fitting pants and some obscure top, add your tennis shoes or scuffed boots and out the door you go – shoving a donut or bagel down your throat while driving and trying not to spill coffee. Some of you bother to put on lipstick, but mostly you’re thinking of being late, or how you hate mornings. On weekends, you definitely throw on a pair of jeans, and ditch any ideas of makeup.

But, “clothes make the man”, and the woman. I’m not saying you should power dress to impress others – I’m talking here about how you feel when you put on your clothes everyday. Great or not so great? You make that choice everyday.

Ever think about why we shop? It’s usually not out of necessity – it’s mostly because we want to buy something to make us feel better about ourselves. The advertisers spend their dollars convincing us we aren’t good enough, that we need more. Okay, that’s what keeps our economy going. Buying something new gives us real pleasure – until you’ve worn that something new once or twice. Then it’s no longer got the thrill.

So here’s my simple theory of how to feel good about yourself, without buying more things. Wear what you have! If you spent every morning deciding what nice, put together outfit you could wear – I’ll guarantee that you will have a happy day, filled with confidence about what you can accomplish.

I’m not saying don’t wear jeans. How about wearing your most comfortable pair of jeans, but add a jacket over the top, earrings and a long scarf, and some lipstick or your favorite makeup. If the jacket or top is something you’ve made, so much the better! The thing is, if you care about what you’ve got on, you’ll feel, and look, like a powerful woman.

By wearing an outfit that makes you feel good, - no matter where you’re going - you’ll exude power, smile more, and everyone around you will treat you as the powerful woman you are. What you wear affects your mood, and shows the people around you how you feel about yourself. No red suit required!

Happy Mothers Day!

My weekend was delightful, with both daughters visiting and spending time with me.  That's the best Mother's Day present of all!

I'm so lucky that my 20's daughters both love, and share my passion for making things.  So Lauren spent Saturday with me while I met a new sewing student at the fabric store.  The student wanted help picking out a pattern and learning about fabric types for her gaming convention costume.  I didn't understand why, but my daughter explained the concepts of gaming, and avatars, and fantasy characters over lunch.  The gaming world has certainly changed a lot since my girls were playing the Sims!

Then we drove home, and Lauren got to try out my new embroidery machine, which I think she fell in love with.  She had purchased a few yards of toweling and waffle weave fabric, and she tried motifs on both, using the wonderful colors of embroidery thread that I had. 

On mothers day, Kali, my youngest, brought apricot almond scones that she had baked and we had a full breakfast with the whole family.  For lunch Kali made a sample plate of cheeses (she works for a caterer and makes cheese plates and baked goods), and I got to taste several different kinds.  Not the Costco brand cheddar cheese kind!  Then for dinner, Kali made octopus and crab sushi, eda mame and noodle soup, which we washed down with sips of sake. Quite unusual in our family (my husband ate terriyaki chicken instead). But what a fun way to celebrate being a mom!

My contest entry is in the mail.

Have you heard the expression "deadline hugger"?  Well, last week I was a prime example of that.  My entry in the American Sewing Guild creativity contest was finally mailed - good thing my local post office was open on Saturday till 2pm.

What a challenge I gave myself.  I was up till the wee hours every night last week to complete everything. But I did it, and I'm happy with the results.  I achieved my goal of 5 pieces complete, pictures taken, and fabric samples sent.  Here are some of the pictures of what I made.

Here's the original dress, but ironed and complete.

And the jacket I made to go over it, and to go with the other three pieces (shirt, capris and skirt)

Here's the shirt and capris.

And the skirt, blouse and jacket.

See the flower? I decided to make that too.  Here's a closeup.

I made the flower from the same fabric as the blouse, used my serger to finish the edges, then found the cute little ladybug bead in my button box.

I spent the weekend recupperating from my self-imposed rush.  Now, it's time to go clean my sewing rooms!