ch-ch-changes

spinning cotton is really quite a joy on the kuchulu, the light weight of the spindle enables me to spin quite thin. the only times it broke was when i overestimated the distance between my fingers and the short fibers came free from my grasp. so far i've spun alpaca, cotton, and wool; tommorrow silk and then the world!!!!! (pinky and the brain moment there, sorry.)

i took some fresh photos today for my etsy shop, and created a new banner and profile icon. change is good, i think it's a matter of renewing how you see yourself, and pushing long held likes and preferences to the side a bit. here's hoping.

cushions, pincushions, pins and...yarn!

i've added some of the yarn i've been spinning to my etsy page. there's so many gorgeous yarns throughout etsy, i think mine may become quickly lost! it would be great if there were local craft shows in savannah, i could think of a few people who would want to share a booth.

i did some logwood dyeing today, and have a bit of fiber soaking in a jar of lichen dye. when i look at the dyebath after the first batch of fiber is dyed there is still so much dyestuff left in it, but the next batch of premordanted fibers come out in such pale shades, even though i soak them overnight in the cooling water. i completely don't get it. it's like this for all of the dyes i've been using; cochineal, kamala, osage, logwood, madder, teal. i hate having to dump the remaining stuff in my compost if it's still usable, so i wish i could figure it out. i think perhaps a posted question to the natural dyes group is needed.

seeing an oft disliked color differently

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

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

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

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

i survived the storm

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

the loveliness of mold, and other wonders

i'm constantly being amazed at the talent on etsy, it's really wonderful actually. since shopping on it these last few months i've noticed a real lack of interest in myself of wanting to shop in the real world. i've this feeling when looking in stores that i could get a much nicer and more unique item on etsy.

if you asked me a year ago what i like to do for enjoyment i would have told you "shopping". just walking into stores, looking at things, trying clothes on, touching materials, is really fun. but lately i just seem so tired of it all. the need to purchase something so that a shopping excursion is deemed successful has just really disappeared. most times when i do go shopping i don't bring anything home. it's all rather odd.

but then i look at the things i've acquired from some really talented ladies on the web, and i feel good. these pieces make me happy when i look at them. it's incredible to know who made what, put a person to each piece. there are stories behind them, blogs you can visit, websites that let you know more about the artist; what drives them. i think this connection is what is missing from stores now. call it the mass production affect, but all these things that they stock just seem dead, so soulless in their anonymity.

i am a follower of the "handmade" movement; for reasons such as craftsmanship, preservation of historic skills, the creative eye, a fair wage, uniqueness. but i've come to realize that it's more than that, it's the ability to reach out and share something wonderful with someone else. i know that when i create, so much of myself is put into it. call it a piece of your spirit, your energy, or your fingerprint, but this whatever-it-is makes what you create alive. so the happiness is more than the acquisition of material things, it's the happiness derived from surrounding oneself with things that contain life.

i hope the handmade movement is here to stay; because if we lose this ability as humans, to create, to empathize with our surroundings, i don't think there's much brightness in our future.

so unexpected!

i was just checking my email, flickr, and etsy this morning around 10 am and lo! there my pin was on the front page! i was super excited, this is a first for me, and it was really stupendous how the view count jumped from 32 to 420 over the course of half an hour. i managed to grab a picture of this most excellent event:

hopefully this exposure will lead to my first sale! i'm still on my "being on the front page" high, so for the most part, i'm at a loss for words.

a pin for sunny days

it's grey like an approaching thunderstorm, so it's a good balance for those sunny days. this pin has some sparkle though, and that's awesome. i have quite a lot of grey in my wardrobe but don't really feel it when looking for accessories, so i tend to go for color.

pin it to me!

after this last month i've finally regained some of my creative equilibrium. i sat down and sewed two pins yesterday, and i have to say they're both lovely little wisps of fabric.

on the shores is a pin reminiscent of cotton candy, and summer days spent among blossoming trees. i used a bit of the scraps from my party dress, the nani iro coururiere fabric, and one of my vintage pink rhinestone buttons for some bling.

melted jelly beans is a multi hued sparkly take on the piece of fabric i used in my strawberries from space pincushion. it's so yummy, that fabric; sadly i can't recall who made it or where i purchased it. with the print as inspiration this pin called for sequins and lots of them.

i've listed both pins on etsy, so if you're interested...

as to why it's looking a little bare bones on my etsy storefront, it's because some of my work is now available for purchase at shopscad in savannah.

my little display area

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

treasury numero dos

treasuries look like fun things, they're definitely helpful when looking for new creative finds. i just don't think i could make one; there are too many nice things on etsy to narrow it down to just a few. plus it seems like a game of timing and stalking. not so much fun to me.

luckily though, that doesn't stop anyone else from making them. i've been added into a lovely treasury, and it's very exciting when someone likes your work enough to include you.

coral colors

i like the print and color combination of this pincushion a lot; even though it's not overly complicated in design, quite simple really. it features some of my favorite textile designers, heather ross with her mendocino line, and an australian artist that works in water based inks and organic hemp, umbrellaprints. the softness of this particular color is very soothing, and it's warm without being too bright.

this is the largest pincushion i've made to date; it's too large for my scale actually and so i haven't listed it yet. i had to move my pincushions from the drawer i was keeping them in as i ran out of room.

they chose me!

i received a lovely email the other week from a person on etsy who chose to feature one of my pincushions on their treasury. needless to say i was very excited! this is my first (that i know of) and i took a screen capture of it. there it is on the bottom left; it's the first pincushion i made, after the rains. i'm such a proud creator to be included with all of the other lovelies.

girl colors and boy colors

i actually love pinks and blues. i didn't always, though. during my teenage years i absolutely hated pink; be it magenta, baby pink, rose, or any other name. i just kept thinking it was so stereotypical and very insulting to the female species; all i could see was the limitations that this one color imposed.
then one day i bought a pair of light pink kitten heeled pointed shoes, i was 22. they were soft like butta. they quickly became my favorite shoes, and i've had them for 5 years. i'll still wear them on occasion, but the poor dears are beginning to show their age even though they've been resoled once.

those one pair of shoes opened my eyes to a whole array of hues, to see them not as a wall but as a way to embrace and enjoy the creativity that the spectrum gives us. never see color as a limit, regardless of what society deems it. how you represent the color is what is important, be strong and hold up your love, dare to embrace it!

current books of interest

i tend to keep books that i look at frequently on my nightstand. they're within easy reach, and help me collect my thoughts when i'm exploring something new. i find that these books are also inspiring when one is in a slump. to list:

the cocktail: 200 fabulous drinks
(i love the illustrations by kat macleod)

urawaza: secret everyday tips and tricks from japan
(incredibly useful)

craft, inc.: turn your creative hobby into a business
(excellent resource)

the encyclopedia of embroidery techniques
(i've been using this for years, very good explanations)

mushrooms for dyes, paper, pigments & myco-stix
(mushroom dyes create extraordinary lightfast colors!)

printing by hand
(very clear instructions, great scandinavian designs)

the art of manipulating fabric
(just received the other day, the vast array of techniques is overwhelming and exciting!)

kay nielson
(the illustrations make me drool, such gorgeous details and patterns)

tricia guild pattern
(the colors! the variety of prints! a flocked velvet cover!)

a small milestone

wow! i've made it past 100 posts. interesting; i wasn't sure that when i started this blog that i would stick with it, or even have all that much to say. i've surprised myself. well, happy me! i think this is deserving of a samoas cookie from my last box i've been saving.

i was initially going to post about my butterfly sonata pincushion, before i saw the post #. it's softer in hue from what i have been making. we have a butterfly bush outside my window and it is humongous! it's all covered in flowers now, and attracting quite a crowd of butterflies, bees, and other pollinators. the color scheme is inspired by that as well as the embroidery on the backside.

the brown spots fabric i have been saving for several years now. i kept thinking it would make really nice towels for the dollhouse bathroom, but unfortunately it's just too heavy to lay nicely. i may still use it as a bathmat if it looks okay. we'll see.
i know there hasn't been any updates about the dollhouse for a while now, there just really hasn't been any changes. i have a table in mind for the living room, but it's in charleston and i usually head up that way once or twice a year.
it's funny, now that all of the wallpapering is done, there just doesn't seem to be too much left unfinished. mostly small details and that gaping hole of emptiness in the living room where there'll be a dinette set. i'm still searching for the goods to finish that area.

not your average case

so, while viewing some fascinating textural images on flickr, i was inspired to weave something; not having a loom at the moment and never actually doing it before only being a small bump on the road. but, hey, i've read about the main technique somewhere before, and have seen it done.
grabbing my embroidery frame out of cold storage i proceeded to hammer straight pins into the dowel rods. moments later and voila! a frame on which to weave.

i can see why weavers created patterns; it was monotonous at times but actually really relaxing. it put me in mind of a movie from my childhood, the three lives of thomasina.

taking the finished piece off of the frame was tricky and i'm sure there is a clean way to do this, but i forged ahead anyway. the poor little cloth (because that's what it was at this point, and really amazing too; that whole yarn to cloth part.) was kind of worse for wear but had me thinking about a pouch. several stitches later, a trip to the store for a zipper and a button, cutting, ironing, stitching, and sewing by hand and i had a cute little pouch to store my new business cards in. it's a little asymmetric, kind of wedge like, but really charming all in all; and i like it because i made it from scratch on a whim, which is pretty cool in my eyes.

ah, yes, the cards. they turned out very nice. eventually i want letterpress ones, but i really don't know of the design yet.

there's something about packaging

i love buying something and receiving it all wrapped up prettily! it's always such a nice surprise when opening up a nondescript box to find the item you ordered all decked out. so when i decided to start selling my pincushions i knew packaging was important.

i wanted it to be inexpensive, but done nicely, in a way that was easily duplicated for every item. eco-friendly packaging is also important to me, so i decided to use recycled paper cardboard boxes, reclaimed packing filler, unbleached wax baggies (instead of plastics for water resistance) with a personal wax seal to close, and reused tissue paper. i also love ribbon, and there may be others out there who love getting it as well, it's such a nice touch.

i hope the receivers of my pincushions love the thought and effort that went into them, from their construction to their packaging!

pincushion additions

i created another pincushion before work yesterday. i really enjoy blues and greens even though i have other colors to work with. i have to say that red is my least favorite color; but pinks and purples are very near the top of my favorite list. weird. maybe it has something to do with blood and raw meat. i get queasy when i see raw meat in the store.

this pincushion i called "algae bloom". the embroidery is reminiscent of kelp and sea plants and the greens remind me of algae against the watery blue. the olive velvet was a bit painful to work with, it kept moving even with pins in it. i think it has something to do with the length and fluidness of the velvet and its backing. so i had to hand sew it which was fine.

last week i made a pincushion from a variety of grays with a splash of icy blue and this lemony neon yellow silk. the color is just so luminescent and glowy. the herringbone wool and soft grays had me thinking "gramps" so i embroidered a mustache and pipe on the back side.

with every pincushion, i start by finding a fabric print that calls to me, and pair it with 7 - 10 pieces of harmonic fabrics. then i lay them out in a couple of patterns, put some fabrics aside, add others until i get a picture that i like. then cutting, piecing, sewing, and trimming. then i wait for an image or a word to pop into my head to embroider on the backside. i like doing some hand embroidery first, then some machine stitches. add a button tag, then assembly. the fun part.

i've gone to the etsy side

so, finally the day has dawned when i've taken that one small step to sell my artwork to the public. it's only been 6 years since i graduated college with a b.f.a.; procrastination is not the word for it. it's more like coming to a point where you have an idea and instead of running only halfway into it, you actually finish the race and make one thing, then another, and then there's three things. it's a gradual pace. will they sell? no clue. but i enjoy making them; and to me it's the creating of something precious from little bits of things that have so much potential that's the challenge and the goal.
please visit my new etsy store, the link is in the right hand side of the screen.

purple haze

i love purple; be it named mauve, lavender, lilac, violet, heliotrope, or any other. from the softest shade of purple tinged gray to the most intense color found in orchids, it is truly lovely to mine eyes. this is my pincushion ode to such an amazing hue.