be creative with your mistakes

as i was winding the yarn onto the warping frame i entertained some doubts as to the viability of one of the yarns i was using. so about halfway in, i went with those doubts and tried the pull test to see if the yarn would hold up to the stress of warping; and it snapped, easily. so, with the conclusion that it wasn't going to work, i went back and replaced those areas with a different yarn. reminder to self, do the pull test first when deciding on yarns for a project, and definitely before ever starting to handle them.

i hate waste, especially of fiber. so as i was looking at the little O's of yarn i thought of chaining them into a bracelet. then i thought of a horseshoe clasp, but not having one of those, i dug through my box of silver from my college days and came across a sterling safety pin i had made. voila! i have a funky new silk bracelet. wow, two jewellery pieces in a row, if i keep walking down this path i'll have to set up a store.

rings and things

i like creating jewellery when i really had no such intention of doing so. while contemplating my current weaving project, i was fiddling around with a bit of wool i had attempted to dye, and ended up creating a fuzzy ring. it covered my gold ring very well, and put me in mind of a book i read a long time ago where the main character hid a ring with a bit of scrap so as not to be separated from it. the ring was quite crucial to the entire four book story, many things relied on it and what it kept secret. and, no, it wasn't the tolkein series, but another fantastical series, memory, sorrow, and thorn by tad williams.

one thing i noticed about wearing wool jewellery, is the warmth; my hand remained quite toasty all day. another, is that for such a large piece the softness prevented it from hurting when grasping something hard, or from weighing the hand down and cutting off circulation. neat.

tougher than it looks

i've been seeing posts about solar dyeing, and thought i would give it a try; as it's still in the 90's here and the thought of turning on the stove and standing over it for an hour is rather unbearable. using the leftover dyestuff from past dye projects, red onion skin and avocado skin, i pleated and wrapped some of my prepared alum mordanted cloth bits and let them soak outside in the sun for two days. the avocado is still soaking, so no results to post of yet.

i was happy with the results of the cotton swatch soaked in onion skin; finally some patterning to my dye efforts! as i've been going through my selvedge magazines i've been reading a lot about resist dyeing, i think that that along with shibori will be my next area of study. the linen piece was okay, some dye penetrated the edges but the inside of the pleat was still white. pretty, but not as interesting as the cotton.

i've been admiring the progress eva of tinctory has been making with her smocking pieces, and have to say that i was impressed and enchanted with her work last year, but am really enthralled by her current natural dye artworks. one day i shall own one of her lovely pieces for my own.

i had tried my hand at smocking in the past and every attempt was quite sad, so pulling out the art of manipulating fabric, i tried once more using the dyed linen swatch. after several eh stitched attempts, i ripped them out, and tried to simplify my approach. two rows in and i thought of what could fit in the niches to make it more interesting, and to aid in holding them open. looking through my bead collection, at first i tried seed beads (too small), then swarvoski crystals (too saturated in color), and finally my pearls (they popped right in and added a delicate glow to the soft coloring of the dye). as i sewed, the piece started to take shape and i pictured a 3-dimensional brooch; so when i was done, i sewed it to a bit of felt and a pin. at the finish of this project, i have to say hats off to tinctory, as this was a more difficult skill than i had previously thought, and requires a good deal of thought beforehand. i'm not sure if i shall make further attempts, but a skill learned is never lost.

taking apart and reassembling

several months ago i sewed a shirt together without a pattern and added some decorative elements to it. i liked different things about it; but i also disliked several things. so, i decided to remove the silk scales from the pockets and sewed them together into a necklace. i like it ever so much more.

natural elements

using nature as inspiration is something we all do; its diversity and beauty is breathtaking, ever shifting, and at times unattainable. but using nature as the working medium sometimes works out even better then trying to capture its essence.

ever since i bought a bag of curricula cocoons from habu textiles i have been continually amazed by them. there are so many projects i find myself incorporating them into. my latest creation uses them as a main element; a pair of silver earrings with the cocoon wrapped around a creamy pearl. i made this pair for juyeon kim, the artist on the installation project i've been assisting with.

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.

and the second part

the pin branch of pincushion came about while i was thinking of something to create for the smaller budget. what is more fun then pins? i know i've got quite a few in my jewellery box.

i love funky, bright, cushy pins. and this was an excellent way to use up the bits of fabric that were too small to incorporate into the pincushions but too big to go into the itty bitty fiber scrap bag. (yes, i organize my scraps; thread scrap, yarn scrap, itty bitty 5mm or less fabric scrap, and small fabric scrap)

for these pins i used buttons, sequins, beads, feathers, tulle, and both the small fabric scrap and the itty bitty fabric scrap. it was really fun to be so free. just choose the scrap, sew it onto a puffy pillow form stuffed with bamboo fiber and away you go. a snip here and there for length, but generally working with the shape of the scrap. i think they're really cute! power to upcycling!