- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
After lunch yesterday, I spent two hours rolling polymer clay and attempting to make one pendant shape and a couple of beads to go with. There was much mushing up of the clay and putting it back through the pasta maker again and again until I finally had something worth baking.
When I went to put the pieces in the oven, I realized that I'd bought the wrong kind of thermometer, not that I knew there were two kinds of thermometers but the one I had was for cold not hot. Go figure. Based on the fact that I have a new oven and that it tends to bake according to schedule, I set the temperature and trusted. There were no fumes. This is good. The pieces are underbaked. This is bad and can be fixed. I'll get a heat thermometer for next time.
I baked the pieces inside a roasting bag, sitting on a piece of batting, set onto a silver foil tray, and learned that the batting I use in my textile pieces shrinks at the same temperature polymer clay bakes at. Good learning. It's not what I wanted to have happen but it is good to know especially as I'd planned to use the batting in designs to be baked into the clay. Plan B.
Carolyn - the woman I took the class with - said that as soon as she started playing with clay, it clicked, everything else got pushed aside, and she became totally immersed in the world of polymer. In her studio, the sewing machine was tucked under one of the work tables and the serger was in the closet even though at one time she used to design and sell clothing. Hmm... LOL - I wanted to rescue the poor things.
As I tried to explain to Carolyn, I am IN LOVE with fabric. I think in fabric. I breathe in fabric. I cannot function without fabric in my life. I totally get fabric. I'm fascinated by its never ending possibilities and while I can see those same possibilities in clay, so far, we're not clicking. Just saying. Re-working that clay over and over was much quicker and way less expensive than sewing twenty gazillion muslins to get my fitting shell just exactly right and even so, I would much rather sew twenty gazillion muslins.
When I took the bra course, I wanted to sew more bras and taught my friend and taught my other friend and am about to convert a few more people and yesterday when the threads all jammed and the machine messed up and I had to pick black thread out of black lace, I still LOVED it and - finally - adjusted the bridge on my latest paisley bra.
When I took the jeans course, I started testing jean fabrics - some with and some without stretch - and worked at figuring out the fabric factor and sewed five pairs and now I want to sew more pairs and would love to teach all my friends how to sew jeans if only they wanted to know. Sewing has completely and totally fascinated me ever since I sat down at a machine thirty-eight years ago.
I even sewed a few jackets after the Chanel jacket hoping that with some small adjustment I could make jackets work for me and I couldn't but even now the idea tickles that a knit jacket might do the trick. It's like a cardigan and cardigans are part of my style. And there's a favourite topic. I'm fascinated by the whole find your style and your fashion personality and build a wardrobe that works thing and how it shifts and changes as our lives shift and change.
As you can see, this can I be a jewelry artist quest is not going in a good direction at the moment. I've hit a speed bump only I'm not quitting because I haven't even tried to stitch and attach a design to a pendant yet. I'm just being honest in noting that I'm NOT feeling the love with polymer ... HOWEVER... last night it occurred to me that there is more than one way to accomplish a goal and while polymer clay may not be my answer as to what to use for a base, that doesn't mean there isn't another answer. PLUS... perhaps I should stitch a pendant next because if that doesn't work out, it really doesn't matter what I could have attached it to and - LOL - how brilliant is that. Duh!
Switching back to my favourite subject....
After cutting off the original waistband, I drew a chalk line tapered from the side point to the center front point to customize the waistline of the paisley skirt to fit my body. My waist is 1" lower in the front than at the back - a tipped waist. Patterns are drafted for a level waist. On an upper garment or a dress, that's works because the garment hangs from the shoulders. On a skirt or pants, if I don't alter for my waist, the garment will either sag at the front crotch or droop at the front hem for a baggy, unfitted, and you look fat, kind of look. That's not typically what I'm aiming for - LOL.
Right after I finished sewing the original skirt, I read on another blog about the elastic not being strong enough to support the weight of the fabric and the need for a wider elastic. That was happening with my skirt only I'm short waisted. There's not enough room between the bottom of my rib cage and the top of my hips to play with different elastic widths. I prefer 3/4" and typically do not go over 1". Because of that, I interfaced the new - to be sewn on - waistband from edge to edge before attaching it to the skirt hoping it would help and it did. It had...
... such a firm, positive feel that I wondered if this skirt was going to be a refashion or a repair. I was hopeful that once I tried it on with the newly strengthened waistband the whole look would magically suit me. Not. There was still too much fabric at hip level to be flattering BUT the take away is that I really liked this version of the waistband. It fit smooth and was strong enough to support the skirt and adjustable enough to work with my fluctuating waist size.
My favourite zipper method is the one above where the invisible zipper stops right at the top. It works with just a zipper and with a zipper plus elastic only I need to figure out what little smidgen amount of fabric to leave at the top so that the back side of the waistband turns down nicely. I tend to go just a bit too high which would mean that if I go to where I think and move down slightly, it could work. Hmm... so scientific!
Today - clean house, lunch with a friend, sew something fun.
Talk soon - Myrna
Grateful - previous experience with tough learning curves
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Personal Growth - I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. - Jeremiah 29:11
After ending last year on such a positive note, it's discouraging that things are not going as I'd hoped with the polymer. On some subconscious level, I think that's why I waited to get started - just in case - and while I realize I need to give it a good try before making any decisions, I also know myself well enough to recognize when something is not clicking in that bubbling on the inside way that I've experienced in the past - like with The Handbag project - and even in my frustration I know that God has a plan. Right now is part of the plan and the future that I hope for is part of the plan. It's important to be thankful in this moment.
When ever I start with a new medium I am disappointed at first. I'll often start with a vision of what I want to make in that medium and then it turns out nothing like what I had hoped. You have been working with fabric a long time so you know its ins and outs. Think of polymer like a new friend you have to get to know. Play with it, talk to it, see what it likes to do. Don't start out trying to create your vision just take the time to get to know it. Maybe you'll end up being best friends or maybe you'll just be acquaintances. Or maybe you'll end up making jewelry in fabric...who knows. But give yourself time. Play is how we learn.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get the kinks worked out of the polymer, but when you first posted about making jewelry, I imagined you were going in the direction of fabric "status" necklaces. I could so see you doing those....
ReplyDeleteI have been wondering, Myrna, why don't you focus on jewelry made primarily with fabric? It's "your medium".
ReplyDeleteAt the quilt store near me, there is a customer who makes necklaces with fabric that are quite pretty. I think she uses large buttons to attach the fabric to. I can see a person even wrapping the buttons in fabric, using the hole in the button to slide the chain or necklace piece thru it.
Maybe Googling something like "fabric necklaces" will give you some inspiration to find your jewelry making niche.
Carrie