Home Sweet Studio

On Tuesday, we drove around town and then followed the signs from Astoria to a place called Jewell. In my mind, Jewell sounded like a quaint village set amongst the trees, perhaps with an interesting gallery or gift shop or some independent artists. I'm not sure we ever found Jewell. Twenty-nine winding miles later we arrived at an elk reserve minus the elk. That may have been it. There was not much else around.

When we got back to our hotel, we spent a couple hours walking down the boardwalk and back and then another couple reading books and checking the internet from the couch in our suite. We were touristed out and more than ready to go home which was...

... either a really long day or one medium and one short day. Since you can't predict how long the border will take, we opted to stay in Washington and cross over in the morning. We got there about 8:00 and there were very few cars, only one lane open, and the border guard basically waved us through... even me... with all my fabric.

There's a point along the road between the border and home where you can see Merritt in the distance even though it takes another seven minutes to get there. I adore that point because Merritt is the last town before Kamloops and our home is on the outskirts of the city. Seeing Merritt means that we'll be home in less than an hour.

We always unpack and put away right away. I'd rather get it over with. If I wait, I have increasingly less energy for the task and it takes forever. Better to just do it.

Howard washed his clothes first. I washed my fabric. Three loads. Plus patterns. Plus trims and notions.  Since my studio is half the size it used to be and I've already downsized considerably, it was a bit of a struggle to find places for everything.

Trying to find space reminded me that the last time I planned a year of play there were actually two criteria. One was to go into the studio each (week) day and the other was to use what I already had. Using what you have pushes creativity tremendously. It also uses up stash. I've decided to adopt that rule again and to reward myself by putting away some money each payday for next June when I'm down in Oregon again. Shopping with cash is always way more fun.

I'm reading You Are What You Wear: What Your Clothes Reveal About You by Jennifer Baumgartner. The first several chapters are on the overstuffed closet, the inability to get rid of unsuitable clothing, and the thrill of the sale. There are questions in each chapter to answer indicating whether you do or do not have a problem in that particular area. If we use the word clothes, there's no problem. If we substitute the word fabric... or patterns... or sewing books... I may need to give this more thought - LOL. I came home to three orders from Vogue Patterns with another on the way. Hmm...

This morning, we went for breakfast at one of our favourite restaurants and it was lovely to know what to expect and to be recognized and acknowledged. We are enjoying being back among the familiar although both of us commented on how we haven't lived in our house long enough for coming home to feel really comfortable. That was kind of weird even though it's great to be here. It's been forever.

For an introvert like myself - someone who is used to spending six or seven hours alone each day - spending sixteen days with other people has been exhausting. Other than breakfast with my son tomorrow and coffee with the one friend I have called to let know I'm back, I'm not much interested in people. I'm going to fondle my fabric, breath in the studio atmosphere, and sew.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - home sweet studio

Some Of The Good Stuff

Several years ago, Caroline and I took a pant fitting workshop with Pati Palmer that was held in the Fabric Depot in Portland which is how we knew we needed to go back and why we stayed one night in Portland before she flew home.

The Fabric Depot is HUGE - as in the biggest department store you've ever seen and bigger kind of huge. It even has an outdoor yard sale section although I've never been out there. There's too much to see inside.  If you're thinking of visiting my advice is to eat first, leave the husband and kids at home, give yourself lots of time, save your pennies in advance, and check their website before planning your trip. Apparently, once a month they have a 35% off sale.

We spent a few hours there on the Thursday night after the workshop, a couple more on Friday morning before her flight, and I took Howard there just to show him what I was talking about before we left the city on Friday evening. 

In the bridal section, there are locked cabinets of embroidered and beaded laces that I can only assume are of the if you have to ask you can't afford it level of luxury. The piece above is beaded and stitched with three dimensional flowers. It was not in the locked cabinet. It cost...

.. $152.99 a yard. When Caroline and I saw that price tag, we carefully took our hands off and backed away from the fabric. In my town, $152.99 for a ready-to-wear garment is pretty pricey never mind for a yard of potential. Luckily, my stash is stashed up and unless it's a special occasion, I'm more than able to wait for the deal and pick up pieces like 100% linen - half price - in the bargain center - for $2.00 a meter. The blue linen that I made the Vogue dress out of a few weeks ago cost just that and since I bought ten meters for $20.00, there's more left in stash BUT... every once in a while...

... I want some of the good stuff, - the full price, get it now, don't have to wait for a great deal, just because you love it, good stuff - and especially the good stuff that is unavailable where I live. When I'm away on holiday, jewelry and fabric are my souveniers of choice. The pile above is my Marcy and Diane souvenier. They are all pieces I couldn't find at home and bought at a price higher than I'd normally pay. The top piece is for a nightgown or pj pants. The rest are to go together to make a cardigan as a wearable reminder of my sewcation.

Last fall, I wrote a post about the good stuff referring to higher end yarns and how fabulous they are to knit with. Although I already knew the value of quality fabrics, looking at the drape and hand of the fabrics Marcy and Diane are using inspires me to take it up a notch. I'll still be looking for amazing good deals and buying potential on sale but I will also be focusing on finding lovely feeling pieces and specialty trims to go with - the good stuff that can't be purchased elsewhere or on sale although...

... if you're a price watcher like I am, you'll already know that the price of dupioni silk on sale in Kamloops is more than the regular price at Fabricana, Fabric Depot, or on Marcy's site. Just like with groceries, knowing your prices helps you spot a good deal and shopping around does make a difference.

The thought occurred that Portland - and the Fabric Depot - are only nine hours from me. There is absolutely no reason why I can't visit more often, maybe yearly. Hmm... that's a definite something to think about.

Talk soon - Myrna
Grateful - continued learning

Beauty In Our Own Back Yard

Ten days is typically my maximum attention span for being away from home. Today is day twelve. Although I enjoyed the workshop and love spending time with my husband, I am looking forward to going home. That itchy for home feeling always makes me laugh especially when before I left all I wanted was a break.

The image above was taken along the coastline near Florence, Oregon, USA. Perhaps if this trip was my first view of the ocean - as beautiful as it is - I'd have been more in awe only I've seen the Pacific Ocean many times and the Atlantic Ocean once. Looking out at that vast emptiness makes me uncomfortable. I prefer to see land on the other side of the water as we can here in Astoria where we're currently staying. The area is gorgeous. Ocean aside, it reminds me of the countryside about an hour and a half from home and that has been a common theme of this vacation. Many times, I find myself saying this looks exactly like the area around ______ and I find myself thinking about how important it is to appreciate where we are and what we have right now, at home, instead of always dreaming of somewhere else.

Above, are the left over supports of the canning factories that used to populate the shorelines around Astoria. Covered in green moss, they're sadly beautiful, left over impressions of a time long past. When the cannery closed, people were forced to move on whether they wanted to or not. I'm believing that they eventually found a new way of life, a new kind of peace and enjoyment.

I recently received a private email from a reader who was concerned with my state of being. I appreciated the courage she showed in writing. It can be difficult to offer our thoughts as they aren't always received in the manner we intended them to be. I felt cared for.

In my life, there are moss covered piers representing paths previously explored and while it has taken time for those landmarks to become a thing of faded beauty, that time was needed to appreciate the desire to move in new directions. As an artist, as a creative, it can get stale to remain in one place. When we are not moving forward and growing, we are lagging behind and dieing a sort of creative death - which is why I'm glad to be off that respirator I alluded to in an earlier posting.

There are MANY galleries along the Oregon coast. We've stopped at quite a few and as I've walked past those walls of unsold art, I am thrilled to be letting go of that time in my life and looking forward to a new focus on designing creative clothing that I can wear immediately without worry about selling. That's fabulous. AND...

... if at some point in my future the ability to teach or share that creativity in a new way becomes available, it will be like the grass sprouting on top of these old piers. They have certainly grasped the concept of bloom where you are planted. Right now, I'm "planted" in my studio with time and space and supplies to explore new directions with no pressure. Good and enough.

The boardwalk behind our hotel runs past a new community of homes built to look like days gone by. The chairs on this porch are the same color as the chairs on the yard at my previous home. The color attracted me right away but what I loved most was the peaceful, calm, settled feeling of the porch.

So often we harm ourselves with unnecessary and unflattering comparisons. Our creativity is not as amazing as so and so's creativity. Our studio is not as big or as equipped. Our stash is not as extensive, expensive, or lovely. Our skill base is not as functional. Our machine is inadequate. And so on. In reality, we are where we are, what is is, and there is a beauty in our own back yard worth exploring.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - two more sleeps

Mentor And Inspire

Astoria is a beautiful town at the top of the Oregon coastline near the border between Oregon and Washington. It is perhaps even more beautiful because we arrived here early evening after enduring nine hours of stop and go driving through a gazilion tiny towns, past endless tacky tourist stops, and through the incredibly rude town of Newport Beach where the parking lot at WalMart alone was an interesting - read annoying - experience. Breathing in. Breathing out. Moving on.

In contrast, this peaceful picture is of the sewing room in the keeper's house taken on Sunday when we visited Hughes House and the attached lighthouse. Isn't that light fabulous? What a delightful place to sew. The house was 3,000 square feet with large windows and well designed rooms. It'd be an enviable floorplan today. Apparently, it was paid for from the sale of butter and only chocolate and coffee were more expensive. Yes. And throw some cream in there - thick, whipped, or churned into ice-cream - and that's a fabulous list. I'm not a cheap foodie.

While we were driving, I thought a lot about the comments congratulating me on finding a mentor. I understand what was meant by those comments but wanted to clarify how I feel about the words mentor and inspire.

Mentor to me is a formal relationship that both parties have entered in to for a specified length of time. There are conversations, regular interactions, assignments, and accountability involved and most often an exchange of payment. On the other hand, inspire to me is an informal relationship where the inspirer may not even know the inspiree or the source of inspiration may be inanimate. The artist uses that inspiration in a way that works for them within their medium.

In the past, I have actively sought out mentoring relationships and have arranged them with a quilt artist, a fabric designer, and a fashion consultant. The first relationship lasted for three days of 1-1 learning. The second two were short-lived, barely making it past the point of agreement as other issues interferred and made them impossible to carry on with. Right now, I'm not looking for a mentoring relationship. What I want is to see how far I can push myself not how far I can be pushed.

It's easy to copy someone. Marcy made the cardigan above using one of her patterns and a black and lime knit fabric. I have that exact fabric in my stash and her pattern and I could make an exact copy only that's not what I want to do. I don't want to do Marcy or Diane's work. I want to do Myrna's work. I took this full image to remind myself not to make a cardigan like Marcy's. I took the detail images to remind myself to make each garment more creative by focusing on the small details. While on one level there are only so many ways to use the same fabric or interpret the same source of inspiration, in reality there are more than enough - and seemingly endless - ways in which we can create our work.

Today, in one of the tiny towns, we stopped at a shop called Bonjour. It had fabulous - and expensive - clothes. They were inspiring. When I got back to the car, I made a couple sketches and took a few notes and when I get home those ideas may transfer themselves into a garment.... but it will not be a copy... it will be inspired by. For me, that's important.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - that at the end of a nine hour drive there was a king size bed and a comfy couch, a great view of the harbour, and a harbour walk. YES YES!

700 - Breathing On My Own

Up until a week ago, I was dreading this 700th posting. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you already know that every one hundred postings I take the opportunity to evaluate how my creative life is going and make adjustments. It wasn't going well. I didn't want to write about that. Now - post workshop - everything is different. I have so much to say that this posting is an overview with more to come.

When Caroline and I talked about how we wanted to celebrate our 50th birthdays, we talked about going to San Francisco and then I suggested tacking the workshop with Marcy and Diane onto our trip only she couldn't take that much time off work. Given a choice, I wanted to go to San Francisco but Caroline really wanted to go to the workshop so that's what we ended up doing. Is it coincidental that the workshop was exactly the shot in the arm that my creative life needed or was that divine intervention, the answer to prayer? LOL - I guess you know what I think!

The happy picture above was taken as Caroline was experimenting with silk screens and stamps and making marks all over the pieces of a denim jacket she'd cut out earlier. Her enthusiasm was such a relief that - me being me - I had to (over) think about why. The answer? On some level, I felt responsible for her experience and I'm not. While I can support and encourage others, the only person whose creativity I am responsible for is ME.

On another level, I was scared that our creativity was going in different directions, that I had "outgrown" my friend, and how would we communicate and would our friendship cease to exist if we didn't have what and how we sewed in common? What silly fears. We spent the drive back to Portland discussing what each of us had absorbed in the workshop, what we were taking forward, and how we would interpret that inspiration in what she views as sewing clothes and I view as creating a body of work.

Caroline and I are the same but different which is a line I have said so often to my students. Every day, in every lecture, Marcy and Diane would say things that I have said to my students. My voice echoed in their words. Diane demonstrated her way of working and it was the same way in which I'd approached my textile art. Marcy showed her clothing and the many interpretations of the same pattern and it was the same way in which I'd approached my textile art. When I looked at my inspiration pictures, I saw their inspirations and the way in which they applied those inspirations was the same way in which I applied inspiration to my textile art. Design = textile art = fashion sewing. It's possible.

Why did I need these two women to connected my dots, to take me past grieving, past boredom, and on to a creative path that appears so exciting I find myself wondering how I'm going to fit in all the ideas I have now never mind the ones just beginning to formulate? Who knows? Who cares? I'm just thrilled to be moving forward. As I expressed in the closing circle, I breathe in fabric only it has seemed like I'm on a respirator for a long time. How wonderful to be breathing on my own again.

Normally after a workshop I head straight home and into the studio and get to work and that's exactly what I wanted to do only we'd already planned for Howard to meet me in Portland and spend some time together along the Oregon coast. Today, we walked in the black sand of the Pacific Ocean as the sun shone, the breeze blew, and the waves rolled against the shoreline. We held hands. We walked slowly. We talked. It was peaceful.

I'm in the enviable position of having a lot of time and I'm aware of the need to not waste that gift and yet too much time is as difficult to creativity as not enough can be. They are flip sides of the same coin. In the fall of 2004, I started what I refer to as The Year of Play. It was a twelve month span in which I attempted to answer the question do I still like fabric and if so, what direction am I moving in? The only criteria I set was that I had to go into the studio every day. That year had a profound impact on my creativity. When I get home, I will be starting The Year of Play Two not to answer that same question but a new one - within the framework of creative everyday wear, how creative can I be?

Although it's a year of play, I would like a way to earn enough income to pay for studio supplies. There's a certain pressure in knowing that Howard would like that too although he's not pushing me to get a job. The workshop was one of those ah ha experiences in which I could see how all the learning and all the experiences I had in the past came together into the experience I was having now. There's a reason. I have no idea what it is but I trust that God will bring what needs to be brought together and I choose not to manipulate, control, or attempt to make happen some thing when I have no idea what that thing is. I choose to be open to God's leading and to His provision. God doesn't have a money problem. He knows what I need.

In one of her lectures, Marcy talked about having a creative council and how important that is to creative growth. Knowing the truth of that statement, I spent years trying to organize or structure or make happen some kind of creative group for me to be a part of and then I spent a few more years trying to let go of that attempt. When I started to talk to Marcy about that time in my life, I was suddenly feeling weepy. It's an emotional subject that's true but after months of acupuncture and having my food issues under control, this attach of emotions instead of calm felt like a regression. It was a relief to get up the next morning with a hormone headache and a gift from Mother Nature and realize there was more going on than I thought AND... to grasp something Marcy said. That if I move in my creative direction I will draw to me the people that need to be in my life. Don't attempt to make it happen, be open to it happening.

Over the next days and weeks and months I will support and encourage my creativity by showing up in the studio and by doing the work because we learn to do by doing and then this fall I'll join the Arts Council. Perhaps this time I'm more mature with a different perspective, that of living a creative life. I'll be brave. We'll see what happens.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - black sand, holding hands, natural pedicures

I Miss Millicent

So far, I've used one piece of black yardage and one spool of thread and everything else in my stuffed to the gills suitcase has remained untouched including the patterns. Go figure.

This morning, I sewed the eight panels together by lining them up at the top and the sides and stitching a wide seam that was then trimmed and pressed open. The ends are ragged. That's so simple. It sounds much easier to do than it was. In my typical style, I found myself over-thinking and trying to see too many steps ahead and to do my work Diane's way. Stop that. Do one thing. Do Myrna.

The resulting tubular yardage is on hold until I get back to the studio. It will be much easier to take my ideas forward using a dress form to audition and drape and pin the possibilities. I miss Millicent.  I could easily skip the rest of the holiday and head into the studio and Howard said he would understand but he's flying down anyway and he'd really like to take that holiday together. LOL - of course.

With that black garment on hold, my next project was undulating tucks. This is a recycled Chico's top in a linen rayon blend. It has wonderful color and drape and I'm learning how to steam and pull tucks into shape. Tucks are a signature part of Diane's work which is another similarity between us. I've long been in love with small buttons, loops, tucks, and flounces. I imagine they'll be showing up in my work more often now as I begin incorporating more of my style. 

Both Marcy and Diane have an amazing repertoire of fabric combinations. They are rich and flowing with a lovely hand that is not necessarily what you expect from the pattern photos. Now that I've seen many of Marcy's garments made up in her selection of fabrics, patterns that I previously thought wouldn't suit my figure type have endless possibilities. I'm encouraged to play more. Both women treat the pattern as a vague outline and within that blank canvas is a playground.

How to play - my way - is a huge take-away of this workshop. Fit has become a much smaller question. I'm seeing how I can make the parts and use the lines and elements I need from the pattern to bring it all together and it's a giant step away from cut on the lines. In fact, you rarely cut on the lines until you're somewhere near the end. Sewing the garment in this more creative way is a combination of making parts, forming pieces, draping, and technique. Fit is the end step that brings it all together but it's rarely more than having the right shoulder and armhole and neckline. The shaping is built into the fabric and into the side seams. I'm not explaining that right but hopefully as I begin to do more work of this nature you'll see what I mean.

Over dinner, I was telling my friend that a person needs to come twice just to know how to pack . She replied that she doubted she'd come again, that once was enough, and she was ready to move on. It wasn't unexpected. It's obvious that we're having completely different experiences. In contrast, I can't imagine moving on any time soon, possibly never, I have more ideas than I have lifetime to explore and I haven't even gotten started. Even so, it was somewhat sad to hear her take on things as I've already put down a deposit for next year. When I talked it over with Howard he said if you're getting that much out of it you need to go again. LOVE that man.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - for how all the skills and experiences we have had in the past can be brought forward into our current creative endeavours making them both more possible and more enriching

Organic Fabric

It's been three days without a good night's sleep. I'm tired. I have a headache. And even though the lavender has been moved to a better location - the unused men's washroom - my allergies are acting up like crazy because advances in acupuncture aside, I apparently wasn't as ready to travel as I thought;. Oh well -  I'm here now - and glad..

This morning - when I wasn't sleeping - I sat sipping coffee and knitting in bed while being greeted by the morning sun and some local wildlife. It was such a beautiful beginning to a creative day. This area reminds me of a provincial campground about an hour from home. The sights and smells are familiar.

This beautiful butterfly is sitting on the wall just below the outside light of our cabin and I've seen it numerous times today on my way back and forth. Sometimes its wings are closed and other times they're furled as above. I began to wonder if it was somewhat symbolic.

Whenever I thought about this trip it was always a workshop with MARCY and diane because I knew so much more about Marcy's creativity. Today when Diane began to share her working process, I was suddenly looking at a woman who thinks as I do, one who is in the place I'm heading to and who will be my guide. As silly as it sounds, it was like finding my tribe, someone who speaks my language, someone who recognizes me.

Diane works spontaneously. She starts with something and does one thing and then one thing and then one thing and creates organic fabric that evolves itself into unique, never to be repeated, garments. It's a way of working reminiscent of how I created my art pieces and a way of working I've experienced when recycling garments. It's the process I've been hungering for since my return to fashion sewing, one that is beyond simply sewing a pattern. with technical skill.

The bag of linen, lace, and knit scraps from my two dresses is sitting back in the studio at home. When I return, they will be perfect for continuing the learning curve. Here in class, the only way to begin was with yardage, familiar shapes, and a touch of the unknown.

My starting point was a piece of 60" knit fabric. I layered two lengths long enough to reach from under the bust to the floor and then made four angled cuts to create eight wedges similar to the pattern pieces for a tulip skirt. No measuring. Just make the cuts and then start sewing. As of tonight, each wedge is sewn with randomly curved tucks, some pressed upward and others down . Tomorrow, I'll begin to shape the wedges into a skirt... or a dress... we'll see.

Synchronicity is an amazing thing. Just last week I wrote about zero waste sewing. In the past, I've talked about wanting to work in fashion the way I worked in textile art. Many times I've wished for someone who understood what I meant by - and what I was looking for within - that process. And here in one person, in her process, is the start of my path as if my wings are unfurling and I'm taking flight.

Talk soon - Myrna
Grateful - Diane

Behind Those Magic Doors

We left early Friday morning and meandered our way not getting too far, too fast. Several hours were spent in the Fabricland in Chilliwack not even three hours from home. We bought bits and bobs and trims. They were buy one meter get three free. And fabric. Of course.

Our hotel in Everett was across the street from Pacific Fabrics - an absolutely lovely store. It was surprising to find that the fabric is way more expensive here in the United States than what I'm used to paying at home which only means I need to focus on what I can't get less expensive elsewhere. Knits. With patterns. Specialty pieces.

The longest drive was between Everett and Bend. We may have zigged and zagged more than I anticipated but we only arrived thirty minutes later than planned which wasn't too bad. Greg's Grill where we had our dress up dinner was in the middle of an amazing shopping area. On Sunday we spent several hours at Chico's checking out trims and details and thoroughly enjoying ourselves before driving to Sisters.

The lodge - Five Pines - where the workshop is being held is very beautiful. We were assigned a cabin with a bathroom surely bigger than my bedroom, a large main room with a king size bed, sitting area, and fireplace, a kitchenette, an alcove with a second queen size bed, and a back deck. It was lovely just to put our feet up, sit down, and be still for a while in the somewhat cooler breeze with the trees swaying overhead.

The cabins are around a pond, completely with loudly croaking frogs. I'm typing this from my bed after our introductory circle and I can just hear their music through the walls and windows - not that it'll keep me up - I'm quite tired.

Behind those magic doors is the classroom. It's large and bright and seems like it'll be a fabulous place to work. So far, the only negative has been a one pound bowl of lavender in the middle of the shopping area. It has given me a screaming headache. Another woman mentioned that it was affecting her as well so I'm hoping she'll speak up louder and something will become of the lavender. I really would rather not do that although I'd rather not be sick either. Sigh. So frustrating in this age of so many allergies. 

There are twenty-seven of us in the class. Many of the women have come numerous times before which is the best kind of recommendation. I found myself vacillating between excitement, intimidation, and a feeling of finally - finally I just may be in a classroom that will challenge and inspire me and with women who want to be creative in a similar way to how I want to be creative. Time will tell.

Talk soon - Myrna
Grateful - safe travels

On Packing Light

I've said it before but just in case you're a relatively new blog reader, my friend Caroline and I met when we were sixteen. We showed up in Sunday school in the same dress. I decided she had good taste, took mine back, and we've been friends ever since. Both of us have just celebrated our 50th birthday and this trip is a celebration although...

... we typically have some kind of sewing holiday together each year. Sometimes we rent a cottage, a B and B, or a hotel suite and sew whatever we want to sew and other times we take a specific workshop. Above, we were at a Ron Collins and Sandra Betzina workshop.

This pretty in pink picture was taken in my studio when Caroline was in town on a quick visit. I'd just taken the bra-making workshop and was teaching her what (little) I knew at that point. It was a fun day. Another time, she stayed with me for a week while Howard was away with the boys on their annual retreat. Just the two of us, no schedule, no responsibilities, was a holiday and working in my studio is a lot different than packing up and leaving. Everything we needed was right there. We still shopped!

Since she lives 2100 miles north of me, Caroline flies to just about everything we do. I have no idea how she manages because on the subject of packing light, I fail. We're driving from my house so I keep reminding myself that just because I have the car doesn't mean I need to take EVERYTHING although it certainly felt that way as the cooler, sewing machine, suitcase of supplies, computer case, knitting bag, suitcase of clothes, and my bag of toiletries went into the car. Above, I put all the tools and patterns into the sewing suitcase first and what was left was filled with fabric. I was surprised...

... by how much actually fit in. These are all knits. The white on the bottom is a thin burnout that will be perfect for surface design. The blue one up is the lining fabric that was so amazing from the Vogue dress. The ruffled knit is a souvenir from a different trip to Victoria last February when Caroline and I took a smaller workshop with Ron Collins. The lace in the middle is left over from my dress. The print and two blue pieces on top are yardage. That's definitely enough to do something.

Before I forget... again...

Kathy wrote - I've been jealously reading about your preparations for Marcy and Diane's workshop... maybe someday! Wondering if you can give me a definition of polyvore fabric. I googled it just now and keep being referred to a social network about styling clothing... but nothing about a specific fabric... I'm intrigued. Have a wonderful time at the workshop and I will be waiting with bated breath for your posts!

I went back to the store and looked at the label and it's not polyvore as she told me, it's 75% polyamide and 25% elastacine. It feels a bit like parachute fabric except thinner and softer and permanently wrinkled.

Thanks for the well wishes. We're off this morning. As mentioned, I have my laptop but I don't intend to pull it out every day so posting will be hit and miss until I'm settled back into the studio. Since my house will be managed by men for the next while, I'm guessing there will be a bit of catching up (read cleaning) to do when I get back. There may be one or two posts in the middle - hopefully - when I have time.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - traditions

Between Chatter And Inspiration...

d

There's something about the light in our new home that these violets love. Before, they were on the kitchen window sill - a typical violet place - and bloomed so-so. Here, they're in the middle of the room between the frosted windows of the front door and the expanse of windows on the view side and apparently, combined, that's just perfect. They've been blooming non stop and plentiful.

In contrast to the days previous, yesterday felt completely unproductive, like a turtle moving backward. My trip to the dentist went beyond a check and into a filling because I broke a tooth on Monday morning. That delayed everything else BUT... in the end... Caroline's gift is all together. There are fifty large red corral beads, fifty black, fifty silver spacer, fifty pinkish red, and fifty purple tooth-like beads as well as two sets of beaded combinations that would look good at the ends, silk cord, a clasp, and tubing for behind the pendant depending on how she wants to attach it.  It's a fun combo.

There's room for improvement on the technique - however - for the first time exploring a new idea - this pendant is not bad.The five ridges represent each decade of her life. The one red corral piece looks fish-like to me and represents overcoming the odds, surviving, and thriving. The silver beads are not silver beads. They are black with dots of silver metallic paint. I couldn't find a silver that wasn't either too shiny or too antique so I sewed on forty black beads and then used metallic paint to tip them with silver. I wanted fifty but fifty was too much so I added ten more dots of silver along the edges.

For the workshop - we're to bring a half dozen patterns. I chose my favourite Burda skirt, and trusted New Look t-shirt pattern as a start as well as the Vogue dress pattern I've just sewn twice because I know it fits and it could easily be adapted to a tunic pattern. Having picked three sure bets, I threw in the Kwik Sew 3827 jacket that I sewed last year because I want to explore that gorgeous seaming in the back further, the Vogue 8714 peplum top with custom fit sizing because that's just easier than figuring out an FBA, and the Vogue 8637 skirt pattern of Marcy's so I can ask her about the fabric selection and possibly give it a go. We'll see what happens. We only have three full days and two partial ones. Between chatter and inspiration, how much sewing will get done?

Re-reading the notes, there are numerous directions we can go in depending on what we want to develop. I've decided to focus on the creative everyday wear aspect as that's definitely what I need in terms of clothes to wear and what I'd like to explore in terms of creative growth.

My inspiration file is ready. There's a variety of images with some from Suzanne's taken the other day, some from Crazy River Clothing - my favourite ladies dress shop - that were taken last year, and some from Anthropologie. All the images focus on knots, seaming, flounces, pleats, and simplicity. If we want...

... we can work in the surface design studio and stamp and paint and texturize yardage or a ready-to-wear piece. If I decide on that, I'll use yardage but considering how difficult it would be to do surface design until we add a counter space and laundry tub downstairs, I'm more inclined to focus on stitched aspects of design as opposed to painted ones. They are more likely to get done.

One thing I noticed - or confirmed might be a better word - looking through the inspirational images is my preference for monotone clothing with details. While I love color, I tend to love it either in the jewelry or in little details on the piece as opposed to a bright or printed fabric. My stash certainly shows that. It's mostly solids in medium to dark colors. That's what I'll do next. Pack fabric.

In the notes, Marcy suggested focusing in on one idea or color to make packing easier and to avoid over packing. I've decided to take a variety of mostly knit fabrics between denim and black - at least that's the plan - we'll see what happens when I actually get into the stash.

Talk soon - Myrna


Grateful -  the development of a creative can do attitude

The Gift

My friend Francine has the gift of presentation as does another friend - Lorrie.  Being around them is full of delightful details. I like details. I incorporate many myself only these two women are far more aware of them and expend a lot more effort on even the simplest of endeavours.

At one time, I was intimidated by their ability and because I liked the way the things that they created looked, I felt that I somehow should be able to put together those types of presentations as well. And perhaps I could. But do I need to? We do ourselves much damage when we compare and when we base our decisions on comments and compliments rather than on what we know to be truth or how we feel. I think that's one of the lessons a person learns over a life time - with maturity.

Francine's birthday gift came in this box covered with hand painted watercolor paper and wrapped in an organza bow. Sitting on top, just under the lid, protecting the gift below, was another layer with a bright pink card and this quote by Maya Angelou - Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it. I like that quote. I also like this...

... beaded necklace that was a gift from my daughter. She emailed me several design possibilities and made this one using a Myrna color combination. I know enough about beading to know that this style of rope is a tremendous amount of work. The results are gorgeous and I'm incredibly proud of her abilities. This is the second beaded necklace she has made me and I always get compliments when I wear them and LOVE saying my daughter made it!

I'm glad she's just a little bit like me. Making things - particularly with fabric - is what I do. In an interview with Geddy Lee of the band Rush, Geddy was asked about the longevity of the band and replied that he and the other band members share this crazy innate drive to get better and that after 38 years together, they are maturing as a rock band just as classical and jazz musicians do and that they're paving a path for other aging rockers. They're loving their music even more.

Me too. After 38 years of sewing, I'm loving it even more. I'm intrigued by the boundaries I can push and by the techniques I've learned and the risks I take and the results I achieve and I love sharing those results on the blog - and then - every once in a while - I am reminded to pay more attention to myself and less to comparisons, compliments, and comments.

To be honest, I was disappointed by the lack of comments on the dress although, to be fair, the pictures don't look nearly as wonderful as the dress does in person nor reflect how absolutely amazing it feels on. It fits fabulously and is one of those dresses that hugs and flows and makes you feel feminine and thin and pretty and confident all at once - even if after seeing the pictures, I decided to line the sleeves. It took less than half an hour and now my biceps look a lot better with black behind the lace rather than skin showing through.

Hemming the dress meant two more long scraps 2 1/2" and 4" wide of the lace and the lining. That meant more thinking about zero waste. It's such a huge question because even this pile of yucky looking scraps above is useful in thread lace. They would add color and texture and stability with the serger scraps especially.

If one wanted, one could use up every part of the yardage only I couldn't work fast enough to prevent drowning in all that potential and yet I've begun to look at it not only from a zero waste perspective but from a frugality one. Another F word that I'm working on with extra energy in my fifties is frugal not as in being a tightwad but as in using my fabrics and my finances wisely. Opportunities to create something from "nothing" - as these scraps represent - would go a long way toward achieving that goal if I could store all that potential. What do you do?

I've been storing this looks like a cross between felt and interfacing fabric since 2004 when I ordered it to make a piece for an exhibit. It was tickling my brain as a potential way to make jewelry and yesterday I finally got to exploring that possibility by playing with pendant ideas.

The fabric is shaped and shrunk with heat and will take on the shape of whatever it is heated over. First, I experimented with a shape underneath and then with one in-between and that didn't work too well. Then I played with stitching patterns, adding fabric, and painting before heating and there's something else to explore in those ideas even though they weren't what I wanted right now. And then I tried tucks and loved the direction that took me in.

The shape of this piece above turned out particularly well. I've put it aside to explore further when I have a better understanding of the steps between a shape I love and a finished pendant I love.

My friend's pendant will be primarily black and red with silver beading. I tried painting red first and then black and then I tried painting black first and then red and then I tried adding purple to see how that went and experimented with glazes and realized that metallic paints work best. I've made a lot of samples and have one piece that I really like the shape of and am painting now with high hopes that it'll be the piece.

After my dentist appointment and getting ready to pack errands this morning, I'll finish the piece and put the gift together. More important than what I give Caroline - or what she gives me - is the time we're spending together because life is about relationships and I am incredibly blessed to have this friend of thirty-four years who not only cares about me but shares, supports, and encourages my interests.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - maturity