Assessing My Potential

Yesterday, when I finished the zippered tote, was the perfect time to clean up the studio and assess my potential - as in the bits & pieces stashed around the studio - to see what I actually have to use going forward. I like that I now see remnants and failed projects as useful and not as garbage only too much potential can be overwhelming. I'm always aware of that and attempting to keep it under control. 

These are the painted scraps left from the bags. I want to keep them of course. I spent a lot of time, money, and energy creating the fabrics they were cut from and random sizes and shapes like these only happen organically yet are the perfect starting point for collages. As I do more painting, there will not only be yardage but more scraps. I realized I needed a system which - LOL - I'm still thinking about but that awareness led to looking at everything else I had that might need to be included in the system. 

YEARS... and years... and years ago when I bought two of these desks, I liked that the baskets would tuck underneath from the front. It meant they could be placed against a wall or face-to-face without any access issues. I have six of these baskets and two much larger ones - canvas, laundry baskets - that are kept in the work island. I went through them all and sorted the bits and pieces of potential into piles and then got rid of what didn't work... which was very little... and it's going to the thrift store. 

In the image above left, the bottom right hand pile is more of the samples I did at the retreat that I want to turn into pouches. The bottom left pile is painted scraps that will eventually become part of the system I'm still thinking about. Behind that, top left, is fabric that can be painted or needs more painting. The pile top right is of quilted pieces left over from other bags. Later, I added them to the box of other quilted pieces, mostly wall hangings I'm going to repurpose. 

The laundry baskets contained a mix of things. These are Chinese knots made from bias strips wrapped over cording. They can be separated and finished to be beads or can work as an accent or a closure on a garment... or a bag. 





And these are from a bag I made a few years ago for a friend's 30th birthday. I started with canvas painted purple because I had a lot of canvas and a lot of purple paint - five large containers originally bought to paint my couch that I ended up recovering instead. Since there is more canvas and more paint left, more purple is bound to happen. 

These are the remnants from two teepees that I made for my grandsons using drop cloths. It was too much beige so I dyed them and really like the way that turned out. Drop cloths are an excellent way to get a lot of canvas fabric for a reasonable price as are...

... chair covers. Before I moved, I had two Ektorp chairs from Ikea that weren't going to fit in my new and smaller living room. When I bought them, a beige cover was $29.00 so I bought an extra one and took it apart to make a pattern intending to make more covers in different fabrics. The beige fabrics in the top image are from that cover and the grey ones are from two more that I kept when I gave a friend the chairs.

Here are the pieces from the beige cover folded and stacked.  The pile is about five inches high. Double that for the grey covers. That is a LOT of fabric plus...

... the piping that came out intact can be re-used and the cording from the strips that separated while taking the seams apart can be used to make new piping and/or more Chinese knots. 

Each chair cover had two sections - one for the seat and one for the back - that already have a zipper installed. Again... perfect for bags. I've been thinking about the kind of series work that could be done with tent remnants, or chair covers, or beige or grey canvas. SO many possibilities. And exactly the kind of challenge I enjoy. 

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - potential for "free" projects.