snip, snip, snip

these past couple of days have been filled with snipping and ripping. now it's time to start stitching...

namaste'

something completely different

took a little break from cloth and thread to attend to something completely different. you may remember me entertaining the idea some weeks back of de-constructing some old industrial pallets to use the lumber on my walls. after countless hours of de-construction, i finally had enough slats to get to work on my first wall. going is slow as the lumber is not large. but i am already loving the rustic results! i can't wait to see it completed and counterpointed with curtains, artwork, and furniture!

namaste'

kantha commencement

here you can see the slightly different coloring of the jean piece that i have slipped inside the frazzled cuff. i started working the kantha stitches in a hand-dyed indigo cotton thread, but it just disappeared into the denim and hated to waste the thread for something that wouldn't be visible. so i started over in some heavy vintage cotton thread instead. i'm really liking this so far. 


i thought about changing direction with the stitching and creating a pattern, but decided i'd rather keep this one simple. besides, i want to add some more boro patches to it as well and don't want it to start looking too messy. most likely won't be a "plain" boro patch either... i'm thinking skull shaped or something else different and unexpected at the ankle in more contrasting denim on one leg. perhaps a bone or something else on the other? or a simple geometric?


i'm off to a good start. slow going since denim is so thick...and two layers of denim thicker still...but going nonetheless! i could kiss whomever invented thimbles!


namaste'

unexpected boro opportunity

as all y'all know, i've been taking another of jude hill's amazing workshops, contemporary boro 2. i've been struggling with ways to incorporate her techniques into my own garments with an eye on actually being able to *wear* them afterwards. "what's the problem?" you might well ask. well, most of the inspiration found in this workshop is just too...well, um...*girly* for me.  i can't see myself tromping around with the boys in a shirt that's had the cuffs torn off and re-purposed into plackets, much less had salvaged lace or skirt fabrics boro'd into place here and there to create a stunning moonlit scene. ha! it's a sad, but true fact: men's clothing is decidedly boring in the modern age.

the other day i did happen to notice that my favorite jeans with the blown out ankles were getting a bit too "blown out". mind you, i actually *like* blown out ankles on my jeans. it's one of the reasons i purchase them so long. that and because i like the way the extra cloth bunches on the front. but, with time, they become *too* far gone.

i was about to toss them into the scrap basket when an idea hit me! contemporary boro. duh! clearly, i have been stuck inside the envelope lately... so, i dug around in my overflowing scrap basket and found another pair of jeans whose knees had blown out so bad that i couldn't see wearing them anymore. at least, not without getting arrested for indecent exposure since the tear had ripped nearly through to the crotch! tearing my eyes away from that frightening possibility, however, i also noticed the cuffs were only mildly worn...just to the point of the beginnings of seeing some fringe. one of my favorite stages before going into all out FRINGE!!

as you can imagine, ideas began whirling about and out flew the shears as i began hacking away at them, deconstructing seams, and digging around in the thread box to begin basting my little heart out...

next step: kantha, kantha, kantha!

namaste'

frenzied feline and a new project

synchronicity is a strange thing, you know. i came across this little frenzied feline while trying to figure out how to describe this past week. he demonstrates exactly how my week has been... chasing about, trying to fit unexpected work shifts into my schedule. trying to stay ahead of everything so i don't get run over. all the while, uncertain how my little paws are actually reaching the pedals!

needless to say, i haven't done a lick of stitching this week. though i have been gathering raw materials for another project. remember that i started remodelling my studio a while back? i came across a little idea that i like so much, i'm thinking of including elements of it throughout my house!

pallets? is that seriously a stack of old pallets? yes. yes it is! i've been gathering pallets like a mad man (and i'm quite certain my neighbors have all decided that i've taken leave of my senses as they've watched me haul these buggers in by the truck load). now, before you begin nodding your noggins and agreeing with my mislead, but well-meaning neighbors, you have to see this:

the wall in this picture is constructed entirely of pallets! keeping in mind that i have been slowly but surely turning my home into a rustic getaway with barn wood, vintage artifacts, plank flooring, and the like... i think this wall treatment will be absolutely perfect to finish off the effect!  of course, it's going to take a lot of time and a lot of work...dismembering pallets, sorting slats, mixing colors, installing and so on. but i'm going to simply approach it as though i'm salvaging fabric and creating a story cloth. though, perhaps, of a much larger nature, and in this case, one slat at a time! so, if you see project updates interspersed between the cloth whispering, you'll understand...and hopefully not send those nice young men in their clean white coats to take me away in a butterfly net!

namaste'

winding down...

as the gregorian calendar winds down to its inevitable annual conclusion, i am finding myself examining old techniques and digging haphazardly through unfinished projects and attempting to see them with a new eye.  one of the "old techniques" that keeps showing its face is rust and earth dyeing...two humble aspects of eco-dyeing. i went foraging the other day and came up with a pile of divinely rusty objects of various sorts. add these to my already heaping pile of rusted grates, expanded metal, pipes, bolts, nails, buckets, flotsam and hibatchi, and i've got a fairly extensive palette from which to create rusted surface design!  now to dig through my fabric scraps and see what alternatives to boring old solids i can come up with on which to make my marks...

along with digging through my fabric horde, i've also begun deconstructing many of the old garments that i've gathered from my own closets and local thrift stores, friends and miscellaneous other sources. i'm finding it every bit as relaxing and focusing as needle chanting. scissor chanting, perhaps?

i'm finding a growing pile of button strips and collars that will await future further deconstruction beginning to fill baskets and boxes... and the lovely bits of salvaged fabric filling shelves that were once filled with commercial quilting fabrics. i am continually entranced by the selection of textures, prints, and variety that is simply unrivaled by quilting fabric!

tonight will find me needle chanting the "new year" into existence...

namaste'

you gotta start somewhere!

“start where you are.

use what you have.

do what you can.”

–arthur ashe.

it is interesting how one can subscribe to the idea of using what we have, and yet still feel compelled to go out and find more. more things to buy (or, in some cases, hoard). more things to do. more things to see. 

i can certainly see that in myself. whenever i start a new creative venture or take a new direction in my art, i rush out and begin a new collection of supplies and inspirations, be they physical, mental or social. the immense collections of previous artistic directions get boxed and set aside after a quick sort through for immediate applications and then, frequently, sadly forgotten until they overflow their space and begin to look for new homes...or new uses.

for example...i've been a quilter for far too many years than i care to admit...and a fiber artist for far too many more. most recently, as i've moved more and more into recycle mode in my art, i've gone out and scavenged the countryside for luscious vintage fabrics, garments, castoffs and found fibers. but what about the sewing room filled to overflowing with more current (within the past five or so years) purchases of quilting fabrics? batiks. prints. calicos. plaids. you name it, i've got it. and tons of it!! wouldn't you think i'd look to these first? but, noooo! i've got to dash out and acquire someone else's collection of rags and tatters to create my "recycled" art with. (sigh) what a sad, sorry commentary. there is something quite backasswards here...

and so, in the spirit of starting where i am and using what i have, i am looking at my studio remodel in a whole different light! add to this the myriad of directions into which i am currently stretched professionally, socially, and artistically, and you have quite the recipe for potential disaster...or great chaos from which may emerge wonderful creativity! (i personally am vying for the latter!)  so i have devoted at least 30 minutes every day toward creating space. clearing what i have. sorting. assembling. organizing. sending what needs no longer to reside here, elsewhere. finding new homes for everything...be they in my own home or someone else's.

then, i am pledging to devote at least 30 minutes of each day toward actually creating! it seems like it's been a while since i have done this as i seem to get caught up in the space and time management game. but my spirit is starving for its creative outlet and i have little choice but to give it its own space to thrive.


perhaps these will be the threadcrumbs that will eventally lead me out of this forest of chaos...


namaste'

deconstructing a life

a good friend of mine is undergoing extreme transition. his job has been phased out. it happens to so many of us.  but when your profession is specialized, it's not like you can just run out and get another one.  there is a process to be followed. most likely there will be continued education (not so easy for us 40+ers). he is most likely going to have to move to pursue his education and further employment elsewhere. after all, there aren't that many jobs here in montana...and fewer still of the specialized variety. 

he wonders, "will i even be able to make it?" and "will i end up a pauper the rest of my life?"  "is there room at the mission for me?"  well, the last question won't have to be considered since he has many friends who have offered to open up their homes to him (including myself).  however, he is taking it all very hard.  and who could blame him?  his life's work is hanging in the balance.  decisions have to be made. 

he's decided to start fresh. he's giving all of his worldly belongings away, save for a dear few necessities, so to ensure an easy transition to where ever it is he will end up.  it's hard for him. he's a collector.  a collector of memories, furniture, clothes, and things that make him feel at home.  it's hard for me to watch, being a collector myself.  but, i'm helping him in any way i can.  helping him sort. pack. deliver items to new owners.

he is often quiet.  introspective. unsure.  that, i think, is the most difficult thing to watch.  he's a very independent person, so watch...and be there...is all i can do.  every spare moment this week as been spent at his side.  will continue to be so until we are done deconstructing his life. it's very painful. watching someone condense their life into a few boxes...

i can't help but wonder, "what if it were me?"  hopefully, i will never have to find out. 

namaste'

p.s. my internet connectivity still languishes while the evil at&t trashes alltel's connections in favor of their own.  looks like it may be a month before this is all said and done with.  i am not happy with them!  i am looking for other options...but will most likely resume regular posting as soon as my friend is finished with needing my help during this move.  i may not be able to connect through my own network, but i can always take my laptop to a local hotspot and connect there.  don't know why i didn't think of this before!