a little background boro

snow has been promised in the next day or two...and the heat is not working in my truck so i passed some time today stitching a little speculative boro background cloth while waiting for the mechanic to call me with news of its repair. stitching together bits of cotton, linen, silk/linen blend, and rust-dyed cotton, all salvaged from clothes and household linens, to create a background for some embroidery.

i have in mind one of two things. either a continuation of calaveras (perhaps this time with wings?) or the beginning of a series of figure studies in cloth and stitch. once this cloth is finished being needled, i'll have to scan it and print a few copies out in color to play with by sketching in some shapes and figures to see what happens...

it's been really freeing of late, not worrying about what i *must* stitch. but, rather, allowing my hands free reign in creating whatever they are inspired to manifest. even if it is *only* a background cloth!

namaste'

speculative boro

after untold hours of speculative contemplation and meditative needle chanting, my re-newed pair of denims are complete! the wings and skull were hand embroidered onto salvaged lightweight denim. i chose to stitch the wings down, leaving a raw edge so they will fray and soften during future washings, while needle-turning the skull itself to create a cleaner line. i had originally designed the skull with a dropped lower jaw and tongue, but decided to leave them out because the look become more whimsical than i had wanted. the darker circle and rectangle (still sporting some of the seam ombre and wrapping around to the front of the cuff) are from further up on the salvaged denims that the inserted cuffs were harvested from. the lighter denim square on the left cuff sports a seam from it's previous form. the inserts at the bottom of the cuffs were salvaged from another pair of denims that i had blown out the knees on. i chose to use the back seams which had already begun to fray (from my passion for wearing denims a few inches too long in the inseam so they will bunch around the ankles) rather than from the intact front cuffs so that there wouldn't be a harsh transition from the frayed over cuff to a pristine under cuff.

if you've been following my blog for any time (or know me at all), then you already recognize the skull as a personal symbol that i tend to use a lot. i know it touches some of you with its crypt-worn rasp and chilled breath...but for me it has always been a reminder that life is ephemeral and one must make the most of every moment lest those moments be lost forever!

all in all, i am extremely pleased with the way they turned out.  now to turn my creative gaze upon re-newing a few shirts with some speculative boro.

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'

atarashii boro

after seeing some of jude hill's fun boro and strip woven jeans (and shirts and more), i thought i'd poke around the web and see what anyone was doing that had a more masculine look (being male, after all, and frequently lamenting that men really have very little exciting clothing).  the first image to pop up was this fun one from last year's polo line.  of course, the jeans are fantastic, and just what i was looking for...but i couldn't tear my eyes off that amazing flag in the background! maybe it's because independence day is right around the corner (for those of us who live in the u.s.). maybe it's because i've always liked tattered american kitch. i dunno...but i'm thinking i may have to have a wade through my stash this week and see what i can tease out of it that might make a wonderful flag similar to that one (at least in concept).  

but, for the moment, back to boro and/or strip woven jeans...

i found a ton of ideas and fun things to do...even a few tutorials on ripping, fraying, fading, and other destructables that bore a lot of promise for many fun days and nights this summer... at least, toying with the techniques and seeing what i come up with and all of its accompanying variations, derivatives and explorations!

from the denim blog:

"ripped jeans have been worn as a fashion statement since the 1970’s. many chose to deform their jeans in an effort to separate themselves from mainstream culture. ironically, the mainstream eventually embraced ripped jeans.today ripped jeans and patched jeans have become part of the fabric of american culture. both styles are now welcome in places that range from the dorm room to the board room, the art studio to the art opening, and the vegetable garden to the garden gala."

dolce & gabanna has made an art of ragged and patched jeans...not to mention a fortune what with them ranging upwards of $85 a pair and more!

i remember mom throwing jeans out long before they reached this stage of deconstruction, no matter how much we protested!

but i have to say...my most favorite pair by far has been an 8 year (and counting) project from lucy b's flickr stream:

now that's a pair of recycled & reused jeans to aspire to!

one more thought...a crossover piece...an atarashii boro denim flag:

this extraordinary patched american flag was handcrafted from recycled vintage denim by american textile artisan judy augur in 2009, and is a true piece of modern day folk art, measuring 125” x 75”, and backed with sturdy canvas.  it is currently at auction to benefit ralph lauren's pink pony fund. perhaps something a bit smaller would be within this artist's grasp at creating?

in any case, i'm off to answer the louder than usual whisperings of a couple cloths...

namaste'

a little frayed around the edges

"it was not...that she was unaware

of the frayed and ragged edges of life.

she would merely iron them out

with a firm hand and neatly

hem them down."

- p.d. james

i love it when an old quilt (or any cloth...or for that matter, bit of furniture, crockery, cook pan or whatever) has been lovingly enjoyed so much that it bears its story proudly upon its edges!  unlike p.d. james, however, i'm more inclined to simply allow them to tell their stories of love and delight rather than hide them beneath new borders and forced gloss.  if everything were to always stay looking new and unused, where would the evidence of a passionately lived life be found?

namaste'