piecing

Since the Baltimore Show

April 16, 2023 4 Comments

It’s not unusual for people to need a bit of adjusting for the clothes they buy from me. Sleeves might be too long or too short. We may decide to take it in a bit or let it out. Some people like a snug fit, other loose. So usually, for a week or two after a show, I’ll take some time for altering.

I’ve cut back on special orders, but there are still a few that I do. Like this one. A customer asked for a jacket in black and white. What a cool idea! It’s finished and ready to ship.

I’m thinking I’d like to revisit this style again.

Below, a snap shot of the sleeve sections in process.

It’s not just altering and special orders, because, as I finish up from the show, I think about new work. I lay out fabrics that are calling to me.

These gorgeous fabrics are inspiring!

I’m also wanting to make a beaded jacket. This pretty blue shibori silk will be the base. I lay out beads of different colors, shapes and positions until I land on one that looks right.

I ended up with this, with the beads clustered towards the ends of the leaf shapes. A photo helps me to remember how I’ve laid them out.

And yes! Always a good idea. A break! Away from my studio for a short trip to one of my favorite places, Astoria, at the mouth of the Columbia River.

For this trip I was determined to focus on being there. “No photographs!’ I told myself. Just enjoy the moment.

But I could not resist the scenes down by the river front. This place is magic.

The mossy remains of piers. The miles wide Columbia river. The enormous cargo ships.

The ships wait for their turn to go up river to deliver and/or pick up goods from cities all along the river.

As I walked along the water front, I snapped a photo of a couple of coast guard boats heading out. Because the Columbia River Bar is so treacherous, the Coast Guard’s National Motor Lifeboat School is stationed here. It’s the perfect spot for people from all over the world to come and train for water rescue.

Check out this photo I downloaded from the Coast Guard website. Can you imagine the challenge of rescuing someone out of this?

And this excellent article in the New York Times about their water rescue training program.

Amazing.

All vessels engaged in foreign trade, like this one heading out, are required to employ a Columbia River Bar Pilot. The Bar Pilots guide the ships from the ocean to just past Astoria and back out again. Check out their website here.

I mean, the coast guard folks, the bar pilots, … Yow. I am beyond impressed. You guys.

It was only for a few days, but this trip was the perfect way to clear my mind, think about something completely different, change my focus, look in a new direction and start something new!

One last look

March 26, 2023 6 Comments

Before I refocus towards new work, how about one last look at some of the pieces that were sold at the Baltimore show?

A tomato red coat with appliqués in a slightly different red. I posted a story about this one in October when I started it. Check it out here.

I did finish it, just in time for the show.

A jacket, sewn from the remainder pieces of coat I made a number of years ago.

All those little bits and pieces, left over from various projects, that I store away. Eventually, sometimes years later, I use them for a new project.

Waste nothing! A skirt pieced from various leftover scraps of kimono silks, all woven with sparkling metallic threads.

Topped with a black hitoe that was sewn from an amazing ‘rinzo’ kimono silk, a kind of a damask.

A detail shot.

Formal wedding kimonos are fantastic to work with, not only are they amazingly gorgeous, but they also have extra long sleeves, also covered with designs. Those long sleeves mean all the more beautiful fabric to work with. Like this oversized jacket, loose and full.

And enough fabric left over to make a second jacket.

And a red and gold jacket sewn from the remainders of another oversized jacket.

Below, that oversized jacket, the one that I had first sewn from the red and gold kimono silk. I brought it back with me and listed it on my web-shop. You can check it out here.

This is how it goes, I start with a beautiful kimono silk and see where it leads me. I sew up new work and send those jackets, coats, skirts on their way. Then, maybe the best part, I get to start all over again.

Every time it’s different, sometimes a challenge, but in the end, always fun, always rewarding.

ACC Baltimore ’23 Coming Up!

February 19, 2023 3 Comments

I’m sewing up a storm these days. New jackets and coats are flying out of my studio. Pieced, appliquéd or beaded, each one sewn using a gorgeous kimono silk. No more sitting and waiting patiently on my shelves, these fabrics will be out and about, living their new lives.

I started this pieced jacket a few weeks ago, using fabrics from my scrap stash. From a pile of fabric bits and pieces to a brand new jacket. Magic!

The Met Museum’s Instagram account has a picture of a Japanese pieced vest from the first half of the 1800’s. The caption reads, ‘Patchwork has connotations of longevity, since stitching together the scraps extended their use.’ I love it! Wear a jacket made from leftover fabric scraps and add years to your life. Perfect!

The back.