Keep It Together!

The third in my running knitted text series. It took us a while to get this frame together, first it was contemplating the dye, then sheen, then it was too cold for the lacquer to set, blah blah blah. Now it's done and I'm satisfied.

This idea came about after a meltdown on the phone with a friend and she politely informed me that I needed to "K.I.T." And I said "gurl thanks I needed that!" Haha, it's a good thing to be reminded of from time to time. Gotta love great friends who can keep things in perspective.

Promo photo for The Bronzed Chorus, was so happy to give them a band portrait they actually liked! And honored they wanted to sit under my filet crochet.
I wasn't sure how this pic would come together until Hunter plopped his blankets on the couch, then >pop< that was the color the photo needed. I'm so in love with that funky biscuit quilt and his mom made the crochet squares afgan. Gravy the cat is a great addition that reflects who these guys are...serious musicians with gentle cat-loving hearts!

Nasher knocked it out of the park on this one!

So glad I caught this exhibit, featuring 15 years of work by African-born, Brooklyn-based artist Wangechi Mutu.

A search for female identity through collage, paint, video art, and installation. When you first walk in, you become aware of the sounds in the room. Nature, singing, roars, and waves, coming from various videos playing throughout the space; it really created a unique atmosphere for looking at her work.

I became completely obsessed with the way she incorporated this felted, recycled, almost-industrial fiber with her art, using it to cover entire walls. In one way, an art show is simply hanging art on walls, in Mutu's way, she thought beyond the typical, creating atmosphere and texture by using this textile. I was so inspired and you KNOW I love a good textile. What can I say, it perfectly complimented her work.

We all agreed this video was amazing. I mean, c'mon, she projected from the ceiling onto wood pallets that were sitting on more fiber. A great way to take this piece to another level, finding a new way for the viewer to watch it. Her press-on 'talons' ripping into a 3-layer cake, a very literal address towards overconsumption; she was absolutely engaging and entertaining. When, as she eats the cake, hair starts to get stuck in her mouth, I found myself giggling out loud. She made me rethink my blasé approach to video art.

Beatiful, huge collage on Mylar paper gave a unique dimension to her work and an interesting texture to her paint.

Love that repeat pattern!

Mutu definitely allows in a certain amount of gore, but her femininity shines through in bright red glitter and high heels!

How gorgeous is this? Her recycled fiber grows down to the floor with the help of packaging tape. 

Being an artist myself, I need to remember that regularly attending exhibits like this is so important, not only to understand what other artists are doing around you, but also for the sheer inspiration and beauty of it all. Not to mention it makes me feel a whole lot better that she's been working on all this for 15 years. I guess my pace is not so slow after all!

Wangechi Mutu: A Fantastic Journey

Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University

We had to say goodbye to our beloved family dog, Malone, this week. 

:(

I took this picture to document a repeat pattern I'm working on, that I'll then have printed on some fabric via Spoonflower. I was glad to find that I had taken one last picture of Malone before he left. He was so old, and so not himself anymore.....we had already mourned his death, for peat's sake, expecting it for so long. But it still hurts now that it's finally here. The end of a 15-year era.
You will be missed, Maloney Baloney!

I just realized I never posted detail shots of the double wedding ring quilt I finished at the end of last year. What a journey it was, making this quilt, and what beautiful results I got! 

I started the quilting process in my studio, using the design wall as my oh-so-crucial assistant. First, I pin my backing fabric up to it for a few days to get all the creases and wrinkles out, sometimes using a spray bottle with water to help with the tough ones, and allowing gravity to take care of the rest. Then, while it's still pinned up there, I apply my first coat of basting spray, and attach the batting to it. The design wall is not strong enough to hold this much weight so I use plenty of pins. The next layer of basting spray is applied and then the quilt top is attached. I learned how to use basting spray on the floor, which is fine, but I greatly prefer the wall method. You find that gravity makes smoothing out the layers a breeze and you don't have to worry about any of your fabrics getting dirty.

Once my layers were stuck together, I moved to the machine. This was my solution to keep the quilt off the floor; three tables pushed together. The folding table was a nice touch because it was just short enough to slide under the other tables when I didn't need it. I started with simple outline stitches around the white melons and finished everything else on the long-arm machine.

APQS Millenium! Rental, of course. Trust me, if I had $17,000 to spare, I'd own one!

(I like seeing Manuel there on my shirt, looking over my sewing like a guiding angel)

I designed the quilting by playing with motifs on tracing paper and laying them out on the quilt top. Then, when I got to the machine, I made myself basic guidelines with chalk and sewed from there. This allowed me to be free with my movement but still have help as to placement and general shapes.

 The only thing I wasn't happy with, with this process, was that the sewing needle would push the chalk deep into the layers and didn't just wash away, as I had expected it to. I ended up scrubbing with a toothbrush and water to try and get it all out and, in some places, was unsuccessful. I don't know if other chalks would work better or if I needed a different process entirely, to avoid this problem.

But, I'm still happy with it! I love getting a chance to try new ideas and techniques, and it's the best when you can make smarter and smarter choices over time. I still haven't learned to prewash my fabrics though....

 Since I got to calling this quilt the "Palau quilt", I turned to native Palau plants as inspiration for the quilting motifs. The fronds became my favorite to sew.

 The easiest and most fun way for me to label quilts!

 This is the kind of stuff I LIVE for. I mean, this is my geek factor here!

 How gorgeous is this??

My grandma never stops finding the antique treats in the recesses of her house. This log cabin scrap came in a package last month and I can't get over how much I love it. And the best part, I never have to compete with my cousins for these heirlooms, haha!

It's obviously made with scrap clothing, the 'hearths' are wool, and the critter chew marks make it all the more interesting. The basting stitches must've been put in to keep the silky fabrics in place before the squares were put together, the idea being that they would be removed afterwards. The fact that they haven't just adds another element of texture and beauty to this piece.

It's almost completely hand-sewn, the individual squares are, and it looks like someone came later with a machine and finished compiling them into the bigger piece you see here.

Now this peaks my interest...who cut this off? Why? And how much more was there that has now been lost?

Of course, my grandmother never remembers anything about these treasures she finds. She does know that it came from Tiptonville, TN, her hometown. A small little town near the Mississippi River, it's greatest attraction being Reelfoot Lake, a cypress knee-riddled beauty. We used to drive out there and visit my great-grandmother, where my memories stop short after the pickled beets and the jar full of marbles.

Oh well, I guess I'll be left to wonder! 

Haley knows why I couldn't resist those little wooden faces at the Scrap, they just needed something new to look at!

Love, love, LOVE this so much.

I found this because one of my favorite contemporary artist, Micah Lidberg, designed the above rug for this collaborative collection. I've always felt like his work should be translated to textiles. Now I just have to figure out how to not spend all my money on these.

Atlanta T-Shirt Quilt

Commissioned by Jessika Reid, for her husband, Kirk (the crazy one who ran all these marathons!)

60" x 60"

2013

Taught myself how to crazy piece for this one. I thought it was going to be way harder than it was. It did take some practice though. I used freezer paper for my foundation paper, which made it SO much easier to use all the crazy fabrics I chose: velvets, silks, fleece. It did take some time to rip it all off the back after the sewing was finished, but at least that's not hard.

Couldn't help myself, had to frame with an asphalt track! This is one of my first times playing with appliqué, and, with the guidance of Gwen and Freddy, it was totally easy and unique. No hand-stitching, just a little fabric paint.

Broke up the shirts because I just didn't have enough room to put the whole image within the frame I'd left for myself. And, since I was only working with 12 shirts, it helped me fill the empty spaces, and cover up parts of the crazy piecing that looked weird.

I didn't even know what kind of quilting I was going to do around the multi-colored border, just standing there at the long-arm machine. I finished the middle and was like....crunch time. My first swoop of a flame or wing or whatever-you-want looked great and gave me the courage to forage ahead!

Whenever I'm not sure what kind of motif to use, I look to the quilt for any kind of style lines I see repeating. There were all these winged falcons that kept showing up on the shirts so I played with those shapes. Not too girly!

I force my boyfriend to give me his opinion before-hand and he said my original swirly idea was "too girly". 

"This is for a dude, right?"

Good call!

I love this quote Jessika chose for the back, I always give my clients the option to personalize the label and she's been the most creative so far! And we put Kirk's birthday on it since it was to be a birthday present. AND guess what? I got this finished and it delivered Feb. 15th!! Boo-ya!

"You're gonna make something cool for my baby, right?" says my brother, a few months before his wife's due date. "Ummm, well, it doesn't seem like you're giving me an option!"

Of course you know I always want to make something cool for every special person in my life, it's a matter of time and energy. But since Laurence decided to pressure me, I should probably move quick. 

 This quilt started out as a personal one for myself, which means it got started and then got continually pushed out of the way for years. I began working on it when I was living in LA, longing for trees and nature, and, because it was initially going to be a full-sized quilt, I had enough pieces to fill up a kid-sized quilt top off the bat. So that helped me move faster. This also was a good gender-neutral option since my brother and sister-in-law were choosing not to know the sex of the baby.

 I adapted the pattern from a tree quilt I saw in an old book, and then added in my own mountain and water landscape. It was trickier than I thought to piece because it was part geometric pattern, part free-form, but it was gratifying to be designing something strictly to my own liking. I haven't made a quilt without a client's taste to consider since 2009!

I fancied the idea of a "thumb hole" in the corner, stemming from a need to secure the layers of batting inside.

 This shot gives you a good idea as to how I tied the quilt. There's a layer of bamboo/cotton batting, a layer of wool, and two layers of poly high-loft inside. When I finished, the whole thing felt more like a soft mattress than a blanket! It'll be perfect for something to roll around on on the floor.

I painted the label with silkscreen ink, more because that's what I had lying around than because it was the best option. I'm sure there's something better for this application! I'm so excited to be an aunt and have a new member to our little family.