I'm teaching a few classes this spring at The Scrap Exchange, they've got an amazing design center within the store chock-full of neat tools and materials to make all sorts of craft-related projects.

Mend It!

Saturday, March 2nd ~ 12-2:30 pm

$12

This class is geared towards the DIY-er who maybe hasn't taken the time to fix all those rips, hems, lost buttons on their clothing. Our idea is to create the time, place, and help for you to be able to do these projects yourself! I love teaching this class, it's so so practical, and we always have a ton of fun.

If you live in the area and are interested in signing up, click here.

To see a list of all the classes the Scrap Exchange offers, click here.

I will also be teaching a Beginner's Crochet and a Learn How To Use Your Serger class. Sign up at least 3 weeks in advance and they'll throw in $5 store credit. And y'all know $5 can go far at the Scrap!

 Just got finished making my 19th quilt, a commissioned t-shirt quilt. Learned some new techniques on this one - crazy piecing on a freezer paper foundation - which turned out to be easier than I thought. Of course, you have to rip all the paper off after you complete the top so I indulged in a little sloppiness. The luxuries of having a studio space!

 I also indulged in a big purchase for the studio - a brand new (to me) industrial single needle sewing machine! This is the first (and hopefully last) time I've ever bought a machine for myself. The one I've been using my whole life is a Viking Husqvarna domestic machine that I took from my mother. I started on that in middle school, took it with me to fashion college, and has traveled with me ever since. And I'll tell you WHAT, I love that machine but it is NOTHING compared to working on an industrial machine. I've had the chance to sit and use dozens of domestic machines, all different brands and price points, and have been contemplating for years about what machine to buy for myself. If you are a consistent sewer - as in, you're on a machine at least once a week - there is no time in the world to waste on a domestic machine! I can't believe I spent so long on one myself. And the thought repeats in my head now every time I get on my new Brother machine. The way machines are made today are CRAP and all they lead to is broken plastic parts and disinterest in the art of sewing. Yes, they are light and portable and cheap(er) but these are also the reasons that they are CRAP. There are a handful of styles that I would recommend if a domestic machine is your only option, and anyone who is interested in advice on this subject is welcome to contact me. I've certainly got an opinion about this!!

Just in the past 2 weeks, I have been blown away with how much faster I've been getting my work done on this new machine! That's a great feeling.

My second new purchase for the studio is an industrial Yamata safety stitch machine, i.e, a serger or overlock. (Also check out that Wolf dress form I found on the cheap!) Just about anything you want to sew, in regards to clothing, can be made with a serger and single needle. I never thought this would be something I could afford but I found this beauty at a liquidator warehouse that specializes in liquidating assets from textile and apparel manufacturers in NC. 

Unfortunately, North Carolina has been one of the hardest states hit in terms of jobs lost and plants closing in the last 50 years, in the textile and apparel industries, losing 7,000 jobs in 2006 alone*. That means 7,000 empty sewing machines, sitting in warehouses like T & T. Honestly, this machine was a fraction of the price of a new domestic serger and it won't have the same dumb issues. On the other hand, this machine was meant to be sewn on all day, everyday, so it is important to run it regularly. It's great for taking in T-shirts that are too big, I'm already in love with it!

*More info here

 There's my crazy piecing in the background, I'll post soon on the results!

 Two new frames got made this past week and I was able to start mounting these knitted pieces properly! This one is made out of cedar which relieves my fear of little critters chewing on the wool. 

Still refining my website, I'm happy to get these first two pieces up

 ----- Knitted Text Series ---- 

and am allllllways working on my photography and Photoshop skills.

Can't resist this DIY dress alteration video, circa 1926

One of the few holiday craft projects I was able to get through this year before Christmas rolled around. Its completion was a success due to its ability to be made in the car, not my time management! Sheep were in my head after watching Wallace & Gromit's "A Close Shave" and I fantasized how fun a Christmas tree full of sheep would look. At least, that's how MY tree would look if I wasn't a wandering vagabond and had roots in a home of my own...

The wool came from this musty old comforter which came into my possession after a trip through Memphis in 2010. It is special to me because the wool used to fill it came from the sheep my great-grandfather tended, on the ancestral homeland in Brownsville, TN. My grandfather's third cousin (ie-my third cousin, twice removed...follow me?) passed it on to me, knowing my crazed fiber love. So now here comes a chance for me to make something of it! The comforter has been ripped open and removed of all its wool innards, to be used for future projects. (I loved the chance to see how the wool was structured inside, prior to prefab batting)

The rest of the body is composed of a Sculpey head and legs, which were then connected with a wire spine. The wool was wrapped around and needle felted into place. I ended up not turning them into ornaments, allowing the gift recipients to decide how they wanted to display them.

We hit a little bit of that Christmas snow storm as we came over the Smokey mountains, into Tennessee, which to me is simultaneously exciting and terrifying, due to my inexperience with driving in inclement weather. But we made it to our destination safely, with sheep intact, and only a few felting needle stabs left behind.

Palau Quilt

Commissioned by Katherine Skinner

Completed TODAY!

Just got this sucker out of the dryer and laid it out on the floor to photograph. Wouldn't you know that even with me on a ladder, with the camera literally flat against the ceiling, I STILL couldn't get the entire thing in one frame?? Fortunately, my Photoshop skills have not been completely lost and was able to splice two images together. It's funny how different things can look through a camera and how much time you can spend in front of a computer just trying to get it to look like the way it looks in person. But of course nothings the same as seeing it in person! Or sleeping under it!!

Me on top of the ladder. 

There were literally sweat drips coming off my brow trying to get this shot!

So many reasons to love this picture. 

It's very fitting that I should run across this in the "random-drawer-where-everything-gets-shoved" drawer since I just completed a double wedding ring quilt of my own. This double wedding ring quilt hung in my room for many years (unconsciously molding me, I'm sure) until it was replaced by a Matrix poster or some other silly thing of high school importance. I have wanted to pull it out again and have another look at it. I don't know anything about it except that it's now living in one of my grandmother's closets. And I remember my favorite pieces being the fabrics that were falling apart with batting sticking out.

Also of note is the time of day this photo was taken. Obviously a mother's sick joke at getting her daughter out of bed. Sick, mom!

Some pictures from the past week...

The leaves have fallen but we're having gorgeous 60 degree days,

...the beer is gettin' goooooooood,

...the boyz are practicing hard,

 ...and I'm figgerin' it out. 

This is a continuation on an idea I started in college. Hate to say I started this piece a while back...like years back, but it's resurfaced and getting some attention, thanks to the 5-year old I baby sat next door. I picked the letter beads up from her. They are what I've been looking for to finish this project. 

We did a bead swap ;)

 Tryin' out some new stuff out on the back porch

 Flour and water never looked so good! Managed to get this done before the cold set in again.

If this paste resist technique turns out effective, maybe you'll see the finished result! Still waiting for the dye to dry before I get it in the wash and pull the letters off.

OMG OMG OMG I was standing up on my little ladder and realized that my entire wedding ring quilt top was placed on the work table for its final stitch. CRAZY. This has taken me 103 hours and 40 minutes. I couldn't be happier with the outcome.

In case you hadn't noticed, that's the floor and that's the ceiling. This one's a jumbo, measuring 100" by 85". I was looking through my quilt records and realized that this will be my 18th quilt completed....WOW.

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