"If you ask me what I came to do in this world, I, an artist, will answer you: I am here to live out loud." ~ Emile Zola
After months of being unable to sit and create, I was able to start some sewing projects this week! Working on some new bags for an upcoming show I am doing, the Craft-O-Tron All Fools Ball! this Sunday. This will be my first show since before the holidays, and only my second show since early last summer. I feel both nervous and excited! To maximize time, I've adopted an assembly line approach to make a bunch of totes and pouches made entirely from vintage, antique and thrifted fabrics and trim (many of which I've found at Creative Reuse Pittsburgh). Almost all of my threads and zippers are recycled, too. Most of the fabrics have been hand dyed by moi. :) 
Sooo, I start by choosing a fabric, cutting pieces, then laying out bits of embellishments to plan out the design- each one is original and one-of-a-kind. I do this for several bags at once, then iron all pieces and sort. Step two involves pinning and sewing the embellishments on the front panel of each bag. After sewing the front and back panels together, I get to any hand sewing of buttons or various delicate pieces onto the front. Next comes cutting, pinning and sewing straps. I cut and sew the lining, fit it inside the outer panels, then add the straps. Voila!
Hope you're able to come out and see my new goodies this weekend! Happy handmade, and happy spring!
My first real sewing project- kitchen curtains made from vintage fabric in a bright pattern of veggies and pansies, which I found at Creative Reuse Pittsburgh.I thought the vibrant colors of the fabric were much too loud on the white background of the original fabric, so I put my new tea-dye skills to work! After washing and drying the material, I dropped it into a lighter tea using only half of the tea bags as in my previous dye sessions, letting the fabric soak half the time. The results are perfect, dulling the colors a bit and giving the white background a slightly worn look. They work great in my kitchen, which I prefer mostly neutral with little pops of color in towels and cookware/dishware (I love reds).
As a brand newbie sewer, I have to admit that I find the measuring and cutting of the fabric is much more difficult than the sewing part and figuring out the machine! I feel pretty good about my machine work during the project, actually, and ran into only a few challenges: thread coming out of the needle while sewing, keeping a totally straight seam line, and finding my stitches were very loose. My Mom helped me figure out that I was threading the machine slightly wrong and that I needed to increase the machine tension to make my stitches tighter.So how'd they turn out? You judge for yourself! Some slightly lopsided seams, a few loose stitches, but overall I am quite happy!
Three of my favorite things are creating, recycling/upcycling, and thrifting, so I get very excited about inspiring people who share their adventures doing these things on the Web. Here are two such people:
New Dress a Day (formerly 365 Dresses)
Follow thrifty fashionista, Marisa, as she takes used articles of clothing and recreates them into adorable, current fashion. This is the second year for her project, which began in 2009 as 365 Dresses (a project of revamping old 365 dresses that cost no more than $1 into stylish cuteness). She is spending another year shopping strictly flea markets and garage sales for wardrobe additions (not just dresses), all on a budget of $1 a day. It's so fun and inspiring to watch he journey! 365 days. 365 items of clothing. 365 dollars. This year, lots of Marisa's projects involve redoing garments people have sent her. And she actually shares the steps and how-tos of every project! :) I love looking through the before and after pictures!
All Thrifty States
Tag along with Jenna on a road trip through the United States as she seeks to learn about America's communities through what they used to own. "Part journalism, part photography, part cultural study, part art documentary project," Jenna is making a statement against consumerism and for thrifty, vintage, secondhand fashion while she explores our nation's thrift stores. Love this!
