Yes I did! I am so excited that I can say this. This week, and it is not over yet, an old friend has been hostessing a home boutique featuring hand made items. Years ago, she had a store that was dedicated to heirloom sewing. After leaving that business, she now teaches out of her home studio, and once a year, she clears out the entire downstairs of her home to host this event. Last night, "ladies night out," and a chance to meet the artisans, was fabulous, and I had to keep checking to make sure my eyeballs were still in my head. There was just so much to see.
My friend, Barbara, of B3Fibers, took several skeins of hand spun yarn, and a number of the most whimsical tea cozies I have ever seen. I contributed several items of my own, and was thrilled to find that the scarf I named "Leaves & Dewdrops" had sold. Yippee!!! I am going to need to create a few more of these, as they are on my daughter-in-laws favorites list. I do have a few already knit, but they do need their decorations of bead conglomerates. So, here's hoping that my little green creation will find a loving home, and be a frequent adornment of someone's neck. Goodbye and good fortune "Leaves & Dewdrops!"
It was years ago, actually. ...A man I met who was suffering from Carpel Tunnel was complaining and I offered to help him with acupressure. A few minutes later, his pain was gone, and he blurted those words out. At the time, I was horrified and hoped that no-one else heard. Most of the time, people just think I am nuts. They can believe in needles stuck and twisted into their bodies, because it somehow seems like they have to suffer through it, but a gentle and pleasant touch, ...that they enjoy? There is just no redemption in that, so they don't know what to make of me! Now, I am just amused and take the comments in stride. I love my work.
Years ago, in another lifetime, I spent 14 years working as head dressmaker for the North American office of the Burda Pattern Company, sewing model garments for trade shows. I loved the job, working from home while I raised my three sons. I got to assist at fashion shows, as well as getting all the Burda patterns and magazines I wanted. Working with the best of fabrics was really a plus too, though I had to force myself to get over the fear of cutting into some of the really precious ones that came my way. Anyway, when sergers came out for home sewing, Burda sent me one to use, and frankly, I was horrified. I was such a purist back then, thoroughly schooled in the Bishop Method as I majored in Textiles and Design back in college. ...Ya gotta know there were proper ways to finish seams for crying out loud!
Since then, so many fashion rules have been broken, and as there is an evolution for all things, so has my approach to sewing changed. I am discovering that the forlorn little serger that was banned to the recesses of the cl
oset for some 20 odd years (but I can never toss things out...) is now one of my simple pleasures. I really enjoy the time I spend now, serging odd shapes of fabric together and designing garments as I go. Its like the old Crazy Quilts I used to adore, and I have found a lot of artistry in the freedom it allows me. This past week, I have been eyeballing a piece of gray jersey, and making sketches, and Saturday, I had cut pieces ready to sew. By the end of the day, I had a new tunic to wear with a little Zen-like topper I had created a few weeks ago. Then, as another idea hit me, I made myself a ragged necklace out of the piece of fabric that was left-over.
Done after what seemed too much deliberating, here is the new cowl...
Based in the shape of a triangle, it is a series of triangles that fade into each other through blending the yarn.
I love garments like this with generous fabric and fit. I also like things to be feminine but not fussy. Practical not excessive and stroppy. (That's a new word I just learned! Isn't is a fun word? ...Look it up.) Now, that's not to say that a pair of earrings are not practical. They serve a purpose if they fill in the artistic balance of a look. It could also serve to draw attention to the face, or accentuate a hairstyle. I rarely wear earrings and a necklace at the same time. It seems too overdone and like adding too much frosting to the cake. I want people to admire the "cake" and not the frosting on the cake. Garments and accessories should bring out the best of the wearer, not overshadow the wearer.
