Patchwork Underground

As someone who grew up with the idea that all seams must be finished and that fraying is the enemy of all sewing endeavors, I never really “got” the idea of fabric collage until recently. I would look at arty collages and all I could think was, “how the heck is that gonna make it through the washing machine alive?”

All that has slowly started to change. I saw MarDee’s “rough edge applique” quilts at the Eugene Public Library this winter and I also checked out this awesome book by Rosemary Eichorn:

I’ll admit it: I was a little nervous to get all artsy-fartsy. I’ve sort of always held back in that department because - hey - it’s a huge risk to put yourself out there like that. I think I’ve heard that sentiment echoed throughout the craft community. The solution for me was to just relax and allow (and expect!) myself to make mistakes and just experiment. Once I did that, the whole thing got really fun really fast!

So my first fabric collage experiment? Well, honestly I don’t 100% love it. But I do love that I finally *did* it after wanting to for so long…..

I learned *so* much doing this. Top 6 things I learned:

1. Stabilize. Seriously. You’re not too good to stabilize. You think you are, but you aren’t. (Of course, I didn’t stabilize cus I’m a punk like that…but I *should* have. It would have looked waaay better.)

2. Color contrast is everything. I think I didn’t rock the color enough in this one at all. The brown and black and green all sort of blend together. More contrast=more pop=better composition.

3. Stick with one color bobbin thread and adjust the tension so that it rides to the bottom and doesn’t show on the “right” side. Trying to change bobbin thread and top thread every time you switch colors will make you crazy. (Unless you’re into that sort of thing, I guess…)

4. You can “blend” the fabrics together with thread!!! It is so cool. I started off with the tree trunk all in that dark black/gold brocade and only layered on the brown cordoroy afterwards. In an effort to make it stand out less and “blend” in with the brocade more, I went over the cord and the brocade with a big, dark brown zig-zag stitch. This was crazy effective! I love what it did for the dimensionality of the trunk.

5. Say yes to yarn. I did and it totally brought the whole thing together. I used this awesome handspun purple yarn in this collage in two different ways. For one, I tried couching - another first!!!!!  I heard you could do it with a simple zig-zag stitch on a sewing machine but it always seemed like it would be really hard to zig-zag right over the cord just right. It actually wasn’t. The yarn was totally into it, I swear. I also used the purple yarn to make a group of french knots (embroidery folks know what I’m talking about) in the foliage of the tree.

6. Consider a frame. I did. =)

Hope ya’ll enjoy this. I just came back from an afternoon at the fabric store so I have lots more tricks up my sleeve….stay tuned!

xoxox, erin

p.s. I’m in the market for new crafters to feature in my “Spotlight” series. If you’re interested or know someone who might be, please let me know!

The secret is out!

Here’s what I ended up doing with my canadian smocking experiment…..

His name is Wilbur. (!!!)  I love him!

I started with stay-stitching all around the edges of the smocking so that the pattern wouldn’t get lost or distorted in the seams….

Then I guessed how to make the legs….square plus circle = leg!

Here’s the fabric I used for his tummy….I’ve been stashing this for ever.

Here’s a mid-surgery shot.  I machine stitched most of it together but positioning the legs just right was tricky when they were on the inside of the inside-out circle….does that make sense?!  I dunno…I ended up doing some hand sewing to get some of the things just right.

Basic form complete!

Another shot…note my adorable vintage sewing box in the background… (thanks for getting me that, Deb!)

I added a couple of accents to tie in with the vintage print on his tummy.  (My recent love affair with turquoise is almost as strong as my affair with grey.)  I can’t decide if the lines on his feet are toes or claws…

How can you say no to those eyes??

(I know I’ve been babblin’ on about smocking for EVER.  Just tell my when to shut up about it.)

But….I’m excited to try this technique in other contexts, too, especially purses and maybe in a yoke on a shirt/jacket.  I’m very tempted to incorporate it into clothing but I’m also a little worried about it looking too King Henry the VIII, you know what I mean?  I’m thinking maybe experimenting with it in real lightweight/sheer fabrics and veering away from the more traditional velvets and corduroys….we’ll see.  =)

I just got done learning this awesome technique (you can see my results here). I used the tutorial at Savvy Seams (which was awesome) but I wanted to share a more visually-oriented tutorial with ya’ll. I know canadian smocking looks crazy hard but it’s actually super simple (and fast!) once you get the pattern down. Seriously!

<3 erin

p.s. I had lots of fun messing with photoshop to makes this tutorial extra cute. Love that star stamp!

ok, Here goes…

~*The Tutorial*~

Before I give you the step-by-step lemmie give you The Grand Scheme of Things. Basically, you’re gonna be working in a row, starting towards the top of your grid and moving downwards. You are always working on the backside of the fabric. When you get to the bottom of a row, you tie off your thread and start a new row.

Here’s the nitty-gritty:

Step 1. Figure out how big your want your finished smocked block. Multiply the length and width by 3. Make a grid of dots on your fabric square with a fabric marker/sharpie/chalk. Leave at least a 2.5″ seam allowance around all edges. Make the dots about 1″ apart.

Step 2. Knot your thread and make a tiny stitch (pick up a few fibers) under this dot:

step 2

Step 3. Make a tiny stitch under the top left dot, bring this dot and your starting dot together (forming a pleat). Make a knot over both dots to secure the pleat:

step 3

Step 4. Make a stitch underneath the next dot down. DO NOT MAKE A PLEAT. Leave the fabric flat. You’ll have some slack on the thread. This is good. Make a knot over this new dot:

step 4

Step 5: Bring these two points together. Knot:

step 5

Step 6. Just like step 4:

step 6

Step 7. Just like step 3:

step 7

Step 8: Continue working down the row until you get to the end. Once you’re done, tie off and start a new row with a new length of thread. Repeat the sequence starting with step 1 but use this dot as your starting point instead:

step 8

Once you’re done, it’s apparently common to steam the whole thing from the top without applying any pressure (like…hover over the top with your iron’s steam blaring) but renegade seamstress that I am, I skipped this step. It still looks good but I might try steaming it next time to see what the effect is like.

The end!

I hope this was helpful, folks. I’m still a novice so let me know if this tut was clear enough. If you end up trying this out, definitely send me a pic of your creation or link to one in your comment. I wanna see!

I finally tried Canadian (aka Lattice, aka north american) Smocking!!!

I started to follow the directions here and BOY HOWDY!  They were trickier than I initially thought when I first read over them…more on that at the end of the post.

So, it all starts with dots on a square piece of fabric.  I used my trusty fabric pen in lovely orange.  I made the dots about 1″ apart from each other, forming a grid.  I left about 2.5″ of margin (seam allowance) around the grid.  The dots are hard to see in this pic but they’re there….

First two attempts: utter failure

(First attempt so pathetic that it is not shown)

Second attempt:

oh no…that’s not cute at all.

Third attempt.  Reading through directions v-e-r-y sloooowly.

Yay!  Finally starting to look like something after the first row….

Second row.  Booya!

Backside…almost as pretty as the front!

Just a couple more rows and then…bam!  Finished square!

Show the backside some love…

Backside glamor shot….

Next steps….shhh…that’s a secret.  (It involves garage sale wool roving, sexy vintage print and smocked square.  More on this later.)

I LOVED doing this - once I got the hang of it.  Following the tutorial at savvy seams proved difficult for a visual learner like myself.  But once I got in the groove this was so much fun.  It had a mathematical pattern component to it - like knitting - but it was hand sewing which is even more relaxing for me.

Though I love the tutorial I followed for canadian smocking at Savvy Seams, I’m going to do up my own tutorial with a diagram so that you can see the over all pattern better.  I think it will work better for visual learners (like myself!)  Hopefully I’ll have it posted tomorrow.  Stay tuned!

Today’s spotlight is on awesome Oregonian beader and fiber artist, Bobbi Kirk (a.k.a Beadbabe).

I have been a fan of Bobbi’s work for ages and I was so excited when Bobbi graciously agreed to answer a few questions about her art and her creative process to share with ya’ll.  I invite you to check out more of Bobbi’s work at her etsy shop, her flikr site,  her website and read more about her creative adventures at her blog, Beading at the Beach.   I think you’ll agree that she is one seriously prolific crafter!

<Pause and Drum Roll>

….And now, without further ado, let’s get to the interview!!

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So, what do you create?
I make bead embroidered jewelry and bead and fiber wall pieces mostly, with occasional side trips into 3-D baskets and vessels.

I was doing beadwork nights and weekends while working as a graphic artist during the day, and when I got laid off, I just started doing the beadwork (and later bead and fiber) full time. I eventually had about 9 galleries carrying my work, which meant I could focus on making the work and leave selling it to them.

In the early days (early 90’s) I used business cards with the name, KirkWorks,  but sold my work in the galleries under my own name, Bobbi Kirk. My etsy shop has the same name as my blog, Beading at the Beach (I live at the central coast of Oregon) and I go by my online name of beadbabe49, since beads have been my major focus for almost 20 years.

I work from a small studio in my home (formerly known as the guest room) and I usually get up fairly early and check my emails while having my coffee there. Then I usually take about an hour to check on updated blogs and my etsy shop.

After that I’m ready to start working on any unfinished pieces from the day before or start working on a new piece. I have lunch around noon and then I either take a walk outside if it’s not too cold or wet or I go to our rec center and walk there…I try to do from 1-5 miles each day.
Then I do whatever household chores I have (grocery shopping, etc.) which gets me home around 3. I go back to the studio for a couple of hours and do some more work on my morning pieces. Or if the weather permits, I take the tray I work on out to the sun porch and bead or sew out there. And if I’m feeling restless, I’ll bag up whatever I’m working on and drive out to one of our ocean side parks and work in my van while enjoying the sun and the sound of the waves.

Then it’s time to fix dinner and spend some time with my husband before going back to the studio to check update my blog and decide what I have to finish and what I can save for the next day. This is also the time I do my research, if I need to, for any special series I’m working on, like my Basho Series I finished last year, which you can see at my flickr site.

For me it was learning that I’m not able to sell my own work. I simply don’t have the gift of being able to talk about my work in a way that makes people interested in buying it. I have friends who make their living at art and craft fairs and saturday markets and I admire them tremendously, but it’s not a skill I have.

What inspires you most?
Water…in all it’s various forms…from a tiny creek to the ocean, it all draws me. I love it’s fluidity, it’s many colors and especially how it breaks sunlight up into millions of tiny points of light. Sitting or walking next to water encourages a meditative state in me that allows me to be in that still, quiet center that I create from. And although I’m not always portraying water in my work, I do try to put some of it’s qualities, the flow and peace of it, into each piece I make.

Right now I’d have to say my favorite technique is a combination of improvisational bead embroidery and fabric manipulation using hand sewing. I feel I’m a part of the art cloth movement, a sort of sub-category of the slow cloth movement I first heard about on Elaine Lipson’s blog, Red Thread Studio, which honors the process of art/craft making as much as the finished product.

I have a photo of me at 4-years old sewing doll clothes with my 25-year old cousin helping me out…and I can actually remember that day.

Learning the difference between perfectionism and excellence. Striving for personal excellence is a goal I embrace…striving for perfection has kept me from enjoying the process of  making art/craft for many years, and from learning the many lessons of “mistakes”. As I’ve gotten older I’ve often seen that what I initially considered a flaw in a piece is what actually gives it soul and presence.

I’d love to have the time to learn how to sculpt my own original faces in polymer clay.

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Thanks for sitting in the hot seat, Bobbi!!  =)