Patchwork Underground

OK, if you are one of the very select group of folks who has been following my crafty exploits since I was in high school then you may recognize the center of this wall hanging in progress…

It started as a crewel embroidery sampler on fabric I ripped out of an old floor pillow.  I began in the center and then just worked around that first flower you see in the middle.  It just kept growing.

I would take it to work with me at the Games Gallery in the Santa Rosa Mall (yes, the old Dungeons and Dragons store that closed like 10 years ago) and stitch on it behind the counter.  I would take it to Mme. Newlon’s french class with me and work on it there.  (Best way to determine a teacher’s craft politics is to bust out a needlework project in class, right?)

People were really drawn in by it so I started making it more and more trippy and cosmic because that seems like what it wanted to be.  If you start in the middle and work your way out towards the edges I think you can really see the progression from tidy sampler to tripsoidfloyd mandala.

Anyway, once I stitched on the women (which are stuffed applique) and filled in the sunrise to match the added fabric color, I figured I was done.  I pretty much ran out of fabric to work on.

Then, something unexpected happened: PANIC!

I never really had a plan beyond the stitching itself.  I thought maybe an insert on the back of a jacket?  Or?  Then the white background started to wear on me.  I had pangs of regret for not stitching on a cream or light blue piece of cloth.

With all this uneasy indecision I put it in my top drawer and forgot about it.

Then, moving into my new house I rediscovered it and really looked at it for the first time in years.  I still really like it so I hung it up, unfinished, in my sewing room.  I still had no idea what to do with it.

A few days later, I was working on piecing a small log cabin quilt. I had a few of the blocks laying out on my cutting table when I suddenly realized that the colors in the log cabins matched the colors in the embroidery PERFECTLY.

Sometimes I trick myself like that - I start making something for one purpose and then in the middle of the process I realize that I am actually making it for another purpose.  Cool.

Thanks, sewing angels!

(P.S.  I am in the process of thoroughly testing my new Gingher Dressmaking Shears and Pinking Shears.  Rest assured, it is VERY scientific work.  Stay tuned for a detailed review of these lovely cutting tools!)

Yay! I finished the quilts/wall hangings, the photoshoot AND the photoshopping of the slides! They’re at Citizen’s Photo in Portland as we speak and they should be done tomorrow at noon which leaves me just enough time to overnight them to Eugene and have them there by the deadline!

For those of you who just tuned in, I’ve been working on my application to vend at Oregon Country Fair this summer. It’s super competitive, this is my second try at getting in. If you don’t know what Oregon Country Fair is, you should totally check out their website! You can find it here. It’s this awesome yearly event that happens in the woods of Veneta, OR….arts, crafts, music, vaudville, everything. Best festival I’ve ever been to EVER. Hands down. In past years, I’ve worked at the fruit booth in community village and also at the smoothie booth by the main stage but I’ve always wanted to have a little booth of my own.

K….here’s my slides in the order they’re gonna appear. They’ll project these up on the wall for a panel of judges and read a little description I’ve written of each one to explain what the heck is going on.

Ok. Slide #1

Slide #2

Slide #3

The End.

Fingers crossed for getting in this year!!!!!!! Send good vibes if you have any to spare. =)

<3 erin