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!)

My Patchwork Lace Top and my Alphabet Baby Quilt have never looked so good!

It’s always fun to see what the photographers do….especially in Stitch!

Go get yours now!

Oooo - Look at what I made!  Fuchsia-gray-charcoal explosion!

This is me and my foot trying to decide on borders….note how my socks match.

Trying to get a lil’ perspective on that sucker…

Now that I’m all out of Kona Cotton in Charcoal I think I’m officially stuck.  Partner out of town = no car = no decent way to get to Fabric Depot.  (3 hours on the bus is not decent.)  Solution?  I’m going to have them ship it to me.  Hopefully I’ll be able to sash this beauty just the way I want to in a few days.

In the meantime I’m hoping to do a tutorial on how to make Lady Gaga shoulder pads.  (oh YES I DID!)  Well, I had to when I was making a muslin for a slightly more wearable version of this amazing Jeremy Scott dress:

Gaga wore it on Launch My Line a few months ago….

T

And featured it in her Paparazzi video….

(Hi http://www.gagadaily.com/fashion - I love you!)

The muslin itself is actually turning into a dress in its own right.  (YES!  That is what I call muslin success!)  I made it out of some royal blue knit that I found at Scrap.  I’m going to make a short sleeve mini dress out of it (no bolts).  It looks cute over this 40s blouse that Carol gave me with this night necked, lacy v-shaped yoke to it and this hat I made.

Don’t worry, I’m still going to make a replica of the Jeremy Scott one that Gaga wore, complete with lightening bolt appliques and faux wet look leather.  (I already bought all the goods so there’s no stopping me….)  Mine is going to have somewhat smaller shoulder pads (still nuts, just not AS nuts) and I’m thinking of letting it hit just above the knee.  Or maybe make it a mini?  I have been loving minis lately.

Anyways, coming up: how to make Lady Gaga Shoulder Pads to fit any pattern!

Can you find my quilt?

I had so much fun at this year’s expo!  Unfortunately, I only have time to post these pictures right now.  Stay tuned for my write-up of the expo later this week…

<3 erin

Too many scraps of patchwork experiments + random vintage scraps = crazy quilt top?

I think I like it!  (Excuse the wrinkles.  I’ve had it folded up the last couple days.)

This old school car cross-stitch finding has never looked better…

All together now:

It’s a good lap sized quilt right now but I’m thinking that I might want to keep adding onto it as future scraps present themselves. Who knows what it’ll look like in the end? I think I like not knowing. My favorite part of this quilt is the awesome double-breasted button placket towards the bottom. I cut it out of a stained free box vintage dress I adopted a while ago. I had visions of embroidering over the whole dress with black and white floss in a random pattern but then decided that was insane and that I was never going to get around to it.

By the way, don’t forget that today is the last day to put your comment in for my vintage knitting magazine giveaway! I’ll be closing comments tonight and announcing the winner tomorrow! Many thanks to folks who have already entered. I’m excited to find a new home for these little gems. GOOD LUCK!!!

I’m going to be at the Northwest Quilting Expo tomorrow - probably all day. I’m so stoked to get to see this year’s quilts. There’s going to be a few patchwork celebrities I want to see in person and more than few vendors hawking all sorts of quilting-related stuff. I might even invest in a class or two and support fellow sewing instructors! Admission is $9/day or $25 for all three days. Seems like most classes are around $10. Keep an eye out for my pictures and report back….