SoCal, Oregon, and home again

I've been quite busy since my last post!  I traveled down to Orange County to attend Create where I took two classes.  Ruth Rae's class was my first one where we got to create our own little poetry dress.

In all my years of sewing I had not free motion stitched before.  I was so happy to learn this technique and found it much easier than I suspected.  Thank you Ruth for sharing this!

My writing on the front was the title of this very cool song by Theresa Andersson I love, especially the YouTube version of her looping everything and recording in what looks like her kitchen!

My second class was Kristen's Robinson's Secret Journal class.  While I still need to add my journaling notes here are a few pics of my book shown with my little dress.

The day I got home from SoCal, a Sunday, I had an old friend from Austin visiting so we took off on Monday to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and spent the day together meeting up with hubby for dinner.

I had Tuesday to unpack and then repack to leave early Wed. morning to fly to Medford, Oregon to visit my sister and brother-in-law.  My husband has gotten his pilot's license and bought a little Cesna that we took the journey in.  An 8 hour car trip became less than 3 hours by air!

This area was beautiful.  I swear everyone has roses blooming and anything else imaginable, it all grows there!

While visiting my sister, Jan, created a garment ala my class I'll be teaching at Art Unraveled.  Because I have a few slightly different version of taking unloved shirts and upcycling them Jan thought it would make sense to name each style so this one is "His Becomes Her". I have a few slots left for the class in Phoenix so if you're interested that a look and hope to see you there!

This is her version which turned out so fabulous!  She named it "Sip of Summer".  If you follow my blog you'll remember that I try to name my garments and always have Jan's help as she's a better namer than I am!

Contest Winner and Vending at Create in Orange County

Here is the list of the names entered for the name the shirt contest.  Some people were unable to leave a message via this blog so they emailed me personally and some left comments at Facebook.

Pierced Pleasures

Summine in the Piazza

Breezy tunic

Lacy romance

Buttoned Up Romantic

Lisette

Marcheline

Beau Blanc

Lacey Dreams

Theodora

Zelda

Flayaway Lace top

Dream Clud

Abigail

Romance Me

Snow White says (to Red Rose) We will not leave each other

Camille

Great Day for a White Wedding/Great Day to Start Again

Summer Breeze

Seraphina

It was hard to decide but the winner is Lexi for Beau Blanc!

1.    beau [a] (beautiful) delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration.

2.   beau [a] (lovely) appealing to the emotions as well as the eye.

Of course blanc means white.  

I also really liked Seraphina because of the meaning.   The woman who entered the name said she looked up the meaning, “Turns out that it is the name of a 13^th Century Italian saint who made clothes for the poor.”  So while I did not choose this for this particular garment I will definitely use it in the future and will also be sending her a little something in the mail.

I need to go finish hand stitching the lace collar onto this shirt to take with me to Create in Orange County.  I’ll be vending on Friday evening, it’s free to enter and there will be lots of artists selling and worth attending if you are in the area!  Check here to see a list of all the vendors.   

Flamingo Stroll

Garments and Devore Velvet Scarves

Free Lace wayward threads Message Scarves

Natural Dye Print Scarves

Reconstructed Shirt Progression & Contest Give Away!

Ricë Freeman-Zachery and I have traded garments with each other through the U.S. mail for some time now.  We both haunt thrift stores and when we see something we think the other might like we snatch it up and off it goes.  I have to admit this shirt was sent to me over a year ago and I finally chose it to work on.  I somehow lost the photo of the shirt before I cut it but I think you'll get the idea of what it  looked like from the first picture.

Here we go on the reconstruction progression:

Sleeves and collar were cut and removed.  I shortened the sleeve and then cut it open along the seam.

The sides of the shirt were slit open and the sleeve part was inserted.

This was my first design attempt for the back.  I took the cuff ends I cut from the sleeves and pinned them onto the sleeves insert part. I thought this was a good idea for using more of the actual shirt parts.  

However I didn't really like this and came up with another idea.  The shirt top really needed more of a skirt for balance and the cuteness factor so I took a tiered flounce skirt and cut the bottom tiers off to add to the shirt.  

Here is the skirt pinned onto the shirt looking at the inside.

 The collar was cut away and I decided to make it vee necked.

I originally thought I would add this crochet lace to the arm opening but decided against it.

And added this instead along with the vintage lace collar piece.

Finished front and back

For those who made it here to the end I have a question for you.  After I finish a garment I like to give them a name.  I usually send my sister Jan an email with pics and she comes up with most of the names for my garments but I'd like to know what you would name this garment?  For those who leave an answer I'll choose which name I like best and the winner will receive a surprise package with some of my hand dyed silk ribbon and other fabric pieces.  Be sure to leave your email so I know how to contact you!

Remember there are still a few openings for my reconstructed garment classes at Art Unraveled and Art Is Petaluma.  See my events page or side bar for links and info.

Shows This Weekend

SPRING - ceanothus in bloom

The month of May is full of events, especially this weekend.  There are so many events I want to attend I just can't do it all.

I was honored to be asked to be the feature artist at the Boulder Creek Antique & Art venue for the month of May.  Tonight is the opening reception from 6 - 8 and my husband, Michael, will be playing music for us.  Hope all my local friends can come tonight or at least find time to visit during the month.

The first weekend of May is the time for the Annual May Day show at Nancy Howell's.  I was with this group from the beginning, ten years ago, but this year I opted out.  I will attend and hope I don't feel regret for not joining in.  It's a lovely show and many talented artists showing and selling.

I was invited to attend the Benecia Open Studios where I have a couple of friends involved.  Carrie has a wonderful shop and studio, Hip Chicks, and Sharon creates wonderful mixed media and art books.  I had high hopes of going but it's too much to fit in.

Sunday two events are happening that I have to opt out of.  A friend's birthday party in Carmel Valley which would be wonderful to attend and wear one of my hats.  Wearing a hat was on the invitation all because it's Kentucky Derby day weekend? Maybe it's just a fun excuse to dress up and wear a hat! 

Also the Alameda Flea market happens (first Sunday of every month) but I just say no this time.  Also I don't relish the thought of driving in all that traffic I know will be out there.

I'll attend the May Day show and spend the rest of the weekend gardening and getting my studio ready for Monday when I have 5 ladies showing up for a dye workshop.  Very exciting and I want to be prepared.

I Went Flying

Yesterday I rustled up the courage to go flying with my husband in his Cessna airplane.  Now this may not seem like such a big deal to a lot of people but for me it was a milestone.  You see I have a problem with flying.  I hate turbulence as it frightens me to white knuckles and curse words.  It's not so much I think we're going to fall out of the sky as it just unnerves me because it doesn't feel right.  I have mini  panic attacks so I usually take a little Ativan (anti anxiety medication) and a stiff drink, then I sleep through the incidents.  Now that I've admitted that you might understand my resistance to flying.

My husband got his pilots license about a year ago and has wanted me to go up with him the whole time.  I know he takes good care of his plane, does proper maintenance, and would be a safe pilot but the thought of it was scary so I turned down several trips he's taken.

My sister, Jan, has moved to Medford, OR and I want to go see her new place a visit for a while.  It's an 8 hour drive for me which is doable but Michael keeps saying it would be a 3 hour plane ride, tops!  That sounds good, but could I actually do it without being sedated?

Earlier in the week we set a date of Thursday to go off on a small adventure.  I did take a about a 1/4 of an Ativan but forwent the stiff drink as we were leaving at 10:00 in the morning, it's not quite "happy hour" and I didn't want to be that groggy or asleep.  This was a trial flight and if I had real issues we could turn around and land.

We left out of Reid -Hillview airport in San Jose and flew to Columbia, Ca. which is a small "living" mining town in the Sierra Foothils.  Click here for a map that shows by road, we flew straight across over Modesto.  There were a few bumps while we were gaining altitude and no I didn't really like it but it was not a panic situation.  It took us about 40 minutes to get to Columbia where as in a car it would have been 2 1/2 - 3 hours depending on traffic.

We arrived and took a walk from the airport to the main part of town where we had lunch in saloon, walked around town, and then back to the airport.  It was a beautiful spring day!

The flight back was about the same, a few more bumps over the mountains as the heat was rising, but again no panic situations.

Michael and I both decided it was a success for me and I am ready to try it again.

I do not know what caused me to change over the years and develop the issue of being afraid.  I also have moments of anxiery when being a passenger in a car if I think the driver isn't driving like I do and those little mini panic attacks can arise, not really fun and I don't usually admit it but here I am putting it on the WWW so everyone will now know.  If you have ever experienced panic attacks you know how that feels and it's really not something you can control by mindset.  If I could just say "I'm not going to be afraid or become anxious" it'd be great but it doesn't work that way.

My family is puzzled too as they have often told stories of me and how I would try anything once and maybe twice, even it if the first experience was not all that good.  lol!  My Dad tells a story of when I was very young (I think 6?) and there was a small carnival in town and I wanted to go on the Octopus (I think that's what it was called).  First of all I always got/get motion sickness so that was a concern for him but I talked him into it.  We get on the ride and after the bar was locked my Dad realizes I'm so small I could easily slide out under the bar.  The ride begins and we're being tossed and spun all over the place so he's hanging onto me for dear life.  He looks over and see's my eyes roll back into my head and I guess I go a bit limp so he's really holding on now.  When the ride is finally over and we're getting out he says I turn around and want to go again?  So that was the person I was,  What happened to my adventuresome side and my daring?  Maybe it's a good thing it's gone?

Anyway, I went flying and rather liked it.  Not jumping up and down shouting "Let's go again" but saying yes, I think I'll try that again.