Just another Schitzo Monday

It's working! My new anti-Spinning-Top-Syndrome is going very well so far. Yesterday was a "Schitzo" Monday where I devoted the morning and part of the afternoon to designing a new purse.
My sister is my 'inspiration', though I've made a couple of these before (see bottom photos). She needed a small purse that she could wear around her neck when she's at work to carry her cell phone. I made her a "Pendant Pocket Purse" from a pattern designed by DJ Bennet. My sister has since been encouraging me to make more of my own design.
Yesterday, I started my design process with brainstorming. I go through several of my idea-folders and pick out ideas that I might incorporate. But before I get too far, anyone out there have ideas of what you would want in this type of purse? Would you use a small purse around your neck (like a medicine bag/amulet) or on your shoulder to carry just one or two things like a cell phone and a lipstick? What would you want to carry in it? (I'm trying to get a idea of size.) And any other wanna-haves that you can think of? I'd love to hear what you're thinking so I can make something useful as well as fun and hopefully artsy.
These I made a couple of years ago. The purse is in two parts: the outer sleeve (with the print) and the inner pocket (black). The outer sleeve slides up the cord to reveal the opening of the pocket. Put a few things in the pocket and slide the outer sleeve back down to keep it all secure and out of sight.

Right, Left, Schitzo or Chinese?

I don't like writing self-indulgent posts, but I have a confession to make. I suffer from STS (Spinning Top Syndrome). You might be familiar with my symptoms. I set off to be creative and... Oops!, I've got an email to open.... Now I need to go check the calendar downstairs but Wait!, I should put a load of laundry in first, and Drat! I need to put laundry detergent on the shopping list.... Hey!, look at that article in the paper - better read that.... Oh gosh!, I've got to get out there and walk the dog while it's cool. Eesh, time for a shower.... Wow!, lunch already?

So, yesterday, I listed allllll the things I want to, or have to, do. I lumped like wanna-dos and hafta-dos together, organized them into a schedule and, the result? Right-brain Day, Left-Brain Day, Schitzo Day, and Chinese Menu Day. (I love it when a plan comes together!)Right-Brain Day is all about designing, experimenting and learning new techniques. Left-Brain Day, while not completely left, is when I sew or complete other projects that I've already designed, post new creations, blog, and do "back-studio" (my version of back office). Schitzo-Day, of course, is a morning of Right and an afternoon of Left (or visa versa). And Chinese Menu Day is where I get to pick one from Right and one from Left ...you get the idea. And, since I am also Ding Addicted, e-mail has been relegated to strict times of the day and NO MORE! Otherwise, everytime my email dings, I will to rush over to see who loves me, for pete's sake.

I'm pleased to report that the new plan is working very well (it's been a day and a half :) ).

To Boldly...Knit? You bet!

Colleen Davis is not your ordinary knitter. She's the mom of a friend of a friend of mine :) and lives in San Diego. Wow, I wish I lived nearer to her to get, via instruction or osmosis, just a thimble of her creativity with knitting needles and yarn. The great news is, Colleen just launched http://www.toboldlyknit.com/ and it is packed with patterns, workshop info and at-home instruction dvds and cds. I know it’s only June, but I've got my eye on “Introduction to Freeform Knitting” for the top of my Christmas list :). What a way to use up my stash of yarn - woohoo!

If you’re a knitter, a wanna-be knitter, or you know a knitter, Get Thee to Colleen’s shop! for some real eye candy. And be sure to click on all the category links to see all the photos of her very neat pieces.

She also has an Etsy shop, http://www.toboldlyknit.etsy.com/. (Photos above are from Colleen's website with her permission.)

Please ignore this...just some curious requirement for a blog directory :). Technorati Profile

Not your everyday Yurt!

(click any image to enlarge)

"A yurt?", you ask? Well, I did, at least. Yurts are round structures built with a wooden frame and a felt cover in Central Asia. In the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York City, part of their "Fashioning Felt" exhibit is a contemporary interpretation of a yurt by the studio of JA Felt (Centralia, WA) that is stunning. The photo above is the main room, and below is the roof of the structure.The roof is a beautiful composition of felted diamond shapes felted onto silk organza. By felting the wool with the organza, JA Felt created a light-filled space of pattern, texture, and ...wow!
And the longer I stood looking, the more details I noticed like the "gems" they applied to the felt that was at the top of the 'wall' (left) and lettering they added onto the felt (right).

If you are interested in how they made the elements in this beautiful structure, here is the link to the Cooper-Hewitt You Tube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qv23mvOfcE&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fblog%2Ecooperhewitt%2Eorg%2Fcategory%2FFashioning%2DFelt%2F&feature=player_embedded
It was really a fabulous exhibit with so many different felted materials that had distinctly different characteristics and uses. It was incredibly inspiring and, though I am certain I won't be making a yurt anytime soon, I might be trying my hand at some of the techniques on a tad smaller scale :).

Squeaky Toy Tribute

Last New Year's Eve, we said goodbye to our playful girl, Pansy. She loved her squeaky toys... a LOT! And she had plenty of them. So when she passed away, I decided to make a little sculpture out of them as a grave marker. We buried her along our trail that goes around our woods.

I just finished and "planted" her sculpture, so now we'll be reminded of her and her antics whenever we pass by. Besides her toys, I also added beaded wire thingys that have washers and nuts on them. She loved shiny things almost more than her toys. Her food dish is at the bottom and her dog collar is attached to the pole. (You can click on the images to enlarge them.)

Meet Carol Cypher: Beader and Felter Extraordinaire!

Last week, my husband and I were in Brooklyn visiting my step-daughter and son-in-law (very fun trip :) ). We went to the Cooper-Hewitt museum to see their "Fashioning Felt" exhibit. (IYIYI - more on that in a future post.) While in the exhibit, I met Carol Cypher (left). Her hair had been..., well... felted! She had strawberry blonde dreadlocks that were...well...beaded!! How fun is that?! We started talking and I couldn't help noticing her wonderful necklace. It had big round 'beads' made out of colorful felted fibers mixed with equally colorful and textured glass beads. Oh, and she had felted a flower pin full of felted petals of beautifully blended colors. She mentioned that she does workshops both on beading and felting as well as being the author of books. But it wasn't until I got home and really looked at her card that I realized she is the author of a book I had requested (and got!) for Christmas, "How We Felt". It's a terrific book, very inspirational as well as instructional.

If you are interested in her books or workshops, visit her at http://www.carolcypher.com/ .

Hot Fun in the Summertime!

Hot off the sewing machine, here is my latest creation. And I think I'll keep it for myself :). I've been having so much fun mixing up fabrics for my purse organizers, that I decided to mix it up on a new summer purse.

For those of you unfamiliar with this purse design, it has three "pockets", 2 zippered and the middle pocket divided into 4 vertical compartments. The middle pocket is open, but the compartments are snug enough to hold on to my cell phone and sunglasses even if my purse falls over. I've come to prefer this design for my everyday purse because it can handle a long (or short) strap. Alas, my shoulder can't take a short strap for very long :( .

For you do-it-yourselfers out there, this is the "Belt It Out" pattern (see http://www.sweetbriarstudio.etsy.com/ ), medium size. I cut strips of fabric about 1-1/2" wide and the length of the main bag pattern piece. I stitched them together lengthwise and cut out the final piece from that. I only did this to the front and back pieces. The other pieces are one piece of fabric but all are bright and colorful.

So there's my latest fun...and it has my name written all over it!

Tips for my T.e.a (Take everything anywhere) Bag pattern

For the uninitiated, I have designed what I call the T.e.a. Bag and sell a pattern for it as well. And for those who are initiated (read: those who sew and have that pattern!), here is a tip from a fellow sewer, Etsy handle bholg933, who has made two T.e.a. Bags so far:

"Outstanding pattern, beautiful and very useful bag. You will definitely need a strong denim needle. Pattern calls for designer weight fabric, but if you baste two layers of lighter weight fabric together it will turn out just as good. I've made two bags so far and both materials work equally well. "

Thanks so much for the tip!

"Art for your heart * Fun for your soul"

"Art for your heart * Fun for your soul" is the byline on the Arthead Studio website. And it is fun, fun, fun! And clever, too. Deborah Kracht does so many different, very colorful, and fun pieces using wool fibers (she needle-felts them) and/or found objects...and paint! I bought a felthead that is entitled "Anger Management". It hangs on my studio door and makes me smile everytime I see it. Her website, http://www.artheadstudio.com/ , is worth visiting. She also has an Etsy shop with prints of her watercolors as well as some of her felt and recycle/found object pieces.
And she has an impressive Show schedule. So you might be able to catch her live and in person. As with most art, seeing her pieces up close is even better than the photos, so much easier to see the details and fun to see what titles she has named them.

I find her pieces inspiring. They are a reminder to me to have fun with my creativity AND that there's a LOT you can do with a thrown-away colander and bottlecaps!

All photos, and the title of this posting, are Deborah's from her websites.