Thrifty Thursday

I couldn't help myself. I went thrifting today. I paid my Target bill down, arranged for my son's dentistry work, scheduled my other son into an after school activity, completed my financial aid paperwork and had spent the last week and a half repainting our living room and kitchen while my husband worked on the tiling and trimming. I deserved a little something. Besides, I'm working on finding my authentic style. Of course this means I'll be getting rid of a few things soon, too.
First of all, the most deadly thing about my going to school is that there's a Goodwill right across the street. It doesn't help that it borders several good neighborhoods and they have really good stuff there (on my first trip in I found an Armani Xchange denim blazer in my size for $14 - yeah). So I've decided I'm setting out to discover my personal style. I love jackets and blazers, but I also really like bohemian skirts and dresses. I like going to thrift stores because that's where people take the stuff they liked but never had the balls to wear. You know how you buy an ethnic outfit while traveling abroad and then you get home and are like, "This makes sense in Mexico/India/Japan/wherever, but not in Minnesota. Not on me." Those are the clothes I like. Stuff that the thrift stores put out for Hallowe'en? That's where I find the stuff I actually want to wear. Saris and Kurtis, harem pants and peasant skirts, vintage dresses and military jackets, brightly colored blouses and scarves. I must look like a bit of a magpie when I leave the house, but I'm colorful and joyful, so what's the big deal?
So anyway, I went to the Goodwill after my meeting with the financial aid guy at the school. I found one thing I was for sure looking for, a frame to replace the very kitsch-y 80s frame my husband had a family picture in. But the clothes were a different story. No Armani today. However, I found a beautiful pink dip-dyed full skirt and a very bohemian maxi dress that I can't wait to wear this Summer. I also found a broken, bejeweled bow brooch for a sewing project. I had settled for something else when I couldn't find a brooch like this one. I should've waited. That's alright. I'll find a use for the other stuff I got.
On my way home I decided to have a look at a junk shop called Hunt & Gather. I could've laid out a lot of coin for some cool stuff, but nothing leapt out at me as necessary. That in itself is a pretty big deal. There were vintage buttons and beautiful linens, fascinating books and posters. There was a fuchsia disco dress that almost came home with me, but it was at a vintage price instead of a thrift store price, so I didn't get it. I can't believe I actually walked out of there with nothing, but I went in looking for something that would go in our newly painted living room with nomadic flavor. I found nothing that suited me or my house. Or my budget.
Then I stopped at the Assistance League Thrift Store near my house. This place is a little gem. It's rare for me to find stuff I love and I really have to hunt for it when I'm there. That's what I like about it. Today was a jackpot day. A reversible, silk wrap skirt from India, $6; A white eyelet Summer top by Eddie Bauer, $3; a red-satin-lined black flocked blazer, $4. I also found a set of woven place mats and coasters that go with our fun new interior, $3. The ladies at the shop gave me a little button that says "I Heart Thrifting" because I made such a good deal. Last year I found Armani at this store, too. A beautiful rose brocade blazer for $36.
The best part about my latest purchase was the silk skirt. I've been looking at them online, very longingly, but they were a bit more than I wanted to spend. Anywhere from $50 - 70. I was becoming quite discouraged. To find one for $6 in vivid purple and turquoise, well, I couldn't say no to that!
Now, as I mentioned, I'm going to have to start getting rid of the stuff I just don't wear. I'm torn between sending it to a thrift store and having a yard sale. I could use the extra money for school, but it wouldn't be that much. Yard sales usually end up costing more than they profit. Well, I wouldn't have to advertise in the paper, just put a few posters out. That's what costs so much! My goodness. $45 to advertise your yard sale? Come on. It's cheaper to get sticks, poster board and a few balloons.
I sound really cheap, don't I? I don't mean to. I'm not some sort of Eugene Krabs. But I don't like to spend a lot of money for something if I don't have to, and I'd much rather reuse something someone else has discarded that still has life in it. So much of what is on the market today is cheaply made and sold for really disgusting prices. The people that do the really hard work behind the manufacturing of this stuff are so often working under deplorable conditions. If I'm going to spend a lot for something, it's because it was hand made by artisans not exploiting or exploited. Don't get me wrong. I've seen plenty of things I'd love to have, but won't purchase and I have bought clothes at Target that I know are being made at some factory in China. I'm not perfect. But I do try to keep those things to a minimum, especially lately. I look for things locally made, but if I see a wool sweater from Ireland, that's not going to deter me from getting it (usually it's the price that'll do that) because it was - probably - manufactured from field to product with very few middle men involved.
Here's your assignment, flowerpots: Take a look at what you own. Where was it made? Was any of it made locally? Was it even made in the United States? Set aside everything that you own that was made someplace other than your home country. Is it very balanced? Do you know where your stuff is coming from? We're very complacent as consumers. We go idly by, purchasing things we think we need or want, but do you really know the journey it has travelled? Think this isn't important? Don't think you should waste your time looking at the process? Think again. If you're not part of the solution, you're the problem. I'm not claiming that I'll never shop at Target again, however, a change needs to be made and I'm going to do my best to make it. Can you?

Trying New Things

I don't know about you, but I have ADHD. I have several projects going at once. My husband thinks that silly, but he's able to focus on one thing at a time better than I. For me, boredom sets in rather quickly and I simply must do something else for at least a few minutes.

A couple of weeks ago I saw a project to make fabric cards for Valentine's day. It required a notion called Timtex, a stiff interfacing used for lining purses and other craft projects. JoAnn's carries a similar product called Peltex. It's a branding thing. Anyway, I decided to purchase some. I doubted I would actually make the Valentines, but wanted to use it somehow.

Now, you can get it where it's fusible on both sides, but I didn't get that kind. Mine's fusible on one side. So it sat in my shop for a while, me staring at it wondering what the heck I was going to do with it. I swear it was staring back at me.

I had some quilt scraps left over from a batik quilt I made for our old babysitter when she graduated and went off to college. I stitched some of those together. None of them were the same size. Not something I could put together in another big piece. Then it hit me! Fuse them to the Peltex! So I did that with as many as I could get onto the 1/2 yard I bought.

Neat!

Now what?

Muslin! Stitch muslin to the back sides. I got a hunk of it and pressed it. I cut pieces to fit all the little patches. Then I started wondering if I should paint the muslins. I got out some acrylic inks and found a stack of dried baby wipes I had set aside to use... somehow. I'll explain later. The upshot of it is, I started playing with the inks and writing quotes on the back sides of these "cards".  I also stitched some 1/8 inch ribbon onto one edge so that they may be hung, either side out, on the wall or from your keychain or whatever.

This one uses a repurposed baby wipe.

Muslin backing. Sometimes I forget to edit my photos. Echt.

The batik sides. One could make Christmas ornaments this way...

Okay, the baby wipes thing: If you've read my previous entries, you may be aware that I'm a big fan of the protection of orangutans. All animals, really, but orangs are my favorite. I've even played one on stage. Anyway, the harvesting of palm oil has become a real problem for their survival and that of many other species. Palm oil use is insidious. Some companies use responsibly harvested palm oil, most however, do not. Rain forests and peat marshes which are home to the orangutans and many other vital species are being destroyed in order to create palm plantations.

Palm oil is not necessarily harmful on it's own, but get too much of it (like anything) and it can be detrimental to your health. It's in nearly every packaged snack food you can name (from Oreos to Twizzlers to granola bars) it's in things which need to be spread, (margarine, peanut butter, Nutella), it's in the cleansing products we use on our face, body and hair. It's even in baby wipes. I used them to remove make-up quickly and easily after a show. I have two sons and you know I used wipes on their li'l behinds. But I couldn't fathom having them touch my face when I found out about the palm oil (listed as stearate in most body and hair products).

I'm also not for just throwing stuff out in a lump, either. So, I decided to repurpose the wipes. I laid them out on my worktable and let them dry. They have an interesting texture. I figured I should be able to use them somehow in my art. They take the acrylic ink very well, too, as I discovered.

I then spent several minutes dyeing baby wipes with the ink. I still don't know for what I'll use them, but at least I now know I can.

Abstract rose study

Detail of the green stripes. I'm thinking snake skins and dragons...

Your assignment: look around your home for things you can repurpose into your art. Those card stock pieces in the tights you bought for your little girl? Book marks, template material, ribbon organizers. Spice jars? Glitter catchers. Pasta jars? Button organizers. Get out of the comfort zone and look at things from new angles.

Mission Accomplished: Part 1!

A couple of posts ago I mentioned that I was going to go through all of my UFOs and try to get them done. Well, I finished one today! Huzzah! I made a pair of pajama pants. Several years ago I worked at a local Hancock Fabrics and I bought some really cute Hallowe'en flannel with little witch kitties on it. I had it sitting with its pattern and grosgrain ribbon for the drawstring for, Oh, let's go with 4 years. No. Really. FOUR YEARS.
I realized as I was laying out the pattern that I probably needed a half yard more for full-length pants, and since I didn't want flannel shorts, I decided to make them cropped pants. Clam-digger style. I'm wearing them to bed tonight. Yes, yes, I am. I know it's January. I'm still gonna wear them.

Cute Witchy-Poo Kitties with cats-eye glasses and, though it's hard to tell here, skull tags on their collars.

I'm so excited to wear these, you have know idea. It's like I've finally gotten a pony for Christmas.

I also made a skirt out of a pretty woven plaid I picked up last summer. I lined it with fabric left over from a costume I made when I lived in New York City in the 90s - fuchsia satin! I don't have a pic of the skirt yet, because I still have to put in the zip, but I'm going to take that to Sewtropolis and see if someone there can give me a hand with it. Plus I used thread from a different project that happened to go with it, and I ran out. Of course I did. But I saved the spool so I can take it along for matching.
I had enough scraps of the plaid to have a little fun. I've wanted to make little stuffed animals for a while, especially orangutans (I'm a huge orang fan). So I took a sheet of card stock (left over from a calendar packaging instert) and traced out a pattern. I also have a bunch of cotton circles cut out from when I made a Dresden Plate quilt a couple of Summers ago. I used one of those for the face and used fabric pens to color the face on. That way there aren't any buttons to come off.

I'm not entirely happy with it, but I don't hate it, either. I know how/where I'm going to change up the pattern but I figured, as long as I had some extra supplies, it wasn't going to cost anything to try.

I have this sort of fantasy where I'm making a bunch of these (or similar) for the baby orangutans in the nursery at Orangutan Outreach. I know they give stuffed animals to the babies and I hope they would like them, especially since they're typically orphaned and alone. I think it would be wonderful if there was a baby orang who wanted to hang on to one of my stuffies. Nothing would please me more! I'm currently looking for someone who might be able to help me with this dream project, so let me know if you're interested. 

So there are three, count 'em, three of my UFOs completed! I have no idea what project I'll tackle next, so stay tuned...

Assignment: Have you been going through *your* UFOs? No? I'm beating you? You aren't going to let li'l ol' me get my projects done first, are you?

What is "Perfect" anyway?

Dictionary.com defines the word "Perfect" thusly:

per·fect

 [adj., n. pur-fikt; v. per-fekt]

adjective

1.

conforming absolutely to the description or definition of an ideal type: a perfect sphere; a perfect gentleman.

2.

excellent or complete beyond practical or theoretical improvement: There is no perfect legal code. The proportions of this temple are almost perfect.

3.

exactly fitting the need in a certain situation or for a certain purpose: a perfect actor to play Mr. Micawber; a perfect saw for cutting out keyholes.

4.

entirely without any flaws, defects, or shortcomings: a perfect apple; the perfect crime.

5.

accurate, exact, or correct in every detail: a perfect copy.

Yet, when I hear the word, I cringe. We put so much pressure on ourselves to be perfect, or what we believe is the socially acceptable notion of perfect. All the plastic surgery in the world won't make a person "perfect" because they'll have the scars. There's no "Perfect time" to get married, change jobs, have children, but so many people wait for that elusive perfection, that they often miss out on something that, while not perfect, is certainly wonderful. How many criminals believed they had committed "the perfect crime" only to be convicted? How often has the "Perfect couple" split up? The "perfect" day gone awry?

I've put off a lot of things waiting for perfect; I've scrapped a ton of projects because they weren't perfect. I didn't want to start this blog (and certainly wouldn't do any demo videos!) until my studio was perfect. Guess what? It's still not ideal, but here I am, typing away, gathering ideas for videos that will eventually be filmed in my messy, cramped studio. I will say it's better than it was, but it's not... well, you know.

When I went to Dictionary.com for this, the daily word was echt. One I've never ever heard of, but one which couldn't have been more (dare I say it?) perfect for this entry.

echt

  \ ekht \   adjective; 

1.

real; authentic; genuine.

As I'm pecking away at things that aren't just the way I expected them to be, I've noticed one thing they all have in common. They're loaded with echt-ness. I mean, look at this thing! I don't know why it's not staying within the perimeters of my blog layout, but I don't know how to fix it, either. And there ya have it. Echt.

I pride myself on being echt. I encourage others to be as echt as they can be. Which is why the health issues of my last year were so disappointing. I suffered a nervous breakdown, followed by conversion disorder. I went to a bunch of specialists, had several MRIs, the first of which presented us with what would later (after being called a tumor, which is what took my father) be labeled as a lesion. I've probably had it all my life, but to be on the safe side, I went through all the testing for Multiple Sclerosis: EKG, EMG (which I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy), Sleep EEG, spinal tap (and blood patch because it didn't heal and I was leaking spinal fluid). I kept hoping it was MS. Why would I want something so horrible? Because then it would mean it wasn't my fault. 

There had been a lot of things which led up to the breakdown, but I had been under stress before. Greater stress, actually. I'm a survivor of rape, I watched my father battle cancer, I've been stalked, I've had two children, one of whom has autism spectrum disorder, I've lived on my own in New York City in the 90s. You know, back before all the hipsters took over and it was still dangerous and cool. So I did not want to cop to the diagnosis of nervous breakdown. I'm too strong for that. Right?

The events leading up to it were numerous and offered a variety of stressors, some of which involved my perceived perfection. All I could think of when it finally got down to "you had a nervous breakdown" was, how could I have let all those outside influences take me over like that? I know I'm not perfect, so why was I so worried about it? Well, okay, the only thing I could come up with is that, deep down, we all wish we could be perfect. Our lives would be so much better, right? But I look around and I have shelter, enough to eat, a family who loves me. I even painted a family sign that hangs on our house that reads, "We may not have it all together, but together we have it all." I was disappointed in myself for not embracing my humanity, flaws and all.

What does this have to do with sewing or art? Well, as artists, I believe we all strive for perfection. Just as an athlete works out every day to get better and better, we study our craft(s) and work toward perfection. Sadly, we too often compare our work to that of others. I had a boyfriend when I lived in New York who was an artist. I liked the style of his work. It was bold and colorful. His best friend is one of these guys who can paint something and have it look like a photograph. Gene was always putting his work down because it didn't look like Phil's. I actually preferred the broad lines and astonishing surrealism of his work, but he couldn't see it or appreciate it for what it was: his echt.

When I was pregnant with my first son, I had grand notions of making my own maternity clothes. On my first trip out, I put the sleeves on backward and couldn't get the seams to lay flat, so I chucked it. I recently found it (almost 12 years later!) in a box in my studio. I really liked the fabric. It seemed a shame that it was just hidden in a box, wadded up in a ball of frustration. So I started to take it apart. Then I fussy cut a few of the motifs into 9 inch squares. I rummaged through my stash and found several fabrics which coordinated with the colors and theme of the print. This was born...

I'm not quite finished with it yet, but when I do git 'er done, I'll have something far more lasting than a maternity top. I may even be able to sell it, who knows?

The other day I went to one of my favorite fabric haunts, Mill End Textiles, which is sadly going out of business. However, it means there are hella good deals going on and I partook, oh, yes, I did. They're also selling the items they've had on display - quilts, pillows, clothing - all made by the people who work and shop there. I bought this pillow, partially because it looks so cool, partly because I wanted to snoop at it and figure out how it was made, but mostly because it was the perfect example of what I'm trying to say here. I'm not the only one who makes imperfect things that still look pretty darn cool.

Cool, right? Like you're looking through glass cubes.

But look at the red border. There's a good 1/8 inch sway in the seam.

Notice how the seams don't even come close to matching.

My first attempt at coordinating a pair of peacock panels to go with two others. I often work without a plan or pattern. I was running out of fabric and options. I did worry that it wouldn't look right.
I ended up changing the blue border into a feather border because I didn't want 2 blue borders next to each other,
which is what would've happened had I left it alone. So I changed it.  No big deal, no worries.  

...And it turned out to be more interesting. Not perfect, but echt and interesting. You also get a sneak peek of my messy studio.

The makers of echt Persian rugs (see what I did there?) always leave a mistake in the pattern. They believe that only God can be perfect and to try to out-shine God is a sin. I don't believe in the supernatural, but I do believe that the idea there is sound; humans aren't perfect, and we shouldn't try to be. We should do our best, certainly, but if things don't quite go the way we expected, we don't have to be so hard on ourselves. 

Here's your assignment: Go though your discarded projects, salvage what you can, recycle what you can. You may even decide it's not as bad as you thought. Of course there's the chance that you'll say, "Good gravy! What was I thinking?" and that's okay, too. If it's isn't echt to you, chuck it. Take it to the thrift store where it may be echt for someone else. Try to be as echt as you can be. Let me know how that turns out...

No, really. Let me know.