Little Pieces of Me

I had decided that my next undertaking is to (finally) draft the perfect sleeveless tunic pattern for myself. You know, something that I could always go to when I had found a nice bit of linen, or to which I could easily add kimono sleeves, big pockets or inset side panels or that could turn into a dress if needed. It's something I've been meaning to do for ages, but never really got around to. For this, I knew I'd likely need to do a couple of muslins just to get everything right, so I turned to my trusty fabric cabinet. Surely I would find something potentially 'disposable' there that I could use for this job. And that was as far as I got ... Sidebar:  Like many art and craft oriented people I have a tendency to collect things.  I know people (and you do too) who have problems with pack-rattiness. People who keep everything and have so much stuff they don't know what to do with it.  Luckily, I don't fall into that category.  My collections are pr...

Wow, I've really slipped in the ol' posting department lately. Not a great way to start a new year. A whole month has gone by! Well, I can partly blame Christmas, partly blame having been sick with this month's very popular bronchial bug (cough hack), and partly blame the fact that I have been busy in the basement. Although I had been hankering to get on with some more garment work, I got pleasantly distracted by a Christmas present - tools for making printing blocks. So I've been carving soft and lino block stamps, setting up a printing space in the basement and generally making a nice mess. Getting Set Up: Setting up the printing space was no big deal. Essentially you need a sturdy table covered with some sort of padding (to make it easier to print on fabric) and plastic. I used a couple of towels for the padding and a vinyl Dollarama table cloth, duct taped tightly around my trusty folding table. $2 for these supplies seemed like the right price. Luckily...

The first thing on my to-do list was cleaning up my studio/sewing room/craft room/girl cave. I turned one of the spare bedrooms into this little oasis of storage and function about 18 months ago. Over the past year it seemed to have mostly become the repository of all the things that didn't have obvious homes elsewhere in the house. No longer! The debris has been removed, all supplies returned to their proper place and plenty of room made for getting down to the business of making things. Ah, you have to love Ikea for spaces like this. Everything is so modular and scaled towards smaller spaces. The cupboards are good old Billy book cases with glass doors lined in wrapping paper. A DVD tower between them provides small display spaces. A series of boxes (yes they are labelled) fit perfectly on the high shelves and two simple tables give me plenty of work surface. Having the sewing machine and serger side by side is beyond great and plastic floor mats make it easy to roll b...