Two New Projects

I've got two new projects going, which is kinda nice. The first is another drawing in my series Nomads & Gypsies. This time it is a gypsy. I loved the pose and the position of the woman's hand (Taken from a photograph of a real gypsy woman I found...of course...on Pinterest). These drawing are slowly, ever so slowly, getting better as my drawing skills creak out of retirement.

Gypsy 1

It has been pointed out to me by another artist that her hand is a bit large. I agree. However, I redrew that hand about ten times, trying to get it right, knowing it would be the focus of the drawing, so I have left it "as is." If I had messed with it any more, I would probably have wrecked the whole thing, and rubbed a hole in the paper. Maybe she's just a girl with big hands? Another person viewed it as her beckoning the viewer toward her, which I thought was a lovely way to look at it. I'm going with that. Also, I realized she didn't have any ears! Oops. In the photo I used as a model they are barely visible under her hat. I have added them to the drawing since I took this picture. Also, I am out of the soft grey ink pen I use to outline, so she is waiting to be finished with ink and colored pencil.

William Morris Bolero

The second project is a new bolero. I haven't done one in quite a while, and the T-shirts had been stashed in a drawer while I worked on other things. Today I pulled them out of hiding, and cut out the pieces. I barely...barely... had enough of the patterned shirt, which reminds me of William Morris wallpaper, to get the front and back. Even thought it was a woman's size large, I guess there is large, and then there is large. I had found another shirt in the same color of light green, hoping to use that as the binding, but ended up having to used it for the sleeves instead. The question still remaining is, what new color of trim to use for the binding, which will determine what color of embroidery thread I use to sew everything up. I am leaning toward the soft rose, but will think about it a bit before I commit.

So, those are my two new projects. The weather has waffled between really hot...109 the other day...to a little milder...mid 80s. So I have lots of time in the middle of the day, when it is the hottest, to work on these...and other things. 

Hope you all are enjoying the summer weather...or cooler temps if you live Down Under.

Spring Flip-Flops

I bet you thought I meant those funny, must have flip-flops that I personally love, and live in all summer. Nope. This is how I grudgingly deal with bi-polar Spring weather.

As Mother Nature flip-flops between Winter and Spring—one day it's dark, pouring rain and only 44 degrees, the next it's bright, sunny and 72 degrees—my schedule flip-flops in tandem with Hers.

When it's nice, I'm outside working in the yard and garden, clearing out all the dead winter wood and brush. That's when I discover just how many gophers have taken up residence since last summer. In this year's case there are so many holes it looks like someone did several strafing runs over my garden firing 27 mm rounds. I also had to take an inventory of how many plants I lost due to the mini ice age we had back in December. So far it looks like the succulents on the front walkway suffered the most attrition, and I may have lost the star jasmine in the big pot by the terrace steps, but the verdict is still out on that one. Robert and I also decided to eliminate the whole back side of the fenced garden, as it is slowing collapsing into the creek, and it would be way too expensive and labor intensive to shore it back up. Since that section also is in the shade most of the day, then in the afternoon is subjected to direct sunlight and intense heat during the summer, it's a pain in the butt to find something that can grow in those two extremes. The last thing I attempted was hydrangeas, and they have struggled. I may pot them up and put them in the shade on the deck. When I attempted to grow them anywhere else in the yard, the deer ate them to a nub. Yes, anything planted outside the fenced garden has to be deer proof.

The other thing I do when the weather is nice is work my horses. We just got a new one for my husband, who had to retire his old gelding, Apollo, who is now around 25 and looking his age. He just didn't have the stamina for the kinds of horse activities we do. The fact that the vet told us he has arthritis in all four legs, but especially in the hind, just sealed his retirement fate. So, now we have Strider, a seven-and-a-half-year-old Fox Trotter, who needs a lot of work, since his previous owner didn't ride him much. And just last Sunday we learned that he doesn't like going into a trailer. He loaded fine at his previous home, with his first mom leading him in. When we tried at our place he balked, pulled back and broke the tie-in, and we spent two hours working with him to finally get him back in and to stand quietly, then back out nicely. It's going to take many more sessions like that before we go anywhere, since I won't travel with a horse who won't load and unload easily.

Here is a photo of Robert on one of his first rides on Strider. My mare, Delight, is giving Strider the stink-eye as they go by. I think Delight is still secretly hoping Strider will go back where he came from, and she and Apollo can have their privacy back.

With the weather flipping back and forth, the biggest issue we have with working the horses is the bad footing. We have forest clay soil, and despite the varied ways we have tried to augment the ground to make it more workable, it eventually gets too slippery and sloggy to do anything faster than a walk. That's where things are now, which is pretty danged frustrating when the sun is shining and you really want to get some riding work in, and the most you can do is putz around. Not that there aren't a lot of things you can teach or perfect at the walk, but it does get tiresome after about a month. But I battle on, do what I can, and grit my teeth every time it rains and makes the ground even more slippery.

On days where it's dark and rainy, I work on projects inside, or, as I did the other morning, I go into town. Sometimes to run errands and visit the library to replenish my stash, or in this case, I trolled the Goodwill then went next door to JoAnn's Fabrics. It turned out to be fortuitous timing, since I found a few nice things at the Goodwill, and JoAnn's had all their jewelry supplies on sale for 40-75 percent off. I came home with two T-shirts to make another bolero, and a denim short-sleeved jacket for another project I have in mind, which I will go into more on my next post.

Here is a very dark photo (remember, I said it was a gloomy, rainy day) showing the treasures I came home with, all piled on the coffee table in the living room, which at the time was the brightest place in the house. I bought the patterned shirt because the color and leaf design reminded me of William Morris wallpaper. It was the first piece I found, and I figured the chances of finding a color to match it would be slim to zero, so I went poking around looking for a good contrasting color when I found the other T-shirt, which matched the color of the patterned one exactly. That was a lucky find, indeed. 

This lovely little hoard of goodies, shirts and findings, cost me under $20. The only thing I didn't think to get (my mind was in jewelry nirvana at all the things on sale) was some embroidery floss to match the dark green in the patterned shirt, since the binding on the bolero will be out of the solid aqua.

Oh gosh darn, I will have to go back to JoAnn's again. Life can be such a trial.

Tibetan Bolero, Finished — Sorta

I have finished beading the binding on the bolero, and at this point consider the piece done. I may, at some point, go back and add beads to the little prayer flags, but for now, I want to move on to something else. So here is the finished garment. I like the way it turned out, and I think I've said somewhere else (or maybe here) that I will do more of these little guys. They are fun, easy to make, comfy to wear, and make great mini-canvases to play around with.

Note on beading: I started out using heavy button/craft thread, but it was so thick it took an act of God to get it through the beading needle. After ten minutes of struggling with it I gave up, and used regular sewing thread doubled.  Next time I will find some quilting thread in the correct color and use that, probably doubled as well. The small beads won't fit over a bigger needle, so that option is out. And bigger beads would look a bit clunky, at least on this piece. I'm still experimenting, which is part of the fun.

Not why this photo came out so dark...ah well. 

Tibetan Bolero — 3

I have added prayer flags to the front (using a free-form feather stitch, combined with a blanket stitch,  to resemble Tibetan script), and sewn the side/sleeve seams. I added the binding with feather stitch, which took me awhile to get the rhythm of, which is why the sleeve binding looks more even that the stitching on the binding around the neck and front. But when I was done, I kinda decided this would be my "signature" binding stitch, the way the Cretan stitch is for Rice, over at the Voodoo Cafe.

I am now in the process of adding little gold beads to the binding, and will probably add some to the prayer flags.

Bolero back

Bolero front.
I stuck a piece of cardboard inside to hide the messy machine embroidery backing. Had I to do this piece over again, or if I get another T-shirt with a large machine embroidered design on the back, I will make the back of the bolero two layers. The outside layer will have all the decoration on it, and the inside layer will hide all the messy bits.

Here is the beading I have just started.

 

 

And here is why I put the cardboard inside to take the pictures, and why I will make the next bolero sporting a machine embroidered design in two layers. This is just WAY too messy looking to leave uncovered. Well, to me anyway.

I really like the color combination in this bolero. The green was just something I had on hand...one of my husband's old work T-shirts. Also, I enjoy working on these little guys because I don't have to get into any complicated patterns, piecing, futzing, etc., like I do with a lot of the costuming stuff I make. These boleros, and the AC T-shirts and tank tops are simple patterns to sew together so I can spend more time playing with embellishments. That's the really fun part.

Tibetan Bolero — 2

Okay, here is what I got done yesterday.

After looking at the photos I posted, it occurred to me that the temple had a lot of rectangle elements-windows, wall sections, etc. When I saw that, the idea of adding rectangles to the shirt with strips of T-shirt material popped into my head. Then the idea of prayer flags popped in next. Then prayer flags held down with embroidery that vaguely resembles Tibetan script. Bingo! Decoration problem solved.

So far I have only done the back of the bolero. I will add a few more prayer flags to the sleeves, and front. I am also going to add rectangles sewn with just embroidery thread, as I want a bit more color, and I will add small gold beads when all the prayer flags are done.

BTW, the binding trim on the bolero will be the same color of green as some of the little flags.

Here are the little flags pinned in place.

Here they are sewn down with free-form fly stitch embroidery.

 

So, that's the latest update on the Tibetan Bolero.

Tibetan Bolero — 1

The title sounds sort of crossed-ethnic, but I'm not talking about a Tibetan version of the sultry music. No, it is my second attempt at the Alabama Chanin bolero pattern from their book, Alabama Studio Sewing + Design by Natalie Chanin. The first bolero I did turned out fantastic, so I couldn't wait to try another. However, a lot of stuff got in the way, including that mounted archery shoot for which I made so many targets. Then I started the Riding Costume, which I am still working on. Also I needed to get a few more jewelry pieces up on my Etsy site. Bottom line, I am just now getting around to playing with T-shirts again. Also, since it is cold and raining outside, I figured if I made a summer garment I'd feel a bit more cheerful. Maybe.

I found this great dark-purple T-shirt at the Goodwill. I bought it because I loved the machine embroidered Tibetan temple on the front. I thought it would look super on the back of a bolero. So yesterday I dug the shirt out of my stash drawer and went to work.

Here is the front of the T-shirt, which will be the back of the bolero. I mark the center line and cutting lines with soap, which works really well on dark material.

The shirt looks more wrinkled in the photo than it actually was. Not sure why.

 

 Here are the front pieces and one sleeve drawn out.

This is how I mark the pattern on the fabric. Tuna and olive cans to hold things down, soap to mark the cutting lines. This section is what was left over from the front of the T-shirt after I cut out the temple design, which was enough to make the other bolero sleeve.

Here are all the pieces cut out and ready to sew. I haven't put any designs on the front or sleeves because, well, I just don't know yet what I want to do. Figured I could always add something later.

 

This is what is left of the original extra-large man's shirt. Two sleeves which I had cut off the shirt, the folded and sewn hem of the T-shirt, which I save to use as straps or binding over the top of things, and at the top of the photo, the pile of scraps that were too small to use.

And this is what I used one of the sleeve sections for. This stenciled piece will be sewn to a turquoise sweatshirt (also purchased at the Goodwill), stitched around the design, and then the design will be cut out for a reverse applique. The gold paint is Lumiere metallic gold. The stencil sheet I bought at Home Depot in the paint/home decorating section. More pictures of the sweatshirt project will come later.

So, that's the start of the Tibetan Bolero, and a teaser for the Turquoise Sweatshirt. The binding color on the bolero will probably be green, as I already have a T-shirt that color to cut up. Stay tuned!

Bolero...Continued

A week or so ago, I posted pictures of the first bolero I made using the Alabama Chanin pattern. At the time I started it, I didn't have any fabric paint to do the stencils with, nor did I have a stencil that I thought would work, so I went ahead and made the garment, figuring to stencil it later.

Found a stencil at Home Depot (a good source for so many things), and bought some inexpensive fabric paint at JoAnn's. I'm not spending big bucks on either stencils or paint while I'm still in this learning curve. However, I think the results came out rather nice. Only thing left to do is some beading, and accent stitching.

Here is the front, showing the stencil I used. The tuna can I used as a weight to hold down one end of the stencil sheet while I applied the paint. Very handy things, tuna cans. It also shows why I bought a rotary cutter, which will help clean up the edges of the binding strips.  Trying to cut them with regular scissors works, but not very well.

Closeup of the stencil pattern, and my not so great embroidery stitches.

Back of the bolero.

I really like this stencil design, and if I'd had it before I started the bolero, I probably would have made it an all-over pattern. So, that's something to play around with for next time.

Also, just for fun, I am going to start adding my own garment tags to the inside neckline. It will be the same cartouche design I use on my drawings and paintings.

These tank tops and boleros, made from freebie pet food promo T-shirts that my husband brings home, are really fun, easy to make, and great little canvasses for all kinds of embellishments.

Bolero...A Shrug, Not The Sultry Music.

In my ongoing experiment with the Alabama Chanin patterns, I decided to try the bolero next. And, since Robert gets more free red and black pet food promo T-shirts than any other color, other than maybe dark blue and an icky tan (he's now asking for extra large shirts just so I can cut them up, as he only wears a large), naturally, the bolero ended up red and black. I almost managed to work around the logos on the shirt, but still ended up with a bit on one sleeve. The binding got sewn on with, at this point, my rough execution of the herringbone embroidery stitch. Later I will add stencils to the front and back, but I need to get some black fabric paint. I may also add red beads to the black binding.

For future boleros, I think I'll make the sleeves a tad longer, and make the armholes a bit looser. They felt a little tight to me. Oh, and I used the size large on the pattern sheets, even though most of the time I wear a medium. The bolero still fit snug. I'm going to wear it a few tines before I make the next one, and decide whether I want to make the next size larger to get a looser fit. I think they are supposed to fit snug, but it felt a little too snug for my comfort zone—I have wide shoulders for my size. Anyway, time will tell.

I should also state that I didn't have a rotary cutter at the time I made this (I just bought one yesterday, along with a small mat board), so the binding is cut with regular scissors, which don't always leave a clean edge when cutting long, narrow strips.

 The hint of pet food logo I couldn't quite work around. Oh well.

So that's it. My first AC bolero. I like it because = I can get a bolero out of only one extra large T-shirt (other than contrasting binding), I like the feel of it, it's comfy to wear, easy to sew up, and makes a great little canvas for artwork. Can't beat that.

For further bolero inspiration, check out these amazing ones made by Rice, over at the Voodoo Cafe. They will knock your socks off!