Quilted Jacket – Front © 2008 Diane Duncan
Although many of my current ‘wearables’ focus on upcycles and surprises for a granddaughter, they sometimes include sweatshirt embellishment, wearable art and challenges to wearable exhibitions. Clothing construction through the years have included everything from tailored suits and everyday clothing to my wedding dress, and more recently my ‘mother of the groom’ ensemble.
I’m still limited in my mobility while trying to avoid the coughing that results with physical exertion so, with sweatshirt #1 completed, I moved on to sweatshirt #2. This time I was inspired by a posting on Pinterest. The first posting I found was by Rachel Hatch and appears to have been woven with cotton broadcloth strips. However, when I followed her links to my inspiration it led, via Danielle Schulz, to the original posting at The Forge where ‘jersey’ strips had been used – and instructions provided! I liked...
read moreThanks to a particularly nasty encounter with a flu bug I’ve been under the weather and very limited in creative energy. In fact, for a number of days, I existed on fluids and slept. Now hubby is dealing with it. However, a bit of hand work did manage to get completed and here is the first of my up-cycled sweatshirts finished. Complete with pockets, it is sure to become a favorite! As the instructions I worked from didn’t have images, I assumed that the folded fabric lacing would be ‘whipped’ around the folded edge...
read moreAs I’m feeling a little under the weather with a flu bug, I’m not feeling particularly creative today so I thought I would chat a bit about a project I’m just starting. I’m always on the lookout for quick and easy projects that I can share with friends who are not as comfortable with a needle and thread as I am. While RVing, the wardrobe basics are jeans t-shirts and sweatshirts. I’ve resisted wearing plain un-embellished sweatshirts and have altered each season’s new shirts with varying success and...
read moreIn September I walked into the Fabric Addict in Lethbridge (the day after our arrival) and there sat a new shipment of smocking pleaters waiting to be unpacked. Now I have been thinking about exploring this media for a while. It’s one of the few things I have never tackled, mainly because my Mother smocked dresses for two generations of girls in the family and I didn’t want to tread on her space. She passed away last spring and I’ve been thinking it was time to pick up the gauntlet and learn this craft. Especially now...
read moreOn September 23 I drove to Calgary to check out the results on two entries in the quilting and fiber art competition at the Calgary Creative Stitches and Crafting Alive Show and was ecstatic to find that I received a first on my Wearable Art entry – Memories of Arizona and a second on one of my memory quilts – The Fabric of my life. Memory Quilt – The Fabric of my Life That’s the second ‘blue’ ribbon this memory quilt has received. This particular...
read moreWe’ve been back in Alberta now for the past week and I’m madly trying to sort and sift the interior of the motor home to simplify life after my surgery next week. On top of that I had to fit in a couple of days for the tax man and make a number of trips for medical appointments – not all mine. Add to that refinishing a piece of furniture for a nursery… The weather was a balmy 20C when we arrived but Alberta has been experiencing a series of wintery storms that are bring much needed moisture for the growing season....
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