Saturday, November 29, 2014

Anna Sui + Westernmass ME

I have quite a few textile art ideas on my creative projects lists. I work on a bunch of things at the same time and the list grows. I feel no stress about completing things. My 2 full-time jobs and basic chores come first. Creative projects are for spare time and any time I get for them is a pleasure. I don't need to ruin something so lovely by cracking a whip. My brain has gone through a re-framing of sorts in my new life. I'm not very good at explaining it, or even fully understanding it yet. Basically, the things that bothered me about my life and my self before, have evaporated. Life seems so much easier now. I always know what I'm supposed to be doing. I feel like I have so much freedom and so many opportunities, that instead of putting stupid parameters and rules on myself, I just need to relax and go with the flow. If an idea or project gets shelved, it was probably supposed to. It's right there on the shelf. I can pick it up again, and it will have probably benefited from the slow simmer. How would I know what I'm supposed to be doing? I get more done now, and I'm happier than I've ever been. That's more than enough.

I stupidly started embroidering this t-shirt craft night a few years ago. Stitching on stretchy t-shirt material is idiotic. I realized it right away, but kept poking around at it when I wasn't working on another project. My friend T gave me this t-shirt for taking care of her cat when she went to Europe in 1997. I was gonna toss it. It was misshapen and had armpit stains, and then I decided to cut out and embroider the unstained image. Who knows if I would have ever finished it, but T was working on a piece for our textile art show, so it felt like the right time. Now our pieces are hanging next to each other in my gallery. Life is weird and wonderful. I'm pretty sure no one is going to buy it and I owed a dear friend a gift. She harassed me regularly about this exact project (flirting in my world). So I'm gifting it to C. But really, this is all just the big gift that is my life.

Saturday, November 22, 2014

30 year sewing project completed

In the 80’s I worked at The Springfield Plaza, a shopping plaza that time forgot. There was a fabric shoppe called Weintraubs. I only remember it from the extended going-out-of-business period. In the real final days, when everything was 90 or more % off and thoroughly picked through, I bought yards and yards of upholstery fabric in the yellow color family. I had no immediate use for the fabric but it was the nicest quality stuff left, yellow apparently unpopular.

That fabric, like an ugly yellow patterned albatross, has traveled with me through every move over 30ish years. Every time I packed it, I would be mad at myself for lugging it around. Whenever I wanted to sew curtains over those 30 years, I would dig it out, look at it and buy new fabric.

I needed curtains in my condo, so pulled out the Weintraubs fabric and started sewing, 4 years ago. I was finally using the albatross when my sewing machine broke. I hand-sewed 2 sides of one panel. Company was coming to stay, so I clipped the fabric to the curtain rod with clothes pins, 4 years ago. And so it stayed. I just got a new/old sewing machine from my Tante. I finished the curtains. Mr. REE is standing on my sewing machine holding the price tag from Weintraubs, in front of the curtains. I have 2 other patterns of the yellow upholstery fabric. That gorgeous sunny vintage fabric that cost me pennies.