Sewing When Distracted

I have to admit this is more common than not for me - I am easily distracted and my brain is always spinning with the various projects, deadlines, ideas, etc. that are swirling around in its foggy depths. Sometimes I wish I had a device similar to the Pensieve (brilliant!) in the Harry Potter books: a place where I could take all the excess ideas, projects, etc. out of my head and store them until I was ready to take them out and put them to work.

Until that day comes, it's just a matter of muddling through - I employ various strategies to try to stay on task and keep focused. I'd love to hear what others do!

First of all, I keep a white board where I list all the various projects and deadlines that I have on my plate. It really helps me to keep them floating fresh at the surface rather than precipitating (like sugar out of my iced tea) to the bottom of my brain.

I also make lots of other kinds of lists. I use a lot of sticky notes which end up all over my studio (and home). Article outlines, project ideas, sources for supplies - all sorts of things get noted and because I can stick them to the wall/monitor/sewing machine/telephone, they have a much higher probability of actually getting done or being remembered.

From there, it's more a matter of willpower. Sometimes I find I'm getting distracted because I'm not enjoying what I'm working on. Whether it's frustration or boredom, the result is the same. In this case I usually set little rewards for myself for progress made. The carrot on the end of the stick, if you will. It might be a few minutes walking around the garden, a game of Sudoku or window shopping at favorite websites. Sometimes I will try to intersperse other smaller, potentially more interesting projects at intervals within the larger project.

Somehow or another, with a lot of hard work it all gets done and usually on deadline. But it's a perpetual struggle. I wouldn't trade my funky brain, though. It may be random and more than a little scattered at times but it comes up with some pretty interesting stuff.

So what do you do to stay on task?

Fiber Friday - Harris Tweed

Wow - it's Fiber Friday again already! I've been so busy traveling around Puget Sound teaching Sew Fun that I'm having a hard time knowing where I am, let alone when!

I've been honored with the task of converting some genuine Harris Tweed belonging to my client Joan into a coat, which of course has me thinking about Harris Tweed.

You can't just call any old handwoven woolen tweed fabric "Harris Tweed". According to the Harris Tweed Authority:

"Harris Tweed is cloth that has been handwoven by the islanders of Lewis, Harris, Uist and Barra in their homes, using pure virgin wool that has been dyed and spun in the Outer Hebrides.

This is the definition of Harris Tweed contained in the Harris Tweed Act of 1993 and it ensures that all cloth certified with the Harris Tweed Orb symbol complies with this definition and is genuine Harris Tweed, the world’s only commercially produced handwoven tweed."

Joan traveled to the Outer Hebrides of Scotland to purchase her Harris Tweed in person from the weaver himself! She has great photos of the weaver and his home/studio. Needless to say I am very envious but also glad I have had the opportunity to become acquainted with her beautiful length of cloth. For more information about Harris Tweed, I recommend visiting the website of the Harris Tweed Authority: http://www.harristweed.com/

I'm sure I'll be posting occasionally on this coat project as it progresses. It will be a unique challenge to get a longish coat out of 4.5 yards of 31 inch fabric! Thankfully I am accustomed to squeaking out garments from small amounts of fabric. But it will still be a test of skill and wits. Of course the wool itself will be lovely to work with as wool is such an incredibly forgiving fabric.

Today we shopped for a substitute fabric to make the test garment. I will be cutting the yardage into a 31" wide length in order to have the most accurate 'trial run'.

The next step in the process is to fit the pattern. This is a German pattern that doesn't have a marked seam allowance which helps a lot when tracing. Normally I have to draw in the seam allowances; I like this much better! I'll simply trace the garment piece/stitching line, and then add the allowances I feel are appropriate for that area of the garment. With fabric being tight I will not have the luxury of wide seam allowances to work with so we'll have to get the fit as close as we can while maintaining the silhouette of the design.

The Real Thing!

Projects in the Pipeline

Whew! I just finished with Sew Fun this afternoon and am looking forward to focusing on my upcoming classes and hopefully some fun projects!

I'm going to embroider at least one of my pairs of jeans (you can read about the details in the Puget Sound Sewing and Craft blog), since my old pairs are worn or wearing out.

While my Creative Vision is stitching those out, I'm going to cut and needle felt some jackets for my upcoming Felted Jacket class in August.

I have an Era Jacket (from the Sewing Workshop) cut and ready to sew, as well as a Christine Jonson Princess Wrap Blouse. A silk Maia Jacket (by LaFred) is also bundled up for a future project. And many more I want to do!

I'll keep you posted...

Sew Fun!

I'm busy teaching Sew Fun classes this week and most of next, so my blog postings may be a bit scarce this week.

But it's worth it - Sew Fun is a monthly club series that Quality Sewing hosts. There are several of us who team up to teach at the "Northern" and "Southern" stores and it's a great learning opportunity - for both the teachers and the attendees. Every month we feature a different theme, usually centered around a particular set of books or products. We demonstrate various techniques and share tips.

One of my favorite parts is the 'show and tell' which takes place during the break. I love to see the pride and joy of the participants as they talk about their latest projects. Regardless of what we sew, there is a common sisterhood (and brotherhood!) that is shared in our love of fabrics and sewing.

Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the 'Oh, I'm a quilter" or "I only sew garments" - forgetting that we're all truly doing the same thing - finding pleasure and creative outlets in the use of fabric and thread to create something of beauty (and even utilitarian items have their own humble beauty).

So hooray for Sew Fun - hope to see you there!

Machine Embroidery - Bigger Isn't Always Better

I've been working on needle felted designs for a jacket project I will be teaching in August in Puyallup and Silverdale, The Felted Jacket. We'll be doing something out of the ordinary (I don't know if I'm capable of doing the ordinary anyway) - a jacket that is not only embellished with needle felted designs but is also constructed using a needle felting machine (or tool).

So, I've also been auditioning various machine embroidery designs to use with these jackets. There are several ways to incorporate machine embroidery with needle felting. In this instance, I am looking at this outline design to be placed over the top of a background of colorful needle felted fibers.I was really glad I 'auditioned' this particular design, for as you can see - bigger wasn't better. these are both stitched out onto two layers of cutaway embroidery stabilizer, to fit into the same sized hoop. I love this design - The Three Graces - and my usual strategy is to make it as large as possible. (I'm in love with the huge hoops for my Pfaff Creative Vision!) But when I enlarged the design, I lost some of the detail - most noticeably in the hands and faces. It was an important lesson for me - not everything enlarges gracefully (no pun intended). I'm going to try a couple of different resizing programs - just in case - but chances are I'll stick with the original size. Stay posted for the jacket design!

Fiber Friday - Bamboo

Bamboo has been a very trendy textile since its introduction. It has also been a subject of controversy, inspiring debates about whether or not it is truly as 'green' a fiber as promoted. Because bamboo is processed into fiber using same processes that create rayon and lyocell (brand name: Tencel), it does require mechanization to grind it into pulp and chemicals to dissolve it into the goo (called dope) that is then extruded through spinnerettes to create fiber. It is also said to possess natural antibacterial properties and UV protection, although this scientific article released this spring says that this is untrue. I've read several arguments back and forth - for instance, the lyocell process is fairly clean due to recycling of the processing liquids - and I think that needs to be left up to the individual to decide for themselves.

This month in Sew Fun we are highlighting some new products which are being touted as environmentally friendly. Some are using materials that have been recycled (quilt batting made 100% from plastic bottles), and some, like the bamboo, are new materials which are being created to appeal to the eco-conscious buyer.

Bamboo, whatever is said of its degree of 'greenness', is a lovely fiber to touch. It's very soft and drapable in a knit form, and in both knit and woven forms it has a beautiful, soft sheen. My teaching partner, Ann, made some adorable garments from bamboo textiles. One was a darling cropped swing-style jacket from a Simplicity Project Runway pattern made from a bamboo herringbone weave, and another was a child's dress made from a plain-woven printed bamboo that was similar to a cotton sateen or fine mercerized shirting. There was a also a denim-style jacket that was a linen/bamboo blend. She noted that there was very little shrinkage, but one of the fabrics did acquire a 'distressed' type look, which worked well for the project. There was some dye loss on the denim-style jacket.

I tested the fabric swatches manually for wrinkle resistance and I did not find them to be wrinkle resistant by that test. That being said, I do not find the garments made from bamboo to be wrinkle prone. I would expect any cellulose fiber to wrinkle, especially one that comes from such a rigid fiber such as bamboo.

I'm very frustrated at present by the apparent lack of good textile science information on bamboo fiber. I find a lot of 'hype' by either the factories or stores which are producing and/or selling bamboo products, but very little impartial data coming from a textile lab. It must be out there; I just haven't found it yet. I'm hoping that the newer textile science textbooks will have more information. But meanwhile, I think that regardless of the publicity it's a great addition to our textile choices and deserves some further exploration.

Puget Sound Sewing and Craft

We are incredibly blessed here in the beautiful (albeit currently wet and cold) Pacific Northwest to have wonderful sewing resources. I've already gushed about this after my recent day trip/pilgrimage to Portland, but it really is true.

For example, we have the largest sewing machine dealership in the world, Quality Sewing and Vacuum. You'd think being a large operation would mean less personal service, but this is definitely not the case. I've been a customer for over 10 years (now I am an educational consultant for them) and I'm proud to be part of their organization.

To make it even better, we also have Pacific Fabrics, a local chain which began as a result of doing salvage (their original name is/was Pacific Iron and Metal). Their original 'outlet' still exists on 4th Avenue in Seattle. When I lived in Queen Anne, that was my 'local' fabric store, along with the incomparable Nancy's Sewing Basket.

Pacific Fabrics and Quality Sewing have teamed up to form a new blog and website designed to help inspire anyone who is interested in sewing, knitting, needle felting - you name it. It's called Puget Sound Sewing and Craft. I was recently asked to be a contributing blogger, and am looking forward to sharing tips, techniques. Check it out!

Hooray!!!

Thank Goodness for FedEx - the photo and construction samples for the latest magazine article project are on their way! What a tremendous relief. I sincerely hope that they meet with approval on the other end. It's a lot of work but very rewarding to see your work in print, I think.

Speaking of which - found my article in CraftStylish's Quick Stuff to Make on the newsstand today! Very exciting. At first I had a hard time finding it, as I was looking for "CraftStylish" instead of Quick Stuff to Make. I knew it would be out soon, as the web 'extra' - Make a Silk Pillowcase Project with a French Finish - was posted online.

So, all in all a good day for productivity. Even though I was sweating getting everything to FedEx on time because I was having to iron my photo samples dry just before packing them up! I still have some deadlines this week for other projects but it's a huge relief to have the samples on their way. Tonight I'll take some time to rearrange my thread racks so that I can move my computer monitor and cut out a jacket for my Felted Jacket class samples. If I have time after updating my outline for the article and submitting a proposal for another project. Sometimes creative time has to wait. But I'm looking forward to a few days to do something different after working on the same project day after day after day.

Time Flies

There's nothing like an impending deadline (or two, or three...) to make time just whiz by. This past month has been a big blur due to the various tasks I've absolutely, positively had to get done - on time!

Why is it that people who create - anything - always underestimate the amount of time it takes to get something done? Most recently my project has been creating something that I used to make and sell several years ago. Although I knew it was really labor intensive, I still was amazed at just how long it took me to produce several of these items. (They're for a -hopefully- future article, therefore I can't/won't go into detail.)

And it's not just the amount of time it actually takes in reality (versus imagination) to create the object to your satisfaction. It's all the things that can and do happen in the meantime! It probably wouldn't bother me so much if I didn't try so hard to schedule things out in advance. I'm sure that my life and work schedule must look to most people like a huge mess most of the time. Ironically, I check my calendar regularly and try to be very realistic about what I'm tackling for a workload. But...things happen. I do my best to start work well in advance but there always seems to be some sort of monkey wrench thrown into the works. Tyger's recent life-threatening thread-swallowing incident is a vivid example of this. Right in the middle of several deadlines I had a cat that was vomiting around the clock, in severe pain and in need of fluid administered via IV in order to keep him going - and this was before he had GI surgery! Obviously that was an unusual event that we all fervently hope will never be repeated but that's life for you.

I don't mean for this posting to sound negative - it's just a challenge which I believe all creative people struggle with. Those who work on a deadline, at any rate! But then, those that don't work on deadline seem to have difficulty finding completion, so I suppose that is the trade off. Productivity needs deadlines.

Fiber Friday - Silk from Seed to Skein

Silk - an incredible fiber with an amazing historic tradition. Lately there has been a ton of hype about 'sustainable' and 'eco-friendly' fibers, and as a fiber fanatic, I really can't help but feel that there's been some unfairness to our natural protein fibers - silk and wool - which have nearly always (when avoiding irresponsible practices such as overgrazing) been both these things, for many thousands of years. But before I am distracted by that topic, let's focus on silk.

The practice of 'growing' silk is called sericulture. According to traditional legend, silk fiber was discovered when a cocoon dropped into the cup of a Chinese princess, who, in the process of plucking it out of her cup, started unreeling it. Whether or not this is really how it all began, the basics of raising silkworms and reeling cocoons hasn't changed drastically in the 4700 or so years since sericulture began.

Silk begins as a simple 'seed' or silkworm egg. These have been inspected (or their parents) to ensure they are free of disease and kept in cold storage until the time is right (the food supply is adequate, for example) for them to be hatched.

The hatched larvae are placed on screens with huge amounts of chopped mulberry leaves, where they eat around the clock for about six weeks. Then they stop eating and start looking for a place to spin their cocoon. I've seen the cocoon nesting frames - they look like a cardboard grid. these are rotated as the silkworms will climb upwards to find their chosen square in which to anchor themselves and start spinning.

Some silkworm cocoons will be set aside to be used to produce breeding moths, and the remainder will be stifled to prevent the cocoon being torn apart by an emerging moth. Did you know that silkworm pupae are eaten? So nothing goes to waste. The moths that are allowed to emerge will breed, lay eggs and die, starting the life cycle over again.

The cocoons are placed in hot water, where the air is mostly removed by weighting them to submerge them. The cocoons are brushed to remove the undesirable outer layer (used to make various by-products and lesser quality fabrics, such as noil). Then the true filament can be found. A private silk grower has a great website that shows this reeling process. Filaments from multiple cocoons are reeled together to create a filament thread or yarn. This is traditionally wound into skeins and sold as raw silk. Raw silk is often erroneously used to describe certain fabrics. Well, not entirely wrong - as presumably those fabrics still have a large amount of sericin, or 'silk gum' left in the fabric. But in the industry, raw silk refers the the skeins of filament that are ready to be incorporated into the weaving process.

There's much, much more to all this than what I've mentioned here. If you Google 'sericulture' you will find various links, such as this one, which will give you a little more information. It's a fascinating subject. I have the great good fortune to have been invited to join a sericulture tour of Japan next May. I'm pretty darn excited about it! I am sure I'll have a lot more to tell about the amazing world of sericulture after that.

The Perfect Judge

Had to make a run to Shipwreck Beads this morning for my project and was contemplating the subject of judging. It's about time that I started contacting potential judges for the State 4-H Fashion Revue competition in September. It involves about 100 youth over 5 days of daily competition (a different group each day) and a final championship event.

Choosing judges is much harder than most people would believe. It's not a matter of finding people who have enough experience and knowledge - I am fortunate that I know many who fit this description. The problem is that it is very easy for anyone who works as a judge (and I am one of them) to become focused on 'finding the mistakes' rather than offering suggestions for improvement and encouraging sewing!

Then you have the youth element - not everyone relates well to kids or understands them, especially teenagers. Teens have a lot on their plate, mentally, emotionally and hormonally - and they don't call it the 'awkward stage' for nothing. It's really important - no matter how self-assured and confident they may seem to be - to handle their fragile egos with tact and delicacy.

When doing judges' training events, I like to say that the role of the judge is to "Encourage Excellence". You don't get excellence by being so critical that the person who submitted the item/activity to be judged never wants to do it again. You have to be encouraging, even as you're making suggestions on how to improve the rougher areas. A friend of mine says 'never criticize something you can't tell them how to fix." I think that is a good rule of thumb. I also think that a good dose of empathy doesn't hurt. I sew competitively, and it's not unusual for me to become physically ill before submitting something. It's just how I am. So when I am on the other side of the table I try to remember that the item I'm judging may mean just as much to the person who submitted it.

So, in short, I think the ideal judge would have:
A Critical Eye
A Knowledgeable/Experienced Brain
tempered by...
An Empathetic Heart
and a Tactful and Encouraging Voice (or Hand, as the case may be)

Tyger Update: He is eating now and seems much like his old self. Still wants to have his belly rubbed and shows no signs of discomfort which is pretty amazing. He's given up trying to be in my lap, since I'm working, and is napping in his basket instead.

Hitting the Mark

Been doing a lot of silk dyeing lately for my current project. Working with color is probably one of the most interesting but also challenging aspects of my work. I have a mostly 'intellectual' approach to color - I understand and study color theory and do my best to apply it to my projects. My instincts for color are to create very harmonious color schemes - monochromatic and analogous stories are what I will generally put together. They are more easily created and are more pleasing to my eye in general.

I really envy those who have bold, natural color sense. I do my best to study what they've done to understand why it 'works' when I would not think that the color combination used would work. I use color wheels and similar color tools to find the correct complimentary, split complimentary or triadic combination when I need to make something 'pop'. But generally speaking, I stick with my gentle, harmonious schemes.

My biggest challenge at present is working with an established palette. It's not difficult to dye silk, nor is it difficult to come up with a pleasing combination. It's dyeing to a specific color that is very, very challenging. It's not just a matter of color; sometimes you are lucky and the dye you use already comes in a particular color, so that custom color mixing isn't necessary. But you still have to hit the correct tint or shade, and when working with fabric, the fabric itself can cause colors to appear differently due to weave structure, dye uptake, etc.

I'm currently dyeing chiffon scarves and I'm working with a Pantone palette for that particular forecasted season and year. Thankfully I'm mostly working with blues, but it's not been an easy endeavor. I have to admit it's been good for me, though. When I teach classes that involve silk dyeing I often need to assist students in achieving a particular color for their design. So it's always handy to have more practice!

Tyger update: Another trip to the vet for post-operation check. He hasn't eaten in a week, and wasn't eating yet so he was given a small dose of an appetite stimulant. Otherwise he seems to be doing well - in spite of having undergone major intestinal/stomach surgery to remove the thread, he is in my lap at every available moment, wanting his belly rubbed. You can see his nekkid belly in the photo.

Basic Silk Dyeing with Colorhue

Doing a lot of scarf dyeing today for an article I'm working on as well as for some classes.

If you've never worked with Colorhue dye, but are interested in a simple way to dye silk, I strongly recommend it. I've been using it for about 10 years and love it. Why? Because thus far it's the easiest way to dye silk. Just dilute it with water (it comes in liquid form) to the desired intensity. Colors mix and overdye with each other beautifully. And best of all, it requires no steaming or chemical setting, and is non-toxic. It is an acid dye, so it can cause skin irritation when concentrated. I always wear gloves when working anyway.

I especially like playing with pleats (shibori-esque) and such when I am doing dye work. For some reason I don't seem to tire easily of plaids and stripes!

It can be mixed with shaving cream for silkscreening or used with various resists like a paint. I'd like to try it with marbling to see if I could get it to work. That might eliminate the need to pretreat silk fabrics prior to doing the marbling. You can even use painter's tape (the blue stuff) as a resist! What fun.

Tyger update: he was terribly ill all weekend which caused much concern and care by his family. He went into emergency surgery this morning and although he was extensively checked last Friday, after half an hour of searching they finally found a thread - a long piece of what I am guessing was silk thread (it was very fine and hard to find) had somehow anchored under his tongue (the doctor looked carefully under his tongue on Friday - I was there!) and ran through his digestive tract, causing it to be knotted up. This has been my greatest fear since he came home as a kitten -that he would swallow a thread and this would happen. And it did. Dr. Casey said that normally it will run through unless it gets caught on something - like his tongue. Thank goodness for good vets. So please be extra careful if you sew with pets! Thread can be deadly! But so far prognosis is good and with any luck he'll be on the mend soon. I will learn more this afternoon.