Stuffies, Plushies, Softies...

They have many names, but really they're just sewn stuffed animals. Here are a couple I made last night and this morning.

One sweet owl.

One cool robot.

I've found tons of really awesome free patterns on the internet, but most of them are for more complicated animals that require a printed pattern, ironed pieces, and lots of exact measurements. Well, I don't have a printer or an iron, and I HATE measuring, so I just made these guys! I really just drew on the fabric and then cut out the shapes, so they're nowhere near perfect, but I love them. They're much larger and faster to make than my crocheted animals, and they're super cuddly.

I bought something really cool...

but before I get to that, let me just say that the show on Tuesday went great, and then on Wednesday I had an amazing birthday! A ton of people showed up at the show, one of them being the head of the Studio Art department. After seeing all of our work, he told Jeanne (my professor) that we really need to do an actual exhibit. So for the first week of fourth block, our work will be displayed in Coburn Gallery, which is on campus in Worner Center. I didn't realize how big of a deal Coburn is, but evidently it's pretty exclusive, so we're all really excited.

Here are a couple of pictures of my final project. The outer panels are gold and orange cotton thread woven in a honeycomb pattern. I dyed the gold myself. The inner panel is Italian silk, which I dyed gold and brown (ish) in a pattern using a Shibori resistance technique. I then embroidered stems with brown yarn onto the woven pieces by hand. The piece is approximately 2 feet by 2 yards. I really like how it came out. It is viewable on both sides, and the honeycomb pattern creates a really cool raised pattern on the other side.

You can really see the honeycomb pattern in this picture, plus, you can tell that I was continuing the stem from the silk onto the weaving.

On my birthday, I went to class in the morning to clean the studio and do our final critique, then went home and took a nap! This block really sapped my energy. I met up with a few of my friends, and we went out to Red Robin for dinner (This wasn't my choice, but it was still yummy!). I ordered a plain cheeseburger and got one with EVERYTHING, so I had to wait a really long time for them to make me a new one. That was kind of annoying. I ordered my very first drink, and Ashleigh took a picture with her iPhone of me and it. (Sorry for the horrible quality!) It was called Sand in Your Shorts, and it was pretty good.

The Red Robin people came and sang to me, and brought me a TINY ice cream sundae that we all shared. Then we went back to Susanah's apartment and watched So You Think You Can Dance before going over to Bemis to watch Glee with a bunch of people. After that we went out to Mimi's Cafe for dessert. Megan and I split the really huge triple chocolate brownie and vanilla bean ice cream. We went back to Ash's house (she's the RA for Ticknor, the sub-free house), and watched a scary movie. By the time it was over, it was super late and cold and I was creeped out, so I slept on the couch at Ticknor instead of walking all the way home.

Yesterday I was browsing the Craigslist Arts and Crafts section when I saw that someone had posted a ton of fabric and sewing stuff for $27. I emailed the lady, and she emailed back saying it was still available. So I called her and asked if she could possibly deliver it since I don't have a car. She said she could do that for $5. We were talking about how I was just starting to learn how to sew, and I said I was looking for a cheap used sewing machine. Surprisingly, she was the owner of a thrift store, and they had a machine she thought would be perfect. So last night she brought over all the stuff and the machine, and after seeing it I decided to buy it because it is exactly what I was looking for and was only $35.

The boxes of sewing stuff had been donated, but not sorted through at all, and there was all kinds of cool and crazy stuff in there. Some things I found: pictures from a wedding in 1984, artificial sinew, a Singer sewing machine buyers certificate and receipt from 1939, a child's tooth in an envelope that says "Ian's tooth, Age 7", fabric paint, sequins, buttons, elastic, tons of supplies to make earrings and dream catchers (and dream catcher earrings), fabric, embroidery hoops, glitter, measuring tools, and basically anything you could possibly need to start crafting. The only things missing and that I still would like to get are oil for the machine, a nice pair of sewing scissors, interfacing, and a seam ripper.

Everything came in these nice plastic storage containers, too.

My machine is a Singer 1120, which is a very basic model, but I love it. It's perfect for what I need it to do and it works great so far.
Since Christin asked me a few days ago to make her a little wristlet purse, I thought I would get some practice in. I made this little envelope clutch last night. It has a strap I could attach to make it a wristlet, but I forgot to sew it into the seam and now I don't think it would look great sewn to the outside.

The inner fabric is light blue with bows. If anyone wants this, just say so and you can have it. Also, if you want the strap sewn on I can do that.
This morning I was browsing the internet looking for free sewing patterns, and I found one that promised to be a one hour purse, so I tried it. I really love how it turned out, even if it did take me longer than an hour.

Yes, it is the same brown fabric as the other one, I just really like that fabric for purses. In this picture you can really see the bright pink pattern of the lining and the buttons on the straps.

Inside there is a little pocket, and my phone is demonstrating how it works. The phone isn't pushed all the way down into the pocket, if it was you wouldn't be able to see it. Oh, and Mom has already said she wants this purse, so it's hers.

So, does anyone else have anything they need sewn? I'm trying to practice as much as possible so I can get great very fast.

I hope everyone has been having as great a time as me the past few days. I'm enjoying my block break and I start my next class, Mentoring At-Risk Youth, on Monday. Sorry this was so long, I guess I just had a lot to say!

(Christin- I forgot to take those pics of different fabrics that I said I would, I'm so sorry! Also, if you want to send me some pictures of styles of wristlets that you like, that would be great.)

No pictures today...

I just wanted to post really quickly before class. Tomorrow is my last day of this class! I'm so sad. I wish I could just do this every block. Our final projects are due today at one, because we're having a show tonight from 5-7 pm with a couple of other art classes. It will be fun to show other people our work. I've been spending incredible amounts of time in the studio working on my project so I'll be happy to finish it up this morning. Yesterday I was in the studio from 9:30 am to 11:15 pm with only a 2 hour lunch/resting break.

In other news, it's COLD up here! Yesterday the high was in the 40s and it was sleeting on my way to class. In class it actually started snowing a little. It's supposed to be cold for the next few days, so send warm thoughts my way! I hope everyone has a great day!

Only a week late!

I know I promised these pictures a week ago, but somehow it never happened until today. (And you can thank Trudy for me actually posting today!) The pieces are a little out of order.

This was actually my third woven piece, my first attempt at tapestry weaving. This is the technique used for most Native American rugs. Believe me, it takes FOREVER. Much longer than traditional weaving.

This was my second piece, a twill sampler. We were experimenting with different types of twill and the color effects they produce. Here's a close up of the twill pattern.

This piece and the next one are one yard long. This was my very first piece of woven fabric. I was thrilled with how it turned out. This is a close up of the pattern in one of my batiks. Here's the whole thing, with unfinished edges because I'm not sure what I'm doing with it yet. Batik #2, a close up of the design. And I have been crocheting, too!

Since I took these pictures, I've also completed a surprise for Mom, a surprise for Dad, two marbling samples, and one shibori sample. Right now I'm gearing up for my final project, a 2 foot by 6 foot wall hanging. I have an amazing plan and I can't wait to share the results with you.

For my final project, I'm going to incorporate some more Shibori resistance dyeing, and I've started practicing on silk scarves. They're about 12 inches by one yard. If you'd like a shibori dyed scarf, tell me what color you want and I'll make you one! Tell me quick, though, because I hope to finish up all my dyeing in the next two days.

I hope everyone's having as much fun as I am!

Old Pictures and New News

Here are some of my favorites from Garden of the Gods...

Trudy liked to carry Nico around all day. (Or maybe not.)

Mom and I liked to look cute in a picture together.
Egan liked to play in the dirt. Trudy liked to take pictures of herself like this.

Now for the news...I got off the meal plan! After an entire summer of trying, it finally happened. And I'm not entirely sure how. I still kind of think it may be a mistake. But hey, I'm going to take advantage of it! I'm going grocery shopping this evening for actual food.

I've been very busy with my class lately- like 6+ hours a day. It's alright though, because I love it, and I don't have a job (yet). I'm making all kinds of cool stuff, both in class and out. Trudy mentioned that y'all haven't seen anything lately, so I took some pictures. I'm hoping to get them posted here tonight or tomorrow.

I'm enjoying the nicer weather...most days it's in the 70s and sun shiney. My friend Pidgeon and I are sort of, kind of planning a birthday celebration (we share a birthday). We've talked about it a tiny bit while weaving side by side. I think I'm going to try to crochet her a pigeon. Speaking of birthdays, Robert turned 21 last Thursday! So happy late birthday to him.

I'm still loving my room, and tolerating the long walk to class. Tomorrow is a work day, with no actual class, so I plan to be in the studio all day long. I'm working on a very special surprise for Mom, and I love how it's turning out already. (By the way, if you don't already know this, the studio is in the basment of Worner Center, and we don't have cell reception, so if you call and get my voice mail, please leave a message so I know you called.)

I hope everyone else is doing just as well as I am.