Twisted Textiles

Here are sneak-peeks of three different types of projects I’ve been working on…

Perhaps if you imagined hard enough, you could see that the first photo is an article of clothing (although doesn’t it resemble some sort of headless, abstract voodoo doll?). The other photos are two types of accessories (see if you can guess)…

With these AND trying to finish up that darn queen-sized quilt, I really dunno which way is up sometimes. But in a few days, I’ll provide the answers to these riddles! With more photos, of course.

Just wanted to quickly share this photo (click on it to enlarge).

Can you imagine what kind of wicked effects we could add to this in Photoshop?! (Well, I can…because I peeked and saw that Jason’s already been tweaking a few of these photos in some pretty awesome ways.) This is the original. Maybe later, I’ll make another version available on the Imagekind gallery.

I’ve written plenty about the Ball Gown already, but this photo was too awesome to keep all to myself

Well, this is my idea of bliss, anyway. And as they say, “It’s an Oldie but a Goodie!” (Just who are “they”, anyway?)

Also, it’s a Two-Fer-One deal! The dress is made from the fabric of an old recliner, including some of the covered buttons. The dressform is made of the actual Wood and Workings of the recliner (including the springs and the feet).

The photos are brand new (via the multi-artwork photo session with Jason), but the artwork is not. I made this years and years ago, but it has always been one of my favorites!
(*cue “way-back memory music”…)

This project definitely started me off in the direction that I’ve headed since then, which is increasingly focused on the “why?” of clothing and fashion.

I’ve got boxes of fabric/upholstery samples that will probably end up as another dress. Why a dress? Dresses have always seemed to be on this “higher level” of fashion for me, because I grew up at a time where girls didn’t have to wear dresses. They were something that were for special occasions, and I usually didn’t wear one unless I absolutely had to! So in my mind, a dress is super-special. It speaks of important things.

And art is important to me, so why not celebrate it with lots and lots of dresses?! Call me crazy. Please don’t call the insane asylum. Also, please ignore the drool on my chin.

How timely is this entry!?

This particular ArtDress (I think that’s an official term now?) is made from used dryer sheets…or fabric softener sheets, or anti-static thingys, or whatever term you use. We all pretty much know what they are, but now they are a gown! Photographed by my husband, Jason, these photos do a nice job showing the properties of said dryer sheets. Ghostly, sheer, dainty, delicate…and smelly.

All of those squares had to be ironed flat so that I could sew them together easily. And lemme just say that no matter how “wonderfully fresh and fragrant” those things claim to be, the chemicals in them are terrible! Please don’t kill your brain cells by trying to iron dryer sheets. Or, just please do it in outside with plenty of fresh air. Needless to say, I’ve since stopped using them on my clothes except on mid-winter days of extreme, lightning-like, static cling emergencies.

This dress was originally titled “Slip for a Wedding Gown.” I stopped calling it that a long time ago, but nonetheless, I’ve decided to blog about it in honor of my first wedding anniversary…one whole year already as a married old hag! Yay Hooray for true love! Boo Razz Hiss for toxic chemicals on your clothes and skin!

Also–New New New!

I’m setting up a site/gallery/storefront on ImageKind to showcase the photography that Jason takes of my art; you can see more photos of the dryer sheet ArtDress (and others works which I’ll be blogging about in the near future) by clicking the above link to visit my site at ImageKind… Enjoy!!

This one finished up quite nicely! (read the other post about this quilt if you haven’t already.) Click the photo to enlarge. See that seashell in the very middle at the bottom? —it’s “lid” lifts up to reveal a pearl tucked inside! It literally makes me giddy thinking about it, and I start picturing a scene from a SpongeBob SquarePants episode…

…Patrick wanders over, opens the shell, is surprised, giggles uncontrollably, then closes it. Then does it again. And again. So Spongebob hears all the ruckus and comes over to investigate. Then they both re-enact said sequence for another ten minutes or so.

Now, substitute ME for Patrick. It’s actually that amusing to me, folks.

But about the quilt—it combines so many different techniques and fabrics, none of which I specifically planned while I was designing the layout. Lets see…there’s piecing and applique, machine and hand quilting, French knots, trapunto, knitting, Polyfil, beading, a bit of sparkly fabric paint, silk and cottons, and plenty of miscellaneous sheer fabrics. I also used clear lingerie thread on the “sunbeams” in the water. For the seashells and feet on the beach, I printed black and white photo transfers (which I colored with crayons) to iron onto the different fabrics. The back of the quilt is the same teal fabric of the large wave, with just the stitching showing to make an interesting pattern. Total size is approximately 30 x 30 inches.

Best of all, I can say that I definitely learned a whole lot from this quilt. Hopefully I will retain my learning and apply it to the next one…

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