West Coast Crafty

My new article on Gocco printing is up on venuszine.com! I got to interview Mark Pawson of Print More Postcards and Cathy Pitters of Bossa Nova Baby and feature some of their amazing Gocco artwork. The piece was originally going to run in the fall issue of Venus, but got bumped to the website since there was so much content this time — but my article on letterpress, featuring the beautiful work of Carye Bye of Red Bat Press and Maria Vettese of Port2Port Press, is in the current print edition.

gocco-printed postcards by Mark Pawson from the Print More Postcards series

dogwood-flower gocco-printed and stitched vintage sweater by Cathy Pitters; photo by Greg Pitters

The Venus DIY section is paper-themed this issue, which I think is such a cool idea. I really love Gocco, so writing about it and spotlighting some of my favorite artists was a lot of fun! I’m also excited that I have a new Gocco project in the upcoming issue of CRAFT: (05) so more on that later…

I just wrote these up for Adorn, but I wanted to show pictures of my latest sewing projects, which I worked on this weekend after retrieving my sewing machine from deep storage. I haven’t had much time to sew lately (for months, actually) so it was exciting to actually pull off a few things.

I finished my first log cabin pillow on Saturday! I love looking at it, I’ve been intimidated by quilting for years and was so nervous I’d screw it up somehow. But I didn’t, and here it is on my couch. Yay!

I machine-quilted it with rust-colored thread and made an overlapping back with light-brown-and-off-white measuring-tape fabric. It’s about 15 inches across, so it’s a nice size for sitting with, and I like how much of the fabrics show. I still need to sew the back on my other log cabin, which is quilted (with white thread) and waiting for me in Los Angeles.

(this photo is from 8:30 this morning, before Andrew left for work, so excuse the crazy hair and etc.)

I also made my Sew U skirt with the olive cord on Sunday, and did a few little pattern hacks to customize it along the way. I made the outer lines slightly more straight/a-line instead of curved, and added a little button tab to the top of the back zipper:

I just cut two 1-inch by 2-inch pieces of corduroy, sewed them right-sides together, flipped them right-sides out, top-stitched it, and tucked it into the zipper seam. (By the way, the pin is only on the outside to show where it goes — I sewed it with the pins inside, like usual.) Then I hand-sewed a tiny snap under the tab and stitched the button on to make it cute.

I also shortened the skirt by a few inches and turned that extra fabric into a long, skinny headband/belt — another super easy switch, just sew it right sides together, turn it right-side out, and top-stitch all the way around.

Hooray for starting my next two months of Wardrobe Refashion off right!

update: Speaking of sewing, congratulations to Kayte for her Softie Award in the Food category! Love the burger and fries.

I got home yesterday to a surreal 60-degree spike in temperature — from gray and below freezing in Brooklyn first thing in the morning to 83 degrees and sunny in Burbank in the afternoon. It was so strange to lug my heavy coat, two sweaters, hat and gloves off the plane and through the warm, nearly blinding sunshine, but I have to say it felt so good on my skin, after I’ve been so cold all week. And even better than the unexpected spring/summer weather, I got to have a joyful reunion with my sewing machine!

Last night I went out to Lisa Congdon’s art opening at ReForm School, which was amazing — I’m writing a review for the Adorn blog tomorrow with my pictures. Lisa was so nice and her work just shone in the intricate groupings she created, so seeing it all together was dazzling. I bought the very first piece at 7:15! I also got to hang out with Cathy, Jessica, and Charles Phoenix, which was lovely. It was such a fun night, and really inspiring!

So this morning when I woke up with tons of energy before 7 am (thanks to the time change) I decided that it was finally time for my first Wardrobe Refashion project — altering a super-preppy whale skirt I spotted for $1 last week in a Connecticut thrift store. I love whales — here, here, and here are some of my favorites — and I have three skirts with whales on them. So what could be better than a refashioned fourth one??

The waistband on the skirt was teeny-tiny and the length was pretty unflattering on me, it hit at mid-calf and didn’t look that great. So I cut nine inches off the top, created a simple 1/2-inch double-fold elastic waistband, rethreaded it with 3/8-inch elastic, saved and re-sewed the belt loops, and ended up with a comfortable, perfectly sized 19-inch-long a-line skirt!

I still have that top length of fabric left — I’m planning to sew a tiny reversible handbag with a contrast kelly green and navy print soon. I may steal the piping belt for the handles but for now it looks so cute on the skirt, I’m leaving it in place.

And I still haven’t bought anything new! The other cool and unexpected side effect of doing Wardrobe Refashion is that I’m really loving the very last new thing I did get, a pair of pink pajamas I bought in January… they seem a lot more [I can't think of the right word here... valuable? special? I don't know] than if they had been sandwiched between whatever my second-to-last purchase was and the mini H+M spree of t-shirts I chose not to do. And everyone else’s blog posts and pictures are super inspiring, too.

It really feels like restricting my buying has shifted my perspective away from acquiring without appreciating to appreciating without acquiring. So thank you, Wardrobe Refashion!

(cross-posted to the WR blog)

Unusually for me, I’m behind a corporate firewall that’s blocking flickr (?!) while I’m working in Connecticut this week, so it looks like this may be a picture-free space until Saturday… when I’m heading home just in time for Lisa Congdon’s opening at ReForm School.

So since I can’t actually post any of my own photos, this week is the perfect time to link to other people’s cool stuff so you can see their beautiful pictures. (That is, if you’re not behind a firewall too… sigh.)

Since I joined Wardrobe Refashion last week, I haven’t had time to actually make anything yet, though I have tons of ideas… but I am kind of proud of myself for spending two days in New York without a thought of stopping at H+M. That’s something at least! But in the meantime, my friends have been busy, and I’d love to show off their super cool re-dos:

•Linda made this beautiful quilted reversible skirt, using the blocks she made at her Denyse Schmidt class… love it.

•Kayte made a pretty heart applique for her plain market tote bag, which I got to see in person this weekend.

•Nancy made this amazing spring dress using fabric from her stash and parts of two very different patterns.

And of course the Wardrobe Refashion blog is full of cool projects! I’m so inspired to hang out with my sewing machine when I get home.

So I squeaked in just before the cutoff and officially joined the Wardrobe Refashion community! I was a bit nervous about committing to buying no new/manufactured clothing whatsoever (although shoes, lingerie, and handmade pieces are all excepted, plus there’s an out for sports or work necessities) for the next four months, but in the company of crafty types like Kayte, Nancy, Kari, and Linda, I’m very inspired to give it my best shot.

So…

I, Susan, pledge that I shall abstain from the purchase of “new” manufactured items of clothing, for the period of 4 months. I pledge that I shall refashion, renovate, recycle preloved items for myself with my own hands in fabric, yarn or other medium for the term of my contract. I pledge that I will share the love and post a photo of my refashioned, renovoated, recycled, crafted or created item of clothing on the Wardrobe Refashion blog, so that others may share the joy that thy thriftyness brings!

Signed, susan.

Now I am extra excited to refashion some old things I’m bored with, and whip up something new from my fabric stash (the owls, maybe?). This is the first dress I want to sew (the pink version with short sleeves):

I’ll be posting pictures in the Wardrobe Refashion flickr pool as I go, but in the meantime, here are four things I’ve made semi-recently: the dresses were sewn from patterns (the one on the left is a vintage Simplicity, and the one on the right is a Betsy Ross Charmed dress), and the skirts are both refashioned vintage. I love sewing and I’m excited to have some chances to make (or remake) some cool things instead of buying more and more.

So I figure if I can stay the heck out of H+M when I’m in New York next week, I’m good… wish me luck!

After a weekend of back-end updates and migration, etsy is back in its brand-new v2 incarnation! The site has been overhauled and reorganized in a million different ways — I won’t try to cover all the changes, but here’s a thread with some info and a comparison chart if you’re interested.

I love etsy, but unless I’m looking for one specific thing, I get so overwhelmed browsing the thousands and thousands of things for sale… so if you feel like taking a spin around the new site, how about trying the sampler option on the home page? It automatically pulls up 100 random sellers and shows you a page of handy little thumbnails to look through, and you can just click on any that look intriguing. If nothing grabs you, just refresh to try again.

And if you’re already thinking holiday gifts, may I suggest the Indie Craft Documentary etsy shop? Faythe Levine has gathered cool handmade donations from artists and crafters coast to coast to help finance her Indie Craft Documentary project.

There are a few dozen lovely things to choose from, with more added all the time — like the ICD t-shirt, a grab bag from Art Star Gallery, crocheted circle pillow covers from Adorn, and (shameless crossover alert, sorry) one of my susanstars a-line skirt kits. All the money goes directly to the film project, so don’t forget, you’re shopping for a very good cause! (And if you’d like to donate something you made, e-mail Faythe at indiecraftdocumentary@gmail.com.)

Faythe and her partner-in-film Micaela O’Herlihy will be criss-crossing the country going to craft fairs and events for the next few months — you can keep up with them on their blog, and if you’re interested in hearing more about the project, I recently got to interview Faythe about it, too.

Congratulations to Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), the first female Speaker of the House of Representatives! I couldn’t be more thrilled that a woman will be leading the majority party in the House for the first time, starting in January.

This LA Times article from 2003 is a fascinating look at her life, from her childhood in Baltimore to her successful political career in California, and even reveals her creative side:

Nancy Pelosi juggled two roles — mom and rabid Democrat — during her first 15 or so years in San Francisco. If forced to pick between the two, however, there is little doubt which she would have chosen. As her four daughters and a son grew older, she would say she wished she could take them out in the rain, shrink them and start over.

She was the doting mother who carpooled in her red Jeep Wagoneer, drove on class field trips to the Old Mint, brought cupcakes to school and hand-stitched her children’s Halloween costumes, including an elaborate angel outfit with a pink dress and silver wings that her youngest daughter, 32-year-old Alexandra, still has.

I love that she sewed Halloween costumes for her five children and made cupcakes for their classes, all while volunteering and working in politics. I’d like to see a picture of that angel costume, but in the meantime, here’s a cupcake in honor of her latest win — congratulations!

I’ve been a beginning-intermediate knitter for about six or seven years now and so far the most complicated thing I’ve made is my little “Mobile Monster” pig (see above) from Stitch n Bitch Nation. I have big dreams of making a real garment one day, something pretty and fitted like Jenna Adorno’s Tempting sweater… or maybe Tempting II.

But the design that’s really calling to me right now is Jenna’s charming Hopeful sweater. She designed it a couple of years ago, right before her partner of 11 years was diagnosed with breast cancer, and for each $5 pattern sold, Jenna will personally donate $6 to the Susan Love breast cancer research foundation.

Plus, the sweater is downright adorable:

If you’d like to buy it, visit this page to pay via PayPal and get your downloadable pattern instantly.

For more knitting for a good cause, Chemo Caps offers free patterns for hats you can make and donate to patients at a cancer treatment center in your area.

And if you’re not much of a needleworker, how about making a donation to the American Cancer Society directly?

I adore Lilly Pulitzer — well, her vintage prints especially — and I’ve been collecting her pieces on eBay at at flea markets and vintage stores for years. I have lots of her stuff: patchwork skirts, flowered pants, scarves and a bikini, but my absolute favorites are her pretty shift dresses… and after a recent eBay score, I have a lot of her dresses, to be honest with you.

In fact, my closet is so full that I’m selling off a few! Three are up on eBay, ending later today, and I’ll be posting eight more (plus some other vintage pieces) in the next few weeks.

Here’s a peek at the ones on the auction block today, if you happen to be interested… they’re ending later tonight, so if you love them, be quick!!

The gold shift dress is so pretty, the colors are really vibrant and bold. It’s the only Lilly I’ve ever seen that I would say is truly perfect for fall. The pink and orange floor-length dress has such unusual, cool ruching detail all along the princess seams, great for Halloween! The navy dress with the bright floral pattern is made with a warmer, knit fabric instead of the typical 65/35 polyester-cotton blend — plus it’s trimmed with hot-pink and orange crocheted lace, and lined in light green cotton! And it’s tagged Neiman Marcus along with The Lilly, too.

All three dresses are about a modern size 12-14 (see the listings for all the details).

So, if you’re looking for something fun for fall (and beyond) I highly recommend adding a few Lilly dresses to your fashion rotation! If these aren’t your size, ther e are always a bunch on eBay, so just keep an eye out.

The September 25 issue of the New Yorker has an enticing profile of Diana the Huntress, aka Diane von Furstenberg, creatrix of the super-iconic wrap dress. I’m a huge fan of hers — I own one of her wrap dresses, a $14 find at Buffalo Exchange a couple of years ago — and I always keep an eye on her vintage pieces on eBay, though they usually get out of hand pretty quickly.

If you have the issue handy, open it to page 120 to see her first-ever advertisement, from 1972: she’s leaning back wearing a black-and-white dress with an exuberant splash of pearls, looking radiant and confident in her own design, above the slogan (written in her own handwriting): “Feel like a woman, wear a dress!” For the first time, she’d made a charming, universally flattering dress that a woman could wear from the office to dinner and then out for the rest of the night, if she chose to. The obvious love Diane had, and has, for “the alchemy of the fitting room” — the moment when a woman feels lovelier, more comfortable in her own skin, and blessed with confidence as she looks at herself in a new garment for the first time — shines through the black and white photo.

The other thing I love about her work is the details. Her fabric patterns are exquisite, like the vintage prints she’s recreated for her newer pieces, the arresting geometrics that instantly draw the eye, or the organic patterns she comes up with based on her own photographs of trees and animals.

Ironically, the only dress of hers I own isn’t a pattern I particularly like — it’s a 90s Southwest color palette, in a slinky silk knit — but I love it to death anyway, and I’ll never part with it.

I hope it will have some company in my closet sometime soon; maybe a leaf print, or one of her 70s reissues…