Itching for Hand Stitching

I have a spring jacket that I hardly ever wear. I bought it when I went to visit my daughter in Galway several springs ago back, knowing how misty-moisty damp the weather in Ireland can be. After stubbornly putting away my winter jacket while hoping spring would actually arrive here on the North Coast, I had to pull it out today to keep the still chilly weather at bay.

When the silhouettes of the trees on the horizon begin turning that beautiful shade of lime green, I know spring here is around the corner, and my mind automatically starts making lists of things to do: rake the leaves away from the emerging spring bulbs, gather up dead tree branches, wash the kitchen floor.

Gayle's stitched collage, Changes
In my Magic Baby work studio, I am slowly sewing up the piles of designs I tend to cut out at night while watching the news or a movie with my husband. Once I have finished a design idea and my prototype, I sit and cut and cut and cut at night, and end up with large piles of sewing to await me each morning when I start to work.


Detail, Changes by Gayle Pritchard
I have decided to stop cutting out new garments to sew until I get my piles of unsewn ones under control. I get stir crazy, though, if I don't have something creative to do while I am sitting. Spring's imminent arrival has made me itchy to have some handwork to do.

At I seminar on creativity and work productivity, I made a note of the speaker's comment, paraphrased here. She said, when you want to begin new work, and have nothing in particular in mind, go look at your body of work and be inspired by that. I have always remembered that. I am rarely short on ideas, but frankly, at the end of a long work day in my self-created sweat shop, I am tired. I still want something creative to do with my hands, but I also want to relax. Handwork, for me, has always fulfilled that desire. With a composition already created and put together during my peak thinking hours, at night, I can just sit and stitch. Rhythm, pull the thread, put in the needle, repeat. It's wonderful.

The framed collage here hangs in my living room. I have always loved it, refreshed by its quiet colors and serene symmetry. I love the raw edges of the antique linen and other fabrics used for the collage, and I love the stitching marks that lead my eye around the piece, and back to the slightly obscured drawing I transferred as the focal point. This will be my inspiration for some light night stitching.

Happy spring, Happy Easter to those of you who celebrate it, and may peace find you in the wee hours of the night.

Getting My Head Around it



Detail of Gayle's collage, Sacred, in progress

 Something is going on. The ground is shifting. I see it on the faces of the people on the news stories about the Middle East; I see it in my friends faces; I see it in my face when I look in the mirror. For awhile, I just couldn't get my head around it.

As an artist, I have trained myself for decades to try to stay in the moment and to respond to what is in front of me without knowing where the resolution lies. It is part of trusting the process, a deeply personal way of trusting oneself. The way I tap into that part of myself is to just keep working, because much of the creative process involves problem solving, asking the "what if" question, remaining open to the answer. When I am fortunate enough to be fully engrossed in this process, I continue to work on the problem at hand even when I am sleeping. My journal is full of dreamed notations waiting for action.

This is where I find myself right now: working, thinking, dreaming, working. This process has never failed me, and serves as an anchor for me when the ground beneath my feet is shifting.


Detail of Gayle's collage, Lady Blue

 

Detail of Gayle's collage, Blue Landscape

I have spent months feeling blue, discombobulated. Fortunately, my trusty journals remind me that this is also a cyclical part of my process. It doesn't keep me from working, usually, and this is fortunate as well. I am designing like crazy, as I focus with renewed energy on my line of Magic Baby designs.  I hope to start a separate website and blog for that work as soon as I have some time to sit at the computer all day.

I am also itchy to do free painting, so hope to get to that soon. In the meantime, I am finishing up the three collages shown here. I will be offering all of them for sale in my etsy shop as soon as I finish stitching and mounting them. Stitching away by hand, which is what I do most nights, is my preferred form of meditation. My thoughts are freed up while I work to think and dream, to get my head around it.

Hanging a Rug and other stuff to figure out

Magic Baby booth at a recent event.

Now that the Artist as Quiltmaker exhibition I curate has opened, and my daughter's wedding is over (I know, I never finished posting the pictures of the dress and jacket made for her...soon, soon, I promise!), I am back at work on my Magic Baby line and other artwork on my etsy store. I recently finished up several things I had cut out before the wedding. (Have you noticed my life has been defined by "pre-wedding" and "post-wedding?")

Although I had made several prototypes of this adorable little jacket for my granddaughters, I wanted to make one for little boys. This one is made out of snuggly flannel, is hooded, has adjustable sleeve lengths, and is completely reversible, part of my signature style. The first picture shows both sides of the jacket completed and ready to be measured for buttons before sewing it together.

One new thing I wanted to do on this jacket was to perfect my previous attempts to make completely handmade and baby-soft buttons. I have tried several different ideas previously, but wasn't completely happy with the results. This time, I used recycled plastic bottle cap rings covered with layers of quilt batting and flannel to create matching buttons. They turned out wonderfully!


I used the same style of handmade buttons on the inside. Since they are soft, they won't chafe the skin!



I also just finished a prototype for a new design, but will post about the separately. Suffice it to say that, each time I create a new pattern prototype, the goals are to a) have fun with it b) to solve some new problems and c) to try something new.


More on that later.



The other project that came my way in the past few weeks was designing a hanging sleeve. Because I have made art quilts for exhibition for the past 25 years, making a hanging sleeve isn't anything new. The twist for this project was that I needed to create an appropriate hanging sleeve for a very large needlepoint rug. Not only is the rug heavier than a quilt of the same size would be, but there is not backing layer of fabric to stitch into, and the entire large piece is stiff. I couldn't exactly curl up with it on my couch to work.



So, here you see my tools gathered, and the top sleeve pinned in place. Because of the weight of the rug, I opted to use unprimed, pre-washed and pre-shrunk canvas for the sleeves, both top and bottom. I needed very long, thin pins to be able to just graze the needlepoint canvas to hold the sleeves in place while stitching. I used glazed quilting thread that matches the canvas in a single strand to attach the sleeves.

In my next post, I will detail the logistics!

Speaking of Engagements

The weeks go by, and I can't seem to keep up with my work, my emails, my friends. Oh, and yes, my blog. Last Friday I came down with the flu, always an unwelcome occurance to a busy person. Sigh. I don't think it was the swine flu, although I never got into the doctor's office to find out for sure. I just hunkered down for the past five days and waited to feel better.

Since I am a person who would practially have to be forced to stay in bed, I putzed around the house, organizing in my office, pulling out fabrics, and generally worked without working. I didn't attempt anything that required a clear head! Mainly I organized and brainstormed through my stuffy, fuzzy head.

I did figure out a new closure solution to my winter Magic Baby dresses and overalls.

Instead of using the adjustable knot closure I had created for the summer designs, I decided to design a tab in constrasting fabric. The tab is stitched to the "inside" of the reversible dress along the back shoulder. It slips through an elasticized loop, buttoning on the "outside" shoulder. The tab has two buttonholes in it, making it adjustable for extra growing room, one of the requirements of my Magic Baby designs. I am very pleased to have finally figured out an aestetically pleasing solution!

The fall and winter dresses and overalls are not only adjustable, but still reversible. I am using super soft pinwale corduroy on one side, and cotton on the "reverse", or cotton flannel with the overalls. I have also designed matching hooded and reversible jackets for winter, and hope to have the first ones finished this week.

It has been several years since I have participated in a vendor's mall. In fact, I think the last time was at the wonderful (and now defunct) Art Continuum events created and managed by my friend Ginny Carter Smallenburg. Ginny's fabulous event was one of the first, if not THE first, art events full of cool vendor stores and workshops that one now sees all over the country. She also managed them perfectly, treating vendors, teachers and students with respect, and bringing in the best of the best from everywhere. They were very fun weekends!

I am scheduled for a vendor's booth at the upcoming Cleveland Metroparks Reflections of Nature quilt show the weekend of November 14th and 15th. The director, Dan Crandall, had contacted me last year to be a juror for the exhibition, and to present a program and booksigning on Sunday the 15th about my book, Uncommon Threads: Ohio's Art Quilt Revolution. Since the event also has a vendor's mall, I will be setting up a live version of my etsy shop! My Magic Baby designs (dresses, baby blankets, overalls, jackets) will be there, as well as handmade journals, tote bags and other fun creations. Stop by and say hello if you're in the area.

Experiments in Construction and Composition

Magic Baby reversible overalls experiment

I am swimming in experiments. This past week, as I try to design my fall and winter etsy line, I finished up my first reversible overalls prototype. The design is very cute, with two bodices to play with and a cute crossed back strap.

I pieced one side using a recycled wide wale corduroy blouse and some fun, striped cotton upholstery left over from making pillow case edges years ago.
On the reverse, I used a decorator-weight cotton sateen in light blue, and added pockets lined with the stripe.

As cute as the design came out, there are some problems I discovered while testing out my ideas. First of all, there is no leg opening (think snap tape for babies) for ease of diaper changes. To change the design would require some simple re-drafting. Secondly, with the back bodice design including built-in crossed straps, the shoulder tabs would need to be lengthened in order for me to make them adjustable. The gathering into the bodice is adorable, but perhaps not great for a boys design, which would look better with pleats. Most importantly, viewed from the light of my non-mass-production of these for retail sale, there are too many adaptations to be made and corrected for size. I decided it will be easier to work with a different pattern design altogether, so I am preparing to try Magic Baby Reversible Overalls Prototype #2 today.

A few weeks ago, in another composition experiment, I pulled out flannel scraps left over from making Magic Baby Snuggle Blankies. I have always been frugal in most aspects of my life; needless to say, I was not going to let those exquisite scraps go to waste, especially when baby clothing requires so little fabric. My first step was to cut off any selvedges from the scraps, then rotary cut them into strips and squares, which were stacked together in a box. Piecing the strips together, I could make matching snuggly cuddly reversible jackets for the Snuggle Blankies. It was easy to add little tags of ribbon into the seams, keeping everything very soft, and snippets of trim to the fold-up cuffs. After turning the jacket right side out, I inserted a scrap of pre-gathered satin pink ruffle into the bottom edge.

Magic Baby Cuddle Jacket Prototype, front

The biggest challenge in this design, as is the case in many of my designs, is coming up with a unique closure that is also functional. For the jacket, I inserted a piece of medium gauge, round elastic into bias tape, gathered it and measured the length before inserting it in between the front and reverse jacket sections. Next, since I don't want to be buying tons of buttons, and because buttons can pop off, I created a "soft" button using ribbon blanket trim satin stitched over a cut-down cosmetic sponge, and stitched in place with an "X" of embroidery floss.

This design was fast, easy, and, in my mind, a complete success. I have the pattern worked out from NB to 4T, and plan to make jackets that also match my fall pinwale corduroy designs of my Magic Baby Dresses.

I am still working on prototypes for my "story clothes", completing a hand-quilted baby quilt in the evenings (almost done!), making new TagTalk cards, and finishing a girls dress for a friend who gave me two bags of fabric.

I am an artist, so why am I spending so much time designing baby clothes? There are several answers to this question: a) I need to earn a regular income, and baby clothes sell faster than artwork b) I am a grandmother, and like making things for babies c) It's fun and challenging. Granted, I have had to put my current book project on hold, and don't have as much time in the studio to make artwork. Coming in my next blog post, though, is a challenging artists project I am part of, Compositional Conversations. Check out the link to see what it is about. I will be adding my contributions next week.

My new granddaughter, Madison, wearing her MagicBaby Cuddle Jacket.

Busy Is as Busy Does

What have you been doing this week? I hope it involved some pleasurable activities, even if it involved working for money.

My week started last Friday. Since I watch my grandson two days a week, in the middle of the week, I try to think of those days as my weekends, a time when I relax, try not to think about the work piling up, and play with him. The most pleasurable activity in my week, then, was last Friday night, when I went to a concert: two acoustic guitars, microphones, amazing harmonies, lots of friends and family present. My husband and his partner played for two and half hours, and it was really fun.

Chris and David brought down the house. Photo by H. Kimmel

Other than a quick visit with a visiting brother-in-law, I worked like crazy, launching my new line of Magic Baby clothing. I am tired, and have not had much time to write, so I'll just post a few pictures for your feedback. I had planned to put these on my etsy store immediately, but they keep selling before I have a chance. That's a good thing, trust me!

Magic Baby poncho, fits up to 30 pounds

Magic Baby Watermelon Garden dress, 12 mo. size

These dresses are really cute, if I do say so myself. They are completely reversible, two dresses in one, and size adjustable (at the shoulders), so they can be worn for a long time. I love the shaped edge bottom.

Detail of shaped edge from the Magic Baby fruity flowered dress, 18 mo. size

This one also has a really fun princess-y back bodice embellishment.

The third item in the product line are my snuggly Magic Baby double flannel blankies. The are super-soft and lightweight while still being cozy, cute and practical.

So that's my week at work. I am currently enjoying my weekend.

The Artist Grandmother

Now that I'm a grandmother, I have been making baby clothes again. When my own kids were babies and my husband was still in college, I had to make do with what we had. I recycled sweaters, coats and usable cottons to make all of their clothes. I started making quilts in earnest about the same time. The first Christmas we were married, I got my first sewing machine, a $99 Singer. I still have it. It's the machine I use to stitch paper.

When I was still living at home, I sewed on my grandmother's converted treadle machine. Having come very close to getting kicked out of Home Ec. in Junior High for making a bikini instead of an apron, it should have already been clear to anyone who knew me that I was going to follow my own path.

When my first granddaughter was born last December, I was thrilled. Although I have sewn several things for my grandson, I admit that making fancy baby dresses for little girls is a lot more fun than a Thomas the Train pillowcase. I made her this dotted dress outfit for her first Valentine's Day. I now own more baby patterns than I ever had when my own children were small. Of course, I never follow the pattern instructions. I prefer to use them as a suggestion, and proceed as I do when making my artwork: do something, respond, do something else; collage and layers upon layers.

Unfortunately, there is only so much time in any given week. Because I work at home, it seems I am always at work. Right now, at this particular moment in time, I am finishing a manuscript, updating my website, trying to get my etsy store up and running, watching my grandson two days a week, and trying to get artwork done in my studio. Add in the everyday duties like grocery shopping, paying bills, cleaning, laundry, and, well, my head is already spinning. I find it difficult to juggle it all sometimes.

I have two studios in the house, both upstairs. One is a writing room, with all of my research materials, files, reference books, and two desks next to the windows. The walls are painted my favorite blue, and the futon gives me a great place to sit and read. My friend Susanne loaned me an awesome square and very tall bookshelf. It is a life-saver; it holds a ton in a few square feet.

My art studio across the hall is another thing. It's too small and too crowded. With all the projects I have in progress, I have simply run out of space to store it all, let alone find anything.

My grandmother was very artistic. Even though I was still little when she died, I remember how she always encouraged my artistic efforts. And when she was able to finally have the time, she started making art and craft pieces for the sheer enjoyment of it. She was the only grandparent I knew, and I absolutely adored her, even though I only saw her a few times a year.

As a grandmother of two, with a new baby girl due in the world this summer, I cherish taking some time away from work to make special things for my grandchildren. With the new line of baby clothes I am in the process of designing, the hardest part is not making everything for them. I have told their mothers that the baby girls will be the recipients of my learning curve process; the prototypes go to them, or, as in the case of Baby E's Valentine dress, are designed for them. Some patterns are just too intricate and detailed to try to make and sell.

I finished this dress this week. Well, it still needs buttons and a label, so it's mostly finished. Look for it soon in my etsy shop. To avoid internal conflict, I purposely made it in a size that will not fit my granddaughter. Alright, yes: I have enough scraps to make another dress for Baby E.

My latest attempt to solve my space dilemma involved cleaning the garage, and setting up a workspace there. My husband's band-mate, David, loaned me a spare tabletop from his stash, and voilà, a work table.

I added another of my glass-topped desks, which will be a good place for a second cutting mat. I spent the day moving my paints and collage papers, tools and non-fabric work in progress there today. I hated to take the time to move it all, but it really was time well spent.

Now that spring has arrived, I have several warm months ahead. I will soon be good to go for cyanotype and seta prints, hammering, and messy atomizer painting. Can't wait!