Textile Art

Posted by Joye18 on May 30, 2013 · Leave a Comment

As I am finishing up my month of textile creative adventures, I have reflected on how fabric, thread, yarn and many other textiles can be used to make artistic pieces. The more color, the better in fabric pieces. Jane Dunnewold makes gorgeous pieces she calls Art Cloths.

You can find her pieces for purchase HERE.
I tried my hand at making a piece of textile art:
Art
It was a lot of fun!I cut up some favorite fabrics, sewed them together geometrically,glued some beads on to the fabric, then painted and stenciled the entire piece. What do you think? Have you ever tried making art with textiles?

Confessions of a Textileholic

Posted by Joye18 on May 2, 2013 · Leave a Comment

Yarn, yarn, yarn!

You know who you are, you textileholics!! We love the feel, color, and visuals of fiber, can’t get enough of it! Does anyone who isn’t one of us understand? I sincerely doubt it, but let me try to explain. It is sensual almost sexy to touch the silky fibers. Bumpy, oh, that yarn is so fun to just feel, knitting it is a pain, but the finished product, so many colors, so variegated, so, so bumpy!
Bumpy
And then there are the different stitch patterns we can make, oh lordy, how fun!!
Cable, sparkly too!
stitch pattern, snowdrop
So many different yarns are available. One of my recent favorites is the homespun sari silk yarn from Nepal. Recycled fiber from women across the globe is knit into a garment. Good energy in that.
Sari silk fibers

Knitting has been done for centuries by men and women around the world, for warmth, comfort, consoling, love. Knitting my own sweaters and for people I love makes me mindful of what we wear, what keeps us warm. Someone spun that fiber, sheared from an animal or cut from a plant, put thought into dying it, and is offering it to you to make a garment full of love. Us textile lovers knit stitch by stitch thinking, laughing, gazing, and remembering who it is from and you it going to. Love that.

Filed under Fabric Art, Featured Posts, Knitting · Tagged with Fabric Art, Knitting, textiles, yarn

Creative Journey: Searching Through my Stash

Posted by Joye18 on April 25, 2013 · Leave a Comment

Cotton yarn

Next month I am going to embark on my first Creative Journey Month of 2013 and explore Textiles.I have sewn since college, knit since I was 8, and love the feel and look of textiles. I am in the throws of organizing my fabric studio, perusing my stash. Numerous fabrics and yarns from travels, relatives, shopping expeditions, and who knows where I got everything? The colors alone are so addicting!I think of the textiles in my fabric studio as my palette, almost like paint. What should I make? Sometimes it is sad to use a fabric or yarn, it is like letting an old friend go.
May 1 I start on my adventure, can’t wait!

Batik cotton

cropped pullover

Filed under Fabric Art, Featured Posts, Knitting · Tagged with creative life, fabric, Fabric Art, Knitting, sewing, textiles, yarn

Sweaters are Cozy

Posted by Joye18 on December 12, 2012 · Leave a Comment

Love the colors on this yummy, soft sweater jacket.

I have been perusing my fabric and yarn stash. I have finished several projects, bought some cute cotton fabric for little girl skirts, and started to clean up for the new year, a great feeling!
I finished my pastel knit sweater jacket made from hand dyed mohair, silk, wool yarn in happy pinks, blues, soft yellow and mint green. Who says pastels are just for spring? I feel that a high key palette makes for a pleasing and uplifting feeling.
I also finished a patchwork velvet and silk Asian style evening jacket.

silks and velvets in a long evening jacket

This has been so much fun!

Inspiration Thursday: Cotton

Posted by Joye18 on March 31, 2011 · Leave a Comment

cotton plant

Lately I have been spending a lot of time in my fabric studio, well, in between setting up my new boutique, blogging, errands,…..And I am falling in love again with cotton. It is almost spring and then summer(wish, wish!!) and cotton is the ideal fabric to sew, knit with and wear. It is natural, soft, can be dyed to bright wonderful colors, and can be used for shirts, diapers, sweaters, pants, dresses, quilts, and on and on. One disadvantage is that is needs to be ironed if you don’t like wrinkly clothes.

Batik cotton

Cotton yarn

I was amazed at how many fabrics it can be made into. Here are a few from fabric.net:

Diaper Cloth is a twill, dobby or plain woven absorbent cotton.

Dimity is sheer, thin, white or printed fabric with lengthwise cords, stripes or checks.

Drill is a strong twilled cotton fabric, used in men’s and women’s slacks.

Duck is a heavy, durable tightly woven fabric. Heavy weight drill is used in awnings, tents, etc. Lighter duck is used in summer clothing.

Flannel cotton is plain or twill weave with a slight nap on one or both sides.

Flannelette is a soft cotton fabric with a nap on one side.

Gauze is a sheer, lightly woven fabric similar to cheesecloth. Is also made in silk.

Gingham is a lightweight, washable, stout fabric that is woven in checks, plaids or stripes.

Lawn is a plain weave, soft, very light, combed cotton fabric with a crisp finish.

And there are 15 more. Such a versatile fabric, love it!

A Day in the Life: Coffee Sleeves

Posted by Joye18 on March 29, 2011 · 2 Comments

sipping

In my effort to be more green a few months ago, I made myself a coffee sleeve to use when I bought myself a coffee, as I do almost every day. I loved it so much, that I recently made a spring cuff. So many people commented on it that I decided to sew a few for my new shop and for Etsy. Here they are: