Ladies of the Guild

ASG-Tulsa Chapter

This week I had the pleasure of spending an afternoon with the local chapter of the American Sewing Guild. Though I am a member, this was the first Tulsa meeting I have attended. The education coordinator contacted me late last spring to speak but our schedules were crazy...so finally, this week, we got it together and I made a little presentation.

The topic was: Designer details for your handmade pillows, handbags and gifts. The theme: Add hand-dyed, embroidered and soft sculptured couture elements to your favorite projects and make them FABULOUS!!
(Not that they aren't already!)

We talked about adding roses, ruffles and lots of detail & embellishment to everything they sew! Though I brought a few samples, I was amazed at the show & tell the ladies brought! Beautiful felted jewelry (can't wait to try this!-see latest edition of Notions newsletter), creative mini quilts, a variety of fun totes which several ladies made,

Pretty custom fitted jackets,
Even darling children's clothing from a colorful, re-purposed sweater!
I wanted the skirt & leggings in my size!!

Here I am juggling cupcakes...well, not really-but the group was great-very hospitable and forgiving of the way I tend to pop from one thing to another!

Thank you, ladies for a lovely meeting & greeting!
Happy sewing community projects & keep up the good work!
-EE

Good Measure

This time of year means regrouping and planning projects for the season. Gathering together these measuring cup treasures which I picked up this summer at Anthropologie, and favorite herbal fills, I can get to work and be inspired in the process!

Sweet, aromatic, French Lavender is my all-time favorite fill for pillows & sachets but I plan to mix in a few buckwheat hulls and a little flax seed this year for texture, weight and complexity. Add to these, the delicate beauty of vintage glass, pearl and rhinestone embellishments, from my collection and Grandma's button box, plus vintage inspired French trims & a few special fabrics and the recipe is nearly complete!

Now, to work!

So lucky are artists, chefs & sewers! Cooking things up from a blank "canvas" is a joy when you have Faith, courage & a few fine ingredients!

Happy Cooking & Creating!
-EE

Sometimes You Win

Sometimes the blues get a hold of you.........when your last dollar goes for an extravagant snack-only to be lodged just out of your reach in the vending machine. Or your website goes down temporarily as in dear Johanna's case this week (see johannaparkerdesign for her new spring designs!)

Fortunately she is a creative genius who will undoubtedly find a silver lining in that gloom cloud.

..but as promised, we gave away lots of heart sachet kits this month!! Actually, all followers won a prize-their choice of Love, Mom, Sister, Friend, etc. If you have been following & you haven't seen the email requesting address to send your gift, please email it to elaine@ilovefiberart.com. by February 25th

Happy brighter side!
-EE

Flowers, Friends, Chocolate and an Unwelcome Guest

Leave it to my dear friend C to throw a sensational Valentine's and Birthday celebration for A complete with flowers- 20 or 30 of these little party favor garden rose vases!

Tulips and roses everywhere with hearts and of course-chocolate dipped treats which the teenagers created!

Is it any wonder why I always leave their gorgeous homes and dinner parties inspired?

Make these chocolate dipped velvet strawberries with kits from ilovefiberart store or embroider your own with ilovefiberart CD Vol. 1 embroidery designs, also available in store.

These were my party favors for my dear, dear friends C & A: Embroidered silk sachets with cashmere roses. I made tubes of cashmere knit, then rolled up little buns for roses and tacked them atop the lavender filled treasures.

As for the unwanted guest- A has a sense of humor, sometimes as twisted as my own, (which is another reason I love her!) She gave treats to her boys, her hubby and son, which included this little porcelain guy who keeps showing up everywhere.

Happy Friends, Flowers and (welcome) Guests!
-EE

Guavas and Peaches and Pears Oh My!

i love my guava and any fruit with a sense of humor though my dd wasn't quite so sure when meeting these larger-than-life cuties face-to-face on a Kauai guava plantation.

maybe it is because I'm snowed and iced-in with 6-8" inches of powder outside, but I decided to have a little fun too.this is miss peachy, ready for a tropical vacation.

and my first soft sculptured pear-circa 2002-i think-in good company.

these truly are fruits gone awry-they are from my lemon tree which winters indoors. It bears beautiful lemons, yet every couple of years bears a grapefruit-sized specimen like these. darling daughter took one to Montessori where they touched it, looked at it, smelled it, cut it up and ate it-SOUR!to make peachy, pear or giant cherry, don't forget to look in i love fiber art store for pattern!

eat fruit and have fun!
-EE

Fiberart Imitates Road Art

That last post reminded me of a little roadside inspiration...though not quite from nature-each did remind me of the other. Aren't travel signs...especially giant fruits & critters just the best?

Somewhere I have a road photo of a giant chicken. I think it is with my oscar meyer weinermobile shots....have to look for those.

Happy & fruitful day!
-EE

Round & Round- Sewing & Traveling!!

If you are like me, you enjoy having something to do with your hands while traveling...that is if you are fortunate enough to be in the passenger seat! Here, on top of my handy atlas (i love my atlas-even though my dear husband & darling daughter both have GPS on their fancy phones-I like the old fashioned visual overview of a GIANT Rand-McNally!) is a pillow I made & embellished....around & around & around!

You can always find endless uses for beautiful vintage pearl buttons! I raided my collection yet again but was entertained for many hours with this pillow!

Here is the built-in door "caddy" (I am thinking that someone should design a better travel holder! maybe a soft one with pockets to hold everything from thread, scissors to buttons?) Sounds like a good project for later!

*Note-I finally finished the pillow & was a little sad to see it go at a recent show...a nice lady purchased it plus 2 other gold ball pillows with buttons & beads to group as a set. At least they have a happy home & will all be together!!

Happy Sewing & Travel!
-EE

ilovefiberart FUN with Garden Deva!

If there is anything more fun than sewing & making art & craft...it is doing it with great friends! Last weekend's Garden Deva show in Tulsa was a grand success, with fun had by all! Lisa Regan aka the Garden Deva once again showed that she is a generous supporter of local artists, musicians & craftspeople by hosting 2 days of party & show.

Suzi Swinford's & Joe Staskal's incredible pottery & stoneware were among my favorites! Also, Lisa Regan's furniture & fireplace screens, horse sculpture garden-stakes, Maggie Connolly's jewelry, Angie of Blair B Design's relic jewelry & Terri Higgs' silk scarves were amazing!

Here is a shot of my booth, with Suzi Swinford next to me & Lisa Regan's whimsical Garden Deva Sculptures on the wall behind. How about that neon PINK tree? I found that, as well as a pretty PURPLE one at Garden Ridge...already lit & on sale for $29.!

This artist knits & spins..with live demonstrations on her wheel!

Shopping & getting into the spirit!

More show photos & Suzi at her booth.

Maggie Connolly & her terrific silver & recycled jewelry....

Milling about with Betty Boop on her handbag....

Angie B. with one of my teeny-tiny embroidered birds-in-acorn hat nest...she attached one to a delicate square-beaded rosary chain for her beloved daughter Blair, for whom her company is named.
Happy & inspired crafting & collaborating!
-EE

Boho Dollmaking

Muslin doll shapes have always intrigued me. You know the craft store variety: made in China, I think. Well, I decided to start making my own, partly to have them when needed for my doll cupcakes (see ilovefiberart index page), but mostly to have new three dimensional objects to embroider & embellish!

This girl is "Go Veggie" Boho girl. I just drew an outline of an inflated stick figure (email or better-yet-blog me & I'll send you pattern!) Then I sewed outline on double fabric, right sides together, leaving opening on doll's side. Turn inside out, stuff & close. I used eyelash yarn for her hair, embroidered bird & tiny embroidered "mixed bag" plus trading beads for her embellishment. Use your favorite quilting or sewing scraps for these...I have made several now in different sizes...I may even string the tiny ones together to make a little angel garland for my tree! (I will post that, of course!)

Happy dollmaking!
-EE

Button-Button Treasure Boxes

Who's Got The Buttons? While perusing a few art-worthy sites this morning (anything to procrastinate a little & enjoy my warm Tazo tea!), I realized that the blogs that I found most interesting share a little, inspire a lot & teach me something new...so here goes....

peace, love , sweater blog looked fun & made me feel warm & fuzzy about earth-friendly parenting-which I am all in favor of.

On the inspiring subject, I love Johanna Parker's work in progress photos she shares on her blog, In "A Frenzy to Finish" (August 2008), you can see the artist at work...something I love & appreciate! So, here is a peek at what is in the works here this week-directly from my kitchen table! One of these days I will share some images from my messy sewing workroom/studio (my daughter's friend commented that it looks like the mom's studio in "Yours, Mine and Ours"..you know Renee Russo's piles & piles of fabric-If only my room were that tidy!)

OK..now the project part...these are treasure boxes I am making for a studio show at Garden Deva Sculpture Company. Though I am making pillows & fiber pieces, I love doing mixed media, too. Garden Deva aka Lisa Regan, has been written up in various magazine including Southern Living. She is a very talented metal sculpture artist, recognized on a national level for her work...and she really know how to throw a party! Her 2-day Studio "Party" is local music, local food & lots of handmade art. If you are in the Tulsa area in early November, come by for fun & local flavor!

To make these tiny treasure boxes you need only buttons or beads, plain brown paper mache boxes (approx. 1 3/4" x 2 1/2") from your local craft store (they run about 99 cents & are sometimes on sale for 1/2 price!!), glue (I use E6000 after a little incident with Gorilla Glue that I won't mention!), acrylic paint, & embellishments for the top, if desired. I attached tiny embroidered birds, my new favorite three-dimensional art perched upon little wool or silk fiber-filled acorn "hats" retrieved from my back yard. I painted these with gold paint, & glued them into center. You could easily use bird beads or charms.


First, paint boxes, inside & out & let dry. Then glue buttons or beads on one side of box at a time & let dry before turning box. Be careful when you attach buttons to back side of box that they don't restrict the opening of finished box. Glue a rectangle or four tiny dots of felt on bottom if you need to cover sticky part where price label was attached on paper mache box.

Fill with treasures of your choice. I think I will include the mini red velvet stuffed hearts that we made last Valentines Day! (see Feb. 2009 post).

Good Luck & Have Fun revisiting your button stashes!
-EE