Appreciating Exquisite Stitchery

...Say that three times fast!
This little pouch showcases a vintage embroidered flower.  The stitches are tiny and so perfect. I can't help thinking about the person who had the patience and talent to handstitch this precious little flower. This was a person who cared about the details and the quality of her/his work; a person who took the time to do it well, do it right. I admire that.

Let me just sound off a bit about something here; a pet peeve of mine... These days it's become common place to ridicule people who do things right, who care about the details and the quality of their work. If someone shows these qualities they are often labeled "Obsessive" and even "Anal". 

What the Heck!  To me it seems like an excuse to be lazy, not care, to do less than your best!  I'm not saying that everything should be a masterpiece... or that every endeavor needs to be perfect.  What I am saying is, we should be looking up to those who care enough to do their very best.  And that doing your best is something to aspire to.  Otherwise, what's the point?

Poetically yours,
Pamela

Pouch #7

Under the Sea

Pouch #7 - Here's a colorful octopus just hangin' around in the seaweed with his little fishy friend. The image is embellished with seed beads, black buttons for the eyes and some puff paint outlines to create a little depth. The pouch is made from snippets of leftover fabric and a recycled zipper.  The strap is braided strips of t-shirt fabric.

We're almost to the end of this first batch of pouches and I've got a bunch of new ideas for the next set.  In the meantime, the fitting has been done for the wedding dress and the fabric has been cut out.  More to come on that very soon.  For now I'll leave you with a little rhyme...

There was some used clothing and fabric
That might have been trash in a basket,
But I cut and I sewed, designed and embellished,
And voila! it's a new pouch fantastic!

Poetically yours,
Pamela

Pouch #3

Here's the next finished pouch.  I got delayed in finishing it because I was trying to do something clever with the pull on the zipper.  Well, I made up a couple of vinyl-enclosed pull tags, with a little blip about sharks having to keep moving in the water... the idea was cool, but the tags were too large and tended to take away from the overall design... so I had to go to a simpler approach.  I used a belt loop upcycled from some jeans.

     This brings me to a lesson I have learned while working along on these pouches, and that is:  If something is not working, try something new and keep trying until it FEELS right. Always choose what feels right for the solution. This might mean some frustration and wasted effort... or so it would seem.  But, no effort is truly wasted.  Moving forward until you find your solution strengthens your design muscles.
     Put aside the unused solutions... they may be just the thing for a future project... and the lessons you learned in creating those unused solutions just add more ideas and experience that you will be able to call on in the future.
     So here's the question:   Do we choose to...  Sink or Swim???
     I say Swim is always the choice!

     Poetically yours,   Pamela

Pouch #2!

On a roll now!  Finished this little nature scene pouch with a bit of applique, embroidery, and the perfect little flower and leaf beads for the strap. I utilized t-shirt fabric for the braided strap, the good corner of a decorative bed sheet for the image, and an upcycled zipper. It was a nice effect to go outside the "frame" of the image and overlap with the appliqued flowers and cattails. Now that I have worked through the challenges of the basic structure of the pouch design, the whole process has become much easier, and more fun!
    The next design will have a different look... stay tuned.   And for goodness sake, in the spirit of not throwing the "baby out with the bath water", do NOT throw the zipper out with the worn out pants! Get out your scissors and save that perfectly good piece of modern apparel technology for some new and wonderful use!
     Poetically yours, Pamela

Art Pouches - Here is the first.

Hi Friends, I have been making a batch of Art Pouches: Cute little decorative pouches to carry the essentials. They're one of a kind, and each has a different theme. This is the first one finished of this batch. I am using about 90% upcycled materials, which is very exciting to me. I am finally using some items from my extensive stash of found and salvaged goodies. That feels great! There will be more to come.

Also coming up, I will be making a Wedding Dress soon, and will post all the steps along the way to the happy completion of this lovely medieval style dress. So... if you've ever wondered what goes into creating/sewing a cusomized garment, stay tuned.

Until next time... take a look at that special piece of fabric you're saving and just think, What Can It Become?

Poetically yours, Pamela