Don’t you just love hand-dyed ribbon?
Posted on 14. Jul, 2011 by gail in Blog
Have been hand-dyeing yards and yards of 1/4″ and 1/2″-wide ribbon for my “It’s All About Embellishment” hands-on workshop at the 2011 American Sewing Guild National Conference in Los Angeles in a few weeks. Just finished pressing a bunch and put them on my table to grab a phone call. When I came back, thought they looked so pretty in a jumble, wanted to share them. Hope to see lots of you in my classes and workshops!
Downton Abbey goes Vogue!
Posted on 06. Jul, 2011 by gail in Blog
My favorite new PBS series, Downton Abbey, will be back on air in January 2012–hooray! If you’re a fan of British drama a la Upstairs Downstairs, be sure to check it out. I’ll have to re-watch Season 1 on my DVD set this summer to hold me ’til then. But the latest issue of Vogue will help the withdrawal symptoms a lot. Can’t wait ’til it arrives in the mailbox.
Alabama Chanin at the Textile Museum
Posted on 19. Jun, 2011 by gail in Blog
Had a fun visit with my sister, Judy and her husband Jeff in Baltimore last week. A few weeks ago, was thumbing through the Members’ Magazine of the Textile Museum and noticed that on Thursday evening June 16th Natalie Chanin of Alabama Chanin was the featured speaker. Have been a fan of her beautiful work and decided to make the pilgrimage to attend the event, “Life Is In the Details.” She spoke about her business model and how her “slow design” enterprise evolved. Natalie took lots of questions from the audience and she signed my copy of her book! (It’s a personal triumph that I even remembered to bring it with me from home.) If you’re visiting our nation’s capital and have a chance, head over to 2320 S St. NW and tour through the museum–it’s well worth it.
Thursday was a very museum-y day. Earlier that day, Judy and I also attended a lecture by Rena Hoisington on 18th century French etchings and prints at the Baltimore Museum of Art. (The BMA has (I think) the largest Matisse collection in the world.) As we were walking back to the car, I looked down at the sidewalk outside the museum and saw this button and beads.How cool is that? I think it’s a good omen for my upcoming book on embellishment techniques!
Shout Color Catcher® to the rescue! Or when red dye bleeds onto white fabric
Posted on 01. Jun, 2011 by gail in Blog
Haven’t posted in a while, but yes, I’m still alive and well! Am working on a book aptly named “It’s All About Embellishment!” It will be loaded with close-up color photos of each technique and clear step-by-step instructions. All of the techniques in the book can be done on any zigzag capable sewing machine. Stay tuned-will let you know when it’s available to purchase.
One of the technique chapters is on twin needling. I used a red variegated cotton quilting thread that I’ve used loads of times without any problems, but this time when I removed the water erasable lines with a wet Q-Tip, the red dye bled onto the white jacket fabric in a couple of spots! Major problem. (Fortunately the fabric had been pre-washed.) Here’s a wonderful solution.
I threw the jacket into the washer (gentle cycle) with a small amount of detergent and a Shout Color Catcher® sheet. Most of the dye came out of the white fabric and the thread retained its original color. One more cycle with another Color Catcher® sheet and the spot is so faint it’s almost impossible to see. Crisis averted!
