Tricotomania and more

I dragged that box of stuff up from the basement and spread the contents all over the floor …

As you can see there are big chunks of canvas screenprinted in purple and green (also purple and pink) and several batik things. Still in that Rubbermaid bin is some really nice fabric I saw in Italy many many years ago (pre-Tigger, who is now 11) and just had to have some of even though I have no idea what to do with it, and a clean wool blanket with a few mouse holes in it that I thought could be used to make a jacket or something, possibly dyed. Not on the list for today.

Today, I actually cut up a bunch of that screen printed canvas and made some bags. They have no handles. I think I need to go buy some handle stuff like the handles on the other canvas bags that are around here. There is leftover plain canvas but it is pretty stiff and sewing a tube and turning it might be kind of a PITA. You never know, so could shopping for some stuff to make handles with.

  There is the first one, sitting by the sewing machine. The second one is the same except that the side panels are plain white canvas because I didn’t have enough of the screen printed part for all 5 sides. Why I thought it was more important for the bottom to be printed than the sides, I cannot explain. It made sense at the time.

Tomorrow I will tackle the pink and purples stuff (which has circles instead of hexagons) and make a couple more. And decide what to do about handles. And then I might throw out some of the other stuff and maybe decide which stuff is worth doing something with. I do like some of it, but some of the batik things are creative experiments that didn’t work. There is no good reason for me to have them 12 years on, much less having moved them across the ocean in a shipping container.

Praire Poppins had just an inspiring post up yesterday with lists of ideas for handmade gifts for the holidays. I love reading her blog and often wish I could be that relaxed about making things on a regular basis. I’m still in a mode where I feel like that is a “hobby” for my “spare time”. This is nuts, I know. But I’m working on it slowly.

Charlie also had a good post up about the nature of creativity the other day.  He’s addressing a different audience but I think his stages of the creative process make a lot of sense. And they really help those of us who struggle with the “I’m not creative” issue to see what it really looks like and how to nurture it. And yes, I struggle with that, too. I have long thought that I wasn’t creative. Quilting and knitting have really brought me a long way with the creativity but it still feels quite dangerous when I step outside certain frameworks. Designing quilts felt safe because I didn’t have to draw anything but straight sided geometric figures. I’m good at math. I can do that. And I think that gave me the confidence to play with colours and things.

Anyway, the following have been incubating for various lengths of time. Some I just need to go and put into action. Others I need some help with because I don’t actually know what to do next.

Make canvas tote bags. This needs action. Many years ago I did a textile arts class (which is where I met Emily, I think) and I have some heavy canvas that I screen printed for dining room chair seat covers in the basement. Those chairs are long gone and the colours aren’t going to go with my kitchen but I bet they would make good shopping bags.

Make cards with some of my photographs. Yeah, that sounds funny doesn’t it. Me and photographs. But I do have some I took quite a while ago that are interesting close-ups of nature — ice formations, tree bark, etc. I’ve messed around with them a bit in iPhoto and I really like them and they look good printed out. I’ve done a couple of one-off cards but the problem is the size of paper.  This one needs help. Is is possible to get square cards made with digital photos for a reasonable price? And how? Or can you buy supplies and print them (probably not ideal)? I don’t even know what to ask at a printers to get a decent price. Some look best cropped square but there are others that would be best as rectangles. I’ve even wondered about the viability of printing enough to sell.

When I go down to the basement to find that canvas I suspect I will also find any number of other bits of batik, screen printing and whatnot from that class (we did it for several terms; it was fun). I should really think of something to do with that stuff, too. That will really need some incubation though. I think I’ve always worried they wouldn’t wash well but I have used a couple of the batik pieces either as patches for Freya’s pants (when she was smaller) or as coasters and they seem to hold up just fine. So maybe some creative appliqué is in order.

I also know that there is an only-just-started baby quilt in a basket somewhere (the baby it was originally intended for is now 2.5 years old). Also a Mariners Compass quilt square (probably cushion sized, but I’m not sure) that I started before I  moved to Canada (so that would be 2002).

And I must knit baby hats. Friends are having babies in December. And toddler hats. That 2.5 year old likes my hats.

On the assumption that eventually the snow will melt and the temperature will climb to “hot”, we have started planning Tigger’s summer wardrobe. The other day we got out the summer stuff and checked what fit and what didn’t and what she had and what she needed.

One major finding was that she has about a dozen t-shirts that fit. The problem is, I know she doesn’t wear them much. She doesn’t really like a standard boxy T. So, I ordered Generation T from the library. It came today and we’ve been transforming Tigger’s summer wardrobe into one that she’ll actually enjoy wearing.

First up a plain pink t-shirt. I helped her shape the side seams and then she cut the neck and sleeves to work better with the new fitted style. After rummaging through the quilt-fabric box, she added an applique.

Altogether a much more girly top. I can see her wearing this a lot. We used this one as a guide to refit another t-shirt with a design on the front.

Next up her “Species at Risk” t-shirt. She loves to wear sleeveless tops in the summer and has grown out of most of hers. A flick through the book gave us a few ideas for creating some and we picked this style.

This one also had the side seams taken in to fit better and prevent gaping in the chest.

Friends of ours gave her a t-shirt with a very pretty, if ironic, screen-print design. (Friends who know Bristol may get a kick out of the “severn beach” logo.) But boxy doesn’t get worn. So we went for a kind of girly, punk style. I think we cut too many strips off the bottom for strings but it isn’t too, too short.

Before: After:

I don’t have a picture of our last creation but we took a too small tie-dyed tank top and cut it off under the arms. We then took a worn out t-shirt of Mat’s (it was navy blue but looks more grey now) and did the same. The big t-shirt was gathered and sewn onto the little one. We then folded over the tie-dyed bit and sewed it down over the seam to make a double width wide band at the top, and cut off the bottom part to make a cute short skirt. The too-small tank actually makes a good tight band around her hips.

There is still a stack of t-shirts in the living room to be transformed tomorrow or another day. Tigger was really excited and she did all the sewing (on the machine, which she is quite comfortable with). And I’m glad that all those t-shirts will actually be worn.