For My Sister on Her Birthday

This purse was a gift to my sister for Christmas/her birthday. I made her one before, but it eventually fell apart. (My sister's an avid reader). So, I hope this one is sturdier, because I really never want to make another one again. The straps are hand sewn leather, and stuffed with cording. Sewing the leather made my hands raw. My sister picked the outside fabric, and the inside is lined with wool felt. The bottom is the same leather as the straps, and is just something I happened to have, (left over from an incomplete commission). My sister was having a problem with the outside strap falling off her shoulder, so if anyone has any suggestions.

Creating Worlds With Turmoil.

And they probably wouldn't survive the meteorites, which were headed straight for them. These monsters were printed in the spirit of building forts and new worlds when I was five, and Jonathan Hiett made Ken kiss Barbie, under the seat of the car, from the time we left until we came back. My mom told me she saw what we did.














These monsters are hand screen-printed on hand-dyed cotton canvas

Not the best picture, but this is what became of part of the yardage I printed. Jonathan Hiett is the owner of a set of these.
Using the Textile Design CAD program, Texcelle, I created coordinates and a colorway for the screen-printed pattern.

Apron/Aproff

This apron is made of cotton muslin, hand-dyed with natural and synthetic dyes. I created the motifs on the fabric using traditional tie-dye methods such as: clamp resist immersion dyeing, arashi shibori, and crumple resist immersion dyeing. All of the fabric, except for the ruffle ties, was dyed in the same synthetic rose colored dye, and then the two packets were over-dyed for different amounts of time in the same vat of royal blue, synthetic dye. The ruffles were arashi shiboried in a vat of natural osage orange dye, with a few seconds in the royal blue vat.

Woven Lace Flapper Dress

This dress, designed in the fashion of a 1920s flapper dress, was hand-woven on a floor loom. Using linen, in the colors of gold-wheat, and white, I wove a two yard piece of fabric using the brooks boquet lace weave, with plain weave. I then carefully cut and pieced the fabric to create the garment above.

Disco Dancing Robot...Skirt

This is one of my first complete projects. I can be obsessive compulsive about process, and in the vein of The Little Skeleton, drafted the pattern, hand dyed the fabric, hand sewed the skirt,and hand embellished the narrative. With the intention of creating a subtle disco ambience for the fabric, I used potato dexterin with the base purple dye, followed by an immersion dye in teal. I then embellished the sequined disco ball, and appliqued and stuffed the robot (for dimension). This piece was created for the final project in Embellished Surfaces (spring 2005).