Infest the Waters: A Blog About Design, Life and Making Stuff

Sewing Sunday: June Edition — Namaste!

Finished yoga mat bag

Earlier this month, I received an e-mail from my friend, Rachel, asking me if I’d be willing to make a yoga mat bag for her.  Her timing was really serendipitous, as I had been thinking about making a yoga mat bag for myself.  After receiving her e-mail, it was clear to me that I had found June’s project!  After looking at a few online, it seemed simple enough, so I figured I could take a few measurements and freewheel without a pattern.

Rachel’s only requirement was that she be able to bike with it (which was actually a requirement of mine, too), so I decided that I should use a more durable fabric, which necessitated a trip to Fabric Row.  I picked out a cheerfully patterned indoor/outdoor fabric and got enough of it to make two bags–one for her and one for me.  I started by cutting out fabric for only one bag in case I had to make any adjustments to the size or design.  If that ended up being the case, I figured I’d keep the first bag and give Rachel the improved bag.

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Sewing Sunday: May Edition – Alteration Adventures

Shirt ruffle pattern

I have a confession to make.  I didn’t actually sew on a Sunday this month.  In fact, I just got May’s project done today under the wire.  (Phew.)  It’s been kind of a busy month, and I found myself without any free Sundays to sew.  Next month’s looking better.  The unfortunate byproduct of waiting until today to finish my project is that my second floor has just about reached inferno conditions due to the heat wave and the fact that I’m stubbornly not putting my air conditioners in until it’s at least June–not ideal for sewing and using a hot iron.  But I persevered, and now I’m happy to say that I have a new(ish) shirt.

Ann Taylor blouseThe reason I say new(ish) is that I decided to dive into the world of alterations this month.  I’ve had this shirt for eight years (shown at left) that I really like because of the pattern on the material–very organic and kind of art nouveau-y.  It came from Ann Taylor, and it’s a well-made silk shirt, but apparently it was no match for my under-arm perspiration.  (Seriously, what is in that stuff?  Pure acid?  And why does it turn some of my t-shirts’ armpits bright orange?  It’s gross, really.)  This winter I noticed that it had developed some holes in the armpits (in addition to, despite my best eco-friendly dry-cleaning efforts, some lovely discoloration).  Saddened by this development, I was trying to figure out a way to keep the shirt from the landfill since I knew I wasn’t going to be able to donate it with holes in the pits.  Then it dawned on me that perhaps I could turn it into a lovely summer blouse, since I have a shortage of those.  Problem solved.

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Arts Festival Aftermath

TAAF Booth

This past weekend, I participated in the Trenton Avenue Arts Festival.  It was an experimental endeavor, for sure, and my friend and fellow artist, Beth Nentwig, agreed to participate in the experiment with me.  My mom also contributed some very cool bracelets that she’s been making for the last several months.  From a sales perspective, the event was an abject failure.  I sold nothing.  Not one thing.  Not even a single hand-printed linocut card.  Needless to say, it was disheartening.

In the 24 hours following the event, as I reflected on the festival, I figured I had a couple of ways to approach it.  I could take the defeatist approach:  “This is proof that the things I make have no value, and therefore I should just give up making them and trying to sell them.”  But that’s not really my style.  Plus, one data point hardly seems like enough to draw conclusions about the value of one’s work or whether exhibiting at future art festivals has value.  I could make excuses (some of which might even be valid):  “The festival goers were cheap.  The rain kept people from making last-minute purchases.  The audience wasn’t right.”  That might make me feel a little better about myself, but it really doesn’t prepare me for future sales endeavors.  And it’s not really my style, either.

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