It’s done. Here’s The Red Queen sweater, plus a few other things I made while I’ve got red loaded in the serger. I haven’t finished the threads yet so you’ll see some dangly strings. I like red and gray together, it’s sort of sporty and sort of sexy at the same time.
The Crows of Pearblossom, as a sweater-dress
I had a picture book when I was a kid that has stuck with me, in ethereal ways, for decades. I remembered inky dense speckled eggs on matte paper, a snake and something about a chimney. And the snake, all logy, with bulges in it from eating those eggs.
Fast forward to these internet times, and it turns out to be “The Crows of Pearblossom” – one of two children’s book written by Aldous Huxley – well, wasn’t I a fancy child? And the eggs, snake and chimney were Barbara Cooney illustrations. I am not surprised to hear that it is a morbid tale, and I look forward to reading it again.
In the meantime, here is a dress inspired by those dense speckled eggs.
Ethella, Mythical Katamari Cousin tunic, Faux Faux Bois dress, Homage to Doctor Zoidberg sweater.
Three of my pieces have just been published in the book 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse: Remake, Restyle, Recycle, Renew. I’m thrilled for all obvious reasons, but also because the book is designed really well and my work is in exceptional company! If you click on the link you can browse the pages. It was written and edited by the extremely enthusiastic Garth Johnson of Extreme Craft.
a dress from my f.stop series
I love old cameras. When I was kid my dad gave me an old Agfa. It was wonderfully dense, with ridged black sides and a lens that popped out with the press of a button, suspended by matte black accordian-folds. It used square 120 film that I would take down to Fay’s Drugs to get developed, and I still remember the thrill of discovering I could take double exposures if I didn’t advance the film manually.
I liked that cameras mirror our eye functions, I liked how much sense all the settings made, and I desperately wanted to have something in common with my dad – I was getting weary of skeet shooting …
what does it mean to have enough?
Photography is all about letting enough light in for the right amount of time – finding balance while accounting for all the options we have available to us.
So I’ve been thinking this through – what is enough, what has balance, restraint, and about longing for things we can’t have – as I’m making a series of clothes called f.stop. I’ll be listing them here as they’re done, through the next week or two.
moonlight sculpted skirt, worn as a dress
and here is my proof.
Mr. Lentil kept saying “I think people could pull these skirts up and wear them as dresses.”
Then a customer said “Did you know that I can wear this many different ways including two ways as a dress?”
Then another customer said “Great as a skirt or dress or top.”
Okay okay, get off my back. I’ll tell people they work as dresses and tops.
