Dear Creative Friends,

It is warm here in Ashland , Oregon this month…and my projects tend to be on the playful side…I tend to wear what is easy and cool…and I am always looking to my closet or the closest thrift store to have something to play with for the afternoon.  Here are  2 of my favorite remakes to share with you.

Linen Jacket Start:

Rule of thumb: ONLY use fabric you  like…

Original Jacket with 3/4 sleeve & pocket.

no sense spending time on making something more interesting if you don’t like the fabric in the first place….

Even though that sounds obvious…it is easy to get caught up in feeling like you have to use everything you have…just because it was great in it’s last life.

THE NEW LINEN TOP-

Sleeve detail

Here is what I did. I cut off the collar. Added a bias band is a favorite piece of fabric…and repeated that fabric in ties and lining in the sleeves. I have used bits and pieces of some of my stencil designs ( )and combined them with some of Marcy Tiltons silk screen

designs (www.marcytilton.com).

I am always using Jacquard textile paints for the stenciling and the silk screening.

For easy ways to get  great results with stencils, see tips for stenciling on my website and my DVD, Stenciling on Fabrics, also available on my site.

I love the combination of colors and designs. often colors opposite on the color wheel provide a pleasing accent to the colors we are initially attracted too. I recommend a good color wheel in the studio-it is a great reference and can be wonderful teaching tool for expanding the way you play with color. See the tools and materials section on my website for my favorite color wheel.

LINEN DRESS REFRESH-

Here is another redesigned piece. Aside from removing the belt  (and using for ties across the back and a line on the pocket in front), I removed the original buttons and printed. I love the way the natural linen takes the rubber stamps and stencils. I like the look of stencils, silk screen and rubber stamps together. They print differently and add more dimension to the fabric. One of my favorite parts of the process is replacing the buttons…in this case, a collage of some of my favorites!

I pleated the back, then placed several ties across and stitched the ends under the pleats.

Some of  my current favorite stencil designs-

Eucalyptus Leaves (#16)

Spring Leaves (#24)

Of the Wall (#25)

Jakarta (#26)

Bamboo Forest (#4)

Calla Lillies (#9)

Spring Vines (#13)

Bugs in Flight (#20)

Think about what you do with your clothes when you wear them- this can give you ideas on where to print design details. For instance, do you fold back your cuffs?

if so, how about printing on the inside of the cuff for a hit of color when you fold them back.

I print on the underneath side of the collar (photo to the right here) since I like to stand them up in back when I wear a collared garment.

Added Surface Design-

Some machine embroidery came along the bottom of the dress(see below) . As you can see, I worked the stenciling into the design …sometimes over and under.

I always want my printing to look natural …like it was always there. I do like the combo with the embroidery and printing together.

I hope you are enjoying summer projects too! Diane

Celebrating spring means bringing in a collection of what is flowering here in Ashland. Lillacs, tulips and peony are some of my favorites!

Organizing my Worktable-

Once the bins and closets have been cleaned out, I bring in some fresh greens and flowers and organize my worktable for action. I make FABRIC POTS to  put my current projects, tools and materials in. As you can see, they can be any size and can do a variety of tasks depending upon what you want them to hold.

I have an article with directions and illustrations for making these fabric pots in the Magazine section of our local newspaper: The Tidings. Here is the link:

http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100429/HOMELIFE/4290330/-1/HOMELIFE03

They are such a quick and easy construction-I like to make them out of canvas or upholstery samples.

Taste of Ashland Event at the Art Center-

We had a good time last weekend at a local event that involved a Quick Draw:           at the opening gala for the weekend, 15 local artists took up the challenge of producing a piece in one our that would go up for auction with $ going for scholarships at the local schools. Sounded like fun to me…so I made a linen apron(ahead of time) that I could use as a canvas.It was was a wild hour…but some wonderful work happened.

Here is my apron. I used Jacquard Fabric paints with stencils and their Tee Juice Pens (which now come with in 3 sizes of tips). All heat set with an iron and washable. I find a stencil is the quickest,cleanest way to get a crisp image down and control the amount of paint.  I have a DVD available on my website with Jacquard on how to get great effects with paint on

fabric. So give it a go, it is so much fun! I know I make this look easy…it really can be. Here are some tips to help you build your confidence if drawing isn’t a skill you have under your belt yet.

1. Draw/trace an image you want to  put on fabric on tracing paper- tape it to a window then put your fabric over it and trace the design with dressmakers chalk onto the fabric. this gives you a guide.

2. Stencil some images first, then use the fabric pens to highlight with some outlining.

3.  Work with music on and play….this can help you loosen up.

4. Cut some simple shapes to use when stenciling…in addition to  using the stencils in my collection( on my website), I cut basic curves and angles from  cardstock or manilla folders to combine with the more detailed shapes. If you are new to this and  want to give fabric paints a try: I carry the 9 bottle paintsets on my website.

see more ideas and local sources for fabric paints and Tee Juice pens on the  Jacquard site: www.jacquardpaintproducts.com

A Peony for Spring-This is one of my favorite garments I created for the Peony Patter #107-   I use the lengthen /shorten lines on a pattern to change the design. So my ‘new’ Peony top is a shortened version  of the original pattern. I combined natural color linen with cream color shirtings with black accents and fabulous ribbon from Renaissance Ribbons. the wrap skirt is looks like petals unfolding with  pressed folded edges and pink piping and lining.

……So what is your spring frock going to look like? 

Happy Mothers Day & studio play…time to get outside in  the garden!

Diane                                                                          

Diane finishing a First Friday Market Bag in the studio

HI THERE!

Every month I am enjoying changing my space to reflect the season…Here in Ashland, OR everything is popping up green.Bulbs and trees are flowering and the warm weather feels like it is almost here to stay.

The dressform  displays a revamped piece that I have added more fabrics to, changed the buttons, added  some pleats in the back for more fit  and enhanced the design on the front with stenciling. the pants are one of my favorite variations on my Capitola Pant Pattern #115 with extra width pleated and held with white embroidery thread stitching lines. I like the way the white stitching will carry this black pant into my summer wardrobe of arty white linen and cotton tops.

Vest & journal cover: Creative Companion Pattern #110

The Gardening Vest and Journal  cover are from my Creative Companion pattern #110. I stenciled all my favorite plant stencils in various green  fabric paints (Jacquard) on the long front, canvas panels. It is a great design and fun to make:  The long fronts get pleated up to create pockets -easy, easy! Then The you can stitch the dividers for the pockets based on what you will use them for. I drilled GIANT Rubber bugs and sewed them on ‘buttons’( with snaps inside)and used recycled corduroy jeans for the back and included one of the original pockets.

Stylin' Garden suspenders!

The outfit is complete with some oversized spring green pants ( a major find at the thrift store!) and some suspenders. I had fun collaging the suspenders with fabrics, stencils rubber stamps and found buttons and other metal bits.

Wall Pieces in Progress-

Stenciled & brush painted pieces in progress

Techniques are the tools of our creativity-for me, Stenciling is one of my favorites.  On my design boards (here on the right),are several small pieces I am working on. I am combining brush painted images with stenciled images. Sometimes I’ll use them for texture or background in a piece. For the brush painting I am usually thinning my fabric paint with water- (although there are products to thin the pigment and keep the viscosity of the paint). I also use permanent ink pens, ( including Jacquards Tee Juice pens) for some of the drawing. If the fabric I make is for clothing…anything I use  has to be permanent. I carry small travel or starter sets of the Jacquard paints on my website. I  like to get my creativity going by having 3-5 pieces of fabric laid out at a time and working back and forth on all of them at once…it takes a bit of the pressure off and keeps the process more fun.

Once these pieces are complete, look for these images available as cards and prints on my website.

One of my finished collage wall pieces

To Create a Design Board: Start with an image you are drawn to ( in this case-it is a lovely botanical illustration). Look at your image through the ‘lense’ of your favorite materials and techniques. In other words- what does it remind you of or suggest? On the right-I have created a wrinkled fabric sample that I have lightly brushed with paint that reminds me of the plant stem in the image. I have also added materials, covered cording, buttons and bits of drawing influenced by some of the other shapes in the illustration. Try not to edit here…just get excited and keep it going…beading would also be beautiful here. The point of the exercise is to take what you love about the image and start to translate the information into other materials and designs. This is  excellent for developing your design eye. The Design board itself is a fabric covered piece of foam core- and attractive to me on my studio wall as is.

My first spring 'sprouts'!

Saving the best for  last!

This little ‘garden plot’ (in the photo to the left) is one of my most joyful creative moment this month! It was an early morning gift that passed through my brain in one of those pre-dawn movies that gently pull me into awake with a smile.

I couldn’t wait to get to my paper stash with tea in hand to find the dirt. After folding the brown paper into rows…I poked bits of green fabrics up into the creases…kind of like making a hooked rug…..and before I knew it, I had sprouts everywhere! Today someone visiting my studio pointed out the ‘green onions’ …the good stuff is magic for sure.

I hope you are finding the magic in your studio today, Diane