Really. I was looking through my collection of old (very old, 1955-1957) Workbasket magazines for a crochet pattern when I found this ad.
Train at home? Just 12 weeks? Me thinks times have changed a little.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
Creating Wearable Art: Dreaded Bag Lady
Not too long ago I was checking through the sewing news of the day and found this article about a woman from Maine who creates wearable art from recycled clothing. Being a bit of a scrapper myself, I was intrigued by the story and had to learn more. In the article, she was getting ready for a craft show up in her neck of the woods. The article went on to tell about her creative process. I was a fan.
Soon after the article came out, the DBL…Dreaded Bag Lady, was on Etsy and on Facebook. Yay! Her work is wonderful. I hope you’ll think so, too.
Tell us a bit about yourself (name, location, affiliations, personal stuff)
My Name is Vicki or Vela Anderson, though on paper I am The Dreaded Bag Lady. I am currently from a small town near Orono, Maine. My bags can be found in two local shops. Maine Jewelry & Art in Bangor has carried my bags for over a year and I love working with them. Just recently Met Soul in Orono started carrying a few too.
Apart from creating things, what do you do?
What else do I do? Tough one. I am always sketching designs or thinking about my next project, but I love to read, garden, go thrifting, snuggle with my fur babies, and laugh like mad with my husband, who is really funny. And I always look forward to conversations with my son, who is still pretty cool and sometimes thinks I am too.
Who was, or is, your greatest inspiration?
My greatest inspiration is my grandmother. The colors and textures of the things she had around when I was a kid are still my favorites. She was also really creative and crafty. She made quilts and stuffed animals and candy... she always had something to work on.
What are your favorite materials? Your favorite color combination?
My all time favorite material is wool, preferably felted wool. The shaped it can take are fantastic and it's also a forgiving fabric. You can take stitches out and try something again if you need to without damaging the fabric. Earth tones are my favorites, browns, greens and oranges, though I have done some things with hot pink that I really love. Vintage clothing is the best!
What is the first thing you can remember making by hand? How and why did you make it?
The first thing I made by hand was clothes for my Barbie doll. Sitting on the screen porch with Nana and my sister, Nana would be sewing and she'd give us a box of scraps to play with. My sister and I would make the coolest dresses for our dolls! Most of the time we sewed them right on her so you had to cut the clothes to get them off, but now and then something would come out so nice Nana would get us a snap or a button and we would save that outfit for a long time.
How do you get out of your creative ruts?
I still get scared when I get into a creative rut. Like that might be it. All the creativity I had. You hear it in bands a lot. First album was great, everything else wasn't worth buying. I try to let myself enjoy the down time, work on other things, read more. Sometimes the dry spells have lasted for months! No sewing at all but I painted more, baked more, cleaned more. Thankfully, it always passes.
Describe your creative process.
Now and then I decide what I'm going to make before I sit down, but usually I go into my sewing room, look at all the fabrics and just pick something I feel like working with, and see what it means to be. I have been known to pull down a curtain because it spoke to me on that day and I needed to make something out of it. I am a messy worker. I am always getting up to do other things. I can't sit and work for hours at a time without stopping.
What is your most cherished handmade possession?
Most cherished, well my niece made a quilt of fabrics she made herself. I am still trying to get her to give that to me and if she does that will be it. But right now it is an amazing coat rack my husband made for me out of reclaimed scrap metal, welded and tristy with a clutch plate as the base. It's really amazing.
What have been the most valuable lessons learned from other artists?
Lessons? take myself more seriously, keep studying and learning. Know when to leave a "flaw" as part of the handmade appeal, know when to fix a flaw because it should be made well.
Where would you like to be in ten years?In 10 years I would love to have my own shop for my handmade things but also for select vintage finds that I can't pass up.
I am building a site at Thedreadedbaglady.com but it isn't finished yet.
I am also on Facebook….Just look for the Dreaded Bag Lady or follow this link, http://www.facebook.com/#!/dreadedbags
Are you offering my readers any specials?
Use the coupon code goofing15. It's good on all things in the vintage sections only.
Well, what do you think? Good Stuff! Love her work.
Post by Eileen Patterson…..MissEileen aka GoofingOff
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Happy Birthday, Girl Scouts of America!
Not just any birthday, but the 100th birthday of the organization founded by Juliette Low in Savannah, Georgia. The Girl Scouts are much more than cookie pushers. The organization has 3.2 million members aged 5 to 17 today, and would probably have more if there were more leaders to help out. Girl Scouts teach skills (for me it was camping and cooking over a campfire…Woo Hoo! Still love that stuff), pride in being a female, and the importance of careers in science, technology, math, and engineering.
So, check this out. I was at one of my favorite haunts and found this Girl Scout Handbook from 1963. It’s not a first edition or signed by Ms.Low. It doesn’t have to be a first edition or be signed to be special. It is a wonderful bit of history that helped shape us into the strong, wonderful, intelligent women we are today. It is priceless.
Vintage 1963 Junior Girl Scout Handbook
Post by Miss Eileen aka GoofingOff
MissEileen vintage
Goofingoff Etsy Judaic fabrics, sewing patterns
GoofingOff Artfire Sewing patterns, plus size patterns
Metal Woods N Water unusual stuff and metal work
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Rocking the 80's
Ah, the 80's. Big hair, long legs, and Urban Cowboy. OK, so I didn't, er don't, have long legs but I had the hair. Got the kind of thick hair that loved the eighties look. And while everyone else was listening to the big hair bands like Poison, I was two stepping in my gorgeous boots to Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. So, imagine how I felt when my daughter, the fashionista, told me the 80's look is big this spring (you know, the fashionista. Always well dressed, always in fashion. Always...not me. How I birthed this Vogue fashion plate I have no idea). Yippee, the eighties is back! I can quit trying to make my hair straight!!! Don't know if I want to try my leather pants again, though. Anyway.......
Here's a few patterns from the 80's to sew.
McCall's 7193
McCall's 7692
Here's a few patterns from the 80's to sew.
Yes, we really did wear padded shoulders, er, extended shoulders. Made our hips look smaller. I could use that now, with my curly hair. No mullet, though.
Post by MissEileen aka GoofingOff
You can find these eighties patterns and more in my GoofingOff shop.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Fefe
Dolls are special, at least for me. I still have the Tiny Tears I dragged around when I was 5, carefully stashed away without any clothes (yes, she is naked and waiting for a wardrobe). Years ago I found a doll pattern and carefully made it by hand to give to a neice. Started a big rucus with my daughter, couldn't make anything that she could let go without wanting for herself (she was 5. hopefully she got over it....now my husband does that). Well, anyway, here's a doll pattern, Fefe, created by Sarah of Dolls and Daydreams. Cute, soft and cuddly. Even has a wardrobe so she won't have to be naked like my Tiny Tears.
Adorable, isn't she?
Post by Miss Eileen who is Goofing Off (again....need to get to work). Stop by the shops. New listings.
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| Fefe by Dolls and Daydreams |
Post by Miss Eileen who is Goofing Off (again....need to get to work). Stop by the shops. New listings.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Incomplete and Very Cheap
Like to sew? Love vintage patterns and that retro look? Tired of high pattern prices? Looking for a bargain? Well, have I got a deal for you. I have hundreds, maybe thousands, of sewing patterns. Some are uncut, almost pristine, while others are, shall I say, not so good. No, I mean they are good patterns but not complete. Sometimes it is a front or back facing that is missing (not a big deal to make another to replace) while others are missing the sleeve (Ugh! Maybe the sleeve from another pattern will work, though), while still others are missing instructions or major parts. I can’t sell them as “uncut, complete and in wonderful vintage condition. I can’t, just can’t. I can drop the price, though, and make them a super duper good deal, though. Here’s a few.
Simplicity 5648, size 10-14, from 1982. Love the western look. Missing the sleeve. The skirt is intact, though, ruffles and all.
Simplicity 5212, size 10, bust 32.5, waist 25 inches. From 1972. Missing the pants. The gorgeous skirt and blazer is there, though, with that incredible retro look.
Butterick 6725 Care Bear Ornaments. Missing the heart that one of the bears is holding. It is otherwise complete. On sale for $10.
Well, that’s a few of them. I have more to post. Good deals at good prices. Now, go forth and Goof Off!
Post by GoofingOff
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Random Act of Kindness: Sharing Information
I’ve always believed that the little things are what makes our lives special. The big things effect us, sometimes good, sometimes not so good, but we learn to adapt and go on. It is the little things that put a smile on our faces, give us those “Aha” moments, and can be the deal breaker for the day.
Yesterday I received an email from a fellow Etsian, MudPudlesnDandyLines, to tell me my Spirit of 1776 salt and pepper shakers were McCoy pottery. Not that they are worth a billion, but to teach me, to share information, and to help me identify them. That was so nice. She did that with a kind spirit, just to share. I feel a little dumb (my problem, like I am supposed to know everything) but I also feel so lucky that she shared her information with me with kindness. After that, I had to check out the shop. Look at the treasures!
Pretty Beaded Mosaic Broken China Lacy Milk Glass Plate
Pink Mosaic Cross Moonstone Broken China Crucifix wall art
Here Comes the Sun Stained Glass Mosaic Trivet
Her work is so beautiful that I had to share it with everyone. Hope everyone enjoys it as much as I do.
Post by Miss Eileen aka GoofingOff
MissEileen vintage
Goofingoff Etsy Judaic fabrics, sewing patterns
GoofingOff Artfire Sewing patterns, plus size patterns
Metal Woods N Water unusual stuff and metal work
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Making a Difference
I alway knew it. I did. One person can make a difference. Maybe not a huge difference but one person does have the ability to impact the lives of others. Here's how some folks are doing just that with a needle and thread.
Nancy Zieman, sewist extrordinaire, posted a story about making britches for boys with just a t-shirt, a needle, and thread. She even has a pattern to download for the pants. Here's the link:
Britches for Boys—Sewing Makes a Difference
An awesome way to use up one of those t-shirts that seem to reproduce asexually in your closet (at least they do in mine, except for the one I need TODAY and can't find....such is my life, never quite organized). Check out the link. Pretty darn kewl.....
Post by GoofingOff who is forever goofing off.
Nancy Zieman, sewist extrordinaire, posted a story about making britches for boys with just a t-shirt, a needle, and thread. She even has a pattern to download for the pants. Here's the link:
Britches for Boys—Sewing Makes a Difference
An awesome way to use up one of those t-shirts that seem to reproduce asexually in your closet (at least they do in mine, except for the one I need TODAY and can't find....such is my life, never quite organized). Check out the link. Pretty darn kewl.....
Post by GoofingOff who is forever goofing off.
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