Alabama Stitch Book

I know, I know...I have posted about this book
or it's author
or a project from it
time and time again...

I can't help myself.
I love this book.

I adore the sheer beauty of the simple fabric
and the simple thread.

The brilliance of the way that the two are joined together.

It's just beautiful.

I posted a while back that I was making a project from the book.

And I did -
I finished it just in time to wear to the Asheville Quilt Show!

I made the Reverse-Applique Swing Skirt from the pattern in the book.

It was a BIG hit!

I'll post a few pictures of the skirt -sans Carol- for the moment.
Maybe said skirt + Carol photo will come later...

Alabama Stitch Book

Have you ever heard of the Alabama Stitch Book? I found it at my local library last year and checked it out so many times that they ask me to purchase one...
well, not really (the purchase part) but I HAVE checked it out over and over and over...I just need to buy it I guess!
I love the book, I love Natalie Chanin's story and her awesome clothing designs.
I've done reverse applique in quilting before and love the textured look of it.
I love that you can take scraps of fabric, sew them together, cut out a few well placed holes and you get a totally new "look"...but I've never combined the quilting technique with regular cotton jersey (I always used cotton quilting fabric), button thread and a stencil pattern...
I'm always looking for projects that travel well...and I've found a new one!
I took one of the patterns (or I should say directions- I took the directions) from the book and gave it a run as a "travel project" and it worked wonderfully!
So, I am hooked on the technique now!
You should go out, get this awesome book, read Natalie Chanin's story and learn a few things about our friend cotton.
After that, you'll be as hooked as I am with the Alabama Chanin's approach to design and the Making of Clothing.
Here's what you're looking for - right here...
This is what I made - a reverse applique book cover.
I've added some random beading (see Mary Stori? I'm beginning to put them on Everything?!). Oh, and I'm not finished with the beading - I'm planning on adding the "fade beading" to every reverse applique opening on the front of the cover.
And here is the front cover-
And here is the back. My initial idea was to make a tee shirt but I decided to just do the book cover (journal cover actually!) instead. Wouldn't this color combination be a great Clemson Tiger fan gift?

OK- there you have it. My weekend fiber fix. That's what I did.

What about you?

Yoshiko Wada

This is what Yoshiko's web site says about her -
"Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada is an artist, author, curator, textile researcher and has long been an exponent of traditional and sustainable practices in fashion and textile production."

I would simply say that she is a beautiful woman...inside and out.
I had the pleasure of spending the day with Yoshiko (and about 25 or 30 other lucky women) in Asheville, NC yesterday. We were at an all day workshop at the Asheville Arts Council on Biltmore Avenue (part of the Hatch festival in town). Boro Transformed. I wish it had of been a week long workshop. I could go on and on about it but just lack the time right now. I have to get packed for a weekend trip. I'll try to add more later.
I sat with my buddy Judy Simmons and we were just in awe of our speaker! So very intelligent and interesting. We spent the morning listening, looking at awesome textile samples from far and wide. Then in the afternoon we were "set loose" with a bag of samples, directions and orders to "have at it"! We had sheets of water soluble vinylon that were supplied to us so we could create our own piece of fabric. I laid mine out in the workshop but didn't sew it until I got home.

I really enjoyed the process and know that I'll be doing more of it. I choose to use some of my rusted fabric, wool that was supplied in our sample packet (the loose weave black fabric), rusted cheese cloth and black batting. Oh, and some beautiful hand dyed wool thread from Nancy Bruce. I like the way it turned out and will probably use it on a book cover or similar project.

Then we hit the indigo dye vat. Wow! Loved, loved, loved it! This is one of my most favorite colors! I'll post a couple of pictures of everyone else's work (even though some had already been removed). They were wonderful! Judy shared her beads with us so we did some shibori with them. I also just tied up other areas on a piece of PFD fabric. I would have loved to dyed much more but due to time, space and a hip that refused to cooperate I was limited to what I could do. I may just have to add indigo dyeing to the rust dyeing mess, I mean area that we have now. It's just so beautiful!
The gallery of the Arts Council building was a veritable feast for the senses. The "Slow Design" exhibit was being shown there. I've a few photos of it, not very good ones, as the new camera seems to have a mind of its own (and a very stubborn one at that!). You simply MUST go there and have a look at all that they offer. Talented, fresh designers that all are trying to create their work involving local and/or regional technologies and materials. They were featuring work and works curated by the HATCH Fashion mentors, Elisa Jimenez, Yoshiko Wada, and Mary Gehlhar on the theme of 'Slow Design'. I also recognised the work of Natalie "Alabama" Chanin. I have her book and adore it! The pictures below of reverse applique pieces belong to the "Alabama Chanin" line.