Hey, Look! New fabric and prewashing tips.

Posted on March 31, 2011 by Lisa Yarost

Okay, so I’m busy getting ready for the Big Show. I need to stay focused. Except…

I couldn’t wait to take off my nasty polyester work blouse today, and the thought of wearing polyester through another summer was not sounding too appealing. I decided I would make a quick top, out of a natural fiber, of course.

I haven’t tried this pattern before. In fact, I just bought it today. I’m taking a chance, though, because this cotton garment fabric, which is an odd waffle-weave-ish sort of number, only cost $3 a yard. That’s cheaper than muslin.

And no, I’m not putting elastic on the cuffs. I wore that the first time around. Therefore, I am too old to wear it this time around. 🙂

Due to my not realizing that my fabric was actually 60″ wide, I have enough to make any of the views. I think, though, that I will probably stick with C, which was the one I first intended.

Of course, the fabric must be prewashed. It is swishing around as I write. I have a very strict idea about prewashing. Although most people prewash in the same manner that the fabric is intended to be washed, I always assume that the shirt that I never want to throw in the dryer will end up tumbling with jeans on high for an hour at some point. If I have put any significant time into making it, I want to be sure that it is not a wadder after that point. Prewashing, therefore, is my way of inflicting prophylactic abuse on my garment. Even if it never sees a dryer again, I won’t have to worry about getting that sinking feeling when I fold the laundry and find it there with the towels.

Oh, and a little tip: You know that horrible twisted mess that you often get when prewashing fabric? That can be somewhat avoided by sewing the cut edges together before washing. The nasty raveled thread nests can also be somewhat avoided by clipping a little bit of each raw corner before washing. I learned those tips many years ago from somebody on a sewing list, and they have served me very well.

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To Keep Inside

Posted on March 30, 2011 by Lisa Yarost

Hey! New series, second painting.

 

"To Keep Inside," 8x10", mixed media, by Lisa M. Yarost, Copyright 2011

 

Five points and a gold star to the first person who guesses the inspiration for this series.

This painting was again from one of the group of boards that I prepared a while back. I have a lot of 8×10″ hardboards, so I can do small works until my hands fall off. Let’s see… we have collage, acrylic gel medium, alcohol inks, acrylic paints, water soluble crayons (like watercolor pencils, but fat and without wood), and some excavation (destructive/subtractive) techniques. It’s all in there but the fabric!

Oh, and good news: I’m getting my sales tax ID soon! Now I can enter art and craft shows as a vendor! Yippee!

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Empty Silhouettes

Posted on March 29, 2011 by Lisa Yarost

Remember all those boards I was preparing? Well, this is one of them.

"Empty Silhouettes" - 8x10", mixed media on hardboard, by Lisa M. Yarost, Copyright 2011

Talk about mixed media… It’s all in there but the fabric.

It’s hard to capture the depth of this in a photograph, but I’m pretty pleased with it. I may have a difficult time letting this one go.

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The last Little Birdie

Posted on March 28, 2011 by Lisa Yarost

Well, here it is, the last little birdie. Time to move on to a new series.

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Bernina Cozy, Part 2

Posted on March 27, 2011 by Lisa Yarost

Bernina Cozy, almost finished

Sometimes, you just have to let paint dry overnight. That’s what I had to do today, so to make myself feel like a super accomplished person, I decided to just make the stupid sewing machine cover.

Yes, I know that I had already done a great deal of work on all the little bits and pieces for a different cover, but that one still wasn’t finished, and this fabric wasn’t going to be made into anything else, thanks to a little water damage.

Actually, I don’t know why I bought this fabric. I remember buying it at a Field’s Fabrics tent sale a few years ago, but I’m not sure what I had in mind for it. Curtains? I don’t know. Anyway, There were at least three yards of it, and I never did manage to get the water stains out of the whole thing. The water-stained stuff is on the inside of the cover.

So, here’s a little tutorial on how to make a machine cover:

  1. Measure the distance around your machine, divide by two, and add a couple of inches. This is how wide your fabric will be.
  2. Measure from the table up, over the top of your machine, back down to the table on the other side. Add a few inches. This is how long your fabric will be.
  3. Cut out two pieces of fabric and a piece of batting to the size you determined. Make a quilting sandwich and quilt the crap out of it.
  4. Fold the fabric in half so that the two lengthwise edges touch, then sew up the sides.
  5. Use a hard ruler to measure your machine width from front to back at the top.
  6. Use that measurement to make a flat “bottom” by following the instructions here: http://kathleenmurphydesigns.blogspot.com/2010/07/tutorial-making-bags-have-flat-bottom.html
  7. Place your bag on your machine and cut out areas that don’t fit, like the section I removed for the quilting table.
  8. (This is the part I haven’t done yet) Finish the edges by applying bias tape. I don’t have any that matches, so I’ll have to make my own (because I don’t want to buy any).

And there you have it: a sewing machine cover. Almost finished.

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Gained?

Posted on March 26, 2011 by Lisa Yarost

Today was not directly productive, studio-wise. Sure, I washed some fabrics that had been discovered in a mildewed box, and I cleared of my table – mostly – and I found a place for the fabrics that does not include a mildewed box…

But mostly I went out and did stuff.

I dubbed today “I Love You So Much I Sharpened All the Knives Day” after I packed up my three favorite pairs of scissors and *all* of our sharpenable knives to haul off to a “sharpening event” at the local quilt shop. There were so many that I was advised to go run errands and return in a few hours. We discovered that they are, indeed, sharp when DH accidentally cut holes in the washcloth while washing them before placing them back in the knife block. I was told they would make me love cooking again.

We’ll see.

Anyway, after returning with fantastically sharpened shears, I managed to mess around in the studio for a while and finish the little piece you see above.

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Peace, Man!

Posted on March 25, 2011 by Lisa Yarost

Just a little silliness to celebrate my day off!

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I’m coming home.

Posted on March 24, 2011 by Lisa Yarost

Today’s piece is the second to last in the little birdie series. It is called, for obvious reasons, “I’m Coming Home.”

How do I know it’s second to last? I only have one frame left!

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I’ll Live for Him

Posted on March 23, 2011 by Lisa Yarost

Oh, so girly! I wasn’t planning to have this one turn out so pink and purple, but sometimes you can’t help yourself. And with a title like “I’ll Live for Him,” It’s hard to expect camo, I suppose.

The bird is actually made from some of my paper fabric, nice for cutting, nice for stamping, nice for sewing. I don’t have to worry about it drooping.

Here’s a little secret: there’s a painting hiding under the quilt. Nobody will ever see it, since the quilt is sewn onto the panel backing, but it’s there. Anybody buying this one will get a two-fer without knowing it!

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manama

Posted on March 22, 2011 by Lisa Yarost

Manama - mixed media, 5x7", by Lisa M. Yarost, copyright 2011

More art! This is another one of my little artworks made to fit a little frame. In case you’re wondering where the board comes from, it’s all native to the studio! I have dozens of these little 5×7″ boards all primed and ready to become fabulous works of art.

The name of the piece, “Manama” is taken from the stamp sewn in the corner. I had no idea where that was, so I asked my good friend Wikipedia, who informed me that it is the capital of Bahrain.

Oh, yeah…. Manama(na!) *Doo doo doo doo do!*

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