12 meters/€20

I stumbled into the clearance room at Ikea and found a bin full of fabric ends and pieces. Off-cuts, samples, etc. In all probability, had the prices been half what they were, I'd have ended up with twice as much fabric. These are the prizes, and I already have plans for a lot of it, but there is something about a bunch of random fabrics that just makes me want to Make Stuff.

Wait for it....

OK, then. This is nearly done. There is one patch of blue that needs to be finished, and one patch of red. (I was working on this on my trip to Vienna, and ran out of those 2 colors.)

I kind of hate the green blobs on the right side, and they were NOT part of the original outline. See what I get for my troubles? I may well pick them out, too. The red net is better than I thought, but still not ideal. Etc, etc. Always a critic.

... and then what? I don't know. Stretch & frame? Sew it on to something else, applique style? See if I can get one of my friends who's done textile art to incorporate it into something grander?

There are a few things I would do differently, now that I've done them this way (thanks, learning experiences!), but that's OK. There will be a next time, and I am definitely getting the hang of some of the techniques. As soon as I finish those last two little bits of missing colors, and probably pick out the green blobs, I'm going to (a) get a color-correct photo of this, and (b) put it to bed. Maybe I'll just start a big collection of smallish, irrational embroidery pieces, which will be of great interest to archaeologists and psychologists in some long-distant future.

In other news, when I was in Vienna (Austria, the rest of this paragraph won't make sense if you think I'm talking about some other Vienna), I stopped by the Museum für Angewandte Kunst (Museum of Applied Art) and lucked out: They had a huge exhibit in their textiles ward on Ottoman embroidered textiles. Clothing, furniture ornamentation, bath towels, and so on.

Last time it was fashions made from recycled materials, and although a ball gown made of grocery bags is certainly Something To See, it has a little less immediacy to my own projects. Although I *do* like to reuse common materials, especially if they are meant to be trash. Nevermind, I think you get the point.

Not only did I see a tremendous collection of inspiring designs and workmanship, but learned a few nifty things. I now know where the term "bath sheet" comes from! It was a great exhibit. My only regret is that old fibers can be very delicate in many ways, so the pieces were behind glass in a dimly lit room. But that's OK, it was worth every minute of squinting.

Here is a link to the museum page for this exhibit. I'll update this later if I can find their English language version. There are a couple of pictures there, and a bit of descriptive text. Also, the MAK is awesome for being free to the public on Saturdays. MAK really is one of my favorite museums, both in focus and operation. [eta: in English]

The Slow March of Progress.

Or, Slowgress, for short.

And then you threw an octopus at my window

And here is the current work in progress. What is it? I don't know. I drew the design out, in a fit of responsibility/optimism. I started stitching in the middle, and plan to work my way out. I have an idea how the colors will go, and maybe the textures.

I'm sure there is too much to this design, and I might cut back on my plan to fill it all in (as I am doing with the bit that's already been sewn on), but who knows. The odds are pretty good that I'll get fed up with this and abandon it before it is done, as well. But for now I am quite hopeful, and some day would like to think of some more rewarding application and design for this stuff. Until then, I will be happily picking away at this hoop.

By the way, when I say I've been fixated with this, I mean just that. I've done almost nothing else for the past 3 weeks. Obviously this is a time consuming activity, and I'm probably slower than a person with more experience would be. Or, maybe the problem is that I go too fast and end up with mistakes and so on. I've never been one to let a little thing like that slow me down.

The Little Gloves That Couldn't

The thing about perfunctory research is that sometimes you begin the project and realize you're screwed. So it was with the gloves. Not only was my design for the gloves faulty in oh-so-many ways, but also, I kind of got carried away with the decoration on the gloves. The left on in particular. Also, the right glove. Oh well, it was fun anyway.

Latest Fixation: Embroidery

Sometime in the past few months, I got hooked on the idea that embroidery and other sewing-related activities might be fun and visually entertaining.

(In case you ever wondered, my Big Artistic Mission is "make stuff that is interesting to look at"...)

So, I picked up one book about embroidery, and was handed the book from a starter kit. Between the two, and an 8 hour transatlantic flight, I was able to pick out a few tentative designs. At the very top (12 o'clock position) are the very first stitches I made. It pretty much had to get better from there...