Necklaces Necklaces Necklaces.

My quest to become a master solderer continues. It's surprisingly tricky. I'm not exactly sure how the explosion of soldered glass jewelry has happened, since it seems like it takes a lot of practice! Anyway, here are some new soldered peacock feather pendants. When my skillz get really good, I'm start producing round ones, since round glass costs more. I really like the fabric chains because I have PLENTY of extra fabric from making clothes and I think putting fabric behind the feathers works better then paper.

I don't like to toot my horn too much but this necklace made from a Smuckers jelly lid is simply wonderful. It is. I cut out the cross stitching from one of the handkerchiefs I bought at an estate sale and glued it inside the lid, then hung a little green glass heart that I had soldered earlier. I'm in love with it.

And then there's these bird necklaces.  I'm pretty stoked about them too. Having an etsy store has been so fun because it gives you the opportunity to see where your sensibilities and others meet, or don't, as the case may be. For example, when I made these earrings  I really wasn't crazy about them and didn't think anyone else would like them. They are my most popular item, by far. Conversely, (inversely? reversely?) I thought these earrings would be an instant fashion sensation, but nobody gives them a second glance at all. So, I'll be interested to see what catches on. Either way, it doesn't matter, the Smuckers necklace is bad ass.

Tango of the Tablecloth

This may be my favorite skirt yet. So if nobody buys it, I may just have to keep it to myself! The red and white checker and ruffle are both from tablecloths from my mom. The pocket is made from the same table cloth that went into this skirt. The gold trim around the pocket was taken from an extra large african dress that I picked up at the salvation army here in Bedstuy. The great thing about these skirts is they can also be worn as dresses.

The other great thing about these skirts is they look so cute with high heels! I rarely wear high heels because a) they hurt and b) I'm already tall. If wearing high heels puts you over the 6 foot mark, it's hazardously unstable, in my opinion. But it does look good in photos.

On a side note, I'm feeling more and more confident about this-a here skirt   business of mine. I think I'm going to continue to refine my design sense, making these skirts one at a time before I really expand. I'm a little intimidated by the idea of drafting up a business plan, getting a loan etc. plus I really just don't have the room right now. As it is I've taken over part of our roommate's living space with my ironing board and after all the earrant bits of lace and polka dot fabric that gets everywhere, I understand a person can only be polite for so long.  Perhaps I'll focus more on the peacock feather jewelry, since it takes up less room. Sigh...patience...it's a virtue.

New Skirts and a New Design

I love a denim skirt AND I love applique. Denim is so satisfying to sew. So well-behaved, predictable and substantial. And the seams always come out of the serger looking perfectly cut and stitched. This is one of my very first attempts at applique and I must say, it looks darn fetching. I know there's different schools of applique: so people believe hand stitched is best, some people don't fully finish the edge so it starts to fray, which is something i've never understood. They always say, "the applique will fray over time, adding to its' charm." Really? I don't really think that anything becomes more charming as it frays. I think that means, it's going to look cruddy and cruddier. Oh well. Either way, I like my applique tightly and neatly zigzagged with NO fraying. It is painstaking though, which is why I'm charging more for this skirt. Who knows? I may grow to like the frayed "charm" the more applique I do. This denim is taken from an enormous western style dress that I bought a while back at the Fruita Thrift Store.

                                                                                                                                                                                   I'm really a fan of this one. I love black floral fabrics and of course, gingham. If the gingham becomes too much, I hope somebody will intervene. There's something somewhat Anthropologie-y about this skirt. At least that's what I like to think. I love Anthropologie. Curse them and their beautiful, expensive things! I have some other skirts to show that I'm extra excited about, but I'm going to do that in a seperate post since I start to get a little nuts when shifting around all these pictures in blogger.

Sunday's child is full of grace.

Or is it Tuesday's child? Who knew skirt making could bring up such confusion regarding old timey nursery rhymes? Not me. I've got some new skirts to share. And you're gonna like them. My mom sent me a bunch of supercute 50's kitchen towels with day o' the week appliques on them. I've been hanging on to them, mostly because I couldn't figure out how to incorporate them into a Teablossoms skirt, since the towels are all white and Teablossoms skirts are BOLD, BRIGHT, and FLOWERY! But then I said, "hey, what about pockets?"
Jeff and I went to the park under Brooklyn bridge for this shoot. We like to keep things interesting. We raced against the clock as the sun set behind the Manhattan skyline. I've also been experimenting with garment tags. I know I could cough up 50 bucks and get some prefabricated, but I am a die hard do it yourselfer, plus I like working with gold fabric paint.... your thoughts?