Make It Yourself March, Week 2: Sustainable Making

This week's MIY March subjects are Sharing and Caring:
• Sustainable sewing tips
• Material sourcing
• Our most treasured textiles

I'm going to reminisce on some of my own workshop experiences that fall in the "sustainable" category. These also might give you some ideas for sourcing fabrics, fibers, and even art materials.
The boldface type will link to individual posts.

Slow Clothing and Mending at #CAFAM July 24, 2017
I mentioned Ruth Katzenstein Souza in the previous post. She is the goddess of sustainable practice and mending.
Read her "Original Call to Mending" from 2014!

Seeing these amulets, formed from saved bits of thread ends, fabric scraps, etc sparked my imagination.

[image source]

DIY Yarn from Old Tees with Frau Fiber April 21, 2018

That time I learned how to make "yarn" from teeshirts.

Which led to turning my old jeans into an art piece (still a WIP)

And my return to weaving.

Fiber Workshop with Carrie Burckle at Otis (no posts!) June, 2018

Experimented with various upcycling techniques, including

• Paper bags into yarn (difficult):

• Weaving warp ends that Carrie collected from Diedrek Bracken's projects that he worked on at Cal State Long Beach upcycled into my own off-loom weaving:

Original cotton, Diedrick dyed it pink.

Mock ikat with poured bits of red dye

Still sewing the squares together.

Note to self: I really need to write up a post or two about that workshop! Even if I have to predate it to get in onto the blog chronologically. 

Upcycling = lots of fun possibilities!

Make It Yourself March, Week 2: Sustainable Treasure!

Wendy has me doing some deep thinking with her MIY March this year!
I'm loving the slow approach of weekly prompts and creating thoughtful posts.

This week's subjects are Sharing and Caring:
• Sustainable sewing tips
• Material sourcing
• Our most treasured textiles

I'm going to start with my number one textile treasure: The Crazy Quilt!

photo from 2013
click to embiggen

This is my major mending WIP and I'm featuring it in the daily prompts for #MendMarch2020 (see last week's post. The IG hashtag is #crazyquilt_amb). This was "on hiatus" in storage for a few years, I brought it back into use last year, inspired by the mending workshop I took with Ruth Katzenstein Souza. It is both "in progress" and on my bed, so the shredded, holey parts are getting progressively worse.

Moth holes, shredded parts revealing the base sleeping bag, these patches dating from 1973-1987

It's not easy to work on while in active use (potential stabbing from forgotten pins or lost needles) and last summer I got lazy when it was off the bed and more workable and I did no mending.

It's full of nostalgic scraps -- I started it my Junior or Senior year of high school in 1973-74.
I've also made half of it twice! [Here's THAT story]
I think the oldest scrap is from the fabric that covered the couch in our living room and I'm thinking the couch was reupholstered with it when we moved to Millbrook, NY in 1968.

The newest addition has been cut but not yet sewn.
I think I'll use some visible mending, the former sock is super bulky.

View this post on Instagram

#mendmarch 3/8 FUNDAMENTAL Measure twice, cut once. #mendmarch2020 #crazyquilt #crazyquilt_amb #patchwork

A post shared by anne m bray (@annembray) on Mar 8, 2020 at 12:47pm PDT

I made a memory sketchbook about the quilt in 2013 (here's the video compilation).

Last year, I started a new digital version, which I quickly abandoned.

I digitally collaged this using the Notebook app on my iPad.
Wasn't sure about the results and it was a lot of work.

I'm feeling the urge to resuscitate the project here on SpyGirl.
Tests done quickly this morning in Photoshop:

Quilt Dossier concept -- memories of each patch

Patchwork quilts have been a way to use scraps for centuries! Historical sustainability!
And there are "sew" many ways to approach the craft.

Linking up with
Catherine's #sharealllinkup
Shelbee's Spread the Kindness

A Glint of Gold

The Textile Arts LA "Year of Mindful Mending" with Ruth Katzenstein Souza had its final meeting last week. Ruth provided us with the golden opportunity of playing the Golden Joinery game.

From their website:

A tear in your favorite jeans? Your grandmothers silk blouse with a worn collar? They form the basis for the GOLDEN JOINERY game:
a fashion first aid
a game to wear
a treasure box
an adventurous journey
The game will be hosted by YOU. You will invite some friends, ask them to bring a dear but broken garment and together you will repair your clothes with gold. No experience needed with needle and thread, you will learn by doing.
The GOLDEN JOINERY game will offer techniques and playful interventions. The cards will guide you through the levels on the gameboard to get to the finish: your unique minicollection of garments with golden scars. They will be part of the ‘new’ fashion brand GOLDEN JOINERY, inmediately spread both online and offline.

I brought my grey Danish Schoolbag that I've had since the '80s, it had become worn at the bottom of a pocket -- so much so that I'd taped over the pocket opening with blue tape so I wouldn't accidentally put anything in there.
No before photo! Forgot, and we had to put our phones away!

Game material and tools included (from website):

manuals
gameboard
deck of 27 Cards
8 Round cards
set of needles
box of pins
4 Bobbins golden thread
threader
6 golden fabrics
leftovers
a tea bag

I was so grateful for the game supplies, because the golden "thread" that I brought was wretched to work with. Refusing to go purchase thread, I pulled apart some gold chord from my "Christmas Wrap" box. Each ply of the 2-ply chord consisted of 10 threads.

It was the most devilish stuff!
Threading a needle was a challenge (even with a needle threader!) and stitching with it even more so.

I also used some provided gold vinyl -- the tear was beyond mending with mere stitching.

Here's my mend in its current state:

I used two more types of thread: lovely golden metallic thread that came with the game and gold-color embroidery floss.

All the mends:

Ruth, thank you so much for our Year of Mindful Mending. It was a wonderful experience!

Linking up with

Patti's Visible Monday

Shelbee's Spread the Kindness

Catherine's #shareallLinkup

Shelbee's On the Edge

On the Mend(ing)

I've signed up for a one-year mending workshop, taught by Ruth Katzenstein Souza, organized by Textile Arts LA.

Opening slide of Ruth's Power Point presentation

I haven't done a very good job at reducing Refurbish Mountain and I thought this might help me get back on track.

We met at Ruth's studio (so much eye candy!).
Our work table (a ping pong table!) was artfully arranged with sewing stuff along the center:

I made good use of some of the equipment -- I forgot a vital box of sewing gear.

I took too many items (as usual), including the huipil I mended two years ago (it needs MORE mending) at a previous workshop with Ruth. I didn't work on that though.

Instead, hoping to make something I could wear right away, I modified one of the African textiles that I bought last week. Got 2/3 done. The end of our day came WAY too fast.

I promise to get this done before we next meet in June.

It was a lovely, exciting, enriching afternoon  -- thanks so much Ruth and Textile Arts LA!

Linking up with Shelbee's Spread the Kindness

Slow Clothing and Mending at #CAFAM

Yesterday, I attended two related events at the Craft and Folk Art Museum that I found very transformative.

Here is what I took:

My huipil with the shredded shoulder and a [way too large a] pile of possible fabrics for patching.

Here is some of what I took in:
From Kath and Kim of The Possibility Project

From Ruth Katzenstein Souza

Along with her short slide lecture, Ruth brought along some examples of her Visible Mending to inspire us:

Jeans

Vest back and detail

Sweater (shown sideways)

I could have sat and stared at Ruth's huipil for a long time...

But it was time to get stitching!

I opted for the panty with a print that I designed and red embroidery floss.

Done! I call this Chaos Stitching -- decisions made in a flash, permission granted to dive right into it.

One of my main reasons for attending was to sit around a table with a bunch of others, stitching.

It was as wonderful as I'd hoped.

Feeling mended!

Final quote from Ruth:

Thank you so much, Kath, Kim, Ruth, and CAFAM!

I'm linking up with
Patti's Visible Monday
Shelbee's Spread the Kindness
Catherine's #SaturdayShareLinkUp