My Obsession with Red Continues

I nearly died when I saw this dress/coat thingy. ME WANT.

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The Rubber Band Skirt Project

 

Many years ago I worked at Borders as the Paperchase Manager. My inventory was shipped to me using an unnatural amount of rubber bands; by the end of each day my lower right arm was surrounded by over 100 of them! No one wanted them, so instead of tossing them I decided to make an entire outfit out of office supplies. First up was a rubber band skirt.

Half a decade later, I've gotten as far as the above pictures, which believe it or not represent a ridiculous amount of work: First I knot twelve rubber bands together, repeating twice. Then I knot these three strands together at the top and braid them.

Now I had a rope. I string twenty rubber bands evenly spaced onto a thick ribbon, and then begin weaving the loose bands into the rope. Repeat ad nauseum and you reach the point I'm at--18"x8" of uneven rubberbandedness.

So, the other day I decided to redo this project as well. I unwove everything so that I just had a bunch of braided strands. Then I braided three of the strands, three more, and three more, then braided those three into one big strand!

Then I did it again.

Now it's much more even and pretty, but it added a lot of unforeseen bulk. Not sure what to do about that since my goal was to keep braiding braids until I got one huge braid. Maybe I will have to weave a few together to keep the bulk down.

What I have left ... hmm, need to hunt for some more

Then when I'm done with that, paperclip jewelry. I was thinking a sticky-note top, but not sure how I am going to pull that off just yet. I have experience with sewing paper, but not as clothing.

And then shoes. And purse, maybe. Hmmm, duct tape ... is duct tape considered an office supply? :)

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Memory Quilt Redo

So I've been working on a "memory quilt" ever since I saw one on the wall of my friend Lizzy's house over ten years ago. Any fabric-based product my family went to throw away since then has been redirected to my "quilt bin." Above is the hand-sewn quilt so far.

But I haven't worked on it in years. Honestly, it just looks ugly. So the other night, I dumped out the quilt from it's bag as well as all the unsewn scraps ...

 

...and cut it all into over 200 three-and-a-half-inch squares. Nice!

  

So I am hoping that if the sections are all even the quilt will be much more pleasing to the eye. Yet I'll still be able to retain all the memories associated with the fabrics.

  

DC, our fluffy cat, decided that she approved much more of the scrap heap than the squares...

  

...tell me she isn't ridiculously adorable? :)

  

This is her "OK, the camera is a leeeeetle too close to my face" look

  

She fell asleep on the scrap heap, so I piled the rest of the fabrics around her.

  

It didn't take long for her to snuggle in!

  

Doh. So cute it should be illegal.

 

Sorry, I've digressed down Lookitmecat Lane ... but that's my project so far. I'll keep you posted on it when I finally get around to beginning sewing it. I don't have a sewing machine, though. I'm considering hand-sewing it but I have some thicker materials (aka jean) and that hurts my fingers. Gotta think about that one.

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These are a few of my favorite things ... Spats!

OK, confession.

I didn't even know what spats WERE until I came across them on Etsy. But now I'm in love. Indulge with me. :)

"Felted victorian spats Appetizer" by Rudman

"floral spats with white pearl snaps - size small" by Fait Avec

"Victorian STEAMPUNK Spats" by Poppy's Wicked Garden

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Art as Fashion: A Mural Transformed into Handbags

~UPDATE 10/15/09: Congratulations, Andrea, on your successful project!

Andrea Tobin is an artist living here in NY that had a great idea: she has painted a HUGE mural on canvas which she is now hoping to transform into fifty limited-edition handbags. I love it!

Project site: A Mural Transformed into Handbags
Pledge goal: $4000
My pledge: $1
Deadline: October 15

About Kickstarter.com
Kickstarter.com is a website run by five guys based in Brooklyn, NY. The concept is simple: A person has a project that needs a little boost to get started. This person posts their project to Kickstarter.com and promises rewards based on how much money people pledge to their project. Other people sign into Kickstarter.com and pledge money towards projects they favor. If a project meets or exceeds the funding goal by the deadline, the backers' credit-cards are charged (these are donations, not loans, btw) and the person begins their project and sends out the rewards to their backers upon completion of their project. Projects can be anything really, but often include producing a music album, saving collections from the dump, funding a trip, and even making a mural into handbags. Learn more.

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