christmas, part 1 - the bathroom!

i loooove christmas. i hate the crowds, the shopping malls, the stress, the rampant christianity, etc, but i love the glitter and glam, the memories and traditions, and spending time with loved ones. and turkey and stuffing, of course!

i haven't been able to decorate much the last few years because i didn't have the space, so i decorated A LOT this year.

since i went just a teensy bit overboard with xmas decorating, i'm going to split the pics up into a few posts.

the first place i decorated was my bedroom, and i posted pics of that tree back in december.

next up was my bathroom, all in shades of purple

i found some ribbon at the $ store and used it as garlands over my jewelery storage.


i used tinsel garland on the mirror, the only place where it wouldn't touch the painted walls - i learned the hard way years ago that garlands sometimes bleed when exposed to the steamy heat of a bathroom!


i used the same ribbon again over the toilet, with a glittery lavender bow in the centre.


the frame is a vintage one that i painted with krylon (the purple frames were what inspired the bathroom colour scheme in the first place), and the mirrored purple candleholders are from the $store.


across from the toilet wall, i hung a lavender glittered snowflake, and a small lavender crocheted snowflake, on the medicine cabinet. i dyed bottlebrush trees to sit beside a small purple chest that holds q-tips.


close up of the trees


and below the medicine cabinet, there was the tree


the pink tree came from daiso, it was $5.50 (i <3 daiso!) i searched for a purple tree for a while before finding this pink one. i did find a purple tinsel tree later for $15.00, but it was too bright anyway....



i used some of the same ribbon as garland again, and added a few glittery purple balls that my ex left behind, a few regular sized purple glass balls, and then a package of matte and shiny little lavender balls that i bought at zellers (kinda like a cross between target and kmart). they're "alfred sung", ohh la la!


and of course, a tree topper. a fabulous glittery be-feathered bird clip.


i added a bit of glittery goodness to the closet as well -


the glittery picks came from micheals, and matched perfectly!

and the finishing touch was the doily wreath i made. i dyed the doilies using the same dye as the bottle brush trees, and then molded them into a wreath shape.


i took pictures as i went along, so i'll post them soon!


and that was the bathroom!

the Art of Brenna Maag: Doilies and Science

i went to the Richmond Art Gallery sunday afternoon specifically to the see the current exhibits Navigating the Uncertainty Principle and Observation of Wonder, since sunday was the last day. the exhibits showed the work of two artists, Brenna Maag and Ingrid Koenig, but it was Brenna Maag's Observation of Wonder that i was determined to see.

she uses DOILIES! if you've been around long enough to see some of of my past doily projects, you'll know about my love of doilies! there was the pink doily purse, which was the first one, and totally started the obsession, as well as multiple doily skirts (oddly enough, very similar ones appeared in Crochet Today after i made my first few!). i have several large doily projects planned, and i've been collecting them for it. i love them for a multitude of reasons, but the main one is the amount of work and love that went into the creation of each one. it makes me so sad to see doilies in the thrift store being sold for $1, when i think of the huge amount of time it took to make it.

it was really really cool to see someone else using them in such an interesting way.

she intertwined art and science in a really fascinating way, categorizing doilies into "families" based on their design, much how scientists categorize plant life into "families" using the principle of "taxonomy".

to continue with the scientific theme, she made cyanotype prints of the doilies, a technique used to illustrate plant life by an early scientist, Anna Atkins.


(photo from http://www.brennamaag.ca)

cyanotype is a super fascinating, yet also super easy, technique, something i've wanted to play with for quite some time. i've also seen cyanotype quilts, which are SO amazing, and super inspiring! (there's a great tutorial on instructables for making cyanotype prints using negatives as well)


(photo from http://www.brennamaag.ca)

after categorizing the doilies, she made the prints of them, including the names that she had given them, based on latin, and then categorized them into species and families. (check out her website for pictures of her process)


(photo from http://www.brennamaag.ca)

isn't that amazing? what a fabulous combination of science, art, and traditional doilies!

that alone would have been worth the trip, but there was more! in addition to the cyanotypes, she also created a 9ft tall dome of doilies.


(photo from http://www.brennamaag.ca)


(photo from http://www.brennamaag.ca)

it was amazing to walk inside it and be surrounded by doilies on all sides.


(photo from http://www.brennamaag.ca)

the doilies are all adhered to white cotton on the inside of the dome, creating a really neat texture on the outside of the dome as well.

she uses only white and cream doilies, unlike my brightly coloured ones, and they create a very tranquil space.


(photo from http://www.brennamaag.ca)

it reminded me so much of watching the northern lights when i was in the Yukon years ago. Northern lights are very very rare here, but i remember them vividly from my childhood on the prairies, spreading across the sky. in the Yukon, because you are so far north, the northern lights seem to be in a dome around you, like a cathedral. it's incredibly beautiful, and almost spiritual.



the Richmond Art Gallery has a ATC trading group that meets once a month. they have monthly themes that relate to the art gallery's current exhibitions, though they are not required. the theme for may is patterns, and the last few days i've been playing with some fabric ATCs that show patterns. tonight is the trading session for May, and i'm going to go and take my pattern ATCs. i'm excited, actually, i've never traded ATCs in person before!



(note that all photos are from http://www.brennamaag.ca they wouldn't allow me to take pictures in the gallery itself.)

swap package - clothes, christmas, stuffy and more!

okay, last post of the night, i promise. it's past my bedtime already.


this package was HUGE. i made everything for jungrrl, and then USPS lost it. (i think they hate me). i am very very sad, though i'm hoping that something magical will happen. i mailed it 45 days ago, so maybe i should give up hope!

i made her two shirts, one with my fabulous owl fabric, and one with awesome vintage yellow and black star print jersey







a dress, using the same pattern as the fuscia dress (actually made this one first)




another one of the plaid cropped hoodies (again, made before the others)




the hoody and the dress are both made out of the fabulous 70s poly knit new/old stock from the fabric store. i love that stuff.

a simple skirt made out fun fabric


a stocking with her name on it

(the black is an ultrasuede type fabric, and all of the doilies were dyed before they were stitched on.

the felt gun from readymade





a cool owl pincushion using a retro owl mug i'd been saving


and a vinyl octopus!

i absolutely adore this vinyl, the colour is amazing. i bought a few metres when i first got it, and then i sent my sister back for the last 2 metres on the bolt! i'll definitely be making bags out of it soon!

he has BIG pink eyes.... and polyfill stuffing just in his head/body

and blue circles (suctiony cups)on his bottom!

his body is cut from 5 pieces all together - 4 of the blue, and the large silver underside.

he was really my first attempt at a stuffy in years, much less out of vinyl, and i love how he turned out.



i'm so sad that this package got eaten by the postal service!

a sad day, purchases and my secret love of polyester

recycling day this week was a sad sad day in amy-land.

the newspaper dress finally went to the big recycling depot in the sky.

it had a long life for the average newspaper, and despite attempts to protect it, it was getting pretty beat up. it had been taken on and off the dressform so many times (cause, ya'know, dress forms have other uses as well, such as fitting burlesque costumes) and had been moved multiple times and the skirt was rather rumpled and the entire garment had yellowed quite badly. so it was time.

in an attempt to comfort myself, i went to the thrift store. (handy excuse that was!) this particular thrift store used to be just a few blocks from my house, but moved further away, and i rarely go there now, as much as i like it. as a general principle, i much prefer the little independant thrift stores, the type that are fundraising for hospital auxilary committees, fire fighters, hospices, etc, and tend to be staffed by fairly cranky older women. this one is hospital auxilary, i think, and staffed by older women, but oddly enough, they're quite friendly, though they do tend to get flustured when i ask odd questions. (why don't they sell cards with writing on them? i'd buy them! i only buy the vintage cards for the images anyway, and i love reading old letters!)

i was in search of doilies, because i'm ALWAYS in search of doilies, but didn't find any. however, i TOTALLY lucked out on old knitting books!

the photos are so fabulous, all the knits are so fitted in wonderful 40s styles and the models are so glamourous, holding their cigarettes while posing in front of travel posters.
i'm so in love with them. i have a particular fondness for this one, copyright 1972, because the models are wearing body suits under their capes, and i find that extremely amusing, though i'll definitely get more long term enjoyment out of the 40s ones.


my sister came over last night to show off the vogue knitting magazines she'd found at value village, and was disapointed to discover that i beat her with my 1949 edition for $0.50 - her two were $1 each and from the late 50s and early 70s. still very cool though!

i also got this book, which they put out as i was sorting through the horrific piles of country style craft magazines to find the previous gems -

it's full of absolutely gorgeous drawings of women with impossibly tiny waists and perfectly adorned children.

oh, so lovely. i'll be scanning these images, i'm sure.

then today i had to go to tsawwassen for my usual massage therapy appointment (which hurt like a bitch, ohmygod), and my sister came along and went to the thrift store while waiting for me. i headed over there afterwards, and found a jackpot of doilies! yay! i love doilies. i prefer the really thin ones, but i'll settle for the thicker ones in a pinch. they're so much fun to craft with, like the purse i made several years ago. i dye them fun colours, and sew 'em onto stuff. i've done quite a few skirts with doilies on them as well, which was partly why i was so disapointed to see that idea shown in the latest edition of crochet today - my idea dammnit! (i found consolation in the fact that my skirts were cuter though) i should post those one of these days, remind me.

anyways, back on track, the point being i have a large project in mind which require ridiculous amounts of doilies and fabric dye, so i buy them wherever i can find them. and today, i found them at the hospice thrift store! (in all honestly, my sister found them - she even sorted them by price for me as i was walking over, so when i arrived i had perfect little piles to choose from! aww!)

as you can see, i found a few other goodies too. a very teensy 70s dress in pale blue crepe with black roses and a filigre type design, which will make a lovely skirt, a few pieces of leather to play with for an idea i've been working out, orange earrings that will make great bobby pins, and a green plaid polyester skirt which i'll shorten drastically to make into a skirt i'd actually wear.

i have a slightly unhealthy obsession with polyester, i really adore it. i know, everyone else hates it, and i probably would too if it was my only option and i had to wear it against my skin, but the vintage 70s polyester makes SUCH great skirts. it always hangs so nicely and it lasts FOREVER. there is a reason why the hutterites use old polyester pants for their rugs - it wears like nothing else.

so i had a few exciting shopping expedition, both of which exhausted me for the rest of that particular day, as sad as it is. but they were satisfying, especially given that this week has been so terrible healthwise that i got very little else accomplished, sewing/crafting or otherwise. i did a bit of quilting, and a bit of paper crafts, but for swaps, so they must remain secret for now.

i did manage to finally mail a ridiculously late swap package, so i'll be able to post pictures of everything i made by late next week.

tonight i took lots of painkillers and worked on a project for my dad's birthday, since i have the house to myself for the weekend. i think it turned out pretty well, but final opinion is reserved until after it comes out of the dryer.

may/07 - hoodies and skirts

the excessive number of hoodies i've made lately -


with fabulous vintage buttons.


teal hoodie with more fabulous buttons that unfortunately don't photograph well and welt pockets (and apparently i'm unable to take non-blurry pictures unless my hands are right in front of the buttons! you get the idea though)


red gathered front hoodie with welt pockets


mauvey purple gathered front hoodie with ruffles around the hood (it was the sample, so it's not as nicely made)


brown gathered front hoodie for nilla with a ruffled bottom



i told you it was excessive. i have fabric for something like 4 more too. all of these have slightly puffed sleeves too, cause i'm obsessed lately.

and some skirts i made for a swap-


dyed blue doilies sewn onto light blue fake linen like material with a darker blue underskirt.


brown jersey with gold pinstriping, reversible, other side is solid brown jersey


the back of the skirt that's impossible to take pictures of

the front
light brown twill stamped with acrylic ink in shades of brown