Guild Archives

Machine stitched applique, details added in Inktense pencil. This pillow was made for a friend after taking an NSNG class with Velda Newman. It “aged” for quite awhile while I was deciding to be brave enough to add shading and details with Inktense pencils. Enlarged a random seagull pic from the internet.

Machine embroidery, free motion stitching. The large snail and mushroom are stitched by printing on water soluble stabilizer, then machine stitiching on the lines while the stabilizer floats above the fabric. After everything is stitched, the water soluble stabilizer is dissolved and the stitches are left behind, in the fabric.

Hand beaded and embroidered in an NSNG workshop on pre-printed fabric. This was my re-entry into slow-stitching techniques and the fact that it was done with others and the open-creativity idea where no-one would have the same ideas – was inspiring.

Carol Naylor machine stitching class/bobbinwork. Inspired by a beautiful piece of land on the California coast. Design Source – Original from photo.

Twenty-plus ties were taken apart, re-inforced with fusible interfacing, layered with batting and machine quilted on fabric patterns. This bag, made mostly of men’s ties, was made for a fabric challenge for the American Sewing Guild. The lining was made from a shower curtain and the leather, also re-purposed, makes for a 100% upcycled bag.

Wet felted and hand beaded/embellished. This vessel was my first attempt at wet-felting a 3-D object. It’s an amazing process, and embellishing the result really brought out the beauty of the wool.

All flowers are hand-stitched, pebbled path is padded and machine quilted onto an upcycled shirt. The shirt illustrates my sewing journey, starting with the very first pajamas I sewed through the classes I now teach – all represented in flowers made with stash fabrics and techniques used along the way.

Dip dying, hand-stitching, fabric paint. This dress, purchased off the internet, featured an electric yellow skirt that was terrible. I dip-dyed the skirt part ONLY and embellished the hem and shoulders with Alabama Chanin techniques inspired from NSNG’s class with our own Bill Keller, using a variety of black and white knits.

Ice dying, sewing, machine embroidery 100% cotton sweatshirt fabric was ice-dyed with fiber reactive dyes. Using a freepattern available at Mood Fabrics website, the fabric was converted to wearable art! Machine embroidered leaves that hide in the swatches of color were added for textural interest.