Just got back to the studio after taking some time off over Christmas and am just resurrecting this blog which has lain ignored for a year while I focused on other projects. I am hard at work building my artist networking site www.sunshinecoastartists.org and have 83 slides ready for the slideshow I hope to mount in about 2 weeks. It looks really good and we have a fine stable of artists in many mediums. I’m so glad that with the exception of one, everyone I asked to join said yes, please! It’s all be too much fun, meeting all those creative people, more than 130 of them and many for the first time because of this new site.

Spent the afternoon tidying up the studio and putting some funky applique cut outs onto some new comfy yoga pants(hot pink and purple) I recently picked up at Value Village. I stitched around the cutout shapes a couple of times then ran them through the washer and dryer to fray up the edges. I dug into my quilting fabric stash and found a two fabrics with tigers on them, added some random labels cut off other garments and carefully saved for fun new projects. I’ll wear one of them to tomorrow’s first rehearsal of the year for Gordon Halloran’s upcoming Ice Gate dance. The big Jack Velvet label came from my brother Mark’s radio show Jack Velvet’s Suburban Jungle- http://jackvelvet.blogspot.com/ and the nice long one came from a gorgeous tshirt we bought in Spain last year from the Disegual line.


My drawer full of woven labels.


Pompom fringe on black jeans and labels sewn on for a little added spice.

Next time you get rid of clothing or decide to remove excessive labels to avoid the dreaded condition of labelitis, carefully snip the labels out or unpick them with a stitch ripper and put them away. They are great for just adding a a couple of interesting little bits to plain ready made clothing or even stitching over a tear or hole in something.

I hope to start on my new art coat tomorrow, exciting! I’ve been planning it and assembling the materials and trims and buttons for about 5 months. I don’t make one a year but maybe over time, it has worked out to nearly that. Each one costs usually less than $100. If you have to wear a coat, and in BC of course we do, why not make it a “laugh at the rain” coat? And if they make people smile, well then I am fullfilling my mission to bring more color and humor into the world.

It’s raining out? Who cares! Take that, you big rain cloud! HA! feeling grey and dreary? Well, gee, try wearing less black and more color, even if it’s only juicy green gloves or a punch orange confetti knit scarf with that black. I use color like vitamins, good for me and good for others to look at.

Get happy! Get color!
Published on: Jan 9, 2010
PS. The jeans with pompom fringe STILL look good in 2020!!

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