Friday Favorites

I am not a quilter…and sadly, I can't even use a sewing machine. 

Oh jeez, I just said that first sentence out loud and it sounds like I'm confessing to some horrible sin. But in a way, I guess I am. Being able to sew is a dream of mine. I would absolutely love to sew my own clothes, and it's a shame that I cannot. 

Now here's part two of my confession, and I kinda feel crappy admitting this: 

I own a sewing machine. It was a fabulous gift from fabulous friends of mine, given to me over a decade ago. And this is the bad part…I took that sewing machine out of it's box a total of two times. Ugh.

 I'm not exactly sure what my hangup is. I'd probably be at least semi-adequate. When I took Home Ec in high school, part of the curriculum was sewing, and I actually did really well. I sewed a hat, a tote bag, and started a skirt…key word "started". But still, at least I gave it a whirl back then. I think having a teacher hovering, and being there to answer questions helped. And now that I'm a teacher of art…at least a few times per year at art events…I can definitely relate to what the students are feeling. Most of them possess the abilities, but they just want to have a helping hand there in the room "just in case". 

So yeah…silly me. Here I am at these fantastic mixed media art events a few times a year…and often there are classrooms buzzing with sewing machines. When me and Aaron walk around an event, and pop in to visit other classes, I'm always enthralled by the classes that are all abuzz with the magical sound of sewing machines, fun conversations, and laughter. I would love to be one of those students. Maybe I'll do it the next time I get the chance.  

So yes…the reason why all this talk of sewing came up is simply because I laid eyes on this amazing quilt up above. It is such a work of art. It's pretty much the fabric version of an abstract painting. Just so incredibly beautiful! It is by Amelia Bennett, and it's title is Blocks and Strips, from c. 1965, Cotton, measuring 84 x 79 inches.

So, I did a little research, and the maker of that quilt was part of a southern group of women called the Gee's Bend Quiltmakers. Above and below are a few more examples of their work. Make sure to click the link and read the story of the Gee's Bend quilters. There are so many fascinating details about each featured quilt.  

This one caught my eye. Check out the zoomed in shot of those strips of fabric. From a distance it looked like floral fabric…but when you see it up close…those are actually candy colored puppies! Is that a white chihuahua in the center of the right strip? 

Aren't they all so fantastic?! 

This is such a beautiful dress. And yes, I would indeed pair it with black. Lots of black. And possibly some leopard print. It's sorta on the purply pink side, but every once in a while I go a bit more lavender when mixing my pink hair dye.  

I think it would go great with this hair color that I had a little while ago…purply pink fading down into a rose pink. 

I love these pieces by artist Do-Ho Suh. They're lightweight sculptures of everyday fixtures found in his Manhattan apartment. Out of translucent polyester fabric he constructed his oven, toilet, bathtub doorknobs, etc... 

I love the colors, and I love how they sorta look like digital 3D renderings.  

This sweatshirt seriously says it all! 

When our friend Heidi Swapp posted pics of her new Marquee Love collection on Instagram a few weeks ago I just about died. I've been a longtime fan of Marquee signage, and I'm always posting pics of fave vintage pieces, and I've also blogged a handful of tutorials as to how to make your own.    Marquee signage is super trendy right now but at the same time so old timey and classic. 

 We have a Marquee style heart that hangs in our studio, which was a gift from our sweet friend Becky. And to remind us of our sweet friend we hung it near our Christmas tree this year!

So, like I said…Heidi's new stuff looks amazing! I am so incredibly excited about this collection and the endless possibilities! 

It's as easy as tracing, cutting, and taping! 

There are fabulous washi tapes and glitters too!

I seriously cannot wait to get over to Michaels to see this collection in person! Now I just have to narrow it down to one idea to get started. 

Thanks bunches for popping in on this first Friday Favorites of the new year! Me and Aaron are still very hard at work on orders that were coming in right up until Christmas day. We've got lots of new artwork on the drawing board that we'll be finishing just as soon as we can. Plus, we plan on blogging more…namely, tutorials…art projects…fave supplies…stuff like that. 2015 will be a very creative year...I promise.

Have a great weekend!

xo Jenny... Aaron says hi!