Friday, November 21, 2014

I've added e-reader/I-Pod covers to my list of offerings at craft fairs.



These e-reader/I-Pod covers are made from discharge tie-dyed denim and lined with fleece.  The outer panel is made of cotton, hand-stitched mola panels.

Below are two reusable covered journals that have been hand embroidered on cotton batik and recycled denim.




Thursday, November 20, 2014

I'm preparing for an extremely busy holiday season with one craft fair behind me and several coming up including the Recycle Santa Fe  Arts & Crafts fair scheduled for December 5th, 6th, and 7th.

I have been working on perfecting my Shibori style discharge tie-dying. Below details my latest efforts.



I've also been working on a couple of pieces of embroidery, one on denim and the other on batik.  The denim sample will be used as a cover for a journal.


Monday, October 20, 2014

OK, I wanted to share some aprons that I made from old overalls, shirts (I later added pockets), and jeans.






I've gotten the hang of shibori tie-dyeing as evidenced by the jacket that started out as a solid white cotton poplin and ended up blue and white.



These are two of my latest baskets with shells stitched around the top edge.  I love the contrasting denim while the bottom basket was created from discharged black denim.




I've completed a series of discharge tie-dye shawls that will eventually be made into waterfall vests.

Sunday, July 13, 2014


I am delighted to announce that this past week, I was able to get my baskets displayed for sale in the new shop located on Water Street near the plaza in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  The shop's name, Le Ciseaux, is French for scissors.  It contains the works of eight women artisans who make jewelry, silk flowers from recycled men's ties, handmade dolls, aprons, and much more. Le Ciseaux is a new gallery in Santa Fe NM at 207 W. Water Street across from Collected Works Book Store. It is a professional presentation of select handwork that is beautiful and useful to daily life. The gallery currently represents seven local artists ages 13-80. As a working studio, there are on-site demonstrations, individual and small group lessons and on-going workshops. 

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

I've just set up a display at the new consignment shop in Los Alamos.  It's called Nu 2 You and located next door to the Urgent Care Center on Central Avenue.  Please check it out.  The store is owned by Keith and Barbara Lindsey.  They have an assortment of beautiful items that include clothing, furniture, kitchen items, and gift items.  Please check it out.

Sunday, April 27, 2014


These are the latest baskets that I've made.  I call them "Fiesta Baskets" because of the multi-color fabric that I used.  I love the way they turned out.  

First, I select the fabric.  Next, I cut the fabric into strips measuring 1 1/2 inches wide.  Then, I sew the fabric strips end to end before adding the cotton cord that I stitch into the strips.  It's like making piping.  Once these steps are completed, I begin the process of making either a round or oval basket. The entire process takes about three hours per basket.  I also sew a label on the bottom of the basket once I've built the starting coil to about 3 inches in diameter.

My current project is to make machine embroidered leaves to applique onto vests.  More about that process next time.

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

I am occasionally asked why I use so much denim in the recycled items that I create.  Here are few facts about denim: (reported by Daphne Sashin and Toby Lyles, CNN updated 2:22 PM EDT, Mon May 20, 2013)

1. Jacob Davis, a tailor in Reno, Nevada, came up with the idea of riveted pants in response to a customer whose pockets kept ripping. He feared someone might steal his idea and recruited Levi Strauss, owner of dry goods wholesaler Levi Strauss & Co., as a business partner. They obtained a patent on May 20, 1873.
2. Denim jeans -- or trousers, waist overalls or dungarees -- started out as work-wear for hard labor in mines, factories and fields. By the 1980s, as high fashion brands began to introduce the concept of designer jeans, the shape and fit began to slim down.
3. Consumers in the United States buy approximately 450 million pairs of jeans every year.
4. On average, U.S. consumers have seven pairs of jeans in their wardrobe, according to Cotton Incorporated.
5. Environmental awareness has pushed denim laundries to improve techniques for bleaching and coating jeans to give them different looks, Corrente said. Where lots of water, aggressive washing and sandpaper was once the norm for creating that worn vintage look, lasers and ozone gas cameras are now being used to minimize water waste and chemical runoff
6. A typical pair of blue jeans consumes 919 gallons of water during its life cycle (this includes the water to irrigate the cotton crop, manufacture the jeans, and the numerous washes by the consumer).

Whenever I create something to sell at craft shows, I try to keep in mind what we are doing to the environment and what I can do to help protect it.  


I was inspired by my friend Maryna to create these baskets.  The blue ones are made from strips of used blue jeans and the brown basket is made from a piece of calico that was given to me several years ago.  I love the idea of making something beautiful and elegant out of something that might have ended up being thrown in the trash and end up rotting in a landfill.


Friday, April 4, 2014


I've been spending more time crafting items from denim.  The photo above shows samples of my latest creation, denim pouches crafted from tie-dyed denim.  I use a bleach solution to discharge the blue dye specific to denim.  Once the fabric is tie-dyed, I cut the pattern and embellish it before assembling the final piece.  These pouches have magnetic or button closures and straps crafted from vintage, hand-woven belts or corded straps fashioned from bias tape and cotton cording.

Sunday, March 23, 2014

I received an e-mail on Thursday, March 20th that has stayed with me.  The e-mail stated that March 20th was declared International Happiness Day and included the video of Pharrell Williams singing the song, Because I'm Happy from the movie Despicable Me 2.  I began to think back over the past year of my life when it all changed when I received a phone call from my sisters who live in Atlanta, GA. They told me that our mother was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer (she was given four months to live) and that she was in the hospital.  From the moment I received the news, my world changed and my happiness began to slowly slip away.

After spending months assisting my mother as she went through chemo treatments, losing my job, having to look for a place to live, packing and moving, and being emotionally bludgened by various family members, I reached a place where I thought that I would never know happiness again. Thankfully, that thought has disappeared and with it's disappearance a glimmer of happiness has returned.

While watching the video and seeing all types of people smiling and dancing with such joy and abandon, a seedling of happiness began to grow inside of me where depression and sadness had existed.  So, I asked myself; "What makes me happy?" The answer I told myself was simple: The process of creating something beautiful and contributing to making the planet a cleaner place to live makes me happy.  Wearing hats makes me happy.  Eating an icecream cone on a hot summer day puts a smile on my face and makes me happy.

So, I've included pictures of some hats that I've dressed up with flowers.



I collect used denim jeans that I take apart and remake them into usable, beautiful items.  My first attempt at making a coiled basket with denim and cotton clothes line is shown below:


Although this is a work-in-progress, I think I have been able to create something beautiful out of something ordinary by adding pieces of cotton crochet lace to this denim jacket. I intend to hand stitch some beads to add a bit of bling to the jacket.


So, my daily quest is to do something that puts a smile on my face, a song in my heart, and brings a bit of beauty into this world.


Thursday, March 20, 2014

I've been making silk roses out of bits of lace and antique Japanese silk scraps.  I will use these flowers to make pins, as decorations on hats, and headbands.




Friday, March 14, 2014

Each day I try to do one thing to create something.  A couple of months ago, I completed a green cotton crochet asymetrical poncho.  Simple, basic, and elegent, the poncho can be dressed up or down, worn in any season with the appropriate accessories.


This pattern was so simple, I decided to apply it to a piece of cobolt blue panne velvet.  As shown, this is a dressier version since I photographed it with a string of pearls.


Tuesday, March 11, 2014

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
This quote was taken from the “Man In the Area Speech” by Theodore Roosevelt given at the Sorbonne in Paris, France, 1910.
I’ve been thinking about this quote and how it relates to me, the artist. Sometime in creating something new, I never know how well people will respond to it until I get feedback from a show or from friends with whom I may show samples while I’m creating them.  People will either buy something new that I've created because they love it or they won’t.  Frequently, I get compliments about how well my creations are made. I can’t help but think that quality is the mark of a true artisan.  Today, I decided to give you an idea of the place where I work, my studio or sewing room (although sewing room is a misnomer since I do far more than just sew here).

I own a Janome that I've had for six years, and a swedish sewing machine that was given to me by a friend.

Whenever I’m creating, I don’t worry about whether someone likes it or not.  My greatest concern is whether this work is worthy of my efforts. I don’t desire to do things “half-assed”.  I don’t think of myself as a perfectionist; however, I do believe in doing my very best and then, letting my work go.
For me, the creative process is messy as indicated by all the stuff in my studio.  I have bins of fabric, stacks of containers of beads and other items I use as embellishment.  I have racks of thread and a three-drawer storage bin full of trims that include ribbon, lace, bias tape, hem facing, blanket binding, rolls of rawhide, and strips of silk that I use in various ways.  I also have jars of buttons, crochet hooks and knitting needles of various sizes that I use whenever I knit and crochet or add trim that I make to finish a garment. My book shelves contain reference design books as well as the notebooks that contain my stencils and back-up photocopies if I need to reproduce damaged stencils. Another bin contains paints, stamps, dyes, and miscellaneous found objects that I use to stamp designs onto fabric and paper.

I use a laptop and I also have a desktop computer and laser printer.  In addition, I have a photo-smart printer/scanner that prints beautiful photographs that I occasionally sell at arts and crafts fairs.

These are the tools that I use along with my imagination and honed skills to create. So, this is where I experience the most exquisite peace; when I’m in my studio creating beauty.

Saturday, March 8, 2014

I've been working on creating a variety of drapey vests that are easy to wear and just as easy to launder.  I have created the following that are for sale:


This vest is made of silk that I found at a thrift store. The fabric was originally cream or off white with moth holes on part of it. I dyed it cobolt blue and cut off the piece that had the moth holes on it.  Afterwards, I discharged the fabric while I used a shibori-style tie dye method to get the mottled effect.  It was a process that took time and many steps, but the final result was well worth the effort.

This vest was a piect of lightweight denim on which I used the shibori-style tie-die.  I was pleasantly surprised and pleased at the outcome.

This vest is made from a baby blue pashmina shawl with a delicate, lacy design near the fringed edge.

This diaphinous vest is a work in progress.  It is made from a gauzy fabric that floats.  I will sew on individual, hand-made leaves to embellish it.  Stay tuned...

This vest is made from winter white fleece that I found as a remnant.  I made the pockets from the armholes that I cut out.  Before sewing them on, I hand stitched the edge using a wool yarn and a blanket stitch. I also stitched the front edge as well.
This gold vest is made of a lightweight wool blend fabric and has hand embroidered embellishment with beads and sequin in each medallion.  The view below shows the length of the back along with a view of the embroided circular medallions.
This short vest was created from another pashmina shawl.  I added a green ribbon trim as an accent.
One of my personal favorites, this originally a circle skirt that I found at a thrift store in Espanola, New Mexico.  The fabric is hand-woven wool blend made in Guatamala. I love the weight of it and the elegant way that it hangs, The original piece was dismantled, and I made the pockets that are self lined from the circles that I cut out for the armholes. This is another long vest for anyone who is tall.
This vest is made of Thai silk that feels more like cotton.  It is washable and wears well. Since it is long, it can be worn like the short vest below, draped over a shoulder or tied at the waist.

This lightweight wool scarf was made into a vest and looks good worn simply draped over one shoulder.
This airy cotton vest has machine embroided details that makes it the perfect summer cover up at the beach or at a casual outing.