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.