Ghost Town Hoard

My dear friend, Pamela, of High Desert Bohemian on Etsy, sent me the Ghost Town Hoard, and what a load of treasure from a New Mexico ghost town!

First Earrings from the Ghost Town Hoard

China shards from my Ghost Town hoard, with sterling silver lever back wires, fine chain and black biwa pearls.  The shards are set in tin from an antique spice cannister, about the same age as the china shards.  The shorter of the two is 3 inches, and the longer, 4-1/4.  I love the pairing of the pearls with the shards, somehow they say these forgotten treasures are precious, too.

Leaving the Wrinkles Alone!

My Earth month tabbard is finished.  The layers puckered because of the bonding technique and hand stitching, which all polled agreed should not be ironed.  We love our wrinkles!

So far the score has been wrinkles 22, iron zip.

I made a kerchief for Abbie to match, so when we stroll around Greenlake, we will be celebrated as genuine Local Loonies.  Sisters who dress alike, and all that.

Happy Easter/Missed Deadline

I remember backing out the door as Mom sewed the hem on my Easter dress.  Well here's another late Easter project, so, maybe in time for Earth Day.  This is a piece worked tabbard based on a traditional Chinese garment, put together from hand dyed scraps of linen and appliqued printed cotton, lined with a commercial yardage of splash dye.

Wearable Textile Assemblage

My second long zipper textile assemblage, "April Showers," with recycled antique and vintage cloth, antique lace and tatting. Along one side I have a strip of linen on which I have written "keep on looking for the bluebird and listen for his song," a line from the old song. French knots and antique silvered seed beads act as random rain drops. The soft bangle set started with the intensively layered and stitched "corsage" wristlet of old lace and tattered textiles, lined, and fastened with snaps. Added to that, three beaded bangles with charms, and a 40's era brass toothed khaki, most likely military, zipper, with a chandelier crystal hanging from the pull, also fastened with snaps.

Score!

I will never run out of hooks and eyes, ever, again. Here's a big lot of notions that I purchased on Etsy from Vintage Polka Dot, and they are just right for the soft bangles I am making from salvaged fabrics. The bizarre star of the lot though, are the "pin in lingerie guards" -- one wouldn't want the undergarment straps to show, now, would one? You can also see the octagonal tin that I converted to a sewing kit, with pincushion (sawdust filled) and a bit of old elastic to retain my cute little crane shaped scissors. See the rusty bottle cap into which I have melted bee's wax for thread conditioning? It's much better than spit to stiffen up that stubborn thread end to poke through the needle's eye.

Make Do Neckpiece

 

"Make do, mend, or do without," was a catchphrase during the Great Depression, and I think we could apply now it to mending the wounds we have caused to our planet.  Here's a Make Do necklace assembled from an old zipper, antique buttons and depression-era feed sack fabrics.  When you want to make a statement, make a constructive one!