Melanie Testa's Blog, page 2

The lace

I have moved forward on the lace. I have begun to embroider it on using the Valdini threads (which are scrumptious). My mom commented yesterday that perhaps this addition will be too heavy or might compete with the rose embroidery. I heard you Mom! I am going to work this and make sure it looks integrated.

Speaking of my Mom (and Dad), I was given some Punjammies (I love saying this word). I mention this because of the blue cloth seen in the photo above. That cloth is a bag, made to contain the PJ bottoms and will become a much loved addition to my travel as I sew kit.

I love the PJs that go with the bag. I found them through Pinterest. These PJ's help fund a program to help women acquire skills after living a life in forced prostitution. I have made a personal vow to wear patterns (I do call myself a textile/surface designer, right?). So while wearing these PJs, I am also helping women on the other side of our planet.

When I picked this grey hankie out of the pile, I fell in love. Look at how well loved this piece of cloth is and it has survived and found its way to me.

To lace or not to lace.

Should I so this down or not? It is too white? Too dominant? What would happen if I embroidered it on using red floss?

After receiving the linens from Ricë, I have been sorting, shuffling and reorganizing. This means I have been coming across stuff. It also means I have been handling the 'stuff of women'. I imagine what Ricë bought was her friends' hope chest items. Some of which I plan to use. The pillowcases are fabulous and won't wear thin for years to come and are just too pretty or too much time was put into them not to use them.

These seem to be kitchen towels, which will be used as cloth, perhaps even shirting material. I love the embroidered work on them.

Most of what I was sent are hankies, which I will use as hankies, in my artwork, and to dye. Many of the hankies are really pocket squares (of the womanly sort). But from what I can tell pocket squares and hankies are an interchangeable idea-the same name for a hemmed square. This needs to be looked into. Some of the squares have fancy lace edging, which makes me think they are pocket squares, while others have usable cloth right up to the hemmed edge. Did you know there were so many ways to fold a pocket square?

Longer days

Today is an Arrow day. I celebrate this little cat, who has been my best friend for a very long time. We got him some Greenies for Christmas. He loves these things like no other, I have never seen him love a treat as much. He is my eighteen year old cat friend and I would like him to be very happy.

I was given this collar in the stack of linens and hankies. I think I will be working with clothing a lot this year. I don't know what this collar is saying to me right now but I hear it mumbling.

This tracing hid on me last week, I lost it completely one night. There is a side effect of the cancer treatments called chemo brain, which I have I have been struggling with. A mental fog challenges me, I make do and compensate, writing notes so that I can hook back into a job or idea. My hope is that I will work my brain so hard that new alleys will open up to me and I will regain functions I have come to rely upon. It is not easy to face changes in mental function, sometimes (like when I loose things I need and cannot find them again) or when I am sitting in front of the computer and I completely loose a train of thought and cannot remember what or why I am sitting there, I feel a sense of panic.

Loosing this piece of paper was quite a struggle for me. So when it resurfaced, in my color pencil box, I was happy and relieved.

They say this will pass and I am glad for that too. I rely on them and what they say!

Without Words

A Hussie of a Hankie

Another box made it to Casa Melly. I am feeling a sense of Largess Beyond Measure.

And I mean, just look at that picture up there. What humble hankie could stand up to the shiny hussie from France. I mean. There are flowers, ribbons and charmeuse all in one darned hankie. Pretty good if you ask me. But there are hundreds of Hankies in this gift. Hundreds.

Life is changing. The tools, my thoughts. It is time for me to start sharing! In the new year I will open up about my plans.

Look at the color here. I have been giving much thought to textures here in New York City. I am taking photographs and cataloging my experience. It is fun. I am happy to be alive. I am happy to be able.

We have been meandering again. I love meandering the city. When was the last time you saw this font?

I feel blessed, like roses in December. Thank you.

I am back.

I couldn't blog yesterday. I got tired and went with it.

I have been having fun. Behind the scenes fun. I feel like I am re-entering life. Time has changed this year. Or the way I have experienced time has changed. It feels good to walk among the bustle, be a little cold, wear a hat.

I love the theme of Rockstar. I keep asking myself, "What would Janis do?" And what I mean when I ask that is, what other way is there to do this? I am in essence asking myself to sew, paint, draw differently. It has been a fun adventure. I look forward to seeing where it goes.

Am I crazy for liking the lighting in this photo? I am calling it, moody.

Ricë sent me a bird hanky. It is a very delicate screen print on silk. I love the feel of it. It will be a fiddle with, not use, sort of Hankie. I love hankies, don't you? I tuck them into all of my coat pockets. I love tootin my snozzle in linen! You should experience this too.

Hop on the hankie bandwagon, will you?

Ok wait. This week I was given two hot tools, tools that work with heat, that is. A L'orna Decorative Touch Wand Hot-fix Embellisher. (Is the name of this tool suggestive or is it just me? I mean it is confusing, to say the least). And a more aptly named, Creative Versa-Tool and you know, creative goes without saying, it shouldn't be a selling point.

Parts and pieces of cigar boxes....

So there is a convergence of new tools and media happening over here. Change is happening. I can't wait to show you.

And ya know what? I bet if Janis were asked if she would rather sew rhinestones by hand or use a L'orna Decorative Touch Wand Hot-fix Embellisher, I think I know what her response would be. What do you think she would say?

And also, check this out.

I may well be dotty this week. I will be visiting family and don't I don't want to carry my computer or have a responsibility. I like blogging more often and will be taking up the habit again. It feels good to be able!

So, lets see what I come up with for the two hot tools.

I fell in love with two local stores this year, Mongo Mongo, whose website does not do it justice. And Swallow. That was fun.

Get it down!

The internet is a huge, extended family. We each live closer to our fellows because of it. Jude Hill puts it all out there, opening up her thoughts on sewing, cloth, creation and making. I love her blog, I love her work, her freedom and spontaneity. In fact I am taking her Beasts class right now (though I will do a real write up about it in another post). Go take that class, it is on Sale Right NOW!

But the long and short of it is that Jude turned me on to Glennis Dolce, an exquisite shibori and indigo dyer.

There are some of Glennis's Shibori Ribbons in the loot from yesterday. Although it feels almost sacrilegious to use the ribbon, and by that I mean ironing it flat and cutting it to fit an area of my Rockstar Wrap, it also feels sacrilegious not to use such a beautiful piece of cloth. So this fabric now lives in the sleeve of my wrap.

Pretty stitching. Pretty cloth. Shiny. Pretty. Maybe some of Jude and Glennis's offerings will end up in a shopping cart with your name on it.

Wee Gifties

I received a package in the mail today. I haven't gotten permission to state her name, so I won't. But when I went down to greet the mailman and take this box up to the apartment, I sort of thought. This is bloggable. And I know that I am supposed to be talking about my Rockstar Boro project, but it is my blog and I create the rules here, right? I mean, I am committed to blogging every-single-day during the month of December and well, this gift sorta knocked me off game, in a very special way.

Each of the boxes were wrapped in cloth. Scrumptious cloth.

And when I opened the boxes up, it was as if I had gone shopping and had had some fun. Every item is something I would have gotten for myself.

And I must say. I have been struggling as a textile artist since my diagnosis. I don't think I want to use dye anymore. And that leaves me in a state of panic, in a way. What else can I do? My friend was inspired to send me these things because of my Rockstar project. And the project is working. It is making me open up to ideas that up until I started stitching, hadn't been able to come to the surface. I have been excited, and this is good, because I want to feel excited about cloth again.

And healing tears of joy washed down my face, because. Well. There are some gorgeous supplies in this pile of stuff. So now that I have shared my greatest fear as an artist and have felt a torrent of love from a friend, I think it is time to see if any of this swag will be the next great piece of cloth added to the beautiful, magical, rockstar jacket.

Making IT Up

So yesterday I asked about transferring a drawing to the velvet in order to embroider a design. You guys came up with some really good links! Thank you. Deanna offered these two (link one, link two), both of which have been bookmarked-great resources.

But you know, part of this project is about pushing past my own expectations. In a Rockstar like way. I mean, What Would Janis do? I started thinking this through in light of thinking about using a tear away stabilizer. But then I thought, It almost feels like the velvet gives no relief. Then I remembered the links Ricé had on her blog a few weeks back. And I cooked up a half baked idea. I hope it works.

And Lyric is doing something that Really Works. Check it out.

I need a hand.

Everything above this is eye candy. What I really want to talk about it technique.

How do you transfer an embroidery design to velvet? I want to hand embroider this design. What you are looking at is a Duralar stencil and a trace paper drawing of a rose. I have a chalk marker thingie but it is made to be used on straight or slightly sloped lines. Pairing that chalk tool with this stencil is apples to oranges. Suggestions? Links to videos? how-to's?