Plaiderpillar

Yes.  Yes I do want your bag of fabric.

I’ve received lots of questions about where I get my fabric.  I’ll divulge my favorite online fabric shops:  Repro Depot and Purl Soho.  That’s just for fancy, fun prints for special projects.  I do shop at Hancock Fabrics and Joann if I need, oh say 10 yards of moss green terry cloth.  Mangelsen’s has some of the cotton prints I like, like Moda.  I’ll dye large quantities for projects like McPaul Therman or the Rose Rabbit of Inlé if the color isn’t juuuuuuust right.

But most of it is from you!  I love recycling.  Sometimes folks will ask if I’d be willing to take a box of vintage stuff from their mother/grandmother/aunt (cuz it was usually the ladies sewin’ back then).  ALWAYS!!!!

I will ALWAYS bring in a wayward bag of fabric.  But here’s the deal:  I’ve got to weed it out.  Sometimes it’s been in a smoker’s home, has questionable durability, or is just a little too out of my PlaiderPillar scheme.  If it’s good stuff, I pass it along or Goodwill it.  A lot can be used for interior reinforcement and padding.  I don’t get rid of something unless I know for sure I can’t use it.

Then, it all gets a bath.  There is a lineup in my laundry room, and I just throw a load of laundry in almost every day.  I wash EVERYTHING except felt and leather (and sometimes even leather jackets go in), because they fall apart.  ”Even wool?!”  Yes.  Even wool.  ”SHRINK IT ON UP!” I say!  I want to know that a) it’s super clean for my buyers, b) it smells nice, and c) I can wash it later.  Remember when McPaul got a bath? You have no idea how big a relief it is to NOT have a panic attack when something needs to be washed.

Lately I’ve been trying out Mrs. Jones’s products from Etsy.  I’m digging her laundry detergent.  I might use a dryer sheet here or there, and am looking into switching to wool dryer balls and natural dryer scents like lavender.  If I know for sure something is going to a baby (and especially for garments) I like to use a baby-safe/free-and-clear detergent and skip the softener.  I throw in white vinegar sometimes too.  [EDIT & NOTE FROM MRS. JONES:  I will be using Mrs. Jones's for baby stuff too!  She says, "the detergent is especially good for babies because it strips out any waxy residues or toxins left behind on the fabric and it doesn't leave a scent.  And I use white vinegar in every single load of laundry because it keeps dark colors from fading, kills bacteria and softens the clothes."  I also heard from a reader that the vinegar can react with Omaha's hard water mineral deposits, which could leave an ammonia smell and burn on baby's skin, so careful with washing diapers with vinegar.  Check here for more details on diaper laundering  Thanks, Drea!]

Wanna see my laundry room?  I CAN’T BELIEVE I’M GONNA SHOW YOU THIS.  Don’t judge me…it’s okl!  I have cats, dogs, am with a guy who is a groundskeeper and clay/paint/metal artist, AND I do all this fabric washing business.  I will launder damn near anything.  I hate cleaning floors, couldn’t care less about spotless windows.  But I can launder your butt off.

Pictures from “Facing the Beast Fantastic” at Tugboat Gallery in Lincoln, NE.  This show featured work by myself, Rob Quinn, Joel Damon, and Jilawan Bunnimit.  The show was up in July , but if you haven’t visited Tugboat, go check it out!

“Hey Blog, it’s me, Amy.  How ya been?”

“Lonely, you jerk.  You’ve got some nerve showing your face around here.”

“Gosh, I’m sorry Blog.  Chloe learned how to open the door and run away, and Charlie keeps chewing stuff.  Life just gets crazier ever day.”

“Like I care.  Life’s crazy for everyone.  You know, Amy . . . Sometimes you really are a butthead.  I mean, what do I care if you get a roof?  I’M STARVING!!!  You know the last time you fed me?  JUNE 9!”

“I’m ashamed.  But you’re really taking this hard.  I have good reason for not seeing you sooner.  We’re working on big things, and I’m gonna explain it all in a big post soon.  We are getting a new roof, and that ceiling hole in the back bedroom is FINALLY gonna get fixed!  I mean gimme a break, that broken water pipe in the winter did some serious damage.  The plaster and lathe dissolved, I had to rip out buckets of shredded insulation, there was paint peeling all over the ceiling and walls, and the nearly brand new ceiling tiles in the basement were soaked!  ”

“Enough with the excuses, Amy.  You’re a lame butthead.  You’re all talk.”

“Blog, you’re a butthead!  What if I told you I was typing this whole conversation up just to make you a new blog post, taking full responsibility for your lack of content, right in front of everyone?  Huh?  HUH!?”

“I’m sorry Amy.  I love you.”

“I love you too, blog.”

Emily saw Nails Ballman at the Bemis Auction last October and fell in love.  But he’s huge and sold.  So she asked if I could make her a mini Nails.  Yes.

I got to meet Emily and her mom before I delivered Mini Nails when they took my Sock Monster workshop with the OCI.  They were champs, and Emily went on to make many a sock monster.  She even made one named Harry Toeman and mailed it to me.  To keep!  Cool chick, eh?  And it’s stitched super well.  That’s her above on the right.  I got to deliver that cool chick’s Mini Nails ON HER BIRTHDAY!

Here he is on the left, and his big brother is on the right.  Eh?  Eh?  notice the family resemblance?

I invented a new yoga ball guy:  The Dog Ball.  And on the right is the recipient!  His name is Jackson, and he’s the grandson of Kathy and Elmo at Hot Shops Art Center.  He gets to visit Omaha for a while every year, and he walks around the building with his grandma every day.  When he arrives at 222 (my studio), you can hear him talking to the monsters, squealing with glee, and playing with “Eggbert” (the stripey blue, orange, and fuschia yoga monster also known as “Egg Shew”).  The kid is soooo adorable, and I was delighted when Kathy and Elmo said they wanted me to make one for Jackson!  They picked 55cm, and then gave me total artistic license.  And Dog Ball is what happened!  I’m so happy with how it turned out.

I told Jackson that I thought “Marshall Mushnose” was a good name, but he could name it whatever he liked.  It’s all vinyl so that he can roll it around the Shops all he wants . . . totally washable.

It’s the perfect height for him, and he was cracking me up playing with it.  Right before I left to go hang with Rob’s family (including Rob’s super cute baby niece), Kathy asked if he wanted to leave Marshall at Hot Shops or take him home.  Jackson just stared into Dog Ball’s eyes and softly said, “He is mine.”

Kids are the best people in the world to make things for.

Remember Captain Think Tank, on the left?  He’s got his lady and sidekick now, too!

I met Kris and James through the Empty Room Project at 22 Floors.  Their July month in the space was called 300 Square, and was a demonstration of compact living — in 300 square feet.  Kris and James have founded Think Tank Design Studio.  Their philosophy statement reads, “Our industrial and architectural designs are centered around the principals of integration, sustainability, and affordability.”  While my house is slightly larger than 300 square feet, it is a bungalow-style home in mid-town filled with two artists, two cats, and two dogs, so compact living appeals to me big-time!

Kris and James (and their dog, Rufus) have been big PlaiderPillar advocates, so naturally I was VERY excited to get the chance to turn them into fabric architecture super heros.

Talking Mountain is one of the PlaiderPillars’ favorite bands.  The monsters are especially big fans.  You know why?  They have monster suits!  If you haven’t checked them out yet, you better hurry.  You’re wasting time not being awesome if you don’t.

If the PlaiderPillars could drive, they would become groupies for Talking Mountain.  The monsters all have a crush on them, and Rob and I told them it was ok to put Talking Mountain posters in their room.  Imagine what happened when we told them Talking Mountain wrote a song for them?

There’s monster poop everywhere.

In July I am participating in a group show at Tugboat Gallery in Lincoln, NE.  My fellow participants will be one Mr. Rob Quinn, a Miss Cake, and a Mr. Joel Damon.  More to follow on that, but one of the items I am considering is a second rabbit marionette.

I patterned my fabric rabbit from Rob’s stoneware rabbit creation, and they were both lucky enough to end up going to the same home! To this day, that rabbit remains one of the (if not THE) most favorite of all my PlaiderPillar creations.  He was stuffed with sawdust, hand-stitched, had a snap-on/removable eye, was made using vintage and hand-dyed fabrics, and best of all, HE IS A PUPPET!

I have a little round suitcase donated to me by a neighbor who scours estate sales, garage sales, and auctions for the most amazing finds.  When he comes across something fabric-y, sewing-ish, or just really cool, he leaves it on my porch.  Anyway, this suitcase holds whatever project I am hand-sewing at the time so that I can take it wherever I may need.  You may have seen my with it at local shows, nervously stitching away because I always feel awkward in crowded social situations.

On the left is the EXTENSIVE pattern for this guy, and on the right are some of the fabrics I plan to use.  (Some donated by my neighbor, no doubt!)

If you’ve talked to me at length any time in the last year, I’ve probably said something about wanting chickens.  Right now isn’t a great time for me to get them for several reasons, although they ARE legal within Omaha city limits.  (The biggest of these is getting a toe-hold on PlaiderPillar goals I’ve set for myself.)

Interest in chickens is kind of how I got to meet Brian and Kelly of Black Sheep Farms.  Well, last weekend they hosted a farm tour, and I got to visit.  VISIT CHICKENS!  I GOT TO VISIT CHICKENS!!!!

On the left above, is Brian talking about rabbits, and here’s Rob lookin’ at ‘em.

Look at this rumpless wonder on the left, and on the right is this quirky little man we watched for a while.  (The one between the barrel and the wall.)  He wouldn’t come out from behind that barrel.  He had pretty feathers, knew how to sneak back into the coop, and spent about 20 minutes with his head tucked into the corner like that!

The chicks are very cute, but I think I like the grown chickens even more, maybe.  One chick was greyish, fuzzy, and had a yellow ‘fro.  They have guinea fowl, turkeys, and peacocks as well.  Brian and Kelly’s greenhouse is pretty awesome, too.  This lavender plant was gimondo and smelled so good.

While the chickens are a big distraction for me, I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss any of the other things on the farm:  the natural pond, heirloom flowers, and gathering info on safe seeds companies.  Visit their site for more information on these things and MANY more…the blog is a wealth of knowledge.  As for me, I need to get some beans in the ground ASAP!  It’s getting late and rainy.

The first weekend in May was Hot Shops’ Open House, and it was a great one.  I cranked out baby blocks, teardrop birds, bird purses, and new fish purses.  A few of these guys will hit the shop within the week, so keep an eye out.  For more pics, check here.

To those of you who spent the gorgeous weekend indoor visiting us, we greatly appreciate you!  Hot Shops Open Houses are always a hectic whirlwind, and your familiar faces are so, so, SO welcome.