(s)harper

My Embroidery Inspirations...

2011-02-16T20:21:00.000-08:00

From Top:
1. Embroidery Design book from my grandmother Earline
2. A page from Encyclopedia of Modern Sewing, 1943
3. Scarf from Andrew's Cali clothes box
4. Owl Embroidery from Tsumori Chisato's a/w 2005/06
5. Page from Violet M. Endicott's embroidery book
6. Vintage fabric from Antiques mall in Elijay, GA
7. Joni Mitchell's Song to a Seagull album cover
8. detail of embroidery from "Kawaii" catalogue by Tsumori Chisato
9. embroidery from Tsumori Chisatos a/w 2006/07 collection

Snowed In

2011-01-13T15:35:00.000-08:00

Thrifting Illustrations

2010-08-13T14:40:00.000-07:00

Endless Love Pt. 2

2010-05-01T10:11:00.001-07:00

Endless Love Pt. 1

2010-04-26T10:51:00.000-07:00

Cuuuuuute!

2010-03-16T10:29:00.000-07:00

I made this cupcake hat based on Nell Ziroli's First Birthday Hat pattern, but embellished it like crazy with tons of sprinkles, a glittery candle, and a roving "flame". I think that's the cool thing about making children's items---they look cute in everything, so why not make them wear the most ridiculous possible things? (The model is my adorable cousin, Rosalyn.)

Sandra Backlund is my hero!

2010-03-09T14:58:00.000-08:00

from "DiamondCutDiamond" from "Pool Position"

Sandra Backlund has been a star to me since I discovered her almost-overwhelmingly voluminous DiamondCutDiamond collection in an (2007?) issue of Surface magazine. Today, while searching for inspiration, I looked at her site again. Much like other designers these days, she has been "downsizing", but in Backlund-land that means that she has been making more wearable pieces with minimal volume which still retain the surface interest of her earlier collections. She has worked primarily in knits, but has been known to use paper, clothespins, and other commonplace materials to hand-assemble her structural garments.

Harding Park, Hubbard, Ohio......... (Summer of 1983/2009)

2010-02-20T08:35:00.000-08:00

2010-02-19T06:13:00.000-08:00

Mom's birthday is right around the corner, and this is what I made for her...last year. She asked for a heavyweight knitted hood to wear with her coat, and I found a little Lion Brand pattern that was exactly what I wanted, so I knit it up (using Lion Brand wool, no less) without modifications. The button is from the "bottomless button box" from my Great-Gram Parsons. The smiling model is my beautiful mom with no makeup!

Happy Birthday!

2009-07-16T05:51:00.000-07:00

I made this "scooter scarf" for Lizzy's birthday, and sort of freestyled a cupcake to go with it. I really liked knitting a food item---it's so ridiculous that I wasn't upset at all when it was completely lopsided (much like a cupcake I would actually bake). The scarf is really cute on and practical for riding scooters or bikes, as the end pulls through a ribbed loop to keep in on one's neck

The frosting is alpaca from Robinwood in Ohio, the wrapper is random cotton, and the sprinkles and cherry are from a fabulous bag of lurex I acquired last year. The scarf is some fancy leftover Habu mohair from a skirt I knitted for Knitch, combined with weird variegated mystery yarn from school.

Rainy Day Knitting

2009-04-12T21:31:00.000-07:00

My step-dad Sam is rarely without an old-fashioned hot-water-bottle. He uses them to soothe his aches and pains as he gets older and sits around with one tucked into his back while hanging out by the fire. He's also notoriously difficult to shop for around the holidays, so I thought that making a hand-knitted alpaca cover for his favorite accessory would be the perfect gift. It's like a pillowcase to button over it:

The front is worked in a basketweave pattern, and I embroidered his name onto it. I added a few squares of the beige color on the front, and finished it with a simple two-by-two rib on the back to keep it snug and knotted buttons with crocheted loops. The result seems like a good cure for rainy days and their accompanying ails.

Suns Don't Need Sunglasses!

2009-04-06T12:00:00.001-07:00

I guess that's why these are still at Vacation. I made them in honor of Beejay, who ranted about the mural on the Highland Inn patio, which depicts a similarly annoying sun. Also, the wool is kind of scratchy. I'd probably never wear them either.

Vacation! Holiday!

2009-04-06T11:50:00.000-07:00

These are some of the scarves I made for the awesome store, Vacation, in Atlanta's Virginia-Highlands neighborhood for the 2008 holidays. They are all machine-knitted and some feature an intarsia'd VACATION logo with a beach umbrella (I made that up--not an official logo). They are made from organic wool, bamboo, and lurex yarns, and a few weird yarns from F.I.T.'s knitting lab. I'm happy to say that they went pretty fast, as scarves go. What should I make next for the store?

Sandals from last summer for this Spring?

2009-04-04T14:49:00.000-07:00

Spring has got me thinking about sandals. I remembered these that I made these last summer, inspired by Spring & Clifton's grommety knit collection for this spring, which I designed a few pieces for last spring. They are basically gladiator sandals, but for mods. I think it's a good idea to wear them with black tights, to take them beyond Euro-tourist-grandad land.

Side view/back view/daffodil pedicure!

A page from my sketch-book which sort of gives away how I constructed these .

What I Did Over Summer Vacation: Part Two

2008-10-16T22:58:00.001-07:00

How to make: a summary

For my friend Santiago, I decided the loafer style would be best, and a good time to test the antique grommet machine. The day before, I purchased a bucket of multicolored eyelets from this 80+ year old man who sells industrial sewing machines out of his basement in Akron. His name is Mr. Ed, like the television horse. I've been obsessed with colored grommets since working on Spring & Clifton's Spring 2009 line a few months ago. For some reason, it seems impossible (or at least impossibly expensive) to find more than a few colors of these grommets in the Garment District in NY. Therefore, when Mr. Ed filled up a plastic margarine tub with the tiny metal skittles, I felt as rich as if he'd handed me a pot of gold.

This is the really serious "stitcher" that I learned how to use. It consists of a heavy metal arm that pivots and is bolted to the counter. It's somewhat dangerous, and somehow my dad has managed to stitch his hand on more than one occasion on similar machines over the decades. I got the hang of it rather quickly, but in my own way, which was to turn the power on, but use the hand-crank wheel to move the needle manually stitch-by-stitch. It was faster than it sounds. I'm kind of terrified of this dinosaur though.

This ancient hand tool makes a valley to sew into. I got a set of alphabet leather stamps, and hammered out nerdy stuff onto the soles of everything I made. After the machine stitching, I used thin strips of the electric-blue suede to hand-sew the vamp (top of foot piece) to the body of the shoe through tiny holes I pre-punched with a medieval-looking leather-hole-punch.

Santiago's sporty feet in the finished pair.

What I Did Over Summer Vacation: Part1

2008-10-16T22:33:00.000-07:00

Above: the first moccasins that I sketched in my book. They turned out too big, but encouraging.

My first successful pair on my pasty legs in the park! The cutouts are inspired by a ribcage and the fringe is rounded like a picket fence. Sandally, sort of.

A loafer pair that my sister Katie and I "collaborated" on. They are made of fake alligator and we stamped them with a paint-stamp-pad from the craft store, then sprayed them with a leather finisher.

These are Heart-inspired moccasins that I made for Julie's birthday. They are made of a slightly textured white leather and pale-grey suede.

These are the backs of the ones above.

A brief history of (my) moccasins:

Last spring, I began noticing moccasins in shoe-stores in my neighborhood, and for once I was not repelled by their hippie associations. Instead, I thought, of course, I could make those. And they would be even cooler.

It turns out I could, and I'm not as egoistic as I sound. It's in my blood. My dad owns a cobbler shop in Canton, Ohio, and I come from a family of shoerepairmen and leatherworkers: my great-great uncle, grandfather, father, and two uncles own or have owned their own leatherworking, cobbling, or saddle shops. So, after briefly considering the Shoemaking 1 class at F.I.T., I decided it would be a better idea to spend time with the pops out in the heartland and really get immersed shoemaking and leatherworking processes.

Ohio is a great place to learn about leather and shoemaking for a number of reasons:

Proximity to cows, who provide the leather, which is cheaper in Ohio since it hasn't been shipped or taxed yet.
A tradition of saddlemaking and leatherworking, as most of the state is rural and people ride horses for fun.
The Amish population is the largest in the country there. They use horses as their main means of transportation and make some of the most beautiful belts, shoes, harnesses, saddles, etc. They also make delicious cheese, wine, and pretzels, and Weaver's Leather, where I purchased most of my leather, is in the heart of Amish country.
There aren't very many distractions. As in, it's not New York. There is not a ton to do in the middle of nowhere. The only time I hung out with people my own age (Thanks Raquel!) , we went to an effing bonfire. Another time I met people my age at a monthly art night in Canton, and they too suggested a bonfire later in the evening. If you like bonfires and know the right people, it's the place for you. If, like me, you have zero friends in the Buckeye State, you might spend a lot of late nights in Dad's cobbler shop getting high on his supposedly "green" shoe glue 'til the wee hours, and trying to make stuff, which is what happened to me.

More later!

Cleveland, Ohio

2008-07-31T07:59:00.001-07:00