blog – Page 23 – ann wood handmade

fly inspected, fly approved and a tip for sewing with difficult fabrics

April 6, 2018

by annwood

Velvet is difficult to sew sculptural forms with and I very rarely use it for shapes. Even with lots of pins things tend to slide around and the weight and pile make it unforgiving, mistakes show and are hard or impossible to adjust by stitching from the outside.

I discovered that stapling the fabric together works magnificently well and does not harm the fabric. I stapled right at the edge, outside the seam line, and everything stayed in place as I sewed.

I’m very happy with the shape, he is round in all the right places, the pattern pieces snapped together perfectly and he already has a bad attitude.

I’m making owls from the new Fortuny printed velvets. They are exquisite, the colors, the feel, the patterns, everything.

get the owl sewing pattern

A note on the beautiful pins – they are entomology pins. They come in lots of sizes and colors, the quality is excellent and I love the way they look. You can find them here.

Most people don’t realize that all of Fortuny’s fabrics are inspected by a tiny Venetian fly. A diligent and thorough fly. It is careful and slow work requiring long hours and true dedication.

It’s a big job for a little and old bug but he has been content in his duties, happy even, for many, many decades (no one knows exactly how long, it seems he has always been there).

Lately someone new has started showing up, a dragonfly, all huge and full of himself and suggestions, you know how dragonflies can be….

Do you get my free weekly-ish newsletter? There are tips and tricks, ideas, stuff to try, all the latest news and blogposts and extra stuff, just for subscribers, delivered mostly on Friday. Pretty much.

happenstance, chance, accidental beauty

April 6, 2018

by annwood

Why does this stitching, born solely of necessity, produce such compelling and powerful compositions? Does some perfect rhythm, some harmony with the universe reveal itself if we get out of the way?

And intertwined with the aesthetic appeal there is another sensibility about these patched and mended textiles. Stephen Szczepanek refers to Boro as having soulful beauty. I think that’s perfect, their unassuming and utilitarian nature and their absolute integration with life communicate an intimacy and humanity that is exquisite.

I chose some of my favorite examples of patched and mended old cloth to share with you below – click the images for the larger versions (all photos by Sri Threads).

There is beautiful evidence of time and use everywhere. I’ve been photographing my paintboxes for years, to record their transformations.

Like the Boro pieces I love them for their accidental beauty and for inspiration – there are so many things to think about and so many places to begin in them.

Note: this post was originally published in 2015 as part of my big creative year series and was edited and updated with new images on 4/6/2018

friends who sew – the LA workshops

March 30, 2018

by annwood

We made songbirds and dolls. We stitched and stuffed and tried stuff. We hammered wire bird feet on a tiny anvil and carved beaks from twigs. I repeatedly cautioned everyone not to cut themselves and then I was the only one who did. The days were packed and exhausting and there was a big salad and baked treats each day. French General is a good place. I’ve demanded that they let me come back and we are working on something special for October. Stay tuned or sign up for the mailing list if you’d like to be the first to know when registration opens.

There were three classes – the rag doll once and the songbird twice. Each class was completely full and everybody was a pro. It was like a dream, a room full of serious stitchers. I usually invite beginners too (and will again) but these one day classes were so ambitious I did not.

Sewing, as a group activity, is a lovely thing. I felt at home at FG and with the people who showed up to sew. It makes everything easy. And fun. I had fun. I hope everybody had fun. I can be kind of a slave driver and it was a lot to ask of people. A lot of work and a lot of thinking, right up against the edge of what’s possible to do in a day (by the way – the follow up stuff will be emailed to you in a couple days – reviews of some of the tricky stuff and instruction on a couple things we didn’t get to like very easy shoes for dolls). And big thanks, to each of you who took the time and precious energy to show up and try something.

I was so busy and engaged I took almost no photos. I so wish I had, the more than 50! birds and rag dolls were wonderful and the shop is beautiful and full of fascinating things. Thanks so much Jennifer Serr for the rag doll class photos. And here are some of the songbirds in various stages of blast-beruffled plume-

And a couple in their natural habitat.

(bird by mary stanley)

(bird by jill burgess)

This was a was a big and expanding experience in lots of ways. Teaching is good for ideas, for thinking in general. And for being part of the world which I do enjoy occasionally.

fling your soul upon the gloom and something new in the bird leg department

March 30, 2018

by annwood

carving a wax bird leg for casting in bronze

When I get whacked hard by life, this is the poem I read. And this is my favorite part:

An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small,

In blast-beruffled plume,

Had chosen thus to fling his soul

Upon the growing gloom.

It always cheers me up and I know what to do, fling my soul hard at the gloom. It is the only thing to do.

I’m back from my teaching trip and It all worked out. But it sure was dicey for a while. There are so many reasons not to do stuff. Trying seems to invite bad luck. It doesn’t, but it seems that way. The more stuff you do the more stuff there is that can go wrong. And when things do go wrong they love to go wrong in a horrifying cascade. That’s what happened in the 2 weeks before I left for Los Angeles. Lots of little things went wrong and a couple big ones. There was plenty of gloom. I rarely feel defeated but I did for a while. The darkling thrush saved me.

I got home at 2 AM on Tuesday, watered the plants and spent the next 30 hours in bed. I am still exhausted. I’m also full of ideas. The first thing I did was ship a ton of orders and then I carved a bird leg from a block of wax.

I’ve been wanting to try this for a long time. The intention is to eventually have molds made and cast legs in brass and bronze and silver. I have no idea if I did this right. I just started hacking away at the wax and did not look up for many hours.

It was a deeply peaceful and immersive experience and I want to carve more wax – I have all sorts of ideas…

Sincerely,
The Aged Thrush

PS – I got the wax blocks here.

sketchbook 3/4 – 3/10

March 11, 2018

by annwood

the intersection of real and pretend and make a little felt bunny

March 9, 2018

by annwood

a wedding party of little birds in the forest

Interesting things happen at the intersection of real and pretend. There is a shift, scale becomes playful and there is instant magic, instant enchantment. Nothing is certain and anything is possible.

That intersection is always on my mind when I’m making something, especially the little birds. I love to photograph them in the park or a forest. It is still one of my favorite things to do.

Get the little bird sewing pattern.

The forest casts its own spell, offers its mystery and magic. And the camera adds to it, it drops a glass dome over the moment and crystallizes the atmosphere.

It creates a world where if you just look a little closer, a little sharper, you might catch a glimpse of little birds exploring or tiny bunnies in joyful procession. Maybe they’ve been there all along and you just never noticed before.

About those bunnies…

My sister made them from the very nice mice pattern (just add long ears) a couple years ago and took the photo. I love their expressions.

And it’s bunny season and almost spring, make some bunnies and take a photo! I’d love to see. Use #annwoodpattern on instagram.

Do you get my free weekly-ish newsletter? There are tips and tricks, ideas, stuff to try, all the latest news and blogposts and extra stuff, just for subscribers, delivered mostly on Friday. Pretty much.

sketchbook 2/25 – 3/3

March 4, 2018

by annwood

an anniversary, getting deeply organized and lovely things made by customers

March 2, 2018

by annwood

sewing projects made from ann wood handmade patterns

It’s March and there is so much to celebrate. The mushroom print pattern and kit are in the shop and it is the12th anniversary of this experiment. To mark the occasion I’ve shared some lovely things made from my patterns by customers, but first I want to talk to you about storage.

My place is small and I’ve got a lot of fabric. It is mostly in one big (ikea) shelf stored in cardboard file boxes. The storage shelf had to be taken apart after the big crash and I never got it back in shape. Besides being depressing to look at it had also become a giant time waster. I pulled it all out and thought about it. The first thing I did was toss the lids. I don’t need them and the boxes fit perfectly without them, like drawers.

Most of the labels got lost in all the moving around. I’ve tried a bunch of stuff, hang tags, clothespins, writing on the box with chalk and have not been thrilled with any of it. I was going to use chalkboard stickers this time but remembered something I bought years ago and never used, little metal book plate labels from Martha Stewart.

They are perfect. How much joy can a fancy box label bring? So much. They are just right and feel so official. I googled them and you can still find them in lots of places including Staples. It’s such a big improvement over the chaos I’ve been working with and looking at.

customer images

The doll above is made from the tiny rag doll pattern with wonderful added details and modifications to her wardrobe by Annette (@nessienews). I love everything about her. I want to follow her and spy on her adventures in the forest.

One of the biggest and best decisions I made in my 12 years of experimenting here was to share patterns. It was such a leap and required and requires a giant amount of learning. It has turned my experiment into an almost rational enterprise that continues to grow and I continue to be interested in it and happy in the process of creating the patterns and kits (there are lots more coming). And I love seeing what you make. I selected a few other customer images to share here and If you like you can see more and share your own on instagram using #annwoodhandmade

And you’ll find others under: #annwood #tinyragdoll #mrsocks #annwoodpatterns

As always, thanks so much for showing up,
ann

Do you get my free weekly-ish newsletter? There are tips and tricks, ideas, stuff to try, all the latest news and blogposts and extra stuff, just for subscribers, delivered mostly on Friday. Pretty much.

the mushroom print pattern is in the shop

March 2, 2018

by annwood

Enchanted mushrooms made from little bits of fabric and other supplies you probably already have. I’ve just added the new mushroom print pattern to the shop.

If you make mushrooms I’d love to see! You can use #annwoodhandmade on instagram or email me a photo at info at ann wood handmade dot com.

sketchbook 2/18 – 2/24

February 25, 2018

by annwood

sketchbook : mathew and the great oak forest

color story : mineral shades

February 23, 2018

by annwood

Vibrant color with some smokeyness to it. Worlds and continents and centuries overlap in this little collection of textiles. Antique garment fragments from Japan, 18th century silk and velvet and shimmering patterns from Venice. And all of them found me. Marvelous serendipity.

I like thinking about all the things that had to happen in the world across hundreds of years for this bird to be, a crimson and scarlet girl who had her beginnings in the 1700’s. What has she seen, what does she carry with her.

Find the songbird sewing pattern here.

I spend huge amounts of time selecting fabrics, lingering in the choices, it slows me down in a way that I need to be slowed down sometimes. I have always loved to do it. Ask my sister, she will tell you that I loved to spend hours in the attic on a rainy day sorting through endless bags of scraps (I come from sewing people) imagining what I might make.

I’m doing lots of slow songbird work still. trying things, taking notes and making tiny adjustments. The part I most look forward to teaching you is transforming the basic shape into a bird, adding layers of feathers and details. There is so much opportunity for happy accidents. An imperfection, one wing a little askew or a tail feather poking out can suggest the funny, expressive little motions of a perched bird. Birdness.

The deep mineral tones are spilling into other work too. I interrupted the bird work to make a toadstool because I was in need of some immediate gratification. Toadstools are quick to make, especially in the mini size.