Hello everybody! It’s your old friend TJ here from Studio Mailbox tuning in for the first Friday post of September. I have appreciated all the support and tips from TSL readers as I’ve undergone my work with my denim quilt project. This month we’re interrupting the regularly scheduled program to celebrate national sewing month!
Sewing means different things to different people. As a mixed media artist, I think of sewing as just another means of making marks and layers in my work. When I hang around with you guys I think of sewing as a process that constructs an entirely new thing, like a curtain, a pillow — a skirt! So I spend a little time in both of these worlds.
I thought I’d share a few examples of how I’ve used sewing in some of my work. As you’ll see sometimes I just use the machine as a hole puncher! (Who needs thread anyway?) A lot of the time I enjoy sewing on paper or photos. I have wrecked a lot of needles in my day but I figure the results are totally worth it!
As you celebrate this month I’d like to challenge you to use materials you normally wouldn’t even consider running over your feed dogs. I’d suggest starting with a simple card, collaging some fabric scraps, photos or paper scraps on it (tack down with two-sided scrapbookers adhesive) and then sew it up. Make sure to catch at least a portion of all your scraps under the thread to hold in place. Watch how the recipients react to this little touch that goes a LONG way! Just don’t forget to change your needle again before you switch back to sewing fabric. A quick tip I use is to take a permanent marker and color the shank of my paper needles. This way you don’t throw them away, you pluck them back out of your pincushion or off a magnetic strip when you’re ready to sew paper again.
TJ Goerlitz is a mixed media artist who pretends to be a seamstress whenever possible. Come connect with her on her site, Studio Mailbox, her Facebook page, or in Pinterest. Join in the story of the denim quilt every first Friday of the month where she will share her progress (or non-progress) right here with the readers of The Sewing Loft.
Comments & Reviews
I like your challenge to sew on a different medium. I have been thinking of trying something with leather. I like your idea of identifying your used needle. I keep index cards with different used needles that I use for different things like knits, jeans, etc. See more about my system here:
http://www.thelostapron.com/2012/08/keep-track-of-your-needles.html