Sweet Alabama

 

Now I get it. I've been to nirvana and back. And I want to go again. 

An Alabama Chanin workshop has been on my imaginary bucket list for quite a long time. An opportunity happened and I jumped on it. Yes, it's expensive. Gulp. And unlike that zip line course I did in Belize with the church youth group, I'm hoping this is not one-and-done.

It starts out so very low key. Look at their store front! I had seen this before when I visited with BSF Ginny but it still is surprising to see how laid back their operation really is, at least on the exterior.

The workshop comprised three days of pampering, surrounded by women who also love hand-sewing and several expert thirty-somethings (our teachers) waiting on us and answering each and every question. And everywhere I looked, I saw more inspiration. Here are some of the garments worn by fellow participants, those who had attended other workshops, or simply ordered kits and made from home.

The Car Jacket, very different in different fabrics, stencils, and threads

The Factory Dress, stitched with silk ribbon

One of the days, Natalie Chanin came in and gave an impromptu talk on her experiences with her business during COVID, as well as some personal revelations she has experienced during this time. 

We had shared work benches with plenty of space for practicing as many techniques as we could squeeze in. There were stacks of 5" sample fabrics to use for practice. We received detailed instruction on each of these. 

The first morning was fast, as we needed to select our workshop projects, included in the price. We had received via email a description of maybe 2 dozen projects to consider well in advance but I had not decided. They started with a trunk show of many of the options (and options within options). Then we were set free to try on sample garments from multiple racks to determine exactly what we wanted. During this time the teachers were assisting us in determining size and finding styles to try. 

I chose the short version of their trench coat, called the pea coat

Many of us wanted adjustments to the styles - different sizes, added sleeves, raised necklines, and so on. All were possible. 

Once we had determined the style of our workshop project, then we needed to choose the fabric colors, one for the outer layer and one for the under layer that is revealed when portions of the outer layer are cut away. As you may know, the fabric is 100% organic cotton grown and manufactured in the US. And before noon that first day, we also had to determine the stencil we wanted to use from at least a dozen or so options. Whew!

When we arrived at our work stations the next morning, we each had a tidy package containing our workshop projects. The package contained each pattern piece cut in each color, carefully labeled (upper sleeve, lower sleeve and so on). The stencils had been applied and some of us were ready to start. Not me.

Because many of the participants had attended previous workshops they jumped in. There were frequent demonstrations by our teachers for newbies as well as those who wanted more instruction. And while we practiced, the sweet teachers floated around offering advice and answering questions. 

And, of course, one day we had a tour of their factory. That's always inspiring. Another time, the expert who makes crocheted snap covers for their clothing demonstrated her technique. It was like magic to watch her work. 

al

Another day we had a demonstration and presentation from her stencil designer. She showed how she creates the design and takes them through to stenciling on garment pieces. There was a charming one created in collaboration with Rosanne Cash. Cash wrote and produced a song about Alabama Chanin titled The River and The Thread. My new and lovely sewing friend Michelle played it for us as we drove from the workshop to the hotel and to eat dinner. That stencil is not available for home sewers, but you can order the tee shirt!

One of our teachers showing a variation on the basic dress

And meal time was elegant. We were served sit-down breakfasts, lunches and mid-afternoon dessert. Yes, we were totally pampered. 

My chosen project is their Pea Coat, a short version of their Trench Coat. Both the outer and inner fabrics are a dark blue. The stencil is black. I decided I wanted subdued design on this first (!) one. The stitching is high-contrast, so it's not totally knocked back. I think I'm going to love it.

In the meantime, I am totally loving the process of hand-stitching the motifs on each pattern piece. It is a time-consuming process, but I'm enjoying each step. I did not make one stitch on it while I was there and so was anxious to start when I returned home. 

The first step was to carefully baste the two layers of fabric together on each piece in the Pea Coat project. This is necessary so as to avoid any shifting during the process of stitching the motifs. The seam allowances are only 1/4" so there is no margin for being sloppy. And there is no waste. Project packages include a 10x10 square of the two fabrics, one with stenciling, one without, to allow for sampling of techniques. I am grateful for that. I am not being my usual jump-in-and-figure-it-out-later style sewist on this project. I promise.

I returned to earth (home) totally saturated with inspiration and a strong desire to spend every waking minute with needle and thread in hand. It was a time I will remember fondly.

Some of us after dinner at Odette's

Good Friday

Each year, for the last few years, I've approached Easter with thoughts of one station of the cross. This year, though different due to the world-wide covid-19 pandemic, I return to the rhythm of my Lenten preparation. For me, and other artists in my church, St Patrick's Episcopal Church, this is a time of meditating, visualizing, and actualizing a depiction of one station of the cross.

As you may know, stations of the cross are a tradition in many Christian churches. I think the goal of the tradition is to remember Christ in his darkest period, a time when he knew what was next, and his closest friends could not fathom the days to come. There are several versions of the Stations with differing numbers of stations. This year, ours has 14 stations.

I chose Station 11, the repentant thief. It is based on this passage from Luke 23:

42. Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
43. Jesus answered him, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise."

My journey began with a trip to the High Museum. One of the art leaders at St Pat's took a group of us there and taught me (us?) a new way to visit a museum. She explained that the viewer of art completes the art, and so we are all participants, and without us, no piece of art is complete. She also encouraged us to sit with a piece for a while and be still.

The piece that spoke loudest to me was Stefan Bondell's "Pyramid."

Dark, isn't it? It's huge and sits in a room with an audio installation that sounds like a Gregorian chant. Commanding. Not pretty. Not pretty at all.

It's a trinity, of sorts, and references the 3 Abrahamic religions - Islam on the lower left, Judaism on the lower right, and wait, what's that at the top? The closer I looked, the less I wanted to look, but I also felt drawn in, inexplicably.

The top of this pyramid is based on a well-known depiction of our (USA) atrocities committed in Abu Gharib in 2003. So, no, this is not a pretty picture. The image stayed with me and I began to imagine the three on the cross, only not crosses. Instead I imagined them posed on boxes, dressed in rags, heads covered (it would have been harder to ignore their humanity without covering their faces), and wires extending from parts of their bodies.

I thought, yes, this will become my station.

But I could not do it. I mean, I could sketch, I could add a little paint, but then nothing. When covid-19 reared its head, I gave up and listened to my need for nurture and beauty.

In the past, I've sketched and painted but then transformed the idea into cloth. This year, I decided to paint my station. It was a leap. I have never worked so large and it was a learning activity for sure.

my husband's right hand

I like drawing hands; I took my time playing with hand images.

And I was enjoying the now-flowering Dogwood near my deck.

This is a small (8x11)  mock-up that I later ruined in order to learn some techniques.

Many times, I was ready to wad it up and go back to cloth, something I know well. I could not start another painting, as I had the one piece of watercolor paper this size. So I continued. There are some aspects of it that are not pleasing to me, but not enough to trash it. More than that, I'm satisfied with it. It suits my need for beauty at this dark time in the history of our planet.

I was introduced to Dogwood trees when I moved to Atlanta in 1989. They are beautiful and usually arrive at the beginning of spring, foreshadowing of the riot of color on its way. And, as it happens, there is a Christian tradition associated with the Dogwood tree, with its strong, lean branches and delicate flowers. According to the legend, the cross of Christ was constructed from Dogwood.

And the story in Luke is full of beauty and hope. Hope for new beginnings, even while observing the darkest day in the Christian calendar.

With all the restrictions, of course, we cannot hang our stations in the church this year. I am so pleased that our director of communications put together a web site containing each piece with the accompanying narrative. It's not as powerful as the starving artists' dinner we usually have where we share our artistic journeys, but it is a nice way to document the stations for 2020. If you are interested, you may see them here:

https://stpatsart.com/stations-of-the-cross/

Also, if you would like to see our stations from 2019, and if you are interested in a meditation on Good Friday, I encourage you to watch this video narrated by the youth of my church. They put it together for today, and used images from last year's stations:

https://www.facebook.com/stpatdunwoody/videos/157585615546928/

I hope you are well. I am dreaming of new beginnings.

More PJs!

I'm beginning to feel quite fancy with multiple new PJ sets, especially as I consider my old nighttime garb. Just finished my second set and a third set is cut and ready to sew. For each I'm using the Eureka top and the Hudson pants from the Sewing Workshop.

This set fits differently than the previous set because the fabric is a rayon jersey. I think. This red and white polka dot is one of those what-was-I-thinking pieces in my stash. I made the pants slightly smaller because of the knit and overlayed the totally-stright side seams to cut front and back pieces as one.

This was inspired by a visit to the High Museum with BSF to see the Yayoi Kusama exhibit. It was fantastic. Every time I noticed this crazy red and white piece, I could not imagine why I bought it. Well, now I know. I needed Kusama-inspired PJs. And you do too!

Per usual I did not have enough fabric to make it entirely out of the red and white polka dot. And per usual that's a good thing. I had to add the panel at the bottom front piece of the Eureka. And so I also used that printed rayon jersey for the neck band and the sleeve cuffs.

The additional print made this project more interesting. By cutting it on the bias, the pattern is little squares you can see on the neck line. I like that a lot. It's the little things, you know. Cut on grain for the lower panel and the sleeve cuffs, it's little diamond shapes.

I feel like I'm really getting into knits at the moment. And I don't usually like knits to sew or wear. But they are perfect for PJs. I learned some little tricks at Sew Kansas like stabilizing the hems with this fusible stuff before top-stitching. It makes all the difference. No ripples.

These PJs make me inordinately optimistic.

"After all, well, moon is a polka dot, sun is a polka dot, and then, the earth where we live is also a polka dot." Kusama

Re-entry

The past 3 weeks have been a blur to me as I attended a workshop at Shakerag, followed by a brief week at home, and then a week+ in Colorado with family. I'm home for a while now and I cannot wait to start a sewing project!

While in Colorado, mostly Breckenridge, I've been hiking, biking, and painting. I had the opportunity to shop at Fancy Tiger Crafts in Denver. What a sweet and inspiring store.

In fact DH and I went to their shop soon after landing before the huge family reunion began. You can see I'm a bit rumpled  from cross-country travel in my Sewing Workshop MixIt top and Hudson pants.

I stumbled across Fancy Tiger Crafts on Instagram initially where I admired the sewing and knitting projects. I am not much of a knitter but I loved their fabric and pattern selection. Their pattern selection was the most fun for me because it included brands I typically would need to order online.

I bought three patterns and one cut of fabric that I believe is cotton but may have some linen in it. It is a cross dye in black and white producing a textured look I love.

They had an interesting selection of fabrics too, including these Pendleton wools. If I lived in Denver, I would have been tempted by those.

The remainder of last week was spent primarily enjoying family activities. Breckenridge and the surrounding Rocky Mountains are wonderful for outdoor activities like biking and hiking. Also there was much inspiration for painting.

One of my favorite events was painting and drawing with my grandgirls.

The week prior to leaving for Colorado I scrambled to complete two pair pants from TNT patterns - cropped Helix pants in navy ponte and the Hudson pants in a textured rayon, all from the Sewing Workshop. The Helix and Hudson pants are real favorites of mine from the Sewing Workshop.

Helix pants require stretch fabric and have a smooth waistline.

Hudson pants require fabric with drape. I took mine in about an inch at the ankle for a bit more shapping.

The week before I was in Sewanee TN for a Shakerag workshop with Christine Mauersberg. We spent the week in meditative hand-stitching. It was delightful. I've learned that I may or may not make something I love in these inspiring workshops, but I always carry something useful into future sewing (or sketching) projects.

As it happened, Linda Lee from the Sewing Workshop was teaching right down the hall from our hand-sewing classroom. I made a few trips down to her classroom for further inspiration, as well as to visit with Linda and her fabulous students. I left with the fabric for my Helix and Hudson pants above.

So I'm back now, doing laundry, and dreaming of what I will make next.

Shrine Ridge Trail near Vail CO

I hope you are making something right now!

Street art on July 4th in Breckenridge CO