Recycled Bride in progress...and a trip to watch our son FLY!

(Above: Memory, a miniature Grave Rubbing Art Quilt. 11 3/4" x 11 1/2". Crayon on silk grave rubbings collaged on a vintage handkerchief with bits of crochet. Hand and free motion machine embroidery. Click on image to enlarge.)

Steve and I love to travel....and we sure have been going places recently! Only a week after our trip to Washington State and Port Moody, we are now off to Birmingham, England to watch our elder son Mathias as Alain in Birmingham Royal Ballet's production of La Fille Mal Gardee. It's a "principal part", and we've been told that he's wired for FLYING! It's quite exciting!

Well, I always have a stitching project with me....in planes, trains, bus rides, or on long car trips. I took the small piece above on the last trip....and did all the handwork over the weekend. It is going to the SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) annual benefit auction. I've never participated in this event...but have only heard wonderful things about it.


(Above: Memory, reverse. Vintage damask napkin and doily. Click on image to enlarge.)

During the past week I worked on my Runaway Runway recycled fashion show garments. I have entered three designs: a bride, a bridesmaid, and a flower girl.



So....here's the bridal crinoline made from plastic bags. The bags are really, really big. They come when we order mat boards here at Mouse House! (My "day" job is custom picture framing with my husband.) They've all been gathered and stitched together by hand. The only "non-recycled" thing is a piece of 1" heavy-duty elastic. The paper napkin skirt is laying on the table in the background. (All images can be enlarged!)



The bodice is entirely created on Mokuba adhesive coated water soluble stabilizer (often marketed for creating "free lace" scarves). First, I place a layer of artificial flowers on the adhesive coating....completely covering the surface. Then, I stitch a grid....effectively "attaching" all the flowers into a material/fabric/ground. Third, I free motion stitch more artificial flowers to the surface. Finally, the stabilizer is rinsed away....leaving a garment entirely made of artificial flowers and thread. I did this last year when creating my artificial and Flower Dress and Leaf Dress. I wrote about it HERE. The bodice laces up the back....with a cord made from assorted yarns and twine.



Every bride must have jewelry! A "recycled bride" must have "recycled jewelry"....like an interesting necklace and matching bracelet. Fortunately, a recent framing client wanted us to completely re-frame a piece bought over the Internet. It came with a double length of tuflon plastic coated stainless steel wire....the really expensive kind that I don't buy! I saved it, curled it, attached lots of plastic dairy seals and sheer ribbon.



The ribbon came in a "table lot" from Bill Mishoes' estate sale....someone's collection of used craft supplies.



I couldn't have created these pieces without help from Michelle Goldsmith in New Hampshire. She read my need for the dairy container seals and mailed the envelop above! THANK YOU MICHELLE!



A local friend, Margaret Carter, donated an old lamp shade covered in beautiful silk. My friend Jeff Donovan donated the handle. It came off a large plastic bucket of aquarium supplies. Jeff's neighbor is in this business and throws out the buckets regularly....hence....recycled! Of course, I stitched more of the artificial cemetery flowers to the edge. Thankfully, I had help sorting all the cemetery flowers....removing all the white ones from the eight trash bags I currently have.



Yet, I was able to find enough "white" flowers in the cemetery dumpsters to create a bouquet. This meant a return trip to the graveyard....because I ordinarily "dissect" all the flowers, throw out the wires and plastic, and wash the fabric. Please note, I NEVER take flowers from the graves....only the dumpsters. Every blossom was headed to a landfill before I took it!



The ribbon on this bouquet was made by cutting up a large plastic bag from JoAnn's Fabric Shop. So....tomorrow we've off again to England....with another project in hand and silk in the suitcase. I'm lucky enough to be going to Nottingham...where there are the most wonderful tombstones of slate. The miniature quilt above had rubbings made in Nottingham last year! I can't wait!