A Cotton Vest and Coat

This is a vest I put into a quilt show presented by the North Kitsap Quilters.

I loved this fabric. Yet another remnant. It lends itself so well to a quilting pattern.

It could actually be worn in the reverse, since it tied shut and was bound with muslin--the same fabric as the lining.

The photo shows it rather brown, but it is more of a maroon.

The red, black and white jacket is made from a weird length of fabric given to me by a Capuchin Monk in Bahrain. How exotic that sounds!

"Father Bart" was originally from Chicago. A little dynamo, he was our link to the Bahraini culture taking us on trips to otherwise inaccessible weaving villages and pottery factories.

Somewhere he came across this unique piece of fabric and gave it to me because he knew I liked to sew.

The jacket has a cross-over front, full length sleeves and is also reversible.

A Small Weaving

This little weaving is about 4 inches by 5 inches. It was done on a table loom and has tapestry inlay.

The ground is cashmere, the design is made up of silk threads, an angora, and fine wools. The warp is cotton.

It was mounted on a wooden board, but I removed it and plan to make a new backing for display.

It might make a nice little bag to hang on the wall for outgoing mail......maybe a small storage bag for hose to go into the suitcase......or maybe, just back on the wall for decoration.

Wool Poncho

Now residing over the guest bed, this poncho is about five feet long. It's made of natural wool, still in oil. "Still in oil" means it is supposed to be waterproof, since the natural lanolin has not been scrubbed out of it. Nor has it been carded to make it fuzzy or soft. I wanted it to be just like the native ponchos were made--to use as covering and protection from the elements.

This piece dates from 1960. I made it in a poncho factory in Guanajuato, Mexico when I went there on scholarship for summer study. The loom I used was a commercial one, all handmade and massive, very old and located in a large adobe building. The loom had a bar in front of the breast-beam that was there for the worker to sit on while they wove. I could barely reach the treadles.

My 'maestro' or teacher, showed me how to weave in the design after I drew it out for him to show what I wanted to do. The crosses are symbolic of all the crosses I saw on the mountain tops while traveling in Mexico. They were the very devil to do for a beginning weaver.

My shuttle was very large and handmade. The wool was wound around flexible bamboo like spools. The would spring to fit into the holes drilled at the center of the shuttle.

The fringes are knotted in the tradition of the factory.

The factory was halfway up the mountain side. (Guanajuato sits beautifully in a valley. It is a very old colonial town.) After hiking up there, pounding the wool into place and then hiking down to the house where I stayed, I would be famished. I would stop by the Mercado, a large open-air market, and buy a mango or a piece of pan dulce (sweet roll) to munch on. No wonder I gained 10 lbs. by the time I came home!

Handmade Beads and Boxes

From time to time, I've made handmade boxes cutting the parts out of hard greyboard and covering them with luscious papers.

The first one is designed to hold several sizes of the small double-pointed knitting needles that are used for making socks. I wanted to keep the needles sorted since at this size, it's difficult to see the numbers and eventually over time with use, the numbers tend to be worn off.

Also, I wanted to be able to pick the needles out of the container easily, so by tipping the box forward, the needles all fall to the front, still in their individual compartments and easily accessible.

Unfortunately, I don't have a photo of the needles in the drawer, but they are in small compartments that have a 'bridge' holding them in. The sizes are placed in order, so there's no danger of mixing them up.

It would be a nice design element to mark the backing paper for each set of needles with artistically drawn large numbers. Next time.

The rope is raffia strands, twisted in the technique used by Japanese to make rice straw rope.

The bead was made by me using a two-part mold. It is porcelain and only fired to bisque range. I write more about it in my clay blog: www.jeanetteharrisblog.blogspot.com.

I wrote a short article for Studio Potter about the process and included several photos of a few of this and other beads.

The box pictured here is a lesson in how to make a sliding drawer. The funny thing is, you make the drawer; THEN construct the box around it. Tricky.

The bead is a hand-formed and glazed with a transparent glaze.

The last box is one made for my sister. (A purchased bead tops off the box.)

This idea is a box made like a perfume box with a top that slides upwards. It is also a sock knitting needle container and the needles fall forward and fan out when the top is opened.

You can't see it in this photo, but the box has 6 compartments--three on one side and three on the back. If I make this design again, I would incorporate a tiny draw-string to corral the needles before sliding the lid back on.

Or, make little sliding compartments that could be pulled up to select the right needles. I would put the needle numbers on the top so it would be easy to pick the size.

Buttons

Isn't this a great bunch of buttons?

They are currently residing in a drawer in my clay studio. (See www.jeanetteharrisblog.blogspot.com for my pottery blog.)

These are all made of bone and have incised decorations. Some are stained. I love the look of them.

I have boxes and boxes of buttons I'll never use in my lifetime, but ya just can't have enough buttons, I say.

Once, I happened on a huge bowlful of buttons on the counter of an antique store. There were celluloid and metal ones, Bakelite and bone, Lucite and glittery ones. I was in heaven.

I suppose had all been cut off cards from a huge collection. Or maybe just one accumulation from a button hoarder. I spend about two hours stirring and stirring, picking out absolute gems to take home at 25 cents each!!

I use them on choicey things like soft jewelry bags and sewing kits. A few I've added in to necklaces.

(Note to self: Photograph those buttons and post them.)

Soft Sculpture Necklace

Before clay, I worked extensively in fibers; weaving, needlework, ethnic clothing design, baskets.

Some time ago, I was going through some more slides of previous work and came across one of the soft jewelry pieces I made some years ago.

The soft jewelry grew out of designing ethnic clothing.

At one point, I was heavily involved with The Children's Art Center in Norfolk VA and a the Textile Designer's Association of Virginia.

A wonderful teacher, Margot Carter Blair arrived upon our horizon and taught a great series of classes on design and application of a huge range of fibers and embellishments. Margot is a gifted and inspiring teacher. You can see her work on: http://www.softflexcompany.com/WSWrapper.jsp?mypage=spotlightdesigner_Nov07.html. Margot is currently concentrating on doing rosary workshops using bead design.

This necklace is a pendent made of a cross-stitch pattern I designed, cotton embroidery thread tassels and beaded pom-poms and wrapped cording. The length is adjustable by positioning the two loops on either side of the back section. It can remain at the shortened length or lengthened by slipping the loops over the pom-poms on either side. The natural tension of cotton upon cotton holds the adjustment in place.

One day, I will repeat the necklace, but instead of cotton, use more luxurous materials--maybe a porcelain pendent and matching beads.

I'm so glad I started to keep a photography record of my work early on. It's great to have the visual references in order to dip into them and think about new variations on old themes.