Playing with my Bambi Jacket

It all started when I enrolled in a hand stitching class.

Anyone that's known me for any length of time
knows how much I've always wanted to be apart of someone elses sewing workshop
so when Regina & I walked into
Trishs shop & I spied she was offering a stitching workshop
I could hardly breathe it felt so right.

It was 4 Tuesday evenings
- during the first 3 I tried very hard not to think about how to create something
and tried instead to connect with my inner embroiderer & focus on finding my 'thing'
- 'a symbol in stitch' which belonged to me, was how Trish worded it I think.

A symbol eluded me 
and so did the ability not to create something.

In true Jody Pearl style 
on the day of the last night
it all suddenly made sense and started to come together.

 

Along with being in the company of like minded souls 
the spark which ignited the creative flame

was REdiscovering a vintage childs hanky in my filing,

which then reminded me of the red wool blend Coat I'd bought brand new 3 winters ago

hanging unworn in the back of the wardrobe...

and slowly

 over the course of the next few weeks 
while sitting at my end of the couch 
channel surfing by lamp light
I played
with basic hand stitching techniques 
fabric scraps
potato printing with doilies
 vintage trims
and most amazing of all
 I totally lost the need to control this REfashion with a sewing machine.

I discovered along the way that

taking the slow road is good for the soul

and giving yourself permission to play

involves stepping away from what you know and loosing the fear of being wrong.

Potato Printing with Doilies

Sue has REinvented with me in the past and will do so in the future and like all good REinventors Sue's not afraid to try her hand at new things - we're a fearless lot!

 Last weekend, while the rest of the class stitched their REinventions, Sue printed hers.

I coined the term, Potato Printing with Doilies because it is literally just that, you employ the same strategy & techniques as if printing with a carved-into cut-in-half potato - only without the potato because there's too many other options, like doilies, stamps, table runners!

All you need is:

fabric paint

 lots of newspaper

plastic chopping board

small paint roller

  printing surface

rolling pin

iron

I think you'll agree, something as simple as a splash of colour & a strategically placed pattern can totally change the look of a garment - for the better!

I'd love to show how much fun this is, so I've set aside a Sunday here at the Studio to do just that....places will be limited so best to book early - contact me for details.