Flash and Trash -  Part I

Getting To Play

This is one of the most fun parts of these art projects:  getting to make the samples and play with all the stuff that I have.  Not everything thing that I sample will make it into the final product, but I always keep the samples for future reference because an idea that won't work in one project, might work in another.

Since part of this vest is velvet, I needed to know what colors and paint formulations would work on it.  I've got Shiva paintsticks, fabric paints, and fabric paint pens.  What I found was that the paint pens actually worked rather well and left the least residue, which means there was less clumping of the velvet pile.  I also tried Prisma colored pencils and blending them, but I wasn't happy with the result.  The paintsticks weren't quite right for this fabric, either.  I also tried an embossed flower to see how that would look in this velvet.  I'll have to think about how all the embellishments are going to work together before I make a final decision.

Next up was thread choice for quilting.  I had a lot of thread candidates, in all colors and types, but from these early trials, I'm not sure that tight background quilting is the way to go with the velvet.  I think I'm going to have to make it simple and then let the rest of the embellishments really shine.

One other part of the early planning process is doing a few calculations.  I rarely use a pattern as drafted for these sorts of garments.  Because I'm planning on a circular peplum, I needed to measure the hem area and figure out how large of circle I'd need cut.  Actually, I'm going to use two full circles stitched together, but regardless, I needed to do a little math to get the right dimensions.  Some of that stuff from geometry class does come in handy!

Parting Shot:  Mt. Cabot.  Saturday I got to go hiking, which I haven't done as much this winter as I'd like to. I was able to go with a group (which I will definitely do next winter, too) and was able to hike Mt. Cabot.   Normally this summit sign would be a couple of feet above my head, but with the snow pack it is at the most a couple of feet from what now is the ground.  We all had to crouch down to have our pictures taken with the sign.