International Crochet Day

International Crochet Day is observed on Sept. 12 each year. To commemorate this fun observance, here is a video celebrating some of the things that I made with crochet.
https://youtu.be/kxHr3Jfq-5Q

Replacing and updating book jackets with collage

Novels’ dust jackets go missing sometimes, which limits that book’s ability to attract potential readers. I’ve been using the art form of collage to replace and update books’ dust jackets.
https://youtu.be/67Fbw2XyJH8

Collage-art from book dust jackets

Books’ dust jackets can be used for a variety of artistic and educational projects. I created a collage using dust jackets from books that were retired from the school library.
https://youtu.be/IpWiWGdyJtQ

Constructing a ‘maker’ identity

Hand-made masks, constructed during the pandemic

In Making as Self Reflection, Perdue alumni Dr. Avneet Hira talks about how, when she was attending classes in engineering at Kalpana Chawla (her undergraduate college), everything was “just so theoretical” and “not what [she] thought engineering was going to be like” (Sari & Huber, 2020, pg. 2 of transcript).

New dust jackets for fiction books

Dust jackets are essential for promoting plain-covered books; how else can a reader determine at first glance, what a book is about — and from there, decide whether or not to open it and sample a few of its pages? So my project this week was to create new jackets for books that were currently without. From left to right, here are Wings of Fire — Legends: Darkstalker by Tui T. Sutherland, Paint the Wind by Pam Muñoz Ryan, and The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. I used craft paper and added color-printouts of front-cover images from the publisher. The books’ titles and call numbers are recreated on each book’s spine, and plot summaries are pasted on the back.

Divided skirt and tunic, repurposed from tablecloth and men’s shirt

My latest sewing project is a divided skirt repurposed from a tablecloth that I got from The Legacy crafting shop in Sebastopol. Being a cyclist, I like the freedom of wearing a divided skirt. But soon as I laid it out to take a photograph ... how quickly it became a cat bed!

With it is one of Jonathan’s shirts, repurposed as a tunic for me. I marked the shirt along cutting lines from a paneled blouse pattern that I like. Then I cut along the lines and resewed the shirt, matching hem and shoulder seams.

I added a length of lace along the collar, put a new pocket where the men’s shirt pocket used to be, and added a length of eyelet-lace trim along one of the front panel seams. The accent pocket is also from the tablecloth and the trim came from Legacy as well.

Book-cleaning rags from old towel

“Greener” tools for book care in the library: this stack of book-cleaning rags were repurposed from an old towel. I cut the towel into smaller pieces, and bound the raw edges with my Serger. Now they’re ready to embark on their new life, used for cleaning books.

Reverse applique on ‘Big Bang Theory’ shirt

Sonoma County crafters, who else has visited The Legacy near downtown Sebastopol? It’s a great thrift-consignment shop that features crafting supplies.

Came away from my first visit to The Legacy with some great floral-patterned fabric, which I used to create a reverse applique for my “Big Bang Theory” T-shirt.

(Yes, even something as awesome as this shirt, depicting “Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock,” can become even more awesome through the marvel of customization.)

Best of all, the “fabric” was a no-longer-used cushion cover — thereby diverting something for repurposing that may otherwise have had no further use.

The Legacy is located at 789 Gravenstein Highway South. The merchandise has been donated, and it’s run by volunteers for the Sebastopol Area Senior Center.

‘Art Lab for Kids: Express Yourself!’

This is a book I’d very-much like to add to the shelves at my school library. Like its title suggests, Art Lab for Kids: Express Yourself! presents a series of “Labs,” or projects, in a variety of artistic endeavors: drawing, painting, printmaking, mixed media, and paper-based.

Each project includes a materials list, a description or prompt, and step-by-step instructions.

From its introduction, the book seems written with adults in mind, e.g. parents or educators, who would assemble an artistic space and offer the projects as lessons — but the way the projects themselves are presented, I think that older children could also explore them independently. (Some techniques, like using a cutting tool, are meant to be performed under adult supervision.)

Disclosure of material connection: My taxes support local libraries’ acquisition of this and other resources. I consider the access I enjoy to be a “priceless” return on my investment.

Collage-art book cover repair

The challenge facing me: a large piece had been torn from the front cover of this paperback book, Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney. Aside from the torn cover, the book was in good condition, worth putting back on the shelf.

Reverse-applique on this year’s ArtWalk T-shirt

One of the ways that our generous community supports Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts is the sponsoring of T-shirts for students and staff for the annual ArtWalk fundraiser. This year’s fundraiser took place last Friday, and here I am wearing my shirt. I spent the weekend customizing it with reverse-applique along the sleeves, shoulders, and front neckline. I used patterned fabrics in the white, black, yellow, and blue of the T-shirt’s Narwhal design, plus I threw in some squares in green cutwork fabric because it’s my favorite color. Got a lot of appreciative reactions when I wore it to school today.

‘Art Walk’ T-shirt with reverse-applique

Over the summer I was given a stash of unused quilting fabric, and a lot of it was in official colors for Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts. (Those colors are black, white, and gold.) Here’s the shirt for last year’s “Art Walk” fundraiser, embellished with reverse-applique along the neck, and ribbon accents along the shoulder seams and sleeves. Lookin’ forward to this year’s fundraiser; students are collecting pledges.

Bicycle-themed collage art

Here’s a collage from greeting-card images and from informational brochures gathered during an Earth Day celebration in Santa Rosa’s Courthouse Square. The background is a route map for Santa Rosa City Bus.

‘First Rule of Punk’ by Celia C. Pérez

I’ve embarked on reading recent honorees of the American Library Association’s annual Youth Media Awards.

First up is The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez. It was recognized in February as a 2018 Pura Belpré Author Honor Book — and reading it, this May, it definitely set a tone for excellence.

The protagonist, Malú, is thoroughly likeable; she simply wants to be herself, while her mother seems to hold an ideal vision of the perfect señorita that she wants Malú to be like.

I could thoroughly relate, as I’m sure many young readers could. The content of the vision may vary, as might the identity of the relative, but I can’t imagine anyone liking an attempt to mold them into something they are not, and to know that you fail to live up to this ideal — well, put simply, it sucks.

One thing I found most enjoyable in this book were the interspersed ’zines, pages of collage-art that added dimension to Malú's narrative.

Here’s a definition of a ’zine, courtesy of Wikipedia: “A zine is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via photocopier.”

The author, Celia C. Pérez, has been making ’zines for years; in her author bio, she states that her favorite 'zine supplies are “glue sticks, animal clip art (to which she likes adding speech bubbles), and watercolor pencils.”

Pérez includes directions for how readers can make ’zines of their own, a touch that I especially appreciate. I love exploring new forms of self-expression through art, and am delighted to think that young readers of this book might be inspired to new forms of creativity.

Green-herringbone jacket and hat

Here are a couple of my recent sewing projects, out of a beautiful green herringbone flannel. The jacket is from an old McCalls pattern, #7799, enhanced with a layered applique that I made from repurposed garments.

The newsboy hat is a rare monochromatic creation. I usually combine various colors, textures and patterns when I sew these hats, but I needed a hat in a plain neutral color — and for me, “neutral” is dark green. It’ll easily go with the many other shades of green that dominate my wardrobe.

SRCSA Spirit: Narwhal hoodie with gold trim

Beginning Friday, Oct. 6, every Friday will be “School Colors Day” at Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts.
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‘The Blue Cat of Castle Town’

One of the consistent joys of my life is reading fantasy stories involving cats.

The Blue Cat of Castle Town is a delightful story by Catherine Cate Coblentz, illustrated by Janice Holland. Originally published in 1949 by the Countryman Press, it was released by Dover in 2017 as an unabridged reproduction.

Blue cats are born with a rare ability to learn the song of the river — and one such cat is born near a small town in Vermont, during the 19th Century.

The blue cat faces a unique challenge beyond those of ordinary cats. “Not only must the kitten who sings the river’s song find a hearth to fit that song, but he must teach the keeper of that hearth to sing the same song. ... For if the river’s song rise no longer from the hearthside, then it is said, the very days of the land itself are numbered.”
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Yarn Bombing: ‘Maker Day’ at Bill Library

Artisans, crafters and hobbyists demostrated their skills during a Maker Day event at the Bill Library, Saturday, July 22, in Ledyard, Conn. The library started its maker program about two years ago and holds monthly hands-on classes.
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Brother sewing machine

What an amazing gift! One of my colleagues at Bellview school gave me a Brother sewing machine as a goodbye present. The timing was perfect, as I’d just disposed of two machines no longer fit for service.

Plenty of school spirit with this newsboy hat

I managed to create one final hat before packing up my sewing supplies for the move back to northern California. With the black-and-white brocade patterning of its brim and quartered panels, this newsboy hat is just the thing to wear with the school colors for Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts. And as is often the case with my unique constructions, this hat is entirely assembled from repurposed garments. The patterned pieces come from a thrift-store jacket. The green solid was repurposed from a man's work shirt and the blue comes from a skirt.