Holiday Heap

In just under a week, I will be showing my designs at the Holiday Heap craft fair in Baltimore.  I've always been impressed with the handiwork at this event, so I'm really flattered to have been included.  Check out the Charm City Craft Mafia blog for more info on the vendors, including an interview from me!


This is the first time I have been involved in a craft fair, and it is the first time that I have sewn my designs in batches, rather than one-at-a-time.  The resulting twelve-plus hour sewing days have allowed me to perfect my techniques just a little more and to get to know the fabric and designs a bit better.  I have enjoyed experiencing the feeling of my hands moving automatically, without requiring that extra moment to decide if I'm putting something together correctly while preparing the fabric for cutting and the seams for sewing and pressing.

I will have a few men's shirt designs available in standard sizes, ranging from 36"-44" chest.  In case I sell out of a particular size, I also made each size out of muslin, so that people can try these on to gauge their size for standard or custom orders.  I am hoping that I will leave the Holiday Heap with a better understanding of how my standard sizes fit across a wide range of bodies.


No matter how it goes, I know I will learn a lot.  I've already benefited through the preparation process--it has made my goals seem more tangible, and turned my vision into a practice.


If your are in Baltimore I would love to see you there!

HOLIDAY HEAP 2011

December 3rd, 2011 - 10am to 5pm

2640 St Paul Street
Baltimore MD 21218
(inside St John's Church)

Concentration

Today I am re-drafting my Shacket pattern, to tweak the construction process and at the same time draft the standard-sized patterns.

I have just stopped for lunch, but am still floating from the sensation of being in a very deep state of concentration for a long period of time.  For those who don't know, I am a Montessorian, and therefore I value this mental state more than most other things (besides air, Ben, etc.).  Reaching this state is how I have thrived my whole life, and I've always reached it by working with my hands.  After spending years working with children and helping them to find inner peace and joy through concentrated work, I realize why it is so important to me to work with my hands.

Back to work!

Eye-Ball

I recently acquired a seam allowance guide, which magnetically attaches to your scissors and serves as a reference point for how far away the scissor blades are from the pattern pieces, ideally eliminating the need to mark seam allowances on patterns that don't include them.  The key word is "ideally".  After a short trial, I decided that my own visual estimation of a 5/8", 3/8", 7/8", etc. seam allowance was more accurate and more quickly cut.  The protruding magnetic guide seemed to be getting in my way more than anything.

I'm disappointed that I spent money on a tool that I won't get much use out of, but its role in my life did one amazing thing: it gave me the confidence to trust my skills and eyeball it!

I feel like I've graduated (from the sewing version of about Kindergarten), or taken one step up the ladder of mastery of my craft.  It reminds me of an article I read years ago about a furniture maker, who explained that through repetition, he'd developed the ability to measure with his eyes, and that rulers actually hindered his craft and he didn't trust them as much as his eyes!  I found that amazing and yet somewhat unbelievable....until now! :)