for the love of micro-macramé
Here’s a pretty sampling of macrame pieces belonging to Yingzhi Luo’s Graduate Collection 2011. I definitely favor the simplicity of the white top above. The rest of the collection is shockingly colorful, and ok, really not altogether wearable within my circle of activity. Still I love her flair for the dramatic. I was also touched by her Fashion Work Experience resume. What a leap from factory sewing worker to intern for Matthew Williamson in just two years.
Images from chichiluo.com
Tags: macrame+blouse
It’s been awhile since I’ve been able to devote any time to this blog. My part time job has been more full time of late, but I’m hoping it’s only temporary and things will go back to normal soon. I hope!
Anyhoo, here is something lovely I first spotted at one of my very favorite sites my love for you. It is the work of Kay Sekimachi. A consummate beachcomber along Hawaii’s Kohala Coast, over the decades she has amassed quite the collection of shells, coral, fossils and other bits of fauna. Combining her weaving skills with her penchant for collecting eventually led to this new body of work. I love the natural essence of each piece. Nothing commercial, just nature and talent. Oh and if ever I think of myself as an avid pebble collector, turns out I’m just an amateur.
There’s much more at American Craft Magazine.
Tumbling, tumbling, tumbling down the internet rabbit hole, I happened upon this scrumptious velvet piece by Moira Douglas. Be sure to check out her flickr photostream here. Oh my, I long to touch each and every velvet, linen and chiffon delicacy shown there.
P.S. If you feel like tumbling, tumbling, tumbling, there’s more at flickriver.
Tags: macrame+dress
My mother-in-law Cora made these stampeding horses from fabric scraps many, many years ago. And now we are missing her so very much. An intelligent, studious and rather serious person, she succumbed to Alzheimer’s at 94 years of age.
To say she did a lot with her life is an understatement. She raised three children and later earned a Master of Library Science. Once retired from the Dearborn Public Library she spent some time volunteering: as an ESL mentor to local Arabic women, docent at the Sanilac County Historical Museum, and a host of duties for the Dearborn Community Arts Council. I truly admired her spunk when she bought a huge commercial swing set for exercise, learned to cross-country ski, took up watercolor painting, mat framing and bowling. Lest I forget, she learned to sew at a time when there were only four fabrics available in her little town of Tompkins Cove, NY: wool, silk, linen and cotton. She also loved to do needlepoint and knit. Wow, what a woman!
Up until just a couple of years ago she was still reading a few books a month and playing the piano. Much to our surprise her personality though still intact shifted to confusing or rather amusing story telling and giggly delight. We enjoyed her company all the more.
Tags: recycle+reuse+reduce
So very teeny tiny macrame purse in the making. Actually it’s just a draft to calculate how large to make the velvet lining.
Tags: macrame+purse, micro-macrame, miniature
I know it’s silly but sometimes I do searches on macrame with words that I would not ordinarily put together in the same sentence. What would happen if I combined macrame with stairs? I found these interesting hotel stairs located inside the Lute Suites, Netherlands and even more interesting “Macrame Stairs”, tar on paper design by artist Angel Otero.
Images from www.s4c.co.uk & kavigupta.com/artist/angelotero
Tags: macrame, macrame+wallhanging
Digging Sally England’s clean and simple macrame wall hangings and room dividers. Originally from Michigan, Sally is an artist that primarily works with fibers and textiles. In an excerpt from workplacepdx.com: “Her belief is that craft can be an antidote to our newly found shrinking attention spans and obsessions with technology, and that it can calm and enlighten in a way that almost nothing else can.” – Hey kids (some particular kids I know), put that Xbox controller down and grab some big cord!
Tags: macrame, macrame+wallhanging
Would you believe 1913? Yep, that’s the year this macrame book I scored on ebay was printed. For being 98 years old, it’s in surprisingly great condition and of course I love it. Actually a softcover, the front and back cover have a pressed paper relief of a macrame design. Did I mention it’s in German? I should also mention I don’t speak or read German. That’s OK, I’m enamored of the quaint designs within.
There are super b&w photos or diagrams for each project and most of them include (what I consider) rare close-up photos of the designs. Included is a pullout newspaper sheet with actual size diagrams of a few of the projects. The sheet has yellowed to the point of brown but it’s beautifully intact. Like modern day instruction books, the last 6 pages are advertisements for more books. Some things never change!
Tags: macrame+books, vintage+macrame
I should be posting way more but I’m enjoying the summer and it’s just plain hard to stay indoors and macrame or sit at my computer any more that my part time job dictates.
Top two pics are my grandson Robert during our 2-day Michigander Tour from Gobles to South Haven, Michigan. It was 48 miles roundtrip and it was so cool!!! Along with about 400 other bikers we traversed the beautifully shady Kal-Haven trail that led us to the shore of Lake Michigan. Now as most towns along the shoreline are hilly, it was difficult to maneuver a camera and a hill, so I have no coastline pics. Here’s one of Rob standing in front of the support trailer, and one exhausted Rob lying down near tent city.
Earlier this summer we all biked through the woods that runs along the winding shoreline of the Middle Rouge River in Dearborn. Starting at the graffitti under the Brady street bridge we tried to make it to the south shore of the Henry Ford Mansion but the bugs got the best of us. Got a big kick out of the huge hewn trees laid end to end. Whoever did this, wow and thank you. We loved it.
Oooooh someone I’ve had my eye on for some time is Penny Nickels over at Donkeywolf. Radically modern needle lacemaking by an equally radical artist. She is featured in the very last issue (Summer 2011) of the much beloved Fiberarts magazine. Before you run out to Barnes & Noble, check out her 2009 interview over at feeling stitchy. Oh I wish, I wish, I wish I could make lace.
Tags: lace