24mar23

I’m back! Or partially back, since I still don’t know how frequently I’ll be able to write. But it feels good to be writing and sharing again. A lot has happened since the last post, craft wise but not only, and a lot is still happening in my life right now – it’s a moment of transition, change and also a bit of chaos. That’s why it’s hard to keep a regular schedule, no two weeks are the same. I went back and changed my mind about starting a more professional and serious portfolio online. I’ll just keep this simple blog for now: it is relatively simple to keep and has no costs. Maybe in the future I’ll go back to that idea, but for now, I’m good here. 

It has been two months since the last post and I’m glad to say a few textile crafts have come and gone! I don’t think I have photos of it all. Some were small projects to keep my hands busy, others were bigger things. My grandma’s quilt hasn’t evolved much but it has to in the month ahead if I want to keep the plan to gift it to her for her birthday.

The last time I wrote I was starting a sewing project: a bag for my best friend. It was a bag for her yoga mat and clothes, made out of a denim patchwork. I worked on it from January throughout February and gifted it to her earlier this month. It was so fun to work on it, I made it up as I went along creating it, changed plans along the way and perfect the design. It turned out super cool and looking quite professional, I’m really proud of it! I love working with denim and with patchwork. I made vertical stripes to then make them into 3 horizontal stripes and create a rectangular panel. I used some factory leftover fabric from my grandma’s bag that I sewed into another rectangle panel for the lining. I quilted it together which I learned was a risky move because some of the denim had elasticity (I used denim from old jeans and pants), but it still worked. I then added the zipper, two hand straps and a shoulder strap and later the top and bottom parts. This last step was a whole journey in itself: I originally planned for top and bottom to be circles but ended up using squares; I cut both the denim and lining and quilted both pieces, I ended up finishing both parts with bias tape and decided that the ends should go on the outside instead of inside the bag, for more room; with two quilted fabrics in the sewing machine it was hard to maneuver the corners of the squares and I feared for the resistance of such seam; I ended up adding a blanket stitch by hand on all corners, to make them stronger and more defined. Lastly, I added an embroidered tag on the inside. Like I said, I’m pretty proud of this project. And I’m already planning a bag for my sister and another for me (but only after the grandma’s quilt is done!). 

Since a sewing project isn’t something I can take with me and make on the go, and my mental health really needs me knitting or crocheting, I found a few projects to do along the way. First of all I finished the second mitten: I had started a pair of them last December but not only had I not finished the first one, I hadn’t done the second one. So, I did that just in time to wear them on the last super cold winter days. After that I looked up some free patterns online and started on a knitted shawl and a crocheted collar, both from we are knitters. The collar was done after 2 days and I could have done it in one sitting, it was easy and a great way to use up some scrap yarn. It’s drying/blocking right now and I can’t wait to use it! The shawl is a simple design, just a triangular shape, but it’s a longer project and I’m still working on it.

In the meantime, today was the last day of a week-long exhibition at my old college in which I participated  with my project Your Words. It’s the same exhibition I was a part of last year, only with the Screaming bags, “Arte para todos” (Art for all). I really enjoy the experience of sharing my work with an audience and I hope to create more art to be shared in the future.