halloween printing + stitching

busy-busy trying to finish up halloween projects for my etsy shop. i finally finished these halloween capes. this has been a long term project, but i am most pleased with the end result. the capes are 100% handmade from print to stitch. images original to baking with medusa and screen-printed by hand. wish i had documented the printing process. printing prior to garment construction has it's challenges. perhaps next time.

this is a project idea i've had for quite sometime now. I truly love vintage manufactured halloween costumes and the use of print. in these items the garment contruction is simple, but the costume is made by the printed elements. i definitely hope to do more of such projects in the future.

there are three separate styles in both child and adult sizes. more images may be found here on flickr. capes available for purchase in my etsy shop.

dream of dreams

something new

there's nothing quite like making something custom made for yourself or celebrating the completion of a new project. it's been far too long since i made myself a new purse. this one was a year in the making, or at least in the contemplating. that bright red corduroy is from an upcycled shirt i got at the abita springs garage sale last year. i knew what it was destined, it just took a while to become a physical reality. actual sewing time was about a days work though. more pics of this purse + others, can be found here.

always rememeber

today marks the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in New York City. 

on that tragic day, March 25, 1911, a scrap bin on the eighth floor of the Asch Building caught fire. the Triangle Shirtwaist Co., an industrial age garment factory, occupied the top three floors [8-10]. the fire spread quickly. eighth floor workers were aware of the situation and most were evacuated. the switchboard to the offices on the tenth floor helped notify and evacuate practically all tenth floor employees... but ninth floor workers were unaware until the fire was on them and it was too late for escape. 

the dangers were compounded by a list of inadequacies in a time predating fire safety or effective labor codes: the doors opened inwards, not out - only one inept fire escape which collapsed under the weight of so many - the elevators were inoperable after only three trips – and most heart breaking of all, it was common practice to lock the exits to prevent workers form leaving their machines.

many of the remaining workers, mostly poor, first generation, immigrant women, chose to jump from the ninth floor windows than be burned alive. when the firemen arrived they provided little help. both ladders and water hoses failed to reach past the sixth floor, and their nets all ruptured from the force of such heights. hundreds amassed below in terror, all incapable of stopping or even helping.

18 minutes - 146 lives- 133 women- lost - to fire, fall and greed.

I wish I had more time to write about this, but there are so many who already have:

Cornell University has a tremendous site dedicated to the fire with time-lines, firsthand accounts, photos and more.

PBS has an episode of the American Experience: Triangle Fire that you can watch online.

the International Labor Rights Forum has a great article entitled the Legacy of the Triangle Factory Fire by Kristi Ellis + Arthur Friedman originally published in Women's Wear Daily.

visit Clean Clothes Campaign to learn more about working conditions in the global garment industry today.

all boldface type will lead to links.

i've been making needlebooks about the Triangle Fire and passing them around today in remembrance of all the women and seamstresses who died that day. i plan to send them out with future etsy orders too. i guess that means i need to get busy and make new items since my etsy cupboard has been bare for fare to long now. today is as good a day to crank up nadine as any.

Parade Day

a few pics from 'titREX Parade 2011. more images may be found filed away in flickr. wish i had more to say, but i believe i'm still experiencing post-parade letdown. you work so hard for so long to finish everything up for this one moment, then mourn the loss of a project completed. oh well there is always next year.

a few examples of tiny throws. this year i made: tiny beads [as always] - glitterized army men - handpainted dolls, firemen + action figures in 'titREX colors - sewing kits memorializing the Triangle Fire of 1911 [my float subject this year].

my too little, too late float subject was the Triangle Fire of 1911. the tragedy brought to light the inhumane conditions of garment factory workers, which lead to labor reform and nation wide safety standards... but all too late for the 146 lives lost. march 25th this year will mark the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Fire of New York City. i'll have more on that subject closer to the 25th. till then, check out the link above in boldface for more information.

click on images for larger viewing.

'titREX 2011

mardi gras is fast approaching. it's been a mad flurry trying to finish up all things 'titREX. we're counting down the days to the micro spectacle that is 'titREX Parade.

gold plated lobsters stuck in my throat

the best way to start any day.

nothing like horrible lounge acts, battling frankensteins + russ tamblyn.
war of the gargantuas

mythical monsters

i found these LIFE magazine clippings in a old box of saved images and articles. illustrations by Roudolf Freund, wildlife artist and long time illustrator for LIFE.
click images for larger viewing.