Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Photographing Shiny things

I like silver I was asked to make a crown from holiday garland. I still haven't figured out how to shoot silver without blowing it out or making it look dull.



Saturday, December 1, 2007

These boots


This weeks adventure make a giant cowboy boot hat. Don't make it flat like a paper hat.
It's a giant tube with a wedge.

Monday, November 5, 2007

I have no Mouth and I must Scream


This job was 1 week ago. Make dirty mice. The only way the shade could be matched to the original was mixing acrylic and dumping it on a baby blanket. I had to blast through the dried paint with my industrial machine. Huge plastic pilled lumps.
The stuffing needed to match I had an old stuffed doll I gutted. I saw the same doll on ebay going for 50.00 it didn't sell. I did feel bad about hacking it apart but I needed the discolored foam more.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Welcome to my mess



I am obsessed with sewing machines, I love industrial machines. I can talk for hours about my machines. My mechanic Dave was on my Christmas card list. I like to sew leather, neoprene, inner tubes, Naugahyde, Velcro and cardboard. My Juki 563 is a monster. I've owned 4 walking foot machines before this and this is the one.

I also own a Bernina 217. Dave called and said there's a machine for sale it will change your life. I was skeptical. Dave is a hustler and it seemed like a drug deal. Bring cash.
I figured he was about to be evicted and we drove to the machine. A security guard met us at the gate of a huge mansion and led us to a guest house. Before he opened the door he said "cash only". The machine was everything ran smooth like a watch, perfect stitches and a drawer filled with pressure feet. I was escorted to my bank and emptied my savings account. I love that machine.

The brother serger was another one of those deals. The price dropped by 100.00 every hour by 4 pm it was a steal.

Last year I worked as set as a tailor on a weight loss show. I dusted the lint off my Hobby portable. It took at least 10 minutes to adjust the tension. After altering a ruffled dress with an invisible zipper and none of the threads caught it was time to bury the machine.

I bought a Pfaff 2023. Nothing fancy but solid. After several jobs designing lingerie I got frustrated by the lack of stitches. I traded in my 2023 for a 2170. It's fantastic. The stitches are so great I forget it's a sewing machine.