This Just In

September 2016 I made the big t-shirt quilt, but photographing a big quilt remains far down on my list of things to do. I've worked with lots of great sewing students!
June 2015 A friend and I are starting a sewing school in Santa Maria for 5 to 10 children. I'm still doing my individual lessons at Beverly's.
Coming soon: A big Tshirt quilt, and a record album bag.
December 2014 I love making presents. 3 pillows so far: a panda roll, a slice of sushi, and a plaid house. Coming up: tidy bags for the car (including one made with Star Wars Storm Trooper fabric for my Darth Vader Mazda), drawstring money bag (to be filled with many quarters), storage totes, Periodic Table of the Elements pillow case, and a shiny red steering wheel cover.
July 2014 Can you believe that no one in town wants to make a sock monkey!? Well, sewing is all about what you want to make, so my classes have become individualized tutorials. I've helped students make fabric bowls, aprons, doll clothes, drawstring bags. I help navigate any tricky parts and explain what skills are needed and what skills can be acquired. So; what do you want to make?

2013 I am now teaching sewing classes at Beverly's in Santa Maria! So far, the most popular has been
Machine Basics, where I've helped a few folks get their machines up and sewing. Other classes I offer are Sock Monkey!, Soft Blocks, and Mini Quilts. And tote bags. Note to self: get some pictures up!

5 Cell Phone Rests

5 Cell Phone Rests

Wolverine Slippers

Wolverine Slippers
A recent issue of Ms. Marvel--a fantastic comic book--showed the title character wearing slippers with Wolverine faces on them. We had to have a pair, too! Couldn't find any ready-made! Luckily, my husband can draw, and I can sew. These are pieced from wool felt. Check out my husband's blog: LifeWithWonderWoman.wordpress.com

Tuffet

Tuffet
From the bucket list. I mean to say that I've wanted to make one of these for a long time now. Luckily, a great teacher, Diana Coronado, taught a tuffet class at Beverly's. She had the supplies, too. I changed the pattern a bit, going from 64 wedges to 16. It's no coincidence that it matches my yellow wall.

The Kraken

The Kraken
I love my 8-foot Giant Squid! In the background you can see the studio space I share with my husband, John Garcia. Those are his paintings on the wall. Check out his work on Life with Wonder Woman.wordpress.com.

Vader Dangles

Vader Dangles
I cut the Darth Vader heads off of a pair of slippers to make the coolest rear-view mirror dangles ever.

Zippered Portfolio

Zippered Portfolio
Great gift for a great music teacher.

Homage to Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo and Toshiro Mifune's Sumurai, or Three World Views

Homage to Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo and Toshiro Mifune's Sumurai, or Three World Views
I sent a pic of this quilt to Stan Sakai, hoping he would want to display in his booth at a comic convention. I'm still hoping!

Car Bag

Car Bag
With the loop hung over the gear shifter, this bag serves as a cool and convenient catch-all in the car, for trash or coupons or cd's. It stands open, so it's ready to receive whatever you throw at it. I packed one with Clif Bars as a gift for a traveler, made another with Star Wars Storm Trooper fabric for my Darth Vader -style car

Forever, Baby, Forever

Forever, Baby, Forever
My valentine for my husband.

Money Bag

Money Bag
Filled with quarters, this made a great gift for a teenaged boy.

Sushi Pillow

Sushi Pillow
Jiffy grip makes great rice!

Panda Roll

Panda Roll
This is a big bolster-style pillow. It's white fleece with black minkee. Ask me about working with minkee; it's do-able, but a challenge to one's patience. Good thing I've stopped being so perfectionistic. (That's just an unfortunate shadow above the left eye. Panda's face is really flat and smooth.)

House Pillow

House Pillow
I made this from a pattern in Stitch magazine. It holds its shape well because of heavy interfacing. Nevertheless, it's soft and comfy. And it's fun to see a chunky house on a sofa.

Fabric Doll House

Fabric Doll House
Wildly fun to make, yet a lot of work, this house sports a bed with pillow and blanket, a button teddy bear and a mirror on the wall! It's on display at Beverly's Santa Maria.

Outside of Fabric Doll House

Outside of Fabric Doll House
Note the rick rack roof and button door knob!

Outer Space House

Outer Space House
I use the same pattern for this space themed house as I did for the doll house. I downloaded the Nasa logo and printed it on fabric. That's a StarTrek communicator on the door--I bought that at Comic-Con a few years back.

Inside the NASA StarTrek House

Inside the NASA StarTrek House
There are four hanging planets--great use of wool-felt beads!

SockMonkey Party

SockMonkey Party
...with SpockMonkey!

Bus & Houses

Bus & Houses
The bus image came from a child's embroidered tshirt. The houses are fanciful fabric combinations sewn pancake-pillow style.

TShirt Pillow

TShirt Pillow
Harley Quinn, BatGirl, Poison Ivy look better on a pillow than on me.

Batman Pillow

Batman Pillow
There's something fun about a disembodied head. My husband made the line drawing for me to use piecing techniques to make this. Check out his drawings on LifeWithWonderWoman.wordpress.com

Admiral Akbar Speaks

Admiral Akbar Speaks

All You Need 22" x 14"

All You Need  22" x 14"
I used the paper-cloth technique to make the letters. Paper-cloth is essentially decoupaging paper to fabric, resulting in crisp cuts that are still sewable.

Texture Study 1

Texture Study 1
26 x 20", cotton, synthetic, polymer clay, sequins. This is different for me, except for the bit of Elvis fabric.

Texture Study 2

Texture Study 2
11 x 14" Hand-dyed wool felt and cotton batting, polymer clay.

Bag for Comic-Con

Bag for Comic-Con
I bet I'll be the only one at Comic-Con with a Doop backpack! Doop is the alien videographer who hangs out with Wolverine.

KPOW! Pillow

KPOW! Pillow
Here's an example of a project that started with the fabric, the Marvel superheroes crowded together ready for action. Of course they had to burst out of something. The letters are wool felt. This pillow completely works with the decor in my home.

Trellis, 12" x 12"

Trellis, 12" x 12"
This small quilt has 2 Guatemalan fabrics, wool felt, and wool beads. I had been wanting to do something with these delightful wool beads, and I finally had the idea to cut them in half and use them in a quilt. The smaller blue and yellow bits are pom poms cut from ball fringe.

Transit of Venus, 12" x 12"

Transit of Venus, 12" x 12"
A small quilt for me, a giant spectacle in the sky. Those are 1/4" strips of yellows and oranges making up the disc of the sun. Venus is a teeny tiny button.

Small Quilt, 12" x 12"

Small Quilt, 12" x  12"
The background fabric is from Mexico, as is the aluminum hand. The green and gold binding is from Africa.

How I Feel About Coffee

How I Feel About Coffee
This 8" x 10" quilt was my response to Quilting Arts Magazine's challenge, "Coffee or Tea?" Failed the challenge, but I love my high-energy quilt.

Welcome to Rockin' Bobbin

I'm an artist, a crafter, an arty crafter and crafty artist. The things I make are for sale. Most of them. I may be reached at da500@aol.com.

Elvis Purse and Prince Basket

Elvis Purse and Prince Basket
more album art

Elvis Album Shoulder Bag

Elvis Album Shoulder Bag
A real album, split, laminated, joined with 2" sides and bottom, laced with satin and fully lined. I use this as my every-day purse; it gets lots of comments and compliments!

Grateful Dead Album Bag

Grateful Dead Album Bag
A fun way for a vintage album to see the light of day: the album was split and laminated, joined to 2" sides and bottom with pink bias tape. The straps are yellow vinyl and denim belting. It's lined and pocketed inside with a beautiful colorful floral worthy of the Dead era.

Lucha Libre Art Quilt

Lucha Libre Art Quilt
Entitled, "Wrestling with Self-Doubt," this is a Lucha Libre mask in bas relief. It's mounted on black and white fabric with stretcher bars, about 24" square. I'm having a hard time getting the picture to be a good size; suffice to say this quilt packs a visual punch. The mask is stuffed from behind, and the appliqued blue triangles are about 3/16" thick. The pink background is heavily quilted with circles, which effectively raises the letters in "Lucha Libre." It was juried into the Cutting Edge Fiber Art show at the San Luis Obispo Art Center. Woo hoo! $250.00

Lucha Libre Drawstring Bag

Lucha Libre Drawstring Bag
I cut apart a Lucha Libre mask and stitched it to this very dark blue fabric. The fabric has lighter blue stripes that kind of fade out partway up, as though they were dip-dyed. The bag is a basic 8" cylinder, about 12 inches high, cinched at the top with a black and pink draw cord. The lining is a nice mottled purple cotton with a zippered pocket. I've attached three chrome purse feet underneath. $48.00

Big Elvis

Big Elvis
Jailhouse Rock Elvis struts his stuff on printed cotton, trimmed with silver-dotted embroidered ribbon, on a deep pink, 15" square, background. "I want to stick around awhile and get my kicks" is spelled out in black metal brads that are extra-secured with E6000 glue, and "Let's Rock!" is spelled out with embroidered letters, securely stitched down. The back is an awesome same size square of black and white gingham oilcloth, trimmed with black rick-rack. A 10" yellow zipper, centered about 2 inches down from the upper edge, allows access to the lined interior, which has a large patch pocket. The 37" long shoulder strap allows the bag to hang about 18" from your shoulder. It's comfy to wear, across the chest like a messenger bag, or just from one shoulder. But it's flat! This is such an unusual design ( I found something like it in a Japanese bag-making book). And it's roomy. This is the bag to use when you want to be noticed.

Vroom Vroom Shoulder Bag

Vroom Vroom Shoulder Bag
Currently available at Kali's Kastle in Orcutt, California, www.kaliskastle.com. It's a purse! There is a sock-monkey driver and a black 39" long strap. A yellow zipper follows the roof, about 11". The main body of the bag is yellow back-pack nylon, with shiny and matte black pleather features. The wheels are silver colored buttons. Inside, there is a lining of delightful spring green, with two pockets, one zippered, one faced. The bag measures about 9" high and about 16" long. I've used a version of this bag while shopping, and it was so fun to distract my son from the candy display with a hearty, "Vroom, vroom!"

Gallery

These items are no longer available, but I keep their pictures here as examples of the rockin' bobbin style. And I could, perhaps, make another homage to rick-rack or another box purse, for example, just not the same ones.

Ladybug Tote

Ladybug Tote
Giant ladybugs, big tote

Lucy Bag

Lucy Bag

Possible Sack

Possible Sack

Wristlet

Wristlet
Little Black (and silver) Bag

Tres Sugar Skulls

Tres Sugar Skulls
A 4x6" fabric collage post card

Big Hunk O' Elvis

Big Hunk O' Elvis
Pink vinyl purse, plain on other side

Monday, July 28, 2014

 All You Need  22x14"  I made the lettering on this wall quilt with the "paper cloth" technique, where paper is essentially decoupaged to fabric.

How I Feel About Coffee  8x10"  Fused applique. Good use for leftover silver insulating fabric.