Watch out Windy City!

I am going to be showing in the One of a Kind show in the McCormick Center in Chicago December 3-6. I will be showing in the Etsy Pavilion within the greater show. It should be a huge show, so I am a bit nervous, but far more excited!

I really have been working on preparing my stock of recycled sweaters for this show. I have been shopping like crazy for all materials, then surgically separating the sleeves from the bodies and sorting them all by colors and materials. The shelves look pretty nice for about a day after this is done ( before chaos sets in again).

After this sifting and winnowing is completed. I spend sometime just looking. I look for a texture, or a pattern, or something that sparks and idea for a color combo or style for a new reconstructed sweater. Copius amounts of coffee are consumed during this period, and the neat stacks become piles of potential.

Then comes the bundling. I know aproximately how many sleeves and bodies are needed per item, so I start putting bundles together (think of it as priming the canvas, or squeezing the paint onto the palette). Each of the bundles of recylced sweaters shown here are awaiting their turn to land on the "blue lady" - my dress form  -  to be arranged, cut, pinned, stitched, sewn, washed, photoed and presented as a new and glorious reconstructed garment to the [hopefully] buying public!