I love textiles. I love the patterns. I love the textures. I love the interaction of colors.
My grandmother was a seamstress. She sewed clothing for years in what could only be considered a sweat shop. Then her brother in law opened a tailoring shop in the small town where I grew up and eventually she helped him out in the shop designing and sewing the most gorgeous dresses. She would bring home leftover buttons - the most beautiful buttons I have ever seen. ( I was 10 years old) And she would sew me a dress or jacket and I would sew on the buttons.
As I got older I tried my hand at sewing but it never held my attention. I even tried quilting but the sewing machine was just not my friend. I satisfied by artistic cravings with knitting and needle point and all sorts of crafts while my own children were young.
Then I found beading. It was those tiny seed beads that first caught my attention.
Before lampworking glass in the flame.
I started to take some classes to learn looming and off loom stitching. And guess what. Those beaded endeavors reminded me of fabric. I could stitch them together in all sorts of patterns. And when I learned silversmithing I made hand crafted clasps to enhance the bead work.
The styles and patterns are endless and there will never be enough hours in the day to finish all the ideas floating in my mind.
