Stitch & Slash

I told you in a previous post that I signed up for a class on Craftsy called Stitch & Slash.  It definitely was money well spent (plus it was on sale). I'm having the best time!!

It's perfect for overcoming your inner perfectionist. In fact, it's like wonderful fabric therapy. :)

You basically layer four (or however many you want) fabrics one on top of the other, then sew them together in a pattern you make up. It doesn't have to be exact (oh, how freeing!).

When it's all sewn together (I just chose to use wavy lines), you start slashing away layer after layer to expose the very bottom layer while still showing some of the other fabrics.

Oh, the fun I had slashing away with my seam ripper.  You want the edges to be raw and frayed for wonderful texture and depth.

I felt like stopping with the third layer, which was so pretty, but I made myself slash down to the last one, just do do it!  No fear, right?!

Basically, you create you own artsy fabric - and there really is no limit to what you can do with it. The instructor, Carol Ann Waugh, adds couching with yarns and ribbons and fancy stitching, and some people add beads.  Your imagination is your limit! There are no rules and no mistakes - I love it!!

I didn't do any fancy stuff with this one as I liked the way it looked. I cut it up and am making more little clutches, combining it with yet more different fabrics.

 This one has a really fun lining.

You can see more photos in my Etsy store if you are interested.

In any case, if you love sewing and (like me) don't like following the rules, this will be perfect for you. It's like painting with fabric! 

On the weather front, the winds are starting to die down here (and luckily we only lost two trees in the storm) and it's sunny again and quite cold. We've gone from having the air conditioning running to turning the heater on within one week. That's how it can be here in the South. I'm not complaining though. Cold weather agrees with me!! 

❧ Silke