Today’s Throwback Thursday post has come around at least a couple times since first posting in December of 2016. It’s a project that I get reminded of at least once this time of year, and may serve as a reminder for you as well, or as a first-time read for others. It’s a fine repurposing project—which could also be considered strange and possibly pointless by some—but it does keep just a little bit more plastic waste from landfills, uses up (a little bit of) our fabric scraps, and makes for a fine conversation starter (or ender), but should at least raise an eyebrow or two and bring a funny little smile to someone’s face when you describe it. What could be better?
THREE SPACES LEFT for our Live Online Fabric Collage Class for January 24-28, 2022. That’s five days plus a 1-hour private coaching session to be scheduled the week before class. For those of you who have been waiting to join such an online event, we took a good look at 2022’s schedule and realized this will likely be the only 5-Day Live Online Class until later in the fall, as I have in-person teaching obligations to fulfill in between.
Here’s the link for more information.
And here’s the link to register for the class.
This is a five-day, animals-only class. The class day typically runs from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time to accommodate those on the west coast for whom it runs 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Please feel free to contact Tom with any other questions ([email protected]). And if you live in another part of the world where our time zones are quite incompatible, yet you’d be interested in a live online class, please let us know and maybe we could come up with an alternative solution.
At the very least, this post describes something you can do while listening to the radio, watching TV or a movie, or listening to someone tell a very… long… story. Hmmm, that gets me thinking I should gather a few supplies for a particular get-together this weekend…. Anyway, it’s one of those busy things you can do with your hands while your brain and concentration are somewhere else (like when you’re really good at knitting, which I will never be). Heck, these projects may even be a great exercise to keep your fingers and wrists limber (an undocumented supposition)—and will certainly help you get over any fabric collage glue-phobia you may have.
What is the main ingredient of this good-for-you-and-environment project, you may ask? Defunct strings of mini-lights! You know, the ones that blink off, never to revive, once you’ve completely finished decorating the Christmas tree (it took hours) and there’s no way you have time to strip it down again before it takes center stage for your holiday. Well, whatever your solution to that crisis may be, these projects can repurpose the string of lights when it (sooner or later) gets unwound from those branches. But you do have to think ahead and refrain from hurling them into the trashcan. Instead, you look at the burnt-out strand hanging loose and worthless in your hands, and rejoice that now you have what you need to create one of the projects described in the following TBT post!
The photos above and below are a couple examples of one of my string-o’-defunct-lights projects, ones I completed earlier this year, as I made time to sit and listen to favorite radio programs. I just updated the TBT post to include these “after” photos, since I included the “before” photos in the original 2016 post. As I was finishing these two wonky hanging balls, the (roughly) spherical shape with protruding points struck me as (kinda) resembling a corona virus cell—something that five years ago would have never come to mind. Corona what?
I wasn’t sure how to now view these balls—a sign of the times or simple repurposing projects. They’re weird spheres that I like in a strange way. They hang out in my studio and remind me to consider everything as a potentially creative material, to play with what I’ve got available, and to see where it goes. But since each one takes shape and evolves in different ways, maybe I could call them “variants.”
So far this year (knock on wood), I have not generated a new non-functioning string of bulbs, but due to my ever-ready nature, I do have a few (more than I’d like to admit to Tom) strands on standby for when the Spirit hits and I want to just sit and play and wrap with some fabric. Who knows, maybe you’ll get inspired too. If so, mention it in the comments, or share other weird repurposing things that you do!
Happy holidays folks, however you celebrate! Here’s wishing you some time to play a little, and inspiration to throw some fabric scraps into the mix if you can. Cheers!
Discover more about working with fabric and the technique of Fabric Collage with any of the learning opportunities below. Read more about them in this post: The Gift of Learning (Fabric Collage).
Fabric Collage Master Class
For instructions on the entire fabric collage process, you can purchase the Susan Carlson Fabric Collage Online Master Class Manual. Using video, photos, and text I take you from soup to nuts, beginning to end in creating your own fabric collage masterpiece.
Susan Carlson Fabric Collage: Spiral eWorkshop
Wondering if fabric collage is for you? This eWorkshop is intended for beginners in fabric collage. The spiral project is simple, low stress, but still teaches the basic techniques of fabric collage. It also serves as a handy refresher course for those with more experience.
Susan Carlson Fabric Collage: Sea Turtle eWorkshop
Learn fabric collage with Susan Carlson. Each step is clearly written, illustrated with photos, and demonstrated with video. Learn with a Sea Turtle then launch into any fabric collage project you wish.
Serendipity Quilts for Sale
$29.95 plus shipping. Full color throughout. Four complete projects, start to finish, of increasing complexity. Learn fabric collage with this book.
When I first saw the “object”, I thought of the corona virus. I love your explanation. You have such a creative mind.
One day, I hope to make one of these fabric projects. It even comes with it’s own hanging cord.
I followed along with your evening classes for a while. Our art guild used your tehnique when Nina Clotfelder took your workshop. My art quilt was the creature from the black lagoon.
Thanks for all the work you and Tom do to make your videos enjoyable. Maybe that’s one good thing from this past two years. More video learning.
Christmas blessings to you and yours! Happy New Year!