The repair day I held this weekend was successful – in that I finished all the pants what were dropped off and I made some money. Dave and I were laughing about how having designer jeans with repaired blown out crotches deliver a sort of street cred.

On most pair I created pieces that mimicked the patter of the pants and basted those pieces in. After checking for fit, I fasten the patches in place with a tight zig zag and then enforced the patch by zig zagging the hole down onto the patch. For the most part I used black or blue canvas or denim for the right side of the patches and lined them with a thick mattress ticking. I also had some screen printed patches left over from a previous project.

The jeans were a selection of Iron Heart Self Edge, Nudies, APC, and Kicking Mule Workshop (KMW) in a range of 10oz -22oz denim. Yes, even the 22oz blows out eventually. Most of these were on raw indigo dyed selvedge denim.

If you live in the Madison area and would like your jeans repaired the costs are $20 for the crotch and $5 for each addition repair. Patches that need to be removed are $5-10 depending the size. Contact me at midwesttextiles@gmail.com.

Thanks to little Nora Grey for the help.

I have been working on samples for the belt. While I am no longer designing this for Shelby’s dress, I will probably still make a completed piece. Creating lines and shapes with beads has specific challenges. The Indian style cord works really well but it is very difficult to work with. If anyone knows how shapes are created with that material please let me know.

Artist Statement – Sarah Gagnon

The City Underneath the City

As I walked along the sidewalks of my city I noticed hundreds of unique manhole-covers and grates. I found beauty in things that most people just walk by. These simple discs of metal are portals to a complex infrastructure of connected pipes beneath the city. In my work, this became a representation of the complexity of the human infrastructure of the urban environment.

I rendered this solid and industrial inspiration into smooth synthetic and silky fibers. I blended real images with traditional embroidery methods to create a new medium.

Daily Walks

A few years later I continued this series I was still interested I manhole covers and other street access points, but the context I was noticing them in had changed from downtown city streets to small neighborhood walks. The material culture of the American neighborhood is manicured with concrete sidewalks, turf and curbs. It noticeably contrasts less efficient and orderly cultures around the world. These pieces are a place to reflect on the design of the American neighborhood, both physically but also the places beneath that – the social and communal.

This series is rendered on more homey and natural fibers, including wool, linen, cotton ticking as well as antique linens.  I continued to use photographic transfers mixed in with the embroidery. My embroidery methods included free form lines along with traditional techniques, including tufting, weaving, couching, and beading.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PURCHASING ONE OF THESE PIECES CONTACT ME FOR PRICE AND AVAILABILITY.

This looks like a peak into a miniature world.

The only confirms that things are better in multiple

Where can I get one of these?

A room with striped floor could hold my attention for hours. I would probably never want to leave.

Overdecorated to perfection.

King of fowl.

I found these photos on facebook – someone I know had linked to one of their friend’s albums on a trip to India. There is something about these that reminded me of my favorite book when I was young “The little princess.” The rooms are magical. I especially am drawn to the images of rooms where things are hanging from the ceiling. I am also more and more aware of my love of anything that makes animal references in art and design. The cages for birds and pigeons, the strange elephant horse and the rendered peacocks represent both beauty and childhood.

I have been working on a collection I started several months ago, but since then have been procrastinating. I put together a more developed story board. 

These images are developed from the following words: Old Timey, Elegant, Rag Doll, Laura Ingalls, Homey.

The color inspirations are coming from the following words: Organic whites; earthy beiges; and  faded colors such as denim blues, faded reds, mustard yellows, lavender.

Textile inspirations come from: Ginghams, Plaids, Cross stitch samplers, Ticking, Flax Motifs (Florals), Gingham and Polka Dot.

Dividing the story board into Design Story, Color Story and Textile inspiration or Structural Story has been helpful to create something more cohesive. The

For a couple of years I have been planning on designing a collection with a circus theme. I was so inspired a few years ago by MirrorMask and more recently by Coraline. With thoughts of my upcoming baby in mind, what better inspiration than the colors and whimsy of the circus?

Several months ago I started a collection based flax for a linen collection. After months of other projects including remodeling the kitchen, Christmas commissions and whatnot I am finally back to develop the collection. Here are some initial images I culled for inspiration.

A doodle artist I stumbled across on Flikr by the name of hanssolo grabbed by attention. A lot of the work seemed, well, like doodles, but there were elements that attracted me. Of course, the repeat/textile quality to the work as well as, probably unintentional, references to Agnes Martin and Sol Lewitt struck me. I also appreciate the free handed, youthful and joyful quality exhibited here.