Fiber 2010 West

Woven metal, woven plastic, woven recyclables, woven fiber....there is so much variety in contemporary weaving on display at the Studio Channel Island Art Center in the heart of Camarillo, now through May 22.

Ventura Textile Exhibit

Becoming Art at the Seams is a juried textile exhibit at the Ventura Art Museum through June 20. Due to the renovation of the original museum, the exhibit is located just a few blocks away at 89 S California Street. Presented is a diverse collection of 36 contemporary art quilts of greater Los Angeles artists.
Linda Miller's "Flowing Through 2009" shown above is a whole cloth, painted, layered with fabric and then decoratively stitched by both hand and machine. The photo doesn't do the art justice as a two dimensional picture cannot present the details and color intricacies. You'll just have to take a road trip! One of the most wonderful qualities of textiles is the ability to manipulate the fabric and fibers. "Elemental 1" by Linda Cassirer of Santa Barbara, incorporates yarn and felting techniques to bring an undulating motion to her art.

Also of note:
Time Gone By, Karen Rips
Driftwood, Madeleine Bajracharya
Rehearsal, Sherry Davis Kleinman
Tucked Away, Loris Bogue

Skirting the Bedpost

There are those times when the most beautiful of beds poses a problem for the duster. You can see from the photo that the posts and rail on this bed do not allow for the standard bed skirt to drop. This is easily solved by making three separate panels of the skirt with no decking and either tacking it directly to the inside of the rail or using 1 inch velcro. Heavy duty, sticky velcro will adhere to the wood or you can use regular velcro, then staple or tack it with upholstery tacks. Velcro must be sewn to the fabric

Lush down seating without the "bum" impression

The plush look of down in a chair is so inviting. It"s like sitting on puff of goose down. The only problem is, once you sit in it you have to launch yourself out and then when you look behind you there's a crater in the seat that does resemble quite well a feature you wish would be a tad smaller. The way to accomplish a soft seat that will be a supportive cushion is to make a custom down T wrap with a zipper opening, and then insert some HR foam. The result....fluffy but firm. This room was designed by Jacque Walters of Patterson Forrest Interior Designs.

What's New

Decorative Textiles is defining itself as the go to company for textiles in Southern California. Not only do we fabricate custom soft goods but what's even more exciting is the textile art we have available to provide that unique fine art that your clients desire. Step away from the traditional painting and experience textiles. Commercial or residential, weaving or fabric, sculptures or vessels, tapestries or contemporary art quilts, if we don't have it, we know where to find it.

Grandma's Sewing Box

My daughter's friends don't know how to sew. Those little buttons that fall off their shirts get sent to the dry cleaners for repair. It's two bucks. I inherited my grandmother's sewing box. She had it for most of her 90 years. (Mending was her responsibility since her mother died when she was a teen.) I love the little pieces of cardboard that she wrapped thread around and saved for future sewing. I have more thread than that on my workroom floor! That was the depression, and they never forgot how hard times were. The frugality of those times never left her. All through the 50's, 70's, 90's she never tossed them out. So, no matter how hard times get now, at least I know I can save two bucks.

Bed Dusters

Were dusters really intended to keep dust balls under the bed, or are they actually intended to hide your extra storage place or give the dog a place to go in a thunderstorm? I'm not sure but I do know that without the duster, otherwise known as bed skirt, the bed looks unfinished. Lately there has been a trend towards box pleated dusters. They have a tailored look and are more interesting than the traditional shirred skirt. The pleats can vary in size from 4" to 8", at the discretion of the interior designer unless there is a pattern. If so you want to be sure that the workroom bases the pleat size on the design repeat as is shown in this photo. Note the way the repeat is incorporated in the pleats.