Paganoonoo in Monterey California Friday Dec 2 for a show, 4-8pm

40% through Cyber Monday, Paganoonoo is thankful for you!

Hello Upcyclers!

For those of you in the United States, Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow!

In the American tradition of offering discounts over this weekend (today through Cyber Monday) all items in the Paganoonoo Store are 40% off with code 40THANKS.

For everyone:

I'm thankful for each and every one of you.
I'm thankful for my family, my friends, for good health
I'm thankful for the progress humanity has made in recognizing that we can make a difference in:

• Social Justice (fair wages and safe working conditions)
• Environmental stewardship (pollutants, energy, waste streams, etc.)

I'm thrilled that upcycling is becoming more common and that we as stitchers can make a difference by using existing resources and look great at the same time.

I'm thankful for the wonderful conversations I've had with experienced and new upcyclers, and their enthusiasm for Paganoonoo products.  

I'm thankful for those who have spread the word about upcycling and introduced the concept to those who have not yet heard about it.

I'm thankful for the perspective shift that occurs when people start to look to see what can be re-used and repaired, not just with clothing, but with anything.

My wish is that all stitchers in the world have a successful upcycling experience and add upcycling to their creative toolkit.  My instructions are designed to give upcyclers excellent support in creating garments they are proud to wear.

Ashlee Pattern examples on 3 people

Paganoonoo sells instructions so that stitchers can duplicate our upcycled clothing designs.  This post gives 3 different examples of the same design.

The Ashlee upcycle design is the second easiest Paganoonoo design to make (Patti is #1). It's a great casual shirt to wear with pants. I love my plaid version, made from three men's dress shirts.

Michelle Paganini in the Paganoonoo "Ashlee" upcycle design. 

Another version of the Ashlee design on a happy customer!  

And a third example made by knitter, seamstress extraordinaire, and friend, Jeannine Bould.

The blouse is made with 2 - 3 existing dress shirts (men's or women's). 

There are no pattern pieces to cut out and pin. The design is created by deconstructing the shirts and then reconstructing the pieces into a new blouse.

Fit is achieved by selecting a base shirt (torso, shoulders & bust) that fits the way you like.  Then our step-by-step illustrated instructions guide you through each step, resulting in a custom fit for you.

Intermediate sewing skills are needed - if you've followed a pattern and have successfully made a garment before, you can do this design.

   Michelle 
 Upcycle sewing made simple. 

To shop already released Paganoonoo upcycling instructions, 

click here.  To link to other Paganoonoo Social Media or join the mailing list (never shared!) click here.

If you would like to see new example garments, get links to my video tips, hear about sales, new patterns and events, please click here to be added to the Paganoonoo mailing list, never sold or shared.

Paganoonoo @ Pacific International Quilt Festival this Weekend

Hello,

We've had some wonderful family events that have had me occupied so I have not posted much lately.   Yes the Rebecca dress is sooooo close to done, but has been on hold due to aforementioned activities.

I have two new team members, Anne and Ellie Vogel, who've been instrumental in moving pattern progress forward.  Both helped at the Paganoonoo booth at Artistry in Fashion show last month.  They will be there is person helping at the next event too, so stop in and say hi.

Starting this Thursday. 10/13 Paganoonoo will have a booth at the Pacific International Quilt Festival, in Santa Clara, California, at the convention center.  The show runs through Sunday.

Come by while wearing your Paganoonoo garment and we will give you 25% off your next purchase of a garment pattern, or a free copy of either the Double Collar or Judy flower patterns.

Don't let the name fool you.  This is a show for stitchers of all sorts.  I've gone almost every year (as a customer and garment stitcher) since I found out about it, and I purchased my machine at the show.  Not only are there many, many vendors, there is a wearable art contest and out local wearable art guild, PenWAG, has a booth nearby. It's a big enough show that it's worth coming back a second day as it is hard to get through everything in one day.

The quilts are truly astounding.  If you haven't been to a quilt show lately you will not believe the strides taken and innovative ways of using today's machines and notions.

Hope to see you there!

Michelle 

Felted works of art for your head - Acme Hats by Lauri Chambers

Thanks to a heads up from Sham's Facebook page I went to the San Francisco Crafts Council show last weekend.  Shams showed off a new hat she had purchased from Lauri Chambers of Acme hats. 

I stopped by this irresistible booth, and saw an AMAZING selection of playful felted hats. 

Many of them reminded me of the best of Dr Seuss illustrations and the world he created. 

  Women were irresistibly drawn to try on the hats.  Lauri guided them unerringly to hats that fit and created flair. 

As a group, all of the folks in the booth voted on which ones we liked best on the other women. I really wanted to see every person walk out wearing a hat, with that big grin still on their faces.

After trying on many, many hats I settled on this black one. Lauri doesn't like her photo taken, so she agreed that I could have a photo with the back of her head, which I did. 

Many of the vendors commented that those of us who bought and wore Lauri's hats were "rocking" the hats.  

Here is a little better selfie once I got in my car.  I love my hat.

I am also a fiber artist and write upcycled fashion sewing pattern/instructions booklets and create one-of-a-kind upcycled garments, more here: www.paganoonoo.com   

Paganoonoo instructions guide stitchers through each step of taking existing garments and transforming them into new fashions. Upcycle sewing is good for the planet, terrific on your budget, and simple as the tough parts are often already sewn for you.

Example designs for sale on Etsy:

 

 

Happy Upcycling,  Michelle

Upcycled Fobots! Darling robot creations

I was at the American Craft Council show this weekend in San Francisco and ran across a wonderful booth. It was full of upcycled materials turned into robots. Small darling robots and I wanted to take every single one of them home.

You know I am a sucker for all things upcycled. Nothing tickles me more than seeing other upcycler's artistic creations. 

This is Amy, the talented artist behind these creations. 

Oh the variety!

The booth itself was a work of art. I can't think of a more effective way of displaying these beauties. 

Simply delightful. Thank you Amy! 

Happy Upcycling, 

Michelle

P.S.  If you are into upcycled fashion then visit my Etsy store.  I sell instructions for my upcycled designs.

Miles Frode, Artist

I had the pleasure of meeting Miles Frode, Diane Ericson's son while at a DOL retreat in Ashland, Ore.  

Miles is charming, talented, playful and a true artist.  He came and showed us an amazing variety of work, paintings, textiles and more.

Here is Miles holding my experimental stamping and silkscreening sample from the Design Outside the Lines (DOL) workshop.

I had so much fun that I invested in some hand carved Indian fabric stamps, more about that in another post.

I contacted Miles recently and did something really fun for me and for him.  I sent money and then asked him to pick a variety of his textile work to send back to me.  

Kind of like when I do this with florists, call and say "here's the budget, go crazy", I know I get the biggest bang for my buck by putting the expert in charge. 

Miles went all out and exceeded my expectations, starting with the beautifully adorned shipping box!

Wow!!! and I hadn't even begun to check out the treasures in the box. 

Grinning ear-to-ear I opened the box and found a small work of art a.k.a. a thank you card!

And the Fabric!!!!! The only request I made was colorful with a bit of black and white...

 

Item #1

 Item #2

 Item #3

And three shots of one larger piece, #4. I adore the colors!

 Item #4, the

pièce de résistance:

 

 I think this spectacular piece is raw silk.  Goodness, how will I ever decide how to use it?  So many delicious bits but the piece as a whole is especially wonderful.  

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, Miles! 

Contact Miles: milesfrode@gmail.com

Diane's website: http://www.dianeericson.com 

And if you are into upcycling clothing, mine: 

www.paganoonoo.com.  I sell sewing instructions so that others can duplicate my upcycled designs.

Happy creating!!  

Michelle