fiber fashionistas

Inspiration was all over the place last week. Marty went to the AIGA's mixer at Angela Adam's shop and studio on Congress Street in Portland. We've been Angela fans for a long time, but he came home raving about the cheerful environments, friendly folks, and visionary design plan. Leave it to an island girl to know where beauty and function meet. That's Angela (North Haven girl) in the middle above, flanked on the left by staff Lily Van der Steenhoven (Peaks Island girl) and visitor Craig Davis (island photographer) on the right.

I heard Angela speak back in the fall of 2007, at the PMA. She showed a wonderful documentary about her family and the island cast that makes the fabric of her life. Here one of her intrepid staffers leads a tour of rugs.



Angela is a lifelong doodler and loves to watch nature. Taking the time to look while arousing all the senses keeps her head filled with ideas. Her story holds incredible inspiration and a Mainer's dedication to craft and detail.

Lucky for me, Marty brought home a groovy bag that I love!



Just a few days later, we had fun at Show Us Your Wears 2009, a celebration of area fiber art talent. We went to applaud our island neighbor, Suzanne Parrott. Zero Station was the venue, a packed one at that.



In it's second year, this fashion splash showcased pieces by 35 fiber artists, culled from a field of over 100 by volunteers at Portland Fiber Gallery and Knitwit Yarn Shop.

Here are a few of my favorites, starting with Suzanne! She has a deep background in painting, which explains the rich subtleties of her felting and the luxurious blending of seascape colors and textures.



I had my daughter in my lap and couldn't seem to get a decent photo of this marvelous coat, also by Suzanne.



So here is my drawing instead, from the front. Suzanne also makes incredibly cozy fingerless gloves that perk up any outfit.



Other favorites: this sheer but vibrant sweater by Annalee Poe, who owns KnitWit.



Gotta love this one, called My Winter Garden by Patsy Meisner.



Here's another hat I loved, on model Lulu, who had the strut down. This is the Faux Feather Citron Hat by Leslie Kane.



And this dress looked fabulous on model Anna. Can't figure out whose it is!



This piece was a big hit: the "mermaid dress" paired with a baby alpaca capelet by Jamie Koo, a swingy nod to her Peruvian and Chinese heritage.



Check out the tiers of ruffles in the back. So lovely!



As a lover of collage, I thought this dress by Marina Douglas was a terrific finale!



Cheers to all involved, including the Black Parrott, the shop that provided clothing and accessories to pair with the fiber goods.

The entire event was stylish, entertaining, and educational about the fantastic artists sewing, crocheting, knitting, and felting their ideas into form. It got my daughter to haul out her knitting needles as soon as we got home!