onward and upward

I dismantled the display at the library yesterday (they had another scheduled for December).  I think it was a great success.  After the holidays I will get back to work.  The attention was wonderful but the work is the only true thing.

display

I was finally able to install the collection in the local library yesterday.  While my husband was standing there (I had moved away for a moment) a little girl (5? 6?) stopped to see it.  She called to her father and pointed out to him the ones she favored while asking him to read to her what I had written about the shoes.
That's exactly the reaction I was hoping for.

'newsprint'

The name of this shoe was inspired by an old riddle, 'What's black and white and red (read) all over?'

This is the last shoe I'll make before the library display in November.

I need to work on designing the display and making a case I acquired on Ebay suitable as a carrying case for the collection.

pattern making

My preferred method of making patterns these days is to cover a last, first with plastic wrap then with strips of newspaper soaked in watered down fabric stiffener.  I can draw the basic shoe design on the resulting papier mache form and cut out the design elements from it.  These become the foundation of my pattern.  One day I may make a shoe using some of the actual papier mache

A famous writer (Wilde? Flaubert?) once wrote of his day, "I spent all morning putting in a comma only to spend all afternoon taking it out."
My day of shoemaking was a little like that.
But I am very excited.
I will be displaying my shoes at the South Pasadena Library in November.
They're anxious to get out of the house.

'C.C. Rider'

Update: I've changed the name to C.C. Rider (my sister's idea) in honor of our mom - Carol Constance - who loved to roller skate.

I'm calling this one 'Derby' as in roller derby but perhaps it should be called 'Oxford' as I learned yesterday that an 'oxford' is a shoe with the eyelet tab sewn underneath the vamp (as it is here) as opposed to a 'derby' which is a shoe with the eyelet tab sewn over the vamp.  This being true I should really rename the shoes I called 'The Oxfords' to 'The Derbies'.  But I don't think I'll do that.  I'm not that anal.

'good and plenty'

For some reason, I seldom like a shoe once it's finished.  I nearly always feel a bit of a letdown and vague disappointment with the result.
This shoe is no exception but I am pretty certain I will like it just fine in a week or two.

It just seems to be part of the process.

The pink suede was from a ruined jacket that had
clearly been put in the wash.  I revived the color
with rose Rit dye.

I added two more flowers to 'Simplicity'


And found a new inspiration in Manuel Bordera minature shoes



My next shoe may be pink and black.
If so, I'll probably call it 'Good and Plenty'

'metallurgy'

I don't really have anything to say about this one except that I'm glad it's finished.

Moving on.

Apparently my next shoe may be another heeled sandal... brass mesh and gold leather.  This is not what I thought I would be making but sometimes inspiration is surprising.  So far I have only vague ideas and scribbles but I have lightly distressed the gold leather by running it through a pasta machine with sandpaper and soaking in tan and rose Rit dye.  I also toned down the brassiness of the mesh by following advice found here.
I appreciate the generosity of those who take the time to share their methods online. To misquote Blanche Dubois (or, more accurately, Tennessee Williams), "I have always depended on the knowledge of strangers."

'simplicity'

Another shoe remade.  Originally it had wings but they seemed superfluous this time around.  Only the heel remains from its first incarnation.

A very simple sandal.

The high spark of low heeled shoes

Another shoe that feels rough and experimental.  It was
inspired by a pair of shoes I own by Cydwoq. The heel is stacked leather.
 I think my next shoe will have to be something girly and sophisticated.

'Footpath'

Way too many notes

This is the remade 'Too many notes'.
I like it much better, quirky though it is.

I acquired a tiny drill this weekend from a company called Micro-Mark that makes hobby and small scale tools.  Since it arrived I have been grinning, literally, just thinking of ways it can be used. And I have to laugh about the fact that I am a complete tool nerd, that I have small hammers and pliers and files and much, much, more and I get nearly as much pleasure from imagining the possibilities that they represent as I do from actually using them.  When you work in miniature you never run out of room for just one more tool.
Or so it seems.

'second hand'

A neighbor, a retired photographer, has offered to photograph my shoes. They would certainly benefit from a professional touch.  I will take him up on it one day.
This is the first shoe to look as though it may have been worn. There is a spot on the other side that i decided not to cover up.  I'm considering distressing the sole.

I'm now in the process of remaking the shoe I named 'too many notes'.  I separated the heel, sole and upper. I'm stretching the upper on a different last and plan to add a T and ankle strap.

I just never liked that shoe.  

Clearly, I am a tortoise

It  develops slowly but surely. 

This leather looks a bit dirty after stretching it onto the last as if the shoe has been not so gently used.  There are also two dark spots that were not visible before.  It is rough, which may just work for this design. I will probably use buckles instead of buttons and I would like to carve the heel - which is walnut - with some sort of engraved design and keep the finish natural.  We'll see...

This is how it looks before the sole and heel are added
There is a brass shank at the instep.

Finally trying the new last

A boot in progress.  I'm making it up as I go along.
Using invisible thread for the first time.  The lining
is fabric printed using the ink jet printer. I think it
 will have polymer clay buttons.