the last month has been such a shift for me, from the usual hermit stitchery track.
since my last post, i worked on installations for a huge haunted Halloween rave,
braved the cold front of Oregon for a couple weeks, dealt with broken computers,
learned how to use a fancy phone & threw an immersive Hypnagogia show here in Oakland.
i didn’t sew for almost a month.. such a weird feeling! it’s good to be back.

my cat friends are glad too.. they are used to a constant companion here in the studio, haha..
thankfully i had some really wonderful cat-sitters while out of town.

it was freeezing up north.. very difficult to be outside much, but i bundled up and took alot of walks; admiring the fall colours & beautiful plants. these berries were one of my favourite discoveries. they look straight out of Faeryland. their book name is Calicarpa~

it feels like i brought the rain back with me, it’s been abundant  since i got home. everything feels so alive & happy. the sunsets have been especially beautiful, too.

preparing to be a dream show hostess.. so in love with this weird faery hologram fabric :)

there really is no place like home.  sometimes i forget how beautiful and special it is here.
on returning from a trip it’s especially stunning. i feel so lucky to live in such an oasis of
plants & history.

now it’s time to play catch-up.. make circus costumes, send a dress to Germany, post new things in the shop! & go to the dentist. to support this trip i’m having a toothsome sale.. the handful of things in the shop are marked down 10-30% til December 23rd.

cheers <3s

ps. i made an instagram if you guys want to keep in touch over there too.. http://instagram.com/seleneahnese

new in the shop.. the Forest cape. made in my favourite shades,
channeling the haunted green forests of the northwest..

this piece just came together out of a couple odd green patchworks i had started,
and the forest coloured remnant mountain. it really wanted to exist.. most
of the time i was barely even paying attention, just doing what i was told.

i still haven’t made it up to the northwest.. it’s calling me rather insistently at this point.

this piece would looks so wonderful adorning a fey creature,
perched in a mammoth, moss covered tree.

thanks for all the recent purchases.. i’ve been sending packages left and right,
it makes me so happy to see these pieces flying out to all their different destinations.

the Ramona dress just flew off to miss Lacey Bryant, a lovely painter i’ve long admired..
her work is all kinds of magical, i’m so glad one of my creations is going to live with her.

&last month i sent a bonnet to live with Clémentine de Chabaneix, in France.. another lovely artist you should check out. she makes beautiful sculptures & drawings.

i also got my first order from Poland the other day..
i feel like my work travels for me, haha. it’s wonderful.
someday i will be able to follow suit.

<3s

many months ago, my friend James sent this dress my way. he asked me to work with it
freely, no perimeters or requests. it took me a really long time to finally sit down & start.

i’m posting lots of pictures, because there are just so many tiny details to see.

the dress originally belonged to his great, great, great grandmother.
her name was Alice Wilson.. she raised seven daughters in the hills of Kentucky.

it’s not often that i know where the pieces i work with came from.. sometimes there is a
bit of a story passed on to me, but it’s rare. the stories usually surface like dreams,
subtle feelings i get when handling and stitching the material. this was an
especially beautiful project because the dress had such a connection to
the person i was making it for.

this is the dress in the beginning..

the timing was great, too.. i’d just had to cancel a trip and was kind of worn out. working
on deadlines & custom orders too often can make me feel confined and running
uphill at the same time. it’s really important to make time for experimentation and play. that’s where the inspiration and new ideas germinate. i need to remember this!

it started to feel biological, like i was stitching someone’s body or internal organs.
tiny beads clustered here, feathered paint there. orange seeds turned lavender,
grey angora amongst antique lace pods. hen-peck stitches, field bracken & mossy yarn.

this was a wonderful prompt and push towards the future. i’m looking forward to making
more work in this vein, for people to wear. protective maps under the spell of Nature.

<3s

there’s a new dress in the shop..* made from antique & vintage crochet. i have a handful of other pieces that will be added over the next week, also. time is passing a bit too fast, as always. i am dancing to keep up with the stitchery & deadlines but at the same time feeling kind of stubborn, and making sure to schedule time for  the other less demanding, but equally important areas of life.

like my dear crystal friends, feline friends, plant friends.. oh and human friends too~ in off moments i’m still excavating my house, clearing space and old projects to make room for the new. there are a couple surreal shows i’m helping with/organizing in the next month, as well. somehow it will all come together.

i’ve been allowing myself a bit of thrift store hunting.. i tend to find wonderful things in October, so many stores put out the tattered old dresses as costumes (what the heck!). i found this beauty a few days ago. she was actually in a pile behind the counter and my heart did a weird lunge at the sight of her. the colours are so stunning.

one of the shows i’m helping with is a surrealist halloween party.. stitching together all the plastic in reach, and using the remnants from the dress house kevin & i made a couple years back. i’ll try to get some good photos of the installations.

this ^is a special project i did last week, it was such a great interlude from making functional things.  i’ll post pictures of the finished piece soon. it’s flying off to Ohio in the next couple days.

last but not least, a precious Rose collar, made from many red remnants.
it sold, but i thought you might like to see it.

<3s

still playing catch- up.. posting a lot of pieces from the field day project in the shop..
the Edith dress is pictured above. made from an antique apron & remnants
from a 1950’s dress.  it’s flying off to the UK tomorrow.

the Raven fancy.. also new in the shop

finally making some time for playing with fabric, new experiments,
and (gasp) making some clothes for myself, haha.

this lovely lady, Maki, stayed with us for a week. she loved the studio and kept burrowing into fabric caverns. my cats were a little upset though, at having a stranger in the studio.

the Estrella skirt.. reincarnated from a dress made many years ago, it feels new and old
at the same time; a map of history. available for adoption in the shop.

the Raven collar, another recent creation.. it will fly off to Colorado soon.

some lovely things waiting to be finished

the Walnut fancy.. another new piece in the shop

i’m heading to the northwest for a week or so, to visit family & friends
(and get a bit of autumn in my life).. looking forward to a break, and to seeing my
dear ones. my hands will be itching to sew by the time i get home.
anything purchased in the next week will ship after i return, around the 24th.

[edit] my trip was rescheduled.. so all shipping is on schedule as usual.

<3s

happy October to you!
this is one of my favourite months~
currently immersed in a California heatwave over here, though.
wishing very much for a real fall & it looks like i’ll be going to the northwest to find it.

 the Martha dress is now available in the shop~

the Sylvie shirt, also available in the  shop

i’ll be posting a few fancies for sale tomorrow, also.
slowly playing catch-up after the Field Day project & Gianna’s wedding dress..
there’s quite a lot of things waiting to be posted,
so keep an eye on the shop over the next weeks.

<3s

just finished this custom wedding dress for Gianna in Washington..

it’s made with a myriad of antique lace, eyelet, coat linings & tulle.

my friend said it reminds her of Degas’ ballerina paintings..
which is like, the best compliment ever!

i’ve been working on this for over a month, it’s been my constant companion.

i sewed in some special lace & fabric the bride sent me, to work in some of her history.

so happy to be done… onward! <3s