I just returned from a fantastic vacation. We spent 4 days at a house on the beach in Bandon, Oregon We found a lovely restaurant or two and read a lot of books. During the day I walked on the beach and collected small pieces of driftwood. I had to ship boxes home full of wood, textiles and clothes!

Afterwards we went to the lovely town of Ashland Oregon, which is the home of Diane Ericson and one of the locations for her Design Outside the Lines Retreats. I can’t even begin to describe the inspiration I obtained from Diane the other guest teachers Gwen Spencer, Mary Glenn, Miles Frode, and the other attendees. Each day we would all show up wearing something we made and there was a cacophony of oohs and awes all over the room!

Diane gave us an overview of putting together pieces of fabric as inspiration for making a garment. She often starts with one of these fabric collages and then decides what to make out of it. We drew, stamped, sewed and embroidered to make some truly unique textiles. I think this one will turn into a small purse at some point, but it also may end up on a jacket.

Gwen taught us how to make slippers. We all received kits with the padding and patterns that she had developed. I just had a few bits of hand stitching to do when I returned home. Diane’s stencils adorn the little black dupioni silk pieces.

Miles, a talented and enthusiastic artist, gave an inspiring talk on painting, stenciling and stamping on fabric. He also taught us several easy ways to make our own custom stamps. I bought a piece of his hand painted fabric and will be waiting for the perfect placement.

Mary Glenn showed us an easy way to make a lined handbag. I can’t wait to make one, but I ran out of time at the retreat. She was also our fitting specialist and everyone kept her so busy she needed a sign up sheet! I finally got together with her on the last day and had a lesson on tissue fitting. I learned so much in that half hour, and I think I know how to approach fit in a better way now. There is so much more to learn…

The next blog will be about what I collected and purchased in Oregon! Lets just say that Ashland has great shopping, and that my husband is a fabric and shoe enabler.