From top left: May Swatch of the Month variation with Black backing layer and appliqué; Gold-Handled Embroidery Scissors; Alabama Chanin Archives Fall/Winter 2010 Collection; Brown Bugle Beads; Studio Bundle #2; Fabric Swatch in Abstract Forest/Forest with Brown Variegated Embroidery Floss
Natalie writes of her return home in 2000, “Although I had been gone from Alabama for more than 22 years, I quickly settled into the community where my grandparents had lived. Just outside of Florence, where Mud Road meets the Old Savannah Highway, Lovelace Crossroads is just one of the many intersections of county roads that lie along the edge of rolling, dark red cotton fields and stretch out beneath the endless blue North Alabama sky. This beautiful landscape, at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, provided the backdrop for our work.”
The School of Making’s Studio Bundle #2 finds inspiration from Alabama Chanin’s design archives and beauty from the natural and built environments of our community of The Shoals.
View the slides above and below for color inspirations, community architecture, images from our archives, and accompanying designs for our recent fabric and notion bundle.
From top left: The Pencil Skirt Pattern in Spiral Ochre; Alabama Chanin Archives Fall/Winter 2010 Collection; Fabric Swatch in Anna’s Garden Forest/Forest; Fabric Swatch in Variegated Stripe Camel/Natural; The Wrap Dress Kit in Anna’s Garden Natural; On-site during the Fall/Winder 2010 Collection photoshoot in Tuscumbia, Alabama
Designed to help you experiment with color, appliqué, and stitching, Studio Bundle #2 is an indispensable addition to your home design studio. This curated bundle contains the Fabric Stack – five maker-favorite colors: medium-weight White, Forest, Camel, and Ochre, and lightweight Black, paired with optional thread, embroidery floss, and bead add-ons in complementing hues. Pair each 2-yard fabric piece with any style in our pattern library to create your own sustainable, handcrafted wardrobe. Please keep in mind, due to our small batch dyeing process, future colors may vary slightly from the yardage that you receive. If more than two yards are required for your garment, we recommend ordering additional yardage at the same time as the bundle.
From top left: Map of the Natchez Trace Parkway; Walking Cape Pattern in Forest; Fabric Swatch in Magdalena Tonal Paint; Stone Bench at the Wichahpi Commemorative Stone Wall; “More Shelley than Keats” from Forde Abbey and Gardens; Studio Bundle #2 in Anna’s Garden Verdant.
From top left: Check Stencil; “Costela chair (aka Rib chair)”, 1953 by Martin Eisler and Carlo Hauner via @sacred__spaces; “Early Usonians combined brick and horizontal wood boards” featuring the Stanley and Mildred Rosenbaum House | Florence, Alabama, 1939 from Frank Lloyd Wright: The Houses by Alan Weintraub (pages 278 – 279); “Koger Island“, by Abraham Rowe for Hidden Spaces, as part of A Photo-Historical collaboration between UNA Public History, Abraham Rowe Photography, and Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area; Fabric Swatch in Magdalena Ochre Reverse Appliqué; Studio Bundle #2
P.S.: Our sewing workshops provide a unique learning experience and the opportunity to visit and explore our community. Learn more about The Rosenbaum House, The Wall, Tuscumbia, TVA, the Muscle Shoals recording studios, and The Shoals from our Journal Travel series.