Coping with the Pandemic - Cathy Wiggins

Though the stay-at-home order has been detrimental to a small business like mine with the cancellation of teaching gigs and the loss of revenue from shows and classes, it has been a true blessing for my creative soul. For almost a year, I’ve had signed contracts for two new books, but no time to work on them due to my travel schedule. In working on the books now, one on cosplay/costuming and the other on home décor, I’ve gotten to explore new areas of leather crafting and figure out how to combine multiple techniques to achieve different looks. I’ve discovered ways to create three-dimensional leather art forms that can be easily done at home with only a few special tools. For the home décor book, I’ve made quilted Christmas stockings and tree skirts, leather vessels, masks, pine-cones, flowers, and more. My goal is to use quilting as a way to introduce leather to the home sewer, then guide them to all the new possibilities leather crafting can bring. This pandemic, despite all the negative effects on my business, has given me the opportunity to take another step forward in achieving that goal by getting a good chunk of my first book done. www.gypsywoodleathers.com If you can't wait to read the individual stories, you can view SCHMETZ Inspired to SEW #79 by CLICKING HERE.