One of the most fun projects I do every year is to come up with a shoe for the annual "If the Shoe Fits" benefit. It is sponsored by the Center for Patient Partnerships at UW-Madison and trains advocates to help patients and their families deal with life-threatening diseases (check out
http://www.patientpartnerships.org/).
The shoe gala will take place on Thursday, May 20th this year at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art from 5:30-8:30 pm., at 227 State Street in Madison, Wisconsin.
The shoe gala will take place on Thursday, May 20th this year at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art from 5:30-8:30 pm., at 227 State Street in Madison, Wisconsin.
The hardest part is coming up with the idea - after that it's "relatively easy." I try to stick with an Asian theme so I decided to incorporate the Kanzashi flowers that I have been making into my shoe this year. Here is a photo of the shoe before - a Carlos Santa wedge in what must be a size -4!! After decorating a size 10 shoe my first year, I'm always looking for something smaller!
First I decided to finish off the inside of the shoe. I was able to make use of some beautiful red and gold silk that my niece (Thanks Megan!) sent to me from China where she currently resides.
Next I worked on the wedge heel using some silk brocade and red frogs that I bought at a fabulous fabric market in Shanghai. The fabric market was a sewer's dream. 
The components were last. I made the Kanzashi flowers in various sizes, from 2" down to 1"--- lets just say it's nearly impossible to fold 8 tiny one inch squares into a flower, I only made a couple of those. The bigger the square, the easier they are to fold. The buttons are covered with more of the silk fabric that lines the inside of the shoe.So - check back later to see the completed shoe - like most things I do, the descriptive word I would use to describe it is "overload."
