I meant to write about this sooner, but it just didn’t happen. I saw this Flowering Snowball quilt when I went to Back Porch in October.
Back Porch Flowering Snowball
I have to admit that I was shocked, because I thought that nobody was making that pattern except for me and here was a semi-local quilt shop teaching a class. I have to admit that I was disappointed, because I thought I was doing something unique. Call Back Porch if you want to sign up for the class.
When I went to the Kaffe Fassett lecture, we also went to the shop, where we bought a few things.
Back Porch Fabrics
I wanted to restock up on the Lonni Rossi fabrics. The line was long and as we stood in line, I saw this quilt on the wall.
Back Porch Log Cabin
I know TFQ will like it, but I also like the cheerfulness of it. I think the background is dots.
I am on jury duty and that is all I can say about that right now. This affects you, because it completely screws my already packed schedule.
I saw this set of dishes in Crate and Barrel on Friday when I was out with my mom. the Turquoise definitely called my name. I already have 2.5 sets of china so I won’t be buying this one, but I still love it. I’ll get it for my studio when I buy that loft downtown.
One of the things I like about it is the presentation. If you were to trace the lines of the whole group, I think it would look really cool. I just might do that.
Just to be clear I do not consider myself to be a knitter. I know how to knit, as long as someone can help me. I have knit a hat, a vest, a sweater and am now working on a scarf, but I do not knit often or well. I do not have a knit stash.
I started a knitting project last year and it has been sitting in a drawer. A confluence of things came together to get me to pull it out.
First, I have been listening to the CastOn podcast lately, which I spoke about in a previous post. Second, all of my quilt projects which require hand work are in transition.
Kissy Fish needs more machine quilting and then I have to prepare the facing before I can hand sew it. I am happy with the beading I have done on it.
Beach Town is essentially done in terms of beading and hand embroidery. I steamed the living daylights out of it last weekend and now need to trim it and prepare the facing.
Moon and Stars is a project I started a looooong time ago and don’t believe I have ever discussed here. I have to get it out and photo graph it and see what it really wants and needs.
Flowering Snowball/Cross Blocks is embarrassing. OK, the project itself is not embarrassing. I am embarrassed to tell you what my problem is with it.
Laura Wasilowski Garden piece need some petals. I think it is too spiky for me. She recently commented on my blog and got me to look at that piece again. I am going to put it up on my design wall and see what I see. Any comments you have would be appreciated.
As a result of all of the above, I had no handwork to bring over to my SIL’s house on Saturday for dinner and hanging out. Since I am physically incapable of just sitting and watching TV, I dragged out the knitting. My SIL got me back in the groove and I was off and running. I was really pleased with how much I got done.
Knitted scarf - detail
Sorry the above photo is dark. I was trying to get the detail for you. I am doing the same stitch over and over. I don’t remember if it is knit or purl. I just know how to do it. 😉
Part of the reason I got this project out was hearing about Orphan.org on CastOn. They collect various things for care packages for foster kids who are at college. I have wanted to do something fiber related for charity and this might be the thing. I’ll see how this scarf goes and then decide.
This is the journal cover I made for my mom for Christmas. It goes with the pencil roll and bag I also made. She really liked it, which is nice.
I might make it a little bigger for her, because the journal didn’t quite fit. I have to ask her about that. I don’t know if she will use up the journal the way I do, so it may not be necessary.
I am working on another journal now and I ripped it out twice to make sure it fit properly.
Definition: 1: a favorable juncture of circumstances <the halt provided an opportunity for rest and refreshment>2: a good chance for advancement or progress
See the Creative Prompt page if you have questions about this project.
Post the direct URL where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. It will keep all the artwork together.
The Creative Prompt Project, also, now, has a Flickr group, which you can join and where you can post your responses.
ResearchBuzz pointed me to this site, which has collected lots of vintage ads and put them up in categories. I checked out the Christmas ads and it was interesting to see that photography seemed to be the unifying theme through the decades. Kodak had quite a lot of ads
I think this site could provide a lot of inspiration for visual journal and collage.
Tara at ResearchBuzz passed on this warning: “One warning: the ads here do reflect the outlooks and prejudices of their times, and as such some of them are offensive. Pay attention to what categories you decide to browse. I wouldn’t let a kid go through this site on their own.”
My mom often cleans out some part of her house or storage and tries to give me things. I have a lot of things. Probably too many, so I try and refuse. She got me in a weak moment over the holidays and I ended up with a plastic bag containing something that was a very odd shade of green. She said it was Aunt Grace’s Holiday tablecloth.
I have a holiday tablecloth and during one of the massive cleanups during this holiday season, the plastic-bag-with-green-who-knows-what got shoved in a closet downstairs. As luck would have it, or perhaps some goddess of table linens was smiling on my dead Aunt Grace, The Child spilled chocolate milk on my holiday tablecloth right before a party, so I went in search of the green thing to see what it was and if I could stand looking at it.
Oh Me of little faith!
Holiday Tablecloth
Well, I have to say I do like this tablecloth. My mom said that Aunt Grace had one of the first zigzag sewing machines in the 1950s and made this tablecloth with her own drawings. I have no idea if that is true (when were zigzag machines available to home sewists??) or just family lore. I can relate, however, as I did a wild and complicated machine applique’ project when I first got the 9K because I was so excited about having zigzag capability.
Dancing Santa
We had a big discussion in my house about the meaning of the Happy Dancing Santa and his red face. Too much dancing?
Santa has long and luxurious hand embroidered eyelashes!
The satin stitch on all the pieces is really thick, so we have had discussions about that as well. I can’t tell if she used thick thread or if the fabric bunched up under the zigzag. I guess there could also be some stabilizer in there, but I didn’t see any when I looked at the back.
Candles
One thing I noticed is that there is a lot of movement in these designs. The slanted top of the candles is an example of this. The shape of the candles echoes the shape of the holly, wreath and other motifs.
Reindeer
We all agreed that this reindeer looks very Seussian. I would love it if Aunt Grace had a journal or blog where she talked about her inspiration. Was she reading Dr. Seuss at the time? It gives me renewed resolve in continuing to post about my projects and quiltmaking encounters!
Bells
As you may be able to see (click to enlarge the picture), Aunt Grace has used French knots for the edge (lip??) of the bell. Notice how she used one towards the bottom to highlight the shape. Very subtle, IMO.
Snowman
The very un-PC snowman with his prominent pipe! She used some hand embroidery stitching for the eyes, which she also used on the reindeer. I also like the way the stitching around the sections of the motifs do not match the fabric.
Tablecloth detail
I love the detail in the designs and also the variety of thread used. I also like it that everything is not perfect. I don’t mean that she put in fake mistakes. She just did what she could do. It looks real to me.
Here are some of the Christmas gifts I received and bought for myself this year. I don’t have reviews for them yet, because I have really only just glanced through them. I will look forward to reviewing these books in detail and you can look forward to them in 2010.
I talked briefly about Journal Bliss in a previous post. Dolores brought her copy of this book on Thursday when we met so I had a chance to look through it. Some of it is pretty basic, but I love the bright and cheery layout. After Dolores and I parted, I stopped in at Borders and bought it.
Julie was kind enough to give me Fearless Design by Lorraine Torrence. Lorraine gave me the rule “make visual decisions visually”. She and TFQ know each other via the quilt world, so whenever we are together and see Lorraine we are able to have a little more than a writer-customer conversation. Last time, at APNQ, we discussed her desire to have made the book longer and I suggested putting additional information up on her blog/website. I don’t know if she ever did that.
I received a gift certificate to Barnes & Noble. I don’t normally shop there, but decided that I would immediately sit down and buy as many books as I could with the gift card. With the card and about $3 I was able to add 3 books to my library. The first is Freddy & Gwen Collaborate Again. I wrote up a bunch of notes to write a review during my week away, but can’t seem to find the actual review on the blog. Perhaps I never got to it! I’ll have to dig up those notes and write the review for you. Look for that sometime.
This is more of an inspiration book for me. A lot of the projects require some kind of fabric manipulation. Since I am generally opposed to messes, I don’t do that stuff at home. However! I am open to the possibilities and would work with someone else on dyeing and painting etc. The photo shows one project that I really want to try! These are dolls where you use photos of the heads of family and friends. I love this idea. My great niece, “Henry I”, lives in Maryland. She has never been out here and it is has been awhile since her parents have been out. I was thinking that it would be great to make a set of her cousins (11) using this idea. I also think that one of my nephews might benefit from a sister doll when his sister goes off to college in the Fall. Getting the heads on the body (provided) looks like it requires some Photoshop so I may need Natalie to help me. Cut and paste may work, too. In general, this project is a lot of work, so I am not committing to anything more than thinking it is a great idea. If I do it, it might be the impetus I need to learn more about Photoshop Elements.
When SIL and I went to hear Kaffe Fassett, we had some time to kill, so we stopped in at Borders. They have a wonderful selection of magazines, which I greatly appreciate. I bought a copy of Magic Patch, a French quilt magazine to which I used to subscribe. It is the November/December issue, #47. The Christmas tree project was really appealing. I’d love to make one!
Magic Patch Tree
I have studiously avoided stuffing things in the past, but it looks like, with the dolls above and this project, that there is a possibility that this will be the year of stuffing!
My friend Faye, from New Zealand, has some kind of stuffed Christmas tree that she uses instead of a live tree. I don’t think I have even ever seen a photo of it, but I have often thought of how cool such a decoration would be. When I saw this pattern, I thought that it would be worth a try. I even thought of making 14 for the siblings and cousins, but think that may be too much of a committment. Perhaps I will win the lottery and be able to stay home and sew all the time, which would make it possible.
This issue also has a journal cover pattern with embellishment, some string pieced 8-pointed stars and a inteview/portrait of Lorraine Roy, among other things.
This is mostly a project magazine, but they do have quite a bit of information on what is going on in the European quilmaking community, in which I am very interested. They announce shows in Europe and the piecing in the projects ends towards advanced quiltmakers.
Finally, Julie also gave me Inspired to Quilt by Melanie Testa. I have to admit that I have not had a chance to sit down with this book yet, but I am looking forward to being inspired by it. One of my CQFA colleagues has highly recommended the videos on Ms. Testa’s site. Another item for my to do list!
Christmas Fabric
Finally, I cannot forget the fabric. I received fabric from my mom and Julie both. Dots galore and some cute paper doll fabric that I think, if I have enough, will be a bag.
I might be obsessed with thinking about creativity. I want another WOTD book, but am settling right now for Eric Maisel’s book, The Creativity Book: A Year’s Worth of Inspiration and Guidance. My sister sent it to me and I am making my best effort at it.
One thing that Julie does is pick a word of the year. I heard about this from the Creative Mom Podcast and from other places. I have never been able to settle on a word. OR, more accurately, I have never sat down and given a word for the year enough thought to choose one. I found Ali Edwards word of the year post and thought about it again.
Do you choose a word of the year? If so, what is your word (please post to comments). If not, do you do something to inspire you every day?
EDITED: I just came across this really nice free download “Word of the Year Discovery Tool” from blogger Christine Kane. It’s a worksheet for thinking through your word and essentially telling the story of your word. Totally recommended. This is a great action step.
On FB, I am a fan of Janome Sewing machines. Periodically they post a project from their sister site sew4home. This update included heart sachets displayed on a tree. The concept reminded me of a thought I had where I would decorate my ficus for each holiday. Not sure what I would do for MLK Jr Day or Veteran’s Day. Tiny flags, perhaps.
So far, I haven’t done anything like it and am still working on the napkins for each holiday.
This is a denim bag I made out of of an old pair of jeans for my stepdad, The Big Guy. I made one of these in high school that I carried around and embellished. I am not really sure what happened to that bag or whether there are any photos of it anywhere. I stitched around the edges of the pockets with embroidery floss and embroidered flowers on my version.
I wanted to do something like that on this bag, but really ran out of time. I had a lot of gifts to make, as you know.
The shoulder strap is pretty wide. I made it that wide because of the seams and because I thought it might be a little more comfortable for him to carry. The straps will be a good opportunity for him to embellish.
I really had a hard time sewing through the denim and all of the layers in various places. The 9K did NOT like the denim. As a result, I couldn’t do as much topstitching as I normally do on bags. Both of the issues I ran into allowed me to go with the flow, though, and I billed it as a joint work in progress.
The Big Guy is VERY creative. He works in various media including leather. He has made leather slippers before, so I thought the bag might be a good canvas for him to stitch on. He loved the idea! I am looking forward to seeing what he comes up with.
I am pleased [with myself] to say that 2010 started out with a sewing bang. I finished the bag for my aunt (she never reads this blog as far as I know, so I don’t feel bad about posting it even though I haven’t sent it off yet).
Jeri’s Bag
I started this bag way back in December 2009, but with one thing and another wasn’t able to finish it until Friday. I feel bad, because it was intended to be a Christmas gift. My aunt really loves purple, so I made this bag in purple for her. In terms of fabric selection I had a couple of things I wanted to accomplish and some limitations to deal with. First, I was limited in my fabric choices because of the size of the pieces of fabrics I had available. For a long time I have purchased half yards and FQs. These are fine for quilting, but I am finding that they are barely adequate for bag making. I intend to try the Mini-Multi (AMH’s pattern for the Multi-tasker tote that I resized)This limitation directed me to more plummy colored purples.
Also, I wanted to try a bag where I didn’t use fabrics with a ton of contrast. I think Marilyn’s Multi-tasker was pretty successful. That one wasn’t boring to make. Thus, I wanted to try another interesting combination of fabrics that were also not wacky looking and my aunt wouldn’t feel bad about carrying around.
I am pretty happy with the way this bag turned out. It looks nice and does not look wacky. I made the pockets and straps at the beginning of the process even though AMH says to make the straps at the end of the process, right before I am supposed to attach them. I think my process worked better for me, because once I got past the tedious, fiddly parts, I was able to put the bag together relatively quickly. I like to get all the fiddly parts done, so I can move through the process quickly as I tend to get bored if I have to keep going back to the fiddly bits periodically throughout the process.
Jeri’s Bag – detail 1
I think the combination of fabrics is a good one. The colors work well together and there is some interest in the combination. They are all older fabrics, so an added bonus is that I delved into the fabric closet and used some stuff that has been hanging around. I think Auntie would have preferred less plummy and more purply colors, but the bag is what it is.
Jeri’s Bag – detail 2
AMH does not make her pockets fully lined. Another change that I have made is that I make them fully lined [by cutting a piece of fabric, folding it in half (right sides together), sewing around, turning] before sewing them on to the bag. I think this method makes a nicer finished product and doesn’t take much longer. I want to remember next time to add a label to the pocket. It seems like a good place to include a label.
Jeri’s Bag – detail 3
I am still liking the cell phone pocket, which I learned to make from the Sweet Harmony bag, so I added one to this bag as well.
Cloth Napkins
I have bought some of the fruit and vegetable fabrics, that seem to be popular, recently. I had a joint project with my mom in mind, but decided I liked certain ones too much to give away, thus I made napkins. Perhaps I am making a series after taking a look at the raspberry napkin I made in 2009? The cake fabric and the pots and pans fabric is from my collection of fabric for backs. Those pieces are large, so I can make FQ napkins with no problem and no piecing. In general, I don’t really like making napkins. Turning the pieces and getting the seam crisp are really frustrating and I am generally not successful at it. I tried a couple of different methods this time and am progressing. I do enjoy using the new napkins! I also enjoy looking at the cake fabric. My sister wants a set, but I don’t know if I have it in me to make a SET. Perhaps I can make one a month for her, then give her a set of 12 for Christmas? We’ll see.
In a way I wanted to set a trend for 2010 of major league sewing. In 2010 I want to make major progress in the sewing-quiltmaking-bag making department. I think I did well last year. Still, I want to do better. Not necessarily in terms of numbers of projects completed, but improvement in my processes. Oh, and I would like to see major improvement in my organizational systems. I am not committing to anything on that front, but would like to see it. We’ll see about that.
