Stitching on Paper? Leather? Fabric?

Posted on March 1, 2014 by edges

I don’t really know what to call it.

Technically, I believe it is paper. But, apparently it can be machine washed and tumble dried. Call me skeptical. Even so, it is a very fun product to stitch!

It’s called Kraft-Tex paper fabric. The project is listed on weallsew.com.

The description on the packaging is pretty accurate. It DOES look and feel like leather. It’s also a nice warm brown color, that makes everything pop out a bit. I can see using it in a number of different ways. For me, it borders a little more on the “crafty” side of sewing. But I could see it used in collage work, scrapbooking or anything that requires some dimension.

I went ahead and created the binder cover in the pattern. Of course, I used a different embroidery design. Mine is a medallion from urbanthreads.com.

The feel of this stuff is pretty hard to describe. It’s not rough, it’s rather soft. Which is why it compares to leather.

I have not tried to wash it yet, so that’s an experiment for the future.

The project went together quite easily and frankly, I was impressed by the quality of the paper/fabric. I had never heard of such a thing and it behaves, in my opinion, a little more like paper than fabric.

If you are someone who dabbles in multimedia, you’ll want to give this a try. I’d love to use this for painting and drawing and then incorporate sewing into the mix. If only I had more time in a day, and more inspiration in a night. The products are out there. Might as well find out what you can do with them!

Covering the World in Polka Dots

Posted on February 21, 2014 by edges

The thing about quilters is that they never seem to run out of interesting ways to connect to one another and to further their hobby/obsession.

This year, I am participating in a fun program from Prairie Stitches Quilt Shoppe in Oswego IL. It’s a Worldwide Polka Dot Quilt Fabric Exchange. You still have plenty of time to get involved, you just have to send or bring your quilt fabric to them before March 31. The details of the rules are here in their latest newsletter.

The basic premise is this: Cut 60 – 10 in. x 10 in. squares of polka dot fabric. Could be anything with polka dots. You know you have some in your stash or you can purchase it at any quilt store. The only thing they ask is that the fabric be quilt shop quality (no chain store stuff….we all know their fabric is of lesser quality).

Put each 10 in. square into a business size envelope with your return address in the upper left corner. Mailing address left blank. Bring all 60 envelopes (or ship them) to Prairie Stitches in Oswego. You have to call and sign up with them as they have a fee which they will use for postage and handling, and they’ll need to register your address.

Then just sit back and wait for 60 pieces of polka dot fabric from around the world to be delivered to your mailbox! That’s pretty simple! The fabric will start arriving in April.

What’s even more fun is they have a couple of Moda designers working on some great pattern ideas for your polka dots when they come in. Prairie Stitches says they have participants now from around the world…Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia and across the US.

So tell your friends everywhere to join in. The more the merrier!

Find out the details from https://prairiestitchesquiltshop.com/

Great Backyard Bird Count and Quilt Progress

Posted on February 12, 2014 by edges

Because my family is sort of “bird crazy”, we participate in little projects like the Great Backyard Bird Count. This tally happens every year around this time, and broader technology has allowed more and more people to participate and get more and more accurate data, both quantitatively and qualitatively.

It runs Feb 14 – 17 this year.

If you are interested, you don’t need any special qualifications to participate.

Here’s the website to sign up and get going http://gbbc.birdcount.org/

Now, onto our regularly scheduled quilt update.

Remember when I suggested back in December that 2014 should be the year we get backlogged projects completed? Well, amazingly, I am making some progress and I hope you are too.

Smaller size…should I go bigger?

I love the proportions of this as it is laid out…on point with a 5 in. border. But I know that it will lose at least another 5 in. in width and length once it is assembled. I also have a whole lot of this fabric left over, and I wanted this to be queen size.

So I am heading back to the sewing room to make a bunch more blocks. I need to add at least 2 rows to achieve the same layout look. At that point I may have to increase the size of the border to hold the proportions.

I’ll have to fill it in and see what I think at that point. As you can see, I tend to make up my patterns as I go along. Not to mention, I may be running out of room to lay this out.

At any rate, this is the quilt I want to finish through hand quilting. I love the look of hand quilting and I love to do it. I just have to resign myself that once this quilt is assembled and laid out in a quilt sandwich, it may take another year for me to complete. But I am looking forward to having something I can sit and do in front of the TV this coming spring and summer. Unfortunately, I don’t normally watch a whole lot of TV.

So I’ll be looking for some mildly intelligent series (on PBS maybe?) to follow. If you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them. So far, I’m thinking “Call the Midwife” and “Mr. Selfridge”.

I hope you are making some headway on your piles of projects this winter. I have faith that spring will be here eventually, and we’ll all be out gardening again. Soon.

Chicago in the Dead of Winter

Posted on February 6, 2014 by edges

Let’s start this blog post off with a little movie clip, a classic:

I was trying to find “Now is the winter of our discontent…” Of course, it had to be Richard Dreyfuss. But I coudn’t find that clip on youtube. So this will have to do. Now I want to watch the whole movie again.

Anyway, this is both Chicago in the dead of winter and the winter of our discontent.

But it’s great for getting some sewing done. I have been trying to do a little more garment sewing, but it’s not something I’ve done much in the past. It’s just exciting to spend a couple of hours whipping up something to wear when I’m tired of everything in my closet. Also, I have been collecting fabric for garments over the past year or so. They are calling out to me to be utilized.

Here’s a very simple sweatshirt jacket that took a couple of hours. The pattern says 45 minutes, but sorry, it takes me that long to read the pattern and cut the fabric. Then, of course, I modified it a little as I went along, adding some extra topstitching so the seams looked a little more finished. But all in all, I’m pleased with the result.

Sweatshirt jacket February 2014

The pattern is from a book called “The Feisty Stitcher” by Susan Wasinger. The book has a number of unusual patterns that all look like they would be fun to try. However, this one looked like just my style so I had to try it.

The Feisty Stitcher by Susan Wasinger

As I said, it looked easy enough to do, and quite casual. I did not add the hood, just a simple placket. I thought about adding some embroidery, but that’s for another day.

I have some more sweatshirt fabric in a darker color and I just might whip up another jacket some time soon. It’s easy enough that anyone could try it! No garment experience necessary! As for now, I’m off to work on finishing a quilt.

The winter of our discontent may just turn out to be one of the most productive we’ve ever had!

Valentine’s Day – Then and Now

Posted on January 30, 2014 by edges

I don’t much care for Valentine’s Day.

In a lifetime, we probably only have one or two Valentine’s Days that stay with us, that capture our memory, that hold the actual magic we see in the sentiments on a card.

My first came when I was 12 years old and in 7th grade. An 8th grade boy found out I thought he was cute (remember those days…good grief my son is heading straight into that territory in the next couple of years!) and he gave me this Valentine. Yes, it’s been 40 years and I still have it.

It was a real card, bought at a store, just for me.

My favorite part is the note on inside.

ur 2nice 2b 4 gotten. It was a tweet in the days before twitter. A text message that can’t be erased.

Even in this era of Facebook, I don’t know where he is, if he’s still alive or if he’s a millionaire or homeless. And I am quite sure I am 4 gotten.

Fast forward about 25 years. My husband bought an engagement ring intending to give it to me on Valentine’s Day. But when he got the ring, he couldn’t wait another day and asked me to marry him on Jan. 31. That Valentine’s Day was the sweetest I can remember. Engaged, in love, happy.

This Valentine’s Day, I took to the sewing machine.

I created a little card for my husband using scraps and pieces of lace I had in the back drawers of my sewing room.

The flowers were cut from some old flea market hankies that were stuffed in a drawer for 15 years…no heirlooms to me, just hidden away so I pulled some out and found the perfect Valentine flowers.

I used the machine to add embellishments, sentiment and personalization. I also played with a little transfer artist paper to add musical notes that my husband would understand.

And of course I added the date. Because, you know, 40 years from now, this time in my life will be 2 nice 2b 4 gotten.

When I showed it to my son, he said, “I don’t think Dad is going to appreciate that.”

“Why not?” I said, not sounding at all crushed.

He just laughed and shook his 11-year-old-almost-a-teenager head.

Men.

Like I said. I don’t much care for Valentine’s Day.

Feed the Birds

Posted on January 28, 2014 by edges

So, I ran out to the store the other day and purchased a small bag of general wild bird seed. I threw about half on the ground and the other half up on the platforms since all the birds seem to be willing to sit at the platform to eat.

Today, we have an actual temp reading of -10 with a windchill of around -30. Kids are all off from school. I have been watching the feeders and many of the birds bulked up right before the cold, but they have steadily been at the feeders the last few days, including today. I’ve seen all the familiar faces…red bellies, bluejays, cardinals, chickadees (of course, they were the first to approach), hairies, downies, doves, sparrows, even a few remorseful robins who must have decided against flying south.

The pics are from the kitchen window which has a screen. I did my best.

Familiar face gathering 'round. Cardinals, doves.

Familiar faces gathering ’round. Cardinals, doves.

Bluejay brought his mate.

Cardinal. We had many pairs this week…all bring their mates.

7 squirrels and a pair of cardinals. You knew the squirrels wouldn’t miss out.

I Wonder if Tolstoy Ever Sewed a Button

Posted on January 17, 2014 by edges

From the words of the master:

To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then, by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds, or forms expressed in words, so to transmit that feeling that others may experience the same feeling – this is the activity of art.

Art is a human activity consisting in this, that one (wo)man consciously, by means of certain external signs, hands on to others feelings (s)he has lived through, and that other people are infected by these feelings and also experience them.

I think Tolstoy was brilliant, but I have a soft spot for many of the Russian novelists. Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, Gogol, Pushkin…all that angst, guilt, stream of consciousness (not to mention the Russian names). They do the heavy lifting, for sure. And somewhere in the middle of it all, I find scraps of truth. Maybe it’s my European ancestry that harmonizes with this dark bunch.

So when Tolstoy tackles the definition of art, I listen. He knows art.

But, Dear Tolstoy, what about the bodies of work that never get seen? What about the unpublished novels, the paintings in the closet, the songs scribbled on scraps of paper and buried in desk drawers, the dance, done at home, the private journals, or for that matter, the flower deep in the woods, the snowflake on the mountaintop, the galaxies we never would have seen if not for Hubble?

You, Mr. Tolstoy, may call them many things, like creations, or nature. How, you may ask, can it be labeled art, if no one knows it exists?

I wish I had an answer.

Your definition of art is by far one of the best I have ever seen. But where is the soul of the artist? If work is never shared, or never recognized, is it still art? If not, then what exactly is it? Because work done in private may be just as powerful as work shared publicly…for the creator at least.

I leave you with this thought, dear Tolstoy. If art is only art when it communicates to others, then why do any of us strive to create in private? Why do we put down the brush or the pen and set something aside? What would happen to the world if we never bothered with the pre-art, the first drafts, the disposable stuff, the mediocre?

Again, I wish I had an answer.

But I know this much: the world would be a shallower place without it.

Who Sews?

Posted on January 6, 2014 by edges

When I first started working again after our son began school full time, my neighbor and I were chatting about work. I told her that I worked for a woman-owned small business very close to home…a sewing store.

She looked at me quizzically and said…”Who sews?”

Behind her words were the unspoken questions of “Who has the time for that? Why would anyone take up such an old-fashioned, albeit charming, skill? Isn’t that what a grandma does?”

And I realized, that in the world of non-sewers, there seems to be a real lack of understanding of the whole sewing world/phenomenon.

Who sews?

Having spent a number of years in a sewing store now, I can give at least anecdotal answers to that question. But it may surprise you.

–Young moms. All you have to do is glance at etsy or pinterest to see this group. They will try anything with a sewing machine! And they are also the source for a lot of new fabric designs, patterns, and books.

–Newlyweds. Starting fresh, they get excited about creating together.

–Middle-aged women with highly stressful full time jobs. They sew for their sanity. Truly.

–Artists, artisans and crafts people, in general. Once they learn to sew, the ideas keep pouring in. One can never know it all. They find self-expression in the techniques and fellowship in classes.

–Men. They are usually drawn to the creative — tackling the technical challenges with gusto.

–People who are grieving or caregiving. Sewing is such a healing task, especially a quilt made of a loved one’s fabrics or shirts. Not long ago, a woman told me she spent the last year of her husband’s life working on hand quilting a wool blanket, and it kept her from losing her own mind, as her husband faded farther and farther away.

–Volunteers. If you ever want to know who makes pillowcases for cancer victims, quilts of Valor for the families of veterans, lap quilts for friends in chemo, quilts for women’s shelters, hospital gowns for kids in Haiti, and on and on and on, let me fill you in. Sewists and quilters. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t made something for someone else

–Retirees and empty nesters. Finally, finally, they decide to do something for themselves. Which is ironic, because the first thing they do is make something for their kids or grandkids.

–Anyone with a love of fabric.

Who sews?

Maybe the question should be:

Who doesn’t sew?

Machine Applique in Neutrals

Posted on January 3, 2014 by edges

What did you do over the holiday break?

Mostly I did a whole lot of nothing, besides cook and clean up. But in between, I did some reading and re-watched Season 3 of Downton Abbey so that I could at least remember everyone’s name when the show starts up again…(this Sunday in the USA, just in case you’ve been living under a rock.)

In the beginning…it’s all just cutting out shapes. Don’t forget to use Fuse and Fix on the back!

Anyway, I also worked on an appliqued pillow cover. The pattern is in a new book called Knockout Neutrals by Pat Wys. I fell in love with this whimsical pattern. It’s not usually like me to be charmed by vines and cute-shaped flowers, but the neutral palette of this particular bouquet and the overall ambitious and unusual size (I had to sew 2 -18 inch sq. pillow forms together) made it surprisingly appealing.

And the neutrals work for me. Did I say that already?

A friend also lent me her copy of Harriet Hargrave’s amazingly detail-oriented Mastering Machine Applique. Trust me, there’s an art to precise machine applique, and while I grew more adept through this project, I don’t consider myself an expert.

I used a blanket stitch throughout, which is probably one of the toughest stitches to get perfect around tight curves and sharp points. I am a glutton for punishment. Lucky for me, I am not a perfectionist.

Applique detail.

One of the interesting aspects of machine applique is its meditative qualities. You’ve heard of “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”?

Well, I would like to introduce you to “Zen and the Art of Machine Applique.” Following the lines and repeating the same patterns over and over and over, while still accomplishing something is a tremendous stress reliever.

Your focus at any given moment is not on the big picture, but on each tiny little stitch. One by one, moment after moment, little by little. Stitch, turn, stitch, adjust, stitch, stitch, stitch. It’s enough to keep you engaged, but not frustrated. How refreshing.

And again, little by little, you make progress. In a world where everything is rushed and instantaneous, where food is fast and craftsmanship is outsourced to mass-producing factories in other countries, working little by little is peaceful.

Now it’s January and the bitter cold is settling in again. It’s “Finish a Project” month for me. One down.

Thousands to go.

The Most Beautiful Place on Earth

Posted on December 29, 2013 by edges

The temperature is dropping all day today. By tomorrow morning, we’ll be below zero. Not unusual for this time of year in the midwest, just a reminder that we don’t control much.

I’ve had the privilege of having a week off during these holidays, and while I’ve done some sewing and done some relaxing, I’ve also had the chance to get out for a walk or two. I have a stunned appreciation for the beauty of nature in my immediate surroundings.

You just have to know where to look.

I ran into a coyote the other day…one of my biggest fears. He did a mild assessment of me, and, as my husband likes to point out, he saw that I was not walking a chihuahua that would make a good lunch, and he turned away.

Nevertheless, the winter landscape never fails to leave me in awe.

I am sewing, I promise, and I’ll share some of my latest projects soon.

But for now, a brief winter interlude.

Edgestitch

Sewing is life. Life is art.

Category Archives: Creativity