Mending is Trending

Do you have a pair of pants that are past pretending to be cool with all their holes? Shirts with stains? ( I seem to have a lot of these, I can’t seem to keep my food in my mouth. Kids, this is something they don’t tell you about aging. You constantly have your food on your shirt. Yes, it’s gross. You’ll get there soon enough.)

My husband is particularly good at wearing down the hems of his pants. (Another sign of aging…you seem to get shorter and your pants drag on the ground.)

Although for those of us who have never been considered tall, dragging hems is a lifelong problem.

But hey! We fix our clothes now. I’d love to do a blog post on fast fashion and where all our cheap clothes end up. We all know it’s a problem. We can’t just keep purchasing new clothes and throwing out the old ones or even just donating them. Third world countries are telling us to keep our crap. They have enough stupid t-shirts, thanks.

Here’s a pair of stretchy pants that were way too long and were an easy fix on a serger using the cover stitch.

Of course, mending and hemming are where a serger really comes in handy. For the shredded hems. I just run them through the serger and hem on the sewing machine. Takes a few minutes, and the pants get a bit shorter, but a really quick solution, all things considered.

Speaking of all things NOT considered, here’s another mending project.

I have this sweatshirt which I made, and it is actually quite loved. Worn and worn and worn. But I set it aside when I realized it had grease stains on the front. Probably from cooking at some point. Aprons actually do have a function, but I’m not yet ready to wear one around the house. (That’s really crossing an old lady rubicon for me. Still, why deny the inevitable?)

I decided to cover it with some hand embroidery. Looking back, I probably should have just embroidered a few strategically-placed daisies and been done with it. Instead, I used a photo out my back window, and converted it to a hand embroidery design.

I drew it out onto a piece of wash away stabilizer, so I could see it on the dark fabric. I think I should have just drawn it using a white pencil. The washaway stabilizer made every stitch a bit harder to push and pull through. And there are a LOT of stitches.

This design took me a ridiculously long time to finish. So simple, yet so time-consuming.

And to be honest, I’m not a hundred percent sure I love it, but it is interesting. The washaway was rather stubborn and I had to rinse it in the sink for quite a while.

I finally threw it into the wash and pulled it out before it got to the dryer. I ironed it while it was still damp.

Here’s a tip:

When ironing embroidery, even machine embroidery, use a towel on top of the embroidery. A hot iron will flatten it and take away all the dimension, and it might even harm the thread. So just use a towel over the top which allows the threads in the design to have a place to go.

It turned out kind of fun, almost like a window in the middle of my sweatshirt. In fact, I’m thinking I just might add a frame around it to make it look like a window. It has that hand-made feel, which is something that was important to me. I also get a kick that it’s the early spring view out my family room window. All in all, it was a learning experience.

I love the look of visible mending that all the kids are doing these days. I’ll be trying more and more. I have plenty of jeans with holes in the knees.

Here’s to making things last a bit longer. Like the planet.

Hugs and stitches.

Slow Stitching

It’s totally OK if this isn’t for everyone.

But I have taken an interest (again) in hand embroidery. It’s certainly not something I want to do all the time, and of course quilting is always in the back of my mind.

I’m not entirely sure what the attraction is. For me, it’s a form of painting or artwork I’d moved away from years ago. I don’t really want to drag out my paints again. (Heaven knows it would go much faster to paint than to embroider by hand.)

Still.

When I am working from my own picture, my own drawing and not using anyone’s pattern, I find it very freeing. There’s a time for everything, as you know. Some days, I just want a pattern, and I just want clear directions and I just want to mindlessly sew.

Other days, I want to put something of myself into the project and own it.

That’s where hand embroidery comes in for me. It’s a disciplined form of expression. Takes time. Takes devotion. Takes thread, for pete’s sake…a lot of it.

But I can do it while listening to music, or a podcast. I can do it while I’m catching up with someone else on the phone.

Find your peace of mind. Whether that’s quilting, by hand or machine, reading, sewing, drawing, cooking, taking pictures, woodwork or crafting, literally anything that brings you joy.

Find it and hang onto it. And never let anyone tell you that you should be doing something else. The world only gives us one chance to live and to process it. Be sure you take your chance, and do the things you love and the things that color and fill your world.

What I Did During Summer Vacation

The asters have started blooming and that means only one thing — summer is over.

This year I attended summer camp. Well, it was a virtual summer camp, sponsored by Modern Quilt Studio. We all worked on a Mystery Quilt together. Well, together separately. If you are interested in the pattern, you can purchase it here. I’m not sure how long it will be available…possibly only until Oct. 1, 2023.

I was very pleased with my color palette, as it caused a great deal of agonizing on the front end of the project. But I was very happy with the way it turned out. The quilt is approximately 83 x 60.

In between installments, I was inspired to start some handwork. I really haven’t done any hand embroidery in years. Yet, my garden this year got me interested in trying something new.

Here is a pic of one of the cosmos in the garden.

And below is my interpretation of this flower in hand embroidery. Obviously, it takes quite a bit longer to stitch out when it’s done by hand…and designed in my head as I go along. A few more days, maybe a week.

And then what am I going to do with it? Well that’s a good question. I’ll have to think about it when it’s done.

I hope you have been keeping your head and hands busy this summer. As I sit here, it’s over 90 degrees outside. The warm weather seems to hang on longer into the fall season these days. But I know it’s time to start hauling out the autumn decor. And even as I stitch a piece of summer onto this fabric, I am thinking about the cooler weather, orange lights, and spooky trees.

Enjoy every moment that comes your way.

And Happy Stitching!

Wool Lasts Forever

And sometimes, for me, it takes forever. My last post on this project was dated June 2017.

I’m not even kidding. Here it is.

And, if you’re wondering…I’m still working on it.

In fairness, I have a tendency to put a project away for a couple of years, and then come back to it with gusto. This is one of those projects. I am determined to finish it before the end of the summer. I love hand work, and find it very relaxing. And it’s time for this one to move along. I’ve made progress, just not enough.

I do have a couple more tips for you, if you are working with wool.

  1. Remember I said to use a longarm stapler to hold your pieces in place? ( I did.) Well, I’d like to add to that. Use it GENEROUSLY.

See all those staples? They really do help keep things from wandering while you stitch. They leave no mark, they are easy, convenient and not a big deal to pull out. I love it.

2. Try these little leather patches.

I have a weird way of using my ring finger to push the needle. Thimbles are so cumbersome, even the leather thimbles. But these little patches can actually be used and reused so that a single pack of them can last a long time. I can use one patch for weeks. I just peel it off and stick it back into it’s packaging or on the plastic covering, and peel it off again to reuse it the next time. They are perfect when hand sewing quilt bindings, or doing any kind of handwork. Most of us have one finger we use consistently to push the needle. This leaves your finger mostly free except for the exact spot that gets the pressure.

3. Try using a wool pattern in a different color way. Along the way to finishing the project above, I did a whole other project where I added some wool to a cotton wall hanging.

The aquas, golds and greens in this pattern were a fun interpretation of the same floral design. Valdani cotton is my preferred thread for hand work. I have purchased directly from them, but you can find local shops who carry it. If your quilt shop doesn’t, be sure to ask them to start carrying it. You are likely not the only one who would like to see it.

I have lots of other projects up my sleeve coming soon, but this wool project is one I’d like to see completed.

Wish me luck and perseverance. May you find time for all your long term projects too. They teach us that life is short, and we need to keep stitching.

Splendid Sampler — Half Way Home

Splendid SamplerAre there any Splendid Sampler participants still out there?

I know there are.  We were in the neighborhood of 20,000 strong when we started last February.  I know many of you are up to date and still participating…and many, many more of you, like me, are hanging on…barely.

We knew when we started that this would be a long and unpredictable journey. A yearlong commitment to any project is risky, and in this one, we really had no idea what blocks would be thrown our way.

My special thanks to all the designers who have donated their time and effort to these wonderful blocks.  While I have deep respect for all of you, I may not sew out a few of your blocks.  Please don’t be offended.  Sometimes the stress of learning a new technique, combined with time constraints, just has me putting off a few blocks.  Also, in fairness, If I had the same taste as all 75 or 80 designers, I wouldn’t have much of my own. So, every now and then, a block just isn’t my thing.  That’s OK.  I still appreciate the work, and I probably would take the time to do them under different circumstances.

But, hey, it’s my quilt, and at the end of the day, I reserve the right to be a little choosy.  That said, I have ventured into many an area I never thought I’d enjoy–like hand embroidery.  Believe me, I still fall back on machine embroidery when I fall behind…or when I don’t really want to do any applique.  Then I just digitize the whole block.

Splendid Sampler

But a few of them I’ve done by hand, and while time-consuming, they have that unmistakable “slow stitched” look.

Splendid SamplerNo matter how you look at it, I am still proud that at the end of this year or the beginning of the next, I will have an amazing, interesting, unique and lovely quilt all pieced and ready to be assembled.  It will be both a tribute to fellow quilters and a learning process on my part. In this picture, I left the blocks in their cellophane sleeves so they don’t begin to fray from too much handling.

Splendid SamplerNow back to the business of filling in some of the blocks I missed along the way.

Splendid SamplerIf you are inclined to join, feel free to hop on board.  You can find the block patterns and all you need to know right here. 

The Splendid Sampler Facebook page is also a great place for inspiration and community–see everyone else’s projects!

New blocks come out every Sunday and Thursday, and bonus blocks are plentiful.  The patterns will be available for free for a year and then they will all be assembled in a book. (You know we’ll all want the book!)

Keep going Splendid Sampler lovers…we’ve rounded the corner!

 

Splendid Sampler Update

splendidsamplermapI love a good visual.

So I thought I would open with a map of all the participants in this project.  Pretty impressive, right?  Here’s a link.

According to Pat Sloan and Jane Davidson, the coordinators and people who apparently never sleep, we are now somewhere between 20,000 – 30,000.  Could that be right?  Many are not following on Facebook, but are making the blocks at their own pace.  (Just an aside, I ran into Pat Sloan at the local Panera while in Paducah.  She is absolutely as tireless and upbeat in real life as she seems online…and she looks just like her pics!)

A few observations…Japan and South Korea are in the house, but no one from China…a reflection of their internet access? So odd, because a disproportionate number of modern day sewing machines distributed here and around the world are built in China.

And no one from Greenland. Or Kazhakstan. (I know there are quilters there.) No one from Mongolia or from the middle of Africa. Much of the middle east is silent.

A surprising number from South America.  I did not know we had so many quilters in that area.  Australia and New Zealand, no surprises there.

Still not on board?  If you are mildly curious, here’s a link to all the block patterns so far They come up every Sunday and Thursday. If nothing else, it’s a great way to become familiar with new designers and block patterns.

We are somewhere around 22 blocks at this point.

splendid sampler 23Those are 6 1/2 inch blocks.  As you can see, they are getting harder and harder for me to fit into one frame.

Lessons I’m learning about myself:

  • I like to piece.  Easy, repetitive, simple piecing is unbelievably relaxing for me.
  • Paper piecing needs to be done in the morning or afternoon, but not after a big meal or if I’m tired or stressed in any way.  I need all my focus on getting everything in the right place.
  • I didn’t realize how much patience I have lost for anything done by hand.  Hand embroidery seems like it takes a lifetime.  All I can think of is that I could have digitized this and had it done days ago. And yet, I love the way it looks and I love the threads.

hand embroideryThis little design took me weeks.  Of course, I’m not working on it every minute, just a bit of time here and there.  Yet I am loving the texture of this thread.

wonderfilI found this thread at the Wonderfil booth in Paducah.  I’m sure many of you have heard of it before. It’s called Razzle. (Yes, they have a metallic looking thread that is called Dazzle).

Razzle has the weight of about size 8 perle cotton, but it’s a rayon.  So for those of you who are cotton purists, you’ll just have to look away.  Me, I fell in love with the sheen and the weight of it.  It was a pleasure to use for hand embroidery.

closeup This project is only about one fifth of the way done.  Eighty or so more blocks to go.

Will my stamina hold up?  Will I have the patience to learn more new techniques?  Will I lose interest in the color scheme half way through?  Will I actually create a setting for these blocks after the project is complete and finish the quilt instead of leaving the blocks neatly in their cellophane pockets in the binder?

I don’t know. I really don’t. A lot of life can happen in the next 8 months.  We’ll both have to wait to find out.

Stay tuned.splendid_button_4

How Would You Fix This?

Rummaging through my closets this week I came across an embroidery project I worked on back in high school…yes high school.  I think it was for an art class.  It’s actually pretty big, 18 x 24 I would guess, with a large wood frame.

high schoolHave to love the signature.

carolAt any rate, back in the day that I stretched and framed this thing, I obviously had no stabilizer behind it.

You can see that after moving, I don’t know, 5 or 6 times since high school, somewhere along the line I managed to poke a small hole through the muslin.

the holeThe weave on this fabric is amazingly loose.  I thought about just adding another tree.  However, now that it’s stretched on a frame, it’s very difficult to embroider–but probably not impossible.

I hate to just give up on it, as the details are interesting.

close up2stitchesI’m open to suggestions.

I think the best I can do is to finish the edges of the tear with Fray-Check, and then somehow add another tree on top of the hole.

It may not be perfect, but, hey, after 40 years (or 50 or 60), how many of us are?

Rediscovering Our Hands

Everything old is new again.  Almost.  I’ll never be ready to turn in my sewing machine (like, when they pry it from my cold dead hands), but this trend toward more work being done by hand is therapeutic, charming and totally exciting.

I recently ran across Jane Austen’s book “Emma” from Penguin Publishers, and they have released it with hand stitching illustrations on the front and back covers.  It’s actually a photo of the stitching, but the work is so lively and fresh, it’s alone worth the purchase.  The commissioned embroidery is done by Jillian Tamaki.

Front cover.

Front cover.

Front cover detail

Front cover detail

Back cover

Inside back cover.

Inside back cover.

 

One of the big trend setters and players in the new hand embroidery movement is folk artist Sue Spargo.  Her work is colorful and, well, just interesting to look at.  I think we’re reaching a point where we actually want to appreciate details again.

Sue Spargo bird

Sue Spargo bird

I think the re-emergence of wool applique and some of the new hand-dyed colors in wool is another inspiration.  Wooly Lady keeps it fresh with their designs.

Wooly Lady

Wooly Lady

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just for fun I dug out the first and last hand embroidery I ever did.  I think it took me months and was from a very simple pattern.  I had it stuffed in a drawer, and I think the best part is the bag.  Venture stores has been out of business entirely since 1998.  The one where this bag came from was one that had originally been a TurnStyle store.  Oh, c’mon all you midwestern oldies but goodies, you know what I’m talking about!  Retail at it’s finest…hand embroidery from Venture.  I’m such a time machine.

Hand embroidery from Venture