Festive Holiday Gloves...

 

How long has it been since you have worn gloves as a fashion accessory rather than for a practical purpose such as winter warmth or protection from harsh tasks? I've always liked gloves, but they have long fallen out of fashion it seems. That is until a recent online Stitch Club workshop with textile artist Jennifer Collier. You can see some of Jennifer's creations here- she's referred to as a "paper pioneer". Paper and stitch sculptures are her forte and she instructed us in making fancy paper gloves! So there's no practical purpose here- just pure decoration and fun. Why paper gloves you may ask? Why not, I say.

Here's the back of the glove. My holiday gloves began with a recycled gift bag. A real glove was the basis for a template and the rest was cutting, stitching, and embellishing to give the piece a realistic look. We pierced, then stitched, the edges and the thumb piece. Piercing first gave the paper more stability and less likelihood to rip. We had the option to machine sew, but I like the look of the cotton floss stitching. Of course, technically, this is a half pair since I made only one glove.

I found some interesting information on gloves throughout history at The Wardrobe Shop blog. There I learned about gloves as indicators of social status and the etiquette for wearing gloves- a proper woman was to "never go out without gloves." But what interested me more was the information about gloves and health. Particularly during the 1800s, contagious diseases were rampant. Gloves provided the barrier between the body and environment, and helped stop the spread of germs. I bought these gloves at the beginning of the current pandemic when it was thought that contact with surfaces caused the spread of the virus. It made sense to me to wear gloves at that time, and I found these pretty lined lacy ones online. 

They haven't gotten much use since the guidelines changed. But look at this nifty addition to the glove fingers. It's a pad that allows you to use touch screen electronics while still wearing the gloves! Ingenious. I remember as a child that a distant aunt opened a glove shop in a nearby city. That would fall into the category of "anachronistic" since there's probably not a glove shop in business today, other than online. According to Wardrobe Shop, "Today, wearing gloves as anything other than outerwear is extremely rare." *Sigh* Isn't that too bad? 

On Needles and Pins...

 

One thing about an interest in sewing is that I've also developed an interest in sewing notions and tools. Pin cushions are included in that interest. Many of you are likely familiar with the traditional red tomato pin cushion, many of which have an emery-filled strawberry attached to keep needles sharp. But there are many other novel and stylish pin cushions as well. Our guild recently held a Zoom program on making pin cushions, and I participated by showing some of the ones I've made. A lot of mine start with a common household container and are based on the simple stitched yo-yo. The one shown above is a Dollar Tree stemmed cordial glass filled with floral stone for weight. The pin cushion itself is a yo-yo made from cotton knit, stuffed with fiber fill and wrapped with floss. I used E600 glue to adhere the yo-yo permanently into the glass. Just a pretty bauble with a handy function.

This one is teeny, tiny. It's a vintage salt cellar with a cotton yo-yo stuffed and adhered inside. I'm a fan of the idea that a pin cushion should sport some fancy jewelry, too. While it can hold lots of pins and needles, the addition of a little bling just dresses things up. I use long corsage pins from the floral department, coat the shaft with a bit of E6000 and slide on various beads. Letting the piece dry with the beads below the pin point helps to avoid shifting. To accomplish this, I stick the  beaded pin into a piece of styrofoam, beads down until the glue is dry.

I found this vintage swan in a thrift shop for change. I think it was originally a ring or jewelry holder. So I filled the open area by gluing a small bit of styrofoam at the bottom. That provided lift for the cotton yo-yo which is glued on top. 

And a glass Dollar Tree toothpick holder became the base for this pin cushion. These are so easy and fun to make. Several of these little treasures will be donated to The Shoppe which will be the gift shop at Country Road Quilters' upcoming 20201 quilt guild show in Ocala next November. The show was rescheduled from 2020, so we have lots of time to fill The Shoppe with little pretties for show-goers to peruse. And you might want to check out the 2021 opportunity quilt Anniversary Crown at the guild website.