All Dolled Up...

...And no place to go. Is that how you feel during this time of isolation? I always say that I'm not a doll maker. And yet, look what happened when I got confined to my sewing room for a long period of time! I saw a similar style doll in an issue of Sew Somerset, and decided to try my hand. So I got busy with decorator fabric samples, laces, beads, trims and some Ficklesticks for arms. She sure is...ummm... shall we say, unusual? I believe she is an antibody. I've seen the image of the virus so many times- all prickly and wicked looking. I'm thinking she can take it on! Now that I have a collection of various styles of dolls that I've made, I guess it's time to stop saying I'm not a doll maker. Quilts are happening, too. But they take a bit longer and I don't have any quite ready for prime time. Soon I hope.

Quick and easy doll projects also await. These two cute stitch-and-stuff dolls are ones I found on Spoonflower, a print-to-order fabric company.  This girl is Allie.

And this is Scarlet. Spoonflower had a 50% off sale early in the pandemic, so I ordered both of these. 

Another stitch-and-stuff panel I bought is The Quilt Police who reminds us to "measure twice, cut once". She has a few other quilting guidelines to make quilting fun. And she's ready to write a ticket if necessary.

Paging through another early issue of Sew Somerset, I found image transfer journals that looked interesting. She's underway, but still has more embroidery and beading to be done before becoming the journal cover. I like sitting in the evening working on hand sewing, so this little project has filled the bill. I may need to gather up all the dolls and display them together on a shelf unit. They'll likely fill it. 

A Little of This, A Bit of That...

During this stay-at-home time I've been able to complete or nearly complete three quilt projects, right down to the labels and sleeves. So that has been a good outcome. Even so, I don't feel as productive as usual. One antidote to that feeling is the pleasure I get from working on small handwork projects and learning as I go. This colorful cat patch is a fabric print to which I've added hand embroidery and some beads. It's worked on a piece of turmeric dyed cotton. The patch is going into a collection of little stitched bits I'm planning to use in an altered tote bag project. It made for good tv watching work, and I think it will be right at home in the tote.

In addition, a number of artists and stitchery groups have made some free instruction available online. One of them is  Textile Artists Organization which sponsored a series of 7 textile artists, each with a video tutorial and a stitch challenge. Week 3 was artist Emily Tull who taught us to merge observational skills with embroidery. She showed how to look at our own eyes, and translate what we saw into an embroidery piece like the one above. I took a selfie, cropped the image down to just my eye, and then sketched some lines to follow in thread. What an interesting concept. A Facebook group allowed students to share their challenges and what inspiration is found there! 

Free-motion stitching and some bright fabric scraps got turned into this fabric-paper piece done on scrapbooking paper. I'm not sure what this will be, but possibly a journal cover. Just a fun project to explore now that I have the time. So the stitching continues and so does keeping a low profile!

Bejeweled in Quilty Style...

I've had more luck at completing smaller projects in the sewing room during these days of Covid Confinement. Our Country Road Quilters' Guild will hold the biennial quilt show in early November of this year. One of the highlights of the show is The Shoppe, a boutique-style area featuring quilt related items members have made and donated. I committed to make one of my charm necklaces, and used this time to assemble it. It contains all sorts of sewing related charms and should be fun to wear for its new owner.

I got started by making the button charm that is the centerpiece of the necklace. I'd seen some interesting button necklaces on a quilting friend's social media and got the thought, "Oh, I must try one of those." It's stacked buttons joined with wire wrapping, and has a cute charm suspended from the bottom. You can see other charms here, including the tape measure, sewing bobbin, sewing machine, and puffed yoyo charms.

There is also a scissor ribbon charm, a beaded yoyo, and a wrapped wire bird's nest.

On the other side there is a heart button charm, a bottle cap charm, and one we call Toni's Tray. Guild member Toni made that one up. It's a jewelry tray piled high with tiny seed beads, and is surprisingly lightweight.

While I was at it, I came across a number of cross charms from necklaces worn over the years that had a broken chain or some other reason they could no longer be worn. But I saved the charms. There they were all sitting together as I pawed through the various findings in my collection, when it dawned on me to make an assemblage necklace using them all at once. I like the idea of assemblage jewelry, so I'm sure this will be my next rabbit trail to follow! There are a lot of pieces and parts in my supply boxes.

Little Things Mean a Lot...

I've had a bit of a surprise while isolating at home and in my sewing room. And count us as those who are carefully following the distancing guidelines! Somehow I thought I'd whip the sewing room right into shape and make it orderly... all the while turning out quilt after quilt. Ummm... that has not happened. Instead, I've been a bit scattered it seems, working first on this project and then on another. Only one quilt has happened, with two others getting closer. And the room looks as disorderly as ever. Has that happened to you? But with that said, I have been working on and completing small projects, so I'm okay with that. The photo above shows one of two journal covers for composition books. They are all quilted and yarn couched, just waiting for some evening hand sewing of beads and embellishments. Hand stitching is pure pleasure to me.

And I made these two patchwork baskets, one of which I'll donate to our Quilter's Boutique for our Country Road Quilters autumn quilt show (details of the show can be found at that link). It's made using a PDF pattern from Etsy and there are three sizes to choose from. This one is the medium size.

And mask making has been happening as well. I know lots of quilters have been at work stitching these for personal use and to donate. Because I find the various organizations who need them have various requirements, I've stuck with sewing masks for personal use and for friends and family. I've made over a dozen (not counting the three that got lost in the mail being sent to our son and family). And I've tried three different patterns. The first style (above, top) is the standard three tuck model. I had no elastic then, so improvised by using three strands of elastic thread for some, and cut rubber bands for others. The third style I tried (above, bottom) is the Better Fit Face Mask designed by PrettyHandyGirl. I like the adjustable straps on this one which allows you to snug the mask up and prevent openings. It also fits under the chin and is shaped with darts.

The pattern offers options for the ties and I chose T-shirt strips. I cut a clean T-shirt crosswise into bands, snipped off the seams, and had nice long lengths of knit. After cutting about 10-12" lengths from the strips, the T-shirt material is stretched so that it rolls into thin tubular cording. Then each strip is threaded through a bead (with a large hole-not every bead will work) and knotted at the ends to prevent the bead slipping off. The bead becomes the slide that allows you to adjust the fit. One tip- I use a floss threader or a length of thread to pull the folded cord through the bead hole. It's much easier than trying to push that soft and somewhat thick knit through the hole.

And this is the second style I made once I got some elastic. This one is very comfortable and designed by Sewing Therapy. There is even a method for adding an optional filter, which I did not do. It seems that among those I've gifted masks to, each person has a favorite style. And each mask has its benefits in terms of ease of sewing, materials needed, and comfort. I have one of each style, and can say that all are quite comfortable and serviceable. Instructions are free and downloadable at the links noted above. Oh, and I've been enjoying the various free instructional videos and classes such as those offered through BluPrint. They even had a mask instructional there. There are still a few days of free streaming available if you haven't visited. I'm loving the embroidery class instruction. "Boho Mixed Media Embroidery" is a fun one. Do stay well and stay in touch. Keep on sewing- Great therapy!

Glue, Scissors and Stitch...

This sewn accordion book was birthed from my love of magazine images. I find it difficult to discard magazines before harvesting some of their beautiful and interesting photos. I keep a ring binder with the images stored in sheet protectors. Why? It may partly be an appreciation that some very skilled, artistic, and unknown someone worked to make those images happen, and to make them so appealing. I just can't toss them. But what do you do with all those bits and pieces? Well I have a glue stick and a sewing machine, so stitched collage is my answer. I'll share my process later in this post.

I pick up magazines at our library used book shop for 25 cents apiece. Lots of them are travel or fashion magazines I would not purchase on the newsstand, but I do love to leaf through and enjoy the photography. That Tuscan building- those shells- that magnificent door- they just draw me in.

Some collages include realistic views like the ones above, while others combine fanciful elements like these. It's fun and relaxing to "shop" my image collection or to go through an issue to come up with bits that I think need to go together.

The collages begin with a background image to which I then add and arrange other elements. You can see that this book is not complete because two of these (the center image has an ornate plate added) are just the background currently. That may be enough to satisfy me, though most often I'll go back and add more.

An example is the cityscape in this one-I thought the addition of the color and graphics added to the mood, as did the lovely full moon combined with the delicate flowers in the second one. Soothing somehow.

Once I finish a group of the collages, I bind them into a fold-out accordion book by arranging them in an order I like, then butting them up side-by-side and stitching them in a long chain. Oh, and I edge-stitch each collage ahead of that, so that all have a decorative edge. Here are some awaiting further elements plus awating a few more collages to join them in a book of their own.

In case you'd like to try this yourself, I'll outline the steps I follow. First, tear out pages of images you like from the magazines. Study them to envision which part of the image you'd like to feature in your collage. I used postcard-size pieces of watercolor paper (though cardstock would work as well), so I'm looking for an area about 4" x 6". And I usually work on several backgrounds at once.

Once you locate the area you'd like to feature, turn the magazine page over and glue the paper to the back side. Aim for the area you like when placing the paper, but be flexible- you are working a bit blind here, and may not get an exact placement. Notice in the above photo that you can use more than one part of an image, depending on the size of the collage you are making. Glue tips: Use a lot of glue stick to get good coverage on the watercolor paper. Glue on top of a throwaway sheet in order to get glue all the way to the edges. Put some glue on the back of the magazine page in the area you're aiming for in order to get good adhesion. Smooth the watercolor paper in place by placing a clean sheet over it and burnishing. Remove the cover sheet and place the glued page (either side up) under a heavy book or object to dry.

Once dry, cut away the excess magazine page from the back side, using the 4" x 6" paper as a guide. Turn the piece over, and drink in your lovely background! Stop there if you love it. But I usually continue on. It is collage after all. Collage is the art of sticking various material onto a backing as per the dictionary. So more is more, and the surprising ways you can enhance your background are endless.

I've now started the collages shown above by adding at least one element so far to each one. As I look at my collages, I see that I apparently favor pink roses in a lot of my pieces. They do add a colorful and graceful feel- I can almost smell their sweet fragrance! If you'd like an inexpensive, creative, and very satisfying way to spend a couple of hours, give a sewn collage book a try. A lot of the process can happen right on a tv tray when you are watching. Try it, I'm pretty sure you'll like it. Have fun!

Vintage Everything....

It was all about old quilts at the Alachua County Library Headquarters in Gainesville, Florida, last week. In fact, it's been all about quilts all month long in many of the branches, but more about that later. I was given the opportunity to put together a program featuring antique quilts titled "Revisiting Old Beauties." I invited two quilt collecting friends to join me, and together we shared some lovely pieces. This Golden Wedding Ring is a unique rendition of the timeless and popular 1930s Double Wedding Ring pattern. The colors have stayed so vibrant.

This is collector Jill Allen's Lone Star quilt top. It's a Pennsylvania quilt, her specialty in collecting. The large star is precision pieced while the satellite stars were pieced, then appliqued on the quilt top. It's circa 1920s and may have been what is known as a "kit quilt". This means the fabric colors were selected and pieces cut by a manufacturer, leaving the sewing and assembly to the quilter. It sparkles.

Jill was unable to join us for the presentation, though she did send her quilts. Here I am, left, with quilter and collector Debra Johnston, right, standing in front of Debra's Golden Wedding Ring and getting ready to talk about each of the quilts we brought. We estimated that at least half of our quilts were a century old, with others approaching that.

After showing each quilt, our expert holders and folders lined the quilts up on tables so that program visitors could take a close look at the fabrics, stitching, and quilting on each of the 20 or so quilts we brought. You can get a glimpse of my late 1800s to early 1900s sampler top, my early 1900s Bow Tie, my late 1800s Red and White Triple Irish Chain, Jill's early Pennsylvania Log Cabin, Debra's 1930s Touching Stars... and that's about as far as you can see in this photo.

In addition to collecting, we talked about revisting vintage quilts by replicating them- making a quilt in the same patern, but using new fabrics and methods. Jill loves to study old quilts and replicate them, as she did with this beautiful Cotton Boll quilt. She had an extra applique block left over and put it on our guild free table. I grabbed it up and made a funky Christmas wallhanging with it, foreground.

Mary Peer of the Quilters of Alachua County Day Guild wore her patchwork pants to represent at this festive event. Mary did all of the hard work of coordinating themed quilt displays at library branches throughout the county. She's standing in front of another antique quilt replicated by Jill Allen. Jill calls this one The Vermont Quilt after seeing the original, which is in a private collection, in a publication of quilts of Vermont. Her work is masterful, and she's an award winner.

To add to the vintage celebration of the day, this terrific old 1956 Studebaker car was parked outside the library. I had to add a photo of it. We completed our program just ahead of the library suspending all programming in the coming weeks. Now we will stay in and sew. Wishing all of you well. Hope you enjoyed revisiting these old beauties!

Color Splash at Daytona Beach...

Lots of quilters traveled to Daytona Beach, FL, for the recent American Quilter's Society quilt show. It was a feast for the eyes and full of inspiration. This time I was drawn in by color-drenched quilts like Bricks 'n Gears by Claudia Pfeil. The complex piecing and wonderful quilting added to the beauty of this quilt.

The bright, happy fabrics used here, along with the variety of fonts in the lettering made this a "feel-good" quilt. It's called Against Such Things There is No Law and was made by Ben Darby.

The Studio Art Quilters Association (SAQA) had a special exhibit of quilts called Aloft. Each depicted the perspective from above which made each piece especially interesting. This is Lisa Thorpe's Flight From Portland, with an urban view.

Take Off by Jan Soules also gave a more pastoral air flight perspective.

I found Jean Renli Jurgenson's Hong Kong Taxi quite mesmerizing and almost dizzying!

Although not part of the Aloft exhibit, Kyoto Ochai's Space Fantasy has that aloft perspective. I've not seen rick rack that large, and I love the wonderful background fabrics used.

Marriane R. Williamson's Tornado certainly conveyed the terrifying chaos of such a weather event.

The color stimulation continued in the classes offered by various instructors. I took quilt artist Barbara Olson's Freeform Funky Castles class. It was a fun and playful session, and this is my Cotton Candy Castle that emerged. Of course it's just the beginning of it- I'm not sure where it will go from here.

 Barbara had lots of examples to inspire us in cutting and designing our castles. She uses fusible applique and finishes the edges with machine satin stitching.

Barbara uses black backgrounds make the colors really stand out.

Do you see Barbara's fantasy castle here? My brain switches back and forth from seeing candles to seeing castle turrets.

Here's the building material for our castles- a big pile of colorful prints. With classes, lectures, vendors and wonderful quilts, the AQS show was a great way to ignite the creative quilting juices!