Printing Fabric

I first saw the book Printing By Hand by Lena Corwin many years ago. Printing on fabric has always intrigued me so when I saw this book and how easy it could be I thought I'd like to try it someday. Fast forward to about a year ago when I again saw the book at a fabric shop. I bought it on impulse because it was 1/2 off and proceeded to put it on a shelf for another year. This year I took it along when we went camping and read it from cover to cover. 

Yesterday I found myself with a little extra time and decided to experiment with making a freezer paper stencil. I'm not much of an artist so drawing something and then cutting it out isn't my best skill. I have to say I am pleased with the way it came out. I found this little wallet pattern in a Stitch magazine (sitting on the shelf.....of course) and whipped it up this morning.

I'd like to try to print enough fabric for a baby quilt next. I think I'll stick with geometrics since that's about the extent of my drawing ability! The book covers stamping, stenciling and silk screens. I hope at some point to give them all a try. It may be next summer until I get to it however!

Happy Wednesday.

Late Summer

I just wanted to check in here to let you know what I've been up to. I spent so much of the summer trying to make my school a go only to have it fizz out for now. I'm at peace with that and have moved on to some other projects. I have had a job interview at a local Montessori school and am pretty sure of a part time position there. I'm focusing on building the Atrium for the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program at our parish. It is a lot of work but coming together nicely. In addition, my good friend Amy has asked if I would do some sewing for her shop, Fresh Vintage by Amy. I've been working on buntings and doll making.

Last week we went on a little vacation to Cape Henlopen. We love to camp and the boys love the beach so Cape Henlopen is the perfect vacation spot (especially since we are ALWYAS on a budget). We stayed a bit longer than usual and I forgot my bathing suit! It was very relaxing and fun. I had a great time with my camera (400+ photos) and reading without feeling guilty and sitting by the fire. The weather wasn't great for the beach (which is why is wasn't too terrible that I forgot to pack my suit) and we went mini golfing one day. We also went on a terribly buggy hike one day which adds to our fun-after-the-fact-story-telling-adventure. We had the same experience last year. 

We've got about two weeks left to the summer. I always feel bitter-sweet about this time of year. The boys are getting so grown up and summer is such a change of pace from the rest of the year. I feel I haven't enjoyed a summer for about 3 years. I'm hopeful that next year (which is the last summer before Nathan graduates) will be a summer without any craziness! I'm settling into the idea of working part-time as a Monessorian, working part-time as a crafter and having time to spend on my family as they are finishing up their childhoods!

I hope your summer is winding down nicely and giving you some time to relax and reflect. Have a blessed evening.

Everyday use-what-you-love table setting

In April I gussied up our sunroom. We spend about 3/4 of our year using this room as a living room and dinning room. It is almost floor to ceiling windows on three sides and so we get lots of natural sunlight. Unfortunately, there aren't real windows, only storm windows and screens. If it is a sunny day, we can use the room even in February. Once the sun goes down....watch out! It's popsicle land. Since we spend so much time in the sunroom I wanted to add some color and whimsy. Above you can see the dinning area. As you can see, we had a small table and mis-matched chairs. I'd been wanting a large wood table for the sunroom for a long time, something with leaves that could seat a large group for dinners and discussions. 

One of my friends was selling the perfect table over facebook. Cheap. It needs refinishing but with the leaf makes a large square. A square is perfect for discussion! Almost as good as round. We bought it but then I had a dilemma. Now the two table cloths I made for our smaller plastic table were too small! Well, I'm a do what you can with what you have kind of gal so we "make" it fit.

 Above you can see the table set for our dinner. As you can see, the table cloth is not big enough, but because the table is wood, it looks grand! Someday when we refinish the table it will look fabulous!

I like to add something from nature to my table. Right now the squirrels are eating the acorns from our neighbor's oak tree. We have lots of their "misses" in our front yard. You can see the acorns with attached leaves around the candle on the table.

 Hmmm....here's a closer look. You may notice a few odd things in this picture. The first is that I set the table on three sides. Seems odd, doesn't it? Because the table is so big and we have some other seating in the sunroom, we keep the table pushed very close to the wall unless we have company. We sit like this for our meals. It also allows everyone to gaze on my delicious quilt while eating! (Insert laugh track here.)

Another thing you may have noticed are the dishes and glasses. They don't match or even really go with the table cloth and quilt. I have worked over the last year to eliminate paper products from our home. The first area I worked on was paper plates, napkins and plastic silverware. I needed enough plates, napkins and glasses for a party. The plates and glasses you see came from a thrift shop. I buy things at thrift shops when I love them. I don't worry if they match or if there are enough for a place setting. In fact, the only matching place setting I have is my good china. And that I bought at a neighbor's auction for $80 right before Mike and I got married 20 years ago. I'm talkin' about a 6 piece place setting of honest to goodness real china! What a deal.

Here's a close up of one of the place settings. You can see the floral china plate. I just love it! For under $10 I got about 7 large plates, 7 small plates, 3 soup bowls, 4 dessert bowls and one large platter. You can't beat that! They are all either this purple-ish flower pattern or the orange you see in the other photo.

In addition, I bought the Juicy glasses at another thrift shop. I actually think I have four of these but can't find one at the moment. It is probably in our basement with one of the men. I love these glasses that originally held something else: peanut butter, sour cream, etc. I have several others including the floral one on the table.

You can see the linen napkins I made. They are just large squares that I hemmed. Nothing fancy. I do love the feel and texture of linen.

 Above is a close up of my center runner. It was made from the same linen as the napkins. I wanted something that was natural and that I could decorate with items from out of doors like the acorns and leaves you see above. The large floral coasters were made from the left over fabric I used in the wall quilt. We also use them to set our hot plates on to protect the wood table when we eat. They are larger than typical coasters and fit nicely under a plate. 

Finally, here's a close up of my wall quilt. I had recently read Memoirs of a Geisha and wanted something remotely Japanese. I thought this fit the bill nicely. I do so love the colors. The lanterns were a Joanne Fabric find. I believe they are Martha Stewart. I had a 50% off coupon and am pleased with their look. 

So why am I showing you all of this? Well, I'm entering a contest! I don't do that often but I saw the Table Stitch, Table Set, Tablescape contest at Sew, Mama, Sew and thought I'd showcase our everyday table. 

What I want you to take from this post is not that you need to sew your table setting or that you need to start thrift shopping or even that you should make a quilt for your wall. My purpose is to tell you to find things you LOVE. For me, it is less important that the whole setting matches than that I love each piece that is used. We also live on a very strict budget so it is vital that I spend little money and that I think about the footprint of each item I purchase. 

You are probably different.

That's the point. Don't think you have to do what you see someone else doing. Do what you love. Spend some time thinking about what that means. For me, it means simplicity (you see how simple my table is) and color and some craft (sewing). For you it may be romantic, modern, matchy-matchy, store bought, thrift bought, knitted, papercrafted, etc. The world is your oyster!

Go for it!

Playing

 I've been pondering the trash we make and the impact a few changes could make for the earth. So today I focused on wine. I do love a good glass of vino on the weekend with a good meal. What I don't like is the paper and plastic bags that package the bottle. We do reuse our plastic bags for our cat litter but the paper bag tends to go into the trash. 

I was given some heavy muslin-like fabric that was going to be sent to the thrift store. I thought it would be perfect for this project. It will work well for another project I have in mind, too. More on that later. 

I used the paper bag as a guide for the measurements. I love making patterns when I have something to base the pattern on. I made quite a few stupid mistakes while working on this. I figure I learn best by making mistakes. 

I wanted the bag to be fairly unobtrusive which is why I liked the plain fabric. After crafting it without the contrasting band I thought it was a little too plain. 

I think the floral band at the top adds a nice touch without being too fancy for a trip home from the liquor store. It could be fun to do some kind of printing or stamping on the front. 

I put the ribbon on the inside (by mistake, actually) but I kind of like how it worked out. I just tied the ribbon once I pulled it tight so it would stay closed. I'm also thinking there could be some other closure options. 

This bag fits a large bottle of wine better than the smaller bottles. I'd like to make a bag for the smaller bottles, too. Once I have things figured out I'll post a tutorial. With the week I'm having it'll be a while!

The 50¢ Tee

I finally made it into the sewing room and actually sewed something! It was quite exciting, I have to admit. I've been out off my habit for about three months. When I am busy doing other things, I don't miss the sewing room too much. I don't tend to sew over the summer in general because our house is so hot. Add a daily three hour commute and school and there is no time for much else. I'm glad to be finished with that part of school and to be into my internship. It gives me a bit more energy, if not too much more time.

The t-shirt you see in the above photo was made from stretch fabric I bought at a local dance studio's garage sale. They were selling lots and lots of fabric. I really had to control myself! The above piece was just about enough for this shirt and not much else. 

I drafted the pattern from an Old Navy t-shirt that I love and have all but worn out. I still need to add the neck facing and hope to get that on tonight. I get so hot at work because I am always on the go and never sit down that I will probably be wearing t-shirts for quite a while. I may draft a long sleeve version of this pattern for the winter. 

In addition to sewing, I hope to be blogging a bit more now that school has started and we are somewhat settled into our routine. Everyone is doing well. I think I feel better about everyone's school and work situations than I have in a long time! It is nice to feel settled.

Quilt Unveiled....finally

The quilt measures about 72x60 inches

A close up of the leaf appliqué block.

The organic line quilting.

The shirting backing reminded me of our sleeping bags growing up. 

I am finally able to show you this quilt. I made it for my niece, Allison, and her finance, Jason, who are getting married in August. The bridal shower is today. This quilt took me many, many hours and much thought. I like all of my quilts to say something about the receiver. In this case, Allison and Jason. Both are outdoor people. They will be camping in the jungle for part of their honeymoon! So I decided on an earthy quilt for them to snuggle under on those cold nights and to picnic on top of during the summer. 


The leaf blocks were taken from a quilting book by Elizabeth Hartman called The Practical Guide to Patchwork. In the book the instructions say to iron-on the leaves and then machine appliqué over them. I just can't reconcile iron-on appliqué and soft quilty love for some reason. So....I spent many, many, many hours hand appliquéing the leaves onto the blocks. 


After making quite a few blocks, I decided it needed something more than the quilt in the book had, so I added the patchwork blocks. I wanted the quilt to be large enough for a picnic and for two to snuggle under on cold winter nights. I chose to use batik fabrics for two reasons. The first is practical: they don't fray so much when hand appliquéing. The second is that both Allison and Jason spent time overseas during college. They both have a love of all things international. Allison also likes purple. I find this color challenging when looking at fabric to be used by men and women. Batiks solved this dilemma. I guess that's really THREE reasons.


I always wait to choose my backing fabric until the top is finished. In this case I found this fabric that just screamed 'sleeping bag' to me. At first I was skeptical that it would work for this quilt but the more I thought about it, the more perfect it seemed. What says 'outdoors' more than sleeping bags?


Finally, the quilting. I pondered this for a long time, too. I bet most people don't realize how much thought goes into a quilt! I love the organic line quilting because it reminds me of the journey of each persons life. Married couples embark on very special journeys that take them places they never imagined. I prayed for Allison and Jason while quilting. I prayed that their journey will be one of fruitful living. I know they both have a passion for Our Lord and I pray that they use that passion for His Glory. I know they will. 
  

In the Shop

The Scrappy Quilt. I call it the I Spy Quilt.

Quick Pinwheel quilt with Organic line Quilting

Up close and personal with the organic line quilting.

Satin Baptismal Minky Blanket

Close up of the Baptismal Blanket 

Antique Pie Tin

1960's Dial-X Sharpener

It's been a productive week (I finished everything on the list). I finished my hourglass quilt which I am very pleased with. I am in love with the organic line quilting method. It does take a lot of thread but it gives the quilt so much texture. I was going through my scrap box and thinking of making some kind of scrappy pieced quilt. Most of the scraps were too small so I decided to make a quilt that is sandwiched first and the scraps sewn right onto the top. It's piecing and quilting all in one. I will never do it again. I like the quilt ok but I don't love it. I HATED making it. It took a lot of energy to finish it. I dislike having unfinished projects so that helped push me along.


On Friday I took a trip into our local Re-Use store and snatched up a boatload of satin. Much of it was between 10 and 15 inches wide and of various lengths with quite a few smaller pieces. I just couldn't resist buying the lot. I think it cost me $10 at the most. I decided to make baptismal infant quilts with it. The quilts ended up being about 26x26 and are backed with the softest minky fabric. I got 4 quilts out of the stash. Now I'm going to try to make baby booties with some of the smaller fabric. I have one larger piece that I'm hoping to make into a baby dress of some sort.


This morning I went to a few garage sales. I snapped up the pie tin and Dial A Sharpener you see above for a total of 75¢. Everything is listed in my etsy shop. I'm hoping to make enough money to cover my gas expenditures traveling to Philadelphia this summer. Traveling 3 hours every day for seven weeks is going to be expensive. I have a few other sewing projects in mind with the rest of the fabric I bought. More on that later this week. I think I need to make a list......

Vintage Sewing Fun Finds

I went out today to find a substitute for plastic plates and bowls. I do hate throwing out all that plastic but I don't always have enough of my regular plates and bowls when we have people over. I decided to see if I could find some fun dishes that I can keep in the basement for those moments when I need them. I went to a few thrift stores that aren't as expensive as some closer to home. I also stopped at a new re-use it shop that I've passed quite a few times and always meant to check out. Boy, am I glad I did! I found the above adorable little sewing box. I'm assuming it's vintage but I really don't know. I did a preliminary internet search and found similar looking large sewing cabinets called Priscilla Cabinets. Apparently they were a piece of furniture made in the 1930's during the depression. I love the idea that sewing used to be such a common occurrence that people had a piece of furniture dedicated to the art! My box looks similar but is more the size of a little tool box. 


I also found the two swatches of fabric but I don't think they are vintage. I want to make some more table runners and napkins and may use them for that purpose. I have a few other pieces laying around that are vintage that I've been meaning to use. I think tonight is the night! 


Finally, the quilt you see in all the photos. My dear friend Amy and I went to a local flea market and I bought the quilt top for $15. I wanted it because of all the original feed sack fabrics used in it. The top isn't very flat, nor is it pieced together very exactly but that is part of what I love about it. Originally I was going to tie the quilt but I intend to use this quilt and I wanted to make it a little sturdier than tying would do. As I was pinning the layers together I thought about hand quilting the whole thing. I realized that it would take too much time and since my time is going to be very limited in about a month and a half, I thought I'd better stick with diagonal machine quilting. I'm about half way finished and I'm really glad I decided to machine quilt. It's looking very good and I'm able to keep it fairly flat with my walking foot.


Well, it's a beautiful day today but the weekend is supposed to be rainy. I don't really mind except for the little Confirmation party we're having here on Sunday. I don't want to complain because we do need the rain. My garden is growing nicely and I'm looking forward to getting my tomatoes and peppers in the ground in a few weeks!s

Focus or Obsession?

I love it when I can focus on something for several hours at a time. I'm not one of those people who thinks multi-tasking is a good thing. I'm not saying I don't do it, I'm just saying that I don't think it's very productive. 


Sometimes my focus can be a little obsessive but it certainly gets the job done. One of my spring projects has been to work on decorating our sunroom. We spend an inordinate amount of time in this room and we'd love to someday make it a four season room with new windows and hardwood floor and heat. We certainly don't know when that someday will be. So in the meantime I've been sprucing it up a bit. I bought curtains and new chairs which helped brighten things up and then I wanted to focus on our "dining corner." I hate the table we have in there, it's a plastic IKEA table that worked well when we were homeschooling but isn't so wonderful as a dining table. One of the chairs fell apart and so we just added in an old dining room table chair. Someday (are you sensing a theme here?) I'd love to find a wooden table and chair set. I keep looking but haven't found anything that is perfect. I'm in no rush.


In the mean time I worked yesterday all day to make the quilt you see hanging on the wall and the table cloth, runner and coasters. I do ADORE the fabrics. They came from a local quilting shop. Our JoAnn Fabrics is expanding and I am not too pleased with the result. It is starting to feel like WalMart to me. Some of it may be that I'm not good with change. All the fabrics are in a different spot, EEEK! I guess I'll adjust. In the mean time perhaps it'll keep me from buying more fabric.


Oh my, I sort of got off track there, didn't I? Well, my focus isn't too great this morning, I guess. Anyway, I was so grateful to have a day that I could spend in the sewing room and I'm really pleased with the outcome. I have a few other projects for the sun room that I hope to complete before June. I'll have to show some photos of the whole room when I get a little more accomplished. Of course I'm also working on a major quilt (it's bigger than my design board right now) and I've agreed to whip up an Easter dress for a friend's daughter. I guess sewing is really an obsession!

Easter Sewing and the Garden

I've just completed my Easter top. I'm pretty pleased with it. I've never worked with Brocade before. It is a little slippery but not as much as some fabrics. I think the thickness of the fabric helped. My fingers are a little rough from guitar playing, appliqué sewing and gardening so they would catch on the smooth fabric. Just not something I ever thought about before. I feel a little like a peasant (which I don't mind too much)!

 I spent yesterday working on the back yard again. We got a second load of mulch and I finished mulching around the garden. I also filled in the blueberry bed and found, much to my chagrin, a little tuft of bamboo growing in the middle of my lilac bush. I spent about a half hour digging through the roots of the lilac bush with a screwdriver to find the bamboo rhizome only to realize there was no way I could remove it. I covered it all up hoping the lack of sun and my diligence will keep it at bay. I'm planning to work on the beds beside the sunroom today if the rain holds off. It's supposed to be 70 degrees today which is wonderful but they are also calling for thunderstorms which isn't a type of weather I want to work in!

7 Day Challenge, Day 3 and some sewing

Well, it's day three of my 7 Day Challenge not to eat wheat or sugar. So far it's been pretty uneventful. I've been busy with lots of projects and we have a fairly wheat free house except for a few items we put in the boys' lunch (like cheese its and bread). I find when I am busy I don't think about food quite as much. Maybe spring is the best time to do such a challenge!


I know in years past I couldn't imagine eating without wheat. Life without pasta you say? No way! And, to be honest, I'm glad it's not something I have to give up for life. I do hope to relegate those tasty beasts like homemade pizza to special days shared with our family. I have started a menu page at the top of the blog for anyone interested in what it looks like to eat without wheat and sugar. 


One of the necessities for me that surround healthy eating is variety. Fortunately, God provided us with these lovely things called seasons and if we remember to eat by them the variety is already provided for us! It is also necessary for me to have some tasty but simple recipes handy. Mike has been on the Paleo diet for about a year and so we do have a Paleo cookbook. I also love the website the Nourished Kitchen. There is LOTS of good information about food there and simple recipes, too. I've also poured over lots of cookbooks at the library and on my own bookshelf. I have a great Weight Watchers cookbook. I just always modify the ingredients. For instance, if it says vegetable oil, I use olive oil, if it calls for chicken broth, I use my homemade chicken stock, if it says low-fat (fill in the blank) I use the real deal. Don't even get me started on margarine! So, the result is that I'm learning new things and trying out new foods which feeds my brain and my body. It helps keep me on the path.


A great book that I recommend is Food Rules by Michael Pollan. I checked it out of our local library. It's a very small and simple book. In fact, I read it to the boys one night over dinner. Some of the rules:

• If your grandmother (or greatgrandmother if you are a young person) wouldn't know what it is, don't eat it. Think: yogurt in a tube.
• If a second grader can't pronounce the ingredients, don't eat it.
• Never eat the same place as your car. Wawa?

The list goes on and is very interesting. A good though provoking read. I also wanted to point you in the direction of my friend Michele's blog. She's joining me in the Challenge and is posting about it all week. Click here to find today's post.

Thanks to all the people who are joining me on the challenge. I can't wait to here how you are doing! One tip: if you 'fall off the wagon' before day seven just get back on! Don't give up!! If you are having a really hard time, plan your indulgence for day 7 and look forward to it!

Ok, here's a little sewing for you. I bought an Amy Butler pattern at the quilt show for more than 1/2 price and set about making this little shoulder bag. I used the hand bag pattern with the shoulder bag straps. I just don't carry that much in my purse so the large bag seemed ridiculously large to me. I also didn't have interfacing and just used a piece of quality cotton instead. It probably didn't make much difference but the top of the bag was a little floppy so I sewed the straps to it. The bag had two pockets that are almost as large as the inside of the bag. I wish I would have sewn up the center of both to attach them to the lining. They tend to flop over and are useless otherwise. Since I didn't realize this until after the bag was finished I just hand stitched them to the lining. Better, but not perfect. All in all it was a fun project for an evening. It kept my mind off food, that's for sure!

Quilt Show

 On Wednesday I walked downtown to the AQS quilt show. It was a beautiful day so I decided to walk instead of drive. It was a real treat to take the whole day for myself and to be able to be in no hurry whatsoever. I feel very blessed to have these few months to do some of this self-preservation. I don't even feel guilty about it. 


It was a wonderful way to spend a day. I had only been to one other similar quilt show many years ago. I'm very glad I went alone. I was able to walk past those quilts and vendors in which I had no interest without wondering if my companion wanted to stop and I could stand and look at something for as long as I wanted without feeling I was imposing on anyone. 


Although I do have photographs of some of the exhibited quilts, they prohibit the uploading of those photos onto the web. The above photo is from a vendor. I asked permission to photograph this tiny quilt and put it on my blog. They happily agreed. The company, Paper Pieces, sells paper piecing supplies. They will send you a free sample if you ask. 


If I am to be completely honest, I enjoyed the quilts at the vendor booths much more than the exhibit quilts. Everyone has their own opinion, of course, but I like quilts to be used. I appreciate the skill and time it must take to make the quilts on display but most are more appropriately called art quilts. Art quilts just aren't my "thing". 


I was inspired to keep sewing and quilting by the show. I also was able to purchase a few things and I hope to share those with you in the near future. Some are just fun purchases, some for inspiration and a few are really useful items that I'm looking forward to using.

Rainy Day

It's a rainy day today. The kind of day that makes me want to sit in a comfortable chair and put my feet up.

 This is Walter. You may recognize him from the Muppets movie. I have to admit I'm a bit smitten by him.

 Actually, my husband is a bit smitten by him as well.

 Walter was one of my latest sewing projects. Mike and I went to an Oscar party dressed as Mary and Gary from the Muppets Movie and we needed Walter to make the trio. The kids were a little freaked out by my waltzing through the house singing "Everything is great, everything is grand...." with Walter on my arm. Mike had him almost the whole night. Smitten, I say.

Here's my seat for the next few hours. I've got an applique project started and Memoirs of a Geisha on the iPod. I won the movie at the Oscar party but wanted to re-read the book prior to watching it. Since I have a pretty hefty applique quilt project to work on I thought the book-on-tape (or book-on-iPod) would be a good companion. I hope you are having a relaxing rainy day!