something old...

I have a new sewing challenge... I am trying not to get scared and intimidated, but even saying the words: heirloom sewing. yikes!! I know myself, and the kind of skills required for this fine detailed perfection, neat and tidy... well, let's just say that I'm not naturally gifted in those areas.

Pic by Fish and Raven on etsy

My sister is getting married in a few months and my dearest children will be the ring bearer and the flower girl. Elisha informed us that he learned everything he needs to know about both jobs from a Calliou episode. He seems to make a pretty good flower girl coach ;-) Elisha will be wearing the seersucker suit I found at the consignment sale (hurray!) and carrying a ring pillow that I will make... As you may have figured- Anna's dress is my challenge. The picture above is the inspiration picture my sister sent me.

 I have moved boldly ahead and worked up a muslin from the measurements I have taken of Anna and estimated pattern shapes. She barely consented to stand somewhat still enough for me to try it on and adjust the pins for a better fit. I will probably go through several more rounds of recutting the muslin, basting it together and trying it back on for adjustments. But when the muslin is just right...

 ... though it will feel a bit like sacrilege, I will be cutting into this old dress fabric. This was my Great Great Aunt Maud's dress. She came from a wealthy family in England and didn't have any children, so my mother inherited these dress pieces.

 It is so amazing to think that this lace was hand-sewn one hundred years ago. It feels wrong to cut into it, but then again it seems like a wonderful thing to give it a new life. Instead of staying in a box until it completely disintegrates it will be transformed into wedding day apparel, to be used for such a special occasion. I think Maud would have been pleased to know that her great great great niece was wearing her reincarnated dress in her great great niece's wedding.

There is lots of visualizing, mulling, measuring, and probably some hand-stitching to be done... and then we will be holding our breath that it won't get ruined while my 2 year daughter wears it ;-) Ah, the joys of making functional art-- so much goes into it, and then you have to send it out with open hands to be used... only when you think that being used is something very worthy can you attempt this field of work. I'm thinking of the words from The Velveteen Rabbit that discusses that value of 'becoming real' through use... sometimes isn't pretty, but it is undoubtably good.

tending our flock

Have I mentioned that chickens make me happy? It makes me laugh at myself... it feels kind of ridiculous how happy my chickens make me.

 Here is a little 'ode to chickens' that I made recently... I put in on the wall, although in all honesty the size and shape make it feel a little less like a mini quilt wall hanging and more like a pot holder... ah well... it's cute whatever it is- don't you think?

 We cleaned out our chicken coop... we don't do that very often. We are averaging on 3 times a year-- yucky. But, our hens don't seem to mind. Do you see how helpful Anna and Elisha were. They were doing the all important job of keeping the chickens and kids entertained ;-)

I saw a magazine article on backyard chickens that was so adorable... and so misleading! The inside of the coop was painted white. And was clean white. No poop. LIARS! there is never a time that our coop is completely poop free- those birds get it everywhere... but if you have garden you treasure that abundance ;-) (Excuse the blurry pic)

 Here is a little up close of where the magic happens... the laying box. It also serves as a miniature modern art gallery for our girls. While Andrew was building the nesting boxes the kids wanted to help... I love how they contributed ;-) Elisha was so excited to think about Baby Princess enjoying his artwork while she laid eggs... and let's be honest- I was too.

 Still so hard at work-- such helpful children ;-)

 And here is were the real work happens.

 Gotta love free coop bedding-- thank you trees!

 Have you seen the Music Man? Saying goodnight to our ladies makes me think of a scene from the Music Man. It is a hilarious song... well, I could try to tell you about it or you could just watch it for yourself. Go here and if you are in a hurry you can skip to the last 15 seconds.
If you aren't familiar with chickens, this is what they do at dusk... they make their way back to the coop and squabble over their spot up on the roost... when it is cold they snuggle up close to one another, but when it is hot they fight for space. Sometimes you can hear a loud thump when a chicken squabble leads to unsteady footing ;-)

I may feel ridiculous for having a special place in my heart for such silly birds, but when I look around- especially at things from the olden days I know that I am not the only one who has loved chickens.

::right now::

(I always enjoy soulemama's ::right now:: posts, so I'm going to give it a go)

 Right now, I am...


:: chuckling as I remember this Valentine's day attempt at a romantic candlelit meal including our 2 year old and 4 year old.

:: wondering how long my son will be anxiously awaiting marriage. Will he ever think that girls have cooties?

:: feeling happy that I took the time to doodle some valentines along with my children. I had fun following this pinterest inspiration.

:: enjoying the sight of our chickens busily eating our rye grass. And enjoying the sight of our tulips pushing their way up.

:: loving the fact that my husband will brave the cold dark night to shut the chickens up when I forget.

:: considering following my son's excited suggestion of painting the ceiling over our window seat orange... what do you think?!

:: smiling when he tells everyone that when he grows up he is going to be an artist, mechanic, and race car driver.

:: gathering more and more eggs each day as the daylight increases.

:: wearing my velveteen lovelies while the weather allows.

:: listening to the end of Anna Karenina (a free librivox recording) as I sew.

:: rejoicing over the $15 seersucker suit I found at the consignment sale today for E to wear as ring bearer in my sister's April wedding.

:: anticipating the arrival of a shoe order I just placed... I had to order bridesmaid shoes and decided to add these to the cart for good measure (!)

:: stitching tiny hexies together and the lining into my almost completed velveteen jacket (you know, the one Anna Maria Horner helped me make ;-)

:: smelling a handful of daffodils rescued from the cold weekend.

:: rubbing my eyes because it is past my bedtime...

Well, that was fun... I imagine I'll be documenting some more ::right now::s in the future. 

I'm a homemaker

I don't do the dishes. Really. Ok... maybe every now and then... I rarely clean my house. I am not really all that good at having dinner for my family every night... But I promise I AM a homemaker!

See! I made this lovely little home a while ago and have really wanted to share it here. I made it for Anna's first Christmas and finished it completely by the time she turned one. The idea came to me as I tried to fall asleep on the eve of Christmas Eve. I got so carried away in my planning that I hardly slept ;-) Mind you this was all in the dark of my bedroom as I tried my hardest to get to sleep. I finally made a voice memo on my phone so that I could get the ideas saved and be at peace to sleep... Listening to the whispered (I didn't want to wake Andrew) details the next day was kind of bizarre... crafty creepy. After a bustling Christmas Eve, working into the wee hours of Christmas morning, this darling little cottage took shape.
Can I take you on a tour?

I like to think the front door would be welcoming to a hobbit. The house has different shapes for windows: circle, square, triangle. I was so pleased with how the Folksy Flannel print made a perfect picket fence... and of course there is a chicken in the front yard ;-)

Another chicken lives in the side yard under the shutters that open and close.

Every true cottage has a somewhat wild backyard and this one is no different. The minky fabric adds a nice tactile detail.

The window box under the triangle window is so nice and cheerful... and the precious little fish pond makes me smile... but, the button apple tree might be my favorite.

Can you tell that the door knob is a little bit of bling?

Now, you are welcome to take a peek inside (Beware of the owls in the attic).

what's quiltin' : biography of a quilt

Quilting has become such an important a part of my life over the past few years.  It seems I need to have something in the works at each of the various stages of the process. On the days that I wake up with my thinking cap on I enjoy the mathy planning and configuring of a quilt idea that has been floating around... but some days I just need to mindlessly sew strips together. I've gotten to the point where the words "road trip" are almost synonymous with the words "hand quilting"{I am thankful that my husband consents to drive!}. The hand quilting and sewing on the binding are more social and transportable parts of the process... But, perhaps my favorite companionable part of the process is having a few quiltie friends over to help lay out all the blocks before sewing them together. We arrange and then stand back to squint... are the darkest parts evenly distributed, is it balanced, should it be laid out in a different pattern?  It sure is nice to have moral support as you think through all possibilities before committing to one.  I didn't realize this post was going to become an ode to my quilting buddies, but I'm coming to realize that quilting to me is not just a lonely venture.  Quilting has historically been a community event...it is deeply satisfying to me to share the experience.

This is a stack of string quilt blocks that is steadily growing. I have found that there are some days (usually the bad ones) when all I feel like doing is making string blocks. Just reach in the box of strips and sew straight lines... and then marvel at the lovely result-so therapeutic. The first string quilt that I made was for my cousin's wedding gift and I have been wanting to start another ever since. These blocks are for a throw quilt to go in our family room.

I started the process by choosing a color palette and cutting lots of strips (strings) in various widths.

I am using a paper piecing method that I learned from this blog tutorial. The block on the left in the photo above shows how all the strips are sewn down to a piece of paper (with the stitch length very short to make it easier to tear the paper off). The block on the right shows the back after the paper has been torn off.

At first I planned to make entire quilt top with diagonal string blocks... but then I got jealous of my friend's spider web quilt and decided that I wanted to incorporate the two together. I made the spiderweb block in the photo above and realized that it took a LOT of work... and it was too small.

This is a sketch of my first string + spider web idea. I was going to do a border of spiderweb blocks all the way around my square 60"X60" throw. I put the project on hold for a while because I wasn't thrilled and I wasn't quite sure why.... I gradually realized what was bothering me- I wanted to see the string blocks run straight to the edge and I didn't want it to be so symmetrical with the even frame all the way around. My mean old design teacher would've shouted his favorite criticism--"BUSY and BORING". Nobody wants to be shouted at- even in their imagination! So, then I came up with a more satisfactory design:

The sketch might be difficult to decipher (I certainly didn't draw it with the intention of sharing it with the world... and it got smudged)... but I'm loving the modern feel of the square shape and off center design. I am also thrilled that I have fewer spider web blocks to make ;-)

There's something exciting about laying out the blocks every now and then to get a feel for the quilt growing as the number of blocks increases...

And don't you worry about the spiderweb block that was rejected for being too small. He found a home on a pillow in my family room. It is kind of like a little preview of the quilt for the room.... I think I'm going to like it here ;-)

:: Expect more behind the scenes of quilting...what do you think? Are you interested in hearing and seeing the whole life story of a quilt or should I keep to abridged versions?... Are there any details you are interested in that I didn't mention?

February 9th

Oh, they smell like spring and feel like butterfly kisses! I will be gathering a big handful of these daffodils- so eager to get spring started- before the 20 degree lows this weekend startle them with the truth.

raining love

 So, it's one week until Valentine's Day and here is a fun little way to feel the love. I am usually pretty cynical about this holiday- too cheesy, too commercialized... and in general I don't care for heart shaped things. But, this year I have made the choice to celebrate love. It is THE most important thing after all. My little children think that heart shaped things are extraordinarily wonderful... so all in all this little craft has been a hit.

banner of love 

I used my 40% off coupon at Michael's to purchase this nice heart-shaped punch(Martha Stewart), then just dug up some old paint chips in the red family and an old book that wasn't worth reading. The kids had a big old time helping me punch the hearts. I took them to the basement and stitched through them on my sewing machine(using red thread) pulling extra thread in between each heart I sewed through... it makes a lovely, simple little garland.
If you are local and want to borrow my heart punch, please do! I'd love to feel like it was being thoroughly useful.

tutorial: applique blossom sweater

photo taken by Deborah of Whipstitch 
Fancying up a casual cardigan has been one of my favorite things of late... I love a cardigan- especially during the early spring-type weather we have had lately. It all started with the tree sweater pictured below. I had a lightweight sweater that fit well, I liked the color... but I hadn't worn it in years because it had developed some pin holes. Having something that was useless in its current condition gave me the freedom to get very creative...which reminds me- did you know that Michelangelo had his apprentices throw rags of paint at his surfaces before he started painting? (it is possible that this is a rumor, because for the life of me I can't remember exactly where I heard it... but as I'm pretty sure an art professor told me, we'll believe it, right?) The point is, even Michelangelo felt intimidated by a perfect blank surface.  So, I had a ball appliqueing the heck out of my green sweater and started wearing it all the time... so much so that it started getting more holes... in places that a leaf wouldn't quite work to patch (think: forest arm pit... nope!) It was time to start with something new as my canvas...

    This is a sweater I bought on sale at Target and went a bit overboard decorating... it is a little on the quirky side, but that hasn't stopped me from wearing it all over town.

     My latest applique adorned sweater is the blossom sweater from the top of the post. Here is a little walk through of my process:

 Besides your cardigan (my current favorite is the basic one at Old Navy) and fabric scraps(and needle, and embroidery thread, and your machine, etc) you will need fusible web-- I use Pellon brand 'Wonder-Under'. For a blossom similar to the one I did you will want to cut the Wonder-Under into a bunch of half moonish shapes in varying sizes... I used: 6 large, 6 medium, 6 small, and 3 tiny crescent-type shapes. I freehand these instead of tracing perfect shapes because I like a more organic style rather than stiff over perfect forms. I cut out three tiny circles for the center of the flower.
After cutting your shapes out of the fusible web you need to iron them onto fabric scraps with the rough  adhesive side down.

 Next, cut your fabric following around the Wonder-Under paper as your template.

 Then, peel the paper backing off of your fabric pieces... this can be tricky on small pieces. It is hard to explain, but I hold either edge of the fabric and roll it and twist it until the paper starts to separate from the fabric.

 Ah! The fun part... lay your pieces out until you have them in a configuration that makes you happy. Then, iron them down using some steam to to activate the adhesive(follow the directions on the package).

 Now pull out a WASHABLE marker (test it first- it doesn't come out as easily as the water soluble markers you buy in the sewing section, but it has always come clean in my washer... and they are SO much cheaper and always on hand- if you have kids...) and draw some leaves. Remember: imperfect leaves look more organic and have character... if you want something that looks perfectly stamped out at a factory, don't bother with hand-making things!

 Grab some embroidery thread ( I used perle cotton) and do a super simple running stitch over the leaf lines you sketched.
 Did you know that you can sew buttons on with your sewing machine? All you have to have is a zig zag stitch set to the correct width (a button foot is helpful b/c it holds the button in place while you stitch it down, but you could probably manage without it).

 Use your machine to stitch around your petals. This is easier to do if you lower the feed dogs and use a darning foot-- even the most basic machines are capable of this "drawing" technique. I am not a very neat person, but I don't let that stop me- instead I capitalize on the looser style that goes with my strengths and weaknesses. If I stitch a petal with a wonky line, I just go back around it and make it look intentional.
---- Now that you understand the process, the sky's the limit for all the many things you can applique with whatever design you choose!

I also like to add some decoration to the front of the cardigan... I love to add buttons, but I learned not to put them where the shoulder strap of my purse could snag and pull the button off--ooops!

[Using a stabilizing interfacing on the underside of the applique might make it more durable, but I prefer to keep the sweater flowy... I don't like the stiffer feel when I use interfacing, but this is a personal choice- up to you....]

If you make an applique sweater with this tutorial, I would love to see it! Leave a link to a picture in the comments...

tracing stars

love emblem star from Anna Maria Horner's free pattern 16"X16"

 " The moon mouthing its own name,
the stars tracing on the sky's slate all night,
the lake in a trance,
the sudden heavy rain that believes in the laying on of hands,
and the finch in the jack pine.

The wind fumbling at everything's buttons,
the brook working to tie itself into a half-hitch,
the June peaks tipped with snow, a pentimento of winter--
part of the world's incoherent letter, addressed to no one,
therefore useless and beautiful.
And the finch in the jack pine."

-Chris Forhan's Summary and Invocation



{I enjoy the beauty in this poet's language... but I disagree- the world is a letter, a love letter written to me, and to each of us and that is what makes it so breathtakingly beautiful.}

I took this patchwork block and hot glued it around mat board cut to size and have it propped up on my mantle... why do stars make me so happy?