Historic Paper Piecing - Design Wall Monday

I've got a pretty broad range of fabrics in my stash and what I make reflects that spectrum.  I have an equal opportunity (and era) stash.  However, I do love hand sewing and since I love paper piecing hexagons I thought I'd give it a whirl with some different shapes and historic fabrics.

Oy vey.

I wasn't prepared for all those ANGLES.  I can stitch hexagons in my sleep but the octagons and coffins (my word) were a new ball game. To make matters worse, I PAID FOR THE SCRAPS so I couldn't ditch the project.  No, I am not insane - they are the gleanings from late 1800's - early 1900's quilts that have been rescued and conserved by loving professionals. In some cases, entire portions of the quilt had to be removed and the surrounding fabric was lovingly harvested and sold for around $8 a bag.  To a good home, you might say.

I bought a bag of the scraps just to touch them, to study up close and personal how those fabrics were made, the stunning colors and intricate designs.  They just breathed life.  I didn't know what I would do with them until I hit on the idea of paper piecing a little something to go on my end table. (Okay, probably under glass, I spill a lot of coffee.) I felt compelled to gently hand wash them, let them air dry and used the survivors in this bit of piecing. I like the idea of giving those very old fabrics a very new life.  The gold connecting squares and the border fabric are not old, just reproduction fabrics in the same color family.  Even though from now on I will probably stick to hexagons, I really like this little bit of a thing and can't wait to see it finished.

Multi-Tasking Sewing Notions

About three years ago I was at a quilt show in New Hampshire when I found this "new" kind of seam ripper.

The woman at the booth demonstrated how it worked and I thought it was pretty clever.  As I am chronically incapable of passing up a cool sewing thingie, I handed over about $5 (I think) and snapped it up.

Fast forward to yesterday when I was in one of those beauty supply shops looking for some super-serious ginormo hair clips.  (My plan to grow out my hair has had a head-on collision with summer heat.  If I don't get it off my neck I'm going to shave my head.).  I was debating the purchase of a good pair of scissors (see paragraph above) when I saw these:



You guessed it.  Exactly the same thing.  This 3-pack was about the same as I paid for one of them in New Hampshire.  Who knew?  Now you ALL do.

PS - So these are facial razors?  I have no idea how this kind of thing would be used, am I missing something here? Come to think of it, 98%  of the stuff in those beauty supply stores looks like they require entirely too much work, effort and maintenance. However, when they can be pressed in to service as a quilting notion......

Creativity Block

I'm dry as a bone - word dry, inspiration dry, imagination dry.  I'm blocked on every level and it doesn't look like that will change anytime soon.  This is doubly unfortunate because the holidays are upon us and the decking of the halls (which I normally LOVE) has just left me......meh.

I have been trying to come up with something for our quilted holiday village at work. I decided to go rogue and do a quilted igloo (what the heck -  it's a house, too,  right?) but it just isn't happening.  I wanted it to look primitive and sincere but I think I'm getting more of a "what were you thinking" kind of vibe.  I might caulk the joints with some pearl cotton embroidery floss, that might pull it all together, but until I do I'm not even going to attempt to finish the entrance/door block.  It could all be  for naught.

I'm bummed that I'm not in the usual pre-holiday groove.  Granted, there are some serious family issues going on right now and I feel like I  have been hit by a grain truck, but I really wish I could find the trigger to get my hands going on something.   I always feel better when I'm sewing or embroidering.  Maybe I'll pop in the movie ELF - that always makes me smile, and maybe  it will jump-start my engines.  What do you do to get yourself out of  a rut?  I'd love to hear from you.

Ladies in Limbo

I have known for some time now that I am no longer the "target audience" for advertisers, movie makers, shoe,  purse, dress or other  fashionista types.   I have literally been there and bought that.  I am no longer that stupid. I don't live for trends, what is  "in season,"   what is not,  or what other people (or magazines)  think or dictate.   I have become what I used to hold in contempt - I am the woman in Glamour magazine with the black bar across my eyes - the GLAMOUR DON'T,   if you will.

I'm okay with that.  But there is a problem.  I am not dead yet.

This became more apparent than ever two nights ago as I found myself shopping for shoes.  Frankly, I'd rather have my colon irrigated than  go shoe shopping.  (At least I could drop a few pounds in the process and have something to show for the effort.)  Normally I just go online to Zappos and order my shoes, sending back whatever does not fit.  This time I needed something quick and was keen to find something to fit comfortably over a slightly dented left  foot. (Proof positive that vacuuming is hazardous to your health - especially if you drop the heavy new attachment on your foot.)

I went in to one of those DSW shoe superstores (first mistake) that claim to be thee source for great shoes.  I felt like I walked into a time warp - was it the late 70's?  Was disco back?  Are hooker shoes all that women wear to work now?  The first 4 or 5 rows were dismissed without a second look - I already ruined my feet in my 20's with those stupid high, spiked heels.   Granted, I weighed about 120 pounds. I also chain smoked, drank coke for breakfast, and lived on Doritos and peanut butter  toast.   (My early 20's were the  peak  of bad-decisions-all-around when it came to my health and my feet. )  I wanted something - dare I say it - comfortable?  I wanted real shoes, nice style,  well constructed and smart-looking.  The array of shoes said either "hooker" or "nursing home"  - there were no shoes in between the two extremes.  No shoes for the ladies in limbo.

Why is it that clothing and shoes for women in their VERY early 50's are either one extreme or the other?  What happened to classics?  What happened to tailored shirts, jackets with shape, beautiful woven fabrics?  I have shopped up and down the pay scale and cannot believe what passes for quality. If I am at Nordstroms  I should be able to expect some nice quality for the price, right?  Seam finishes?  Forget it.  Shape?  No way.   No tucks or darts.  Or style.  I am not ready for the Alfred Dunner separates for a long time, thank you, and I do wish there was an easier way out than going back to sewing for myself again because that means less time for quilting and sewing the things I enjoy.

I am about 90% ready to go there, though.  I  am ready to go back to my tracing wheels and dressmakers carbon and hem gauges and pins.  I still have a few patterns, too.  I think my Bernina might blow up if I start sewing anything but quilts on it but that is a chance I might have to take.  I have no idea what I'll do about shoes, though.  There is a limit to what I'm willing to make for myself, and I know they would probably turn out worse than some of the old fuddy duddy shoes available now. There was a little girl in the museum yesterday with the cutest shoes that lit up and sparkled when she walked.  I want a pair of THOSE.

Out of the Frying Pan...

.......and in to the fire.  It has gone from hot to "heat wave HOT" in a matter of days.  We're looking at a five-day heat wave and that means working on something I can do downstairs in the company of R2D2 (our portable AC machine)  in the family room.  R2 does a pretty efficient job of cooling the room but eats electricity like a big ol' hog.  I'm OK with paying the higher electric bill if it enables me to breathe and sleep like a human being.

This heat wave prematurely jump starts my annual fall side-excursion into wool felt.  I like the change-up in fabrics and textures (and skills -  I have to remember how to embroider).  Bonus - you can watch TV or a movie while you do this  so what's not to love?  The only downside is that there is a hurricane named Earl lurking out there in the Atlantic.  This alone is not a problem, but every local TV station is working terribly hard to manufacture a frenzy about "this might" or "it could" and frankly I just do not need the drama.  Keep us reasonably informed and if something actually materializes you may  THEN push the frenzy button. The  weather reporters out here are epic at crying "wolf" about hurricanes . 9 1/2 times out of 10 these earth shattering predictions have  fizzled to nadda far offshore.  If and when one actually does materialize  there is a danger that  people are going to ignore the hysterical warnings just out of habit.  I need one of those "easy" buttons to edit the level of hype in news these days.  Since I do not have one, I will content myself  by making like Donna Reed and embroider my little ornaments.  It relaxes me to do these things and I could use that these days.......

Stay-In-Your-Nightgown Monday

Design Wall Monday has been preempted by Stay in your Nightgown Monday. The 2010 Lowell Quilt Festival is in the history books and I'm taking a day to decompress.  While the festival closed on Saturday, the museum is open on Sunday and it's one of my 'regular' work days.  I woke up Sunday morning wishing I could take a roll of duct tape and strap a couple of puffy pillows on my feet and call them shoes.  (Probably  not advisable to attempt the  one-hour commute with pillows strapped to my feet. )  I could also use an IV drip of ibuprofen for sore muscles. Bonus - I'm sporting a large BUO (bruise of unknown origin) on my right forearm, pretty attractive since it is too hot to wear anything with long sleeves. Really attractive.  Yes,  today I need to stay home in my nightgown and just.....cocoon.

Between the ramp up to the festival and the actual three-day extravaganza the days are long and the hours are demanding.  A good friend managed to get me two nights at a very reduced rate at a Holiday Inn near the festivities.  I'm never one to complain about hotels (I think we stayed in one twice during my entire childhood) but I think I'll be writing the management on a few issues.  Namely the following:

1. Why do you put the coffee pot in the bathroom?  DO NOT  put the coffee pot in the bathroom.  Do you have any idea how gross and disgusting that is? I get the dry heaves just remembering it  and I don't need to pay for the privilege.


2. Touch up paint.  Buy it in bulk and apply it generously because  it makes a big difference.  Lotta bang for the buck.


3. Put a sign in the hallway that says, "Unattended children who repeatedly  run screaming up and down the hallway will be shot on sight."  If you don't have the stones to do it, leave a BB gun in my guest bathroom.    (Hey - then you could move the coffee pot to the far corner desk in the sleeping area.  Think about it.)


4. Doors to the room should not only lock securely but they should be actually CLOSED.  This picture shows  (I turned off the room lights) just how much room was between the door and the door jamb.  Color me paranoid but I don't feel all that secure when you could swing a cat through the crack in the door.  The one along the bottom  was even bigger.  (Note: apparently not big enough for them to slide a copy of my bill beneath it (enabling rapid checkout) but I'm guessing big enough to slide under  a Sunday edition of a newspaper without having to expend much effort.) Just sayin'.

All of that and more is why today is going to be just for me.  I'm tired - mentally and physically.  I need to be left alone for a while.  I want to soak up some quiet and take a ridiculously long shower and do girlie stuff like scrubbing and buffing and putting nice moroccanoil on my feet and sliding them in to clean, cotton socks.  I want to be pink and fresh and centered.   I'm going to snooze, read, pad around in my socks and let the world turn without me. I'm always better after I do, and that makes life easier for everyone around me.

PS - I will also be enjoying as many cups of coffee as I like, from my coffee pot that is not located remotely close to a toilet.

Hi Honey, I'm Home!

Look what I brought home from the doctor today - my Bernina!  She is still sitting in the front entryway, I can't lug her upstairs without doing some serious bodily harm so I'll have Joe do it when he gets home.  He is at his class reunion (about the bazillionth, I think. I don't do class reunions - I've never even been to one of my own. Meh.) I don't think he'll be home late. He sees his classmates all the time - his umbilical cord will not stretch over the A. Piatt Andrew bridge. He has lived  in Gloucester his entire life.  I'm talkin'  HE HAS HAD THE SAME PHONE NUMBER FOR HIS ENTIRE LIFE.   It boggles my mind.  Me?  I'm  so filled with wanderlust I could explode. I am  so ready to move somewhere new.

Anyway, I can't wait to thread the machine and fire up the old girl and listen to her hum.  It has been a remarkably productive break, one that forced me to finally  venture in to applique - and I love it.  I'm excited to finish up some dangling  projects though, as there is nothing more satisfying than sitting down at a finely tuned sewing machine and just blazing through to the finish line.  Hopefully I'll have some completed things to obsess over soon because I've taken the pledge to finish up three specific projects before I begin anything else new.  (A girl can dream.)  You heard it here first.

Monday Design Wall

Or, in this case, design bed.  Whatever.

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I thought I had finished my Christmas cathedral windows table runner slash thingie, but now that I look at them as a group  I realize  they do not  all "go" together.  One set is more shiny and gold-threaded than the other.  Who knew?  They all came from the same collection.  This means I'll be making two table runner slash thingies.  I can put one in the front hall under a big glass vase that I usually fill up with holly and cut greens, so that is easy.  The other can go on the dining room table or find a home somewhere else , it's not like there aren't  plenty of halls to deck around here at Christmas.  I just thought I was done - and I'm not! Back to the layer cake of holiday prints to find - and this time I'll pay more attention - the ones I need to complete the set(s).

Monday Design Wall

Today's projects have to be completely revamped - the electrician is on the way to make some changes in our service that would enable me to have an AC (window unit) running AND plug in my freakin' iron at the same time.  Novel idea, huh?  This house is 35 years old and appliances were not such energy hogs back then.

I'm not sure when he'll need to shut off the power but I'm going to have to find something I can do without irons or AC, not even a fan.  Since today's highs are in the mid 90's and the humidity is already about 83% I'm guessing it will be more of a challenge to stay sane than to come up with something to do during the blackout.  Looks like I'll be making more circles and embellishments for the Kitchen Saito project.  Esssh.  I hate summer heat....

Design Wall Monday

As the Bernina is still not stateside, my hand sewing projects are continuing with this is a bit of reverse cathedral windows done with a layer cake of Holiday Flourish by Peggy Toole at Robert Kaufman Fabrics. This was my trip treat from a recent visit home that was also an epic road trip.  I found this in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, where my sister lives.  I rarely (well, pretty much never) buy Christmas fabric but this collection was such a wowza I could not resist.  It seems a little decadent to use it for this particular block as most of the fabric gets chewed up in the process - but I don't care.  It's for Christmas and I'm willing to bend a little.

I'm still finishing the windows, but it is nice to take a break and rearrange them and see what a little gold star or silver snowflake looks like in the center. This will probably be a table runner or a mini-quilt for the table in the front hall.  It's also going to be reversible so I need to figure out what (if anything) to put on the 'plain' back side of things.

Oh yes - Cherrypalooza continues apace.  I'm still in love with that Kona Chinese Red fabric.

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