(Almost) Finished! 100 Quilts for Christmas

I finished the quilt top for my "100 Quilts for Christmas" donation (a nice thing for a Jewish quilter to do after Hanukkah, yes?). I was in such a rush to get it off to the long-arm quilter* that I neglected to take a photo--sorry.  I'll take one when it comes back--hopefully soon--before I add the binding.  My quilt will go to a local shelter, 100 Nights (see link in side bar under "Giving Back"), along with a monetary donation. It was -5 F here two nights ago. Everyone has a right to food, shelter, and clothing.

*No large-scale quilting for me any more until the cast comes off and I can walk again!

Free-stitched Chinese Lantern Cards

New embroidery design--free-stitched Chinese Lanterns.

Hand-dyed felted wool, cotton floss. 2.5" square

 Previous design, mounted and

                                                               placed with a mailing envelope in a cellophane envelope.

This is a great on-the-go project. The designs are small and free-stitched, making it easy to grab a few fabric scraps (I prefer linen or wool, but anything could work), floss or crewel yarn, needle, hoop and scissors and go. 

(One of) a 100 Quilts

I've been working on my quilt for the 100 Quilts for Christmas project.  I chose a masculine theme and colors, as mine will go to a homeless shelter where most visitors are male.  This quilt will be sent out of the shelter with someone in need, a gift and a reminder that someone cares.

These are 8.5 x 11.5 blocks left from an early project.  I've got them put together into a 47 x  54 top so far.  I changed the orientation of the rectangles about half-way through, from lengthwise to widthwise.  Now I need to figure out a very wide border, get it on and get the whole thing quilted.

Sunrise

 No matter how dark the night, a new day always dawns,

and I am grateful for such beauty.

The first set of cards is finished. I mounted them by fusing a fabric backing and then using double-sided tape to attach them. Japanese paper tape was added as a functional frame to secure the fiber to the cardstock.

I'm working on putting together a tutorial of all the steps along the way. These are really special cards for special people and occasions. 

Watch for the directions...coming soon!

Elizabeth Edwards

I've been thinking about Elizabeth Edwards and all she's endured this past decade. I read this morning that she is very ill and treatment is no longer appropriate. By all reports she was still in good spirits and making the most of the time she had left, expected to be not more than a couple months at most.  I write "had," not "has," as the Washington Post has just announced her death this afternoon.

Good bye to a brave woman and a warrior for human rights, and especially the rights of those less privileged.

She is already missed.

Chinese Lanterns, Part II

Orange wool, black floss on 6" hoop

Step two: Play around!  Lacking crewel wool and impatient as ever, I found scraps of wool and embroidered this outline (free hand) as a sample of sorts.

Ritan Park, Beijing

Ritan Park is about three blocks from the apartment.

Chinese Lanterns

Chinese Lanterns are indigenous to Japan and southeastern Europe, not China.  I've always been intrigued by these vivid, paper-thin (when dried) flowers.  Psysalis alkekengi come in many colors, ranging from yellowish-orange to leaded-lipstick red. Yes, there is lead in most commercial lipsticks. Lead is readily absorbed through the thin membranes of the lips. Pick your poison wisely. Myself, I like Burt's Bees! Back to the lanterns.  

 

Sketches for Chinese Lanterns

I am working on a crewel-type embroidery design for stitching Chinese Lanterns on wool. I have ideas about making a quilt with embroidered squares, but a pillow would probably be more practical in terms of time, energy, and durability.  I'm fondest of functional art and craft, but then again, the images I have dancing in my head might lend themselves to wall art as well. I can clearly see in my mind's eye what these various projects might look like, even at this very early stage.  However, I'm experienced enough to know that what my mind creates may well be far afield from what my hands construct. I invite you along to share the process and see where it takes me.

Detail of sketch

Taking the Process Pledge

It's a crisp Monday morning, with flurries floating free on on the wind, making me feel as if somehow I'm cozy and warm inside a gently shaken snow globe.  I was reading Malka Dubrawsky's post about her upcoming book tour for her wonderful new book, Fresh Quilting. (A must have/use! To go to her site, A Stitch in Dye:  a stitch in dye ). I'm in the middle of checking out the spots on her tour (great links--check it out!) when I see, on the Tall Grass Prairie Studio blog (http://www.tallgrassprairiestudio.blogspot.com/), an "I Took the Process Pledge" button.  I am all about process--in my teaching of writing, in my creative work, in my life--I relish the process part of thinking, planning, doing, unfolding, and surprise.  Following the button, I find the sweet, really, serene blog by rOssie: http://r0ssie.blogspot.com/   What a great idea!  I Took the Process Pledge myself.  And even though I am process-oriented, I don't always or even often remember or take the time to snap pictures and share that process, so thanks, Rossie, for this great reminder. I shall try harder!

Faking It (Improvisation!)

Garnering inspiration from Kristin Nicholas' Colorful Stitchery, I set out to recreate some of her on-the-wild-side type crewel flowers last night. I did it, albeit sans wool crewel yarn or wool.  So maybe I didn't "do it"-- maybe I just faked it, using a linen tea towel (I bought a dozen at a local bargain store last year) and embroidery floss on hand.

I used a four inch hoop, new linen fabric, and embroidery floss.

Detail

Stock cards, with 2" x 2" opening. 

I'm not sure if I'll finish these cards or use the embroidery for something else--perhaps small squares in a patchwork pillow? I didn't trace or copy patterns, I just looked at the pictures and made the designs as I went. The detailed image is a flower design from Nicholas' book; the other two designs are my adaptations. There were more than two adaptations at the end of the night, but they were promptly deconstructed. I do have to learn that stitching, like writing, sometimes works using what Peter Elbow calls the "dangerous method" (winging it without much direction at the last minute), but not often. Today I'll work on a pattern I have in mind for Chinese Lantern flowers (I don't know if that's really their name, it's just what I've always called them.)

New Inspiration

KRISTIN NICHOLAS

I just received, via parcel post, the new-to-me, but clearly very-loved-by-someone before me, book titled Colorful Stitchery, by Kirstin Nicholas.  Published in 2005, I'm not sure how I missed this gem from my southern "neighbor" on her sheep farm in Amherst, Massachusetts, just over an hour's drive from my house in south-western New Hampshire.
Here's just one of the inspired and inspiring pages from this book.




Some of her designs are really funky and fresh. I'm especially enamored with her seemingly sashiko influenced pillow embroidery designs.

Check out her work and her gorgeous wools and patterns!

Watch for my Nicholas' inspired work here soon.  I may not be able to get around much with this eternal cast and crutches, but I am finding a silver lining in the extra time to create and keep the dining table cluttered with materials and projects.

http://www.kristinnicholas.com/julia.htm

http://getting-stitched-on-the-farm.blogspot.com/

Eat, Watch, Sew

Alone in house and determined to finish this yellow wool doll, I gathered materials (including rice crisps and chocolate soy milk) and cozied up in a corner to work while watching Eat, Pray, Love on pay-per-view.

At the last minute, I decided to ditch the face for the simplicity of a blank slate--an "empty mind" perhaps. Julia Roberts made me cry. 

Wool felt, beads, button, embroidery; stuffed with unbleached wool roving. About 6" x 4.5".

Shadow, shade, and light--an ill-executed photo with angelic rays of light from the heavens (my kitchen window).

Pocket Doll meets Spirit Doll

With or without faces, these dolls garner praises from family and friends.  I've made some version of these little treasures for years.  I also make a similar version (with legs) with school children when I travel to teach at the Bapagrama School in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. Everyone loves these dolls.

Three dolls with stuffed felt bodies and glazed polymer clay faces.

You can get directions and a full-size template by pasting this link into your browser:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/44589719/Felt-Dolls-Ornaments

Enlarge it, shrink it, tweak it--make it your own!

Happy Hanukkah