book of scraps

A friend at work is going to be having a baby soon, and for her shower she only wanted books for her baby.  My goal is always to make my own gifts, so I decided to make a cloth book for her and her baby.  They can be used as "eye spy" books, counting, or just for looking at together.  I tried to include a few tactile things, like some weaving scraps or fringe from the end of projects.

 

I really like how the pages turned out!  They are plenty colorful and just plain fun!  My sister has just recently confessed that she also used her books to clean up spit-up in extreme cases.... haha!  The book is 100% cotton, so it is both machine washable and dry-able!  
 

 Here are a few close-ups of some of the pages:

I was able to use quite a few weaving scraps in this little book! 

When I look at all the scraps, it reminds me of the various projects I have worked on in the last year.

I think it will be enjoyed for many years!

Quilt show 2012

 My mom and I had the chance to go to the quilt show together again this year!  It was a lot of fun.  We saw some neat quilts and there were a lot of neat vendors, also.  We decided to try a new craft called "locker hooking" and it really neat.  I'll post more about it later.

The rainbow quilts really caught my eye this year, and there were a lot of them.

This one was in the first section.

This quilt was hand painted.  It's amazing!!!

I forgot to get a big picture of this quilt, but I really love these two colors together and all the little hand stitches.  

Love the burst of color and all the small pieces!!

 Cute design on this one:

I love applique!  I spent a few summers in college appliqueing some quilts.  I made a bible quilt that is pretty neat.  I'll have to share it someday.  This is a garden quilt.  I have the pattern for it and intentions to make it, but I've never made it:

 Another burst of color with applique:

My favorite block up close:

I love the small flowers in this quilt, but the border fabric is just a bad match.

More rainbows!

Maybe it's the teacher in me, but I like these paper pieced apples!

 And of course, this reminds me of my zoo:

Very fun day!  But VERY COLD weather!!

THE blue jay

When I first saw this post, I remember commenting to myself, "What a cute blue jay!  It's like that one in my backyard.  Boy, whoever is getting that quilt is SOOOO lucky!"





And guess what arrived in the mail for me yesterday?!

THE BLUE JAY!!!! 

I love the colors, I love the quilting, I love the design!!!  The craftsmanship is impeccable!!

I hung it in one of my most prized and beloved areas of my house:

And I notice now it's off-center from my peg board because I was just so excited to hang it up and enjoy it!!!


Thank you so much Judy!!!  (And... amazingly, it's JUST in time for my BIRTHDAY next week!!!!)

The quilt is coming along!!!

With all the vacations that have gotten in the way, we are rapidly running out of summertime!  BUT...  my student's quilt is all quilted!!   The machine quilter chose a perfect pink to match the back!

 

Here's more detail:

It turned out really nice!!  I can't wait for her to get the binding on and put it to use!

And of course, quilts and cats always go together!

Sewing lesson #3

My student took some squares home with her last week to work on and today we were able to finish sewing all the blocks for the quilt and arrange them the way we liked.  Next time, we will work on sewing the quilt together and putting on boarders.  Maybe we'll have time to get the backing done and then it will be ready to send off to the machine quilter!

It's so pretty and pink!

Sewing instruction: Week 2

Here is the quilt so far after 2 weeks of sewing!  My 11 year-old student is doing an awesome job.  She even bought her own sewing machine last week!  We're about half way done with blocks for this top.  Then we can sew the top together, borders, and then send it off to be machine quilted.  Then I can teach her how to do binding.  How exciting!!!

First sewing lesson!

I taught my first sewing lesson!

One day a week I have an 11 year old girl coming over for sewing lessons.  This is her quilt top so far.  She picked out the fabric all on her own.  It's going to be so cute!  The squares are each 6", so the blocks are sewing up into about 17.5".  So when the top's done, the quilt blocks will probably be about 17" around.  She is very enthusiastic about this project and I'm proud to be her first sewing teacher!  (She's also my first sewing student!)

The kitties are enjoying their indoor sunbaths!  So far it's been a mild summer here in Arizona.  I'm surprised we just barely had to turn on the air conditioner!

Sashiko

My mom is really into sashiko right now.  It is a Japanese art of stitching little stitches all over fabric.  It almost looks like weaving designs, but they are hand sewn.  This is a scrap of fabric I wove on my loom and my mom sashiko-ed.  It think it looks really cute!

 

 She uses it to make some really neat table runners.  I really like the patterns.





 

The greatest thing about Sashiko is going to the local yarn store together to pick out various perle cottons!  When I saw what my mom was using, I said, "This is just perle cotton!  Look at the huge cones you could get for a much better price!"  Now we both have an excuse to stop in occasionally to the yarn shop!






 

She's also discovered the thick and thin weaving yarn!  It gives it a whole new look!

My mom is really into quilts and Japanese fabrics so she turned some of her Sashiko projects into really neat looking quilts.  They are very eye-catching!

I asked my mom to write up a little bit of sashiko history.  Here is what she said:

Sashiko evolved as a rural domestic craft in Japan during the Edo era (1615-1868).  Cloth was a scarce resource and something to be used and used over again in various ways until it fell apart into nothing.  Farmer’s wives would sit by candlelight in their thatched-roof farmhouses, mending clothing by using a simple running stitch to mend and strengthen.  Often another layer of fabric would be added and the stitching would hold it into place.  At first this was a very utilitarian way of mending fabric and the stitches were simple and rather large.  As fabric became more available to the people, the stitches evolved into more decorative ones and the craft also moved from Northern Japan to other areas of the country.  Kimonos and other clothing items were remade into work wear and sleep wear, then finally into bags and aprons until finally the clothing became diapers, rugs, and cleaning cloths. 

Sashiko literally means “little stabs” and the stitches have been said to appear like grains of rice on the fabric.  Historically, the stitching was always done on an indigo fabric ground with white thread.  As the craft developed, the designs became much more complicated and mainly were nature-based with patterns such as hemp leaves (Asanoha), bamboo (Kagome), tortoise shell (Kikko) and ocean waves (Seigaiha).

Stitching sashiko is an easy and relaxing hobby, often zen-like because it is so relaxing and beautiful.  The supplies are simple and readily available.  Traditionally indigo fabric and sashiko threads are used, both of which are imported from Japan and easily found on the internet.   I have found the best place to get supplies is www.shiboridragon.com  with the website full of many wonderful items and everything you need to get started.  Recently I have begun to hand dye my own indigo fabrics, which gives wonderful shades of rich blues that are not commercially available.  All the information and supplies to do this are available at www.dharmatradingcompany.com   and while it can be a messy endeavor, it is well worth it for the wonderful blue fabric I have been able to get for a fraction of the price of purchasing someone else’s hand dyed fabrics.  If a person just wants to dabble around a bit in sashiko, it is quite adequate to purchase perle cotton, either 5/2 or 10/2.  If using 10/2, it is always used doubled, which is the traditional way to use sashiko threads.  Kaufman Kona cottons are quite nice to stitch on and widely available at stores such as JoAnns.  Stitching is done without a hoop and with a needle that is rather long and sharp.  Many books are available online and at local libraries with the “bible” of sashiko being “The Ultimate Sashiko Sourcebook” by Susan Briscoe.  

 

Keep on Sashiko-ing!

Quilt Show 2011

My mom and I hung out at the yearly quilt show yesterday!  We had a lot of fun looking at quilts and buying from the vendors.  We ended up with some neat treasures!

 Here's a small selection of the quilts that we saw.  Of course, I won't post them all but there were some great show pieces!

I thought that this design would be neat for weaving.  And I LOVE the colors!

This guild chose to do a lot of quilted faces and they were so cute!

We also ended up with some cool treasures! This is a neat handwoven basket from Ghana.  It sells in the "fair trade" industry and the women who make them actually can make fair living wages.  Aren't they stunning?

 

 These were the U.G.L.E.E. dolls, of course U.G.L.E.E. stood for something that I can't recall right now, but it had to do with excuses that people make up when asked to do something.  There were so many to chose from! 

My excuse doll says, "I would love to help but I have to card some wool!" My mom's says, "I would love to help but I must organize my stash!"  So true...  

 I'm really excited to try out this new find!   It's not quite crochet... not quite knitting... not quite weaving... but it makes a really neat rag rug or pot holder!  It came with this special little tool and very detailed instructions.  I'm really excited to give it a whirl!  I think it will travel really well.  I might start cutting up some fabric to try it out tonight!

And get this neat "green" lunch thing: a reusable sandwich bag!  It even has this plastic liner in the inside for easy washing.  My PB&J's will taste great in this! (Or preztels, or apple slices, or carrots, or...)