I was right about not being able to concentrate on sewing this week, and only partly because of the workshop tomorrow. I think I reached critical mass again with clutter and paperwork piling up, so have spent a lot of time at the computer and my desk. Just in the proper mood to tackle that sort of thing.
Some of my de-cluttering also included clearing a few things off the table in my studio. I'd pulled something for the journal quilt from the "crazy quilt fabric" box (don't ask) and before putting it away, I paged through a book I've kept in that same box, because it references embroidery stitches for crazy quilts The book is Volume 3 of "LeeWards Complete Library of Needlecraft" published in the early 1970's. This volume covers sewing, patchwork and applique with Carter Houck and Jinny (Virginia) Avery as contributing authors. I'm sure you can imagine how wild some of the fabrics and designs are. If not, here's a sampling of some ties which made me cringe. They're Jinny Avery's and her directions are typical of that era - brief and general: "Use any tie pattern. Piece enough squares and rectangles by machine to accommodate the pattern for the wide tie piece, remembering that it must be laid bias, as shown. The narrow back piece of the tie may be cut from any of the fabrics used in the front. Lightweight fabrics work best, cottons, wools, silks or synthetics, but they must be crease resistant. The squares should be about 1-1/2 inches in size." Did she really think this was a good idea??? Ok, I admit I pieced a bunch of 4-1/2" squares from dressmaking scraps for the skirt of the ever popular prairie dresses of that time period, much to my father's chagrin. And yes, it did seem like I good idea at the time.
To the book's credit, I notice that there are quite a few antique quilts pictured, mostly from the Smithsonian's collection.
Some of my de-cluttering also included clearing a few things off the table in my studio. I'd pulled something for the journal quilt from the "crazy quilt fabric" box (don't ask) and before putting it away, I paged through a book I've kept in that same box, because it references embroidery stitches for crazy quilts The book is Volume 3 of "LeeWards Complete Library of Needlecraft" published in the early 1970's. This volume covers sewing, patchwork and applique with Carter Houck and Jinny (Virginia) Avery as contributing authors. I'm sure you can imagine how wild some of the fabrics and designs are. If not, here's a sampling of some ties which made me cringe. They're Jinny Avery's and her directions are typical of that era - brief and general: "Use any tie pattern. Piece enough squares and rectangles by machine to accommodate the pattern for the wide tie piece, remembering that it must be laid bias, as shown. The narrow back piece of the tie may be cut from any of the fabrics used in the front. Lightweight fabrics work best, cottons, wools, silks or synthetics, but they must be crease resistant. The squares should be about 1-1/2 inches in size." Did she really think this was a good idea??? Ok, I admit I pieced a bunch of 4-1/2" squares from dressmaking scraps for the skirt of the ever popular prairie dresses of that time period, much to my father's chagrin. And yes, it did seem like I good idea at the time.To the book's credit, I notice that there are quite a few antique quilts pictured, mostly from the Smithsonian's collection.
1 comment:
I'm pretty sure I saw Allen wearing the tie on the right.
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