Tote Intimidation

Apologies for the very out of focus photo. Right side trimmed, ruler placed to trim the left side.

This happens to me more often than I like to admit. I decide on a project, excitement builds as I get out pattern, fabric, whatever, and then at the first or so decision to be made, I freeze. A simple project turns into something I can't face because for a variety of reasons, I can't take the first step. That's a bit of what happened with my idea to turn the antique quilt remnant into a tote bag. As I stood assessing what I had to work with, I eventually would have to make some cuts, and there'd be no going back after that. So many questions I couldn't answer at the moment shot through my mind. But as the weeks went on and I kept going back into the studio to stare at it, I continued to think about those questions and the first cuts, and worked out answers so I could proceed. Folding the piece in half as it would be in the finished tote, I checked where my limits were on each side (since the piece was not perfectly squared up) and chose to make those border buds my guide two up, two down.

My only question as I placed the ruler for the trim on the left side was, will this leave enough for straps. It did, perfectly. Did it pain me to cut through the applique flower? Yes, a bit. But that was part of what intimidated me about working with this remnant, and I soon got over it.

I had a better piece with that same flower on it that was perfect to make a pocket out of. The top would need to be bound though, along with one side of the tote top - the other side had the original binding still intact. I had the perfect white muslin in my stash that I folded like commercial bias tape and could stitch down in one pass.

Since all these pieces are quilted, I opted for my machine's buttonhole (or is that blanket stitch?) setting to both sew the pocket in place and edge-finish the straps. Key to remember is that this tote will not get heavy use. I found a subtle variegated blue thread in my stash of King Tut cotton threads very similar in color to the blue applique pieces. 

The pocket fills in an open space on this side and works better than if I tried to just stitch the flower onto it. Trust me, I did try to make it fit while it still had its curved stem in place, but I couldn't make it work. Fine - pocket it is and the stem got trimmed away. It couldn't be centered because I didn't want to overlap the leaves on either side. Still, I love the way this looks.

I decided against lining this, again because it's a quilted piece and won't get heavy use as well as because of that one edge that was already bound. I realized I could sew the sides up using a French seaming technique that would encase the raw edges while also giving some heft to the sides. I decided I had enough room to sew across the bottom ends to form a box at the base.

Still a bit flimsy as totes go, but I'd noticed on the Staples promotional bag I'm keeping my downstairs sweater knitting in that it had binding sewn over the side and bottom creases which I think helps hold it up. Hmmm . . . I decided to do something similar by sewing a little pintuck over my edges. 

It does help, not as much as I'd hoped but I still think it was a good move. 

On the flip side from the pocket side, I suddenly saw another gap that could be filled with a remaining applique piece. This one was cut with one side of original binding and boy, did I want to make it another pocket.

Try as I may, I could not find a way to sew it anywhere keeping its pocket shape. Regretfully, I faced facts and trimmed it down, leaving a small allowance of the white background it was sewn to in order to use a zig zag stitch to attach it without stitching on the actual applique. Almost looks like it was always there. Only thing left to do was sew on the straps, which were amazingly the right length just as they were trimmed off the remnant.

Shipping bag in background, quilted tote much better

Now for the test run. My Autumn Wave sweater yarn has remained in it's original tyvek shipping package and I've been anxious to get it transferred to a more suitable bag. Perfect!

And that pocket sewn to the outside is just the right size to hold needles and any other small items. My "new" tote bag may be a little tired and worn in places but so am I - lol. A week's worth of work well worth the time spent. I still can't believe that the person who gave me this remnant didn't think it was very well done. The more I worked with it, the more I admired the workmanship.

This is all that was left over. There are still a few pieces I couldn't find a place for on the tote that I'm loath to toss out. I'm thinking maybe I can cobble together a small accessory bag or something. Waste not, want not . . .

 

Traveler's Journals Done!

When last I posted, I had the outer covers of the Traveler's journals done and had started working on the actual journals and pockets to slip under the elastic that will hold them in place. I didn't want to put just plain paper in the journals, so printed up some papers with lines, others with dots and a few with graph paper. All had to be cut down to fit, which a guillotine paper cutter makes quick work of. I also used this to cut the scrapbook paper I used for covers.

It was suggested to use a running stitch to bind the signatures with their covers together if your signatures pages were not all the same height, i.e. incorporating leftover papers from other projects or sources, but even though all my papers were the same size, I still used this stitch. So easy starting at the top going in and out to the bottom, then working back up to the top, all gaps getting covered by thread.

Here are the journals ready to go into the covers, two for each.

And yes, just like in quilting, I dithered over the right color of thread to bind each journal. 

Now for pockets. Awhile ago I saw this nifty way presented by Karen Abend to put together a group of envelops to make a pocket booklet. You can use as many envelops as you want, but I chose 4 for each booklet. Start with two envelops, flaps open, pointing at each other, with one face down. 

Moisten the glue on the flap of the envelop on the right before slipping the flap inside the left hand envelop. You can use a little glue stick if necessary.

Now fold that right hand envelop back to the left so it lies on top of the first envelop. Press the fold with a bone folder or something similar since the flap is now folded in the opposite direction from where it started. Repeat with another envelop, slipping the flap into the opening of this second envelop. When you've added all the envelops you want, the flap from the first envelop can now be flipped over and tucked into the last opening, securing it all together.

I'd been giving a lot of thought to what I'd be putting between the covers and I wasn't particularly happy with the way the instructions wanted you to add a third item by tying a piece of elastic around the signature and then working that elastic over the center of a signature already under  one of the two elastic loops already attached to the cover. The eyelet holes were plenty big to accommodate another length of elastic so I added one - now I had 4 pieces of elastic to slip things under.

This works well and helped to fill up the space in the spine once I added everything. The pocket envelops went in the center between the two signatures. The fourth elastic could hold a memo pad or some other item one might want to add to the book.

Here's a look at the center of the pocket book where the blue elastic runs to hold it in place.

As you might imagine, as much as I really liked how these were turning out, I was so ready by now to be done with this project that I nearly skipped adding closures.

But a traveler's journal like this really does need a closure to hold everything together and I defaulted to my favorite soft journal closure that I learned from Michele in Wisconsin when we were trading books - see hers here. I found perfect buttons in my grandmother's collection and made simple loops from elastic. Really pleased with these.

 

Another Finish!

With more diligent knitting this week, the blue knee high socks are finally finished. And I have mixed feelings about them. I measured, and measured, and measured again the distance from the floor to my kneecap and consistently came up with the same measurement as suggested in the directions. And yet once on, the socks could easily be an inch or more longer to actually reach the knee. Plus the ribbing really stretches out over the calf which looks a bit weird to me. However, the knee high bit is for warmth, not show, and close to the knee is close enough for this pair. I'll make a note on the pattern should I try this again. I'm also finding the yarn doesn't feel as soft when knit up as I thought it would, but I do still need to block these, and they may soften and "bloom" once I do. But they are done and I can move on to the next project.

I pulled the wrong yarn for this pic. This "tape" yarn will be for a bag.

And that would be a crochet project? It's been quite awhile since I've done any crocheting, but just like my knitting, there was a time when I did a lot of it, mostly to make baby blankets (that lovely ripple pattern) and throws (including a variation of the popular granny square block for a throw that I made for my dad). Back in the 70's - 90's, I never liked the look of crocheted wearables that couldn't hold a candle to ones I could knit with a more sophisticated look. But here I am, ready to give crocheting a summery cap-sleeve cardigan a go, all because I'd been looking at something similar in a catalog and found myself saying, surely I could make one myself for less. And then I ran across this kit on the Lion Brand Yarn website, liking it better than what I'd been seeing in the catalogs. I do think I will make it shorter though so that it hits mid hip - about where my summer tops end. It calls for a size G hook and uses a bamboo viscose yarn which I've not dealt with before but is supposed to work up light and drapey; hopefully it will work up quickly. Bear in mind I bought this to have to wear LAST summer but a knitting project didn't finish up in time for me to start it. Wish me luck!

I've also started the quilting on Venetian Tiles by doing a lot of stitching in the ditch along the burgundy sashings, with burgundy thread so I can't really show a picture of it, it hides so well. I'm generally not into showy quilting, so have been auditioning threads for areas where the stitching really will show but where I don't want to "hide" the beautiful patterns in the kaleidoscopes. From the very start back in 2003 I thought I would use the pink and/or blue Oliver Twist hand-dyed threads and pulled them out to see how that would work. Hmmm. By chance, I'd picked a dark brown bobbin thread to pair with the burgundy thread and it helped me see that behind those pink and blue motifs in the fabric was a golden brown. And yes, I have 3 different Oliver Twist browns to choose from so that all the quilting in those blocks can be done with a single color, no switching back and forth from the pink to the blue. Finally, the green variegated King Tut thread will be perfect over the scroll-like patterns in the green fabric around the outside of the top. 

Did I Make It?

Click on picture for a larger view of the stitching

Yes, I did! At about 5:00 p.m. Christmas, I put the finishing touches on the Joy Banner and hung it in the living room, followed by getting out the Christmas trump topper and a few decorations - instant Christmas! If memory serves, there is a tradition somewhere of waiting until Christmas Eve to put up decorations which to be honest I've never tried until this year. But I kind of like it! However, I listened to so much Christmas music while working on the Banner that I got Christmas song-ed out. Wouldn't have thought possible! So let me walk you through the finishing touches starting with decisions about where else to put quilting after stitching in the ditch along most seams (I just quilted up the middle of the checkerboard and not along all the horizontal seams). There were those almost triangular areas above the arch at the top, and to carry out the holly theme I decided to quilt around the holly template used to do the applique below. Note how I also quilted close to the edge of the holly and bow appliques - a really nice touch.

I'd been puzzling over the outer border, whether to add any quilting in it or just let it go since it wasn't very wide. But I had holly leaves on the brain and decided to quilt a string of them around the border, no marking and with the same gold thread - yes, getting daring because indeed I'd wondered if I should do it in a less visible green thread. Really hard to photograph metallic thread and the thread didn't really pop off the border - I used the YLI thread this time since I'd be doing free motion quilting and I didn't trust that old Coats metallic thread to hold up to that. The Coats metallic was a bit flatter which I think catches the light better. The leaves are wonky, the only non-precision thing about this quilt but I'm fine with that. Be sure to click for the larger view.

Time to bind. I'd mentioned in a comment on the last post that I didn't think I had even a small sleeve in me for hanging this quilt. I'd been thinking tabs and decided to see how much binding I had leftover. Believe it or not, I had exactly enough left to make three tabs (two pieces right sides together, sew up each side to make a tube and turn). I've perfected this method of cutting binding slightly wider than 2 inches so that when turned to the wrong side it overlaps the stitching line enough to be caught when I sew it down from the front by stitching in the binding's ditch. All I needed to do was fold each tube in half and position the raw edges even with the edge of the quilt edge, then turn the binding over, pin and stitch. It worked very well. If you click on the photo for a larger view, you should be able to see the nest of metallic threads that have been pulled to the back for burying.

17" x 32"

And here we are - a joyful, joyfully made, Joy Banner to enjoy now and for years to come!

It's nearly New Year's Eve so I also wish you a Happy New Year full of wonderful projects and surprises. 

The Quilting Has Begun

I was daft to start the Joy banner in December. Here I am, well into week three of working on it with much left to do. The completed top looks rather good though, don't you think?

I know there are some who are into adding lots of quilting to every piece, but I want to keep this one simple. All three prints do have metallic gold accents so I'm using gold metallic thread. That's a very old spool of Coats metallic thread on the left that I'd really like to use up, now that I have a more reliable YLI gold metallic thread on hand. Wondering what I should use as a bobbin thread, I discovered I had multiple spools of Sulky 60 wt PolyLite thread which I must have gotten in a grab bag special on Superior Threads website, and which I'm not sure I've actually used. But there was the perfect color (matches more closely than the photo implies) and the description that came with it does say it is perfect to use with metallic threads.

This combination is working well as I do a slow crawl stitching in the ditch around the borders and sashing. Slow because these stitches really show and I need to stay right in the ditch and because I don't want to put stress on the metallic thread such that it will suddenly fray and break on me. So far, so good.

Tried to video the way that thread really does sparkle, even in the ditch but it didn't capture very well. Click for a larger view. But if you listen closely, you can hear the Christmas music I'm listening to while stitching, compliments of The Jazz Groove. I think I may have to pause work on this for a few days to work on Christmas cards, but I am determined it will be done. at least enough, to hang on the wall by Christmas Eve.

Ready To Quilt

Slowly but surely I have overcome my procrastination and issues with pinning and marking of the rails quilt. Sometimes all one has to do is just admit you have no choice but to proceed and just do it. I was pleased to feel myself getting into a rhythm with the marking, and putting the rest of the pins in went quickly. As usual, was asking myself what the big deal was that had me putting this off for so long. I'd already started auditioning threads and found the King Tut pink variegated thread perfect for the top. As for the bobbin, there were several ways I could go including pink, but those flamingos are very peachy. I initially thought the King Tut blue variegated thread would be perfect, surely was the right blue, but I hesitated. Maybe that light blue one would be better, but it just looks like white or grey thread when I spooled it across the fabric. There's quite a bit of golden tan in the animals and I've decided that gold King Tut variegated thread was the one. I also think it would show less should I have any pull-ups on the front. It sure has gotten hot here, too hot to spend any time outside during the day, so no excuse not to start quilting in my air conditioned studio.

Did I mention I ordered more batting? I honestly don't need more, which a quick assessment of my stash confirmed. But what a knee jerk reaction to seeing a 30% off sale at one of my favorite internet shops, Connecting Threads. I wasn't aware of this particular blend of cotton and wool in a batting and I was intrigued. Cotton battings often quilt up flatter than expected, but I don't always want to use a wool batting. I'm speculating that the wool will create a loftier batting and keep it all natural. Has anyone out there tried it? I absolutely shopped like I was still making lots of quilts, buying the king size batt because it is the best value. I still remember Harriet Hargrave's batting lecture where she pointed out most quilters buy batting because it is the size they need for their project, not considering if its contents is appropriate for their project and never thinking they could get more than one quilt out of the largest batt available and save money. Well, you have to be using it up for it to be a good buy, so I guess my somewhat impulse buy may encourage me to make more tops. I do have two large quilt ideas I've not followed up on (even though fabric is set aside), and think I may still have it in me to get them made. Perhaps I'll be guilted into it! Whatever works, I say.

Road Bumps

I made a good start last week on the final book that I had set out directions and signature papers for prior to last year's back surgery: Celtic Weave. I chose a handmade paper embedded with small leaves and sprigs for the covers, tearing it to size to maintain the soft rough edges and folding per instructions. I so wanted an olive green thread to do the binding stitch with, but I didn't have any green bookbinding thread. Well, maybe that tan hemp thread I've been using so much lately would do, or even a white thread, but you just know I could not get my mind off of green thread. I spent way too much time on the internet tracking down a green in the waxed linen thread preferred for bookbinding. As you can see, I succumbed to a collection of green threads - something in there will be right - and another collection with a possible better tan/brown thread. First road bump taken care of.

And because if I just added a few more things to my cart, shipping would be free. Yes, I easily succumb to that one too, but to be fair, it will be nice to have these extra color options as I continue to make books.

While I waited for my order to arrive, I gathered and folded my signatures, placing them and the covers under weights, then went back to watching a few instruction videos for this stitch as well as a follow-up one where another member asked what she could do about the very problem I'd had when folding that embedded handmade paper. Some of the leaves are so close to the surface, or totally exposed, that when folding, some of them pop off. I had wondered if brushing on some matte medium might help keep them in place as the book is being used, and sure enough, that was the suggestion given. So second speed bump that had to be dealt with before I could get to sewing my book together. I had a pretty good size piece left over that I could test this on, and I was pleased that the matte medium didn't make the paper buckle or take away from the textural feel of it. The thread is here but I didn't have time to coat the book covers until today, so with any luck, stitching will commence tomorrow.

In the meantime, we are having our own heat wave in the Pacific Northwest, where many cities exceeded 100 degrees and my own little town managed to break a record yesterday with a high of 99 degrees. I've been staying in as it heats up fast in the morning so even shady deck sitting isn't pleasant, and waiting for the sun to go down before going for my walk when, while it is still 80 degrees, without the sun beating down is quite pleasant. 

Monday I took my sketchbook and captured the nearby EMS station which really does sort of sit in an open field backed by trees. My lines are not exactly straight, partly because I drew this standing up.

I sketched my pussywillow branch again a few weeks ago, this time with different pens. It's interesting (at least to me) to render something using different mediums. (Plus it's helping to use up a few remaining pages in a Sketchbook Revival sketchbook.) I'd run across an article where Phillip Pullman says,

"Drawing helps us see better. We never look at anything with so much attention as when we’re drawing it, and it’s a thinking attention, comparing this shape with that, the breadth of a hand with the span of the glass it’s holding, the darkness of that shadow with the brown of the velvet curtain, the foliage of that silver birch with the quite different leaves of the hornbeam beside it. Learning to draw is learning to see much more vividly and clearly."

I would add that it sparks curiosity as well. Not just about the thing one is drawing, but one's own abilities. This was always a driving force for me in my quilting, a curiosity about if something could be captured in fabric and thread. I find I have the same curiosity about my ability to capture something with pencil, pen or brush. 

And yesterday my curiosity was aroused by these ribbon-like undulating clouds, picking up the last of the sun behind the mountain. Rendering clouds in fabric and stitch has always frustrated me, and I have no illusions about how well I could do it with paint, yet I can't help but study clouds closely now, noting where the dark areas are and where the colors brighten. I can think of worse ways to spend my time.