Happy Birthday, Peter!
I am off to Chicago tomorrow and Minneapolis the next day. I hope I can find some interesting places to visit. I was thrilled to see that this event will happen while I’m there. What could be better- a textile garage sale!
Monthly Archives: April 2005
Quilt done!
It’s done! Here it is out in the backyard-
this is how I signed it- (it says “finally finished 2005)
and then I washed it- it was really pretty dirty after all these years. I was very worried I would ruin it, but it really needed washing. The quilt has a wool batting and I don’t remember if I prewashed the fabrics all those years ago. I used a warm wash and rinse and the delicate cycle. I let it almost dry outside and then put it in the dryer for 10 or 15 minutes with a fabric softener sheet- I was hoping to get the cat hair and other miscellaneous fuzz off of it. Now it is clean and a little bit wrinkly- just right really.
Here it is, posing!
misc. 2
and some progress reports-
I am working on several things and am mostly trying to get fixed up again in my attic, but I did get this done-
this is a collar with lace. I “dyed” the lace a purplish grey by painting it with watered down acrylic paint. I’ve used this technique before.
and then my quilt-
I am doing the last bit of hand stitching on the binding- the end is in sight!
Misc. 1
When the weather got too cold, I brought my brugmansia into the house. Usually I put it in the basement and ignore it- sometimes the plant dies. This year I stuck it in the corner of the dining room where it looked terrible for about 2 months. Then it put on some leaves, then lots of leaves and now a bloom!
and it’s wonderfully fragrant!
on the move
I’m on the move- first, I’m working my way back up to my attic room, back to my collections and goodies. Somehow it is always a huge mess when I want to go back… hmmm, I wonder how that happened! Well, it gives me a chance to go through all the stuff again; sort fabric, reorganize the lace, buttons and beads. That’s what I was doing today. And looking for supplies for the doll I’m working on. Lace, buttons, fasteners.
and second- Next week I’ll be going out of town for a few days- college trip with kid #2. We will be in Chicago next Tuesday night, 4/12 and Minneapolis 4/13 til Saturday 4/16. Any suggestions of places that shouldn’t be missed? I’ve never been to Minneapolis before- I’m looking forward to it.
coat
I am working on the doll’s clothing. I hand-stitched the bands on the waistband and leg cuffs. I am now working on the coat.
The coat is made from an antique (I think) coat or robe that I got at an estate sale. The robe is completely covered with moth holes. The design of the robe is almost exactly what I want my doll coat to look like- fitted bodice, flowing skirt.
Here is a closer picture of the bodice- maybe you can see some of the moth holes.
Here is a detail of the fabric- it is wool with chain-stitch embroidery. The lining is silk.
I has having some trouble trying to place the pattern pieces around the damaged areas so this is what I did-
I taped it onto the window! That way I could see the holes. I had no trouble finding enough fabric for the smaller pieces, but it was a real challenge to cut out the 2 pieces for the skirt. I wanted to make it out of one solid piece but that wasn’t possible.
And here is where I am now-
lots more work to do on it, but at least I know it fits. woohoo!
By the way, I have finished quilting all the circles on my quilt! Now I just have to put on the binding. I can’t believe that there is an end in sight for this forever project!
no Month of Softies
I am kind of sad that I didn’t get around to participating in Loobylu’s Softies this month. The flu really knocked me out, and I have to admit, I didn’t have any really strong ideas about it. I did something along the theme a few years ago, based on this photo-
This is called “1958 Hand-me downs”-
I was the 4th child with 3 older brothers. I wanted to be a brother. I wanted to wear their clothes and do what they did- life seemed better for brothers.
There are more photos of her here.