Category Archives: other projects

Cabin in the Woods Tiny World

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Next up in the pincushion world, what I’m dreaming about during these quarantimes. A getaway in the forest!

pincushion
pincushion

And #2 cabin choice for my imaginary vacation-

This cup is truly getting a new life because it has a major chip in the rim so could no longer function in it’s original purpose. I get a special delight when I transform a mug like this. I mean, it is so pretty! It’d be sad if it ended up in the trash.

What have I been doing!

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Sheesh, I had to put something up since it’s been a month of no posts. What have I been doing? Well, not too terribly much. I’ve been working in the garden quite a bit. Besides that though, nothing that has added up to much. I am working on making patterns for ornaments/little felt creatures. I decided to start with the ornaments I designed for West Elm back at least 5 years ago now? I thought that would be an easy place to start- silly me! Everything takes forever these days. Anyway, this is what I’ve been working on-

I’ve been playing with sizes and adjusting patterns pieces. Slowly I will get them done… There is a boy and girl fox, a boy and girl raccoon, a lady squirrel, a moose fellow, and a bear fellow.

As always, I have been a little more active on Instagram but it has mostly been pics of my garden. I hope you all are stay healthy, safe, and sane.

What Day is it again?

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I don’t know about you but I have been feeling like I stepped into an episode of the Twilight Zone. Life is very strange these days. What has been happening here? Spring has arrived and the garden is happy.

My seeds are beginning to grow.

I made a baby blanket gift.

I learned something new. I had never heard about stack wound vs cross wound threads. I read/learned about it here. After reading this, I set up my sewing machine like this for when I use Gutermann threads-

I used the water cup for my iron because that was the closest thing at hand in my studio that worked. I will be keeping my eye out for something a bit more practical/permanent since I’ll have to use the water cup soon for it’s intended purpose! And here is the clip as suggested in the article.

So far it has been working great! At least half the thread I use is Coats & Clark which is stack wound so I don’t have to use this method for all my thread.

And lastly, I have been working on pugs. I haven’t made them for a long time! I don’t have any idea why all the sewing seems to be going at glacier speed, but little by little, hopefully I will get something finished. As of today, I have 8 sewed up and turned so hurray for that!

Abruptly Changing Direction

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I have a friend whose daughter is a nurse working on a Covid-19 unit here in Boston. There is nowhere near enough protective gear for these workers and she asked people to make scrub caps for the nurses on her unit. Now it’s personal! I cleared all the babies-in-waiting (to be finished) from my worktable, downloaded the pattern, and that is what I’ll be focusing on this week.

Here I am, trying on my test model.

And here is 7 more, finished today. Plus another 20 cut out. I will be interested to see how many I can get done tomorrow.

I recently heard something along the lines of “action soothes anxiety” and I can tell you that having a positive helpful project to work on has made me feel SO much better. After these are done I will work on face masks for the people in my life. I am not sure how long it will be before I get back to dolls but at least a week. See you back here soon!

My Toile scrap quilt is done!

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Here is the big picture. It is hard to see the toile images in the blocks, so I have put some detail photos at the end of the post. I am very happy with it! It is all made out of fabric from my stash: mostly from my scrap bins. I will admit that I cut out a few larger toile images to have some bigger blocks in the center.

And the back is made of more toile scraps; mostly from the slipcovers from the sofa in my childhood home (60’s – 70’s). Amongst the scrappy bits of red and white toile, was a different pattern than the slipcover. I am guessing it was a sample piece that my Mom was trying. I had to piece the backing since there were damaged areas and some of the color differences are due to fading. I love the story it tells.

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Here is a close-up-

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On a bed-

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Some details-

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Thanks Ben!

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In case you are wondering about the toile scraps- I use toile to make the tattooed people. I buy fabric that has a white or cream background, with black, brown, or blue printing. I cut out the doll pieces and then I dye it to various skin tones. Most of the toile in this is off-cuts or scraps that I couldn’t bear to throw away. I don’t use any red on white toile for my dolls.

First Doll of 2020

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Phew, I managed to finish one before January is over!

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Her dress is made of vintage Liberty lawn that I got from my Mom. She has a cashmere sweater and a silk bow at her ear.

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I have collected many random little trinkets over the years- that is the category that I’d put that dragonfly pin into. Sometimes they find their place.

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I’d like to pretend that I could work on the dolls and also have a side project but I am very bad at it! My quilt is coming along and I wish I could keep to my plan to only work on it for an hour or 2 in the evenings, but it is a big distraction. Here it is, waiting and tempting me in the morning light. (I managed to resist because I NEEDED to post something today!)

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