Earth Day

Please enjoy my pictures as these were taken in protected gardens where gardeners take special care of the plants and grounds, one day we may not have this luxury....

Today I want to comment about something we should all feel passionate about and that's saving our Earth.  I remember back when Earth Day was a special day to recognize our Earth and its need to be saved from pollutants and the mountains of trash we produce everyday.  Some how over the last decade or two we've lost the interest in saving our Earth, thinking that maybe recycling is enough.  That's our pathetic solution, just to recycle or reuse/re purpose something whether it's an item of clothing or using a jam jar for a handful of nails in the garage.  Don't get me wrong, I recycle and have actively recycled for 35 years, since recycling was started in the area I live in.  But, somehow it has become OK to buy a crate of plastic bottled water because in the end the bottle will be recycled.  Over the course we have lost the 3rd part of the system and that is REDUCING.   

BBC showed a special report on the region in Indonesia near textile plants and the effects on the local community of dumping in the river near homes that use the water on a daily basis.  It was appalling. It literally made me sick to my stomach to see these poor people being subjected to using polluted water to drink, cook and  bathe with which had sewage and dye from the textile industry dumping into the same water.  Local fish and game were certainly affected by the pollution.  One fisherman no longer catches fish as they are all dead, the oxygen being depleted from the water, but he "fishes" for plastic to sell at the recycling plant.   They reported that there are federal sanctions on dumping in place, but their government does not take action against it forcing some local families to take their own futile actions trying to stop dumping by plugging up the drainage pipes from the textile plants.  In turn, this does no good for them as they are unblocked and continue to carry on their processing.  Batiks are big industry and we all love them, but at what price?  When will enough be enough?  What is it going to take to make anyone realize what is truly going on?   I watched in horror this morning as the news reported as a matter of factly, the oil slick surrounding the ferry disaster near South Korea.  Hundreds of students and people lost their lives in this disaster and now the oil slick is being swept across the yellow sea and out to the ocean.   The Malaysia flight 370 disaster in March is still lost and early on they investigated the southern area off China and discovered a "large oil slick", but later was ruled out as the site of that disaster, just another oil slick.   Satellites have reported back with debris in several areas off the Australian coast and Indian Ocean, some were ruled out as whale carcasses, but others just debris not related to an airplane disaster.  How much debris is floating in our seas? 

This is my rant today, I am sticking up for the Earth.  Everyone needs to recycle, reuse/re purpose and REDUCE in order for it to really matter.  Be an advocate for stopping the use of plastic carrier bags.  Please visit morsbags.com today to make your own bags, or create your own pod and get your friends to make some.  Organize give away days in your community to make people aware of the dangers of waste in our waterways.  Start using products that have been recycled like the Dream Green batting made from plastic bottles.  This is just one SMALL way to take action, but it is a start.  Reduce your waste by composting if you have the means.   Sell back your old clothing to the rag and bone man or give to your charity shop.  They take nearly everything as long as it is still in working order, not stained or excessively worn/torn. On the other hand, if you do have some textiles not good enough to donate, make something yourself, I am in the process of making rag rugs from old torn jeans.  Search the internet for further inspiration on re purposing your items.  Or see the link above on the  morsbags.   Let's make everyday a "Happy" Earth Day! 

Interesting Threads

The last few weeks I've been able to catch up on the thread university courses sent to me from Superior Threads. go here The projects are simple for the most part and the threads are wonderful to work with and learn about.  If it weren't for these courses, I would probably never purchase these threads for quilting and sewing.  However, this bag project used silk thread which I do purchase quite often. 

Quilted using silk threads.  It was easy to sew and the finish is just beautiful.  I like to use silk thread for applique, slip stitching and binding as it is fine, strong and doesn't show as much as cotton thread.  There are many positive features using silk thread, but one of the best features is that it doesn't shed fibers so it is virtually lint free in the machine. 

The next project was this candle mat using Razzle Dazzle and Glitter threads.  Please don't pay attention to my disjointed star mistake, oops.  I measured my lines wrong.  But, the metallic threads were suprizingly easy to use and gives the mat a nice look.  The edges were hand sewn together using embroidery floss and blanket stitch. 

The Razzle Dazzle thread is very thick and used in the bobbin. 

The Glitter thread is thinner and used as top thread in the machine.   Gold color and is subtle, but I'm not sure I like this side as much. 

This next one is also a metallic thread and used stiff pelon interlining.   Cotton varigated threads to finish the edges.  My sewing on this could have been better, it was a late night.  This "bowl" can be shaped.  The pattern has 5 darts you sew in to give it shaping. 

Learning how to use these different threads has sparked my interest into experimenting with thread painting and I will be making some samples in the future.   Possibly adding some of these threads to my ongoing UFO's.  I think they add more depth, texture and interest to quilting and general sewing.

Marching on

Our weather is getting better and better.  It hasn't been a hard winter like some have been experiencing, so I won't complain.  It doesn't look like I've accomplished much from the few posts I've written, but I assure you, my sewing machine is smoking from all the recent work it's been through.  So, the most recent project I've completed is this little bag.  No, it's not for a kindle, ipad, or any other gadget (I simply don't own these things anyway), it's a little purse with a simple zip and a pocket on the back side. 

The zip attachment was easy and you must choose a contrasting color to show off the zipper instead of hiding it.  The back side shows the contrasting pocket.  The strap I added is long enough to cross over the body or over one shoulder.  You could also tie the strap half way down and carry it. 

The next project finished was this easy pillowcase using Nite Lite thread.  It glows in the dark.  I also used glow in the dark spider web design fabric for this Halloween inspired project.

Sue's City Windows is now finished with a label and a rod pocket.  Wow, two things I don't often add, but know I should. Sue is my sister-in-law and wanted a quilt to hang over her sofa in her living room.  I am hoping she will be pleased with the result.   DH is secretly hoping she doesn't like it and will send it back to us.  Yeah, he's a sweetie.  This is a pattern I have done before which hangs in my dining room now. Since Sue wanted it to hang over her sofa, I had to change it up a bit and make it wider and shorter in length.  So, it hangs like a landscape as shown below.  By the way, it is laying on a bed and that's why it looks a little wonky.  I would say it is about 1/3 the size of my original. 

 

 

 

Yes, some of these fabrics were from the Kaffe Fassett line used in "Color My World", but this one has a purple coloration to it.  Where CMW has more red colors.  The free motion quilting in both quilts is my own design depicting a tree of life and the bible verse from John 3:16 "written" in quilting stitches filling the trunk of the tree.  Outside of the tree design, I did a meander design in clear polyester thread.

When I started this blog on 12 November 2007, I posted a picture of "Color My World" which I completed March 2000 and entered it in a contemporary competition which to my delight and surprise won a design award.  After 14 years, I still really love this quilt.  I personally can't say that about everything I create.
There is so much more to do in my sewing room with a list of new starts and my ongoing UFO basket.  The only question is what to do next?  Shall I just close my eyes and pick one at random?

Ugly Baby Quilt

Here we are into the New Year already!  Over the holiday my studio room got cleaned, hooray, some UFO's got finished, morsbags were made, and a baby quilt was planned.   I even made a cupcake badge for my DH to wear just in case he gains weight at his weekly weigh in.  It's made from silk fabrics, trims, beads and a scrap of leather for the stem. 

My DH's nephew and his wife are expecting their first baby in April.  They already know it will be a girl.  They didn't want a pink or blue baby quilt.  When you say it like that, I wouldn't want one either.  Sticktly pink or blue can be over done and sick looking.   They saw a quilt I had made years ago and really liked it.   This was the result of going through my scrap bag and trying to use up all I could. 

 So, I poured through all my scraps and fabrics on hand and started to work using fall earthy colors just like the one above that they liked so much.   

After making 6 blocks I placed them on my design board, stepped back, and took a long look.  NO.  Didn't like it at all.  Not for a baby.  So, throwing those aside, I got out more fabric, looked through some of my quilt books and quilts I've made, and thought about what she said when we visited them in October.  I am so glad I started over.  I've decided on doing another ugly quilt.   Not quite as large as the Ugly quilt I made before and in brighter cheery colors.  Here is one picture in the process.

Sorry this picture looks so dark.  There is an outer border to be added in the deep orangey pink color.  The binding will be the orangey pinks in all the fabrics I have leftover.  The backing fabric is white on white with butterflies.  As far as the quilting goes, I think an all over free motion quilting design is best.   It didn't take long at all to get this cut and put together.  I am pleased with the result. 

 

Here it is the completed quilt. It measures 42"X48".   I will write the label later, but I did apply it to the back already.  I usually put the label in the corner having 2 of the edges incorporated into the binding. 

Detail of the back. 

Now I will make a little surprize for the baby.  It is a patchwork cat using the scraps from this quilt.  The pattern can be found in Kaffe Fassett's quilt road book.  For now, though, I need a short break. ;o)

Silence is...

Golden

 

Spiritual

Inspiration

 

 

Liberating

 

When the leaves start to change and the air starts to feel a chill,  head to a serene place to find peace and tranquility to ponder and dream.  When it's silent, the mind has a chance to think and wonder.  For an artist this is a valuable time.  A needed space in a hectic lifestyle.  Distancing oneself from all the noises and distractions in life is the best thing to do for a flood of inspiration.  Just don't forget your camera.  

R2D2 meets Andy Warhol

My son has wanted a movie inspired quilt for his room since he was in high school (which has been over 12 years).  All this time I've been thinking about it, searching for patterns or inspiration, and wanted to make sure it didn't look cartoony or kid-like.   He's always liked the Star Wars saga and loved to build with legos so when I found the free Legos Star Wars patterns at the Craftsy web site, I got right to it.  The designer put up several characters like C3PO, R2D2, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, Chewy, Yoda, etc... but my son's favorite character is R2D2 and I thought this would be perfect to repeat.  

Paper-piecing is a technique I am very familiar with, remember my orange slices runner?  It's not quite done yet, still deciding on the machine quilting to do.  But it is in my pile to be completed, I will be tackling with that this fall.  If you're a beginner, you may find this block to be challenging due to the small sections to sew, but my advice is do some planning, take your time and relax and have fun!  Practice with some scraps you don't really care about and if they work out the first time, put them in your orphan block basket to use at another time.   If they don't turn out right, no problem, they were just scraps anyway.   

Andy Warhol kept coming to mind when I was in the planning stages of this quilt.  You know, the soup cans and Marilyn Monroe prints he is famous for.  The colors he used in each frame are vibrant and unusual which is very striking.  So, I wanted to incorporate this concept.  

 The wall space my son has is limited, so instead of changing the size of the block (the pieces are very small to begin with), I only did 6 blocks instead of 9 which would have made the quilt square. 

The machine quilting was done simply by free motion technique using smoke monopoly thread sold by Superior Threads.  It is heat resistant and will not melt or become brittle with age like nylon thread.  I put a simple label on the reverse side.  Now, fingers crossed, he will like it.  ;o)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kansas Twister Quilt

Have you bought those cute charm packs of 5" squares, got them home and didn't quite know what to do with them?  My answer was to make a twister quilt.  The "Little Twister" template can be purchased at quilt shops and online.  I used 2 packs of charm squares as I wanted my quilt to be square.  Lay them out 9 across X 9 rows down - a total of 81 squares.   Be sure they are placed the way you want them as you can not switch them around later.  Ideally, you want a contrasting color difference on each side.   Choose a border fabric.  I chose a light bali print and a dark print for the final border and binding.  Sew the squares together using 1/4" seam allowance across each row, then sew the rows together.  Keep them in their order.  Add the light border and iron all seams.  The final border is added AFTER the squares are resewn.   Now you have a nice looking plain quilt top with a border around the edges.  The fun begins!  Take the twister template and place it on the lines indicated so that the corner of the top left square has 2 sides of border included in the square.  You will move across the top, marking and cutting the squares.  Follow the diagrams included in the template directions.   Keep the pieces in order and sew together one row at a time.  Mark each row or pin to your design board in order.  Resew all rows together and add the final border fabric to all edges.  Sandwich, quilt and bind.  Don't forget to add the label! 

Labels are more than just dating the quilt.  You want to take credit for all the hard work you've put into your quilts, so don't let someone else steel your work.  Include your full name, where you live, who it is for, the date completed, the name of your quilt or pattern name, a short dedication, optional information like fiber contents of all the elements used in the quilt.  I've added this information to some of my art pieces.  Labels can be plain or have elements added from the theme or pattern used in the quilt.   I make my labels by hand, but they can be eaisly printed onto treated fabric placed through your printer.  Don't forget to heat set whether you use a printer or hand paint them.  One last word about labels; sew them securely to the back (or front) of the quilt and if possible, put them on before the quilting so that the stitching is incorporated into the label.  I've heard stories of quilts being stolen and  labels removed.  If the quilting is throughout the label, this would be a difficult task.   Have fun ;o)

York - Anytime of year

 

 

Once you enter York, make your way near Bootham bar on St. Leonard's Pl. and go into the  (i) Information Visit York store. Pick up a free pocket map of York.  There are some great items and information leaflets on all the attractions to see in York.  There is also a video presentation in a separate room here. 

On my latest visit to York, I roamed the streets and found some good foodie spots.  You can't miss sights like the York Minster, the York wheel, the museums or walking on the city walls.  After a day's touring you will be delighted to find all sorts of good food places to go.  If you've picked up the food guide to York or a pub guide from the i store, use it to find all the great places. 
My favorite is Betty's.  I can't resist a good cup of tea and a fruit tart. 

This is called a Fat Rascal and has a sweet citrusy flavor with currents and almonds.  It has the texture of a scone or biscuit and is great with a cup of tea or coffee.  Betty's is celebrating its 30th Anniversary of the Fat Rascal this year. 

 



If you're craving pub food, there are several in the center of York.  My choice for traditional pub food with atmosphere is The Golden Fleece which has a ghostly reputation as well as being the oldest pub in York.  Along the way stop by one of the Chocolate shops or find out York's Sweet Story.

The market in the Shambles is always a good place to find fresh fruit and vegetables, house wares, clothing, meats and even craft items at reasonable prices.



 

The National Railway Museum is free and open everyday.
Maybe you'll want to do an evening ghost tour of the city.  These are popular and there are several to choose from.   Don't forget to go to the Quilt Museum.    Here's one more link to get you started.  ;o)

Rhodie show - June in Bloom

On entering Harlow Carr gardens, you are immediately greeted by splashes of color and drama.   I couldn't resist these beautiful Alliums or purple koosh ball flowers (as I call them). 

Onward through the kitchen garden, past the wildflower meadow, resisting the urge for a coffee in the garden tea room. 

 

No, my mission was to see the Rhodies in full bloom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last but not least, I saw this one but didn't see a Horti-tag on it and have no idea what it is.  If you know, please leave a comment.  Isn't it beautiful, though.  They look like little umbrellas.

 

I hope you enjoyed my Rhodie show.  Let's see what's in bloom in the next couple months.