The Stitch Up

Stitching the Infanta

I've been spending a lot of time on this latest square for my Spanish Quilt Project.  

 

She's based on the Las Meninas painting by Velazquez.

I found a coloring book page that just had the little Infanta and used that to make a pattern.

My insane decision to fill in these designs instead of just going with an outline meant a lot of tiny long and short stitches to fill in her dress.

 

I had planned to just do the suggestion of a drape although I'm looking at it now and thinking that I might add some more "material" to the draoes just to balance it out a bit.

She fits right in with the other squares I've stitched so far -

These take a while and I was thinking to just end with this square and start putting them together with some pieced quilt squares and maybe some photo squares.  But I'm thinking now that 5 squares is going to make a more even quilt.  I'd also like to have a little homage to Queen Isabella in my collection of Spanish ladies, so I'm thinking of making a pattern based on this street sign:

I won't be starting this too soon as these squares seem to take me forever.  This project has already been something I pick up and put down for the last couple of years so I figure there is no rush.

It feels good to have this completed and to be able to start a few other projects - hopefully a few that I can wrap up quickly!

 

Richmond Rules

I had to head to Richmond for a conference last month and took the opportunity to do some sight seeing.  First up on the way in I stopped at the cute little railroad town of Ashland.  It's about 15 miles out of Richmond and is a scenic place to stop, grab a cup of coffee and stretch your legs.

This love sign is apparently part of a Virginia is for Lovers campaign - I thought it was pretty cute parked out in front of the train station.

After reaching Richmond I had to hit a couple of meetings and a dinner but I had plotted out a schedule of places to see starting first thing in the morning.  My first stop was Carytown - a neighborhood with great shops and restaurants.  They had the perfect place to get a little sugar and coffee rush - Dixie Donuts.

I had samoa, french toast and dixie spice flavors - they were AMAZING.

Next up - what I heard was a Richmond institution and a fabric mecca: U-fab.

It was pretty awesome, although it's primarily home decor fabric, and I did not have a project in mind but I SO wish that I did because the selection was amazing:

 

 

They also had a completely adorable machine for dispensing upholstery tacks - it looked like an old school cigarette machine:

Another highlight of Carytown was the Byrd Theatre - a very beautiful and old school theatre that still shows movies. 

The neighborhood around Carytown is also pretty, with lovely row houses, shady lawns and balconies.

My next stop was the Hollywood Cemetery.  It's a historic cemetery where James Monroe, John Tyler, and Jefferson Davis are all buried.  

The commemoration to Jefferson Davis:

Some of the older crypts near the Jefferson Davis memorial.

The cemetery is on the banks of the James River and has some beautiful views.

Palmer Chapel in the cemetery, overlooking the James River.

On the way back to MY hotel I stopped at the Jefferson hotel.  It has a beautiful interior with a statue of Jefferson.

It's apparently a great place to have high tea.  They do it up in the lobby. Unfortunately I didn't have time - hopefully I'll have time next trip.

The next day I headed back towards home, but on the way I stopped at Woodlawn Plantation for the Needlework Exhibit.  They have it every year and take submissions from stitchers from all over.

I wasn't sure what to expect but they had a lot of submissions in a variety of techniques.  The only criticism I had is that they were a little crazy about photos - I took a couple of pics before they told me that they weren't allowed. 

There were very few original works but some lovely kits and samplers stitched up.  I wish they provided the info on the designers for the various patterns.  A lot of the people viewing the exhibition were interested in where the different designs came from and I think it would be nice exposure for the designers.

I like these short trips around Virginia.  There are so many pretty historic places to see.  I probably only scratched the surface on Richmond and it's worth a trip just for the donuts alone.

Stitchin' and Drinkin'

We have a small bar area in our basement that I thought could use some hand stitched bar towels.  I think I mentioned before that we have a a sort of a mid-century look happening in our basement with some western touches.  I bought some really adorable pin up patterns from Sew Lovely Embroidery's etsy shop.  I picked one that had a little western vibe and another that I thought looked like a 50s bikini you might have seen on Doris Day or Dorothy Lamour.

 I bound both of the towels with the same fabric I used for the basement throw pillows so it kept the mod vibe going in the bar area as well.

My next project will be some bar coasters. Again using the same fabric for backing and some cocktail and western patterns.  

I probably should have started with the coaster project.

I'm currently running the risk of sloshing on my magazines when I drink my giant glass of wine.  I hope everyone has a little beverage and time to relax this weekend.  Happy Friday!

Valentine Snuggies

I'd been feeling a little guilty about using those cardboard cup holders every time I got a cup of starbucks.  I'm picking up coffee a couple of times a day and I rarely remember to hang on to the coffee holder.  So I decided to make something like the cute ones I've been seeing in craft mags and blogs.  THEN I decided that as long as I was making one, I might as well knock out a few for my girlfriends back home and send them out with some love for Valentines Day.

I started out embroidering some little romantic motifs because I can't make anything without embroidery!  These all came from the book A Rainbow of Stitches:

I added a little heart detail to each one in celebration of V-Day.  Some close ups:

The other benefit of this project is I could use a bunch of cute fabric that's been burning a hole in my stash!  I matched up the fabric to make a little patchwork action on the front side with a solid backing on the reverse.

I used a pattern from Stitch magazine as a template, but there are a bunch of patterns all over the internet.  This was pretty straight forward with batting in the middle and a ponytail holder and a button to close it up.  The end results:

and back:

To send out to my friends I added some really cute printable valentines I found around the web from The Black Apple, Wild Olive, and Kate.net.  Then I bundled up some sweets because you have to have sweets on Valentines Day.

It felt pretty good to actually get a project done and sent out in time for the intended holiday.  I hope the girls loved these.  And me and my little deer coffee cozy enjoyed a yummy valentines day mocha!  Happy V-Day all!

Some Love for the Basement

The big "Frankenstorm" a few months ago let me wrap up some stitching for a group of pillows I'd planned for our basement.  We've got kind of a combination rustic and mid century going on in the basement, so I stitched some outdoorsy patterns on denim and then matched them with some cool mod fabric.

I found some great fabric on Jennski's etsy shop.  It's from the Mod Century line and I thought it would match up really cool with the patterns.

I didn't really have a pillow pattern so I just winged it a bit.  I had a large pillow I wanted to combine a few different fabrics on and a couple of small throw pillows I thought would just use a little fabric for trim.

I think these came together pretty well.  I like the contrast between the rustic pattern and the modern fabric.

These were fun to make.  I think especially because I didn't use a pattern I just went with what I liked.  

I do want to do some additional pillows just showcasing the fabrics. I've got a bolster insert - for which I will almost definately need to use a pattern.  I've also got an idea in my head to make a quilt with denim and maybe some basic tree pattern with this fabric as a highlight.  

I'm adding these ideas to my always increasing list of projects, but hopefully I'll have an update with some more finished basement projects soon!

Keeping Time and Getting Organized

One of the things I like about the start of the New Year is seeing a fresh calendar with no entries.  Just blank pages with possibility.

The husband bought me the perfect date book to start 2013:

I can record my to-dos and appointments while getting important decorum advice from Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham.  Delightful!

I'm also working on a 2013 calendar tea towel.  

This is the second year I've started off my New Year crafting with one of the adorable tea towel kits from curious doodles.  She has great patterns and I like having a little stitched up calendar in the kitchen.

January is also the time I start thinking about getting organized.  Again!  

I've been using Evernote to try and keep my paper to a minimum and it's been working pretty well.  I'm starting now to organize my patterns and some of the online tutorials I love in Evernote so they're easier to find.

Evernot has also come up with a new app - Evernote Food - that organizes restaurants, meals and recipes.  I was able to take the messy binder of recipes I've torn out of magazines and organize it into a a nice electronic recipe book!

It also lets me make a little entry for my "meals" which means the pics I'm taking of the stuff I eat is now somewhat useful.

Which is a good thing since I am kind of addicted to photographing the stuff I eat.  But now I can put notes about the restaurant, the location, the type of food and anything else I can think of into the entry - which helps when the husband and I are going back and forth about "what do you want to eat?" "no, what do you want to eat?" I can pull up some pictures and go with what makes my mouth water most.

I'm still using the Weave app and still really liking it - I just think I need to get a little better at projecting my completion date on things and sticking to it.

My big push is going to be making all of my pictures and photo albums digital this year.  I've done pretty well but there are still tons of pictures in the attic that need to get scanned and organized.  I've really liked a few of the photo gifts I've made in the past like calendars or collages and I think it's one of those things people always love.  Especially if you've had a nice picture of them or their kids tucked away somewher and you can share it with them.  I'd like to try making a few photo books for friends and family this year of special photos and memories and getting everything in one place is the first step!

I know everything can't get done in January but hopefully that New Year urge to get on track will put a big dent in a few of these projects.  Happy Organizing All!

Stitched Together

I think my greatest inspiration with sewing and crafting and so many other things is my great grandma.

I unfortunately did not have a lot of time with her.  She passed away when I was 9, but she left a big impression.  All of the sewing I did with my mom growing up, some of the quilts I used to snuggle under and pillow cases I used to dream on were all a result of her influence or things that she made while caring for her family.

My mom told me lots of stories growing up about great grandma making clothes for Mom and her sisters when they were kids.  Lots of these stories were passed on while my mom was making clothes or Halloween costumes for me.  My great grandma was not a precise sewer.  She made a lot of her own patterns and I think she was pretty well known for adding on some trim or just making a snip here and there if something didn't hang quite right.  Hers favorite saying when there was a minor mistake on one of the dresses she made for my mom or my aunts was "No one's going to notice it galloping by on a big, white horse."  Which is totally true. I think people would mostly just be freaked out by a horse in drag.   Apparently however, one of my aunts misunderstood that phrase when she was a kid and thought my great grandma was calling her a horse as in "No one will notice the mistake on the dress since you're just a big horse".  Which was not the case.  She was very hurt until everyone figured out why she would get so bummed out when it came time for dress fitting and corrected her misunderstanding of the phrase.

My mom remembers all of the outfits that great grandma made for her in high school and I have to say, between Mom picking out fabric and Great Grandmas patterns, Mom had a stylish wardrobe:

 

Check all that 60s hotness!  That flowered skirt was one of my mom's favorites.  

My grandma (My mom's mom) worked, so my mom and my aunts spent after school with my great grandma.  They would also walk over to her house from school during their lunch hour with their friends and eat lunch with her.  She kept them all busy learning to sew and crochet and knit and quilt.  

From what mom tells me each of the girls picked up different techniques.  Some of them have continued on with these crafts and others have left them behind, but they all started from the same place.  When they were too little to even hold a needle, my great grandmother would start each of the girls with a spool knitting doll and they would learn to knit.  She would make a basic doll out of an actual wood spool and 4 small nails tapped into the top.  Mom would make hot pads and rugs and other little projects from the cords she made with the spool knitting doll.

I was fascinated by Mom's stories of her time spent with great grandma and that everything Mom learned and Great Grandma taught her, started with the knitting doll.  I wanted to try out the craft that started it all, so I picked a couple of knitting dolls up on Amazon so Mom could show me how it's done.  These were a bit fancier than just a wooden spool with some nails in it, but the process was the same.

These are actually sold as "For 5 years old and up" but I have to admit Mom and I both had a little trouble figuring out how to get started.  After a quick google search we found these great videos on you tube by Noreen Crone-Findlay.  She's the queen of spool knitting!  Her videos were easy to follow so we were churning out a basic cord in no time.  Mom's skill came back with a quickness:

The next step is to wind it all together and make a hot pad or something.  Mom and I are both hard at work.

I loved trying a craft with my mom that had so many memories for her and gave me a little more family history.  I know my love of just about anything with a needle comes from some genetic place but recreating this first step that my mom took with great grandma to learn to knit made me feel like I was learning with her as well.  This was another precious memory to share with my mom and a lovely tradition to carry on from my great grandma.

 

New For 2013

I have some ideas for new blog posts for 2013 about a couple of new things in addition to my usual chatter about projects and travel and reality tv.

I'm planning to start two monthly postings about a couple of things that I've been thinking about over 2012.

The first is a monthly post about family ties and family history of crafting.  I have several different women in my family who've taught me quilting or knitting or crochet.  They've also made some beautiful gifts for me growing up that have inspired me to try different sewing techniques and which continue to inspire me to make new things.  I'm going to highlight something they've made and how it's inspired me and hopefully share a little about these women who've meant so much to me.

The second is a monthly post about the history of embroidery or more specifically the history of specific stitches or techniques.  I'm often amazed at the detailed stitches you find on everyday clothes or blankets from years ago.  I'm hoping to do a little research into the types of work and the types of women who created these beautiful objects from years ago.

I'm also hoping to do a few more stitch-a-longs and patterns and tutorials in the coming year.  It's always exciting to start a new year.  Everything is fresh, it's inspiring to start with a clean slate and I can't wait to dive into some new ideas.  Happy 2013 All!

 

Happy 2013!

Happy New Year All!

I can't wait to see what this year holds!

2012 Wrap Up

2012 had quite a few trips, lots of crafts, and good times spent with friends and family.  I'm sad to see it end, but so excited to see what 2013 has in store.

1.  My first attempt at a tutorial, a Mother's Day Corsage.

2.  A great pattern from Handmade Mommy helped me organize my canisters.

3.  My supervisor The Gato was on the job all year.

4.  A visit home to see my girlfriends meant I made up some cute embroidered necklaces for gifts.

5.  A birthday trip to Boston.

6.  I made some cute baby quilts for some new additions to the families of some dear friends.

7.  An amazing late summer trip to Montana.

8.  Joined in the October Feeling Stitchy Stitch-a-Long.

9.  Made my first pattern and second tutorial with the Jane Austen-y Christmas Ornament.

10.  Went felt ornament crazy with a bunch of patterns from Alicia Paulson and others.

11.  Took an inspiring trip to New York.

12.  Survived the Frankenstorm.

I hope everyone had a wonderful 2012.  Happy New Year!