26 Friday Nov 2010
Posted in Fabric, Rose Cottage, Sanibel
Well I may not live south of the border but I’m taking advantage of a great sale over at Mad About Patchwork. Pam is having a 40% off sale on two of her lines. Sanibel by Heather Mulder Peterson for Henry Glass & Co. and Rose Cottage by Laurie Bird also for Henry Glass & Co. I’ve got a couple of other goodies to pick up as well.
Sanibel
Rose Cottage
Happy Friday Everyone!
23 Tuesday Nov 2010
Posted in Hand Dyed Fabric
The possibility of dyeing my own cloth to create a unique print has been fascinating me lately, especially the process of batik. I love the muted and earthy tones you can coax out of ordinary vegetation. While digging through my sewing room I came across some yarns that I had hand-dyed many years ago in a workshop. I had forgotten all about them until their recent discovery. These yarns show a small sampling of some of the colours available with found material.
Eco Batik T, a recent addition to the blogging world, has set a goal of explaining the art of making batik naturally with just beeswax and vegetation.
I also love the rich bold colours accessible with chemical dyes. I have researched many books on the subject but so far one stands out. Fibre Artist Malka Dubrawsky of A Stitch in Dye hand dyes cotton fabric to create her quilts and other beautiful accessories. (You’ll find her in my blogroll on the sidebar.) Her book ‘Color Your Cloth, A Quilter’s Guide to Dyeing and Patterning Fabric’ is a wonderful source that explains how easy it is to set up and use a home workshop to dye your own fabric. I would urge anyone interested in this field to invest in her book as an invaluable resource.
15 Monday Nov 2010
Posted in Bohemian Silk Bag, Sewing Projects, Silk
Sometimes I think I should have named this venture Cotton and Linen and Silk since silk is also one of my favourite fabrics. Perhaps even my most favourite although I do not sew with it very often. It’s not really a practical fabric for every day use but that’s what makes it so special when you do use it. Like in today’s project.
My sister celebrated her birthday yesterday and I made her a special gift of a Bohemian Silk Bag. There is some background that you should know about this bag. Some of the silk fabric I used was a multi-coloured dupioni silk remnant from a prom dress of my sisters from many moons ago. I found the piece in my Mother’s stash several years ago and scooped it up knowing that I would someday find a special use for it. The other thing you should know is that we have some Scottish blood in us. We grew up to the sound of the bagpipes and to this day whenever I hear the pipes it brings a tear to my eye in memory of my father, an accomplished piper. For this reason, I chose a “plaid” effect for my pattern.
My inspiration for the bag was born from the book ‘Silk Unraveled’ by Lorna Moffatt. In it, Lorna elaborates on her use of torn silk strips which she transforms into all manner of imaginitive creations. To take a piece of precious dupioni silk and literally rip it into strips takes great courage. Lorna has perfected her courageous craft.
From the bundle of silk you see above I have ripped my pieces in preparation for the bag. At this stage, I only knew that I wanted to make a bag. I had no idea what would emerge as a final ‘pattern’.
I chose a gold dupioni silk as the background to the strips. The gold pieces and the lining are cut approximately 8 ” by 10″. I then began experimenting with the pieces until the ‘plaid’ emerged as the favoured pattern. I also chose to put one horizontal strip along the back near the bottom to add interest.
Pin the strips in place and sew. Fold down and press a 1/2″ on the top of the front and back Pin the zipper between the top and the bottom at the top where you have folded the fabric. Sew the zipper in place. With right sides together sew the front to the back along the sides and the bottom. Turn the bag right side out through the open zipper. The bag is shown with the zipper in and as yet unlined.
The next step is to sew the lining together front and back right sides together leaving the top open with a 1/2″ turned under at the top similar to the bag. Insert the lining into the bag wrong sides together and hand sew the lining to the top edge on the inside of the bag close to the zipper opening.
I chose a burgundy cording to use for the strap and wanted to add some beads to the bottom of each side of the cord for effect.
The beads are attached to the ends of the knotted cord and hand sewn to the sides of the bag.
And the final product!
I’m happy to say that my sister was pleased with her gift.
09 Tuesday Nov 2010
Posted in Outside the Box, Sewing Projects
A vessel is a wonderful thing. A special place to hold your treasures or everyday things. I chose this next project from a book called “Pretty Little Patchwork”. It is a compilation of several projects by various contributors. These special little boxes are an excellent way to use bits and pieces from your stash and could easily be modified to a number of sizes.
Start by cutting out 2″ squares from several different fabrics. Then sew them together in pairs and then rectangles (3 sets of squares) or squares (2 sets of squares). I’m sure I could have sped up the process by making strips and then cutting them up but I think by sewing each pair together I was able to get much more variety.
Next I paired up the sets of squares into visually pleasing groups, then sewed them together.
The pattern did not call for any interfacing but I decided to add some to make the boxes slightly more sturdy. I cut the interfacing to fit inside the seams of the lining. Next the box and the lining are sewn together separately. Then the patchwork box is set inside the lining to be sewn together along the top edge. There is a small hole left on one side seam of the lining in order to turn the box right side out. After sewing the box to the lining and turning the box right side out, hand-sew the hole in the lining closed with an invisible seam.
The finishing touch is a hand-sewn blanket stitch all the way around the top.
I have made two tall boxes and one short box, each with a different coloured embroidery thread for the blanket stitching. I have enough patchwork squares left to make two more boxes, one in each size.
But I think it’s time to move on to another project and come back to those boxes another day.
06 Saturday Nov 2010
Posted in Fibre Art
The world of fibre art has been intriguing me of late. The use of so many different textiles – cloth, yarn, silk, etc. – are used to create a myriad of artistic results. To expand my knowledge (and begin a stash of various fibres) I stopped into a beautiful little shop today called Wabi Sabi. Their specialty is a unique blend of knitting, spinning, weaving, felting and fibre. It was a mecca of colour and texture. I made it around the store a full three times and still didn’t see everything they had to offer. Without a specific project in mind I picked up only a few odds and ends to whet my taste with. I know I’ll be back for many more visits and most likely to take some of their interesting class offerings.
On the left is a collection of dyed, uncombed wool. In the middle a bit of this and that – ends from several different balls of yarn. And on the right some delicate silk ribbon. Enough to start my foray into the world of fibre art. Perhaps you’ll see some of the results in the future.
Cotton and Linen 