Stitching Hands Studio

Small Wonders 2012

This is my entry for the Small Wonders Challenge this year.  The theme is 'A Patterned Village' and the challenge fabric for this year is the green print.  All the rest of the fabric is hand dyed, mostly by me, but at least one of the greens is from a local friend.  It measures 25" x 19".

I admit to having to push myself to make this.  My first idea for the challenge just wasn't going to be ready in time, and I love it so much that I think I want to keep it, so I made this all in one day yesterday.  I started at the bottom, working my way up to the row with the houses.  The main bodies of the houses are free pieced, with the roofs and other details added by fusing.  I call it 'The Red Door' because I've always wanted a house with a red door.  I also like blue doors!  Presently I have neither, but I'm happy to create little worlds where I can have any sort of door I please.  

If you are so inclined to make a Small Wonder, I have it on good authority that the deadline has been pushed back to May 15.  The prizes are pretty awesome, so think about it!

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend.  We are having our first taste of summer weather and it is just delightful!

Wish Upon a Card 2012

It's that time of year again!  The Stitchin' Post will be accepting fabric post cards for Wish Upon A Card right up until July 1.  If you wish to have a card be considered for framing, the deadline is April 15.  Maybe you have time to get one in the mail tomorrow?  I had such fun making my postcards.  I first decided to make the giraffe above with some wool felt.  I was inspired after seeing Salley Mavor's presentation. In order to make the card stiff, I used Fast-2-Fuse for the middle layer.  The backs on all of them are linen.  All the embroidery was done before I fused it to the Fast-2-Fuse.  After fusing to the linen backing, I zig-zagged around the edge.

Next I decided to get back to my beloved linen, but wanted to see if it was possible to do without adding the harem cloth backing the way I do the slow cloth.  That was a mistake, but a good lesson!  The owls were created by fusing the blue linen to a piece of harem cloth with some Steam-A-Seam.  That stuff is nasty for hand sewing, so I had a real pain doing the applique and embroidery on this one.  I finally decided to finish the tree with some machine stitching.  Then it was fused to the Fast-2-Fuse, fused to a linen backing and zig-zagged around the edge.

I went back to my favorite slow cloth techniques with this last one.  The blue linen backing was stitched with an invisible baste to some harem cloth.  Then I added all the applique, some raw edge, some needle turned.  I had lots of fun adding the embroidery stitches, then fused it to the Fast-2-Fuse and the linen backing.  Finally I zig-zagged around the edge.  

I like them a lot and hope they are well received for the fundraiser.  If you would like to give fabric postcards a try and have any questions at all, I'd be happy to answer them in the comments.

The backs are almost as pretty as the fronts.  I used hand dyed linen.  The blue is indigo dyed from a linen thrift store shirt that had that flower motif printed on it.

A day in the life of SHS

Yesterday was a great day here in Stitching Hands Studio. First of all, I finished the stitching on the Long Necked Beast (aka llama).  I still need to back and quilt it, but it's coming along.  

Second of all, I got out the quilt blocks I won last year in the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show block contest and started work on getting them together.  It turned out I won 21 blocks, plus my own.  Twenty-two blocks isn't quite the right number so I decided to add 2 more blocks to make it a 6 x 4 arrangement.  They had sent me leftover fabric from the block packs so I had plenty to work with.  I also decided to choose the dark green for sashing.  It's actually a lovely two-toned green shot cotton. 

Isn't this a wonderful collection of blocks?  Mine is the third one down in the third column from the left.  The two I designed to make up the difference are the fourth and sixth down in the second column from the left.  I'm still stitching them.  The block arrangement might change before they get sewn together, but so far I'm happy with this.  This is after much rearrangement.  Once I get this all sewn together I'll go look for a good border fabric.  

That little stack of fabric tacked on the board at the right is the block pack for this year's block contest.  Wonder what will become of that?

Today I've been running errands, getting together the guild newsletter, packing, doing laundry, cleaning up. Tomorrow we are off on a little trip to the coast.  I'm sure we'll see rain, but I'm hoping the sun will make an appearance too.  I'll be happy for some time away to clear my head, ramble, take photos, and enjoy my family.  Have a great weekend!

Picking time

We took our annual trip to the Hood River Fruit Loop this weekend to pick apples.  We came away with a few more goodies besides.  Lots of apples for sauce and pies, strawberries for jam, and pumpkins for the porch.  Saturday was cloudy early, but brightened up in the afternoon.  

If I were to pick another area of Oregon that I really love, this would be it.  So many farm fresh goodies abound in the Hood River valley.  It's always a lovely trip!

This week will be another busy one for me.  I have a week long workshop with Rosalie Dace.  I have heard many good things about her classes, so I hope I have lots of good things to report.  See you back here before too long.

A little of this, a little of that

 

I made a quilt the other day and it only took a few hours!  This is a chemo quilt for one of the local infusion centers.  Chemo Quilts for Central Oregon is collecting them and had specific requirements that they be one piece quilts.  Easiest quilt you could possibly make!  I got this fabric on clearance at 50% off and it seemed a perfect gender neutral pattern for this project.  It may even grace the infusion center that I got my treatments in four years ago.  I know I would have loved to have a handmade quilt like this to snuggle under.  Chemo, in addition to being very unpleasant, also makes you quite cold.  I hope this brings comfort to those going through one of the most difficult procedures I've ever had to do.

It takes 4.5 yds of fabric.  You use 2 yards each for front and back and the half yard for the binding.  I literally have only two small strips of fabric leftover.

I've also been spinning!  I found a sunny spot to spin in every morning and it's been a nice way to start the day.  Below are some of my finished yarns.  I have so much fiber to work my way through that I hope I can spin every day through the fall and winter.  Maybe I can make room for more luscious fiber from the fiber festivals next year.  Last weekend I went to Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival and had to skip right past the fiber vendors because I just don't have room for more.  I did get a nice portable lazy kate though.

I got these beauties at the farmer's market yesterday.  So pretty and so perfect for the season.  I just love dahlias!  They really brighten the kitchen.  And, it's the start of tea season.  Multiple cups a day are being brewed here at Chez Shields.  

What's up at your house?

Home

The Christmas Cactus was putting on a show and we came home just in time to see it.  There's still so much to do with unpacking and we don't have internet yet, so please bear with me as we transition to our new home.  I have a few thousand photos to go through from this summer too, so it will take a while to get organized.  Hope you are having a fabulous August!

Alice in Wonderland

QuiltWorks' June exhibit is something wonderful as usual!  The gallery reception last Friday was amazing as always, but my favorites were these quilts which were not part of the show.  These Alice in Wonderland quilts were made by Pat Busby, one of the members of the Cover to Cover Quilters.  These were just there for the evening as a special treat.  The whole Alice exhibit will be displayed at the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show this summer.  It will really be something as I've been told there will be a live Mad Hatter's tea party with the Hatter himself, to accompany the quilts.  I can't wait to see that!  Meanwhile, enjoy these!

Sun Moon Stars continues

Sun Moon Stars is nearly finished, but the work continues.  I've been having fun designing folded star, sun, sunflower patterns.  The middle one is four layers and I could see that expanding to several more!  I think several of these will show up in the Second Chances quilt.

Jude talked about dimensional faces the other day.   I'm not sure where this is going, but I like it.  It's a silk velvet stitched with cotton floss.  Maybe the couched points will continue around until this is a sun face.  The couched yarn is pure silk that I hand spun.  I got a sample once at a fiber festival and found it very difficult for me to spin, so this little tiny bit is very special.  I've doubled it and am couching it down with cotton floss.   I don't really have a plan for these little samples, but they are fun to do and will show up somewhere, some day.  I'm just continuing, like Jude does.  The next class is her Magic Diaries.  I look forward to more whispering!

Sunflowers Moon Stars

Today's musing over at SunMoonStars was about this method of creating a sun/moon/star burst.  I found myself so intrigued I dropped everything and started making.  The star below was the first one, the pieces above came afterwards and need to be finished.  I do need some sunflowers for my Second Chances quilt, so I made several of them to give it a try.  The version top left is a little what-iffing with a square center and I may add more points.

I've already added the first star made with this method to the top right (above).

The center was created with an off cut from the moon.  The points are made with the backside of this great Kaffe Fassett print.

I really like it!

Happy Easter!

Tulips have been bought (though can't compare to Jane's!).

Hot Cross Buns have been baked.

Scrabble's been spiffed up.  We're ready, now if the weather would only cooperate.  Sadly, it looks like tomorrow will be rainy and cold.  Just as well as the kids have finally gotten too old for egg hunts.  I hope you are having a lovely day, wherever you are!