Decorating the ears: a quick craft

    Joe got me a new jacket for Mother's Day and I needed some earrings to tie it in with my motley outfit...to take in both the cool rainy days and hints of warm spring. The jacket is pink and I was going retro with black blouse and crops. I stopped at two bead stores to pick up some "stones" and I had some silver wire headpins at home to twist into shape to attach to earring findings. Some day I must get up the nerve to pierce my ears so there won't be so much hardware involved.

    There are many videos on how to make earrings. If this link goes dead, just Google How to make earrings. I get a bit goofy sometimes adding fish, teacups and turkeys (Thanksgiving). But it is fun to have an endless supply. Today's effort is the pair top row second from the right. The beads around the colored malachite of red and black, are black and pink but didn't photograph well. The other earrings are recent efforts. Click to see better.

Hamsas: a blessing for Nina

   Many things happen at once. Son has taken a job in NYC. His wife's mother had a major bike accident. They just sold their house and will be off to choose a new one. Mother's Day is nigh.

Hannah 7

   Daughter-in-law is wildly busy winding up the house situation, packing, mothering, but off to see her mother on Mother's Day. I thought the children could paint hamsas scented with lavender and I would quilt them for this other grandmother. I first heard about hamsas on my visit to The Jewish Museum last week on vacation to see the Maira Kalman exhibit. The shop was closed but I asked for ideas to send to Nina who is still in hospital. I saw jewelry of hamsa design and I looked up the term on return home. I Googled "Images" of Hamsas and was partial to a stained glass pattern, but there are so many others.

Erika 5

   I made copies of hamsa patterns for the children to trace or to have a jumping off point for their own designs. I meant to TRACE their hands for signatures and flat forgot, darnit! I had ironed white fabric. Hannah, 7 and Erika, 5 chose different patterns and David, 2 worked on paper with watercolors. They left after supper; and I partially quilted the pieces, including the paper two-sided one of David's, spraying the interiors with lavender. The girls worked with Lumiere's halo and jewel color textile paints, having first placed their white fabric over the outlined designs. One could see through the white fabric. Hannah chose a teal blue  batik fabric to back hers, and Erika chose a multi-colored one. I used the two papered watercolors for front and back for David. All scented, are in separate envelopes, ready for a trip to their grandmother Nina (Nana).

David 2

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Where in the World: Wonderland's Tea Party

   Founded in 1977, the Quilters' Connection is a dynamic group of more than 400 quilters and quilt enthusiasts in the greater Boston area and as far away as Japan. Although barely a quilter, I put my name on the membership list and have found no other group so exciting to me with regard to programs and mind- stretching art work. Although I am too shy to enter a big quilt yet, I was attracted to the idea of the Quilt Challenge at the annual show.

    The 34th Annual Quilt Show will be held Friday-Sunday, June 3-5, 2011, at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown MA. Besides the completed quilts and quilted garments, each member may submit two "Where in the World" Challenge Quilts. These are not to be bigger than 20" either direction.

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     I made two Challenge Quilts. One is shown below at the April 5 posting. The other is this teacup. Where in the world is Wonderland, inspired by granddaughter Hannah. I first sketched a teacup at Linda Blumsack's house during beading. Then I enlarged it (via grids) on tissue. Next, I sketched the same onto posterboard and cut out the main pieces. I traced these pieces with freezer wrap, and ironed those freezer wrap templates onto fabric. I cut out the fabric, leaving 1/2 inch margin for seams. I also cut out batting and a backing fabric (the blue) the size of the teacup with seam allowance of 1/2 inch. Before cutting out the pictures of Alice and other characters, I fused them with Wonder Under to make fine cutting easier. I ironed them in place. I was ready to put the good sides together w batting, sew pillow case style and turn inside out. I stitched the opening closed. Then with invisible or colored thread I began to quilt the three layers.With embroidery needle, I further defined things.

     Both quilts are to have sleeves for hanging on the back as well as a label. I may further embellish the two.

Hannah's 7th: a quilted card

    Hannah turned seven and celebrated with friends at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.  After creating a birthday banner, the group broke into two groups and the princesses sashayed off to look at four entirely different areas of the MFA which touched on royalty, returning after the tour, questions and answers to make copper pendants, have story time and dessert. Guests left with big 3D plaster royal cupcakes and paint palette in a bag. Some parents chaperoned and enjoyed the museum afterwards.The interns were fabulous and the project age appropriate. I was staggered by the new museum.

Hannah is seven and a sewer (click to enlarge)

    If I remember, I try to make the girls a journal quilt for their birthday. This was a close call. I am making challenge quilts involving Alice and Wonderland, and Hannah has that long blond hair. I fused "her," cut out the figure, and took her to my stash. The two background fabrics fell into my lap. I lightly quilted all, placing a bright erratic pink polka dot on the back after the batting. I free motion wrote, "Hannah is seven and a sewer."

     Hannah is proud of the sewing she has learned this year, embroidery and Sashiko. She wants to make a quilt. Alas, she is moving.Whereas I was going to make "her" with wings, carrying my heart, I sewed the heart onto the pocket here and we drove it by to her tonight with CDs of her birthday party to enjoy and send to her other grandmother.  I also included a CD of her making the origami bird available at YouTube. For her birthday I gave her A Book of Artageous Projects by Klutz in collaboration with the Metropolitan Museum of Art that I bought locally.

    

Pearl and face knotting: a craft of concentration

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    Often people want to knot pearl or other bead necklaces to preserve the beads once a string breaks. Nita found dynamic Suzanne to teach the Beadsprouts, our group which meets every Thursday for lunch and chatting while we design bracelets and neckware.

     We arrived with tweezers (available at craft stores or drugstores for splinters), some silk beading cord with a needle attached (from craft or bead store), pearls or beads to practice on, a clamshell to hide the beginning knot, and some jeweler's glue. We made simple overhand knots, inserted the tweezers and pulled the knot next to the bead...all better seen on this video at YouTube. One can learn so many skills at YouTube.

      I was so amused by the deep concentration of my fellow beaders that I thought I must capture their knotted determination while out in the fields beyond, creatures munched with equal determination on spring that finally arrived! This facility in knotting will increase the variety of necklaces that we can make. Good idea, Nita; and thanks, Suzanne!

Project Hope: block collection time

     In the Fall, Katie rounds up friends to make blocks for quilts for Project Hope . She brings in fabrics on a theme. People gather to take home remnants to create. There is no pressure at all. I usually make about eight different blocks; others make fewer and some, more.
      In the Spring we meet to see how things are going, to get ideas from each other and to know what is realistic to expect by the deadline in late July which is when Katie likes to start assembling the blocks. After that, we tie the quilt. It is fun to gather with those who have worked on it before and pull in others we see passing in the hall to engage them. We are always surprised by the individuality of different participants. I assure you, all are more complex and interesting than mine.
      This year, the theme is creatures of the Northeast. It will be fun working with animals. This goes much faster than the art quilts I am working on. Katie has the tough task, but she listens to books and sews away! She has come up with a cozy way to make people aware of Project Hope.

I am now off to embellish my Alice in Wonderland quilt, make decisions about buttons, and try to create and finish the teacup before the guild meeting tomorrow night.

Also, I hope you viewed Hannah folding an origami bird which I filmed this week!
YouTube - Origami Bird

If you want to see earlier postings on Project Hope, click on Project Hope in Labels below and it will bring up earlier blogs of April 12, June 14, and June 2l of 2010.

Where in the World: Wonderland

   My ultra creative quilt guild where I am quite the newbie, has a quilt challenge fund raiser. Since the size must be under 20" on each side, I thought I could try. Mother said I could do anything, and I naively have always believed her despite evidence to the contrary.

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   The topic is "Where in the World," real or fantasy, the thought being to bring in many cultures but not to limit. I imagined I would make unfolding postcards from my youth and fuse fabric showing themes from Africa, Rain Forest, Japan, Mexico, spring or the circus. Joe thought the Jackrabbit postcards (cowboys atop) from his summers would fit the bill. The Alice fabrics I had on hand seemed manageable for a first attempt. With no pattern, I just started cutting and making a zillion mistakes, but nothing ventured. If I don't chicken out, I will make a big cup and saucer shaped hanging for the same images. Now I wonder how much to quilt besides the edges.

    What I have learned: Make a serious pattern on card or poster board before starting. Use freezer paper and fusible fabric between image and turned pillow case of front, back and batting. Do a little basting. Will I ever learn?