A Birthday Visit: new discoveries

    Joe and I drove to see the grandchildren and celebrate their mother's birthday this past weekend in NYC. I put the quilted portable sewing books (see my June 10 posting) in the children's hands and they got busy stitching.


(Click on photos to enlarge.)

     The card we picked out for Beth was from Papyrus, down the street from The City Quilter on 25th Street. I returned to buy four more cards to show my friends what fun it would be to make cards on which we sew fabric and bead. Check out these examples!

      The next day I hit some museums: Vuillard at the Jewish Museum on 92nd and the Met. Looking through books I realized that Paul Klee, the painter, made paintings that would be perfect for quilts. And Gustav Klimt has patterns in his paintings, in the landscapes and portraits, that fit in with our discussion of Zentangle at the last week's blog posting. I Googled the name of the artist and quilts and clicked on Images to find I was not the first person to find paintings a rich source for quilters.

      On the way home, I read the HILARIOUS book Help! I Married a Quilter by Mark Hyland. I wanted to share my finds with you.

No Zen this week, but Zentangle and Zendoodle

     Where did the week go? The Beadsprouts went to the MFA to see Nancy's painting hanging; and following that, I demonstrated for JQC what I had learned about Zentangle and Zendoodle from books, talks, YouTube and Quilting Arts magazine. But it was Donna Jean, the leader of Journal Quilt Connection who got me interested initially. This is one of her unfinished Zendoodle pieces begun on paper and transferred to cloth. Click to enlarge to see the beads and embroidery:




      DJ is a friend who is a beader and a quilter and we get together for lunch and the hunt. The last exploration took us to Ryco Trim in Lincoln, RI where she got some trim for her journal quilt made from a Zentangle. Go to Suzanne McNeill's hyperlink above at YouTube to view the process or Google Zendoodle and Zentangle to see other videos so you can start Zendoodling in a sketchbook for work you want to turn into a quilt. DJ says that a light weight polyester batting is less tiring on the hands.

     On driving out of the Ryco parking lot I saw and  photographed this charmer:


    I plan to show the grandchildren how to ZenTangle/Zendoodle on paper, but adults can take it to really sophisticated levels. Get a book to get started!

Portable Sewing Kits for hand sewing on the road

    A couple of years ago, I wanted to learn to quilt fast. I searched for and joined a Dear Jane group founded by Brenda Papadakis to get acquainted with lots of quilt blocks, however small! One evening, we made a portable sewing kit to carry the pieces of each block under a piece of muslin and atop batting, all our tools in one place, so we could work on them on the road or at meetings.

     

     Recently, I found a terrific trompe l'oeil fabric that I wanted to use to make something for the grandchildren.I  decided to make each child this carrier and to fill it with small needle work projects. They will always have the stitches available for resource in the fabric.

     It took me under two hours to make: Cut 9" x 18" quilted fabric (red, here) and lining fabric (the stitches). Cut  5 1/2"x 18" quilting and lining for the pocket that goes across. Use bias tape to finish the top of the long pocket. Then add bias tape all around. (I stitched close to the edge all around before adding the bias tape.)

 
      Next, cut batting which will be "pages" to hold the stitchery. The batting is 8" x 16". I cut two sheets of batting and sewed it down the middle to fold like a book's pages (4 pages or 8 sides). Of course, first mark the center of both batting and cover.  You can add little unfinished sheets of muslin (about 6" square  that you sew along the bottom of the pages to cover art so pieces of fabric don't fall out...and do this before sewing the pages to the cover). I added a little 2" x 3" pincushion and sewed in a page of a Ziplock bag for extras. Make seams from the top of the pocket down to hold rulers, scissors, glue, etc. Click to enlarge the photos.

      There are fabulous books for children and adults like Doodle Stitchery. And this weekend I just discovered the award winning edgy embroidery book, Hoopla. Serendipitously, in straightening up, I just ran across Brenda's ruler that said "Finished is better than Perfect!"  I was wondering why I went so far astray!  

    

Dance recital gems: a journal quilt

     Springing forth in May are recitals and commencements. We drive 4 hours to watch the grandchildren perform.  Two recitals in the same day elicit funny reactions. I made a small journal quilt to remember two comments, because journal quilts help one remember not only significant events but amusing moments you don't want to forget:

     Erika performed in the first recital. The family was seated around a big table for lunch in a local restaurant. As we ate, different ones heaped praise on this second child in the family. Finally, it was too much for the first born who exasperated, blurted out, "I don't get it! What is all this carrying on about Erika!" We pointed out that after her three dances in the afternoon, she surely would receive similar accolades. I free-motion quilted this and another gem on the small quilt.

       Later, on the way to Hannah's recital, after some frustrations of lost crayons, Hannah was disagreeing with her mother and told to "put on a happy face" to get ready for the performance. Hannah, noted for her pretty smile, responded, "I am really not a smiley sort of person." That struck me as so endearingly straight forward and self-assured. I didn't want to forget that moment or that small journal quilts (8" x 8") are more fun to make than 12" x 12"s).   (Click photos to enlarge)

Journal quilt additions

     Catching up on a few journal quilts while Joe sanded the kitchen floor, I remembered to also document our time last week and before with the children in NYC. Since journal quilts are sketches, I stitch them quickly. If I had more time, I would embellish more profusely;  but before I know it, another week has passed. Maybe after I am gone, the girls, and even David, can take them to a higher level with their additions. Also, I would like to start journal paintings once a week. Some people paint one a day.

     That cute little rabbit I saw in my neighbor's garden  last summer is bringing forth other emotions now that he has eaten many of Joe's new sprouts, especially the sunflowers for Erika. Joe asked the children if he should make a stew as Mr. McGregor did and they said "No."Maybe we need a scarecrow like my cellist neighbor's!  Click to enlarge.

      Also, there's the alphabet fabric with which the girls made quilt hangings. I added cupcakes to remember Hannah's pre-party picnic down on the Hudson. A hint of the water is in a remnant on the quilt.

       

       

    

      The days before Memorial Day, Jim and Colin treated the children to adventures in NYC. I read tales in family trees and caught up with relatives. Then we watched the PBS Memorial Day program. 

Stitching on the road: a Sashiko in color

    When Joe and I drove four hours away to see the grandchildren in ballet recitals, I put on a British mystery CD for us to listen to and I stitched away while Joe drove through the heavy rain. Ellen had showed me her pattern for a multi-colored Sashiko piece and how to braid Sashiko embroidery thread to make it easy to pull out a single color to work with. Debbie said Erika Wilson also taught about braiding the thread.

(Click to enlarge the photos)





     This piece is about 12" x 12." It is fun to have something one can finish. I bought a quarter yard of several deep colors from green to red and purple to create some Sashiko coasters or little sachet bags using  plain white or off-white Sashiko embroidery thread...a modest task only for the road. I got this idea at The City Quilter!

     I also found this fine panel to make something for the children. Maybe I could add batting and a backing and the girls could do their own hand quilting if they felt comfortable doing so.  I came to the conclusion on this trip, that I should make up some SMALL projects ahead of time for them to play with. Usually they want to create something enormous like a quilt from scratch for brother David;  and that is not realistic. Hannah says she is ready to deal with her Hello Kitty Janome sewing machine. 

Mystery Quilt for the Material Mavens Journal Quilt Reveal

The Keys in Hiding ~ Again!

     It’s an increasing MYSTERY where I have placed things! 

      In the midst of creating my first attempt at this mystery quilt, Que Sera Sera (below), the puzzle of children’s development, I needed a crystal ball and finally made one that doesn’t photograph as good as it looks. At the same time, I re-read Art and Fear, which gave me the nerve to paint the rabbit.  I Googled Alice’s rabbit, Images, and sketched a composite, however anatomically challenged he is.  I dove into my Lumiere textile paints and was surprised how slowly they built up compared with my other paints. I added a black permanent marker in spots. My background fabric awaited.

      To make the crystal ball, I traced a saucer onto freezer paper and ironed the freezer paper to fabric. I folded in the edges (Katie P-M suggests spray starch) and blind-stitched it. I opened the backing and added polyfill. It needed more. In my stash I found this sheer fabric that doesn’t fray. I cut it out and used a spray glue to the edges. Next, I began to quilt things to batting. I took silver embroidery floss to stitch around the globe, after inserting a felt key. I also used embroidery thread on the clock.I needed bubbles for thoughts. I first photographed the piece and added it to Comic Life software to test bubble shapes and colors. Then I cut out fabric onto which I had ironed Wonder Under and printed the thoughts with Fabrico, a permanent marker. The fabric for the backside was too small,  but I hastily glued it down and stitched over all with invisible thread to suggest the speed of the frantic rabbit. Perhaps some hands or fingers are needed to hover over the ball, but it’s late, it’s late!

        Neither is perfect, but I made so many mistakes and learned several new techniques.That is a special bonus of art journal quilting!