These were fun to make. Both are made using the strips to make half square triangles – lots of pieces and fun to work with. My main sewing machine was just back from the shop so I was finally able to finish the quilting of both.
The back in gold was pieced together on a 1947 Singer Featherweight machine while the Pfaff was in the shop. The Pfaff is back and once again works beautifully.
My Gran, Betty R is turning 99 on the 29th of March. As the quilting bug has taken hold of me for this pandemic, I decided to make her a lap quilt. Like all projects, it took a little longer then expected to finish and I was finally able to post it to her yesterday. As there is a pandemic, it will take two weeks to arrive.
Being as old as she is her eyes are failing. And she loves purple. When she was younger she always had a garden. So a purple flower was in order. Mostly purple, with a few pinks. Some green and blue to top the petals and bold colours that are reminiscent of her wonderful gardens. This is a lap quilt – 36*44 inches. Just enough to keep her warm and light enough for her not to be lost under it. I added some ruffle flowers so she can run her fingers through and around them. It was fun to make.
My next project will be two more quilts for my grand niece and nephew (twins) who will be turning 1 in early may. These quilts will most likely arrive late – too early to tell just yet, but my day jobs will keep me busy too.
What are your projects? I would like to know. It is fun to share. Thanks for dropping by :-). Be kind, stay safe, be well.
A whole year of wearing masks, washing hands, staying close to home and no hugs. The last is what i miss the most. I have been busy making, baking, quilting and photography. Keeping busy has helped. A lot. Learning always feels the best. So, YouTube has taught me more about quilting. I have always make clothing but with nowhere to go, the pieces i have are more than adequate. So, quilting has overtaken my living room.
So, what have you been up to? Please share your year long adventure. And remember, the roaring twenties roared because they survived their pandemic. And, if all goes well, we will also roar!
Take care, the world is a better place with you in it.
This is a playful two sided muff for my gran. I knit it with some foundling wool at the thrift shop. One side is a variegated green and the other a fusion of reds and purples. My Gran will be 95 in the spring and has the early signs of dementia. Apparently these muffs help keep those with dementia calmer by allowing for the hands to fidget in a warm place.
I picked up the instructions on Ravelry.com. With chunky wool – a mix of colors and textures is best. Cast on 88 stiches and make the whole muff about 20 inches long. Knit to your hearts desire – the more stiches and variance in the texture the better.
Then comes the fun part.
The bobbles, bits and button that are large, shiny, smooth, bumpy and just fun. Chains, zippers, laces, and other nice things that will survive an industrial wash or two are good too.
So I delved into my stash for these bobbles. Once I had chosen the bobbles, button and such, I threaded groups together in random colorings and textures. I found some nylon/cotton kitting ribbon that I uses as my Gran would love the color. I used a doll makers needle – the really long one in the center of the photo above for most of this treading.
I pulled some cotton laces into a long squiggly thing .
Threaded together buttons to form a couple of chains for her old fingers to find in the warmth.
Next I picked up a threaded set or a button and sewed it firmly in place by weaving though a few kintted stitches and then though to the back where a placement button was waiting for the tie off.
The shot below is the underside of the placement with the button and knots. It is ok to leave the long bits, they will add to the texture and weight and that is good.
So, when I had attached all of the bits that I had set up, I then folded the two ends and attached them securely with a slip stich using the tail of the knit.
Apparently this playful muff will distract her from the frustration of loosing her memory. So, I hope at least.
Thanks for reading. Pass it on, care homes in Canada have found that these really do help.
I was thinking of our troubled world when I thought of the sound of ohm. Then I thought what if god was only a sound, would we here the same sound?
So, I pondered this with a pen in hand.
To actively doodle is very soothing, for me at least.
And no, we could not hear the same sound. We are all unique and alone. We can share our exuberance of the sound. Yet, the sound will be different for each of us.
For some, it could be a color, others a whisper. Never the same, even when shared.
For me the sound is warmth like a hug, the breath of a soft spring day.
I find joy in knowing that what I hear is unique to me, I hope that you do too.
I have a motto – it is “Let me try this”
In early January I took on a knitting protect with a delicious plum yarn ( found here: http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/mirasol-yarn-nuna).
So I stated the shawl and it looked good but didn’t feel right. So, it was frogged – the knitting term for starting over.
From my stash I had knit a similar hood in February – it was the beginning, neat yet not really something I would enjoy over time. So I picked up my needles, checked the gauge and cast on Turkish style.
With a lot of making 1, knit front and back, a couple of short rows I created my ZeeHoood.
I never liked the points of modern hoods so I made the top round like my head!
The front opening measures 46.5 inches so it wraps nicely around the neck when needed. It was finished in the stocking stitch for the nice rounding that complements the style of the hood.
The back of the neck is tapered to a front point that tapers nicely below the neck.
Yes, my model is a melon place on a large glass vase.
The Lining with hemp linen pockets.
In between clients, certification for 2012 US tax preparation, Christmas and the infinity of a bad back I have managed to make some headway on the cape.
It is fully lined in a purple jacquard cotton. It hangs wonderfully and is a nice fit on the shoulders. To the lining I have added pockets from some scrap black hemp linen leftover from a vintage dress a few years back.
I have added the brass dragonfly’s as closures for the front.
From my jewellery box I am using beads and unworn pendants as fobs on the end of a silk ribbon to hold the cape closed.
Surprisingly they do the trick.
A close up of the dragonfly closures with the silk fobs holding the front closed
I am working up the courage to cut in to the sides and make the armholes! It is like a puzzle but without the finished picture on top. So, I am taking it slow.
Well, almost finished as I write this. Just a quick press and the fasteners to do.
That may sound easy but I tend to get lost in the details. I found some terrific dragon flies in copper but where to put them!
The lining – I tacked the front pieces to the shoulder seams. I don’t always like to cut being somewhat intrigued by folds. The result is that the shoulders stay on the shoulders when wearing without any clasps or ties. Though to have more mobility when wearing a tie or clasp will be utilized.
To hem the lining I used a big hair clip to keep the wool up while pining the garment. It worked well.
I have a tendency to ware the garment before completion to get a feel for it. This cape feels good. I had originally left an opening for the arms in the front seams but while trying it out any movement of the arms away from the body were inhibited by the fount folds. To remedy this, I will add a cuffed opening at the sides of the cape but only when all else is done.
I saw this 
Misses’ Cape
so I came up with this
This is my muslin.
The fabric is a foundling from the thrift shop – a soft wool that was too hard to pass on. 2.25 meters was enough for what I had envisioned.
So I laid it out and found what I felt was a worthy center and then cut.
The center is one piece like a kimono, 88 inches (2.25M) in length and shoulder to shoulder 44cm + seam allowance. This piece was then cut up the center to midway point and a t-shaped cut at the neck to give it the kimono opening.
The sleeve cap / side panels I measured for the shoulder of 7.5cm + seam allowance. As I am no longer a whips of a creature, I cut the side panels in a kind of bell shape. This was Thursday night so I put the fledgling cape aside.
Then yesterday the bitch that bore me called wanting to see me. To put a long story short, not all who bare children should raise them. I was quickly tumbling into a psychosis of PTSD and help for this sort is not readily available on a Friday night. The fabric lay cut on the ironing board and the sewing machine was out – so I plied myself from my bad head space and concentrated on the putting together my creation.
A cup of coffee near by (this stuff is really good for mental health!) and basted the sides to the center piece. This I threw over my shoulders and it felt good. By now Loki (the fox terrier) was getting antsy for a cuddle on the couch.
I was needing to continue sewing and Loki was needed her nightly TLC in front of the idiot box so I found a compromise. I folded the right front part of the T on the center panel over and hand stitched a blanket stich. This worked well for two episodes of Battlestar Galactica and I was able to baste both the right side and left side.
The right side is finished on this photo and the left was only pinned but the result was as if I had applied a facing.
The back however did need need something to finish it up. When I made the first cut to the material for the right center I was left with a piece that was 88inches long and about 5 inches wide. I was thinking that I could finish it off as a scarf but it worked out when folded so and layered over back of the neck it looked very stylish.
The front view plied with pins keeping it together until I have my cuddle time with Loki and a needle and thread in front of the TV tonight.
Once it is sewn in place, I will re-seam the side panels making the seams a little bigger to remove some extra width at the shoulders. I will then work on the front hand openings that I am planning on the seams.
Really! Who would do the dishes, pick up the trash, sew the buttons on?
An old Buddhist saying “Before enlightenment fetch wood and carry water, after enlightenment fetch wood and carry water.”
So if we are all millionaires we will still need to do the things that we need to do. Whether it is visiting family or taking out the trash, they are the things that we do.
My millionaire status remains elusive to me and in this I am not alone!
If I had a million I would resurrect my company, Gaia Industrial Arts & Manufacturing – Gaia IAM for Short. It was a simple principal to have a place for some our more marginalized citizens working making simple clothing. I and a lone investor poured $23,000.00 into the company and then the economy tanked taking my hopes for this start up with it. That and competing with cheap and cheaply made clothing was hard to follow adhering to one of the core objectives of the company by giving a living wage for the employees! So, I closed the shop and went back to completing taxes to make up for the losses. The timing of the closing was so close to tax season that I put all of the remaining product in the garage and have stumbled over it since. That was two years ago.
(Littering of blue shirts amongst the office nooks and shelves)
So with the original dyeing not holding up well in the wash of my dyed samples I am pulling the colors from the unsold stock and redoing the dyes with vinegar. The freshly dyed samples are holding up well with the fresh color. Still need to wash them with the darks or similar colors but they look good redone.
After two years of wearing a poorly dyed red cardigan (my bad!), I redid the cardigan in purple and it looks new! Hemp and organic cotton in a good weigh of cloth hold up really well and re dye beautifully.
The new blue shirts are still drying after the ironing. I tend to iron my hemp clothing wet as it helps teach the cloth. New hemp can be stiff but with wearing, washing and ironing, it dose get softer. It is better to teach the cloth when new. And by teaching I mean getting the wrinkles out.
These are just some of left over shirts that I am hoping to sell at the local Hemp & Co. Store. The purple and the dark blue are cozy hemp cotton fleece shirts.
Geschichten mitten aus dem Leben; über Momente die uns prägen, Freude, Schmerz, Hoffnung und Schicksal dem wir täglich begegnen. Ein kleiner Blick ins Innere, ein Blick hinter die Tür.
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