Vortex to Insanity

The title of this post is from a movie (video, in those days) that my youngest daughter made with friends when they were 11 or 12. Yes, they titled their film Vortex to Insanity. I probably should have taken this as a clue that the next ten years were going to be challenging, but instead I thought it was absolutely hilarious and have pulled that title out whenever the occasion warrants. (The next ten years WERE challenging, but well worth the outcome. There's lots less insanity.)

However, a new kind of insanity has entered my life as I've discovered Twitter and Pinterest, and my already limited hours of creation have suddenly shriveled. Pinterest is a site where you can post photos of just about anything, categorize them, and then peruse others posts. There's inspiration galore here, but one feels a certain responsibility to maintain one's Pinterest boards as sites of interest. This leads to more hours online of sorting through amazing sites, blogs, etc., and drooling while looking through gorgeous homes, textiles, vignettes, scenery, etc.

And Twitter is much the same. I ping-pong between my "serious" sites (New York Times), photography (Light Stalking), lots and lots of fabric folks (too many to mention), comedians (Andy Borowitz comes to mind), a celebrity or two (Tom Hanks...John Cusack was too weird), and family and friends. In between all that I'm forced to tweet myself. It's all fun, but I do really wonder how anyone gets anything done...I noted that Lizzyhouse is taking a month off from all technology and I can understand the need. Such a brave thing!

So with that whining behind me, I share with you a few more shots from last week's Etsy post on Doris Montag and her amazing collection of tatting and crocheting. Read all about her here. I must say the comments on that story have been amazing...I love how much those items and what Doris is doing with them resonated with readers. Creating these intricate textiles is an insanity all its own, but certainly a more tactile and soothing kind of crazy...with gorgeous results.

A Book About Life and Yarn

Children's book author and illustrator Michelle Edwards http://michelledwards.com/blog/has a warm and snoggly new book for grown-ups, A Knitter's Home Companion http://www.prairielightsbooks.com/book/9781584799160. It's a comforting compendium of projects, recipes, and essays about the ways that knitting fills the interstices of her life.

The essays touch on husbands and children, on home and giving, on relationships created through textiles, even Iowa City's very own Home Ec Workshop; they're universal in appeal, yet intimate in approach. It's the kind of book that just makes you feel good about the simplest things in life, the kinds of things that occupy most of us each day.

I've gotten to know Michelle a bit, as we've met for coffee and discussed writing, or bumped into one another at Home Ec. She's been extremely generous with her time and advice as I've picked her brain about the vagaries of writing and publishing.

So check out this lovely volume. You can feel good that a kind and clever soul penned it and I promise it will be worth your while to put down your knitting needles long enough to dip into an essay or two. Its ease and warmth will soothe you like the coziest hand-knit shawl.

Sewing in fits and starts

On my stitching radar for quite some time was the Birdie Sling I'd promised my niece Anna for Christmas. Since she's in Virginia and I'm in the Midwest, I had her go to Fabric.com to pick out the three different fabrics needed for the bag. I had her do this well before the holidays, fully intending to have it finished in time for her to open it on the day.

Instead, Anna got a card with little snippets of fabric attached. (She chose a fabric from Amy Butler's Midwest Modern 2 for the handle and two from her Lotus line for the bag interior and exterior.) And it's taken me more than a month past Christmas to actually complete it. But I did a little bit over a couple of nights and last weekend and it's done.

This is the second Birdie Sling I've made for Anna. Her first was a high school graduation gift and she seemed to love and definitely used it. Last summer she sent me a photo of the now threadbare bag, asking if I could repair it. I told her it would be just the thing for Christmas.

Because she uses it so much, I decided to use the fusible fleece throughout the bag, instead of just in the exterior layer as I've done with some of them. This is the fifth I've made (others are here, here, Anna's original here, and here) and I've got an "order" for one more. Don't hold your breath, Rebecca, I don't seem to be able to whip these out very quickly!

Now my goal is to make sure Anna gets her Birdie Sling before Valentine's Day! (I did throw in a little something to help make up for the delay...hope she remembers to check the pockets.)

Addendum: I've heard back from Anna, who not only sounds quite happy with her bag, but told me that her friends were "fawning" over it (loved that she used that word)! One of them even asked if I'd be willing to make her one, too. Very sweet, I must say, even though I'm not able to go into production mode just now.

Feed the birds, tuppence a bag...

One of the most fun things about writing for Etsy are all the comments that follow the post. It's very gratifying to know people are reading and that they've enjoyed what they read. This time around I wrote about how bird feeding evolved in the United States and I loved hearing from all the people who were enjoying birds at their own feeders, across the country (except for the woman from Georgia who has bluebirds at her feeder...that just made me jealous).

As always, I got excited by the research I did for the piece. Birdfeeding turns out to have a pretty fascinating timeline that includes big name writers (Thoreau), political policy (the Lacey Act of 1900, the first to protect bird and other wildlife), and 1950s suburbia (where birdfeeders were as de rigueur as cars with fins).

It also provides the perfect opportunity to share this clip from Portlandia. I haven't seen the show in its entirety, but I first saw this courtesy of Monica over at Happy Zombie. I will definitely be checking out this show, soon. Put A Bird On It!!!!!

Stitching Knits

Sewing clothing has always been a frustrating experience for me, largely because of fit. I'm your basic straight-up-and-down gal without much of a waist. It's that way whether I'm sleek or slightly plump. But sewing patterns never seemed to work for that body type...if the things fit my hips then they were too tight in my waist and if they fit my waist they'd balloon around my hips. (Except for shifts...anyone remember shifts? They were perfect for my body type.) My mom had some complicated methods for altering patterns that my math-phobic mind never let me grasp. So I quit sewing for many years, until my friend Anne taught me to quilt. It was perfect for me. I got to play with color and pattern and never had to worry about darts, set-in sleeves, or zippers.

But as time has gone by I've been intrigued by lots of kinds of sewing. And this weekend, I was brave enough to try sewing clothing again. I took a Sewing with Knits class at Home Ec Workshop with Alissa. There were five of us and it was fantastic...in four hours we all cut out and finished a long-sleeved t-shirt (and many people finished in less time). It was so satisfying, and I wore my shirt all the next day. Sorry not to have pictures, but I used a knit from Moda—a very springy turquoise and white dot from the City Weekend line by Oliver and S. It is so soft and cozy the color makes me think winter may eventually come to an end, something I've been doubting of late. And best of all, Alissa altered the pattern (a Burda pattern, I believe) for each of us in the class, so our shirts actually fit.

All this was exciting enough, but the new Stitch magazine has a fantastic article about sewing with knits, as well as some truly adorable patterns. I'm itching to try the Spiral Skirt. Check it out here. (The instructions are in the magazine.) And if this pattern isn't for you, seriously check out the issue, anyway. It's a real keeper, with explanations of great sewing techniques and tons of fantastic projects and patterns. I'm also seriously thinking about using my stash of Woolylady fabrics to do the cover pillow. And there's a Malka Dubrovsky freebie pattern here. How I love her work!

In addition, there are a couple of short articles by yours truly in the issue. One about Collecion Luna, a wonderful endeavor that seeks to preserve Guatemalan  textile traditions while provide a living for families, and another about the New Dress a Day blog, where Marissa creates a new frock each day from an old one (and it can't cost more than one dollar).

Yes, my name is mispelled in the bylines for these pieces...they had a new proofreader and as a former editor I know that these things happen. But they did get it right on the back page, where staffers and contributors were asked about their 2011 sewing resolutions. I said that one of my goals was to take more classes in the new year, and I'm pleased to say I did just that at Home Ec on Saturday.

Share the love

Just found out about this project Etsy is undertaking (and not for the first year, either). They're asking folks to create Valentines that they'll then distribute with meals provided by Citymeals on Wheels.

For suggestions about getting together with friends to create Valentines, guidelines for the cards, mailing information and more, click here. The only catch is that the cards need to be to Etsy by February 9. So gather some friends and get a heart on (sorry, that was very, very bad).

For inspiration, visit Blah to Tada, who's already repurposed some bits and bobs to create a wonderfully diverse assortment of cheery cards.

And this would be a great project to take to your local Meals on Wheels program for Valentine's Day 2012! (Two years ago the Old Capitol Quilter's Guild stitched holiday placemats that were delivered with Meals on Wheels Christmas dinners—there are lots of potential variations on this theme.)

Collaborative quilting

I've joined a small group of interested quilters at Home Ec Workshop (Codi calls us Prelude to a Quilt Guild) and we've met a few times now. The group is fairly free-form and our stitching abilities range from newbie to very experienced. Sometimes we just talk about what we've been doing and sometimes we all decide on a small project that we work on between meetings and share the next time. Thus far, I hadn't managed to get any of the projects completed, but this last time I was inspired.

Each of us cut 64 squares of 5.5" background material (I used a print I've had for ages, everyone else picked solids), and 128 half-squre triangles, cut from squares that measured anywhere from 2.5" to 4.5". Then we threw all the half-square triangles in a big pile and plucked out the number we needed. It gave each of us an opportunity to use someone else's fabrics, which were often fabrics we wouldn't have chosen ourselves.

I sewed each block intentionally not color-matching the triangles (although I did often sew a large one and a small one to each background piece). Then I deviated from the original pattern (it's loosely based on Corner Store by Lynn Harris in Pretty Little Mini Quilts) in which the background blocks all faced the same direction (above), forming a kind of flat Star of David.

In a future post I'll share the finished quilt tops. Can't wait to see what everyone's come up with!

Pearl helped, of course.

Bib-elots

Okay, so maybe the headline is pushing it a bit. Calling bibs "bibelots" (Dictionary.com defines it as a small object of curiosity, beauty, or rarity) works on the "small" level, maybe not so much on the curiosity or rarity plane. But they can be beautiful, or at least fun and charming. And if the things we make don't add a bit of fun and pleasure to our day-to-day activities, then what the heck are we doing making them?

Sweet baby Sam

My good friend Sara had baby number three just before Christmas and I finally got to see (and hold) him yesterday. A total sweetie who obligingly made all his little baby faces, fussed and stretched, and then went to sleep on my shoulder.

Baby Sam's grandmother is a quilter extraordinaire, and a hand-quilter at that. I knew he was getting a very special quilt from her so my friend Sondra and I decided to sew some other items. Sadly, our schedules were such that we never managed to get together. So I made bibs.

Flannel backing on left and right bibs. (Pearl refused to stay out of the photo)

My favorites are the ones backed with flannel. (I made two like that earlier this fall, but gave them away before I got photos.) I figure flannel is softer when you want to wipe the baby's mouth off with the bib. I realize the rickrack will likely serve as a goo-catcher, but it's just too hard not to add a bit of embellishment. And I did put batting in these. I think the ones I made earlier didn't have batting. Not sure which is preferable. I have a friend who cuts up old towels and puts a layer in her bibs. I used Velcro for the fastener.

Any suggestions or tips on making bibs for babes? What's your favorite method or pattern?

Stellar Quilts

Apparently I'm on a video roll, because here's another one. Yes, it's definitely on the far side of bizarre. But the quilts represent an entirely different kind of modern quilting—non-linear, embellished, hand quilted with big stitching. Even though he claims he's from outer space, don't give up too soon...watch to the end to see the stellar quilt. His Etsy shop has more, if you're interested:

Bull Cozy

If for no other reason, watch this for the music and Olek's victory jump. And think of it the next time you decide a textile task is too big to take on!