Contrary to what the title of this post may imply, this post is not about the use of Metamucil, Fiber Con, or other dietary fiber additives...it's about the fibers that are woven, knit, or spun, just waiting to be fashioned into some wonderful, unique, creation.
If you are reading this, then you likely know me well enough to know that there are two creative outlets that are therapeutic to me—cooking and "crafting" (we'll use that word here to encompass sewing, quilting, crocheting, cross stitching, and any other form of fiber art that I missed).
I love fabric. I love fibers in general. One of my favorite projects to do in college was for a textiles class. We had to gather a variety of different fabrics—wool, nylon, silk, cotton, etc.—and cut exact sample sizes of each. They were then laundered and we compared the samples and their reactions to the laundry process. I found it very interesting to see how each fabric's properties resulted in various reactions to water—shrinkage, wrinkles, fading, fraying, etc. But probably even more fun was the different textures represented by the different fibers, and the different textures that can be achieved by the various methods used to create with each fiber. Men's sweaters are some of the most fabulous creations ever! I have been known to stop men that I know who are wearing a "cool" sweater and ask if I can just "touch" the fabric—as I drool internally over the marvelous texture. I love the different "chunky" weaves that can be achieved with the knitting process. But I don't knit. Perhaps that will change one day, but for now, I'm not sure I'd remember how to "knit" or "purl" or even cast on the beginning stitches.
My apologies, I got off on a tangent. This summer I was blessed with the ability to visit some old and dear friends in eastern Pennsylvania. We spent time in the Amish country and shopped in some Amish quilt fabric shops—HEAVENLY! My goal was to find fabric for a quilt for my friend's recently married daughter (who I hope is not reading this!). We were successful in finding something we thought she'd like, and in the process, purchased fabric to make my friend a quilt, too. Another of my friends has a daughter getting married this coming spring, so I've found a pattern and fabric for a quilt for her, too. Count that—fabric for
three (2 king/1 queen size) quilts.
This past week I had the pleasure of dog sitting two of my favorite canine friends—Amelia and Murphy—two beautiful Labradoodles (sorry folks, forgot to capture the Kodak moments while I was there). My goal for the week was to cut out all three of the above mentioned quilts. And make some serious progress on several Bible studies I'm working on (over achiever, I know!). Add into the mix a last-minute opportunity to serve one of our church ministries with a "thank you" dinner for their group on Tuesday, as well as a couple of opportunities to provide meals for families, and my week was full! It was not until Friday that I actually started taking fabric out of boxes and using my rotary cutter so much that the blade dulled beyond further use! (I'm not even sure it can be resharpened at this point....)
Friday and Saturday were quite productive, as I got one of the quilts completely cut out. Whooo hoooo!!!! And Sunday I spent part of the day sewing (I was torn between my desire to sew, the need to clean, and the craving for homebaked goodies—pumpkin bread or gingerbread or ... something fattening and yummy!). So a little cleaning (not too much, mind you!) and then I rewarded myself with some sewing...sans goodies. And VOILA! I was able to get 16 of the 8" setting blocks sewn—12 of the first block and 4 of the second. The first block will actually have a triangle piece sewn on each of the two "lower" sides to complete the setting, and the second blocks will be on the four outer corners of the quilt.
I'm calling this quilt the T's Treasure....it has 14 different fabrics...a mix of reproduction fabrics and contemporary in various shades of brown, tan, blue, and pink. There are 25—14" blocks using a basic bear paw pattern, with various "palms" on each block, using a "base block" of either blue, pink, tan, or brown. What a joy it is to experience the different feels of the fabrics, and watch how they yield to being stitched together and pressed into shape. Some are soft and have little "body" to them, while others have a bit more sizing added and offer a bit of "backbone" to the blocks. As I finish blocks, I'll try to be diligent about posting photos, as well as a photo of the finished projects.
Speaking of finished projects—and diligently posting—it has been a couple of months since I posted anything about other projects that were in the works, which have since been completed, and I thank you for your patience! The following photos are what I believe are the last of my trip to Dallas, as well as photos of other "finished" pieces from this year.
Our Women's Ministry Director at church recently temporarily moved to the UK with her husband for his job. How sad I was to hear that she would be leaving, as she's such a sweet spirited woman who truly loves the Lord! She had been in the process of revamping the ministry into what now is called "
Together Ministry to Women" using butterflies and hearts as part of the logo. And Jackie loves tea! So what better "going across the Pond" gift to give her than a quilted table topper for tea parties???? I found a pattern online at the JoAnn's site using their
Afternoon Tea collection of fabrics that was introduced this spring (I posted a photo of the original pattern in an earlier post). The pattern was very poorly written, and was for a rectangle shaped piece rather than a square as I wanted, so I ended up reworking the pattern to suit my needs. When I went to purchase the fabric, I was surprised to find that of the 15 fabrics required by the pattern, they only had about 5 or 6 in stock at that particular store. So I ended up adding complementary fabrics from other lines to come up with the quilt below, which I call Together for Tea. Kay Ihnat is a local long-arm quilter and did a most beautiful job quilting it for me. She incorporated butterflies and hearts into the block quilting, and wrote "Together" in one of the borders. Hopefully each time Jackie uses it, she will think of all of her friends here in the 'Burgh and remember just how special she is to us!
Together for TeaSince I had to guess on yardages when purchasing the fabric for this quilt, I had quite a bit left over...so again, I decided to be creative! While shopping at a quilt shop in Beaver County, PA, I had seen a double wedding ring piece that I loved. I don't recall if it was a table runner or a table topper, but it was simply divine! Unfortunately, the shop did not have patterns/books for any of the 5 or 6 items in their store windows that I wanted to make. With a bit of research, and help from quilting friends, I found the pattern in Eleanor Burns'
Egg Money Quilts book. I took the leftover fabric from Jackie's quilt and made a table runner for my friend, Michele, who turned 40 in October. I believe I posted a picture of what it was to look like some time ago, but here are photos of the finished piece. While I like the look of a "squared off" table runner, I really was hoping that my bold move to echo the outlines of the rings would work—and it did—beautifully! I liked this piece so well that I have one in the works for myself...and I'm thinking I might actually try my hand at hand quilting it...completely. Michele's was machine quilted on my Janome Gem.
Michele's Table RunnerI had this wonderful idea of adding a tea set to the gift, but did not want to go through the hassle and expense of purchasing it here and then hauling or shipping it to Dallas. So my first stop once I got to town was a TJ Maxx, primarily because I had purchased a quilt at one of the stores here a few months prior, and then later found one lonely pillow sham that matched—none of the stores in western PA had another one! So I was on a mission to find one—and I did! As well as the items below that were added to Michele's birthday present. All but the table runner was placed in the oh-so-cool-and-"matching" box, and the table runner was in a bag that, believe it or not, closely resembled the box!
Set for tea
Michele and her helpers opening her present (Heather [in pink] was delighted with her mom's gift! She had tea with mom the very next day!)One of the first quilting books I ever saw was Eleanor Burns'
Log Cabin-Make A Quilt In A Day—her first quilt book; the original GBC comb-bound version. This was back in the 80's when rotary cutters were pretty new on the sewing scene, and the concepts she presented in her book were mind boggling to this college girl who'd been sewing for more than half her life. My first (and only at this time) quilt had been cut out using scissors! "I can do this!" I remember thinking over and over as I contemplated creating one of these "quilts in a day". Yet I never ventured out to try her method. Finally, this year I made my first (and second) log cabin quilts. What a joy to create! And, yes, they were quick to make! Of course, for me, patterns are like recipes—just a general guide of "how to" make something; almost always I take the basics of the "guide" and make it "my way." One of the two log cabin quilts was made for my friend from church, who also does my hair (I'm sure she cringes each time with the knowledge that I am perhaps her client who spends the least amount of time and energy on their hair!). Wendy and I met at the New Members class at church. She and her hubby had their young son with them—I think he was only a few months old at the time. I've had the honor of making Jeremy's first two birthday cakes, and this summer, they welcomed little Nicholas into their family. So early in the year I quizzed her about the kids' rooms and what the decor would be like as she tried to tame my mane with a mind of its own. Jeremy would be moving into a big boy room decorated with red, white, and blue; the baby would be in Jeremy's old room using baby blue. Another friend had been raving about this simply delightful quilt pattern, Slash Your Stash, that was quick and easy to make, and with the slashing of the blocks and rearranging of the pieces results in a unique and clever use of fabrics. I chose to make the log cabin quilts out of red, white, and blue fabrics, while using pastel blues with a touch of green and yellow and white for the Slash Your Stash quilt. Below are the two finished quilts that I was able to give Wendy on her first day back at work after little Nicholas was born. She loved them, and was amazed that they were the right colors for the boys (she'd forgotten the "innocent" inquiries I'd made earlier in the year!).
Nicholas' Slash Your Stash—This is just a few blocks showing the deatil of the pattern and the machine quilting, done on my Janome Jem.
Jeremy's Log Cabin quilt set in a pinwheel pattern.The last of my little show-and-tell for this post is a small wallhanging I did for my friends in eastern PA. When I decided I was going to take a trip out that way, they were gracious and offered to let me stay in their guest "suite", which allowed me to buy more fabric and other goodies while I was there. I had not seen them in about 9 years, and really wanted to take them something special. I wanted to do something small, perhaps a sampler, and started searching out patterns. What I ended up doing was creating my own pattern, using traditional blocks and an Americana theme. As the piece came together, one of the blocks I used became a "Texas flag" block. Others have special meaning to them, too. I was trying to create something that symbolized our friendship, faith, the love they share with each other and others, and the place where we met—Texas. I think it turned out beautiful, even with the one "big" oops that I noticed after all the blocks were sewn together (I'm not telling!). Just like me, it's not perfect, but it's full of love and good memories! (By the way...I also took along a white chocolate raspberry cheesecake and a case of SPAM, just in case the wallhanging wasn't a hit...but it all was!)
Celebrating Friendship, Faith, and Love!
