Inspired by Marty’s frabjous fabric gift bags (see her post of Jan. 1, 2008, “Gift bag secrets revealed”, as well as by fear of the guilt that would result from using non-green, non-reusable paper gift wrap, I have gone a little overboard making fabric bags. Here are the results:
Cathy’s birthday gifts
Gift for a family wedding (the largest Crackpot gift bag to date.)
I am now beginning my September Bead Journal Project. The first issue was what size to make the projects. I decided on a 2.75 inch square. Since some of last year’s participants found a larger format too time consuming, I went with a more modest size. Now I wonder if I should have gone larger…
I started by using some of the amber chips from the little necklace I picked up in Lithuania a year ago. Amber was all over the place in all the Baltic nations, from upscale stores to street stalls. I wasn’t interested in purchasing anything large, fancy or expensive, and I couldn’t find any loose amber beads. So I went with a child’s necklace of amber chips.
To see what the Bead Journal Project is, go to http://morebjp08.blogspot.com/
Now if I could only figure how to get the official button posted on our site…
As most of you know, Lou and I were at the Cute Little House last week, and all I can say is that it is amazing how much one can accomplish when there are no moats to be constructed. Not that one objects to constructing moats, mind you, but moat construction and quilting/sewing/needlework are not especially compatible.
So I approached my week at the CLH unaccompanied by moat builders with great anticipation, bringing an unprecedented four (4) projects with me and certain that I was suffering from delusions of accomplishment. But I actually completed them all! And still I found time for a scintillating morning with the local historical society and a 33 mile bike ride. Talk about a sense of accomplishment!
So, in order from Highest Priority Project to Just Plain Fun Stuff, here they are:
1) Bibs, bibs, bibs (Avert your eyes, Cathy. These are en route to you and will arrive in a few days.) The terry cloth bibs that Cathy requested for James after discovering, thanks to Great Aunt Pat, just how great terry cloth is for self-feeding babies. Cathy insisted that the bibs need not be gussied up, and Grandma Ann did her best.
Priority #2 was to complete the quilt top for little Kristof, our Hungarian grandson. Here it is:
And so you can admire the incredibly cute focus print, here is a detail of one corner:
I just discovered that I have enough quilt batting in stock for the quilt, so quilting will probably start soon.
Priority #3, continuing in the tradition established last Christmas by Marty (also known as Not That Martha), was a gift bag for the books that I am planning to send to Hungary for the aforementioned Kristof. Using an irresistible flannel purchased on a Crackpot Fabric Expedition in one of two states in which Crackpots are resident, I came up with this:
And finally, just for fun, I did a second version of Rebecca’s Challenge from last Christmas. Crackpots who may not have completed even one version of the challenge are forbidden by Crackpot Rules from any feelings of envy or guilt because one us has done two while they have done none. Remember, we are Crackpots, and we do what we feel like doing, at least creatively speaking, whether it makes sense or not. So here are the two versions. As Rebecca predicted, they look really different, despite being the same pattern executed with the same fabrics.
Now I’m tempted to try for a third. But there is also the challenge of what to do with these. I’m considering putting a dark green border on each of them and making them into wall hangings for the kitchen of the CLH. But then I would have to make a new kitchen curtain to match… Another good example of how One Thing Leads to Another among Crackpots.
Still Life With Pickles
OK, so this is not a quilting project; it has nothing to do with fabric, wool, or thread; and it is not the least bit decorative. But it is a significant personal achievement, so it goes on the blog.
I have been making pickles for probably 30 years. And they have never been able to hold a candle to what I can get with my bagel at Einsteins. I have always considered this to be a personal failing. My earliest pickles, made with a recipe from the Vermont Extension Service (this will date my efforts for most Crackpots) had great flavor but were limp and mooshy. Later efforts, using more up-to-date recipes, produced crisp pickles that were so acid as to make one’s throat constrict. I even tried old-fashioned brined, fermented pickles. Not surprisingly, they turned out to be salty. Last year I tried a recipe from “Too Many Tomatoes….. a Cookbook for When Your Garden Explodes,” called icicle pickles. They were nice and crisp but too acid and flavored with celery seed, which I didn’t like. Finally, last month, in desperation, I decided to try using the method for the icicle pickles and the pickling solution from the Vermont Extension Service. The key elements in the combined recipe are: 1) dilute the vinegar in the pickling solution and 2) do not process for more than 5 min. Today, after allowing the pickles to pickle for about 6 weeks, we tried them with lunch. Eureka!!!! They crunched!!! They tasted like dill!!! They did not make our throats close up!!!! THEY ARE WORTH EATING!! Now we can say, “Gee, a nice pickle would taste good with this,” instead of “Hmmm, we should probably try to eat a pickle with this because we have to eat up these pickles some day.” In fact, the old pickles will be tossed on the land fill where they will turn into compost and free up lots of canning jars for other canning efforts. (Notice how adroitly I can rationalize throwing away food in this case.) You can expect pickles for lunch, Crackpots, but not for Christmas presents. We only had enough cucumbers for one batch. Maybe next year…
OK, so here is a photo of the Summer ’08 Crackpot Quilt completed top.
And here is a photo of one of my “more pressing projects.” This is the quilt-in-progress for our Hungarian grandson, kis Kristof, born July 3.
The pattern is “Twistin’ Round the Rails” from The Giving Quilt by Kathy Cueva and Susan Ziegler. I have substituted a solid block of the focus print for the fence rail block in the original pattern, so I guess my version is “Twistin’ Round the Puppies.” The photo is an attempt to show that there will be a 1/4″ yellow inner border and then a wider border of the focus print. The binding will be the solid blue, and the backing will be the focus print. We are heading for the CLH this weekend, and finishing the top will be #1 priority during quilting times.
The Crackpot Quilters again completed a quilt top for charity during the All Together Week. Although the final destination has not yet been determined, it will likely go to an agency that provides supervised visits for foster children with their non-custodial parents.
This year we used a pattern from Quiltmaker magazine. (Someone will have to add the specific details about the issue and the name of the pattern.)
This year we took more time planning before taking the rotary cutters in hand. What does that say about our evolution as crackpots????
Here is the audition of the fabrics:
We decided to have a star fabric theme to match the pattern. The yellow fabric is the sashing. It was left over from Grandson #1’s quilt.
Here are the blocks with the sashing between:
The light blue on the right side will be the border.
The blocks are now sewn together. Oops! A slight sewing variation led to a new arrangement of the blocks. Hey, we’re open to new creative options!
The dark blue will be the backing. We were pleased with our day’s work.
The Renegade Militant Seamstresses went on a roadtrip! Four of us, anyway. It was to Chicago for the American Sewing Guild annual conference in mid-July. It was fun, fun, fun!
We stopped at Vogue Fabrics in Evanston on the way. That’s quite a large store with much fashion fabric (as compared to quilt fabric)–silks, fine wools, rayons, etc. I bought a couple of pieces of silk to use for my dyeing experiments. The price was so good I wished I bought more.
At the conference, we took classes every day. I had determined that I would take “fun” classes as opposed to “educational” classes. That was a great idea. It’s lots easier to pay attention and stay awake in a hands-on class than in a lecture, especially when you’re tired.
My first class was “Wrapped and Embellished Necklace” with Judy Stinton. Here are two pictures of her samples:
Mine is not quite finished yet and it doesn’t look quite that good… This class was lots of fun and Judy was a great teacher.
I also took a silk dyeing class from Judy Stinton. More fun and more mess! More on that in a later post.
Another favorite class was “Sashiko Coin Purse” with Nancy Shriber. She was another excellent teacher, and I would like to take another class from her. Her sashiko garments are gorgeous. I finished the sashiko part but I have to put the purse together.
Whoever thought that four women couldn’t share a room were WRONG! Thanks to my companions, Nancy, Juanita, and Kris!
This is where the experimentation takes place. If you can’t identify something in the background, that’s probably a good thing.
If you can identify something in the background, I’d advise you to forget it for your own personal safety. I do have an associate who is prepared to arrive with a fully loaded super soaker.
Below is the green to blue color movement series using Jacquard Textile Paint. The Apple Green is yellower than a Kelly green. The Sky Blue is not as dark as a royal blue. It took a lot of dipping steps for the blue to show up.
And here is the yellow to green to blue using Setacolor paints. Only the final two samples have blue added.
So far, the alchemist has discovered the following:
1. Have about twice as many fabric pieces as needed. There’s always glop left over. And if it’s all the same kind of fabric, that’s even better for the scientific research.
2. Dilute as little as possible. That reduces the amount of paint needed and the amount of glop left over.
3. Put old newspapers under everything. Squeezing out the dipped fabric causes splatters no matter how careful an alchemist is. (See workroom photos.)
4. Using colors that have a recognizable, named color between them (red and blue with purple between as in the previous post) make a more dramatic color movement series than colors that are right next to each other on the color wheel ( the green and blue series).
And for those who have inquired about the current hostage situation, three of the hostage brats have been, well, eliminated. And more hostage brats are in danger.
I decided to do a “color movement series” with the fabric paints. The idea is to make a dilute solution of paint and water and dip the fabric in it and squeeze it out. When the first piece is laid out to dry, add a few drops of second color and a little water and dip the second piece of fabric. Continue with a few more drops of the second color and a little more water for the third piece of fabric. And so on…
My color movement series used Golden Fluid Acrylic paints in magenta and cyan, and this is the result.
I spread the fabric outside to dry, thus offering the opportunity to explain to my neighbor what I was doing.
The wrinkles sunprinted, giving an interesting texture.
One surprising effect is that the front of the fabric is darker than the back. I also discovered that after I added the blue paint to the solution I needed to make sure my fabric touching hand was clean before touching the dry fabric. Some of the pieces have blue splotches. My idea is to work the same way you would in breading vegetables (or meat for those so inclined) before frying–one hand in the breadcrumbs (dry fabric) and one hand in the egg mixtures (paint).
I also did a few other pieces.
And I had some help.
As to my neighbor’s question about what I’m going to do with this stuff? Hey, it’s a Crackpot Project, and use and function are of no importance!
I’ve decided to join the 2008 Bead Journal project. http://www.beadjournalproject.com/about.htm
This means I am committed to making a beaded project each month for a year, starting in September. I get to choose the size and shape, but all the projects are expected to be the same size and shape. I think 3″ x 5″ is reasonable for me. I will challenge myself to try some new techniques and to move out of the safety of monochromatic color schemes.
To see what some of the 2007 participants have made, go to http://www.flickr.com/groups/2007_bead_journal_project/