Early winter is the best time to dig, when the water is very cold and the clam muscle is nice and firm……Yum!

A few years ago I took a City and Guilds embroidery course and one of our requirements was to study the Bayeux Tapestry and recreate a tiny section using the two stitches that were originally used back in 1066.  The Outline Stitch is one that I was familiar with but the Laid Work Stitch was new to me.  It is essentially a secured basket weave which makes it very durable -  probably why the Bayeux Tapestry has survived the ravages or time.

The other part of the lesson was to create our own scene using the same techniques, materials and stitches.  I chose to depict a man digging clams – Quahogs to be sure.

Bayeux Tapestry

                                                                                  Digging Clams

These are the pieces that I created.  The Bayeux one depicts a warrior setting an anchor as they ready their invasion.  Digging Clam, well it’s self explanatory – note the clam basket.  The materials used were a linen base and wool thread – the type used for needlepoint worked great.  For those of you who dabble in embroidery and are not familiar with Laid-work, grab your embroidery dictionary, your hoop and give it a go.  It creates a nice dense, textured and durable surface.  Oh, time to go, Hubby just pulled some Quahogs on the half shell from the broiler – wish you were here.

Ever Curious,

Linda

Dragger on the Rocks

Here is my latest fabric painting…in the works!

The picture was painted on white cotton with black fabric paint (Dye-Na-Flow) that was thickened with Sodium Alginate.  The bright white areas, like the seafoam on the waves and the wheelhouse, were masked with a commercial brush-on masking gel prior to painting. This step helps to preserve the brights no matter what I do.

After the painting was finished and the alginate and mask were washed out, I started to hand quilt which is why there are basting stitches running through the piece.  The hand quilting thread and stitches were too large in proportion to the lines in the design.  I pulled it out and began to machine quilt – not my favorite – so here it sits waiting for me to get inspired again to get quilting.  Even though it isn’t finished, I thought that you might like to see another example of painting on fabric with thickened fabric paints or dyes.

Ever curious,

Linda

I have just opened a shop on Etsy for my creations – especially the Doll clothes.  It has been a real learning curve, especially preparing the photos and description text.  Gee, I wonder if I will ever have any more time to create!!!

Please check it out at:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/capecodcuriosities

Ever curious,

Linda

Well, finally here it is!  Introducing a small line of doll clothing and accessories  for the

American Girl Doll® 

They are one-of-a-kind and hand made  

I am having a great time researching and designing these little gems, and would like to share them with you.  I am not much on making quantities of anything so if you see a piece that you like but it is sold, please contact me and I will try my best to fulfill your wishes.

I grew up wearing hats so you will find that a hat  is often included in an ensemble – a must have for any little lady!  I will be offering  just for fun hats  as well as options for ensembles on The Mad Hattery page (Coming soon).

Take a moment and check it out – your comments are always welcome!

Sunshine’s Boutique

Ever curious,

Linda

Limited Edition Clothing for the American Girl ® Doll

Hand Made Contemporary and Period Clothing & Accessories for 18″ Dolls

The Story

My Grandaughter used her Christmas gift money to buy an American Girl Doll.  I thought it would be fun to make her some clothes and accessories, but of course, I needed a doll to make sure the clothes fit.  You can probably guess what came next.  As it turns out, we both had bought the same doll “Julie” the girl from 1970′s California.  I have re-named her “Sunshine” and named the clothing boutique after her. 

I am having such fun designing and creating clothes that I thought I would offer them for sale.  Most will be One-of-a- Kind pieces.  There will be contemporary and period clothing as well as costumes. 

I hope that my boutique items will appeal to both the Play Doll as well as the Collector Doll. 

Please contact me with your e-mail address so that you can be one of the first to see the introductory line of hand made doll clothes and accessories.

Ever curious,

Linda

Besides the fact that Hand Piecing is where it all began,  there are several reasons to become adept at hand piecing.

1. It is portable.  Hand Piecing can be done anywhere that a needle and thread can be used.  You don’t have to sit at a sewing machine or have an iron handy.
2. The technique is basic to the core,  slow and therefore very relaxing.
3. The results are charming and very satisfying.

The equipment list can be as basic as you want it to be.

A block pattern and a color scheme.  There are a bazillion quilt block patterns out there and always the option to create your own.  Personally I like the traditional blocks – they make me feel closer to the women who used them to cover their families from the chilly nights.  The one pictured is usually called Duchman’s Puzzle.

Each block has its own elements which require each different piece to have its own pattern (plastic or cardboard) or dimensions and instructions to rotary cut.  Patterns and rotary cutting dimensions should including the ¼ inch seam allowance.

Fabric – 100% Cotton is traditional and is easy to work with as it holds its shape and takes a crease well.

Sewing needles (some quilters use quilting betweens to piece.  It is a good way to get the feel of a between before trying to hand quilt).  Betweens are short, stout and sharp but any needle you are comfortable using is great.

A good quality cotton sewing thread.  You do not want to use quilting thread to piece.  Regular cotton sewing thread is strong and does not take up any extra room in the seam allowance.  This makes for a nice crisp seam.  A single strand of thread is used – do not double it.

Good fabric shears and small scissors for cutting thread.  Today, most quilters use a rotary cutter for cutting pieces.  I learned with scissors and plastic pattern pieces.  No rotary mat required, only a piece of fine sandpaper to hold the fabric while you mark it.

Marking pencils and a ruler with ¼ inch marks along its length – a quilter’s ruler is perfect.  I use a very sharp regular pencil on medium and light fabrics and a yellow pencil on dark fabrics.  It is very important to be able to see the marked lines and corner dots easily.  Marking lines are drawn on the back of the fabric as the piecing is done with right sides together.

Cutting

 Trace around your plastic pattern pieces and cut out each piece from the specified fabric or using dimensions and a rotary cutter.  Note:  Be sure that odd shaped pieces which are mirror imaged are being cut so that they face the correct way when assembled into the patch. Do not use selvage edges as they do not always lay flat.

Marking

 Your pattern pieces or rotary cut dimensions included the ¼ inch seam allowance.  Now those allowances need to be marked as these are your sewing lines. Make nice dots at the intersection of the lines at the corners.  Rotary cutting and machine piecing using a quarter inch foot on your sewing machine is very fast, but we are looking for slow and quiet.

Take your time and lay each piece right side down on the sandpaper and using your ruler draw lines a quarter inch from the edge of the fabric and dots at the corners.  Try to keep your pencil sharp so that the lines do not get progressively fatter.  If you can’t stand the slow pace of this method, write to me and I will give you my slightly faster method.  I think that it is important to try this way first because it gives you the opportunity to really get to know your ¼ inch seam allowance.  After a while, you will instinctively know when you are off course.  In my first quilting class we used finished size patterns and drew the ¼ inch lines around them before cutting out the pieces.  I found this very tedious but effective.  Try it yourself.  Note:  Finished size does not include a seam allowance.

Construction – Sewing the pieces into patches and then blocks.

Sewing

The pieces are joined with cotton sewing thread, right sides together.  A medium gray thread works really well with all colors both light and dark for piecing.  You will be using the same thread throughout the piecing project.  The stitch used is a very simple running stitch (———–) how easy is that!  Using a single thread and keeping your stitches fairly small, stitch from corner dots across to the corner dots checking on the back to make sure you are sewing on both lines.  Pinning the end dots can be helpful but be sure not to skew the lines.  Pins should be at a right angle to the sewing line.  At the end you can fasten off the thread and cut it or take a couple of back stitches and continue on with the next piece.  Now and then you can take a back stitch in the middle of a line which will help the pieces from coming completely apart if the thread breaks later on in your quilt’s life.  This will make a nice strong seam.

When you have finished assembling the pieces into patches, finger press the seams to one side. (General rule is press to the darker fabric so there is no shadowing of dark fabric through light colors.)  Quilt seams are almost never pressed open as in garment sewing.  Note:  When you reach a corner and you are going to attach another piece, be sure you match and stitch through the dots – do not catch any of the seam allowances in your stitches.  The little points at the corners should be free to flare around like a pinwheel.  By stitching the dots exactly you will be able to piece the Dreaded  Y  seam with ease – unlike on a sewing machine.

How a Pieced Quilt is Constructed

Pieced Quilts are constructed in Blocks which contain Patches usually in combinations of threes or fours. Hence the Three Patch Block, Four Patch, Six and so on.  The Patches are the small elements that create the Block.  Each Patch is constructed or in some cases it is a single element, and it is then joined to the next patch across the row.  Most patches make squares or rectangles that join easily with each other patch to make a row.  As each row is completed it is set aside until all the rows for the block are complete.  Using a square of Styrofoam covered with a piece of cotton flannel works great to keep each piece in its proper place until the block is finished.

The rows are then joined making sure that seams match exactly until the block is complete.  Blocks are joined in rows and rows are joined to complete the pieced quilt top.

_ _ _ _   Row 1

_ _ _ _   Row 2

_ _ _ _   Row 3

Start small and simple and have fun.

Ever Curious,

Linda

I took a hand appliqué class several years ago.  The project was this wonderful little pillow with a design reminiscent of a Baltimore Album square.  The fabrics were supplied by the teacher, some probably from her stash.  The lovely monochrome color scheme and the use of silk for the flower buds and rouched blossom added a sophistication to the design.

The little pillow has been a part of the collection on my living room couch during the summer and part of the dining room collection the rest of the year. It has been admired and handled gently as interesting pillows will be.  Recently I noticed that there were tiny pieces of what looked like fine threads here and there on the couch.  On closer inspection I realized that the silk buds and rouched blossom were the source of the minute threads.  The beautiful silk had begun to fracture.

All that work and it was disintegrating before my eyes.  There was no way of knowing how old the silk was when I used it, and using some kind of stabilizer would not have been an option as it would have increased the bulk of the delicate buds and prevented the soft folds in the rouched blossom.

Needless to say, I am very disappointed.  Replacing the silk elements is certainly a possibility but it means removing some of the decorative embroidery and beading as well.  Somehow things never seem to go back together looking unaltered but I will give it a try – some day!

The lessons I have learned are: know the age and history of your fabrics when at all possible, and choose fabrics that are the most stable and sturdy for the purpose intended. A better choice than silk for a piece that is subject to light, temperature, humidity and handling would have been an imitation silk.  They are amazingly silk-like with a soft hand and drape. Because they are made from man made fibers like nylon and etc. they are stable and sturdy without the fracturing over time.

The final lesson is: be able to live with the choices you make because repairs are costly in time and counter productive.  If you are selling or giving away your creations you do not want them to come back because of poor choices in materials or workmanship.

We all love to use antique and recycled textiles in our work – they are charming and responsible.  However, if you want your hard work to last, be aware of their content and condition.  Linen seems to last for ever, silk not so much.

Choose wisely!

Have you had a similar experience with older textiles?  Let us know.  Leave a comment.

Ever curious,

Linda