Making a Pocket Quilt Label from a Handkerchief

I still had to put a label on my quilt "Saint Francis Preaches to the Birds" before mailing it to the Sacred Threads show.  I like to use doilies and other linens as labels, and this time I decided to try using a handkerchief.  Iron your hankie really well, fold it into quarters, press,  and trim to the desired size plus 1/4  inch all around. 

  Take one of the blank squares and your fancy square an iron them to squares of freezer paper slightly larger than your fabric.

  You can practice your word placement on the blank square,

And then write your text (using a permanent marker or gel pen) on the square you intend for your finished label.

Line up your label, right sides together with one blank leftover square.  I used both the leftover squares because this fabric was very thin. Sew together using a 1/4 inch seam all around, leaving an opening for turning.  Trim the corners.

Turn right sides out.  Poke out the corners, slip stitch the opening.

If you're lucky, your cat inspector will come by to check your work.

Slip stitch the label to your quilt.

Since this quilt is traveling, I left one side open to form a pocket.

I wrote my contact information on a card stock label that fits into the pocket.  I love these hand charms, and I sewed one on as an anchor for the string.

Getting Close

I'm getting close to the length I want my granny square scarf to be.  Of course those last few rows are the most tedious. 

There are a lot of ends to weave in on these motifs.  I tend to do them as I go along with a tapestry needle.  I'm also joining two small and one large motif into rectangular units using a slick invisible join that I found on Pinterest.  This is a slightly different technique that gives a perfectly invisible join.

I think three more rows might be perfect for this project.  Then I'll be seaming the whole thing together.

Project Organization

The Granny Square scarf grows by the day.  I'm thinking that when I have all the motifs joined, I'll add a crocheted edging all the way around--maybe one with picots.

 I've thrown a few more yarns into the mix.  These are odd balls from my stash. 

Since I make these motifs while sitting in my living room, I needed to tame all the yarns and the motifs.  While in Tuesday Morning, I found this large fake book. 

Everything fits neatly inside when I'm not working on it.  The blocks even stack up neatly and stay in order.  Sometimes I just like to open the box and admire the colors.

Closet and Archive

This only just passed through my radar: Appearances Can Be Deceiving: The Dresses of Frida Kahlo, a collaboration between the Frida Kahlo Museum and Vogue Mexico, opened on November 24th, 2012 and will run for a full year.  This article has a video interview with the exhibit's curator, who talks about Kahlo's choice of dress, and the article explains how it took 58 years for the contents of Frida's closet to come to light.

How wonderful that Kahlo scholars are attuned to the importance of these dresses and other personal objects.  They are so deeply identified with Frida and with the image she constructed of herself as a Mexican woman artist.  Now here are some textiles with stories to tell.

Granny Square Scarf

I'm chugging along on my Granny Square Scarf, inspired by the Bohemian Rhapsody scarf pattern and kit.  After making several motifs, I realized my weaving samples are not going to be sufficient for the whole project.

Luckily, I have left over sock and fingering weight yarn from past projects.  It looks like I've got a thing for orange and blue.

I also have a stash of crewel embroidery yarn, 100% wool, and in a good range of colors.  Some of the longer pieces are sufficient for the first and even second rounds of the motif.  Shorter lengths have to be joined.  Two of my favorite methods for joining yarn seamlessly are the Braided Join, and the Russian Join.  These links are to youTube videos.

I may get close to the 70 colors in my inspiration piece. 

Thrifted Pretties

When I visited my folks recently, my mom gave me a few pretties she'd found at an estate sale.  The motif, she thought, might be tatted.  I'm inclined to agree with her because of the long threads and the woven patches in the outer part of the circle.  It's got a bit of a stain on it, but that is a sign of it's natural age.

She also gave me this spotless linen hankie with hand a crocheted (?) lace edging. 

The work is just perfect.  I'll save both of these pieces for a special project.

I recently ran across some great thrifted buttons.  I hadn't found buttons in a while, so these are great additions to my stash.  I think the cards are sometimes even more interesting than the buttons themselves, especially when they include the price.  Those "Le Chic" buttons where made in Japan, which is probably not a big exporter of buttons anymore.

These shiny black buttons were made in West Germany but the claim that they were "styled in Hollywood" gave them their real panache.

For real chic, these buttons claim Paris.  And add a foil backing.

Sometimes a discount trumps glamor.

Grey mother of pearl:  a little warn, but still beautiful.

Summer Vacation

With a Great Sigh of Relief, my summer vacation has started.   So far I have done some spring cleaning and organizing, weeded the backyard within an inch of its life,  and spent a few days visiting my parents.  I also finished my second sweater for the Afghans for Afghans 500 sweater campaign.  This sweater, the Quince-Essential Fair Isle, is from Ann Budd's The Knitter's Handy Book of Top-Down Sweaters.  Being bulky weight it knitted up pretty fast.  There's still time to contribute toward this campaign, which ends in July.

Toward the end of the semester, I was totally smitten by the BBC series The Great British Sewing Bee, which you can watch on YouTube.  There are four episodes, and the show is like Project Runway for home sewers.  Don't be put off by the fact that the first challenge is and A-line skirt, it gets more interesting, and it is quite inspiring.

In the process of watching the show, I became fixated with the granny square scarf Ann wears each time she arrives and takes off her coat.  The scarf, Bohemian Rhapsody, is available as a kit by Marylene Lynx, made up of 70 skeins of hand-dyed lace weight wool.  I would buy this kit if it crossed my path, but I decided instead to make up my own "inspired by Bohemian Rhapsody" project.

Last Fall my friend Catherine gave me these weaving yarn samples that had been in her grandmother's stash.  They are a sturdy lace weight.

I decided to make my motifs with the lace weight yarn doubled, roughly fingering weight, on a size F hook.  Crocheting lace weight was a bit more fussy than I wanted to get, plus I didn't want to be at this for the rest of my life. The main feature I liked about the pattern was the alternating sizes of the motifs.  Bohemian Rhapsody uses motifs in 3 sizes, and I chose a very basic granny square motif in two sizes.  The small squares are two rounds of the larger 4-round block.  The pattern is an abbreviated version of the motif in this free Red Heart pattern.

Crochet gets a bad rap sometimes, but I'm enjoying the process, and the color play.  The ergonomic Clover hook makes for much less hand strain than I remember from crocheting in the past.

Now that I'm on vacation, you might find me here, making a few squares.

Still Knitting

Maybe when school's out I'll have the brain space for something more creative, but in the meantime I'm happily knitting along.  I finished one sweater in worsted weight for the Afghans for Afghans 500 Sweater campaign, and then figured I could knock off a second one before the June deadline.

This one is knit on size 13 needles with bulky weight yarn, so it's going faster than the first.  Both patterns are from Ann Budd's book The Knitter's Handy Book of Top-Down Sweaters.   I'm stash-busting with these sweaters, clearing out some odd balls of yarn.  The blue, yellow and green yarn in the second sweater are actually worsted weight that I'm double-stranding to approximate bulky weight yarn, and it's working out fine.  Make due is my current motto where yarn acquisition is involved.  I'm making exceptions, however, for needles, patterns, and anything irresistible.

When in Doubt, Knit

 

 Things have been unusually busy around here, which is the reason for the hiatus, but the semester is winding down and summer offers the prospect of more creative time in the days ahead. 

I may have discovered the reason why my vintage 1930s quilt blocks were abandoned in the past: it's boring to do the same thing over and over.  I haven't made much more headway with them, but they're still in the sewing basket waiting for me to be in the right mood.  

Instead, I've been working on some knitting projects.  Currently on the needles is a top-down child's sweater for the Afghans for Afghans campaign to donate 500 handknit sweaters to a girls' school in Afghanistan.   I'm using up leftover yarn to boot.  The body of the sweater is almost done, then I'll pick up the sleeve stitches and knit those, and add some ribbing to the neck.  The sweaters are due in early summer if anyone feels inspired to contribute.

  

I also made this easy and attractive scarf: The Favorite Scarf Ever by Lisa Bruce, with some self-stripping sock yarn.  The scarf was a well-received birthday present for a friend.

 At the end of last year I cast on this sweater for myself: Miss BB by Bonne Marie Burns.  It's a fun knit and the tailored design is great for work.

I couldn't resist adding this snazzy ribbon as button band reinforcement.  It makes me cheerful just knowing that ribbon is hiding on the inside of my work sweater.

I have had some good news: my quilt "St. Francis Preaches to the Birds" will be part of the Sacred Threads show this summer.  

I hope to resume more regular posts.  That's my plan anyway.

One Down, Eleven to Go

I finished one block in my 30s quilt block kit.  I completed the embroidery on the one block that had the applique already finished and buttonhole stitched down.

An 80 year-old UFO can be a bit grimy.  I soaked it for several hours in detergent and oxyclean.  Toward the end, I treated the spots with some Fels Naptha, which is my stain remover of last resort.

The spotting on the block has faded, but it's still there.  I have resolved that I won't let that bother me.  This piece has earned its age spots.  I think the darkest stain on the middle left may be a rust stain from a needle that was left in the fabric, since it's near where the previously embroidered section ended and the green embroidery thread was left hanging.

I'm going to adjust my thread colors for the next block.  I want a darker yellow and I found a couple of darker greens in my stash.  These blocks are 17 x 17 inches, so there's some room for trimming when it comes time to set them in a quilt top. 

And You Thought Your UFOs Were Old

I've pulled out a UFO to finish.  This project has been in my stash for several years, I bought 12 of these waterlily applique and embroidery blocks for $6.00, maybe ten years ago.  A couple of the blocks have some of the stamped applique pieces basted down, but most of the stamped blocks are bare and I have the corresponding stamped applique pieces for all of the blocks.

The appliques have a stamp that says the kit was copyrighted by the Rainbow Quilt Block Co. in 1932, 81 years ago.

On one block the applique has been completed, and a meticulous buttonhole stitch has been applied to the edges.

The green thread from the outline embroidery has been left hanging in a tantalizing way.  Who started this kit, and why was it abandoned?  Maybe finishing this kit will lead me to some clues as to the story of this project.  Maybe completing this old UFO will allow some needle worker's spirit to rest a bit more peacefully.

I began with the important task of getting the right supplies.  All the pieces are in good shape, though some of the blocks have "beauty spots," stains of unknown origin.  At one point I washed one of the stamped blocks in oxyclean to see how much of the staining will come out with a good wash, and it came out nice and white, if not totally spotless.

When the blocks are done, I've got a drawer full of 30s fabrics I want to use to make complimentary pieced blocks for the finished quilt.  That's my plan anyway. 

Super Good News

 

I recently heard that I have won the Philip Levine Book Prize for my manuscript Mexican Jenny and Other Poems.  The book will be published this year by Anhinga Press, a respected independent literary publisher.  

I have been overwhelmed by this good news. I deeply respect and admire the work of both Philip Levine, in whose honor the contest was established, and of Cornelius Eady, the contest judge, so this recognition is especially meaningful to me.   

The title poem of this collection is a biographical poem about a woman who, legend has it, made a crazy quilt while she was incarcerated for murdering her violent partner, a man who was also her pimp.  Although "Mexican Jenny" is based on the slim outline of the story of a real woman, I have filled in the gaps of history with my own fiction making.  Since Jenny was a quilter, what I have learned over the last 13 years as a quilt maker myself, showed me the way to tell her story.  

The pen and the needle are powerful tools that allow us to speak about human experience.

St. Francis Preaches to the Birds (32 x 33")

I finished this wall hanging, remarkably close to on-time, thanks to the peer pressure encouragement of the talented participants in the Tuesday Stitchers group.  Most of us did some version of the Crazy Quilt Journal Project and the Take a Stitch Tuesday challenges.  It's not typical for me to work on a schedule, but I am very happy to see the project come to fruition. 

Here are several close-ups. 

The blocks, sashing and binding were joined by hand because I felt it gave me the most control when working with the shape-shifting sizes of these blocks.

I used an assortment of buttons, beads and some quilting stitches to bind the top  layer to the backing.

There are the medals of St. Francis (with birds swirling around his head) and St. Clare, who I've been told is the patron saint of embroiderers.  These, and the lace panel of the Virgin Mary, were brought back from Italy by my friend Cathrine.

For the backing, I used this vintage upholstery panel.

Here's what the finished quilt back looks like.  I still have to attach the hangings sleeve at the top, and add the label, which will go into the space below the tree.

With this project done, the rest of the year is wide open for new projects.  We'll see what jumps onto the design wall from here.