The Stitch Up

Spring WIPs and Current Inspiration

February and March have been a little more eventful than usual around here.  We actually took a little trip.  (Head to my Flickr page if you'd like to see some Vegas pics!)  Despite that, I've finished a couple of items on my WIP tracker here on the blog!

First up, the 2021 Tea Towel calendar from September House.  I was happy to kick my stitching off this year with another of her great patterns and I'm happy with the way my color choices worked out:

Next up - the gradient half pi shawl.  I had a much more complex pattern for this, but it was really too much for my skill level so I ended up just searching out a basic half pi pattern online.  I think the yarn itself really elevated the basic pattern though and I'm love the result.  I used a Cashmere Lace weight yarn from Pepperberry Knits in  "Kitten", "Tahiti", "Mrs. Smith" and "Smoke".  Because of how light weight the yarn is I had to knit with double strands which was new for me, but it's such a smooth, soft result I'll probably try something similar again.

Unfortunately I haven't made much progress on the quilt squares.  I've cut out a couple test squares, but I keep going back and forth on the pattern that I want to use so I'm still experimenting.  Hopefully I'll have more on that project soon!

In the mean time, it's onto a couple new projects.  The first is my "travel project".  This is fairly small so it's what I stick in my "carry-on" to stitch on the plane or during down time at the hotel.  As we traveled recently I had some time to work on it and I'm getting close to finishing it up, so I'm going to knock it out.

I think this pattern is from the Colonial Patterns Wild Wild West , but I really have been carrying this around for awhile so I won't swear to it.  The plan was to use it as part of "Cowgirl Quilt" I have planned - it could still be a part of that, but it would also make a nice patch so we'll see!

The next project I'm going add to my WIPs is my Ida Tunnell sampler:

As I understand it, the saying "It'll Never Be Seen On A Galloping Horse was a fairly well used saying back in the day, but it was one my great grandma liked and used regularly so I'm attributing it to her for this sampler.  I'm back and forth on filling in the horse with stitches.  I'll decide after I finish the florals on the side.

One of my goals this year was to blog about what is inspiring me and use that to help focus in on what really resonates with me and my stitching.  Since I haven't blogged for a bit, I decided to combine my recent inspiration with my WIPs for this post.  

My current inspiration has been a really fun and eye opening project I've been doing with my friends.  Each week, one of us picks a few pages from the book Journal Sparks for everyone to work on and then we are sharing what we've come up with in a google doc.  

Much like the Spoonflower Challenge I did with my friend in January, this is really getting me out of my safe space and offering the opportunity to work in different mediums.  It's also making me dig a little deeper into how I see myself, my future and the world around me.  It's a great book and fun if you want something to kind of shake up your creativity.  It's also showing me some new sides to my girlfriends which is especially wild.  I've known these women for 40+ years and yet they still surprise me with their talent, sensitivity, humor and depth.  A few of the things I've made that were inspired by the journal prompts:

I think we'll keep finding ways to inspire each other even when we're done with this journal project.  These ladies really are stabilizing and motivational for me and I'm grateful every day that they are my friends.

I hope everyone is finding inspiration in the beautiful Spring weather, the new blooms, and the new optimism that things will be returning to normal.  Happy stitching!

Spanish Embroidery of the American Southwest

Within the mix of textiles I think about as being part of the Southwest frontier include the brightly embroidered shawls, blouses and quilts that originated from Mexico and its Spanish origins.  In doing a  little research, the majority of what I think of as Spanish or Mexican embroidery is the "Colcha" embroidery.  [1]  Colcha embroidery was originally used to mend holes in bed spreads called Colchas and the Colcha stitch was a method that preserved yarn at a time when textiles were the result of a long process of collecting wool from sheep and turning it into yarn. [2]

 

The wool on wool Colcha embroidery is one of the few textiles developed and made in New Mexico during the Spanish Colonial period.  [3]  Wool used for Colcha embroidery was dyed using indigenous plants and the designs reflected the animals and plants that women saw in their daily lives. [4]  While commercial yardage and yarns did eventually become available and started to influence styles and compositions of embroidery, the remoteness of the regions in New Mexico where Colcha was practiced meant that women had to be resourceful and the Colcha tradition was further defined by the use of recycled textiles. [5]

 

One of the best resources I found on Colcha Embroidery is the book "New Mexico Colcha Club" which covers the history of Colcha embroidery as well as efforts by a group of women in New Mexico to preserve the technique and share its history.  [6]  The book explains that the Colcha style uses just one stitch - the "Colcha" stitch - rather than a combination of stitches.  [7]

 

 

(Photo from the book "New Mexico Colcha Club")

 

The author of "New Mexico Colcha Club" believes that the Colcha stitch provided an easy and extremely flexible stitch that could be used to cover a large quilt faster than any other stitch.  [8]

 

 

(Photo from the book "New Mexico Colcha Club")

 

The availability of factory made cotton fabric and finer plied yarns mentioned above did result in a new branch of Colcha embroidery with a change in design.  [9].  Designs of freestanding motifs were used more than a covering of the entire ground with a continuum of stitches as with the wool on wool style.  The Colcha stitch was still the fundamental, dominant stitch in the wool on cotton branch of Colcha embroidery but additional types of stitches - chain, stem, satin and split stitches - were also used.  [10]

 

 

(Photo from the book "New Mexico Colcha Club")

 

Colcha embroidery died off at the turn of the century as the textiles used in the Southwest  became more of the purchased, factory made variety and less of the wool that was locally woven and decorated.  I've read a few different accounts of women who made a concerted effort to preserve and teach Colcha embroidery.  "New Mexico Colcha Club" covers the efforts of Maria Adela Teofila Ortiz Lujan to establish a social club that met monthly to share patterns, work on Colcha projects and enjoy each other's company. [11] The history of Colcha embroidery was also preserved through the Spanish Colonial Arts Society in New Mexico which acquired and displayed historic Colcha embroideries.  [12]  The tradition of Colcha embroidery continues to be carried out by women in New Mexico, including Esther Vigil the daughter of Teofila Lujan.  Ms. Vigil  displays her Colcha artwork and has taught classes on the history and technique of Colcha. [13] 

 

 

(Photo from the book "New Mexico Colcha Club")

 

I think a lot about what attracts me to quilting, embroidery and other textile art forms.  I get glimpses of it when I read about preservation efforts of traditional techniques or stories of women who enjoyed the same textile hobbies hundreds of years ago that I enjoy now.  These fiber art forms provided women over the centuries with a creative outlet and an opportunity to bond and socialize. It's an art form that's more likely to be taught from mother to daughter, or between friends than taught in a formal setting but it should be preserved and celebrated in the same way that painting or sculpture is preserved. I so admire the effort it takes to maintain historic techniques when the world wants things quicker and easier each decade.  Reading about historic textile art forms and the women who defined them is always inspirational for me and I hope you all were inspired as well!

 

References:

 

[1] Deborah Busmeyer, A Stitch Out of Time (July, 2016) https://www.newmexico.org/nmmagazine/articles/post/art-nm-97074/

[2] Busemeyer

[3] Lynne Robinson, Colcha: Stitches and Stories (June, 2019)

[4] Robinson

[5] Robinson

[6] Nancy C. Benson, New Mexico Colcha Club, Spanish Colonial Embroidery & The Women Who Save It, (Museum of New Mexica Press, 2008)

[7] Benson, 48

[8] Benson, 59

[9] Benson, 70

[10] Benson, 71

[11] Benson, 103

[12] Benson, 109

[13] Benson, 155

The Benefits of Stitch

Hand & Lock had an article this week listing 12 ways that embroidery can boost your mental health.  

 

Some of the benefits listed include alleviating stress, reducing anxiety, lowering blood pressure and being mindful. I definitely feel many of those benefits when I stitch - depending on the project I'm working on. Once I have a pattern on the hoop, I've chosen the color scheme and I'm working with stitches that I'm comfortable with, I can just relax and enjoy the repetitive feel of the needle moving through the fabric.

 

On the other hand when I'm developing a project, the process can be challenging, stimulating and frustrating. The Hand & Lock article notes the benefits from the more difficult side of stitching as well: it keeps your brain healthy, it builds confidence and allows you to express yourself.

 

 

I think it's this duality of embroidery that I love. Some days it's the method I use to check out, quiet down and relax. Other days it's what I turn to in order to challenge myself to make some needlework concept in my mind a reality (with varying degrees of success). It's a hobby that fits every mood and makes you healthier on several levels while you're doing it. That's pretty amazing!

Art Quilt Wrap Up

I finally finished what I'm calling my "art quilt" project.  I learned a lot with this one.  I knew that I wanted the background to be a crazy quilt style, but because there were some additional pieces I decided to use appliqué.  This was both a good and bad technique for this piece, but I learned a lot.

So on the pro side - layering the fabrics together and piecing the girl and the wagon with fusible web made it easy to work with this as one piece.  The con side is that the layers were hard to stitch through and in some places, like the hat, the fusing is showing through the fabric.  

I think the better method would have been to mark out the spots I wanted to place the girl and the wagon and just make the background with regular crazy quilt techniques and then use minimal fusing to place the girl and wagon on after the background was done.  I'm not sure if I'll make some additional panels in the same design or just frame this for now, but the whole project was a good learning experience.

In case anyone is looking for good resources for crazy quilt stitches, I've been using two books since the late 90s for reference on ideas for combining embroidery stitches on crazy quilts: Floral Stitches: An Illustrated Guide by Judith Baker Montano and An Encyclopedia of Crazy Quilt Stitches and Motifs by Linda Causee.  At this point there are so many resources on pinterest and stitch sites but I tend to go back to these books despite the fact that they are falling apart a bit from use over the years.

I know we move into Fall this week and I really didn't have a Summer theme with Summer WIPs since the projects I picked for Spring are taking me SO LONG to finish.  But I did change out my Salt and Pepper shakers for Summer.

None of these are vintage - they're just fun.  Summer is usually the time when I go see my parents in the desert.  This year, with the extra restrictions on flying due to COVID and my concern over catching something while traveling and bringing it to my parents, I'm skipping my Summer visit.  But the cactus makes me think of them and I'm counting the days until it feels safe to be back there for a visit.

I'm still plugging away on the needlepoint bag and the knit shawl.  I think realistically the needlepoint bag may take me through the end of the year, but I'm going to aim to get the shawl completed in the next few weeks so I can work on a few Fall themed WIPs before it's time to plan for Christmas.  

Hope everyone is staying healthy and enjoying the change in weather.  Bye for now!

Summer is Actually Still Spring and Inspiration

I vastly underestimated how long it would take me to finish my Spring projects. Either that or I underestimated how much life in general would get in the way of my important crafting deadlines.  Since we are well into Summer, my Spring Bohemian projects are really now Spring/Summer Bohemian projects. It's a little bit of a bummer as I had some desert themed projects in mind for Summer, but there's always next year!!

WIPs

Despite not wrapping them up, I have made some progress on my projects. I'm close to finishing up the Art Quilt project "Little Selfie on the Prairie". This started with a sketch and then I more or less played it by ear to create a portrait with fabric.

I'd planned to give this a crazy quilt look with some finishing stitches.  This has ended up being a little tough with the appliqué layers.  I should have done a lot of the crazy stitching on the background fabrics first, then appliquéd the girl and wagon on after, but - you make, you learn right?  I'm almost done with the stitching now and I think over all I'm happy with the result.

The knit shawl is in progress.  I'm finished with the first color, and have just moved to the next, which is a darker grey.  Two more colors after that so it's got a ways to go but this was another project that involved some new techniques to me, so I'm happy to be learning as I go.

Last but not least, the needlepoint bag - it's so much stitching!!  I finished one side, I'm almost done with the straps and then it's just ("just") finishing the other side.

At this point I think I'll still be working on this needlepoint bag through the end of the year, but it's so pretty it's worth the time!

Inspiration

I've been reading a book by Lisa Congdon called Finding Your Artistic Voice.  It's really helping me identify ways to focus in on what I want my "voice" to be as an artist.  I'm realizing that a lot of the things I've been doing this year with the "Bohemian Frontier" articles, some of the WIPs I've prioritized, and the themes I've been creating for each season are all methods I've been using to pursue a concept - I just haven't put everything together into a cohesive "voice".

Lisa Congdon's book recommends some exercises to get you to work through your inspirations, practice what interests you and get to that original idea or style that makes your art your own.  One of the exercises she recommends is making a "Family Tree" of your inspiration - making each branch one of the things you're inspired by.  I loved that idea but decided to make it an inspiration quilt drawing.

Congdon also has lots of interviews with other artists who give great advice on the process of creativity.  Overall, Im loving the book and I think even as a hobbyist I enjoy what I'm making so much more when everything is kind of clicking together and I think her books helps get you to that place.

 

 

 

Progress with Patches

The end of Spring was officially June 20th but I am still working on most of my crafts for the Spring.  The one thing that I was able to wrap up this week is the patched jeans project.  I started off by repairing the worn out areas of the jeans.

To do the mending I used some tips from the book Mending Matters.  It has great tips for mending denim and also includes some nice essays on slow fashion and using mending as an exercise in mindfulness.  One of the passages from the author Katrina Rodabaugh that I really liked was "...the point is not to have a perfect closet filled with perfect garments, but to cultivate mindfulness-mendfulness-and make deliberate choices, focus on what you can do to make a positive impact, and gain a deeper understanding of your true preferences and style.  Mendfulness is also about growing a deeper understanding of how clothing is constructed, where fiber originates, the exact material content of clothing, and the working conditions of the fashion factories you support."

As part of the repair process I found some denim scraps that matched my jeans, pinned them in place and started stitching.  

The mending style recommended in Mending Matters is similar to Sashiko.  Even though its just patching and mending, the end result is a pretty pattern.

To apply the patches to the jeans, I used two tutorials: one from Sincerely Colleen and one from chezlin.  Both recommended tacking down stray threads on the designs with Mod Podge as a first step to making the patches.

Once the Mod Podge had dried, I used fusible web for the back of the patches.  Then I arranged the patches the way I wanted them and ironed them onto my jeans.

I'm not sure whether I didn't iron correctly or the beading prevented the material from adhering but the patches weren't really secure so I also stitched around each of the patches on my sewing machine.  I like the end result although I'm already thinking that it needs some additional patches and maybe some embroidery along the seam.

My other Spring project are coming along pretty well although I'm only about half done with the needlepoint bag.  It really is such a big project, I'm thinking it's going to take all of summer to finish, so I'll probably be rolling it over into my list of projects for the Summer.  Still, I have one side almost totally complete which feels good.

The art quilt IS close to completion.  I have all of the parts combined and my plan now is to just enhance it with a little embroidery.  I have in mind some crazy quilt stitching for the background.  I'll see how it looks on the hills in the background and then decide how to go forward.

I like how the colors are coming together but it does need some extra detail.

Last but not least, I was really dragging my feet on the knit shawl.  Truth be told, I just didn't really understand the pattern I'd intended to use as I'm still too much of a novice with knitting.  I decided to go with a very simple, triangle wrap pattern by Mama in a Stitch.  I'm not too far on it yet but I feel more confident about my ability to complete the shawl with this pattern.

I'm giving myself until the middle of July to finish everything but the needlepoint bag and then move on to new projects for the Summer.  

Everything is still so weird with the constantly changing COVID rules and requirements.  I'm finding a lot of help for anxiety and generalize worry by concentrating on some simple projects and being in the moment for an hour or two each day, just contemplating stitches or gauge or thread.  I hope everyone is able to find some peace in these crazy moments with a little craft. 

Bohemian Spring WIPs

Time to move on to a new round of WIPs!  It's Spring and we've been doing some weeding and planting and trying to get outside as much as possible, but after a really nice week of warm weather it's been cold and rainy - so a perfect time to snuggle inside and get crafty!

My theme for the next few months is "Bohemian Spring":

I took this photo at a shop in Phoenix and then did a little graphic work on Picmonkey!  I tried to choose 4 WIPs with a little bit of a 'hippie' vibe.  I've put the inspiration photos on my project board with my "theme" photo.

Without further ado - here's what I'll be working on:

1.    Embellished jeans 

As part of my effort to reuse and recycle I've been saving jeans that wear out.  Some I'm cutting up into squares and they will be part of a quilt project I'm planning for the Summer.  But for jeans that are more "gently" worn, I want to just repair any holes and then fancy them up with some embroidered patches.  I have a sweatshirt with embroidered birds that does not fit great and I wasn't wearing it too often.  SO - I just cut the birds out and I'm going to use them to embellish the jeans.  I also bought some cool notions at Mood on one of our trips to New York a few years ago and I think one or two of those will go with the birds I'm using.  I'm also thinking to add some additional patches that I'm making from designs from a Tattoo coloring book.  So far, I've spent some time transferring the designs and organizing all of the embellishments on my jeans.

I think once I've embroidered the additional designs I'll pin everything on the jeans to make sure that I like the placement.

2.    Needlepoint Bag

The next project I've been working on off and on for awhile.  It's the Bergama Shoulder Bag from Anchor Crafts.  I bought it a couple years ago at Craft South in Nashville.  It's sold out now unfortunately so I'm glad I picked it up when I did but it's a big project to complete and kind of unwieldy to work on so its been slow going.  In order to get it done in the next few months I'm utilizing the husbands saw-horses so I can handle the large frame. It's working pretty well.

I've been working on a small section each night and I'm making some progress!

3.    "Little Selfie on the Prairie" - Embroidered Art Quilt 

I sketched this out last year with the plan to make an appliqué, embroidery art piece.

So far I've picked out the fabrics and I should be able to fuse the background together this weekend.  After that I'll need to make patterns to appliqué the girl and wagon and then start embroidering.  I'm excited to see how it turns out.

4.    Gradient Half Pi Shawl

I bought the Gradient Half Pi shawl pattern at Fibrespace here in Virginia a few years ago.  I also bought some really pretty yarn to make it with!  I'm nervous about this one - my knitting skills are still pretty basic.  If I do have trouble I've found a lot of half pi tutorials on YouTube so I'm hoping I can follow along.

So those are the plans!  Writing it all down here has helped to keep me on task so far so I'm enjoying the process.  I hope it's also enjoyable to read about!
 

Winter WIPs - Working Through 'Em

I've finished a couple of the WIPs on my Winter list - the tea towel and the tablecloth.

The tea towel was a nice project. A stamped project is a great way to kick off crafting in the new year and the September House has such great patterns.  

I spent a little extra time outlining some of the flowers and leafs and I think it helped them pop.  

I also finished the tablecloth.  This was exciting since I'd been stashing this fabric for YEARS and saying I was going to turn it into a tablecloth and now I finally have!

I even managed some mitered corners so it has a finished look.

This is going to be a perfect "anytime" tablecloth - it's neutral but the fabric is so nice.  It also goes well with my mom's china which she passed on to me last year in an effort to start downsizing a bit.  

Just a couple of projects left to finish up before Winter officially ends.  I've got my scarf started and the textiles cut up to start the bag, so this week should be just some wrapping up of my Winter efforts before I start planning for Spring! 

WIP Progress

I wanted to check in with my WIP progress.  I've knocked out a good bit of the embroidered tea towel:

I've also got a plan for the tablecloth and I think I'll be able to finish that this week, so more exciting progress updates to come!  I also thought I'd show off the salt and pepper shakers from my collection that are getting sunlight during this "cozy" winter period.

I don't think I really have any winter themed salt and pepper shakers so after the blow out at Christmas, when all of the holiday themed shakers get their time to shine, I have to search around a bit for a theme to start the new year.  This year I decided to put out all of my cat shakers:

These are a mix of vintage finds and new purchases.  The set of siamese cats at the top are vintage although I haven't been able to find out too much about them - just that the set dates from around 1960 and is from Taiwan.

This is a cat and dog team.  My aunt found this set for me in a thrift store in Arizona.  These were a midcentury promotional set put out by Ken L Ration (a dog food company.)  They used a yellow dog named "Fido" on their ads and I've seen this set referred to as Fido & Fifi so I guess the cat is named Fifi!  The set was made by Fiedler & Fiedler (F&F) Mold and Die Works of Dayton, Ohio. 

This is a mix of vintage and brand new.  The blue flowered cats date from about 1970 and come from Thailand originally.  The happy cats are a recent purchase from World Market because I just thought they were adorable.

And speaking of cats, here is my kitten enjoying the small amount of snow we've had so far this winter:

For anyone else working your way through a WIP pile, I wish you luck and productivity!  I hope winter is treating you well. 

 

New Year New Plan

Like so many other crafters I have a ton of WIPs - both projects that I've started and stalled on and projects where I've bought all the supplies but haven't found time to get the project underway.

My first effort to get make some headway on my WIPs was adding the progress bars to the side of the blog to publicly shame myself into getting to work on specific projects so the progress bars don't stay at 0% all month.  

My new plan is to basically work seasonally.  I'm going to pick 3 or 4 projects that inspire me that season and work to finish them before moving on to the next season and next group of WIPs.  Anything to get inspired and get moving!

The first season is of course - Winter.  It's kind of the perfect season to start this effort since the colder weather means a bit more time spent indoors cuddling next to the fire with some needlework.  I also just love this time of year.  I enjoy the quiet after the busy Christmas season, I LOVE setting goals and resolutions for the New Year and I have been inspired by the whole hygge movement to really indulge in creating a cozy experience during the winter months.

So my theme for the winter WIPS is "Cozy":

Yes, that is a vision board for my projects - I am SERIOUS about getting motivated!

The projects I've picked for this season are:

1. 2020 Tea Towel Calendar.  I've started on this tea towel calendar kit from SeptemberHouse.  I love her calendar kits - this has become something of a tradition for me and is usually the first project I'm working on each year.
2. The Long and Lacy Scarf by Mrs. Moon.  I picked a very pretty green yarn from my stash to use for this scarf and I'm excited to see how it comes out.  
3. Marimekko Tablecloth.  This isn't on the vision board as it's an older pattern so not on the Marimekko website and I didn't want to cut in to my fabric as I think it's currently the perfect length for a tablecloth.  But here is the fabric:

    I've gone back and forth on whether to add trim but I think I'm going to just stick with hemming the fabric.  It is perfect for a winter white theme so I want to get it on the table before we move into Spring.

    4.    Vintage Textile Bag.  My goal is to have one "upcycling" project each season.  For this season I want to use some of the vintage embroidered textiles I've bought over the years and make a bag similar to this or this.  Many of the textiles I've picked up are stained or ripped and can't be used for their original purpose as a pillow case or tablecloth for instance.  But I want to save the beautiful stitching so I think a project like this will work great!

So that's what I'll be working on - stay tuned for exciting updates to the progress bars and follow up posts on my (hopefully) finished projects.

I hope everyone's New Year is starting out great and that you are enjoying a productive start to your crafting year!