well preserved

in which our plucky heroine is feeling a bit less fraught and more focused today...

Preserving season is definitely here, and the sugar and vinegar acquired at the beginning of the week are already in use. The beets are in their jars in the boiling water, and as I wait out the 30 minutes till they can be set on the counter to cool, I am looking up the metrics for canned pear chunks.  The house has a lovely sweet fragrance from the several pounds of cooked quinces now tied up in cloth and draining their rosy juice to make into quince jelly tomorrow.

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Last night, in that liminal space between awake and totally fallen asleep, I fell instead into a horror story, where the dark spaces in the bedroom were squirming and enlarging, and the tree shadows across the window were monsters oozing in through the drafty places. Thankfully I remembered to reach out to the bedside lamp switch, and turn that story off. It wasn't the first time that the wavy darkness before sleep scared me, but it was definitely the worst one. I'm sure I am not the only person who sees things.

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assorted minor repairs being made... my everyday leather thimble has, over the years, gradually stretched out enough that it often jumped right off my finger. Today I punched a new set of stitching holes and restitched it smaller. Much better now! The thimble has really been getting a workout, since I am repairing the damage done to my popover dress (I took it with me on my trip as a nightdress)

The hotel we stayed at, while modern and LEED certified, was quite poorly designed* as far as the comfort and useability of the rooms were concerned. My poor dress was snagged and torn by the dreadful hook-shaped large handles on the cupboards in the otherwise fairly useful kitchenette space. In order to get some matching fabric to mend the tear, I've had to cut away a patch inside the pocket, and patch that with a different piece of fabric. Hopefully when all this mending is done, the torn spots will be camouflaged...

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~ creativity challenge ~

... not yet completed, two reverse applique kerchiefs, my handwork projects of the last few weeks... These small packable stitcheries are a great handwork project for traveling, as it takes up minimal space and materials, but requires hours of labor and is suitable for distraction while flying to the East Coast and back on a necessary trip to visit Aged Parents. I followed the dimensions in the first Alabama Chanin book, but used stencils from my own collection. The teal and blue kerchief (started before my trip and finished on the plane heading east), with the same roses stenciling as my AC jacket, turned out to be both really comfortable to wear, and a bit warmer than my usual Indian blockprinted voile headscarves, so perfect for wintertime. I used "visible knots" on that one. The brown, black and teal kerchief is not quite finished; I still need to complete stitching the larger flowers, and decide if I want to embroider the many tiny flower buds...

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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	roses kerchief	leather thimble	recycle bin
2	6 jars persimmon ketchup	teal popover dress	yard waste bin
3	6  4oz jars pickled beets	-	-
4	5 8oz jars pears	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	-	x	-
7	-	x	x
8	-	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - Electric lights. They turn on when you turn a switch, the end point of a lot of technology and human effort, and hopefully the damage done in the process is balanced by the great difference they make.



* whinge whinge whinge.... The hotel room had two queen size beds, so ostensibly intended for at least two or possibly up to four people. It had an almost full kitchen, with large fridge, cooktop, microwave, and dishwasher. The aforementioned cabinet handles were in the shape of large rectangular hooks that stuck out from the cabinet doors at hip height. There was no table space to sit at to eat, other than a desk cubby behind the large flat screen TV, that seated one person, and a movable very small side table that pulled up to the couch. The beds, which were to their credit quite comfortable, with pleasant bedding (no vellux thankfully) were unfortunately set atop sharp-edged platforms that stuck out at least four inches on all sides, presenting a grave danger to shins, particularly at the corners. (I used the bedspread to pad the corners on mine, after the first painful encounter. There was one office/desk chair, a couch that seated two on the other side of the room facing the TV, and a pair of rather peculiar high stools that were interestingly sculptural, though unintended to suit the posterior of any human I ever met; these perhaps could be pulled up to provide seating of a sort, though too tall for the countertop, and much too tall for the desk or the end table. The room did have climate control of a kind, but neither my sister or I was able to figure out how to set the temperature, which came on randomly as blasts of cold air, or on one occasion, when I set it at 68F, it just began to pour hot air out instead, and I had to open the window for moderation. I did suggest to the front desk that it would be helpful to have instructions available.

Friday folderol and Saturday snippets

in which our plucky heroine finds some wonderful fish...

Koi are a symbol of resilience and that is something we all need more than ever these days. A bit of online searching and I found out the artist is Jeremy Novy

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I want to age like sea glass.
Smoothed by tides, not broken.
I want to ride the waves, go with the flow and feel the impact of the surging tides.
When I am caught between the rocks and a hard place, I will rest.
And when I am ready, I will catch a wave and let it carry me where I belong.
I want to be picked up and held gently by those who delight in my well-earned patina,
And appreciate the changes I went through to achieve this luster.
I want to enjoy the journey and let my preciousness be, not in spite of the impacts,
But because of them.
I want to age like sea glass.

--Bernadette Noll
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beauty in the time of isolation - day 149:

 

a new, multi-sided poetry kiosk was installed recently,
next to the driveway at the local shoe repair shop...

the two poems I saw were an old favorite, and now a new one. I have loved Marge Piercy's "To be of use" for many years, but I will say that reading the words of Audre Lourde in "A Litany for Survival" spoke so strongly to me right now.

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	scribal sketchbook	light bulbs replaced	yard waste bin
2	scroll for Countess E	box fan cleaned	recycle bin
3	tiny knitting bag	box fan cleaned	-
4	tiny tote bag	rosemary pruned	-
5	Nandina handknit	box fan cleaned	-
6	Nandina sunhat	organise new paint	-
7	tiny knitting book	x	x
8	Nandina clothing	x	x
9	tiny basket	x	x
10	another tiny rag doll	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - I have good neighbors, at least that is my assumption about who put my wheelie bins out for the trash and recycle before I got around to it...

random Sunday snippets

in which our plucky heroine is feeling heartwarmed...

Best thing in the previous week - young Heather got me a tiny heater as an early birthday gift: a little half-size oil filled radiator, just right for the wee bathroom here at Acorn Cottage. Turned it on for a half hour, and the temperature in the bathroom went up to 65F - no more shivery showers. And, while I turned it back off after the ablutions, with the door closed, the room stayed noticeably warmer than the rest of that end of the house for several hours.

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I've been making steady progress on the yellow undergown for Laurence, which is mostly completed. I decided that the actual hem could be machine sewn, since it only entailed turning up the serged hemline twice, and the machine stitching simply blended into the gauzy texture of the linen. The escallop trim is being stitched in place by hand, and while I'd normally just turn that over to Thora, it is being a peaceful thing to do while winding down later in the evening

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Finally started making progress on the Pelican ring for Wanda, once I found where I put the relevant components... those darn "safe places"! This one was tucked into a ziploc and attached to the pinboard; one would think that would be obvious and easy to notice. I've decided that the small rectangular clear plastic boxes from the dollar store can live on the Ikea storage rack behind the workbench, as that is ALWAYS the first place I look for roving commission pieces, the little boxes are a good size to hold components, and they fit nicely on the storage rack. Finding "homes" for things is an ongoing but someday-ending task. I am good at putting things away in their home, once there is one. The ring is a remake of a former ring of hers, redoing the ring to a double band and resetting the tiny historical silver Pelican intaglio as a ring gem.

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Somehow, I forgot to post photos of the finished scrappy knit top that coordinates with my scrappy collage cardigan. As part of my goal to use fabric from the resource shelves, the whole project used most of six different scrap knit fabrics (grey floral jersey, grey/cream marled hemp, black/cream marled hemp, black/cream striped rib knit, black jersey, and grey/blue striped knit), and is a great addition to my SWAP 2020.

The cloud collar, grey colors, and floral bodice fabric reference "misty moisty morning"...

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December SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	x	2 walls painted grey	-
2	x	neckline has dots	-
3	x	new lid worm bin	-
4	x	x	-
5	x	x	-
6	x	x	-
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - a warmer room for personal ablutions

my art teacher style scrappy collage cardigan

in which our plucky heroine finished a fun project...

Finally manged to get some initial photos of my scrappy collage cardigan: It is very comfy to wear, being like a double layer knit fabric top, with snaps down the front. It was fun to make, combining various leftover pieces from former garments, and tying the whole thing together using stenciled motifs. The shaping is minimal, and the loose fit will allow it to be easily worn over multiple layers in the wintertime, and the layered construction of the cardigan itself means that it is warmer than the light weight would imply. I call this a win.

The new thing for me in this project is piecing various fabrics together to form a harmonious whole. I used eight different scrap fabrics, and five different stencils. While I often use fabric other than the main body of a garment as trim, I have never done this sort of artsy patchwork, which I so admire in the Tilton sisters, the Ericsons, and Koos Van Den Akker... The other new thing I did with this garment is that it is primarily stitched with the zig zag stitch with raw edges overlapped, sometimes using multiple rows to hold the pieces and seam allowances in place. Sort of a funky edge finish technique inspired by Pearl Red Moon Art's Zambeesi Jacket.

the cardigan as worn

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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	three sketches	necklace pegs	-
2	2 more sketches	cardigan sleeves	-
3	scrappy collage cardigan	harvest 15# persimmons	-
4	x	patched overall pinafore	-
5	x	x	-
6	x	x	-
7	x	x	-
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - space to work on projects... as small as Acorn Cottage is, there are a number of possible places to work on projects... No longer (like most of my life) must creative impulses be stifled until the dining table can be freed! Huzzah for worktables!

wishful Wednesday

In which our plucky heroine notices signs of progress in various directions...

Getting closer to finishing my scrappy collage cardigan, I bound the cuff edges with the same narrow striped ribbing I used for edge binding the body of the cardigan... currently sewing the last bit of grey twill tape to the cuffs. Once I find some of the big sew-on snaps to use as fastenings, this project will be complete:

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So, I girded my loins to go to the periodontal clinic today for an intake exam. (I was referred me there, because there are signs of bone loss under some of my teeth) Even that much was scary, so my mantra for the last few weeks has been, "it's only an exam, no needles no knives..." When I got there my usually robust voice was very small indeed. The actual exam was no worse than the usual sort of dental exam, but the results confirmed that the two problem molars have noticeable bone loss at the roots. The best practice recommendation is gum surgery and bone grafting, to the tune of about 3K*. Medicaid/OHP doesn't cover any periodontal work at all, so if you want to keep teeth in the jaw y'r on your own... This is half of the issue, the other half being my intense terror about having oral surgery. Because I had oral surgery done horribly wrong as a young adult, I ever after and even now have fear and phobias about mouth needles and knives that are difficult for me to cope with. Yes, I have sought counseling. No, medication/sedation doesn't help. So my wish for today is to be able to get to where I can both afford mouth repair and cope with same...

*this would be less than getting the teeth pulled and implants put in place, and is significantly less than similar work done not at the OHSU Dental Clinic

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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	three sketches	necklace pegs	-
2	x	cardigan sleeves	-
3	x	x	-
4	x	x	-
5	x	x	-
6	x	x	-
7	x	x	-
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitutude - kindly interchanges happened several times today: the bus driver this morning saw me and stopped extra, even though the bus had already left the stop, and Eva Moon came up to talk with the perio staff and go over some of my concerns...

Tuesday tidbits - golden fruit, and silver stencils

In which our plucky heroine picks quinces, and decorates surfaces...

Quince tree planted spring 2018, and though the tree is barely six feet tall, with small whippy branches that could barely hold up their heavy burden, I was much impressed!! First harvest, fifteen quinces! A total of 10 lbs (4.5 kg), and the largest of the quince weighs 7/8 lb (400 g)

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Playing with layered scraps, my goal a cardigan for the Stitchers Guild jacket challenge. Combining shibori silk with hemp jersey, I've then added some of my favorite stencil motifs in pearlescent fabric paint. Once the front and back pieces please me, I'll add sleeves from another scrap of slightly thicker tweedy grey hemp, decorate the cuffs, and finish assembling the garment. This improvisation is a real departure from my usual sewing!

..

Left front      -      Center back      -      Right front

My hope is to end up with something I can wear with the black/grey part of my everyday wardrobe, and that pays homage to some of my favorite creative clothing designers* without being a copy. The pattern I'm using is self-drafted, and the stencils are ones I created. Being able to use "scraps" (from the resource shelves aka my stash) of leftovers from other garments means the new cardigan ought coordinate well...

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October SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	6 jars grape syrup	moar apple pruning	grapes harvested
2	Maeva undergown	wool fabric sorted	yard waste bin
3	Maeva overdress	AC put to bed	yard waste bin
4	Maeva wool gollar	quinces picked	red fence slats
5	Maeva wusthalbe	x	-
6	Maeva steuchlein	x	-
7	x	x	-
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - a break in the rain let me air dry the bedsheets outside, always a pleasure

* some of the designers I admire for their creative fabric collage and embellishment are Marcy Tilton, Koos van der Akker,  Lois, and Diane Ericson, and Pearl Red Moon.

a necesary repair

This afternoon, hiding indoors from the bad air and the heat, I made a good start on repairing Tullia's dress...

This is the large right-angle tear, between the center front and the side seam pocket...  There is no way to simply mend damage like this to make it less visible, so instead, the idea she and I came up with is to add decorative foliage that will coordinate with the other embellishment. A sprig of vegetation can bend around the angle and allow the edges of the tear to be part of the fabric to be cut away, once the reverse applique is completed

.

I've had lots of experience in the last few years using freezer paper for one of a kind stenciling; it gives a really crisp painted edge. The "plastic-y" side of the freezer paper gets ironed on to the fabric, where it sticks just enough to prevent the paint from oozing under the stencil

.

Once the paint is fully dry, the freezer paper can be peeled away, leaving the motif clearly delineated, and ready for the next steps... Tomorrow, after I heat set the paint, I will be able to baste the kelly green jersey behind this layer, running stitch around the edges of the design, and finally cut away the centers of the stems and leaves...

Saturday snippets

in which our plucky heroine strives for a bit of balance

There have been a few journeys, some in-town and others longer and further afield... the shortest, to Costco with Wanda and Lainie, helped to restock my pantry with sugar and paper goods; said sugar will enable more transfer of stored produce from the freezer to jars on the pantry shelves.

Currently underway is a batch of strawberry-rhubarb sauce, aided by a sale this week of organic frozen fruits, which augmented my meager strawberry stash. My intent is to use the rest of the frozen tomato for more Awesome Sauce, which condiment was received with delight by my hen-minding neighbors. And, after that, will be several batches of plum sauce, as the freezer has a surfeit of homegrown plums which can become both sweet jam, and a savory sauce similar to hoisin sauce

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Before leaving town last Tuesday, I took the time to pattern, cut out, and stencil the sleeves for my Alabama Chanin cardigan. I am trying out both a new type of fabric paint, Jacquard Textile Color, instead of Jacquard Neopaque. The texture of the paint is much thinner, and that, combined with my finding my long lost stencil brush, meant that applying the paint went a LOT faster this time. Truly, an actual stencil brush is eversomuch nicer than using a piece of sponge, I didn't get paint all over my fingertips and have to keep stopping to wash them, and it was a LOT easier to get an even application of paint.

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Spent three days up in Olympia at the Mud Bay House. Always so wonderful to see my friends there, and their baby Kestrel has grown immensely in the months since my last visit in November - the hat I made, which was so big then is almost too small for baby noggin, and I shall have to search my supplies for suitable wool and fur to rebuild it. They now can both hold up their own head, and follow along things with their eyes, as well as grab and fling items to the floor! Most definitely, a child whose natural expression is a delighted and charming smile, and I am quite smitten.

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No long life goes on forever, and we were all nonetheless surprised and filled with grief to hear of the death of Ursula LeGuin. There were tears. I was grateful to be with friends; hugs and knowing that others also grieved made the pain more bearable. I rarely feel it personally when people of renown must leave the bright world, but LeGuin was, to me as well as to many others, a lumianary personage in so many ways, not just as a writer, but as an example of humanity. We will not see her like again... Her words have been a light on many paths forwards to a multiplicity of ways of being, her tales shone on ways of thought and action, and by reading, helped me and others to grow more thoughtful and ethical...

listen to a few of her words in this radio clip
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In the previous week I also went to a CMAG meeting on Jan 16th, where my friend B gave a presentation of tips on how to photograph metalwork and jewelry. It was good that there was someone I knew, as going to a group where I know no one there would be difficult, even for a topic in which I have great interest. That weekend, Marya and I went down to Adiantum for Midwinters Feast. Just a quick overnight, we stayed with Yseult in her lovely home, and much discussion of archaeology took place. The feast itself was very tasty, the new feast steward did an excellent job, and I learned from Yseult how to do the 12 strand braid from the Skjoldehamn belt find

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grateful: for friends who include me, and help me travel from place to place

SWAP sewing progress

in which our plucky heroine makes further progress on a new dress...

A quick notebook sketch done whilst riding the bus today, of the design concept for the black/brown linen dress. Sort of a Gudrun Sjoden lagenlook style, quite loosely cut; rectangular construction for the bodice in combination with my favorite gored skirt and capacious pockets. Managed to get it all cut out of the yardage I had on hand, by dint of some clever piecing...

It seemed advantageous to take the time to add a little stencilled motif to the pieced panels, which has the advantage of making a virtue of necessity. Also it is eversomuch easier to stencil on small pieces of fabric. (and, stenciling is a comparatively fast way to add surface design interest, compared to embroidery or applique) This will add a focal point just outside my shoulders, as well as adding some additional black accent to the brown/black cross dyed linen blend fabric. The stencils I cut for the kosode project earlier this year are continuing to be very useful.

stencils and stamps oh my

in which our plucky heroine continues working on the kosode project...

<< The first three panels have been stenciled using white Jaquard NeoOpaque textile paint on indigo fabric. Stenciling is faster than shibori. Block printing is faster than stenciling. All three require quite a bit of advance preparation. I used a commercial stencil for this set of panels. The stenciled pieces will sit overnight before being heat set for permanence... Pretty happy with the subtle variegation of the triangles

:::

Combining the two stencils I cut while at Arts Unframed last weekend yields this floral/equine stripe pattern. Both motifs are appropriately Japanese in style. Am pleased to have figured out how to line up the two stencils to keep the design registration. The stencils are translucent mylar, with the cut portion bracketed by the adjacent motifs simply outlined on the mylar, making lining them up properly fairly simple!

One of the two stencils used to create the horse and flower stripe pattern. Each cut stencil has the alternate pattern inked in on either side. By making the stencil both wider and longer than the cut portion, it allows me to both mark the distance between the patterned stripes evenly, and to locate the horse or the flowers in the correct orientation to each other.

This is the resulting pattern, as horizontal stripes on one of the kosode sleeve panels.... one down and four more panels to go. I timed how long it takes to stencil one panel - about fifteen minutes...

In period, this sort of design would have been done with katazome, a stenciled resist surface design technique, where a starchy resist was applied to the fabric before it was dyed with indigo, leaving the pattern the original fabric color. For reasons of time constraint, I am simply stenciling the design with white Jaquard NeoOpaque textile paint, on indigo color linen...

five panels of stenciled horse and flower stripe completed, yay!

On one of the sleeve panels, I mis-placed two of the three initial motifs. Fortunately, the design elements could be moved around for a variation that still looks pretty good...

:::

After much digging through random boxes, I found the cutter blades that go with the handles for cutting printing blocks... Eventually the declutter and organise will make my life better, and I will be able to find my supplies and tools in expected places, but now I can get on with the carving the final blocks for the surface design kosode project

The motif is a snow-circle/snow-crystal called "yukiwa" and is an auspicious motif that suggests a bountiful year to come... Since the Honour Feast is in mid-autumn, the decorative motifs we use may in some way ideally reference the upcoming seasons

three printed snow circle panels, and a glimpse in the corner of my one set of "cheater" commercial shibori motif panels...

:::

October SMART goals

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	8 stenciled panels	-	-
2	carved yukiwa stamp	-	-
3	3 stamped panels	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	-	-	-
7	-	-	-
8	-	-	-
9	-	-	-
10	-	-	-
11	-	-	-
12	-	-	-

alternating current

Alabama Chanin style can be funky, or can be a lot more mainstream... One of their more recent journal posts showed a look that was much more conservative than their usual, and I found it to be an interesting way of adding subtle decoration to a pretty ordinary looking dress. Each of their stencil designs can be used in many different ways, depending on not only which colors you choose for your project, but also in what way you decide to stitch, cut, or embellish the stencilled designs. Their 2014 stencil of the year is much more geometric than the floral designs mostly associated with their style.

Whilst I like making my own stencils, their download page is a great resource for stencil designs already worked out and road tested for useability... I have actually downloaded and used one of their designs (Magdalena) when I made the grey tee shirt last year.

tenday trip: the wedding shindig

in which our plucky heroine revisits the scene of a prior wedding, in order to be the Crone of Honor in the second wedding of my old friends Beth and Karen...

~ :♥: ~

Their first marriage was thirteen years ago, and now that Washington State recognises same sex marriage, they wanted to renew their vows and make it legal. They are just as committed to each other as they were back then.

The two "aunties" with Ceilidh, Karen's niece, who they have been raising since she was five. At their first wedding, Ceilidh was a flower girl...

Ceilidh, the Maiden of Honor, Mindy the Matron of Honor, and our plucky heroine, the Crone of Honor...

Adorable flower girls!! Elli, the brunette, and Laurel the blonde. Elli is daughter to Heather, who was a flower girl at the first wedding, Laurel is daughter to Mindy the Matron of Honor and a longtime friend of the family

Heather, mother of Elli, and daughter of my own dear and oldest friend Sharon; I've known Sharon for over forty years, and Heather her whole life...

The amazing Mindy, woman of many talents and incredible enthusiasm and kindness.

Mindy's husband Bill was the celebrant of the ceremony, here he looks most dapper...

Beth and Karen looking a bit less formal. They each made their wedding clothes, all handstitched, in the Alabama Chanin style of stenciled, embroidered, reverse applique. They created unique and personal designs for each of them

The bodice front on Beth's dress

A smaller motif on the center back of the bodice

Elaborate floral motifs along the hemline

I only managed to catch a small part of the tree-of-life on Karen's shirt, but I really like the way she varied the leaves, some stencilled and some just embroidered (she also embroidered a label inside the shirt that read "something blue in blue floss, very traditional to have for a wedding, which amused me when she shared that bit of information)

Beth also made a shirt for Mindy (the Matron of Honor), with some sweet little mice in love

While I have more than once been at a wedding where there were some handmade decorations and home cooked food, this is the first wedding I've been to where so much of the clothing was also handmade. My own bluerose pinafore was also made in the Alabama Chanin style...

Saturday snippets

Pomegranate tee shirt completed... the sleeve and bottom hemlines were all turned and featherstitched, the neckline was edgebound and featherstitched. Using the variegated topstitching thread added another fairly subtle aspect that is quite pleasing. I like that the thread is a strong long-staple cotton, and that the thread is manufactured in Italy, it has a matte finish, which means it is just a little more difficult to use than the polished finish on C&C Button-and-Carpet thread, but the extra visual richness is worth it.

:::

Natural dyeing with Harlequin Glorybower aka Clerodendrum tricotomum... Gosh! I have this plant growing in my yard. It has only ever had a very few blossoms so far, but there are others around Portland. I planted it for the incredibly paradisaical fragrance of the flowers. Well apparently it is used as a dyestuff in Japan, and those lovely metallic blue berries are used as "the other blue dye".

:::

a few years back, someone, I think Leiutgard, gave me some woven acorn ribbon with very odd edges*, and this seemed like a good use for it. The edges are being wrapped with a doubled layer of tricot to smooth them, and the ribbon will be nicely non-stretch. Project BH does not need bouncy straps!

Project BH - XP1** stitched and evaluated... as suspected, needs work. Basic pattern shapes semi-effective, volume control close. Will be adapting two of the basic pattern pieces, and have just realised this morning that I also made some errors with the added seam allowances that had a negative impact on certain vital structural components. In addition, trial mockup fabric is too flimsy, requiring edges to be padded... not sure where to go with this, possibly try actual muslin rather than nylon tricot? However, this weekend is dedicated to studio work instead of obsession/personal sewing, so plucky heroine will be slaving away in front of a hot kiln instead of a sewing machine!


* I think the edges were cut with a hotknife, since they are somewhat rough and stiff

**am currently engrossed in pattern development to create my own "pretty" bras that actually fit the girls, hence the name: Project Boulder-Holder. XP = ExPerimental patterning, version 1, 2, etc...

jersey edgebinding

...in which our plucky heroine takes a bit of time at the ironing board to prepare the next step for transit handwork

Once the reverse applique stitchery around the neckline is completed, the binding can be applied. I cut it about 2" wide, then press it folded in half. (rather a bit wider than needed) Often, it helps to add some cornstarch to the water in the spray bottle*, to encourage the jersey fabric, which wants to curl up, to lay flat while being worked. I also gently press the edge binding in a curve, which helps me apply it to the neckline. Next step, decorative handstitching around the neckline, just inside the folded edge. Once that is done, the excess width will be cut away, leaving a tidy embroidered edging.


* My ancient thrifted iron, while it has a nice smooth stainless steel sole, was probably originally sent to Goodwill for leaking water intended to generate steam. I simply use a small spray bottle from the dollar store when steam is needed; might not be ideal, but the price is certainly right!

low tech : high function

...or, an assortment of Tuesday tidbits...

one easy way to make multiple images for freezer paper stencils, is to simply pin together more than one layer of freezer paper before cutting the design. For this particular project, since I want there to be mirrored identical images, simply folding the freezer paper back to back will do the trick

Below is a closer view of the partially cut stencils, showing the multiple layers. I have done up to four or five layers this way; it is needful to be certain of a very sharp blade in that case.

Are you tired of my process picture yet?... here you can see the stencil designs painted in with a light layer of dark green. Before ironing the stencils into place, I carefully ironed creases into the front yoke to help locate the stags evenly placed.

Now this project is ready to be embroidered, in several shades of lighter, brighter greens. I'm thinking a couched outline, and some kind of openwork filler stitchery in the body...

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Not sure where I first ran across the idea of a salad table, but the older I get, the more appealing the idea becomes. I have the materials to do this, save the growing media which would need to be acquired... and I have the very basic skills to build this. If I made it a little smaller, it would be something that could be another small gateway into food here. Am tempted to build one that is narrower, and place it on the front porch, which would be that "shady in the summer sunny in the winter zone and be very easy to keep watered! To go along with increasing the food growing capacity, it would be an excellent idea to increase water handling/storage. Whilst there is already a lovely marble-lock siphon on hand, this rainbarrel pump looks like a good "one is none and two is one" way to get water out of the rainbarrels

:::

...came home from errands yesterday to find that LoneChicken seems to have died, possibly from the heat. She had been behaving somewhat oddly for a while, since the OtherHen was taken by a raccoon. Hiding in the chicken house, not coming over to the fence for treats... I know that some folks on the Urban Chicken list forcibly dampen their hens in hot weather, but since LoneChicken was not tame, chasing after her with a spray bottle wouldn't have helped her, or me... I do know that my next iteration of Chicken House will be smaller and more easily moved, so as to be able to place it in the deeper shade in the summertime. I also think that perhaps some way to build a chicken pen that is the size/shape of the raised beds I want to grow might be clever, I remember reading about this somewhere in a website on remediation through agriculture... there is such a difference between the fertility of the soil in the backyard, and in the front yard...