Category Archives: Commissions

hot as blazes

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Speaking of boats and water, these people have the right idea for a hot, hot day.  This picture was taken from the Old North Bridge in Concord, Mass. last week, but it’s another hot, hot day today.  I’m running a small fan of water from the sprinkler again today, moving it on the hour — mostly for the birds, who have been congregating wherever its moist coolness is being delivered.  Usually we just let our lawn brown out late in the summer, but this year our shrubs and trees seem to be at risk and it’s only mid-July!

[Re: “this is what climate change looks like at the personal level,”  check out  Elizabeth Kolbert in this week’s New Yorker – Talk of the Town section].

Most of the basting on the Ark quilt is done.  This little nursery print (above) was pulled out for auditioning, for obvious reasons.  Maybe I will use a larger piece to cover the back when I am done.  I’m not sure I want all the stitching to be there, on view, even though it will be against the wall.
The hideous 1970’s jacket that provided the bulk of the Ark is wonderful for the suggestion of wooden construction.  I am weaving up some more rectangles for the sides, and decided to introduce more of that lavender.
On another front, my indigo arrived from Dharma Trading, along with some white powders.  If I can stand the heat, my plan is to set up a dye station in the back yard today, under the leafy catalpa.  I will string rope from deck to D.’s mini-ramp (think ‘small half pipe’) to hang fabric from, and cover a folding table with plastic so that it can stay out in all kinds of weather.  A neighbor and former student (she is 16 and will be a junior this year) has agreed to be my intern for a few weeks this summer and she will be helping me – pretty great, right?!!

P.S. A garter snake traveled past me this morning while I was waiting for Jack to complete his business — remarkable enough – I haven’t seen a snake around here in a long time.  But then!  It slithered right between both sets of Jack’s legs, narrowly missing being plopped on.  And, perhaps most remarkable of all?  I don’t think Jack really noticed.

Noah’s Ark

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For my next commission — a wall quilt featuring Noah’s Ark — I purchased some stormy, raining fabric.  It’s a beautiful silk chiffon, and I will double it to make the rain going in two directions, and to make the greys tend toward black.

I don’t often specifically buy fabric with a project in mind, but this time, I did.
I think it will take a needle nicely, even doubled, so I look forward to quilting this.  I will use the technique taught by Jude to secure the layers first — what she calls an ‘invisible baste’.  I have learned that securing the layers as an initial matter makes the difference between enjoying all subsequent hand stitching, and not.  I have an old plastic place mat from when the boys were little to put under the piece while I baste  — this prevents stitching the quilt to one’s skirt and helps steady the layers until they are secured with thread.
With hand-stitching in mind, I selected a high quality quilting cotton for the back.  Maybe it’s the heat.  Maybe it’s growing older (not wanting to stress already achy-thumbs).  Maybe it’s a growing appreciation for the ENERGY of a thing.  Whatever the reason, I find myself refusing to work with fabric that is icky in any way (I used to stockpile icky (free) fabric for the backs of quilts…).  Almost anything that I have purchased at JoAnn’s is going into my give-away bin.  The stuff they sell is crap.
What do you think of, visually, when you think of Noah’s Ark?  I think we tend to see the boat up on stilts, being built, or to imagine the procession of animals, marching two-by-two into the boat.  I decided to depict the middle of the storm – think:  Day 20 or 22 of the forty days and nights of rain.  No cute beasts marching up a plank.  No hopeful dove with a sprig of greenery in her beak.
Initially, I wanted to surround the ocean/boat scene with animal prints, but no matter how I laid them out, they looked dopey.  So I found a woven rectangle with watery colors, split it up and laid it out, and then wove another section to fill in the remaining areas.  I am stitching this newly woven section this afternoon, and will cut it up later.
I like how the woven sections add depth and complexity – very comparable to how certain spices or oils create depth of flavor in a stew.  These sections take a considerable amount of time, but they have a defined beginning, middle, and end, which keeps them from becoming oppressive.  And since I am planning this quilt out, no woven section will be laid on top of a section that is already three or four layers thick. Again, my goal is for the hand stitching to be easeful.
I will lay some of the sheer silk chiffon on the ocean fabrics, to create a feeling of light or foam.

My hope is to ‘whip this up’ in such a way that I feel good about what I can charge for it.  Price can never be the sole consideration, mind you, but it would be nice (for a change) if my aim to pursue an efficient design and construction actually panned out.

Now on to other things

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The T-shirt “quilt” is done.  It is actually a duvet cover.  This picture shows it empty.  It can work that way.  Or, a comforter could be placed inside.

I am going to count the number of shirts before the hand-off tomorrow.  My guess?  47.  [Try – 70!!!]  It was challenging not just because of the number of shirts, but because their sizes ranged from toddler to teen.  Assembling fifteen or sixteen years of shirts is also, of course, what made it charming.

My advice to Tshirt quilt makers boils down to a few pointers:
1)  Interface right up to the edge of your rectangles (using a presser cloth) (I used fusible midweight);
2) Make sure you know which T-shirts have priority;
3) Make sure customer knows some stains that laundered out will be visible again with heat from iron;
4) For a large, multi-shirt quilt, work in four quadrants;
5) Rather than quilt a queen-sized blanket, consider making a duvet cover;
6) Consider adding some top stitching here and there as you go to further stabilize the patchwork;
7) Get rid of voluminous scraps when delivering quilt (unless you plan to use them for something immediately).

I really am so happy to be working with woven cotton again.  As a treat to myself upon duvet-cover-completion, I made a great pair of cotton pants (pictures tomorrow).  They were a pleasure to make because the material was good quality, ironed well, and didn’t stretch under the needle.  Plus, start to finish, the project took an hour and a half!

Now I am covering one of our raggy chairs with patchwork slipcovers.  Again, working with woven cottons feels so pleasurable after man-handling all that knit!!  My goal with the slipcovers is to let the process be easy (lesson learned in Jude Hill’s boro class).  Anything I create will be a vast improvement on the faded Waverly vines that I have been judging as a mess for many years now.

With both boys gone, the house assumes a different rhythm.  We are eating more lightly, more leftovers, and cleaning up!

River is Wide, River is Deep

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“The River is Wide. The River is Deep”.  That’s the name that I came up with for this little composition after adding the blue streaky batik along the bottom edge.  It was a lot simpler a couple of weeks ago.  Then a friend decided to buy it as a wedding gift.  We brainstormed about improvements, and then I spent a couple of weeks with it in my rotation of hand sewing.  I really like the idea of a deep and wide river as an emblem for a couple starting out.

I also like the way the little button adds a sense of friendliness to the structure.  New eaves of red were added at the last, for interest.  Moon went from a sliver to a sliver embracing a full outline.

The couple will be married in the Redwoods, so the twig seemed an appropriate means for hanging.
The front orange fabric hadn’t been tacked down yet, so I could tuck the front of the tabs under.  For the back side, I stitched a strip of cotton to hide the tab ends.
I didn’t see a place for a stitched signature, and the felt would not take ink, so I signed on the tab-cover.

I am almost finished with a piece I am calling “Storm”, as well.

More pictures of that quilt soon!

A light heart lives long.
William Shakespeare

growth

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A nest right off of our deck in the large Jack Pine on the north side of the house – a delight!! With so many of my friends becoming empty-nesters this fall, I will be bearing witness to the little birds leaving this bough with interest.  C. goes to Europe in July, returns briefly, then flits off himself.  I am glad we still have D. at home, and that I don’t have twins or two children the same age, so as to stagger this absence.

Silly seniors who have known each other (for the most part) since kindergarten:
(My guy is wearing jeans and white T).
Weekend also saw beginning of first of three commissions… this one a T-shirt quilt.  I am going to be efficient!! (she said!!)
I swore I’d never make another of these after the last one, but it doesn’t make sense to turn away paying work, given our situation.  Next one? Noah’s Ark art quilt.  The one after that?  A wall quilt depicting a cattle ranch in Montana.  So there will be some challenges ahead.

Also constructed this breast-cancer-post-op pillow this weekend from a super-soft and pretty purple floral fabric that I believe dates from the 60’s.  The strap would take the weight, so that the wearer does not have to apply pressure with her arm, and it is adjustable, so that it can be snugged up tight into the armpit, or worn lower down.  The best part?  There are about two cups of organic lavender buds in the center section (I used batting in the ‘ears’ and added some navy beans in with the buds to give it a little more weight and texture)… which means that the pressure and warmth of the body will release the heavenly scent of lavender!  This is for my friend’s sister.