Harvesting

Garment deconstructing and dissection continues. My family fears for the survival of their clothing and lie awake at night in fear that their blankets will be lost to Mom's fabric draft. 

Nothing is safe while plans for the family quilt evolve; Mom's greedy fabric addiction does not allow for warm toes. So hold on to your socks!

I even found myself eyeing, and briefly contemplating the harvesting of a pair of My Sweetest's boxers.  They are made from an attractive cotton print that would just add so much to the completed project!

I don't understand the problem - a problem that my silly conscience insisted existed - with using fabric from old (okay - not old, and actually in good condition) boxer shorts.  What kind of mental jail do I live in if I limit my artistry to the confines of societal norms. I want this quilt to be meaningful, to say something about me and my family.

Perhaps I need to re-evaluated what it is I want that message to be??   

Making Bread and Constructing a Family Quilt

What is it about making something with your hands that feels so therapeutic and fulfilling?

As you read in my last post, I've recently entered into the world of bread making. Making bread is a deep rooted tradition in my family. My grandmother Chaisson has achieved eternal reverence with regards to her best-in-the-world homemade bread.

When we were children, my sisters and cousins and I all lived for Nan's bread - many of us restricted to enjoying this culinary delight during summer vacation and the rare winter visit to Newfoundland. Sometimes Nan would even make bread on those extra special times when she and Pop came to visit us.

I remember watching Nan in fascination as she would knead the dough with diligence and determination; a perseverance worthy of true admiration.

Soon after my virginal introduction to making bread I had a conversation with my mother - also an accomplished family bread maker - and it was she who identified the labour of making bread as  therapeutic and cleansing. Getting in there with you hands and pounding out the hearty goodness of the dough for the purpose of providing sustenance and enjoyment for your family truly is a satisfying endeavor.

Moreover, it is a great way to purge tension - much like other physically repetitive activities such as biking or running - providing one with a clear and undistributed mind for thinking things through.
Quilting is another well rooted tradition in my family that unites productive therapeutic activity with the wholesome nature of making something meaningful for someone you love. Selecting fabrics, arranging them in ways that convey a desired mood. Combining these elements in a custom that ensures longevity with the purpose of ultimately forming a single entity designed to provide warmth and comfort is - in my books - a very effective means of expressing love.

One of the especially nice things about visiting Nan and Pop was getting to sleep in one of the old kid's rooms warmly snuggled in one of Nan's quilts. Nan made her quilts with scrap fabrics salvaged from other projects, or from worn out garments within the house - curtains, work shirts, sheets. They were the kind of quilts that hugged you - heavy, big and warm. Their myriad of patterns, fabric textures and colours gave them a unique quality and her use of re-purposed fabrics added a personal touch that made you feel safe and at home.

I am fortunate to have one of these precious specimens upstairs, where it usually resides on my Sweetheart's bed.  Decades after it's construction, my grandmother's quilt continues to embrace her family with love and warmth.

It is this degree of love that I hope to convey to my family with the making of my very own family quilt. So far in the process I have assembled my own collection of outgrown, out-fashioned, and plain warn out fabrics that have seen my family throughout its evolution.

This may take me a little bit longer than the two loaves of bread I made for my family, but it is my hope that - like the bread my grandmother made for her family - its sustenance will be felt by the people I love for a long time after its completion.  

1 2 3 4 5 6 Stitch

We're headed back to Exhibition Park again this morning for another day of working the Street. Yesterday and last night flew by! We met some great artists and crafters, chatted with good friends, got the juice on some interesting happenings, and got to listen to some awesome music. Plus, we completed 5 (6?) new dolls, including a spectacular boy super hero. Pictures taken and will be shared once all is complete.

For anyone interested in attending, the details are here. There are still two days left, come on down and get your craft on with Third Street!

Pull up your candy cane pantyhose and come visit us at the

Christams Craft Village

next weekend at Exhibition Park.

It's a three day show with over 100 vendors!!

Friday, Nov. 12 from 10-9

Saturday, Nov. 13 from 10-6

Sunday, Nov 14 from 10-5

  

We're in booth 105 in the second room near the performance stage.

Binkies

Soft Play Balls

Baby and Toddler Bibs

Bean Bags

Lady Lou Cushions

Hand Embroidered Onsies featuring original TSH designs

Doll Quilts 

Christmas Tree Ornaments

Hand Painted Christmas Sleds

Quilted Patchwork Christmas Runners

And of course,

Oodles and Oodles of Original TSH Dolls

Including Special Edition

 Chinese New Year Dolls and Santa's Little Helper Dolls

As well as Dad's Handmade Wooden Doll Furniture

Plus we will be available for custom ordering!

For a complete listing of participating vendors, please chick here.

See the Third Street Handcrafters Facebook Page for a chance to win a free pass to the show!!

IWK Quilt Fair

Our favorite:
Blue Pickle by Heather Loney

The Mayflower Quilt Guild is presently holding their annual IWK Quilt Fair in conjunction with the Auxiliary of the IWK Health Centre.  This year the Quilt Fair features a silent auction, raffle quilt (draw Oct 23rd), craft table (including second hand quilting books and magazines at extremely reasonable prices) and an abundance of quilts on display and available for purchase.



The Quilt Fair is being held in the Parker Reception Room at the IWK Health Centre here in Halifax.  The event opened on October 21st and runs until this evening (10am - 5pm).  Proceeds from the show will be donated to the IWK Auxiliary, to better enable them in achieving their goal to supply items needed for the children, women, and families served by the IWK Health Centre.

Checking out the fish on the way to the quilt show

Sonia, myself and our two daughters stopped by for a visit Thursday evening, and I'll tell ya - these quilters have some seriously awesome quilts to show off!  We nabbed a few photos to share, as descriptions will not serve these crafty delights their due justice. 

Excellent work by all involved!!

Summer Quilt Finished!

Sunday was my little friend Sophie's 2nd birthday party.  I had to miss out on the festivities because I was working but I sent my three sweetest reps to present Sophie with her present.  

I hope she loves snuggling with this sweet child - sized lap quilt!

Almost all of the fabrics used in the patchwork are upcycled.  Even the batting is a hodgepodge of large pieces left over from past projects. 

The watermelon pink block on the far left in the picture below came from a second hand skirt my daughter wore as a toddler.  Last year, for Sophie's first birthday, I made her a Third Street cloth doll using this fabric for the dress.  I was so pleased to find I had enough of this fabric left over from the doll to use some in Sophie's quilt - such a delightful little bonus.  

The bright blue floral print came from the lining of an Old Navy handbag that I had bought several years ago on a trip to Boston.  I bought this bag for a ridiculously low price and I think I only used it once or twice.  But I kept it - and I'm so glad I did. 

The dark red came from a second hand red linen dress shirt that I've used in a few different projects I've shared here and here.  The yellow floral block that is repeated throughout the quilt top came from a second hand dress my daughter wore that I also used for this Third Street turning point doll (very first doll made from an original Third Street Pattern).  The dark green pieces were taken from a second hand dress I wore for a long time but had to reluctantly surrender as its seams were under a great deal of undue strain...  The red floral print came from a piece of fabric I snagged from Frenchy's and very pale pink squares came from Mom - our number one upcycled fabric supply contact. 

Of the few new fabric pieces used for this top,  the majority were taken from our scrap pile.  Only about two or three blocks were actually cut from larger pieces of new fabric - once our upcycled and scrap stashes had been fully exploited.    

For the backing I used a new piece of cotton flannelette in baby blue with a puppy print - because Sophie loves dogs. 

Just like the sweetheart it was made for, this quilt is the harmonization of so many cherished parts.

Feeling a little Out-of-Focus

I've been a little distant as of late. 
Sorry. 

Here's what I've been doing, though:

• Attended the second HRM Artisans group meeting (email me for information) 
• Started a Facebook page for Third Street Handcrafters.  (Join now so you can get even sicker of us than you already are - see right sidebar for info my little eager beavers!) 
• Discovered Craftopolis and Etsy Hacks thanks to the gracious sharing of information from the HRM Artisan group members in the last July meeting
• Researching Etsy SEO and selling success tips.  Found this blog post particularly helpful
• Listing new dolls in the Third Street Corner Store
• Revising the Third Street Corner Store and experimenting with item renewal
• Listing dolls in the Third Street Corner Store
• Thinking about fall and Christmas craft fairs
• Considering new charitable endeavors
• Finishing up this quilt (and more here) for a special little someone
• Finished Voices in Time by Hugh MacLennan (read this if you love HMac like me!), which I wrote about here and have promised to revisit again upon completion for your continued literary education - a la Andrea
• Started Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris, which I will tell you more about as I delve deeper in the upcoming days

So you see, I've been busy.  Plus I was temporarily abandoned by my generally ever-present sister/partner who ultimately added to my distractions by bringing home my sweet new niece, Aster. 

How can a girl blog under these circumstances?

A Quilt for a Hot and Humid Season

Things have been rather slow around here lately.  Hot, humid, and sticky.
Despite the heat, I felt inspired yesterday.  I started putting together a lap quilt for a little friend who will be celebrating her second birthday in August. 
For the quilt top I am using a variety of up-cycled cottons and linens plus some cotton scraps salvaged from past projects.  I’ve cut equal amounts of 6x6 squares and 3x6 rectangles and I plan to piece the fabrics randomly in a 1:1 linear pattern, with the pattern reversing on each line.  Does this make any sense?    
For the backing I am using a sweet puppy print flannel (because she loves doggies).  I plan to quilt the patchwork top directly to the flannel back (sans batting) for a lighter overall blanket. 
Perfect for snuggling with Mom for a story after a hot and humid summer day! 

I promise I’ll post pictures when the project reaches a more photogenic stage.

Looking for Something to Do?

Since starting our blog we've tried to contribute best we can to the sharing spirit of online crafters by recording and posting projects that we've completed. Wanting to collect these projects together, we've designed a page to serve as inspiration for fellow crafters and enthusiasts. We've also included some great recipes you can make to take on your crafting adventures.  You can now access the page in or Stay Awile pages (top of sidebar) or by clicking on this Projects picture on the sidebar.

Enjoy!

My Favorite Banana Loaf
Awesome Chai Tea Syrup
Mothers Day Gift Idea
You Are My Sunshine Embroidery
Doll Sized Crazy Quilt

I hope to add new projects and tutorials as they come to be. So in case you miss it - check back often!

Crazy Doll Quilt :: Freedom Session :: Third Street Salvage Yard

Crazy quilts are known as the quilts that anyone can make as the techniques used in traditional patchwork are largely abandoned in this type of quilting.  I've read several books focusing on crazy quilting that I borrowed from the library (check out Very Easy Crazy Patchwork by Betty Barnden, available in our Reader's Cafe), and the basic gist of it is that you take randomly shaped pieces of fabric and using a series of overlapping and layering, you sew them to batting.  There is no piecing, no necessary measuring, no seam allowances to be considered, and pretty much none of the precision that accompanies traditional patchwork.

Inspired by the liberating allure of crazy quilting, I decided a while back to try my hand at making a crazy doll-sized quilt to use as a display piece for craft shows. 

This quilt was assembled entirely of scrap pieces.  I overlapped two pieces of Warm and Natural cotton batting that I had left over from a previous project and began raiding our bag of scrap cotton pieces.

Delightfully, the techniques for assembling crazy quilts vary, but the most wonderful and alluring thing about crazy quilting is that there is no real hard-fast rules - you just do it.  Working directly on my ironing board, I used small strips of fusible web to temporarily adhere the scrap cotton pieces to the batting piece until I was ready to stitch them down.

The crazy quilts that I love feature raw edges, decorative stitches and bold colours displayed in a coll ague-like fashion.  I have a pretty basic machine with a small selection of stitches, but as any sewer knows - when it comes to creative sewing, results are limited only to the capabilities of your machine and to your skills as a sewer, and largely to your own creativity. 

I think that it is a worthy speculation that when it comes to the longevity of a quilt, crazy quilts may not prove to be as sturdy as traditional quilts, due to the substitution of seam allowance patchworking with raw edge piecing, as demonstrated in this particular quilt.  But I think that with good care and love, these quilts can become heirlooms just the same as other quilts. 

Either way, crazy quilts make excellent doll quilts because - let's face it - dolls are pretty easy on their quilts!

Thanks for stopping by! 

Please come again - or add yourself as a follower and we'll come to you!

I'm linking to:

Blue Cricket Designs Show and Tell

Life as Lori Get your Craft On

Mothers Day Gift Idea

Mothers Day is next month and I thought I'd share a special Mothers Day present I made for both my mother and my mother-in-law last year (pre blogging era for me, so it's still game, right?)

The pictures are digital images of my children converted to sepia tone and printed onto iron transfer paper.  I ironed the pictures onto unbleached cotton then pieced a simple 4 block rectangle for the front.

I then quilted the front to some scrap flannel I had left over from a past project.  I used quilters cotton that complemented their decor and used cream coloured chenille for the backing.  Once the pillow was assembled, I packed it with polyfil till it was nice and plump.

The design on the cream coloured block is made up of a tan coloured piece of corduroy taken from an old pair of my son's pants and a piece each of white and pink fleece.  I used cotton embroidery floss to adhere the pieces to the pillow top using a blanket stitch.

   

The best part was that - despite a few steps - this was an easy project. 

I started the night before Mothers Day and finished up in the morning, just in time for a visit with the moms. 

 

And voila! 

A gorgeous keepsake featuring Nanny and Grandma's two special angels.

Any thoughts?  I'd love to hear what you think.
Also - make sure you stop by our Etceteras link party for a little humor.
This weeks topic: Top Fives

I'm linking to:

Fingerprints on the Fridge Feature Yourself Friday

Quilting Exhibit

In September Sonia and I took a drive out to Mahone Bay with some family.  Our uncle was visiting from Newfoundland and we were hoping to dazzle him with the beauty of the south shore - an experience that never fails to impress - I assure you!

While window shopping amidst the salt water and late summer flowers, we made our way to the Mahone Bay Settlers Museum which was featuring an elaborate Quilting Exhibit - much to our delight!

Of course, I know that it is February.  But travel with me, if you will, back to that lovely warm September day.  A little delusional thought never hurt anyone before... 

A beautiful exhibit featuring some stunning quilting and hand embroidery.

Excellent inspiration!

We enjoyed ourselves very much!

My first "Log Cabin"

A while back Andrea and I visited a few of the shops on the Peggy's Cove Road, something we've always wanted to do but never made time for. On our travels we visited the Teddy Bear Quilt Shop, quite possibly the largest collection of quilts for sale we've ever come across. All of their quilts are made in Atlantic Canada, with a lot of them quilted by hand.

There was this one pattern, that in every color combination, I loved, called a log cabin. Most of the quilting squares I've done in the past were done with fabric cut into little squares first and then pieced into the pattern, whereas the log cabin is done with strips of fabric, pieced.

The next chance I got, I hauled out one of my quilting books and started cutting some strips. I made four log cabin squares and created this reversible Christmas table cloth for my Mom.