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.  

How Can You Feel Blue When There is Tea to Enjoy?

Yes, another treasury. 

I can't help it - I'm hooked!! 

Leave me alone, I have tea to drink...

Tea makes me feel warm and at home. Little girl me having tea with father and grandmother, student me learning to rely on tea, nurse me finding comfort in tea during long and stressful shifts. Mommy me enjoying tea party delights with her 4 year old daughter, who pretends to like tea - much as little girl me used to - just to humor Mommy me. Crafter me has even been known to use tea (in less than conventional ways because yes, I do drink tea as I craft).

Sew... Delicious!! :: Third Street Salvage Yard

-Huge sewing night at Sonia's house tonight. We've had a break with Sonia's recent trip and adoption, but tonight we went at 'er full swing.

-A few dolls made it to their final stage of assembly and we made a big dent in the severed-limbs-stage with the dolls-in-bags pile.  If this sound gruesome, believe me - it is!!

-Two current orders are nearing completion.

-A new order for two RED SOX boy dolls.  Exciting!!

-Plans for Halloween and Christmas/Winter themed dolls in the works.

-Plans for a Sewing Machine Day sewing project tutorial (Sept 10th) - stay tuned!

-Oh, and I have to work on that giveaway I mentioned...

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!

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A Busy Time in Dollville :: Third Street Salvage Yard

We are busy preparing for the Halifax Crafters Spring Fling and we are in a mess of chenille, ribbon and severed limbs.

In the meantime, I leave you with this beautiful painting by American artist Bessie Pease Gutmann.

I think it eloquently captures our current state of frenzy.

A few people we know are also presenting in the Halifax Crafters show this weekend:

My Handbound Books

LouLouBell Handmade

Banana Bottoms

Bespoke Uprising

Double Happiness

Please pop by their sites, check out their lovely work and say a quick hello if you get the chance.

Hope to see you at the show!

For more info:

visit Halifax Crafters on Facebook.

For those of you waiting on the edge of their seats,

the TSH etceteras feature will resume following the upcoming

~ CRAFT FAIR MAYHEM ~

Etsy Atlantic Provinces Street Team

Hope this finds everyone well and in good cheer.  And not buried too heavily in snow.

~ We are pleased to announce that Third Street Handcrafters is now a member of the Etsy Atlantic Provinces Street Team. ~

Yay !!

The APST blog is great and has loads of links to local artisans and crafters and their Etsy stores.

What are you waiting for?  Check it out, and make sure to say 'hi' while you're there!

Third Street Salvage Yard :: Blisters on my Fingers

Today I started working on our next series of Boy dolls. We created a new boy pattern in December and made two dolls at that time. One of whom is available in our corner store.

We've always found it challenging to find boy fabrics we love. Seems like most boyish fabrics available either have a famine or baby quality to them or are sports related. Upon much digging, we've discovered our favorite boy fabrics in the bins at thrift stores. Harvesting fabric from men's and children's dress shirts is time consuming but totally worth it.

Watch for our "hand me down" Boys, coming soon!!

Third Street Salvage Yard :: Happy New Year

Happy New Year!

Andrea and I have been on a hiatus for almost 3 weeks, eating chocolate, spending social time and genuinely enjoying the holiday season with our families and friends.

Our Christmas trees are down, the chocolate's (almost) all gone and I've stopped listening to Christmas music (at my husbands request). Another Holiday season is behind us. Andrea and I want to thank everyone who has supported us this past year, by reading our blog, visiting our facebook page and flicker group, or coming out to a craft show. It has brought us such overwhelming joy knowing so many people would open a hand made gift created by Third Street Handcrafters this Christmas.

We're excited to see what 2010 will bring and have been busy planning what will come next for Third Street. One of the most exciting plans we're working on is the the re-launch of our etsy shop. Etsy is a fantastic online shopping site devoted to the sale and promotion of handmade items. We're planning to have our shop open for business in February. You'll be able to read about what we're working on in our blog and purchase our items from our etsy shop, making our items much more accessible to a larger market.

We're hitting the sewing table Thursday night, I'm really looking forward to getting back at it. And don't fret, our faithful readers, Andrea will be back to post a witty commentary, as only she can, on some random topic, soon. Her kids have *apparently* been keeping her busy.

Third Street Salvage Yard :: Photo Soiree

Back in November, Sonia and I decided to have some fun with my new camera by photographing some of the things we had yet to capture for our photo archives. Most of those photos have since made it to our flickr group and a few have made appearances here on our blog.

On a highly amateurish scale I enjoy digital photography and playing with digital imaging programs. Our new Canon SLR is fairly advanced, allowing you to control aspects such as exposure time, resolution and aperture (and a million other things I can only pretend to know about). While these features fascinate me, I find it very hard to find the time to learn what exactly they mean and how to manipulate them. Hence, I take snapshots with a really nice camera and leave the actual photography to my lovely and skilled husband. I do, however, enjoy fooling around with Picnik.
 
So after our little soiree I went home with lots of Picniking potential.  I wanted to show off a few of my favorites here, because, well... I can   I know you are all dying to see them   It's 1:00 and I can't sleep  I have to have some excuse for all of the "work" I've done. 

Are you game ??

 

Dancer.  Show girl.  Not afraid of cough drops or UV rays.

My car.  Okay, my brother in law's.  He won't let me drive it...

I love this. 

I want waffle goggles that make the world look like this all the time. 

That or hallucinogenic drugs.

How I would feel wearing my waffle goggles.

Sonia giggling as I try to maneuver in my goggles. 

Much like me in heels.

Consider yourself lucky if you don't already have a mental image...

Speaks for its self.

Now I'm going to bed hopefully to dream about rainbow ponies and cinnamon swirls.

If we're not back before he comes, make sure to leave Santa some yummy cookies.  Yeeees, and carrots for the hungry reindeer. 

Have happy holidays !!

Third Street Salvage Yard :: Project Mayhem

Christmas is fast approaching and the orders are pouring in!  Busy, busy.  CRAZY BUSY!  We have a ringette girl we're doing for Sue (my friend from wok), a Kat for our friend Katherine's friend, a monkey, lamb, and spunky girl for a friend of Sonia's from High School, a monkey/little sister for our little sister Amy....  And a two day craft fair in less than two weeks.  And this is just what's coming to the surface of my mind.  We have more things written down that I've likely blocked from my conscience as a coping strategy.  Plus, today is Shawn's first day back to work - an ordeal in and of itself, which I previously described in this blog.  Plus, tomorrow I'm officially a year older - a fact that I'd prefer to ignore entirely, but there will be cake and hopefully some presents, so I guess I'll acknowledge it.  You know, for the kids...

Don't get me wrong - I'm totally psyched about all the orders!  I just hope Sonia and I can keep up with one another's manic pace.   

Third Street Salvage Yard :: A Little Lacy

Sonia and I love to use upcycled materials of all kinds in our work and actually spend a lot of time at thrift stores looking for garments and materials that we can salvage for our dolls.  We've found that the dolls we've made in the past from upcycled fabrics have a special flair that renders them hopelessly endearing.  Maybe we're biased?  Hey, it's great to love what you do, right? 

As usual, I digress.  My wonderful parents visited yesterday - yes, they braved the germ house despite the big red cross I had painted on the front door to ward off unsuspecting visitors of our sickly state.  Don't worry, I made them burn their clothes before they left, for their own safety.  Anyways, my ever loving mother - always on the lookout for second hand goodies - brought over a big box FILLED with ribbon, binding, and trim or various types that she had snagged for Sonia and I from her work.  Lucky, I know!! 

Also, there's this cute little bonnet that I found in the midst.  It looks like an old fashioned night cap like the ones from Little House on the Prairie, where all of your hair is tucked up inside except for those few irresistible stray curls that simply refuse to be corralled.  At least that's what I think it is...  I tried to get My Sweet to model it for you, but no luck there.  Jules is in bed, and my curls are just too orderly for that sort of thing.  Right.  Anyways, Jules will love it, I'm sure. 

In thanks to our considerate Mom, I offer these little glimpses.  One thing about sick kids: they're always up for a snuggle! 

Good night !!

Third Street Salvage Yard :: Sensible Shoes

We love to make dolls. Andrea and I have been sewing together for a few years and nothing has brought us joy like that of making dolls. We love every part of the process, from selecting the fabrics and assembly, to giving them their personalities, and seeing people's response to them at shows and from pictures.

Just like little girls, every one of our dolls are unique and come with their own personality.

In addition to a few custom orders, we've started on a new batch of dolls, to prepare for the Halifax Crafters December Market, which we are participating in on December 5 & 6th. Often times during the process of making our dolls, they develop a "back story". A history or a glimpse into their lives. Some back stories are simple, like they enjoy playing dress up or have tea parties, and some back stories are complex and develop according to our inspirations and imaginations.

These lovely girls are sisters and started out when we began creating war bride/Sally Ann inspired dolls. The big sister in the red had, though she may look all grown up with her fancy clothes and polished nails is still very much a little girl. Her little sister wants to be just like her. She is wearing burgundy shoes, inspired by the song by Patti Griffin. These two girls are now living in Toronto.

This young lady is a waitress and part time model. Inspired by the song "Most Beautiful Girl in the Room" by Flight of the Conchourds. She is now living with a crafter friend who collects hand made dolls.

In the batch we're working on now we have a fashionesta, inspired and being made especially for our cousin Jah Sara, and a secretary/aspiring actress who takes her day job very seriously and wears sensible shoes.

Third Street Salvage Yard :: Balls and Binkies

On the heals of the success of Vervain Fair two best sellers have emerged, our tag balls and binkies, part of our soft play toys for infants and babies.

Tag Balls

Featuring bright fabrics and textured ribbon, our tag balls are perfect for little hands. Soft and cuddly, and as an added bonus when your three year old biffs it at your baby's head... it won't hurt!

Binkies

One of our newest and most exciting additions. Binkies are made for comfort, featuring an attractive cotton or flannel top fabric, ultra soft chenille backing and textured ribbons; easy for little hands to hold on to and a snuggle buddy for nap time.

Third Street Salvage Yard :: Adventures in Toy Stuffing

Original Print Date: Thursday, August 20, 2009 by Sonia

We now are the proud owners of four different types of fiber fill, that may not sound exciting to the masses... but to us it's pretty exciting news! 

Yesterday Andrea and I took a trip to Dartmouth, it might as well of been Montreal though... Andrea was lost the whole time we were there. We were on a mission to find new materials and different types of fiber fill so that our plushies could have different densities of cushiness. We were happy to find a huge selection of such stuffing at Atlantic Fabrics. Now the trouble is where to store all of it... imagine if you will what three pounds of cotton balls might look like... then times that by 4 bags and that's what we're working with, luckly it doesn't take us long to go through a bag.