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.  

Rock Star Cloth Doll by Third Street

I am in love with this new Third Street Rock Star doll.

Decked out in his Dad's hand me down jeans and dress shirt, this little dude is totally rockin' his own hipster style.  His ill-equipped seamstress girlfriend (humbly known on Third Street as The Machine) went into chain stitch overdrive on this one.  Tightly HAND EMBROIDERED chain stitches offer up bold lines for the star, the 45, and the steel glasses.  The fine detailing, frames and lettering are done BY HAND using a back stitch and his gorgeous Third Street eyes are done in our characteristic satin stitch.  Which was also done A LA MAIN. 

Is my redundancy irritating?  Yes.  But - I have an ulterior motive fueled by only a wee bit of resentment .... Which I will not allow myself or the lovely readers of this blog to be bothered by any further, as its cause is not even worth mentioning in the company of true appreciators of handcrafted goods ... and people who are insightful enough to recognize inherent skill when its achievement is justly earned.  Painstakingly, in fact.  But let's get back to the doll, shall we?

Once he was finished according to the custom order criteria, I felt this doll was still missing something. Then I decided the little dude's inner child was just screaming for some vinyl.  Aren't we all? So I kicked it old school and payed homage to the black circle.  

I think this little buddy is going to look sweet in Jack's Rock Star nursery. 

So let's hear it for all the Rock Star babies out there:

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.

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.

For Aster, Love Auntie :: Wall Hanging Tutorial

As I shared with you all a few posts back, I recently made a wall hanging for my new niece's bedroom as a shower gift.  Time is fast approaching - Sonia has started packing for their big trip and Aster will be coming home with her Mommy and Daddy the end of this month!!

Aster's arrival marks my entry into the roll of Auntie and I am elated, to put it mildly.  I wanted to make something that would serve as a timeless expression of the carefree nature of childhood. 

When I started this picture I was in the midst of a yo yo fascination and wanted to do something that incorporated these little delights.  Heather Bailey has a lovely yo yo tutorial on her blog that I found helpful. 

After hand stitching about twenty different sized fabric yo yos in a vast array of colours and patterns, I found the most luxurious turquiosy cotton batik print and started working on a layout.  I had initially planned to use the yo yos as flowers, but once I got to putting things together I decided they looked awfully cute floating in the sky like a cluster of balloons. 

 

I began by affixing my batik print to some fusible interfacing.  Then I started putting the picture together: a rather large yellow yo yo became a tree and a few smaller ones were overlapped and hand stitched together to form a bush. A makeshift model of the little girl was formed with the intended fabrics and a layout was achieved. 

The pink cotton print used for the dress is the same fabric Sonia chose for Aster's doll (presently in the severed limb phase) and was up cycled from a second hand skirt.  The smallest yo yo I could manage would be a flower for the little girl's hair.

 

I then chose an assortment of vintage buttons we had on hand to place in the centre of the yo yos - you know, just to make them even more darling.  I soaked the buttons in some vinegar thinking that this would render the buttons their shiniest.  I thought that since this works for pennies...  Anyway, the buttons looked fabulous - all except the small green one which was ultimately replaced by some fabric buttons that I made myself! with a few scraps I had on hand.  I then attached buttons to the centre of all yo yos destined to be balloons.

This picture is sort of jumping ahead (just pretend you don't see the strings I have yet to stitch ...)  Next I decided on the configuration for the balloon cluster and hand stitched all the yo yos to one another accordingly.

I then started to make the little girl.  I used some scrap flannel in cream for her face and a small piece of black felt for her hair cut pretty much randomly into the size and shapes that I wanted.  I cut a slit in the felt to form the hair line (big enough to pass the flannel through), placed the head into the hair (...hair styling enthusiast...).  I then stitched along the front to accent the bangs and bind the two pieces together.

Next I chose a piece of yellow leafy tone-on-tone and formed two overlapping hills.  I cut a two dimensional dress shape from the pink fabric and used a gathering stitch to form a pleated neckline for extra dimension.  I then positioned the dress onto the backing where I wanted the little girl to stand and machine stitched around the dress.  I placed the head in position and machine stitched around the face to secure the head and hair to the dress and the backing.   

Needle n' Thread, created by Mary Corbet, is an excellent hand embroidery resource on the web featuring excellent step-by-step instructions and videos for embroidery enthusiasts. 

The hand embroidered elements of this picture began with the little girl:  I started with her sweet little eyes and added some texture to her hair with some black back stitching.    Knowing that I would later add a backing fabric, I embroidered straight through all layers of fabric which saved time as I didn't have to worry about cleaning up all the stray ends of embroidery floss.  

Next I used a split stitch to form a heavy line for the tree trunk, partnered with a darker brown running stitch to add some bulk and shape.

Using a fast fade fabric marker I then marked on the picture where all the balloons were going to be positioned, drew a line to where the girl's hand would ultimately be positioned and formed the strings using  running stitches in different colours for all the different balloons.  As the strings came closer to the girls would-be hand I whipped the stitches to give the illusion of the strings twisting around each other.  I then hand stitched the yo yo bush to the backing fabric at the base of the tree.

Here I gave the little girl some arms to hold on to her balloons and hand stitched the arranged balloon cluster in place on the picture.

Finally I signed my picture using a back stitch and added a iridescent cream tone-on-tone 1 1/2 inch fabric frame.  With top sides facing inward I machine stitched the picture to a piece of cream flannel leaving a 3 inch gap for turning.  I then trimmed my seam to 1/4 inch, snipped off the excess fabric at the corners and flipped the entire piece right side out.  After carefully pressing with a hot iron I turned in the edges of the opening I had left for turning and applied a 1/4 inch straight machine stitch to the outside parameter of the frame, closing the gap and adding a nice finishing touch.  I then looped some ribbon to form two hangers and Aster's picture from Auntie was complete!!

Now I get to eagerly wait for my new niece to arrive home so I can show her this special picture Auntie made just for her.

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial!! 

I'd like to add a special thank you to Heather Bailey and Mary Corbet for their ever helpful online tutorials.

Jaxin's Thai Doll

 We recently finished this little guy for a friend's son, Jaxin.  Jaxin's mom grew up next door to us and her mother was my Brownie leader.  

Jaxin is a beautiful little boy who came to his family from Thailand in the fall of last year. 

Needless to say, it was a real delight making this doll for Nichole's little boy.

Like Jaxin, Thai likes to wear overalls.  His hand-me-down work shirt is one of his favorites because it's just like the work shirts his Papa Manny wears around the yard and in his workshop.

Before giving the doll to Nichole (which was intended as an Easter gift, but was given to Jaxin on the drive home by his super excited Mom!) I embroidered a few cross stitches for the strap fasteners and over the hips to signify the overalls side closures.  This little detail made a really nice finishing touch, but unfortunately, I took these pictures before adding the stitches. 

Silly me.

Jaxon reputably loves his new BFF (Buffalo Firefighter), whom he tenderly named

Thai 

I'm linking to:

   

Show and Tell @ Blue Cricket Design

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!!

You are my Sunshine

I recently completed a custom embroidery piece that a friend ordered for her son.  I'm quite pleased with the final product.  As I have mentioned this project in several posts  I thought it would only be fair to share some pictures.  Those of you who know me will of course understand that I do not function in real time and am therefore chronically tardy.  Thus the delay in producing said pictures.  As usual, I digress... 

What Sherri specifically wanted for her son was a picture featuring the phrase 'You are my Sunshine.'  I had previously done a painting for a friend's daughter with this phrase (which you can view in our flickr group) however this piece was a little, shall we say ... girly? 

Always a fan of the children's book author and illustrator Oliver Jeffers I used his artwork as inspiration for the piece.

For anyone as taken with Oliver Jeffer's work as I am, please do further delight yourself by checking out this You Tube teaser for a movie adaptation of his book 'Lost and Found'.  The DVD is available through amazon.  Again, I digress.  Sheesh, what's your hurry? 

On with the pictures!

Planning the layout.

The fabric is 100% linen from an old shirt of Sonia's. 

Plotting.  Yes, I was rubbing my hands together and snickering to myself.

Of course.

Planning the embroidering. 

The wonderful part of the project where you look at your vast expanse of embroidery floss colours (seriously, how many shades of blue do you really need?) and hope that you're not about to ruin the whole thing by picking the wrong colour ... 

Tree trunk.

Okay, I admit - that was self explanatory. 

Sorry about that.

You are my Sunshine.

Adding depth. 

And flowers.

Well it is embroidery!

More depth and definition.

And the Final Product

(drum roll please!)

We really liked that there's some semblance of the shirt remaining in the final product; the hem line of the shirt is at the bottom right, we added the green wedge for interest and to keep everything square.  We thought about leaving the button holes, but alas, we did not.

Now for the one person who made it to the end of this post

(thanks Mom, you're a trooper!)

I hope you enjoyed this painfully long post.

Maybe I should have placed a 'time warp' disclaimer at the start? 

I did say at the start that I don't generally operate in real time. 

It's not my fault you didn't take me seriously and got caught in my digressions.

Or wait, maybe it was my captivating prose....

I'm linking to:

Note added by author 2010/04/20:  custom order fell through, picture was sold in April at the Halifax Crafters Spring Fling.  Emroidery pictures are available through custom order.  Please contact us with any inquiries.

Winter Fair ~~~~~~~ Finally !!!

December 5th and 6th were the much anticipated Halifax Crafters Winter Fair. This was our first two day event and the first show we've done since our transition from Vervain Designs to Third Street Handcrafters. Can I tell ya? We had an absolute blast!

The show ran from 11 to 5 Saturday and Sunday and was bustling with enthusiastic shoppers the entire time. The show featured 70 vendors specializing in handmade goods ranging from pottery to clothing design; we were honoured to be featured along side many talented artisans.

We've been working since October to prepare for the show, but Saturday evening we trialed long into the night to replenish much of our depleted inventory as a result of mucho sales during the first day of the show.

The remaining dolls at the end of Saturday.

Dolls and tag binkies were on the agenda, and after much work, little sleep, a wee snowfall, and a dash of caffeine we arrived back to the show Sunday morning with our table stocked anew. The drive in was slushy but our foggy, tired eyes got us there unfazed. Luckily the weather did not deter the shoppers, and we were quickly thrust back into the midst of holiday shopping.

This is our new little friend Ruby checking out our dolls. Isn't she a doll ??

Part of our display on Sunday.

As our replenishing marathon suggests, our dolls were very well received at the show. Over the course of the two days we sold a record 17 dolls!! The response of the shoppers - and many of our fellow vendors - was invigorating. We absolutely love the processes involved in creating the dolls - from designing the patterns, selecting materials and accessories to generate varying effects, to creating back stories for the dolls. Seeing everything we've worked on come together into a final product that is met with such enthusiasm is a rush, to say the least.
Here are some of the dolls we made for the show. Many of these girls weren't actually with us for very long and I'm happy to say that we caught most of them on film before they left us to go with their new friends.

Secretary / aspiring actress. She takes her day job very seriously (sensible shoes) but is always looking her best - she can never be sure when she might be discovered or offered a deal she can't refuse....

This little girl sporting a new hair style is on her way West to a very special girl.

Grapes.?.

Dylan. In his jeans and hand-me-down shirt. And shaggy hair.

One of our favorites. We picked out the fabrics in her dress ages ago and have been eager to make a doll with it ever since. Her shawl and shoes are made from an up-cycled red wool jacket.

We failed to get a picture of the blonde on the far right before she got snatched. This is sad because she was one of my favorites.

Felted wool dress from an up-cycled jacket accented with a whimsical hand embroidered butterfly (free style).

Our second girl with a hat. Look close, it's there. Only picture of this little delight as she was claimed before the doors to the show ever opened. Dig the faux patent leather shoes !!

Our first girl with kaleidoscopy eyes.

Dylan's girl. It was love at first sight.

a la Mrs Roper.

Our crowning achievement. Don't ask...

Second kaleidoscopy girl. We made every piece of this girl with a different fabric. Very sweet.

And it was with a mix of sadness and cheer that we parted company with the marvelous monster Ludwig. Ludwig is a monster who strives every day to overcome 'monster' stereotypes. He is polite, has good manners, and a day job. He wants a Blackberry for Christmas to complete his corporate image. Ludwig lives with his friends Walter and Katharine and acts as their administrative assistant. In his last email correspondence, Ludwig let us know that he has an orthodontist appointment arranged for January to correct his monster snarl. Walter and Katharine have dubbed him

Ludwig von Gracenstein .

Our thanks to everyone who came out !!