bee creative

finger pressing and stitching

One of the wonderful things about working with linen is the ability to finger press as you go. 

recyle day: mending the wardrobe

While buying clothing at a consignment shop can be a good thing for the environment and the budget, it isn't always the best way to build a wardrobe.

This is what I have for summer: 4 tops, 1 pair of shorts, 2 skirts, 2 pairs of capris plus one pair of lighter jeans for cooler days. 

Unfortunately, the tops and the bottoms don't go together very well.  It isn't just a matter of colors and patterns, but of the cut/style of the clothing.

To solve the problem I decided to make a few new things:

A dark blue linen shirt.  I still haven't decided how to finish the neckline on this.  I used a pattern for a button down shirt for this. 

A white linen shirt.

And a tank top. 

All three of these are cut to tunic length.  I want to keep them all simple so that they will go with many different types of pants and skirts.  So that I can layer vests or jackets over the top of them; or in the case of the tank top, use it as a jumper.   I want the clothing I make to be for every season....

 

recycle day: table cloths

This weekend the weather was nice enough that it was time to set up my shelter for the porch swing.  This is an old lace table cloth.  I tie two ends to the porch swing, one corner to my wall of windows and the other to one of the wires that supports my grape vine. 

Part of the view at the moment:

Another project I am working on with a re-claimed table cloth:

A bucket style bag.  This one had been dipped into an indigo vat twice when this picture was taken.  Tonight I dipped it again to create more blue patterns farther up the bag. 

 

starfish

At first I thought he was a fish, but he wants to be able to run.  And I thought, where would a beast be able to swim and run?  Maybe among the stars? 

A month or so ago I received a package in the mail from Jude.  One of the items was a fragment of a beast.  To me it was an invitation, an opportunity to see where inspiration might start or stop and where it might become a conversation.  I'm not sure what stage this is at.  There is still a bit more work to do around the tail and the eye and to stitch the sky down (I have some thread I'm dyeing with indigo today).  This is so much about evolving to me.  

Thank you Jude...

 

heat rises

I found a home for a fermentation indigo vat.  It was almost 90 degrees F on top of the closet this morning.  A little warmer than it would normally be, but I'm pretty sure it stays consistently between 70-80 degrees. 

The closet came from The ReStore in Seattle.  It was originally from one of the Seattle schools and was taken out during a remodel.  I've had it for a long time now. 

Today was really more about the garden, but I did stitch the bottom hem on the t-shirt I've been working on.  I sat on the front porch steps with the dogs and watched the morning go by...

A favorite from childhood, drum stick primroses (primula denticulata).  I discovered one that I planted last spring survived the year and popped back up to bloom again. 

 

blue sleeves...

I decided to dip the sleeves of my sample shirt into the indigo vat.  I like it...might dip them in one more time. 

And of course just a touch of blue for the sky scarf...

It's a very powdery soft blue.  We've had a small handful of blue dawns over the last couple weeks. 

knitting knits and sewing knits

I've been reminded that sewing with knits and altering patterns can be a bit scary...

I have made a lot of pj's with my experiments.  Some don't even make it to that stage.  Those end up as rags. 

My latest experiment will have to be used as a rag...good thing I used scraps from the t-shirt.   And that's actually part of the process, testing the pattern.  Especially if the body type is not considered "average." 

On Saturday I decided to try the tank top pattern from Alabama Studio Style.  I didn't have high hopes that it would fit, but I wanted to see how close I'd be to the sizing. 

The results?

*A good case of the giggles.

*Knowledge.  I know that it fits, sort of (surprise!).    But I would need a lot more ease to feel comfortable. That's pretty easy to fix with this pattern as it has princess seams.  The length was way off.  But again, the princess seam will make that easy to fix too.

 

 

This was much more successful.  If any part of a t shirt is going to be difficult for me, it's the neckline.  I decided to try the binding method described in Alabama Studio Style and did some hand stitching.  The first time round with the binding looked nice but didn't lay right.  I decided to fold it over one more time and stitch it down again.  It worked! 

For anyone thinking about trying a project with knits; the most important thing I think is to start with a new needle designed for knits (if using a sewing machine) and to go slow. 

And then there is the hat:

Hello everyone! 

 

 

details

It may be cold, wet, and windy; snow may be in the forecast...

But spring is coming.  Yesterday I had two eggs on the same day for the first time since Jitterbug started molting in the fall.  More of the crocus are popping up in the garden too.  And the rhubarb is up to four inches. 

Maybe it will be t-shirt weather soon?  I'm going to be ready.  Today I tried out another pattern.  This one is destined for the dye pot. 

The next one will have a few more inches added to the bottom and the neckline adjusted just a bit.  Patterns are like recipes...the details are adjustable. 

No recipe involved here. 

I've been craving a cheese sandwich but didn't really want to make bread and then have a lot of it that I would end up eating, so I bought a small loaf of locally made sourdough.  Added a little local cheese and a saute of cabbage, apples and hazelnuts and I had this week's Dark Days meal. 

Hmm...maybe French toast for breakfast? 

 

considering patterns

Sewing clothes again:

It's time for me to develop a new collection of basic patterns, the ones that I will come back to because they are easy to adapt and fit right.

The pattern for this shirt will be a good start.   It's from Kwik Sew Method for Easy Sewing by Kerstin Martensson.  I've loved the directions in this book for a long time but the blouse pattern was a bit small.  Not any more!  

The fabric is an organic cotton that was purchased at a local fabric store.

 

leaves

What I learned:

1.  It would be better to break the egg at the narrow end of the shell for a deeper "planter."

2.  The egg shell planters dry out quickly.

3.  It is easy to over water.

4.  Hatching lettuce is fun. 

I'd call the first part of this experiment successful.  I'll be planting the first two shells in the cold frame tomorrow.  I plan on smashing the egg up a bit. 

 

I like how this looks with a few leaves. 

first seeds of the year

I've always wanted to try using an egg shell as a planter.  Not sure how practical it is, but why not try once?  I planted a bit of lettuce in these. 

I also planted onion seeds today. It begins again...

And then there is this.  A planter of a different sort.  A lot more stitching to do on this...

this just might work...

This (from yesterday's post) became this...

Just beginning, still will need some tidying, but yes I think this will work.  It was the word "weaving" that did it.  Thank you! 

 

in season: last farmer's market + a little crafting

 

A few years ago I bought a set of glow in the dark stars for a project that I was doing for some children.  

A couple weeks ago I brought one of them home and set it on a counter.  I was a bit surprised to see it glowing one night when I turned out the light.  The shadowed part of the star is where it didn't absorb as much light due to a dish that was sitting next to it.

 

We are certainly entering the darkest part of the year.  This morning dawn was at 7:58 and sunset will be at 4:14.  That's just a little more than 8 hours of day light. 

I've recently realized that one of the things I appreciate about this time of year is the ability to see the stars and the moon more often when the skies are clear...but I'm really looking forward to the days getting longer again too. 

Saturday was the last Farmer's market for the year.  I bought a few vegetables and fruits to eat this week, cheese, and dried beans and a few more potatoes to add to the winter supply.

It's time to see if I can make it through the winter without buying fruits and vegetables that aren't local; the exceptions being citrus and avocados (if I can find them) from California. 

My Dark days sole meal seemed too easy... potatoes, pickles I made this summer and creme fraiche.    This is a combination I found in a cookbook named Plenty by Diana Henry.  At first it seemed a little strange but then I realized that it really is a warm potato salad.  Henry suggests salmon as a possible addition to this meal.  That would be good.  I'm going to try it that way next time.

One of the things I've realized recently is how lucky I am that the area I live in can grow such a variety of food. 

Back to present making... 

mostly knitting

For the last couple days most of my "making" has centered around knitting the sweater.  Two more inches on the yoke and I'm done other than finishing up the underarm seams.  It will be finished by the end of next weekend.  The big mystery at the moment is, will it fit?  I wanted this sweater to be a little less loose than the blue one, but I may have overestimated.  Ah well! 

I've also started to stitch on a little project.  This is fabric I dyed with goldenrod.  I laid the flowers across the fabric and wrapped it around a copper pipe.  The tree pattern was pretty obvious to me when I unwrapped the fabric.   A little bit of drawing confirmed that it was the right direction. 

a full heart

Yesterday there was a bit of slush on the deck, but no real snow here.  Sunny today, but cold enough that the frost never melted in some places.     Cold enough for the wool coat.

I've had this coat for over twenty years.  For much of that time it's been my primary winter coat.  I have started wearing raincoats more often (better for riding the bus and walking when it rains of course), but this is still my favorite for a cold day.  It is showing it's age a bit and needs some mending.

This morning's project: 

I can see covering the whole backside of the collar with stitching.  I don't think I'd ever have thought about mending this way without Jude. Thank you...

I also spent some time at a demonstration/sale put on by the local weaving guild today.  A very generous group of people.  I watched spinners, weavers, a carding demonstration and had some wonderful conversations.  And then came home to try plying yarn.   Crocheted up a little sample too.   It's going to take some practice, but it's a good next step.

This handful of roving did not come from the sale, but rather from the farmer's market.  It was a gift from one of the vendors.  I had stopped to watch her spin and to look at her yarn and we started talking.  She thought I might need a bit of orange for my sky scarf one day...

Today is one of those days when the heart feels full. 

 

next direction for Following Sea

This morning I looked up from the computer

and found the next direction for Following Sea.

Little fishies.

Remembering: 

Sometime in my childhood I used to sit on the boat and sing to the fish.  I was inviting them to come be caught...

 

 

adding words

Text on quilts has interested me for a long time...I think perhaps because I am always drawn to layers of meaning and stories. 

About fifteen years ago I started my cowboy quilt.  Somewhere along the way I decided to put part of the text of Cole Porter's song "Don't Fence Me In," on the back. 

Once again, I've begun to stitch text.  This time fragments of letters and notes written to me from friends and family.  I will be covering a "Sunbonnet Sue" quilt that my mother made for me when I was nine or ten.  The fabric for the dolls either came from family or from clothing that Mom made for me.  The words add to the story, add layers of understanding, and certainly of love. 

I've started with a couple sentences from a letter my grandfather wrote to me when I was four.  "The tomatoes in the garden at the ranch are starting to turn red and I miss having you here to help me pick them." 

I'm glad I didn't rush into mending this quilt too quickly...  And because I can't help myself:

Friends? 

first feather

Yesterday I was out and about with Mom and Dad.  For lunch we pulled over by the side of the road to eat some sandwiches Mom had brought along.  We had a greeter:

 

Dad said he was the sentry quail.  Good thing we weren't planning on going down to the beach.

I've been working on a feather for Jude's Magic Feather Project.

My first feather is a phoenix  feather ( I love  "32 Flavors" by Ani DiFranco in which she refers to a phoenix).  The base is the first cloth that I tried batik with plant dyes.   I used a cork to make wax moons and onion skins for the plant dye. 

The color is quite a bit paler then when first dyed as it took a fair amount of heat to remove the wax.

Beginning again...continuing. 

 

 

day twenty-nine: lazy summer days

Today felt like one of those endless summer days that just stretches on...

Maybe because there was such a dramatic change in weather.  This morning gray and maybe just a bit of drizzle and  then by afternoon glorious sunshine. 

For some reason it seemed like a good day to make pajama bottoms. 

Actually two pairs.  One with an old sheet to test the pattern.  Another pair with fabric that I splurged on at a sale. 

And yes, they are flannel. 

Cause the sun won't stick around. 

day twenty-one: white star

It's actually a really pale indigo star, but it looks white...

After reading that Sirus has a white dwarf (a type of small star) I decided to add another star to the blanket.

day twenty: dog star

I added a star to my building blocks blanket.

"Dog Star," otherwise known as Sirus. 

 

day seventeen: dog days?

This morning I started wondering if I could judge the weather depending on where the dogs slept?  It was a little warmer yesterday though...

And that made me start thinking about the expression "dog days of summer."  We might not get any of those.  I did find my first tomato forming though. 

Worked on my indigo star today and experimented with a few options.  Still not sure what the next step will be, leaning towards sewing a center square on the diagonal. 

And maybe I'll just make more.  The "Sawtooth Star" pattern has always been one of my favorites. 

Also spent some time working on my windflower...

"But this rose, this rose in the sea wind,

Stays,

Stays in its true place,

Flowering out of the dark,

Widening at high noon, face upward..."

Theodore Roethke

day fifteen: following sea

Playing with layers again.

Following sea is a nautical term used to describe a boat traveling in the same direction as the waves. 

It's become an idea I want to explore with fabric and stitch...

There will be a lot of blue.

A little white.

Stars and a compass.

The moon.

Ripples and waves.

And, of course, a traveler. 

picking up pieces

Sometimes I like the idea of something better than the reality of it.

Jigsaw puzzles are that way for me.

Now scrabble I like.  As I stitched this I started seeing where the letters would go.

Dream, aim, grow, be and see. 

 

crossroads

My woven blanket has found it's name. 

Crossroads. 

Every place that fabric meets fabric is an intersection of sorts... 

And considering that perhaps those times of day when dark meets light, dawn and dusk, that those moments are a kind of crossroad.

That the present moment is a crossroad between the past and the future. 

Which direction to go? 

one face

Not quite finished, but a good reminder of what can be done in one hour. 

mending star

 On my cowboy quilt.

You can just see the hole Lola the Chihuahua chewed. 

And more mending stars here (A project built from a few moons from here and bits of a cloth found a long time ago.)...

And the first rose of the year...

Stanwell Perpetual.  It helps mend the fence. 

big blue shirt

Life is full of experiments, full of what if's...  It doesn't look like a lab coat to me anymore, but I think it will always hold a memory of it's beginning.

 

stars to wish on

This week I'm working on one of my woven wool squares.  Moving forward on a project (blanket)...  The gray is salvaged from a sweater I wore for years, mostly while working in the garden.  

Cloud cover is pretty dense tonight.  So I made a few stars to wish on...

hand or machine?

Machine stitched:

 

At this point it looked like a lab coat.  It doesn't look like that anymore, but maybe it still is.  A lab coat for living in, for playing.

Two stitches:  hand stitching to the front and the machine stitching to the back.  I did go over the machine stitching with hand stitching to make it blend with the other row of top stitching better.

By hand: I am top stitching the bottom hem, the binding that I used for the neckline and two rows down the front (where the button holes would be).   It is taking longer than sewing all the seams by machine did (French seams). 

My hand stitching is what it is, crooked and uneven.  A couple years ago I wouldn't have contemplated doing something like this at all.  I would have done all the stitching on a sewing machine. But I like this a lot.  The hand stitching, along with using thread that doesn't blend in and the mismatched buttons, adds a whimsical element to the shirt.  It makes me smile.  That is what I want from clothing.  And it was so good to sit out in the sun stitching, talking to neighbors. 

I am thinking that how something is made, what tools are used, should always be the result of prioritizing.  There is a place for machine stitching while being sustainable.  How much time a project is going to take and how badly it needs to be finished are always factors.  Time is a resource too.  If I had sewn this all by hand I wouldn't have a finished shirt for weeks.  That wouldn't work well for me.  Someday that may be different.  I may have to make it completely by hand.  I may have more time.

The blue fabric is organic cotton.  The buttons were purchased at a thrift store. 

 

P.S.   Found at the coop:

Baptisia australis, or False indigo.  Maybe I'll get some blue...? 

 

 

minutes and hours

I found a few more squares of vintage (?) upholstery fabric that I had in my stash and decided to make a small basket with them. I did this one by machine (using this tutorial for general directions) and it took minutes:

I also decided to use the heart squares I had started to make a little larger basket, all hand-stitched.  It took hours:

Each side has its own heart.  As I stitched this together I kept thinking about how we can choose what our hearts hold...

 

 

mothers and daughters

Last weekend while I was sorting through piles I found the perfect fabric to turn this project into a pillow.

A dress that my mother made for me as a child has become the perfect back for a pillow made from a gift of a daughter to a mother, a grandmother to a grand daughter, a mother to daughter and a great-grandmother to great-grand daughter. 

I like too that it reflects methods from hand sewing/crocheted lace, to machine stitched seams, to computer technology and back to hand stitching. 

Generations of techniques. 

Keeping love present. 

 

 

boro heart?

 

Sooner or later all hearts need some mending...

This heart is part of a long strip of hearts that I pieced together.  I was about a 1/2 inch short of having a long enough strip to fill this heart so I just tucked a little piece of plaid under the yellow-green fabric (which is mud cloth) to finish filling the heart. 

heartsease

One of the "common" names for flowers in the viola family (pansies and violets) is heartsease. 

I started to think about how being wrapped in a blanket/quilt made might ease a heart.

The plant to the left is commonly known as string of hearts.  It's in the succulent family.  Tougher than it looks.  It also suggested a possible layout...

It would be a good way to use up little bits and pieces. 

Still thinking...

one woven basket/box

Didn't think I was going to finish this as the weather was much better than forecast.  That meant lots of time in the garden.  But I did indeed finish it:

The fabric is a mixture of plant dyed raw silk, gauze and cotton; linen, more silk scraps, wool from a wedding dress, trim from the edge of a wool blanket, and bits of scraps from here and there.  One square was a gift.  The bottom is salvaged from a pair of jeans my grandmother gave me to recycle. 

Woven squares work wonderfully well for this type of project. 

small project: fabric box

Making more of these.

Followed these directions.  Except that I only put cardboard on the bottom layer. 

It would be fun to use a woven panel for the sides.  Something like this one.  Maybe I'll get that done tomorrow? 

woven patch

 

 

Trying, and practicing and learning.

Colors of spring.

The crocus I planted a couple years ago are starting to spread, another kind of patch.  Either that or it's a bad year for the slugs and snails....

 

building blocks

What if fabric was never cut any smaller than it had to be?  I was considering frugality today, of both cloth and time. 

 

Last night I started gathering the larger pieces of fabric in my stash.  I stitched the pieces together, trimming a bit as I went to make things fit. 

The front is amazingly enough mostly shades of blue.  The velvet to the left is some that I dyed with cabbage. 

The back is an assortment of flannel. With one tiny hole already pre-chewed by Lola. 

After I had two large pieces, I stitched the sides together, right side to right side, pulled the fronts to the outside and edge stitched all around. 

It was a fast blanket, about 5 hours of work.  It is large, about 90 by 135 inches.  It is something that will keep me warm now, but can be added to and embellished as ideas come, as mending is needed, as there is time.

One special friend has already found his home on this blanket. 

 

 

snap, snap

Yes, the front of a shirt can be re-purposed as a closure for a bag.  A great idea from Jude.   The snaps fall into the inside of this bag when closed.   To make this I cut a piece of shirt front to match my print fabric, lined everything up so that the snaps would be at the top, and sewed everything together so that the shirt front acts as a lining.   This is just the right size for keeping my bus knitting projects all together.

This would also work for a bag with a flap.  Just playing a bit with possibilities....

This is a pillow cover I did several years ago.  For this one I sewed just the front edge of the shirt to other pieces of fabric to make a "pieced" backing. 

The shirt fronts I've used here are from some of my grandfather's work shirts. 

my heart isn't finished yet

Sometimes I make things harder than they have to be.  It can be very simple.  Sometimes it's just a matter of piecing the parts together.

Made with some squares I didn't want to cut up.  And some that I did. And a heart that I found in the scrap pile. 

Yesterday I was at a childcare conference.    One idea that i was very happy to hear expressed was that art is important because it is a form of communication, a language, one that children need.  Another was a quote shared by one of the presenters:  How you are is as important as what you do."  Jere Pawl 

And then there is this:

"The mind must be flexible enough to bend down to the heart."  Madeleine L'Engle

buttons

Sometimes I need to organize things...

one + one + one = new linen shirt

 

One pair of linen pants, and two jumpers pieced together to make a shirt.

The pattern is Unique 4046, but any similar pattern would work. 

The  layout for the front piece of the pattern can be seen here. I placed all the pattern pieces on the hem line of each piece of clothing I was salvaging.  No hem to sew! 

One thing I always need to remember:  baste the sleeve in first, then go back and stitch again.  I've remembered on the last two shirts I've made and it works so much better. 

always growing

One view...

A little closer

One more view. 

one-day Sunday: making a tank top

Looking at the long range forecast, I noticed that someone had labeled the weather for a day not unlike today as "dreary."  I'm thinking that's someone who lacks imagination...

Little rain drops are dangling from branches, the song birds were singing quite the song this morning.  A flock of Kinglets came through earlier today, working their way through the bushes looking for a snack.  Subtle, yes, but not dreary. 

Today I was following a  "what if..." I've had in mind for awhile... 

What if I used some cabbage dyed raw silk for a tank top?  Hard to see but it's a lovely soft blue.  Doesn't smell like cabbage at all.  What if I lined it with a plaid gauze ( I think it's a silk blend) that I salvaged from a skirt?  Perfect!  What if I made it reversible?  Nope, has a stain.  Okay, maybe some sunshine would be nice.

The details:  The tank top is made by cutting two fronts and two backs.  It's an old pattern that I have, any basic tank top pattern should work. 

I sewed the two fronts together right side to right side, from one side up along the arm hole, across the top, and down the other side, leaving the bottom hem open.  I then did the same with the back layer.  I turned each piece so that the "right sides" were out. If you do this, be sure to use something like a chop stick to push any corner seams all the way out. 

The plaid then became the wrong side and I sewed it together as normal.  Shoulder seams together and then the sides.  More details here  and here for those that want to know more about the construction and see some pictures. 

I don't consider myself an "expert" at making clothing, but I've been doing it for awhile and have figured out things that work for me.  And really, that's what it is all about...

a snow day is a good day for refashioning

After being teased with snow by the weather forecasters for weeks, we finally got it.  By afternoon it was gloriously sunny, but cold.  This snow will be around for a couple days I think. 

I finished up a vest I've been working on today.  It's made from two skirts (thrifted), reclaimed buttons, and thrifted bias tape for the arm hole binding and for some trim on the back. Total cost, under ten dollars. 

 

The back gave me a bit of grief as I originally cut it to short.  I had cut the front longer to save the fringe, which I love.   My solution was to piece together a "second" hemline.  Very happy with the results.... 

One thing I want to remember:  skirts are a fantastic resource for larger pieces of salvaged fabric. 

 

 

one done

My mother found a stack of fabric for me several years ago, probably upholstery samples.  I've gone back and forth between wanting to make a pillow with them or a bag.   The pillow idea won out.

I made my own pillow form for it.  It's stuffed with fabric scraps and the remainder of the down I salvaged from a comforter.  I don't recommend unstuffing down comforters....

more mending

The dotty moon blanket went into the washing machine.  Because that's the way my life is.  A few corners unravelled.  And while I appreciate the texture, I don't think it will last well. 

I couched the loose threads in and then stitched some more.  Not particularly tidy, but functional.  It's the gray squares that didn't wear as well, a looser woven fabric. 

On a couple of the squares I had experimented with using some hand spun yarn for the stitching.  I didn't like it as much at first, it seemed too bulky.  But (and I should have thought of this) with washing it's felted into the woven fabric some and works quite well.  I think I'll be filling in some of the thinner spots of this blanket with hand spun yarn after all.