mending surprises

sometimes the inside/backside of mending/stitching is more interesting than the front/right side...








I thought about adding eyes, nose and mouth to this one...Santa??

just thinking...

thinking, rearranging, planning...I've been rearranging the blog template...finding what feels more like 'me'...this might be it, not sure yet...tossing around ideas...doing some stitching on the painting shirt...still floating ideas about it...

scrappy, too

using different scraps, but the same technique...

another arrangement...

both squares together...

scraps used...don't throw anything away...

scrappy

stitch four 2 1/2" strips (width of fabric or whatever your scrap width is); cut into squares; turn a square a quarter turn; place squares right sides together and stitch all the way around all four sides (1/4" seam)

using a rotary cutter, cut the stitched square diagonally from corner to corner

open each section and press toward the longer strip (in this case, toward the blue and the stripped)

presto!  you have 4 small squares that can be arranged like this...

or like this...it's an easy way to use short yardage for a scrappy quilt, pillow, apron, etc

Halloween 2012

...still stitching on the Halloween 2012 quilt...
...do you see mostly orange squares? or mostly green/black squares?...
...it seems to flip-flop like an optical illusion...

stitchin' a tree

some tree stitching on the painting shirt...walnut/oak/mystery foliage dye pot...leaf pounding...

frost moon cloth undone

...hibiscus tea leaves inside...

















...outside...thank you, mystery metal...

Frost Moon cloth

November's full moon is sometimes called the Frost Moon. The contents of a hibiscus teabag were emptied onto a vintage cotton napkin, wrapped with mystery wire, covered with vinegar/salt water and left under the November moon. A mystery metal clamp was added for weight. It will be left to cure for several days and then rinsed and pressed. Patience, oh, patience --- then it will be opened...

flower?

...ripe purplish privet sprig pounded between layers of muslin, curing for a few days...

tree shirt

Green privet hedge branches hammered onto sleeves have imprinted mystery trees. I've used permanent art pens to lightly enhance the trunk and branches. Stitching follows...

Sunday finds

I need larger pockets to carry the little findings on my Sunday walk with Racer. Inspirational designs, leaves, a swirl of flattened aluminum can, mystery metal bits.

and again...

And again my long ago white painting shirt goes into 'the pot'...oak, walnut and assorted metal bits...for a week long soak. A nearby burn pile yielded a metal clasp from a racing 5-point harness, which I think has given the grayish tint. After drying, resting and a light wash I'll see what appears.

pounded pieces

...large lovely leaf...

...pounded, not peeked...left for 4 days...another piece for the mystery wall hanging...

eye see you

Imagine my delight when I unfolded this walnut dyed muslin and saw the eye staring back at me.

Halloween quilt

Since my life is like a shotgun --- blasts here and there --- this quilt for my granddaughter is for Halloween 2012.
(the burgundy fabric is the work wall)

under the hammer

This leaf, placed between muslin squares, left nice warm reddish marks after being hammered. I then pressed the leaf sandwich with a steam iron and let it cool. After curing for a few days, I'll rinse the cloth and see what remains. If the leaf had been juicier, the leaf ink might have marked better. But I'm well pleased with this experiment. Gathering various marked, dipped and dyed cloths for a Winter project has been a project in itself. Nature provides...

hammered ... again

... don't know what this plant is called ... summer green has turned to red ...

... a smushy muslin sandwich ...

... like a Rorschach test on my orange kitchen countertop ... letting it 'set' for a few days to see the results ...

my first full moon cloth

... thrift store tablecloth...left in the walnut/oak pot for a few weeks...now hanging under the October full moon and overnight rain...

patterns emerging...some pronounced...

...others muted...

...still others...