Hand Sewing

I decided to try to do a little hand sewing in the evenings when I'm watching tv. I'm really enjoying it - much more than I thought I would.

This fellow is on a 12x12 square - he'll be cut down eventually. The grey line around him is basting to hold two layers of fabric together. The top layer is kona white, and the back a muslin. It gives the fabric a lot more body and you can't see anything through from the back.

I've had this pattern for ages - it's called Winter Wonderland. I'm going to embroider all the snowmen then piece them into a quilt. I don't like the layout on the pattern, so I'm not sure how I will put it together yet, and I'm sure I'll think of something.

The embroidery floss is DMC colour 321 - I like the red (which isn't photographing well) and the stitches are a simple back stitch with some french knots. The pattern called for lazy daisy for the snowman eyes, but I made french knots instead. I pre-wash everything, including this floss. And I'm glad I did because it ran a little when pre-soaking. I treated it with a chemical dye retainer so that it wouldn't bleed all over my quilt once finished.

Mittens for Me

I finally knit myself a pair of mittens - after having it on my to do list for a while.

(The light is bad here too - same reason as here)

The red looks more red in person, and the white doesn't glow in person.

The grey yarn is by Berroco and is called Vintage - it's a combo of wool and acrylic so that I can wash them. The red and white is Vanna's Choice acrylic from Michaels.

The pattern is by the Yarn Harlot and is called Cloisonné (and it can be found on ravelry.com under Stephanie Pearl McPhee). If you knit or crochet, and you haven't checked out ravelry, you must. It's a perfect social media site made for knitters and crocheters. You can store your yarn stash there. I wish someone would make one for quilters.

These were a relatively quick knit, once I got the sizing right. I did pull them back several times until I got the width and length right. I had a little trouble in the cuff, but it worked out fine. These are knit from the cuff to the fingertip.

I've gotten several compliments on them and I love them so far!

I've started another pair, different pattern, in a much lighter weight yarn - for spring.

These aren't too far along, and they require a lot of concentration, since they are two colours. I'll keep you posted.

Quilting Update

I've been working away at quilting my Under the Stars quilt (sort of). It's not going quite as fast as I'd like - I think because it's been a bit tricky to quilt with the walking foot because it is so thick that it doesn't feed quite right.

The weather is warming up so I want to get it finished - I likely won't use it until next winter. And I refuse to start my next quilt, which I really want to get going on , before this one is finished.

So far, there is a grid quilted in all the squares and the stars are outlined. I free-motioned around the applique snowmen and did a loop-de-loop in the sky. In the green I want to do snowflakes (in grey) with swirly connectors between them - not too heavy quilting, but enough that it holds together nicely.

The light is really bad - but I'm not complaining, because it's pouring in through my sliding glass doors into the kitchen.

Creative Legacy

I`m the family historian in my family - for both sides. I`ve always been interested in my family history and would pester my grandparents for information. I`ve been researching my family history for about 15 years now and have done very well. My Mom`s side has gone much better than my Dad`s - for a variety of reasons, but that mostly involve more accurate records in Germany.

About a year ago or so I discovered, through the research of someone else, that my great great great grandmother, Maria Beck Warning, had made hooked rugs that the Textile Museum of Canada acquired at some time. I tried to see them when I located them, but the museum doesn`t allow the public access, unless they are on display.

On Feb 7, I went with my parents to see the rugs. On the 6th, I happened to look on the museum`s website, for something else someone told me about, when I stumbled on the fact that there was a hooked rug display on, which closed Feb 8th. One quick call to the museum, and a very helpful volunteer, and I knew that two of Maria`s rugs were on display.

The display was called Home Economics and the rugs were from various places in Canada. Maria`s rug are special in that they are dated (during the 1880s) and they can be attributed to a particular maker. Most rugs didn`t last long because they were made of used materials (clothing) and were used under foot, so they wore out.

These are Maria`s rugs:

The rabbits are dated 1884 and the swan 1885. Both rugs have some wear, so they were used. That`s about all I know about them. One of her daughter`s did marry about this time, but the marriage didn`t work out, so I wonder if they were made for her, then put away later, and that`s why they survived.

It was a thrill to see them - it felt like I can place some of my creative talents on another ancestor. Both my Grandmother`s made things so I see their talents in me, and it was nice to see it farther back.

This is Maria, with her husband. Maria was born 1832 in Germany and died in 1918 in Canada. She came to Canada sometime in the 1850s and married here. She was a Mennonite and lived in Perth county where she farmed with her husband.

Here are some other photos from the exhibit. Some rugs were very primitive, drawn by the maker, and some were very artistic (they may have been drawn by the maker or purchased). At one time, Eaton`s catalogue sold patterns for them.

This art almost died off. At one time, everyone had these rugs in their home, then along came factory made carpet and linoleum, and the need for these to warm the floors wasn`t a big. Hooked rugs were also seen as a sign of poverty and mother`s wouldn`t teach their daughters how to do it and forbid the making of them.

There are now some hooked rug guilds - I might try one. I met some women at the exhibit younger than me who are rug hookers and they were very encouraging. Luckily for us, people like the Textile Museum of Canada saw the need to preserve this artwork so that we can still enjoy it.

Snowman Update

My Under the Stars quilt is basted and I`ve started quilting. It`s going fine, but I`m not enjoying the quilting as much as I did on the last quilt I made. I think it`s because this one is really thick, with a flannel top and bottom and it doesn`t slide very easily under my presser foot. I get a bit of puckering, even using the walking foot.  It`s coming along though, so no complaints.

Right now I`m doing sid in the squares. I leave a big box around the star blocks and will stitch around the stars.

Animal Parade - A Finished Quilt

This quilt is for my youngest niece who is now 6. I started it when she was 2 - I'm a bit slow it seems. K is a darling girl who is happy all the time and often says "today was a perfect day". She wanted animals on her quilt, so that's what she got. Her mom picked out the fabrics. On Canada Day, the year K was 2, I was asking her what animals she wanted on her quilt. She didn't really know. So my Mom, who is not a sewer, started giving her ideas - I would not have attempted some of these animals if it weren't for K wanting them.

Some progress shots of quilting:

This is how I mark my quilts usually - I trace or draw a design on the paper on the doctor's examining table, then sew over it. Then I rip it out. It's a bit tedious at times, but I find it accurate and never have to worry about marks showing.

My binding helper

Still helping with the binding

The Label, v 2.0; the first label had a missing word that I only noticed when I was sewing on binding. I tried fixing it but didn't like how it looked, so I made a new label.

The finished product, with K peeking around the corner.

I really enjoyed making this quilt and I enjoyed quilting it. K loves it and was snuggled under it the first night she got it.
It`s about 48 x 62, my own design.

Snowman Update

There is no snow on the ground here in my part of Ontario. We've had a very mild winter, which has been kind of nice since I don't have to shovel mild weather.

The only snowmen around here are the ones on my design wall. I need to add two borders to this (that's what came in the kit), then get it basted and quilted. I'm still not sure how much I love it, but I am enjoying sewing it.