13th Steet Studio

Scrap Cording

Here is how to make fabric bowls: Take a bunch of too narrow to be useful fabric strips and either sew or tie or loop together into as long a strip as you can manage during the next step.

Next step: tie your fabric strip to the outside of a bobbin, put the bobbin on its winder, and then spin the strip into a twisted cord. Or, if you have a cordless drill and a helper, make a strip the length of your house and tie a knot in one end of the strip. Clamp the drill chuck on to the knot and spin, spin, spin a long cord. Roll this cord into a ball and then zigzag along the length of the cord. (This is a great way to use up old, possibly weak thread.)

Now you have a cotton cord that can be used any way you'd like. I like to hold the cord together in a tight spiral and zigzag it into a circle.

If you bend the resulting circle up as you continue to stitch around it, it will begin to form a bowl shape. Keep bending and stitching...another great use for unwanted thread.

Bright colored thread can make interesting designs along the sides of the bowl, and loops and beads can add interest too.

Exhibit Bowling

Currently at the 1109 Gallery I have three pieces in their "Art by the Park" exhibit. Using the techniques I learned in a class taught by Nan Renbarger, I made three bowls...or maybe two bowls and a platter:

Sunflower Bowl

Taos Sunset Bowl

Turquoise Bowl

Ritual

I went through the ritual of entering a (hopefully) traveling exhibit put together by the Dinner at 8 artists a few months ago. This is an invitational exhibit, but entries still have to be juried in. There is a set size and theme. The first time I entered the theme was "Beneath the Surface" so I did a quilt about burrowing owls. It did not get in. Next, the theme was "The Space Between", so I did a quilt that was a mush of black and white print fabrics with some lines of colored prints. This one got in. This year the theme was "Rituals" but religion and politics were not to be used. I made a quilt about how my parrots wake me up every morning and alert me to the setting sun every evening. It did not get in. I wonder if the jury does not like birds? Or maybe they just want impressionistic mush? Or maybe my work just gets very weak when I use birds. Anyway, here is my quilt "Wake Up Call":

(The torn fabric is supposed to suggest being torn from sleep and the clocks...well you get the idea.)

 

 

Featured

This month I am the featured artist at the local community theater for the duration of their production of "Steel Magnolias". As always, I had grand plans for an entire room full of new work. In reality, I got five new pieces finished, but they are each only six inches square. So a filled room would have to be a very small room. I added three old pieces into the exhibit and one larger new piece that was made for a different project...but it didn't get accepted into that show. More about that later. Since the show has magnolias in the title I made three new works with magnolias. (I know magnolias are spring flowers but the backgrounds indicate three different seasons to me):

Spring Magnolia

Summer Magnolia

Fall Magnolia

 

Bagging It

I have been doing a little sewing lately, but I keep getting distracted with crochet. Like those spike balls for instance...but also bags crocheted out of plastic "plarn" that I make from the plastic bags the newspaper comes in. Originally, I thought I'd just make them until my crochet cotton ran out. (I like to combine the plarn and crochet cotton together to give the bag more color and strength.) But last week saw me sneaking into Michael's with a 40% off coupon to buy more crochet cotton. I did a brief tutorial about making these bags here. Several friends have started saving bags for me because other newspapers use different colored bags. Who knew? (I am beginning to have a hard time keeping up!) Here are some of the results:

You may be able to spot some Dollar Store and Westlakes plarn in these bags but the one below is pure Lawrence Journal World.

Temporarily Unloved Crochet

Last Fall I found a free pattern on-line for crocheted 12 pointed shapes here. I thought the project was beautiful and interesting... and the result wouldn't have to fit or be the right size. A win, win. So I worked up several and sold them all. The last one was bought by a fellow who was very enthusiastic and asked me to make five more for him. It took a while, but I got them done and sent him a picture. Not a great picture, but after all, I thought he already loved them. Well, no response. But that is ok, I will put them aside as inventory for the next craft fair.

p.s. I think the pattern needs a correction on the 11th point, which must be connected on four sides, not three. You'll see what I mean when you get there.

p.p.s. Tonight's basketball game did not have the ending I had hoped for (sigh) but I am pretty sure the sun will come up tomorrow anyway. Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

Spring Green

Remember that quilt shop owner who was handing out fabric at my quilt guild to challenge us to make more mini-quilts for our silent auction? The final challenge was to use some of Barbara Brackman's Old Fashioned Calico. This is her new line of fabric that is similar to what we were sewing with back in 60s. I received the red and yellow prints, so I thought I could make yoyo flowers or berries and put them on a green background that suggested trees or leaves. Here is the result:

The green print is original Cranston Printworks fabric in the old 36 inch wide format and the green solid is a polyester fabric from the same era. Barbara has an interesting post here about the history of green fabric and how it was produced. I made the dress she shows in that post from fabric I bought at the TG&Y in 1973 or 1974. I felt pretty stylish in that dress and even wore it to a wedding rehersal... maybe even to a wedding. Thankfully, most of those memories are faded.

Unlike the dress. Which is still quite bright and groovy.

Almost Amish Challenge

To boost the number of fund-raising mini-quilts to be at my guild's quilt show, a local fabric store has been handing out fabric and challenge themes. For this challenge the theme was "Almost Amish" and each person was given two solid colored "Amish" cotton fabrics. For my quilt, I added in a pale blue fabric and some fish batik that a friend had given me. The quilt pattern is the old "Trip Around the World" design. Naturally, I call my quilt "Trip Around the Ocean".

Happy Valentine's Day

Here are some cell phone decorations and earrings that I made a while back. They feature felted hearts and balls, and some metal charms. Do folks put dangling things on iphones and droids like they used to for the older style phones?

Quick Quilt

This is a quick quilt I made from the last of a "jelly roll" of batik strips. I added in some narrower strips of turquoise fabric to help hide the fact that the remaining strips were a little repetitive.

No Snow

We have had the mildest winter here this year. Last year the snow was piled up higher than it ever had been along our driveway. So far this year this is the deepest the snow has gotten:

I bet a dove plodded across this stone and then a sparrow had to show off and cross it in two hops....

Hopefully we won't have a late cold weather attack that takes out all of the plants and flowers that are thinking about leafing out and blooming now. Lets not rush to Spring just yet.

Here are some cold-proof flowers that I entered in the next show at the 1109 Gallery. Check them out. They are priced cheep.

Baby Quilt

Here is a picture of a baby quilt I made for my new grand-niece. She is a cutie! (The baby, not the quilt.) Close observers will see that I didn't quite make the stripe of pink hounds' teeth go clear across the quilt.

Things like that are only obvious to me after the quilt is completely done, and then they become all that I can see.

Sigh.

Today is the Big Day

Today is Bazarre Bazaar. Don't miss it! In addition to the Zipper Mouth Monsters, I will have Poxasaurs(they have the pox...just look at those eyes):

And SteamPunk style pillows:

Pairs Division Part 6

Time for a slight variation... Here are two Zipper Mouth Monster Purses. They have handles and very little stuffing:

 

Pairs Division Part 5

For Bizarre Bazaar, more monsters:

Pairs Division Part 4

Even more monsters:

Pairs Division Part 3

More monsters for Bizarre Bazaar:

Pairs Division Part 2

Here are the next two Zipper Mouth monsters for Bizarre Bazarre:

Bizarre Bazarre; pairs division

Time to obsess about Bizarre Bazarre. Once again I am making Zipper Mouth Monsters... but since I am behind on production I thought I'd try making them two at a time. It does seem to save a bit of time. Not enough, though.

So Little Time

Bizarre Bazarre is on the horizon. Always held the Saturday after Thanksgiving, this year it has been expanded to include the Friday evening after turkey day too. Did I start making stuff in June as I swore to myself I would do this year? Or am I frantically sewing away now, thinking I can make a booth full of fabulous items in a couple of weeks?

  Sadly, the later.Here is a picture of a pin cushion that will be available at the biz baz. Imagine a booth with just one pin cushion on display...

In other news, I hope everyone is preparing for the grand corduroy appreciation day coming up this Friday. Check out this link to see what is going on to celebrate the wales: corduroy appreciation club