summer sewing

A deadline is often the thing that brings be back to sewing when other things have prevented me from giving it the time I would like. I have been posting a bit of progress on this one on Instagram. The ease of process in posting a photo or two over there is working well with our all over the place summer schedule.

This recent cloth is a table runner - roughly 14" X 90", made with vintage and repurposed fabrics. The blue fabric is from a little indigo dye session last summer, just a quick dip in a weakening pot.

The back is a thrifted canvas drop cloth. It gives a wonderful weight to the runner, enough relief for a nice crinkle after the wash, and a lovely fringe on a raw edge. Just the quilt top and the drop cloth are a manageable thickness for both hand-stitching and machine-stitching. I really love the weight of this combination.

That's a Buttonbush branch above, my inspiration for the leaves and circle blooms. I am eager to get another portable project ready to roll. Our summer has been full of bike races and although this runner project was portable during the appliqué and hand-stitching stages, for the most part it was made at home.

Because, sometimes a bike race looks like this. Maybe time to start a little mud cloth.

alternate endings

Everything green growing like crazy and I just can't let this long winter cloth go.

 I got a little sidetracked while looking through a favorite book (Quilting, Patchwork and Applique: A World Guide) with plans to make a window panel. I have been daydreaming a lot about the shaped pieces and forms on toran and pantoran textiles made for doorways and it led to me thinking that these shapes all pieced together for hanging are really a lot like fringe. Shaped fringe.

I wasn't very happy with the original fringe on this so now it's gone and I am headed out in another direction. Now I am imagining this leading to all kinds of shaped "fringe" on lots of things. Not just squares.

red + white

The red with the white for the peppermint stick anything and everything we love to sweeten these December days. The white snow star for the high hopes we have for enough snow to play and sled in.

knots and dew drops

Green coneflower leaves this morning...

and a new way of working out the fringe on things. The stitching thread goes on as a part of it all to the ends. Still in progress...

Maple Summer Sunshine

I never intended to be away from this blog all summer. We have been quite busy spending lots of time getting to know this little lady, Maple. She has been with us two months now.

Keeping up with her puppy energy and love for outside has made for a wonderful summer. We are crazy about her.

We have had hot dry weather and hot hot sunshine all summer and so it brought me back around to the paint printing again. Hot sun makes a sharp print. I had been thinking on ways to do things differently - pushing all my favorite elements to coexist. Working towards the many threads of ideas here and there all coming together. I have worked on softening some of the colors.

 

Stitch had begun on a small scale - to try some new construction and work a few things out. 

Everything is shifting here very soon. School will start and I am grateful to have a little pup to keep me company. Thanks to all who are still listening and looking.

Fringe

I made fringe with a scrap of osnaburg fabric and I am so pleased. I hope it will last through a washing. I thought this little cloth needed a softer edge. Now I need to make another strip of it for the other end. I am trying to finish a few small things before I start something new.

and I may be moving things around on the blog for a few days. It will all

settle out soon.