Art, Craft and Needlework, June, 2012

[Harriet]

Creativity is intelligence having fun. - Albert Einstein

Nancy first used that quote in Cardfile Central and I still love it!!! So often we're in that whole "our work is never done" mindset, and that's what we encounter daily. Our intelligence engages in so many practical things. But changing gears to something creative gives our intelligence some room to wiggle and move and encounter new challenges! Recess! Vacation! Sttrretch your brain!

What fun are you letting your intelligence have these days?

Sunny is beginning her dgs10 quilt and solving fabric-dye problems.
Nancy is working on two new prayer shawls, cranberry and blue.
Harmony is quilting the beach of her seaside-themed quilt.
Lynlee offered advice on dealing with running dyes.
Harriet got some helpful clothes-mending done.
and Sunny mailed some quilt patterns to Harmony!

[Nancy]

Change that blue prayer shawl to a baby blanket I've changed my mind and
I have it going again now!

[Nancy]

Today's idea a lovely crochet poncho and shawl w/ pattern!
http://www.straw.com/cpy/patterns2/accessories/MMochi-CrochetFlowerGardenShawl.html

I did some knitting today it's almost long enough to keep me warm rather cool here this afternoon.

[Harmony]

I like that pattern, Nancy, bookmarked the page. Not that I'd have time to tackle something like that in the near millennium...

I am done with the huge stretch of sand. With quilting stitches I made a sand castle (the way kids make them with bucket shaped sand piled up - I found that in a coloring book and copied); a beach ball, a sand pail and a shovel, 3 starfish, a big some kind of tree with a big knot and branch with a couple leaves up the left side; a sand dollar, a big section of that fencing they use to hold back the sand hill with rocks in front and bushes to the side; a little section of same fencing in lower right corner. I quilted diamonds up and down the trunk of the palm tree to replicate the way palms look and I put tufts of grass around the feet of the two appliqued birds. I quilted a little row boat with anchor just off the water in the sand.

It's sorta like an I Spy, with having to look for everything!

Now to get the borders done, there is about 15" x 4" up both sides to do and all the way across the top. It goes slow because I'm quilting around all the seashells.

[Harriet]

That is so creative, Harmony! I love that you found one of your quilting designs in a coloring book. Those things can be a wealth of fun. DangerBoy explains to me, "Don't get workbook coloring books, get real coloring books, Grandma." And he's got a point! What fun is it to open a coloring book and find schoolwork? The big, cheerful pictures are the thing! Maybe you should write down all the quilted items in case there was some fun to be had "I Spying". Take lots of short breaks while you do the borders.

Dd13 continues to gain ability in her sketching. She is leaning more toward sketching people, sometimes realistically, sometimes in a more cartoon fashion.

[Harmony]

Thanks, Harriet. This was a Cli fford Big Red D og book, lots of pictures I could copy, the fence, sandcastle, beach ball, pail, shovel all came out of there. I forgot to mention that I got a mariner's compass done and put in lower left corner. Cheated. Cut it out from the sailboat material where it was part of the design, appliqued it to the top, embroider stitched a circle around it and embroidered the N E S W on! With the circle embroidered around through all the layers, it puffed right up.

Guess what! I did another mariner's compass...but this one I found following a link on a sewing forum. HaHa, it was a jigsaw puzzle online and I used up 40 minutes doing it!

[BookSaver]

I volunteered to sew a costume for a community theatre.

The costumer gave me a dress that will be worn by a man. Luckily it's a simple dress, a tunic style in satin with sheer nylon sleeves. The dress is pink with big black polka dots, and the sleeves are black with pink dots.

The tunic itself looks easy and was relatively easy to cut out. It's just 2 pieces, front & back, so sew them together with French seams (because I don't have a serger to finish the edges), bias tape around the neck opening. The costumer wants it only sewn to 6" below the armpit and then left open (actor will wear pants underneath), which means extra hemming down the sides and bottom. That part is just straight lines, though, not a big deal.

The tricky part is that the dress pattern did not have sleeves, so there is a 2nd pattern -- in a much smaller size -- for the sleeves. First challenge was to figure out how many inches needed to be added to the width of the sleeve to make it fit into the arm opening in the dress and look right in proportion.

That took awhile because the sleeve itself is 2 pieces -- the main arm piece, and then an insert from elbow to wrist that is a flare. I had to stare at the pieces and the pattern illustration for awhile to work it out. (Tilting my head from side to side like a confused puppy. )

I cut all of the fabric last night. I'm taking it on faith that the girth & length of the sleeves will be close enough -- she didn't give me the actor's measurements. He's playing a woman so he will be padded. He's also wearing a wig and I question whether this pull-over style will go over the wig in a quick change. However, I am following her pattern instructions so it isn't my problem.

This morning I need to transfer some markings on the sleeves, and then I can set everything aside until tomorrow. I have to get ready for a sewing group board meeting tonight. Once that's over, I can thread my machine tonight and get the table set up to sew all day tomorrow.

The costume is due for a fitting at the theatre on Sunday. I want to finish early and deliver on Friday so I can combine with other errands.

[Nancy]

I did a bit of crochet with the yellow yarn yesterday.
Ripped it out today started a knit prayer shawl the real project for this yarn.
The crochet was just practice.
I'm about half way done with the cranberry color one but can't do it after dark need more light for it. Done with that skein of yarn now working up the next yea for more progress.

[Harmony]

Have just a sec. here... everything happens at once on Fridays. Booksaver, did you get the costume done?

Quilt is out of the rack. Stretched out on the bed. Definitely unique but I like it. Never going to be another one like it in the world! On to the binding and label.

[Nancy]

I've been making great progress on my knitting cranberry colored project is nearly done, got a ways more on the yellow one as well!