Fabrics for the Back of Optical Illusion 2

The game isn't over till it's over.

~Yogi Berra

Quilting

Remember this top from spring? It’s a game that isn’t over even though it was “rain-delayed”. I meant to quilt it immediately but got sidetracked by finding all those Ocean Wave units. Who’d have realized it would take all summer to finish one OW quilt? And it's still not done; the weather is simply too hot to work on it now. 

Junk lying around bothers me. Unfinished projects and excessive amounts of materials become junk. Yes, I’m a minority voice but stuff that’s not being used weighs on my soul. So the OW quilt is folded but visibly present so I'll restart it this fall. Meanwhile, there are other projects to push over the goal line. 

For this quilt I had to dig through the boxes to find something for the back. A soft, pretty front calls for a congruent back and these birds fit the bill. Needing more width, I chose this soft yellow. It’s new fabric I purchased on sale because I was completely out of yellow. It was difficult to use something that haven’t been “aging in place” for year but I really want a pretty back, too.

These are now sewed together and the layers are pinned. Quilting next; most likely a spiral. Let’s see if I can whip this out before then end of the month. No rush. I’m saving this quilt for family: they’ll like the soft colors; I like the illusion.

Why is there so little work this period? Mainly because another Christmas stocking was needed. They seem to get more colorful over the years. (That black thing at the top is a comet.) It still needs jingle bells but they haven't arrived.

Each stocking takes about a yard of fabric and hours of work. This is the eleventh I've made. I'm wondering who in the family will continue these? A devious plan is forming in my mind. When they come for the holidays, I'll set them to beading some of the simpler shapes. Next year they can learn how to sew the stocking. Bwaa-ha-ha.

Reading

The Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore

During these hot summer days I read two "library" books. In The Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore, a young librarian starts an impromptu book club with an elderly patron who's become almost bedridden. As more misfits join, they rediscover the book that resonates in each of their hearts. 

Love in the Library by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

I purchased Love in the Library by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, illustrated by Yas Imamura, for my grandchildren and of course read it first. Maggie tells how her grandparents met in the library of a WWII incarceration camp. The afterward shares historical information and photos. We should all read it.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Just in Time for Santa

It is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child himself.

~Charles Dickens

As I've written before, there are many finishing steps to these stockings but the whole thing went together more quickly than it has in the past. Is it because I had a few ornaments prepared and the stockings themselves cut? Perhaps.

Velveteen Christmas stocking, 2020

I found several special glass beads a few years ago. The little glass penguin is a marker for each member of this family group. 

Camel and mitten decals on Christmas stocking

The celestial event is the Perseverance rover heading to Mars. Yes. That lavender thing that looks like a train engine is my interpretation of the rover. {As an artist, I'm a pretty good geologist.} It won't land till early next year but it's on its way.

Mars and Perseverance rover

I'm still not shopping in stores so finding jingle bells was a challenge. There were two sizes online: too small and too large. I chose the large ones and mentioned to DH that they could be changed next year. He told me not to bother. According to him, younger brothers will be delighted their bells are larger than their siblings. Hmm. Is that the correct spirit of the season? ;-)

Previous posts:

1. History of velveteen stockings

2. Stockings for G1 and G2

3. Stocking for G3

Reading

Since a friend suggested Naomi Novik's Temeraire series, I've been a fan of this author. I read both of her reimagined fairy tales when they came out and was eagerly awaiting A Deadly Education. Scholomance is a school for magic, but not like Hogwarts. There are no teachers. Magically gifted students are transported here as freshmen and dumped into dorm rooms. Once they choose an area of study, the school assigns their classes and presents lectures and homework. Students are responsible for avoiding prowling monsters. Galandriel must build alliances in order to run the final gauntlet of monsters that await all students at graduation. 

I enjoyed the book and found the situation between privileged and independent students timely and pertinent. Now I'm waiting for the next book in this series - due in June.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Beading a New Christmas Stocking

Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.

~Aldous Huxley

How could I forget? The new grandchild needs a stocking. Soon! Fortunately some parts are pre-cut. Ready and waiting you might say. There are four velveteen stocking shapes cut - front and back plus bright green lining fabric. I decided to cut all the lining now since it will store more easily. It can rest under the finished stockings and the Chief Airhead {me} will know where to find them. 

To make sure that fancy fabric doesn't unravel, I sewed the linings together and stay-stitched the tops. 

Now where are all the beads and sequins? They are packed in one clear box; I just need to find it. The joy of {previously} cleaning and clearing out is that it was {more}easily located.

In addition to a white felt cuff and lots of jingle bells, each stocking I've made has a Christmas tree. I try to vary the ornaments but also reprise a few for continuity. And also because my skill set is limited when ideas are interpreted in sequins. The mitten is a repeat but the camel and dove are new. Not bad.

Beading a Christmas stocking

There's been loads to do around the house so this is all the sewing I finished in a week.

Enjoy the day, Ann

The Newest Christmas Stocking

Merry Christmas, y'all!

The year began with the intention of finishing a Christmas stocking for G3 {the newest grandchild} by summer. That plan quickly dropped by the wayside. I finally finished it mid-December, working almost to the wire. It's the cutest one yet - if you like gaudy and loud.

The white rectangle covers the recipient's name for privacy but it's written in green sequins for extra bling. 'Cause Texans can never have enough!

G3 Christmas stocking

All the stockings I've made have a Christmas tree

Christmas tree and mitten on velveteen stocking

and an event from space that occurred in their birth year. This one is the Juno satellite circumnavigating Jupiter's poles. Juno is still actively exploring Jupiter. In fact, NASA posts photos regularly on its feed and social media. 

Juno satellite circumnavigating Jupiter,
beaded Christmas stocking

Then it's open season on ornaments. My mother's stocking had pink bells which reprised on her namesake's. That was fun.

Beaded Christmas bells on a stocking

DH suggested holly when I ran out of ideas. Well, I didn't run out of ideas but many don't work out given my limited artistic ability and use of sequins. A tiny manger was one charming idea that was never realized {Who'd believe sequins and mangers don't go together?} although there is hope I might fashion a sheep one day...

Holly and berries beaded on a Christmas stocking

Most stockings have six or seven felt-and-sequin ornaments. Any remaining space is filled with shiny snowflakes, stars, and random buttons and beads. The deer and bird buttons were special finds at a quilt show. They are plastic with a shank on the back. Very easy to add and non-toxic. The bird fit perfectly on the Christmas tree. How lucky is that?

The felt ornaments crowded the bottom this time leaving a bare spot at the top. {Someone didn't arrange them properly.} Hmm. Searching the internet, I found special glass beads that filled it perfectly. Success and a new idea. 

I'll be upgrading all the stockings as I see them. Each branch of the family tree will get the same bead. G3 and her parents have penguins. Daddy dibs-ed them first. {Is that even a word? We said it in the past tense but there's no way to write it.} There are enough beads for a few future siblings, too. Sounds like a fun task to me but hey, we all know I'm uniquely wired.

While the stockings aren't washable and dry cleaning will take the color off the sequins, they can be gently brushed or vacuumed and carefully stored in bins. There are other ways to make them last. For instance: Each seam is sewed twice and zigzagged around the edges. The lining doesn't extend to the toes. It only goes to the ankle so gifts won't put pressure on that angle when an orange nestles at the bottom.

Sewing the stocking after all beading is attached

This stocking is hung by the chimney with care. G3 loves the way it jingles and I love sharing this heritage with another generation.

Previous stockings with construction pointers:

1. Mine and my offspring's
2. G1 and G2 stockings in progress
3. More progress
4. G1 and G2 stockings completed

Mel Beach emailed me last week that she pulled my name for a set of Lyric Kinard's Start Your Art cards. Then Lyric mailed not one, but two, sets.

Lyric Kinard's Start Your Art cards

They include warm up exercises to help you start making art whenever you feel blocked. I shared one set with my small group. Thank you Lyric and Mel for opening my eyes.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Christmas Stockings on the Mantle, Spiderweb on the Wall

Christmas Stockings
now decorate the grandchildren's mantle so I can share photos of these most recent additions.
.

Velveteen Christmas stockings for grandchildren

Loud and proud. As usual.

Funny how frequently we forget all the finishing details. While it takes time, beading the ornaments isn't that difficult. But then you have to

1. Attach them to the front,
2. And add snowflakes or other details with reinforcing fabric on the inside,
3. And sew the stocking together,
4. And the lining.
5. And shape the cuff.
6. And bead names on the cuff.
7. And cut the scallops.
8. And make the hanging loop.
9. And attach the cuff and loop and lining.
10. And sew fourteen bells on.
11. And package it so the velvet doesn't crease.
12. And mail it before the rush. Oh, too late for that.

Somehow this reminds me of childbirth. Oh, how quickly we forget all the details there, too. And what bundles of joy at the end.

Previous posts:
1. The Fairmont and our Christmas stockings
2. Beading the stockings


Scrap Spiderweb Quilt
In the meanwhile, the scrap bag is filling up and I need a baby quilt. I had a few spiderweb kites and string triangles left from my own spiderweb. It seemed like it would be easy to make a few more.

Scrap triangles for spiderweb quilt

Here they are.

Scrap spiderwebs layout

After adding twenty blue kites, some of the triangles seemed too dark so I changed them out. Now I have more leftover triangles, probably as many as I started with. Grr.

Blue stars added to scrap spiderweb quilt

I could have cut more blue but liked the white of the design wall better. And I had a bit of leftover white and pink print.

Scrap spiderweb quilt with blue and white stars 

Now it's partially sewn and I'm not sure if I should have made only blue stars. Ah, well. The baby will like it.

DH took me on a quick trip to New Orleans this weekend. Our flight was cancelled last week; snow closed the airport. With snowfall only once a decade or so, they don't purchase snow removal equipment anywhere in the state.

We breakfasted at Cafe Beignet. The chairs are duplicates of a set my grandparents owned. Their chandeliers had lovely prisms. The interior roofline reminded me of old subway tunnels.

Cafe Beignet, New Orleans

We visited the WWII Museum to see the newly opened Road to Tokyo section

World War II Museum, New Orleans

and finished at Sacred Grinds across Canal Street from the Hurricane Katrina memorial and in the middle of acres of cemeteries. They advertise coffee "good enough to wake the dead." It's the best coffee I've had in years; my latte was deliciously smooth. I'd be there daily if I lived closer.

Sacred Grinds Coffee Shop, New Orleans

Enjoy the day, Ann

Kaleidoscope of Butterflies #23

Cathy and I have decided this will be the last linkup for Kaleidoscope of Butterflies for a while. We've enjoyed the quilts, butterfly photos, and ideas for creating butterfly-friendly gardens. We hope you have too.

A few weeks ago QS captured some wonderful images of milkweed in her yard: a pod bursting with seeds...

Milkweed seeds with fluff

and blowing in the wind.

Milkweed seeds ready to float away

No live butterflies around here but I beaded one for the second Christmas stocking. Of course, the original idea was to bead a monarch but there's no need to be literal. I originally intended to let some of the felt show like the other ornaments. Got a little carried away. The mitten looks sweet. The snowman's carrot nose is perfect but he needs coal eyes. And it's all sewn down. Oops. You can tell I don't bead much: no consistent style but it's fun to try to figure these designs out. As long as they are bright and colorful, I think the grandchildren will be pleased.

Beaded Christmas Stocking in progress

Several of the vintage fabric Chinese Coins are sewed into pairs and on the design wall. [For a nanosecond I considered making it completely random, without any layout. Fortunately I returned to my senses.] The fabrics are mostly blue, white, cream, and black although the two curtain cutoffs were cream with light green or red pinstripe plaid. I envision this quilt as quiet and old-fashioned but... it's just too quiet.

I found one purple polka dot remnant from my sister's apron which inspired me to add a few more purples.

Still too quiet.

It got a bit better when I added a few greens but...

What about a bit of red?

Laying out pairs of
Chinese Coins into a quilt top

Enjoy the day, Ann

InLinkz removed because it was hacked.

Beading the Christmas Stockings

Our family's stockings are gaudy, loud, and out-of-style but they are the ones we grew up with. Most children like shiny and colorful with jingles; we were no exception. My mother told us not to put them on our feet. Of course we did... and found they didn't fit. It took me years to realize the lining is a simple tube; it doesn't reach to the toe at all, only to the heel. Thank goodness or we'd have ruined them.

Many wonderful patterns for quilted stockings have been published over the years. Almost every family I know has a set of their own. Whatever they look like, it's a joy of the season to group them on the mantel annually. QS made two pair for her in-laws: one to keep at their house and the other pair if they visit hers. Subtle and tasteful.

Christmas stockings for the in-laws

But they aren't "ours." So back to bright and bling-y. Or loud and brash. Whatever.

Decisions for the first stocking include the Bethlehem star, the New Horizon satellite flying by Pluto, a Christmas tree, a butterfly, a sailboat, and his Yorkie. This one should have been finished last year but it's only getting started now. Bad Santa!

Starting the 2016 Christmas stocking

Each object takes me two or three days to bead. I'm not fast... and sometimes I'm not too good either. For example, the mainsail looks okay but I'll be replacing the jib.

Partially beaded Christmas stocking

On the other hand, the bunny is delightful and the tree's ornaments swing freely. I beaded the Yorkie's hair so some of the beads stand up, mimicking his rough coat. Pretty good.

Friends told me to use Nymo thread, made for beading. Check. If there was any doubt, you can tell I'm not a regular beader. That needle was straight just a while ago. Any advice about how I should be holding it would be appreciated.

Nymo thread and a bent beading needle

Two more ornaments to go {plus the jib.} It will be complete once the name is beaded across the top, the parts are sewn together, and bells are added. Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat. I'd better get busy.

Enjoy the day, Ann

What do the Fairmont and my Christmas Stocking Have in Common?

I toured the Fairmont with San Francisco Walking Tours and enjoyed learning the history of this hotel. Sitting atop Nob Hill, the Fairmont has wonderful views of both the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges. Barely finished, the Fairmont burned during the 1906 earthquake but reopened a year later to become a city hub.

Golden Gate and Bay Bridges from Fairmont

The United Nations formed here in 1945; its charter was drafted in the Garden Room. A few years later Dorothy Draper remodelled the hotel using flamboyant colors and luxury fabrics. Her Modern Baroque style was "the opposite of minimalism."

Fairmont lobby 

The Carousel Bar once incorporated a working antique one. That is gone but delightful murals still decorate the walls.

Murals of circus performers decorate the Fairmont's Carousel Bar

Like Dior's New Look, these exotic fabrics and colors celebrated the end of the war and rationing! After the tour I realized my family's Christmas stockings came from this same era. Bright red velveteen with green apple taffeta lining. Beading, sequins, and bells. More is more indeed.

My Christmas stocking

A family friend made the first one. Then my mother {had to} sew others as the rest of us appeared. They always look merry and bright strung along the mantle. For years I never saw these stockings anywhere else. A family from my home state moved to town. Surprise. Their stockings are twins to ours. I wonder if the original pattern was in a local newspaper or magazine.

When it was time to make stockings for my children I wanted to update them somehow. Halley's comet appeared soon after my eldest so that was beaded on her stocking below. {It looks more like a paramecium.} Then I added a rocket for the many shuttle flights. Thus began began the Heavenly Additions.

Daughter and SIL's Christmas stockings

The Voyager 2 flyby of Neptune is commemorated on one; the Ulysses boost past Jupiter on another. Neither SIL nor DIL had a stocking. His (above) highlights Discovery's spacewalk by astronaut Dale Gardner to retrieve the Westar VI satellite. Hers depicts the Rosetta landing on Comet 67P. That's the purple mass on the righthand stocking below... in case you can't tell. Over the years, my abilities have dropped off and it looks as odd as Halley's comet.  Or perhaps I can only bead planets, not comets. {I also cheated a bit; this is the year they married, not the year she was born.}

Christmas stockings celebrating space mission highlights: Ulysses, Voyager2, and Rosetta

DIL's still has a blank spot where I plan to add her wedding bouquet. I'm just a bit chicken about ruining the ribbons. Their names (covered in the photos) are written with beads and sequins across the white felt cuff.

With the arrival of grandchildren I'm busy making more. One should have been finished a year ago. Oops. The new velveteen is cardinal red rather than the former deep blue/red but the lining is still bright green. Although I drafted a paper pattern long ago, now I just use one sample as a guide.

Cutting new Christmas stockings from velveteen

They all need a Christmas tree and then it's time to let loose: snowmen, reindeer, stars, butterflies, bells. Here are the events I'm considering.

• For 2015: Discovery of Kepler-452b (possible Earth 2) by Kepler or New Horizons flyby of Pluto

• For 2017: Total Solar eclipse or Cassini-Huygens satellite entering Saturn's atmosphere

Two yards each of the velveteen and lining will make six stockings. More than enough. I cut all six; they can lay flat at the bottom of the stocking box. The velveteen won't crease and I'll know where to find them... perhaps. {I have become a champion squirrel-er-away.}

Enjoy the day, Ann