Overbooked and Underpaid: Notes from a Yes-aholic

Project - Stained Embroidery Rescue

Once upon a time I started an embroidery of Van Gogh's "Sunflowers".

It was from a kit.

It might have been when I was in college.

Or even high school.

A long time ago....

Anyway, as is my overbooked wont, I got about 85 percent done and then stashed the thing somewhere.

It got moved around - both to other parts of the house and other living spaces. Dorm, apartment, house #1 house #2.

It got stained. (No idea when that happened but I figure my carelessness probably made it inevitable.)

And then, in 2018, was rediscovered in a box of something in the basement.

Somewhat the worse for wear.

The first thing I noticed was that the last sunflower was unfinished. This could be why I set it aside - the kit might have contained insufficient yarn.

The second thing I noticed was all the stains.

I hate waste.

Especially when I've already put a lot of time into something.

So I hatched a plan to fix it.

The first challenge was to try to finish that last sunflower. This proved to be more difficult than expected because the shades of yellow in the existing yarn were so specific to the embroidery kit. I went to some craft stores looking for more suitable embroidery yarn and could not find ANYTHING that remotely matched. Shift to plan B - My mother had thrown a hoard of old yarn and embroidery floss at me a few years earlier so I started rummaging through the stash. I wound up finding just enough fill in the final flower.

Second problem was the stains.

Stains no amount of washing - or helpful hints from Heloise - were going to be able to remove.

Since fixing the discoloration was not an option I chose to cover it all up.

How could I do that and still maintain the integrity of the rest of the embroidery?

Not by dying the fabric - too big a risk I would get something on the sunflowers.

Maybe I could have used fabric paint somehow.

But I went for filling all the background space with French Knots.

It took a LONG time.

It's a LOT of knots.

 

But I think it was worth it.

"Sunflowers" meets "Starry Night"

I love it.

Now I have to figure out how to frame it :-)

Pinterest Interest - The Home Woodwork

Full of cool ideas involving carpentry and storage.

This account if for DIY ideas and help with implementation.

Pinterest Handle: thehomewoodwork

Click on any image to be taken to Pinterest page for The Home Woodwork

 

 

Behind The Scenes With Anne & God: Quilting Saga

I have been known to be overly optimistic in my time management.

Just a teensy, weensy, itsy, bitsy, bit.

OK. Massively overly optimistic.

I also tend to tire of the projects I’m working on and pick up different ones. And sometimes I decide to try a new skill.

Quilting was, once upon a time, an art form I thought I might like to dabble in.

So I decided to make what is called among quilters (you know, those people who actually know what they’re doing when they sew stuff together and make a fabric sandwich out of it) a “pieced top” quilt.

Not only did I decide that my very first quilt ever would involve a lot of cutting out little bits of fabric and sewing them together in cool patterns, I was determined to make a “scrap quilt”. That’s another one of those technical quilting terms that means that you are repurposing old clothes and other fabric items that have outlived their usefulness and turning them into a bedspread. Think of it as the original “upcycling”.

Only here’s the thing about “scrap quilts”. They are almost always “crazy quilts”. They derive this name from the fact that the pieces of fabric are completely random in size and shape and sewn together with no discernible pattern.

There’s a reason for that.

An important reason.

Scraps of material from lots of different sources also, it turns out, have different weaves, textures, fabric weights, drape and a lot of other fancy fabric terms. What that boils down to is that each of these fabrics behaves differently when you cut it up. (Especially if you are just cutting them in whatever direction gives you the most triangles per piece of fabric – apparently “cutting on the bias” is different than other kinds of cutting. Who knew?)

They also behave quite inconsistently when you sew them all together. And, if that weren’t enough of a problem, it turns out you are supposed to use a template and be super duper extra careful that every triangle is exactly precisely completely the same dimensions.

My attention span didn’t really allow for all that precision.

So, my pinwheel quilt, instead of turning out as a nice rectangle quilt, was more of a trapezoid.

A pretty trapezoid.

A warm trapezoid.

But still, a trapezoid.

Which is why I never made another pieced top quilt.

Instead I got the ingenious inspiration to make a quilt out of a single top piece, batting, and a single bottom piece.

And, since I was still fond of repurposing things, I chose to use an old white damask tablecloth and a green bed sheet.

To keep from having to dream up a pattern for the stitches I decided to follow the existing pattern on the tablecloth. It turns out this is NOT such a brilliant idea. The pattern is almost impossible to see unless you have just the right kind of lighting and the proper angle of the material.

And, unlike the piece-topped quilt that involved a lot of use of my grandmother’s featherweight Singer sewing machine, this quilting would all have to be done by hand.

In a fit of terrific optimism I began this quilt as a present for my then three year old daughter.

You can see where this is going.

I think I thought I’d have it finished by the time she was six. Or maybe eight.

Then I just hoped I could get it done before she left for college.

This spring she will turn twenty-one.

Drumroll please.......

I FINALLY was able to present her with the truly completed quilt this Christmas!

Just a few years late......

Here are the results:

 

 

 

©Copyright 2020 Anne Morse Hambrock All Rights Reserved

If you enjoy Anne & God illustrated poems please visit anneandgod.com and if you would like to buy the book collection that contains the poem at the beginning of this essay please visit the store in the menu bar up above.

More Painted Wine Bottles

Once again my daughter and I sat down this summer and painted some wine bottles to put in the garden. For my previous post on these easy-to-do bottles (and full instructions) click here.

Here are the results of "bottlefest 2013":

A pointillistic dragon by my daughter - view 1

dragon closer up

back of dragon

Another pointillistic masterpiece by Kate - aged 14

 

 

Craft tip: Using Up "Ribbon" Yarn

A few years ago "ribbon" yarn was all the rage. It was EVERYWHERE. You can still find it but it has tapered off a bit. I made a lot of shawls and scarves out of these yarns but I seldom wear them anymore as they look pretty dated.

So I have unraveled and "repurposed" much of my ribbon yarn into crocheted "string bags". These bags have drawstring and are great for all kinds of things. Project bags, shopping bags, sock bags, you name it. You don't need a pattern to make them.

• Using a large hook  (size "N" or larger) chain 5 stitches.
• Insert your hook back into the first chain stitch and single crochet to close your chain stitches into a ring. 
• Single Crochet around the ring - usually about 8 or 10 stitches will go around the whole circle
• Place a marker and start single crocheting around the ring adding stitches every row. I usually add as follows: Row 1 - *Sc 1, Sc 2 stitches in the same stitch* repeat until row is finished. Row 2 - *Sc 2, Sc 2 stitches in the same stitch* repeat until row is finished. Row 3 - *Sc 3, Sc 2 stitches in the sam stitch* repeat until row is finished. Continue in this way until the round has whatever diameter you wish your bag to be.
• Once your bag bottom is the desired diameter, keep using single crochet but stop increasing. 
• When your bag is the desired height, simply stop, tie off, and add a drawstring made out of another piece of ribbon yarn.

Tuesday Craft - Favorite New Knitting Stitch: Linen Stitch

I've been knitting since 1980 but only just discovered the wonderful "linen stitch". Like it's name, this stitch gives your knitting almost the appearance of weaving.

In the above scarf in progress I've chosen to alternate a few rows of linen stitch with a few rows of seed stitch. The tension for the two stitches is quite different, giving the scarf a rippled effect.

It is a very simple stitch worked on a 2 stitch repeat.

• Cast on an odd number of stitches. 
• Purl a foundation row. (Next row is the first of your right side rows.) 
• Right Side row 1 - Knit 1, bring yarn forward as if to purl (as you would for ribbing or seed stitch.)
• Slip the next stitch from the left needle to the right without knitting it and bring the yarn to the back after you have slipped the stitch. It will look like a strand running in front of the stitch you didn't knit.
• Repeat these two stitches and end with an extra knit stitch.
• Turn work
• Wrong side row - Purl 1, send yarn to back as if to knit. Slip next stitch from left needle to right without purling and then bring the yarn back to the front after you have slipped the stitch. As with the previous row, you will have a strand running around the stitch that shows up on the right side. 
• Repeat these two stitches and end with an extra purl stitch.
• Repeat these two rows to create the linen stitch

If these instructions are not clear, there are many good tutorials on youtube.

 

 

Tuesday Craft Tip - Calculating Yarn For End of Scarf

I often buy odd lots of yarn which usually means only getting on or two skeins of a particular yarn. I usually turn these odd skeins into scarves and it can be difficult when you are getting near the end of the ball to figure out how many rows you will be able to knit before you run out of yarn. I use the following simple method:

1. Knit one row in your pattern stitch.
2. Tie a loose slip knot in the yarn right at the edge of the row after you finish it.
3. Undo the row of knitting and measure how much yarn you used.
4. Now you know exactly how much yarn you are using for each row of your pattern stitch. You can use this measurement to calculate how many rows worth of yarn you have left in your ball and adjust your pattern so that you can "create" the final edge before you run out of yarn.

Happy Knitting!

Tuesday Craft - Easy Peasy Felted Purse

Felted purses are all the rage and many of the patterns I come across are extremely complicated. I designed these bags myself with the goal of keeping the lines clean and the pattern as simple as possible.

The gray purse is a sport wool from the 1960's that had horrible drape no matter what I made with it. Until I got the bright idea to try felting it. After washing in hot water the yarn took on a marvelous pearly luster completely absent before felting.

The black purse is made from alpaca wool which tends to get very curly upon washing. It gives it sort of a shearling finish that is very cool.

You can make this purse pattern two different ways:

Method 1) Cast on enough stitches that, when felted, the final purse will be about 72% smaller than the non-felted cast on. For instance, to make a bag 13 inches wide, cast on about 15-16 inches of stitches. The needle size will depend on the type of yarn. For sport weight use needles size 6-8 US. For thinner yarn such as alpaca, use needles size 4-6.

Next, knit a long rectangle of stockingette stitch that you will then fold almost into thirds. "Almost" because the front flap will be slightly shorter than a full third. Again, decide how big to make your rectangle depending on your desired height of the folded, felted purse. When you reach the desired size, bind off all stitches.

Once you have folded the rectangle into a purse shape (right sides together) sew the side seams and then turn right side out. 

To make the strap, pick up 3 stitches from the top right corner and knit an icord. To knit an icord you use two double pointed needles the same size as the needles you used for the overall pattern. Knit three stitches and then without turning your work, slide the stitches to the other end of the needle and knit them again. Repeat this process until you have the desired length of cord. Again, this will shrink when felted. Using a needle and thread (or a tapestry needle and matching yarn) sew the other end of the cord to the upper left corner of the purse.

Method 2: Same as method 1 only use a circular needle and knit the body of the purse all at once in an open circle. When you reach the desired height, bind off 1/2 the stitches plus 6. Knit the rest of the stitches back and forth in stockingette stitch until the flap is the desired length. Bind off remaining stitches and finish with icord as in method 1. With right sides together sew the bottom of the circle closed and then turn right side out.

Felt using your preferred felting method. I throw my knitting into the washing machine with a pair of old jeans and a small amount of detergent. I put the washer on the shortest, hottest setting I have and let the washer do the felting for me. Sometimes it takes more than one cycle, sometimes less. It helps to knit a swatch and test felt it before you make the whole purse. Then you will know how long to leave it in the washer.

Good luck!!

Tuesday Craft - String Shawl

The above shawl is made from black nylon Omega thread No.2

I'm not posting the pattern exactly because I whipped it up out of my head and don't remember what I did. I'm posting it more to make the point that you can make a lovely evening wrap out of all sorts of interesting things instead of breaking your budget buying fine yarns. Between the beads and the string I probably spent a grand total of $13 on this. You would never suspect that if you saw it in person.

General direactions:

Using any knitting needles between the sizes of 5 and 8 US, cast on enough stiches to create a bottom edge of 18 to 24 inches depending on your desired size.

Knit at least 3 rows of garter stitch.

Change to a pattern stitch of your choosing that has a "lace" quality to it. The above shawl was made with the following pattern. 4 rows of Stockingette stitch, then 6 rows of the following: RS - knit 2 together yarn over, repeat until end of row. WS knit across row.

I prestrung two large packages of beads and worked them into the knitting as the whim struck me.

Below is what it looks like bunched up like a scarf.

Be creative and enjoy yourself!

Garden Project - Painted Wine Bottles

Painted bottles in the garden

I know it seems too early to think about the garden but it's really not. Even though we still have snow on the ground and freezing temperatures, my tulips, daffodils and peonies are all poking their shoots up and crocuses are blooming. I stopped by my local gardening emporium today and optimistically picked up many, many flower seeds for this summer's garden. 

In years past I have failed at seed starting indoors and generally succumbed to overpaying for bedding plants that are ready to pop into the ground. Not this year. I'm hoping my penny pinching ways will pay off and my seeds will happily sprout.

While I'm waiting for the plants to do their thing I'm working on a garden art project. We throw a lot of parties where wine is served and, consequently, wind up with a ton of wine bottles. Last year I decided to spruce them up and add them to my garden ornamentation. They are super easy to do.

Here are my tips and tricks:

1) Remove the labels from the wine bottles. I've tried everything you can think of and, truly, good old fashioned soap and hot water works best. A small, flexible kitchen paring knife helps get the gum from the labels off the glass. Goo gone did not work for me very well. 

2) After the bottles are completely dry you just paint them. 

Here are the types of paint I've tried so far along with a rating for how well it worked:

Klutz Window Art Paint

Pros:

• lots of colors 
• dimensional quality 
• can be easily peeled off if you don't like the results

Cons:

• Colors only show up well on clear bottles - however you still get a textural quality on a dark bottle 
• Not very waterproof - they return to a jellylike state but will harden again after they dry
• Takes a long time to dry
• Will drip if not set carefully when drying

Textured Window Art Paint On Front Bottle

 

Sargent Art Glitter Glue

Pros:

• Lots of cool glittery colors that look like a party
• Dimensional quality

Cons:

• VERY not waterproof! Almost disintegrates in the rain. Best for a protected patio
• Takes a long time to dry
• Will drip if not set carefully when drying

Glitter Glue Bottles

 

Tree House Studio Paint Markers

Pros:

• Waterproof - very permanent
• As easy to use as any other marker
• Dries almost instantly
• Lots of great colors

Cons:

• HIGHLY toxic and you must work in a well ventilated area
• Getting the flow of the paint can be tricky - push the pen tip up and down many times on a piece of scrap paper to get the flow you want.

Paint Marker Bottle "Flower Power"

An overall note - all colors will fade over time when exposed to sunlight so I'll probably have to repaint last year's bottles before I put them out this year.

Here are some more examples of designs my daughter and  I came up with:

This was a clear bottle we painted with metallic paint markers and then filled with water and blue food coloring

Circus Time!

 

This bottle is actually 2 feet high. It reminds me of "starry night"

 

Bluebells and Butterflies

 

Blue wine bottles are my favorite - the light colors show up so well on them and they stand out of the garden foliage.