Handiwork -or - what I've been thinking about a lot lately...

Handiwork is becoming increasingly important to me in my creative pursuits/missions.  More and more I feel the need to learn/value/pass on this skill set that WAS so commonplace that in quilting/sewing patterns and books from eras gone by, there aren't even descriptions or explanations of the process of sewing by hand (how to hold the needle, fabric and thread, etc.).

So what images come to mind when I say "handiwork".  Blue hair, shawls, hot tea and cats?  Umm, I hope not - not that any of those things are bad!  But that's mostly what came to my mind for a long time - because I didn't really know more than one or two people my age doing the kinds of "crafts" I was doing.  What is handiwork anyway?  Webster's II defines it as "1. Work done by hand. 2. Something accomplished by a single person's efforts. 3. The product of a person's work or actions."  Well, that's a pretty broad definition - I associate handiwork with anything fabric+thread+needle related that is done by hand. 

Please don't misunderstand me, I am not anti-sewing machine.  I LOVE my machine.  I just happen to LOVE hand sewing more.  It's portable, quiet, precise (I can sew on the machine, but am much less likely to screw something up if I sew it by hand) ;), s l o w e r (see precise) and there is just something special about sitting down with a needle and thread and all the love that goes into the finished product.  Natalie Chanin's books are great resources for hand sewists and a new hand sewing book Sewn By Hand by Susan Wasinger is out, which I have not seen yet, but would love to!  While patterns and books might not be specifically labeled for hand sewing, there is no reason they can't be used that way!  I've heard a lot of people who come to my booth at the craft shows say things like, "Oh, I wish I could sew, but I don't have a machine".  I try to tell them that they don't need one!  It seems that the slowness and "make do attitude" is just not part of our society anymore.

This is where some huge role models for my handiwork cause come in - Natalie Chanin (of Alabama Chanin - I spoke about her here), Anna Maria Horner and Susan of Plays With Needles.  


Hand sewing is what Natalie and her company are all about (and producing items slowly and locally using sustainable methods and talented sewers right here in the states).  


Recently, Anna Maria has talked about the importance of hand sewing and I believe she does quite a bit of it herself.  She talked about the dynamic of having a business and handsewing/making and whether the two together are possible.  As small as Sunrise Folk is, it's something I think about a lot, too.  I am increasingly inclined to take the plunge and go mostly, if not all, hand sewn in the shop.  Anna Maria also posted a video (courtesy of Etsy) that discusses a dying art and it really got me thinking about how important it is to keep these art forms alive.  

Then, Susan had a wonderful post about the time it takes to do handiwork - how most people don't understand why we do this, but how important the work is (and in her case the work is amazing ARTwork!).   

For quilters out there, I am quite sure you all know who Jinny Beyer is (I didn't know until a few weeks ago!).  If you don't know, she is a prolific hand quilter - she pieces and quilts every one of her quilts by hand.  And they are AMAZING!  She's written several books, has a website stocked with info and free patterns, has a fabric line and even has handy quilting tools for sale.  I recently purchased Quiltmaking By Hand and I'm SO glad I did!  It is a treasure trove of information, not just about hand quilting, but color selection, pattern drafting, hand sewing and skill building.  One thing I am incredibly impressed with about Jinny is how 'free' she is in her instructions/sewing philosophy.  She never says "you must do it this way or you are wrong".  Quite the opposite, she says there is NO wrong way.  *Love!*

Do any of you do hand sewing/hand quilting/hand embroidering/etc.?  Please let me know if you do, I would love to hear from you and try to round up a group of us!

Crafty goings-on and their inspirations...

Just a few of the things I've found my crafty-self engrossed in these last few weeks:

Alabama Stitch Book and Alabama Studio Style.

To say that Natalie Chanin is an inspiration to me is a gross understatement.   These books and her work are all about hand stitching, using local products and workmanship, slowing life down....serious wonderfulness here folks.  If you've never seen her work, check out the website here.  

This is a spin on one of the projects from the Alabama Stitch Book.  A notebook cover!  My friend Brian was cleaning out his closets and was kind enough to let me pick through what he was going to take to the thrift store so I could get first dibs!!!  I used parts of two knit jersey shirts to make this super easy cover.

I apologize for the lighting...night photos are not the best option, but sometimes they are THE option, if you know what I mean...

Anywho - this shirt had awesome pockets that I was able to use, so now my cover has a handy dandy pocket to hold my phone or pens or whatever!

Obviously this one was for me to keep as I don't have the kinks quite worked out...and it would have helped if I had followed the directions, of course, but who has time for directions when you want to get started now?!  

I do love Natalie's style of imperfection and unfinished edges and will most likely be incorporating some of that 'feel' into my work.

This guide to crazy quilting along with a few blogs have been what I have spent quite a bit of my time on the last few days.  (this blog, and this one, in particular!) 

All this crazy quilting excitement got started when I finally figured out what to do with some very special scraps of fabric. 

When my Grandmother passed away, I got some of her clothing, some of the things I remember her wearing.  I wanted to make something special with them, something for her children (my Dad and Aunt) and the grandkids (myself and two cousins) (it's a small family!).  It has been several years now that these have been patiently waiting in a project bag, and the other week it hit me - crazy quilt pillows!  Which was great, except I'd never done a crazy quilt in my life!  Thank goodness for crafty blogs and helpful books!

Here is the first "naked" block (see, I'm already learning the terminology!) - it's naked because it doesn't have any embroidery/embellishment yet.  I have seen some beautiful examples of heavily embellished crazy quilts.  For these pillows though, since they are the first adventure of this sane girl into crazy quilting and because I want them to be used and loved, I think we'll keep it simple as far as embellishing goes.  More soon!

-Blessings-

Moo!

I started this jolly little cow while my folks were here a few weeks ago.  For some reason I just got it in my head that there needed to be a jolly cow to go along with the happy lamb in my shop.  This little guy is gracing the front of a business card holder!  

Time and daylight have not been on my side, so please forgive me for the picture quality.

Hopefully you get the idea anyway.

And of course, my hand-made cards do not fit in a normal-sized card holder.

Just gives me an excuse to plug another crafty lady!  If you haven't already, you should make a trip over to Dottie's shop: rainbeauxart  I think you'll be pretty happy you did!

Fun and functional for you this Thursday!

delinquency and embroidery

So way back when, I mentioned I had a project that was due July 1, that needed some love...

It was Will Rogers that needed some love.  Through the Sublime Stitching blog, I found out about this project.  I'm not from Oklahoma, but it sounded like fun AND when I signed up for it this winter it seemed like such a long ways away... then all of a sudden we had a newborn and I had barely started!

Fortunately Sara, from the project, sent me a link to this fabulous poster to use as a guide.

Well, it bears somewhat of a resemblance.  Hindsight being what it is, I would probably use less than 6 strands of floss and start earlier so I could fill things in!

But, it got done and sent in by July 1st!  Hooray!

I love the quotes I found when doing some research on Will.  The one on the mat is my favorite: "I never met a man I didn't like".  What an axiom to live by!

Embroidery work 2

Wow, sorry it's been so long! I'm not sure where the time has gone...

Since the last post, I've started the Indie Biz 2.0 class with Leigh-Ann, Jill and Elsie. I am LOVING it, getting great info from it and it's making me think! I've set some goals for myself with this class, by the time I've 'graduated' I will:

Be blogging consistently

Have opened my own Etsy store

Be an bonafide Indie Business-lady!

I've been working on some new projects...to put in my Etsy store (!) when it opens...so more on those soon!!

Back to embroidery -

These are a few panels of a wall hanging I did for friends when their daughter was born. Her room has a Peter Rabbit theme!

The patterns for the embroidery came from coloring book pages I found on-line. There are so many great ones out there and coloring books are a great source for embroidery because they usually have such solid, clean lines that make them so easy to trace.

Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday!

Blessings -

Embroidery work 1

Sometimes pictures and/or ideas just come to me, and if I don't write them down, often times I'll lose them! This is one of those pictures.

Embroidery has been something I've really enjoyed, but just got back into recently. This is my first project with a mix of embroidery and fabric applique. This zippered, plain jane jacket is a staple of my wardrobe, but it needed some love, so I decided to put this picture on the back. I love how it turned out! I love when a project turns out just the way you pictured it.

Happy March - Blessings!