summer of quilting

I currently have two quilts in the works, and several in my head, not to mention plans to expand the Jewelweeds quilt line up. I've been thinking a lot about technique lately, I'm mostly self-taught, but I do have some genetic predisposition to quilting, my grandmother is a master quilter, so some learning was through osmosis. My grandmother turned 89 (89 is the new 70!) on monday and we went to visit my grandparents to celebrate and I was sent home with these great quilting books. She highly recommends the blue one on top, and after a quick glimpse, I'd have to agree. It's very straight forward and thorough and has plenty of "process" photos. It's written by Michael James and I have no idea if it's still in print, but I'd recommend checking ebay if you are even remotely thinking about quilting.

I've finally gotten some of the new things in the shop. I've been fighting the dismal weather for any speck of natural light (I live in Brooklyn, not Seattle, hello!) so it's taking me much longer than I'd like to get the shop fully updated. Please be patient. The napkins are 90% there and I'll be tackling tea towels next, but first I've got to get out of the house while the sun is out before I the cabin fever totally gets to me!

recovering....

we are exhausted! but we had a great weekend at Renegade. It was great meeting lots of internet-y and blog-y folks. I wish I had had more time to explore, I only had a chance to pop into a few booths, but what I did see was pretty great. More to come, too tired for coherency.... 

ps. I'll be posting lots of the new stuff from Renegade in the etsy store this week. Check back here for updates.

sneak peak

A quick peak at my first real screenprinting project: (I love gocco, but that doesn't really count) TOTE BAGS! They are special for Renegade, and will be free with a $50+ purchase or for the very reasonable price of $4. Get 'em while they last!

(The design is my rendition of Autumn Flowering Clematis, one of my favorite flowers. You may notice a resemblance to the Clematis Leaf tea towel...)

renegade prep

the apartment is a mess, I have a head cold/allergies, emails are not being answered, but the preparations for Renegade soldier on. I'm really excited about some of the new things debuting at Renegade, the weather is set to cooperate, hope to see you there!

Front page

A lizziefish alerted me that my maple seed pod onesie had drifted onto the front page yesterday. Along with a number of other favorite and coveted items...I've been thinking about shrugs lately. We have a few weddings to go this summer, and I'm inevitably chilly in a fancy dress on breezy summers night. But I digress. I finally got the rest of the onesies washed and with any luck they'll be printed by the end of the week. So look out for new sizes and colors. There may also be a surprise new/old design, but I don't know if it's realistic that it will be done before Renegade. We'll see. 

Succulent Quilt! (part 3)

Here's the quilt all finished! There is a pretty good amount of space in between each plant, but don't worry, they will fill out.

Here's the quilt about two weeks later. As you can see, all of them really blossomed and expanded. Also, many of them have little 'antennae' that I think will bloom soon. It's really amazing how much they've changed in such a short time. The colors, shapes, height. I didn't really notice it until I started putting this post together. They've totally opened up!

It's important in the beginning to water it more than you normally would water succulents. They need to get well established before they can tolerate their normal dry conditions. After planting, we stuck ours in the tub on top of a paint roller tray, so the water would drain out the bottom. You can also make little feet out of cork or something so that your box won't sit directly on whatever surface it's on. This is something I didn't think about, but it's important because you can't hang up your quilt right away. You need to give it a few weeks to settle first. We still haven't hung ours yet, but truthfully, it's just as stunning on a table as it is on wall. 

The next succulent project is a wreath...stay tuned!

Succulent Quilt! (part 2)

(apologies for the picture quality in this section, we started this project a little too late in the afternoon for good natural light...)

The next step is to make the second layer of screen. This layer will go on top of the soil and contain it from the top. Cut a piece of screen about two inches bigger than your box in both directions. Fold one inch over on each side so that you have a box-like shape. Make sure that it fits inside of the box. It shouldn't fit over it like a lid, but in it. The folded over edges will fit in between the soil and the sides of the box. Set the screen aside for now.

Mix a batch of potting soil into the box. We couldn't find a cactus or succulent mix, but you can make your own, either with sand or perlite/vermiculite. This also helps with drainage, it prevents the soil from getting compacted. I have a feeling that perlite or vermiculite is a better choice for this project because I suspect that sand might fall through the screen. Don't put too much soil in the box, maybe about half as much as you think you'll need. The plugs will displace a good deal and you don't want the soil to overflow.

Now that you have the soil in, start arranging your succulents. I started out having them on a grid, but later made the placement a little more random. Flora's are very grid-like, which works very nicely, but at this scale random worked better. Just set them on top of the soil, you'll be moving them before they get planted.

The next step is to take your screen top and set it gently over your succulents. Using a sharpie, mark circles over each plant. Once you have it all marked, use wire snips or heavy kitchen shears (no fabric scissors!) to cut an "x" in each circle. Remember you can always make the hole bigger, but not smaller. Fold the flaps down so that you have a semi-smooth opening. You'll want the plugs to fit pretty snuggly in these holes, too big and dirt (and possible the whole plant) will fall out if you hang it up. 

Once all the holes are made, take all the plants out, and set them aside arranged in approximately the same way so that you'll be able to get them back in the right arrangement. Slide the screen into the box, making sure that you have soil contained in the flaps on the sides. I pinched a little lip and stapled the screen to the sides, just for added protection. With you finger, start digging holes in the soil and setting the plugs in. The top of the plug should fit just under the screen, you can use adjacent holes to push the soil in around it. Make any holes bigger that need to be, and try to keep the soil under screen as much as possible.

...the finishing touches and the final product in the next post...