A Handmade Christmas Part 1: LeMoyne Star Tree Ornaments

 

Growing up we had an artificial tree most years. I remember one Christmas we had a live one and it shed horribly. I was given leg warmers that year (it was the 80s) and I still remember putting them on after leaving them on the floor and being pricked by what seemed like hundreds of tiny needles. It took forever to get the pine needles out. 

My mum dressed the tree every year and the process was always the same. Lights were first and had to be tested. Ours were coloured with spikey lanterns covering the bulbs. Invariably there would be a loose bulb which caused the whole string to not work, thus began the tedious task of twisting every bulb to find the offending one. After that was tinsel. Tinsel first then the lights, so the lights didn't cover the gaudy sparkly garlands. This seemed to take a while because my mum was a real stickler for making sure there were no gaps. Then came the fun bit, adding the ornaments, but there was a system to this as well. Larger ornaments at the bottom, smaller at the top.

I decided to rebel at little when dressing my tree and put the ornaments on before the lights. I could almost see my mum sighing and shaking her head as I awkwardly pulled the string of lights around the tree, knocking off my carefully placed baubles. There was obvious method in her madness!

In years past our tree was inspired by peacock colours which meant deep teal, magenta and I even added peacock feathers. But this year we decided on a mainly red and white colour scheme. I have to say I prefer it. Concerned I wouldn't have enough ornaments in the right colours, I decided to make some and chose the lovely traditional LeMoyne star patchwork design. I made this using my favourite paper piecing method since they are quite small and they really don't take long at all to make this way. 

You will need

LeMoyne star template (to be added!)

Fabric in two patterns

Stiff cotton canvas or heavyweight stabilizer

Matching ribbon cut to 4 inches

Card stock

Scrap paper

Glue stick

Pins

Multi-purpose thread in a contrasting color to the patterned fabric

Sewing thread in a color to match the patterned fabric

Needle

Pinking shears or regular scissors

1. Cut out the template and glue onto card stock to make a re-usable template
2. Draw 8 shapes onto scrap paper and cut out
3. Pin 4 of these slanting to the LEFT to the wrong side of ONE of the patterned fabrics allowing about 1/2 inch between each shape and the edge of the fabric
4. Cut around the shapes with a 1/4 inch seam allowance
5. Repeat steps 3 & 4 with the remaining 4 shapes point to the RIGHT with the other patterned fabric
6. Fold seam allowance over the paper shape and tack stitch the seam all the way round with the contrasting thread
7. Do this for all eight
8. Take one each of the shapes in different patterns
9. Put the front sides together (so if you flip them either way you can see the seam allowance and paper underneath) and sew a long edge with matching thread using whip stitch
10. When done, take another shape and sew it to one of the of the short edges of the two shapes, ensuring the pattern is alternating (see the photos above)
11. Do this for FOUR shapes so that you have half a star with a straight edge
12. Repeat steps 8 - 11
13. Sew the long edges of the two halves together with the right sides facing each other, using the matching thread and whip stitch
14. Remove the tacking stitches ad papers (save them for your next star!)
15. Pin the wrong side to the canvas or stabilizer, with the seam folded under and sandwiched betweed the canvas and star
16. Fold your ribbon into a loop
17. Pin between the star and canvas (see photos)
18. Sew with running stitch in matching thread, I intentionally made the stitches long to give the stars a primitive look
19. Trim the excess canvas or stabilizer with pinking shears or normal scissors
20. Hang on your tree or wreath!

Creating a Handmade Childhood: Patchwork Baby Quilt

The first baby project to be completed! It's a crib 'quilt'. Technically it's not a quilt because I didn't quilt it. It's a good feeling to create something for the little sprout, it's as if we are building a welcome for her.

The pattern is from Joann Fabrics. I will warn you that the instructions are a bit vague so if you're new to quilting, it may be difficult to follow. I used a natural grey linen to incorporate the zakka aesthetic I want for the nursery. I will be using the same linen for throw pillows and other accents which I hope will give the nursery some feeling of unity while allowing for me to play around with prints and patterns.

The fabric came from all over the place, Etsy or Fabric.com are good places to find some that may either be similar or indeed the same. The design of multicolored Spirographs is from Ikea. Once the quilt was assembled, I backed it with a type of quilting batting that doesn't need to be covered, you can get it here. It's beautifully soft and makes for a lightweight quilt.

Making Peace with my Sewing Machine

Ugh Monday. I know. But, I hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was pretty fun as I finally got to work on a project for the baby, a quilt. I have to admit that I have been dragging my feet a little on this one because I have a love-hate relationship with my sewing machine. For years I was convinced that it had screwy tension, when really it was user error. You see the blessed thing is old and was passed to me after going through various owners. The model isn't made anymore and I didn't have a manual. Turns out I have been threading it all wrong, how did I find out? I checked online. Now it works like a dream!

So off I went sewing patches and amazing myself at how little time it took - I admit I have hand-sewn a lot of projects because, well, I was afraid of the sewing machine. It was wonderful to have a fall chill in the air, listening to the young kids next door play their drums and think about my mum and all the sewing tricks she taught me. My first driving and sewing lesson came together when she explained that using the pedal on the sewing machine is like using a gas pedal.  Sewing for me is more than making things, it connects me with my mum and my life growing up in the UK. Maybe one day I will teach my own little sprout. Hopefully I will have some pictures of the quilt soon as I want to finish next weekend and move on to the next thing for the nursery.

The De-Stash Project

It's time. Time for what? A massive de-stash.  I am terrible for holding onto fabrics for some future time. Well it's time.  I am going to be bold and try and use up as much of my stash as I can with different projects - pillows, table runners, throws etc.  Watch out for new items, tutorials and a new Etsy shop.  Yes, ANOTHER one!

TV Project 1: Kimono Coasters

Kimono silk is just something I can't resist, it's sexy makes me think of geisha.  It's also awkward to work with, since it is so sheer and thin.  I like to always have a project on the go that I can do while watching TV. So this is my TV project du jour.   

NOTE: The instructions for the rosettes can also be used to make the ones you saw on the boudoir pillow.  Imagine a pillow with kimono silks! Ooh la la, get your Valentine's horny on!

Level: Beginner
Time: 2 hours per coaster
Cost: $2 (approximately
Materials and Tools:
Hexagon template, size: 1 inch per side
Kimono silk scraps (or scraps of cotton quilt weight fabric) in three different patterns in similar colors.
1/2 yard of grey felt
Thread in contrasting color and matching color
Pins
Scrap paper
Needle
Iron
Scissors for fabric
Scissors for paper

- First cut seven hexagons out of scrap paper
- You are going to need one hexagon from one patterned fabric then three each from two additional patterns
- Place your paper hexagon onto the wrong side of your chosen fabric and pin in place
- Cut around the hexagon with a quarter inch seam allowance
- Fold the fabric seam over the paper and tack all the way round with the contrasting thread
- Remove pin
- Do this with all seven hexagons
- The one hexagon cut from a different fabric to the other six is the center of the rosette
- Take this hexagon and a hexagon of another pattern place them with right sides facing each other and sew the seams together with whip stitch
- Continue doing this until you have all six hexagons of alternating pattern sewn to the center one
- Iron your rosette so the seams are nice and sharp
- Remove the paper from the center hexagon and pin to the felt
- Cut out the felt so that the rosette is pinned to smaller piece of felt with some excess fabric around it.
- Remover one paper from an outer hexagon and pin to the fabric with the seam folded under
- Sew the edge with a running stitch
- Do this hexagon by hexagon until all edges are sewn to the felt
- Trim off the excess felt
- Press with iron
- DONE

Spring Update

Our living room, photo taken from the balcony above.


It seems as if the only time I post on my much-neglected blog is to explain why I have been away for so long! Yes, my life has been through various transitions over the last 3 years, multiple moves, jobs and plans.
Now I am finally, finally settled. No more renting, or living out of boxes. No more work spaces in closets and struggles to start a craft business.

My husband and I firmly ensconced in the house of our dreams, truly, and in the process of making it our own. Given the travels from UK, to Zambia (Africa), to here: Asheville, NC, US, settling and getting the house exactly as we want it is going to take some time. But isn't that part of the fun?

The house we have bought is spectacular (there, I have said it) open plan, LEED certified and beautifully modern. More pictures to come. The slightly industrial and minimalist style matches our taste and we have been happily buying vintage pieces to give it that mid-century modern flair.

It is this new house and our homemaking that spurred me to give this blog a bit of a make over. So 'For the Love Of' has been retired, to be replaced with the somewhat flamboyant name of 'The Modernist Craft Movement'. Why? Well as much as I love crafts, it is hard when quilting, embroidering and whatnot to create pieces that are contemporary and not-quaint. So I am on a mission, to embark on craft projects that I love as well as create things that I would have happily in my own house or on my own body!

Think of this blog as a work in progress (aren't all blogs?), an electronic notebook that I am sharing with whoever drops by. Please leave comments if you are inclined, it's nice to know that one is not typing into cold cyberspace, only to be lost in the millions of other craft sites out there!

Cushion Cover

New cover, the rosettes are paper pieced and hand appliqued, the top will be machine sewn as soon as the voltage converter comes for my UK machine!

kimono Silk Patchwork

I love kimono silks and my love of paper piecing works great with them because they are so thin and floppy to work with. The paper templates are a great way of stabilizing the material.

As you can see I am using them for a fan block, the completed one is a Dresden plate block which I made years ago. These are good blocks for kimono silk pieces which I buy and are not always all that big.

My Pennant Quilt Progress

I am still squirreling away on my paper pieced quilt and about half done with the top. Superbowl weekend I laid my first lot of strips out and found one doesn’t quite match in size which is a little irritating and also mystifying, but I am sure I will come up with a way make it work. I have made a new template to add straight edges to each end of the pennant style triangles so that I have a straight rectangular quilt to work with when the strips are sewn together.

Zakka Book covers

Zakka book covers - they're all the rage don't you know! The first one I made was too small for my notebook so I use it for keeping recipes clipped out of magazines! The second was just right! Want to make more to sell at the craft market. The second is from upcycled bedsheets, my new thing.

Salaula Treasures

Yesterday I went to the giant salaula market here in Lusaka. Salaula is second hand clothes and this market had EVERYTHING, as another friend said, it’s like a department store, the market is organised into sections – skirts, children’s clothers, shoes, menswear etc. I saw some really great stuff and bought these wonderful bed sheets which I will use for quilting. Aren’t they funky?

Paper Piecing How To

I know a few months ago I gave a few pointers on paper piecing but I don’t think there is any harm in going over them again.
I generally use paper piecing for basic repetitive patterns but they can also be used for patchwork blocks. In particular if you have a block you want to copy but you don’t have the measurements, method etc. Paper piecing makes this easy because you don’t need to work out seam allowances.

You will need:
Cardboard for your template/s (for example old cereal boxes)
Scrap paper (magazines or newspapers work well)
Scissors
Tape
A thick pen
Needle and thread
pins
Scraps of fabric

First make your template:
The triangle I am using I made by using a rectangle of cardboard, placing it lengthways, find the middle then drawing to lines from the bottom two corners on the shortest sides to the opposite side dead centre.

If you are making a number of templates for a block, number them and then number the block you have to make it easier to work out how to place them.

Tape the edges of your template so that when you draw around it, you don’t soften the edges. Alternatively you could use template plastic, which is available at quilt stores – or use plastic from packaging. I am trying to use as much recycled materials as I can, plus I don’t have a quilting store here!

Next, use your scrap paper to make the paper pieces by drawing around your template with the thick pen and cut out. Make a stack so you don’t have to keep going back to make more.

Pin the paper pieces to the wrong side of your fabric, leaving about ¼ inch space. Cut out the piece a ¼ inch away from the edge of the piece – very important, do not cut flush with the piece!

Fold the excess fabric over your paper and sew with a large tacking stitch to the paper.

When you have enough for all the stages or patterns you want, you can start assembling.

Place the fabric covered pieces right side to right side with the edges lines up and sew together with a small slip stitch. Check carefully that you have your pieces lined up correctly.

Keep going until you have your quilt. Easy!

New Adventures in Paper Piecing

I was feeling kind of down recently. It’s hot here at the moment and after Christmas I felt quite homesick, seeing all that snow and knowing my family is so far away. Nothing improves my mood than working on a craft project, especially sewing, I find it very therapeutic. So I decided to start a new quilt and luckily I have tons of new fabrics to work with (some of you regulars will have read about my love of chitenge material). As I sorted through my fabric stash and bathed in all the colours and shapes, I immediately started to feel better. I chose paper piecing again because I wanted to hand stitch my quilt and I find the slip stitch used in paper piecing super-strong. I also love the whole process of paper piecing and love the feeling of keeping alive this old method.

Considering how important precision is in quilting it’s a bit ironic that I am not a very thorough person, for example I never washed my fabrics when quilting back in the UK. Modern methods of dying mean you don’t really need to pre-wash fabrics, but the chitenge material here often runs, so I did wash them this time. Look how lovely they are with the sun shining through them on the line and the wind blowing them.

The design I am using is very simple, an acute triangle repeated alternately in cream fabric and the various patterns. I think this design will look really elegant and the cream fabric sets off the patterns well. This is a very good method if you want to use up scraps. Watch out for my method of paper piecing for you to follow coming up in the next few days.

Patchwork inspired Woodwork - so special!

Clutch Bag Tutorial Part 2

Sorry for the wait! What with getting married, working and trying to get my Etsy shop up and running, I barely have time to actually do any crafts these days! But things will calm down in August, I hope.

Anyway, here's the second part of the clutch bag tutorial. This will take you up to sewing the layers together. Part 3 will deal with fitting the zip.

After sewing your two halves together, your bag should look a bit like this.

Next, you need to add the centre piece of fabric. Put the open hole over the wrong side of the fabric you want to use and draw a circle. Cut this out with a 1/4 inch seam and pin to your bag.

Turn over and slip stitch tiny stitches all the way round.

When this is done, remove the papers from the fan (these can be used again if you are careful!),make your quilting sandwich using the batting and lining fabric. Allow excess for batting and lining, it comes out smaller after quilting.

You can now pin the layers together for quilting. Either quilt straight lines throught the fronds of the fan or 'in the ditch', following the seam.

Next, fold the lining and and outside patchwork edges inwards a few millimeters and sew the layers together using whipstitch. Or you could add bias binding and machine stitch.

You now have a disc ready to fold in half to add the zip!

Honeycomb Garden Throw

Seems a while since I added anything about quilting recently. Here is my completed honeycomb throw. It's not really a quilt as it is backed with fleece rather than with 3 layers, this was to speed up the processs and make it more versatile.

Now up for sale on Etsy! Ok, yes a bit of promotion there - sorry.

Busy as a bee

The craft fair is just over a week away. I am busy getting as much stuff together as I can and have made a couple of cushion covers today. More of what I have made can be found on my Flickr profile.

More about Phyllis b can be found here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=76775&id=77268993849&saved#/pages/Phyllis-B-quilts-whimsies-and-textile-tidbits/77268993849

The Wedding Quilt

The wedding day came so I can now share with you the quilt I have been secretly working on for the last few months.

The block is maple leaf, mostly hand stitched and completely hand-quilted. The names and date we added by transfer because I didn't have time to embroider them, the flowers are embroidered. The photos were taken in Charleston South Carolina the day before the wedding.

Retail Therapy

Today I bit the bullet and went to the Birmingham Social Networking Cafe. I am not very good at these things, but met a lovely lady and we talked for ages, I should've thanked her for allowing me to latch on and dominate her attention.

After, as I was in the area, I went looking for supplies in the wonderful indoor market. Found a fab haberdashery stall, where I got tons of supplies. Also found a great fabric stall at the outdoor market where I bought some rather lovely floral cotton for 1 pound a metre. I rounded off my trip with a visit to the Fancy Silk Store where I continued to feed my fabric addiction.

When I got home I found the fabric I'd bought off Ebay had arrived!

I put the floral flavour down to Spring and the fact I am reading Proust - pretentious moi?

Mexican Inspiration

I have never been to Mexico, but felt compelled to make this board after listening to the wonderful Lila Downs. Lila Downs is a singer of tremendous talents from Mexico, who uses many influences including Jazz, reggae and Mexican flavours to create beautiful and evocative music.

The painting in the left corer is by Diego Rivera, and the portrait is of Frida Kahlo. The two quilts are by the Boodilly, a talented quilter. You can find more of her pieces at her Etsy shop. The lovely fabric postcard is by Mandie, you can see more of her work on Flickr.