Saturday, August 24, 2013

Hot August on etsy!

As summer grew, it got hotter and steamier and drier!!  Perfect weather for listing items in the etsy shop:  some vintage stuffed toy patterns, a wish book/journal and embroidered kitteh kit.  Hope you'll visit soon!


Saturday, August 3, 2013

Lingering UFOs


Am I wrong?  We all have them.  Here are just a few and I'm looking for inspiration to finally finish them.  I thought if I post them here, the shame-factor might kick in.  I will confess, I already made one of these into a quilt -- no shame required.  So, let's open up this stuff and see what we got.  (Click on the photos to get a closer look, if you like.)


I'm not sure if this is the oldest, but some of the fabrics are 60's.  It includes a lot of scraps from clothing projects:  that red and white paisley is from an empire waist peasant dress; the tan swirly design came from a jumper; the brown and red floral was a blouse.  I think the bright blue scraps came from a friend's left-overs.  There is also some early 70's fabric in this -- the prominent red, for sure.   As you can see, I tried paper piecing and it would be very easy to date this; looks like pages from a magazine.


Here's a closer look at this piecing technique.  First, baste the diamonds to the paper piece and then sew them together with a blanket stitch.  All by hand.  I'm sure I did this sewing during the 70's, because I'm having flashbacks of watching Little House On the Prairie!  


This is a small top -- let's say cot size -- so it would take very little to finish it.  Thing is, I can't bring myself to pull out the papers!  I think that's why I never finished it.  I have that tendency . . . to leave things as they are and to see the beauty in that.  I swear, if I had the room I would hang it from the ceiling in its current condition.

So, help me here.  Should I "destroy" it and make it into a quilt or put it back in the bag and bequeath it to one of my nieces or nephews?

P.S.  If you ARE a niece or nephew of mine and would like this, just say the word.

xxoo