WOW: Finishing The Shirt Pattern

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

 

Last week I traced my shirt pattern, this week I am serious about getting my pattern finished by lunchtime which is in a few hours. I am setting out later today with my DH on business, we're driving up to NSW, so I'm working to a tight schedule.

 

 

Actually I find pattern making quite rewarding, especially since I know the next stage will be selecting fabrics to make my shirts from. And I know I'll get so much wear from them as I'll like them so much. I'm working in the kitchen as the light is best here at this time of day

 

I'm making this pattern on Cane-ite which I purchased at Bunnings for about $10 (can't remember exactly) it's a great surface to pattern on as you can pin the board as you go.

I've already traced my original shirt and now I'm working on the collar,

cutting out the pieces which I'll set aside until I'm ready to select and cut my fabrics.

 

Making my own shirts isn't something I thought I'd ever do at this stage in my life, but now that I'm making them to suit my own taste given that I can't purchase what I want, it's a skill I'm pleased to have. Sewing is so often dismissed as 'women's work' or a skill that belongs to craft projects. I think I'm still part of a generation where a lot of women had enough skill to sew garments and home accessories such as curtains and cushions without too much difficulty.

 

 

Nowadays I'm taken aback at how lacking these skills are. Most young women I meet don't know how to sew the simplest things. They just don't see it as a necessary skill. Last week I was dismayed to see (at a craft demonstration no less) a method for joining fabric lengths together which consisted of simply sewing both sides together with a french seam. No instruction was given on how to match fabrics, grains or prints so that you can create a visually continuous length when using print fabrics.

 

As quilters, most of us will have significant sewing experience; but I think sewing is a useful and lifetime skill for everyone, it's a shame it's generally so undervalued. What do you think?

 

What's Your WOW ?
 

 

The Fabrics Have Arrived!

 

I returned home late last night after a long weekend away on business with my DH, and I was really happy to see that my fabric had arrived on Friday. I've really enjoyed seeing the fabrics you've selected to make LE, so I've been excited to share my choices with you as soon as they arrived.Today it's hailing and overcast and dreary (perfect quilting weather) so I've lined up the fabrics to show you what I've got. It's always hard to photograph in this kind of daylight so I've taken the photo's under a natural daylight lamp to keep them as accurate as possible.

 

My fabric 'journey' for this quilt has been a long and winding one. First I was set on an entire range (that promptly sold out before I could purchase it), then I had my heart set on exquisite chintz from Denmark (which was just too expensive and over budget) so finally I settled on a range that I could use for a kind of sophisticated scrappy look. The advantage of this was also the option of using existing fabrics from my stash. Now that my fabric is here, some of it is hit and miss and I will have to raid my stash to make it work...that's just the reality of buying off screen, not everything is what I expected it to be. But the fabrics I love, I really love so I will be adding my own stash to make it work.

I love all these blues and they work really well, what I am still missing is a good dusty / powder blue in a light pastel tone. I don't have a light value blue, these are all 'sameish' value wise, so I am on the lookout for some pale blue for balance.

 

The 5 blues on the right are all misses. I don't like any of them. The tones are wrong and they just don't work. On the left, the white with blue print is a maybe - I think it's pretty but am still undecided.

 

 

These two were my option for the light/dark contrast zigzag border...but I don't like them! Close up, they are really pretty, but as soon as you stand away from them, they dull out. I don't think they're going to work. I'm still undecided. I don't think they will do LE justice. But saying that, I'm still in two minds. I might make a row of zigzags up and see how they look.

 

These are my greens: each in a different hue which I didn't expect. I do like each in their own way, they're very pretty and I love the pale mossy blue...but do they work together? Hmmm I don't think so. It might take another fabric  from the stash to make these tones gel.

As for the red and green print on the left, yes I love it, what a great print for my scrappy idea and it does work so well with one of my backgrounds.

 

I love all these reds, from dark to light, what a relief!

 

 

But these pinks? I don't like any of them! They just don't work for this project. I think they're going straight into the stash :(  I do like the purple and gold...but again, need buffer fabrics to make these colours work in the rest of the quilt!

 

 

Complete miss! What was I thinking? These don't work at all!

 

 

 Battle of the Backgrounds!

 

Now this is difficult: which background fabric to opt for? This first one is lightly dotted with green (Jasmine tea by Jesse Aller) and I loved the idea of it, and it works with all the fabrics but on daylight it looks grayish and a little dull.

 

 

This is 100% linen from Reece Scannell (reecescannell.com) and is so far the most expensive fabric for the quilt (AU $55 per metre). It is slightly wider and you need only 5.5 metres instead of 7 in this fabric. Well, it's a stunner and I love the idea of using linen (as in the original) it's grainy, quite heavy in weight and has a beautiful citrus yellow through it. The body is lovely, easy to handle and it would handle needle turn beautifully, it feels like silk linen. Yes, I adore it and when I think how much needle turn will be worked upon it, I know hand sewing this fabric will be a dream and I can understand completely why the original was worked in linen.

 This is the texture close up

 

This is my last choice: it's imported Italian Linen. It's bleached natural linen and it's a beautiful white, not too heavy, the texture is good. It was also expensive at (AU $47 per metre), I actually purchased it a few years ago for my DH's linen shirts (which I will never make now that I see it's potential for quilting!). The only question on this one, is do I want a white background? Part of me says yes as white can pick up colours so nicely, on the other hand, yellow might work better.

 

Then there's the thought that this linen is lighter, which might be easier to handle on such a large project. But then again, if I quilt the coverlet (and I don't know if I will or not), the background fabric has to be up to the task of taking so much work.

 

Then there's the weight: this quilt has the potential to be quite heavy with all the applique so perhaps a lighter linen is the answer?

It's decision making time. I have to go through my stash and add what I think will work, failing that, I'll have to run down to my local store and fill in any missing gaps so that I can finally start this incredible and inspiring quilt.

Fabric selection is never easy. In some ways, after seeing the V&A Exhibition in Brisbane last month, I realised that the original marriage coverlet was certainly a dark scrappy and that I have a lot more freedom that I had first imagined when I tried to create a Georgian colour scheme. The fact is, I don't have any of the brown, purple or dark yellows that I will need to make this scrappy harmonise.

 

Even now, I keep re-arranging and playing with the options...you know that feeling you get when you are putting a quilt together, when you know you've got it? I'm still working around my options until that feeling comes...

 

I keep moving from one room to the next with my fabric piles, looking at them in different lights. I was a bit disheartened to see so many put aside but they are are all beautiful and will be put to use in other projects. Now I have to focus on what does work and get this quilt started!

WOW: Pattern Making

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

 

I know we're all keen for me to receive my fabrics and finally start posting some tutorials here, but I'm still waiting. It turns out a lot of the fabrics I selected are on backorder so there's been a lot of waiting around. Last week I spent a few hours sewing a collar into my shirt. This week I'm pattern making. A quilt? No, a shirt!

 

 

I very rarely make my own clothes (in fact, never). But is it just me, or is it nearly impossible to find shirts in interesting fabrics? I simply can't get my hands on any. And you already know I have a fabric mountain...so it just makes sense to stop complaining about it and get to making some easy shirts I'll love wearing. This is an easy shirt I love wearing, so I'm using it as my pattern. You can see I have a long vest on as it's rather cold down my way. You see, if I wait until summer, it will be too hot to do any sewing so the time is definitely now.

 

It's still morning, but I'm already underway. It's going to be a productive day!

 

What about you?

Have you made any garments lately?

Or do you only sew quilts?

 

 

What's Your WOW ?

 

Love Entwined: Where Are You? (2)

It's been nearly 3 months since I launched Love Entwined 1790 Marriage Coverlet; my pattern of the 1790's Marriage Coverlet quilt featured in Averil Colby's book Patchwork. It was listed in this book because it is a remarkable quilt; remarkable as both a work of applique and also as a historic legacy of British women's textile work.

Imagine my surprise when I realised that this quilt wasn't in archive. Actually, to say I was surprised is an understatement. We know from 'Patchwork' that before 1958, it had already been repaired at least once. This indicated that it had value and was cared for. All we know about this quilt is that a Mrs Erith of Dedham allowed it to be photographed for Averil Colby's book. However it's origin in 1958 was unclear. This might indicate that it was indeed passed down a family line (with knowledge of it's maker lost) or that it was at some point acquired by Mrs. Erith by source or means unknown. We don't know any more than this.

What I realised was that this quilt was nowhere to be found. Why wasn't it listed or held in a museum? And more pointedly, why wasn't anyone looking for it?

For let us make no mistake, whilst surely a beautiful heirloom of work, this quilt is also a historic marker and it matters. It matters as a record of women's textile work and it matters to British history. Lastly, it matters to quilters everywhere: it's a rich piece of our heritage. It cannot be allowed to be simply lost and therefore, destroyed, by time.

I decided that the best way to bring this lost quilt to light was to re-create and release it as a Historic BOM. Of course, I've made beautiful quilt patterns before and this one would prove to take me hundreds of hours to complete. But how could I really get it out in the quilting community? How could I convince hundreds of quilters to take up such an intense applique quilt? It had to be offered for free to allow everyone who so wanted, to freely take part. I had to share my hope for this quilt with everyone taking part and ask them to further the search as they themselves became involved.

With so many of you making this quilt, its not surprising that I receive so many query emails asking for updates on the original quilt. I know you'll understand that I can't possibly answer them all, so here's what I can tell you, in response to the most asked questions, current for now:

Do I know where the quilt is? No, I don't know

What happened to the quilt after it was photographed for Patchwork? I don't know

Why didn't Mrs Erith know the origins of the quilt if it was a family heirloom? I can't possibly answer this question and reasonably, the book simply doesn't offer enough information to go on. It might be handed down a family line, it might not. I think what's more important is that we discover where it is now

What is the quilt called? It doesn't have a title, it is referred to as a 'fine marriage coverlet' only throughout the book

I'm in the United Kingdom, should I look for the quilt? Certainly, if you belong to a guild or society who has textiles or past exhibition details in archive, ask the relevant person if they know anything about this quilt or if they have seen it in exhibition at any stage in the past

Can I contact anyone on your behalf? No. If I want to contact anyone, I will do so directly from my email account. Please don't make contact or make statements on my behalf under any circumstances

Why hasn't anyone looked for this quilt before you? I don't know, I am astounded that this quilt isn't already in a museum

Are you British? No. Please understand that historic relevance has nothing to do with social or cultural identity; this quilt is a British article however it's legacy should be available to everyone

Is anyone looking for the quilt right now? Yes, there are several leads which I am currently waiting for updates on. I won't be discussing any potential leads without actual outcomes as it's unhelpful

Did you contact the publisher of Patchwork? Yes. Although this book was published in 1958, the original publishing firm (Batsford, London) is still active. I contacted them and they didn't bother to respond to me. This was 5 months ago

Would you like to see the quilt? Of course, I'd like everyone to be able to see this quilt

Do you ultimately want to own this quilt? Certainly not. This quilt is a historic article, it belongs in a museum. It's likely that it may require further repairs and may need to be archived in specific light conditions, this can only happen if it is held in appropriate possession. Given the historical weight of this quilt, I believe that it must be kept, documented in detail and preserved for everyone to enjoy

Do you think this quilt is still in the UK? We have no reason to believe that it has been removed from the UK. I hope that it is still in the UK and if it is found, that it will not be allowed to be removed from it's historic home

Can I run an article on the story behind this quilt and your BOM? Yes, the more interest shown in finding the whereabouts of this quilt, the better

Will you let me know when the quilt has been found? I will let everyone know any actual updates right here, on my blog.

What will you do when your quilt is found? This is OUR quilt; it belongs to everyone. If it is indeed found, I will be satisfied that I accomplished what I set out to achieve - putting the 'fine marriage coverlet' in it's appropriate place as a significant historical article.

Love Entwined: 1790 Marriage Coverlet BOM

This is where we are up to now. On the 15th of August, Part 3 of this Historic BOM will be released.

Now, ordinarily each block is available for free during the month of its release and then removed. In the case of Love Entwined however, I have decided to leave all parts up for free for the duration the the BOM.

WOW: Back behind the sewing machine

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

 

Well, I’ve been meaning to stitch up a few garments for about 6 months now. I just never seem to find the time, or momentarily forget or get swept up in the excitement of something new, like a BOM or two or three. So I decided to warm up with a little project and finally finishing my stripe sweater which has been waiting for its little makeover.

A few months ago I selected newspaper print cotton and even cut it out. So all I had to do was sew it in. Sounds easy enough?

 

so I sewed in my new collar, and when I finished, I stopped to admire my work

and there it was...can you see it?

 

 

GARBAGE!

 

I knew it was newspaper print, but I didn’t see that writing when I cut it out and I couldn’t have positioned so skilfully if I’d wanted it there. Which I don’t.

 

What do you think? Is it still wearable?

My DD's say 'no way' but I say ' 2 hours work'

 

 

What's Your WOW ?

WOW = Thank You Lucia

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays
 

What's the first thing you do when you see a calendar?

I always flip to my birthday month to see what the picture is!

 

Lucia Martins of Brazil kindly sent me this beautiful calendar which she and a group of ladies taking embrodiery class together, created to represent scenes of their city. It's a beautiful calendar and I'm very happy to have it hanging in my kitchen. Thank you Lucia for thinking of me!

 

I think photos of sewing, quilting and embroidery never do the real work justice, but this calendar shows up some stunning detail and I love the idea behind it too.

 

Lucia worked on April (her birthday)

 

 

and this is the November scene (my birthday)

 

 

Here's the back of the calendar:

 

What is it about receiving something in the post that makes it extra special?

 

What's Your WOW ?
 

I'm Around Here...Somewhere....

Here I am outside the exhibition holding a notebook for notes; armed and ready!

 

Given that it's been over a week since I returned from Brisbane I thought I'd finally share my thoughts on the exhibition. It was a great eye opener. My main draw was to compare quilts of the late 1700's because of the influence Love Entwined has had on me.

 

 

I wanted to see some similar era quilts and get a feel for the period. I didn't see many quilts with what I supposed a typical  'Georgian' colour scheme would look like - the fabrics were a lot more muted (I mean colour value, not fading due to age) and scrappy than even I expected (and I did expect a lot of scrappy style quilts). However I don't mean to imply that this lowered their value in my eyes - it didn't. Many were accomplished and beautiful.

 

I would have loved to show you all the quilts on exhibition - it was a fascinating range and every quilter I know who went along was overall very glad that they did.

 

It did help me to re-evaluate what the fine marriage coverlet would have looked like...and for this, the drive and effort to see the exhibition was definitely worthwhile. So what do I think the coverlet would have looked like, colour wise? A scrappy with lots of print fabrics ranging in values of dark  backgrounds and lighter backgrounds - which is exactly what Averil Colby describes in the book 'Patchwork". But seeing other quilts of the era helped place it much more firmly in my mind.

 

 

I know someone mentioned that no green fabric was around in Georgian England however I have been advised that there certainly was green fabric available - it just doest seem to have been used much in quilts. This limited edition print fabric was all that was left in the gift shop when I was there - a big disappointment as I secretly harboured ideas of stocking up on period fabric. As it was, I left with the last bundle pictured here.

 

I purchased the Exhibition's accompanying book "Quilts" and was surprised to realise (when I got home) that the quilts listed inside do not include quilt size measurements. Which I almost can't comprehend as being possible. I only wish I'd noticed sooner as I would have gone back in and manually added all the sizes inside my book for reference, they were actually listed next to the quilts on show. It seems a major oversight and I wonder what the reason is?

 

Overall, the exhibition has changed my mindset and I am much more keen to use more fabrics than I first considered 'too scrappy', I don't think 'too scrappy' is possible for this quilt.

 

 

I'm back home, and since my accident and dramatic end to my trip, I haven't done any quilting or sewing at all. This is me at the dining table - what a mess! This is me collating the pattern for some ladies who don't go online. They were worried that they might miss out. I assured them that not being Internet savvy means that they're more likely be ahead! I spend as much time on the computer these days than I do quilting. It's such a (necessary?) distraction!

 

I'm hobbling around the house at the moment and still not up to staying in one spot for very long. I'm a few hundred emails behind and I still have unpacking to do, but at the moment I'm recovering. Everything else will have to wait.

 

Love Entwined where are you?? For those of you who have been emailing me questions about the fine marriage coverlet; I don't have any news: rest assured, as soon as I know anything it will be posted up here on my blog for everyone to know. I know there's too many interested parties out there to keep any of you waiting a moment longer than necessary!When I know, you'll know. I just hope that there will be something to know. I feel as impatient about it as you do.

 

 

I'm planning at this stage to be at Showcase later this week (doing what I can from a seated position) so I know I'll be catching up with many of you.

 

See you there!