Finished and revised blackwork map

Remember the Upper Valley in blackwork pattern from the end of May? I finally finished my stitching of it! With that experience, I revised the pattern - error fixes, tweaking the town boundaries so they don't require long long stitches, and making how the fillings meet the outlines more consistent (with the goal of avoiding stitches that are so close together they blend into one).

Here's the pattern in Google Drive: Upper Valley Blackwork Map, revised.

I've posted progress pictures on my personal craft blog, which you can find under the tag "blackwork map."

What do you get for the crafter who has everything?

So you have a crafter on your giving list whose craft space is filled to bursting, but for whom you really want to get a craft-related gift. I have some ideas for you.

1. Gift Certificates

Gift cards to the area craft and fabric stores are a no-brainer. Nearly every store, large or small, has them. If your giftee has a digital die-cutting or embroidery machine, you can also get gift cards to the (online) sources for new patterns. That way, they can not only choose the designs, but most likely get them via download, saving space and often money.

Personal gift certificates might be even more welcome, though. What about offering to take their sewing machine in for a tune-up, have their scissors professionally sharpened, or sharpen all their pencils? There's also the gift of time, such as via babysitting. I've made some gift certificates for you, for all these things and in the generic so you can fill in your own. They're available in my Google Drive, 5.5"x8.5" so you can fit two to a sheet of paper.

2. Carefully Chosen Books

Books are a little dangerous; I think we all have books on our shelves that looked pretty and appealing but from which we have made nothing. However, well-chosen books have usefulness disproportionate to the space they take up. I would only advocate technique books - project books are just too personal. Vintage books, ones you have to do a little research about and track down, are perhaps even better.

I wasn't able to find much in the way of vintage craft book reviews; you may have to look for books about particular crafts. Diane of Craftypod has a bunch of posts about vintage craft books should you want to page through (she's also great for reviews of modern craft books: thorough and interested in techniques over projects).

My own shelf has a few books I could recommend, vintage and not.

• For crochet: America's Crochet Book by Gertrude Taylor (1972). This is a no-nonsense guide to teaching yourself crochet and using it, including adapting patterns for various garments both for fit and to change the materials. In fact you could probably take what's in the book and design your own crochet clothing. She also surveys several particular crochet techniques (hairpin lace, afghan crochet, motifs in the round). She does recommend a small hook and crochet thread to start, which is just the opposite from me - I start people with acrylic or wool worsted weight yarn and a hook at least size I (5.5mm), moving them up even to a Q (16mm) if they are tensing up or making their stitches too tight - but otherwise I can get behind all of her advice.
• For felting (wet, needle, and nuno): The Complete Photo Guide to Felting by Ruth Lane (2012). Some projects, but all given in adaptable ways, and a lot of technique instruction. I've only scratched the surface of this book because I'm a beginner to felting, but I anticipate using it a lot.
• For sewing: The Complete Book of Sewing: Dressmaking and Sewing for the Home Made Easy by Constance Talbot (my edition: 1943). This gives so many options for every piece of a garment: necklines and collars, sleeves, fasteners, trim, pockets; it covers darts, gathers, hems, bindings, basting; there are chapters on a variety of categories of clothing and even tips on refashioning and mending. This was my primary refashioning and mending reference for some time.
• And for the cosplayer in your life I have to recommend The Costume Technician's Handbook by Rosemary Ingham and Liz Covey (most recent edition 2003), for its chapters on hair and hats, dyeing and painting, accessories, and a short course in pattern drafting. We used this as a textbook in my college Intro to Costuming class, and I would never remove it from my collection.

3. Visibility Aids

Visibility is a key component for crafting. These items, again, must be chosen carefully, but they could broaden the circumstances under which your crafter can craft, or decrease the labor of it. I see two kinds of visibility aids.

The first is a lighting upgrade. If your crafter needs a color-true light, OttLite is the primary brand. If not, an LED gooseneck lamp (desk or floor as appropriate to the crafting location) would be a more energy-efficient choice. For sewing in particular, I learned this year about a Sewing Machine LED Lighting Kit, which has some assembly required but results in a lot more light on the needle area of the sewing machine. If sewing puts your crafter's back to all the room lights, this might be just the ticket.

The second visibility aid is something to provide magnification. For lapwork, you can get a chest-standing ("around the neck") magnifying glass. That same site also shows magnifying goggles and magnifiers that clip onto glasses. The latter would be good for me - there's a woman formerly in the Upper Valley who makes lace with human hair, and she told me she uses the strongest available nonprescription reading glasses atop her 20/20 vision, but when I tried (without my regular glasses), I felt like my eyes were crossing. Magnifying goggles can also be found with LEDs mounted around their perimeter. Fine embroidery would become much easier, I'm sure.

4. Other?

What have I left off that's good for a crafter who doesn't want to stuff their craft space with more materials?

Green Mountain Fiber Festival

We're a week out from the fiber festival put on by White River Yarns so I thought I'd give a little preview.

The Green Mountain Fiber Festival is being held for the sixth year running, on November 15 and 16 in the Wilder Center in Wilder, VT; it's 9-5 Saturday and 9-3 Sunday. Admission is free and there will be vendors of all things knitting and spinning, with raffles as well as sales. In addition there are classes all day both days. To sign up for a class contact Karen at White River Yarns - hopefully any you want still have spots left!

You can read full course descriptions online, but here are the times, cost, materials list, and class size limit for each. I'd double-check the times for spinning if those courses interest you.

Beginning Spinning
Saturday 10 am-1 pm, Sunday 10 am-1 pm
Barbara Tonnissen and Gillian Fuqua, The Wool Shed, Worchester, VT
$40; bring your spinning wheel and roving to spin. Limited to 8.

Color in Spinning
Saturday 1-4 pm, Sunday 10 am-1 pm
Gillian Fuqua, The Wool Shed, Worchester, VT
$40; bring your spinning wheel, at least three bobbins, a lazy kate, and roving to spin. Limited to 8.

Spinning Beyond the Basics
Saturday 10 am-1 pm, Sunday 10 am-1 pm
Barbara Tonnissen, The Wool Shed, Worchester, VT
$40; bring your spinning wheel and roving to spin. Limited to 8.

Finishing Your Projects
Saturday 10 am to noon
Karen Caple, White River Yarns, White River Junction VT
$40; bring homework swatches, a blunt tip tapestry needle, and double pointed needles the same size as used for homework swatches. Swatches: three each of two types, all worked using light-colored smooth yarn that yields 4-5 stitches per inch. Type 1: Cast on 20 stitches, work in stockinette for 4", bind off leaving 18" tail attached. Type 2: Cast on 20 stitches, work in stockinette for 3", do not bind off - leave stitches on needle or stitch holder with 1 yd yarn attached. Limited to 10.

Steeking
Saturday 11 am-2 pm
Deborah Hodges, Country Woolens, Lebanon NH
$45; bring a 6" square stockinette swatch in light-colored worsted weight, six yards of contrasting color worsted weight yarn, scissors and tapestry needles. Limited to 10.

Knitting Beyond the Basics
Saturday 1-4 pm
Karen Caple, White River Yarns, White River Junction VT
$40; bring light and dark worsted weight yarn, size 8 needles, darning needle, crochet hook size F or G, four 6" square swatches in stockinette. Limited to 10.

Join-As-You Go Knitting
Saturday 10-11:30 am and 3-4:30 pm
Christiane Burkhard, Lismi Knits, Mansfield Center CT
$35; bring a few balls of worsted weight yarn (at least 6g per ball), a set of double pointed needles and a circular needle in your usual size for worsted weight, and a set of double pointed needles one size smaller than the others. Limited to 12.

What Yarn Should I Choose?
Sunday 11 am-12:30 pm
Christiane Burkhard, Lismi Knits, Mansfield Center CT
$30; bring yarn from your stash that you want to use, but can't figure out for what.

Solving Knitting Problems
Sunday 11 am-2 pm
Karen Caple, White River Yarns, White River Junction VT
$45; bring dark and light worsted weight yarn, darning needle, crochet hook, four 6" square swatches in stockinette, and any knitting that has problems you can't diagnose. Limited to 10.

So much to do this weekend!

American Craft Week starts tomorrow, and Vermont is a big participant. From the Vermont Crafts Council open studio directory for Windsor and Orange counties, I found silk painting in Hartland and studios that include fiber crafts in Woodstock and Randolph. That's separate from the Vermont North By Hand open studio tour, which includes three weavers and a coatmaker.

On top of that, Vermont Sheep and Wool is this weekend at the Tunbridge fairgrounds. There will be demonstrations and classes about all things wool-related, from raising wool-bearing animals to shearing to spinning to knitting, weaving, and felting.

There don't seem to be any Craft Week events in the eastern half of the Upper Valley, but the next League of New Hampshire Craftsmen exhibit in Hanover includes art embroidery.

What's the Difference Between Mending and Alterations?

The simplest way to express the difference between mending and alterations is this: if you mend something you're returning it to the way it once was. If you're making an alteration then you're changing it in some way but you still have the basic garment. (If you want to turn it into something completely different that's called refashioning.)

So if your favorite jeans have a tear in the knee you can...

Learn how to fix the tear in my Basic Mending class at the Sew-op on September 27th from 10-12. Or...

Learn how to alter the jeans into cut-offs in Rebecca's Alterations class at the Sew-op on September 29th from 5:30-7:30.

Hope to see you there!

Fall Classes for Kids and Teens

Here is the promised post on classes for everyone preschool to high school. Note that most of Artistree's adult classes allow enrollment of anyone age 12 or older, and that the definition of "adult" for purposes of Sew-op classes is 14 or older. Other locations would probably be amenable to older teenagers participating in adult classes, but I didn't find any posted policies. See the previous post for those class listings.


Artistree, South Pomfret, VT:

• Knitting and Fiber Art: Level I, for ages 7 and up.
  Two offerings, each five Tuesdays 4:30-5:30: Sept 16-Oct 14 and Oct 28-Dec 2.
  
  
• Knitting and Fiber Arts: Level II, for ages 7 and up.
  Two offerings, each five Tuesdays: Sept 16-Oct 14 4:30-5:30, and Oct 28-Dec 2 3:30-4:15.
  
  
• Sewing, for ages 8 and up.
  Two offerings, each five Thursdays 3:30-5:30: Sep 18-Oct 16 and Oct 30-Dec 4.
  
  
• Tween Fashion Studio, for ages 9 and up.
  Alternating Saturdays, Sep 27-Nov 22 10-noon. May sign up for all five or a la carte.
  
  
• Doodle Stitch: Beginning Embroidery, for ages 9 and up.
  Three Wednesdays 3:30-5, Oct 29-Nov 12.

AVA Gallery, Lebanon, NH:

• Ancient Myths in Sculpture, Costume, and Paint, for ages 5-8.
  Five Wednesdays 3:30-5:30, Sep 17-Oct 15.
  Member enrollment, non-member enrollment.
  
  
• Gift Making: Placemats, Pet Mats, Bookmarks and Coasters (fabric painting), for all ages.
  Saturday Dec 13, 1-5.

Upper Valley Sew-op, White River Junction, VT:

Some classes are described on the Sew-op webpage; descriptions for the rest should gradually appear on the Co-op's events calendar, under which you'll find a form to sign up for Sew-op classes online.

• Basic Sewing for Kids, Part 1.
  Thursday Oct 9, 1-3.
  
  
• Basic Sewing for Kids, Part 2.
  Thursday Oct 23, 1-3.
  
  
• Doll Clothes.
  Four offerings all 10-noon: Friday Nov 7, Saturday Nov 8, Monday Dec 29, Tuesday Dec 30.
  

In addition, there is an Open Hours expressly for kids, 1-3 on Wednesday Oct 29.

Upcoming Events

There is so much going on this fall that I've separated the classes for kids and teens into their own (forthcoming) post and put the adult classes behind a cut. First some non-class events:

The Sew-op is having a "taking session" on Thursday, September 4, from 2-4 PM. Like our yard sale, it's an effort to downsize our stash in advance of our reopening for the fall. The selection is reduced but so are the prices - unlike the yard sale, everything will be free.

The Tunbridge World's Fair is coming up September 11-14. There are always lovely quilts, knitted and crocheted items, embroidery works, and other eye candy. If you want to participate, you'll have to be perky for pre-registration (Sep 1) but you can register on the spot Sep 10 as long as you have no more than 5 items and show up before 5:00 (pre-registered items may be dropped off until 6:30). Here are the details.

Further down the road, Vermont North By Hand is having their Open Studio Tour October 4-5. Most of the participants do not work with fiber, but there are three weavers and a coatmaker among the nineteen of them. The majority of studios are in Corinth, with the rest in an arc to its east. See the online map or look for a red pamphlet about the event.

Finally, White River Yarn's sixth annual Green Mountain Fiber Festival is November 15-16 at the Wilder Center.

Classes for adults

General notes: if I say, for instance, "5 Saturdays" but give a date range containing six Saturdays, there's a skipped Saturday in there. See the linked description for details. "Alternating" means every other, beginning and ending with the listed dates.

Quilting retreats

Unlike the knitting retreats, quilt retreats seem to take a summer vacation. There is a convention this very weekend, though: the World Quilt Show, New England XII at the Radisson Center, Manchester, NH August 14-17. There will be classes, exhibits, competition, shopping, and an ice cream social. A quilt appraiser will be on site so you can have quilts appraised for insurance purposes (by appointment and with a fee). Registration is $20 plus fees for individual workshops and lectures.

If you speak French, there's a French language quilting retreat in September from Quilting in Vermont, at the Strong House Inn, Vergennes, VT.

The remaining retreats are all in November, but it appears there's a tendency for them to fill very much ahead of time, so it's not too early to think about them.

• Quilting in Vermont also has some no-teacher retreats (the first starting Oct 31) and advanced landscape quilting.
• There is a Quilters' Workshop, at the Colonial House, Weston, VT, on the pattern Attic Window.
• There are two Quilting Retreats at Calumet, in Ossipee, NH, each to learn a particular pattern.
• Pearl Hill Quilts retreats at the Silver Fox Inn, Waterville Valley, NH (in White Mountain National Forest, about 90 minutes from Hanover) has a weekday retreat.
• And finally, Mount Washington B&B Quilting Retreats, in Shelburne, NH, has three retreats (the first starting Oct 31), which are Mystery Quilt, Learn to Quilt, and UFO Finishing.

For future reference, quilting events all across New England are listed at the Rising Star Quilters Guild events page. QuiltersResources.net is a website for quilt shows and events internationally; their New Hampshire page is quite a bit more complete than their Vermont page, but both may be worth a look.

Two fibery reasons...

...to go to WRJ's First Friday tomorrow. There's always a lot of live music, art exhibits and artist studios, but this month there are two events happening on topic with this blog.

1. Tag Sale at the Sew-Op: As Jenn mentioned, we are cleaning house! Come augment your stash with fabric, yarn, vintage sewing patterns, buttons, and trims. We also have some kits, sewing machines, empty sewing machine cabinets, calligraphy books, thread organizers, and other miscellaneous crafty and sewing items. A few things will be individually priced and the rest will be by the bag (different sizes of bags available). For inspiration see our previous post, on crafting with secondhand materials.
   
   The sale runs Friday August 1st, 4-6pm, and Saturday August 2nd, 10am-2pm.
   
   
2. The Creation: Local DJ Shara Dee, wearing a white dress sewn by Robina D'Arcy-Fox of Fancy Felix Theatrical, will create music with Mr. Grim (Chris Boncoddo). During the music Robina will paint Shara and add fabric embellishments to her outfit while Maria Lara Dailey of Aquilino Arts paints a giant canvas behind them. The event will be filmed and turned into a time-lapse video. Decorating a dress on a person in motion should be an interesting challenge.
   
   The Creation is Friday August 1, 5:30-8pm, in front of Fancy Felix (58 N. Main).

You'll find Facebook pages for all these things: Sew-op tag sale, The Creation, and WRJ First Fridays. Perhaps I shall see you there!

[Disclosure: I may also be described as "of Aquilino Arts."]

Working with Secondhand Craft Supplies

Whether it's a hand-me-down, swap, vintage purchase or thrift store find, you may have items in your stash with unknown properties or in colors or quantities different from what you would have chosen on your own. You may also want to acquire secondhand materials for crafting. I aim to address the concerns of getting and using such items.

Acquisition

Of course you want materials that are in good shape and clean; anything that isn't should be left behind, disposed of or washed. Even if it's in good shape, if it doesn't appeal to you and you don't see practical value in it, leave it behind or re-donate it. Whimseybox has tips for thrifting craft supplies which are fairly general and focused on locating desirable items. Whip Up has advice on thrifting sewing supplies in particular, that is more aimed at selecting. That article has a lot of good tips for checking quality, though if you acquire secondhand thread don't just throw it out. You can test it by breaking the thread by hand and paying attention to the elasticity. If it just snaps, don't use it. If you feel it spring after snapping, it's probably still good. Since the outermost layer will be in the worst shape, if it's okay the rest should be too.

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Identification

Now you have it; what is it? The type of material makes a difference - you don't want to make potholders out of fabric that scorches easily, nor decorate towels with fabric that repels water. You can identify some fabrics by eye (no mistaking gold lamé), but for many fabrics and yarns you'll need the burn test. I found nice pages on the burn test at Threads magazine and fabrics.net. You can get fairly fine identification once you learn enough, but the general rule of thumb is that plant fibers (cotton, linen, acetate, rayon) burn like wood or leaves, protein fibers (wool and silk) shrivel and smell like burning hair, and petroleum-based fibers (acrylic, nylon, polyester) melt into a hard plastic bead - though they might burn first.

Here are some properties you might consider:

• Absorbance: for towels, coasters, and napkins, cotton is best.
• Heat resistance: for potholders, trivets, and hand warmers. I've had success using a double layer of fleece in my potholders, with cotton outer layers, but I would use only cotton for the hand warmers. This is also relevant in ironing. I had the experience of laying my iron on a giveaway bag that I wanted to mend with ironed-on patches, and coming away with an iron-shaped hole in the fabric. Fortunately I was able to clean the iron by scraping off the cooled residue with the back end of a wooden clothespin.
• Safety and comfort: flannel, for instance, comes in cotton, wool, and synthetic varieties, and the synthetic ones are marked unsafe for children's sleepwear. They are also less comfortable than cotton if you sweat in them.
• Washability: fairly easy to test simply by washing the material, but if you love it you might be more cautious. Concerns are shrinking, bleeding, and water spots. I pre-wash and dry all my fabric by machine, especially if it's secondhand, zig-zag stitching the edges first so they don't ravel. I have, however, run into problems occasionally with material that crumples in the wash and won't iron flat, though some became more smooth with multiple washings (my theory is uneven shrinkage evening out).
• Dye-ability: all the natural fibers will take dye, and some synthetics, but not all.
• Stretch: This generally has more to do with the construction than the fiber content. Clothing patterns are generally designed for either stretchy fabric or non-stretchy, and won't work as well with the opposite kind. Knit fabrics also take some special considerations in sewing. Anything where a lot of fabric will hang loose, such as curtains or even a dress, may stretch under its own weight. Long dress patterns will often tell you to hang the dress overnight before hemming, and the same principle can be applied to curtains. A different note on stretch: elastic doesn't live forever. Before using it in a project make sure it springs back on stretching. In extreme cases it may crackle when stretched; that's the elastic strands breaking, and such elastic should be discarded.
• Creases: Some fabrics acquire wrinkles and creases far more easily than they give them up. If pressing the fabric is a laborious, unpleasant job, you'll want to avoid using it for anything likely to need regular ironing. Home decorator fabrics tend to be more wrinkle resistant than, say, quilting cotton.

Other characteristics that might influence how you use the material are whether it's prone to raveling or running and whether needle and pin marks disappear or stay put (as they will in many delicate fabrics as well as leather-like material). Delicate fabrics can be a pain to wrangle for sewing, un-squaring and shifting themselves, and can be tamed with gelatin (provided you can wash it out after!).

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Use

Good material but not enough

How can you use up nice things in small quantities?

• Make small projects, or large ones with small pieces: "Stash buster" and "scrap user" are terms typically associated with projects that use up leftovers. Jenn discussed this topic here just last month, and you can find large collections of scrap fabric projects on my craft blog and Tipnut. Tipnut also has a list of yarn stashbusters. To highlight some specific ideas: a charm quilt (not to be confused with a charm pack quilt) is one where every piece of the top is a different fabric; you could make something similar with knitted or crocheted squares and different yarns (though you have to be careful of gauge). An armchair sewing caddy from During Quiet Time even quilts selvedges to form decorative panels.
• Harmonize colors: If you have a bunch of fabric of the same type, and it's a type that takes dye, you can layer a new color onto the existing color so they will still be different, but coordinate better. This is called overdyeing, and could be as simple as tea-staining the lot to give them a sepia cast. Overdyeing can help even dramatic color differences harmonize (such as in my quilter-approved reverse applique shirt). MAKE has a nice article on natural dye. My one piece of advice on dyeing is to stir. Regularly and throughout.
• Join pieces together: You can patch fabrics into larger pieces or join yarn into longer strands. Since your pieces are likely to be irregular, techniques from crazy quilting can help with fabric, such as foundation piecing (which you can do without a foundation if your fabric is sturdy enough). For yarn, Whip Up has a "magic ball" tutorial. You can even join fabric scraps together sculpturally as in this scarf tutorial from Jo So & Sew, rather like freeform crochet.

Undesirable type, irresistible look

If your fabric or yarn is, let's say, not so versatile, but you love it, you can still use it.

• Gluing: Mod Podge will stick not-too-thick fabric to anything. You'll want a layer below the fabric and at least one sealing layer above (just one and it might be rough textured). I've used it to cover binder clips and promotional magnets with fabric, and the binder clips, at least, have seen quite a bit of handling since then with no ill effects. You could cover lightswitch plates, cans, jars, notebooks, folders, or drawer fronts. If you want to cut out pieces of the fabric to glue on something, you can prevent fraying by using Mod Podge on the fabric before cutting it (of course let it dry first). Stretching the fabric in an embroidery hoop can help keep it flat and prevent it from sticking to anything. Alternatively, cut the fabric before use, but let the layer of Mod Podge under it dry completely (having carefully patted all fabric edged down) before applying the sealing layer. The Long Thread uses hot glue and clothesline to wrap four cans together, but yarn or fabric strips could be substituted (though you might need multiple rounds for sturdiness). White glue will attach yarn to boxes, and even a glue stick will attach fabric to paper (though this probably won't withstand a lot of handling).
• Knotting: Plant hangers are traditionally made with heavy yarn, but you could make them with multiple strands of thinner yarn or fabric strips of comparable size. Just make sure your material has enough friction to keep the knot in place. If you end up with a ton of material you can even make a new seat and back for a lawn chair (see here for a video tutorial). Free Macrame Patterns is just what it says, but in addition to the pattern listing pages it has general advice and information, and instruction in the basic knots. It also has instructions for many Celtic and Chinese knots.
  
• String art: If you have thread or yarn, nails, wood, and perhaps a bit of visual intuition gleaned from playing with Spirograph, you can make string art. The nails and wood could be substituted with thumbtacks and a cork board or paper brads and cardboard or cardstock. Tutsplus has a nice how to, and more patterns are available from String Art Fun.
• Accent fabric: You might be able to combine your good-looks-only material with better types of material in a project, such as for the cover of a needlebook whose pages are all wool felt, or as appliques for the outside of a coffee cup cozy.
• Projects that aren't material-sensitive: You should be able to make pattern weights out of any fabric that will hold the beans. Small bags and shabby-chic jewelry are forgiving of material. The necklace in the latter link could be done with yarn as well as fabric, and along those lines you can turn a very long crochet chain into a scarf in a variety of ways, good for yarn that would be a pain in the neck for more crocheting or knitting than that. This trinket tray could be bound with bias tape instead of edged with piping, which would allow right-side-out construction and hence assistance by Mod Podge or a glue stick to keep recalcitrant fabric in place with the cardboard.
  

So many notions!

That is, what do you do with a big bag of buttons, zippers, ribbon, or other trims or notions?

• Buttons: Even if you never inherit any, you can end up with many buttons left over from projects or saved from retired clothing. Be a little cautious because some cheap craft buttons are not washable (that is to say, colorfast). However, you can use buttons like beads, tiles, or pebbles; collect like-color buttons in jars to display, mosaic them with glue or with sewing thread, use them as checkers (I also like this version), or weave them with thread into coasters or larger items.
• Ribbons and trim: Most trims can be used interchangeably with long strips of fabric or even yarn, and all of those can be used to decorate gifts. There are a lot of ways to turn them into flowers (rick-rack in particular can give a lovely effect). Ribbons are good for weaving, including into fish!
• Zippers: You have a lot of options for zippers. If you have many shorter ones, you can make a clutch out of nothing but zippers: striped or woven. You can use one long zipper to make a coin purse, ear bud cozy, pencil case, or even a purse (second tutorial here). Unzipped zippers can be used as tooth-edged ribbons. More zipper ideas are listed at Tip Junkie and Thrifty Fun.
• Even sewing patterns can be used as decorative tissue paper, for decoupage, wrapping, or paper flowers.

Fast Summer

Summer seems to be going awfully fast, just as it always does. So we're extending the Craft Challenge another month to give us all (including me) time to complete our projects. Just as a reminder, the topic is Tee Shirt Rehab. We'll meet back here in early September to recap.

Meanwhile, the Sew-op is having a tag sale on August 1st from 4-6 (same as First Friday) and August 2nd from 10-2. There will be sewing machines, fabric, knitting needles, yarn and notions available at a great price. All proceeds support the sew-op workroom and classes.

And for a fast project, try making the little guy above. He doesn't exactly fit with the theme of reuse since his body is a new car washing mit from the dollar store, but he's awfully cute and an easy project for a child to make. The tutorial is an oldie but goodie at Darling Petunia. Our hedgie was made by my daughter and is going to our favorite two-year-old who is moving away.

Happy Summer!

Big yarny events

There are three multi-day events happening yet this summer. I knew about one, but the others came from the Northern Lights Knitting Guild's newsletter.

The soonest is a convention called The Knit and Crochet Show, sponsored by the Crochet Guild of America and the Knitting Guild Association. It runs July 23-27 in Manchester, NH, with lots of classes, shopping, meet-ups and other events. Pre-registration is closed, but you can still fill out the registration form in advance to speed things up at the door. It's hard to say what the cost is because all the pieces cost separately; if all you want to do is shop for a day and you're not a CGOA or KGA member, it's just $5 (if you are a member, it's free).

Next up is Vermont Knit and Fiber Camp, August 8-11 at Kettle Pond Campground in Groton State Forest, about an hour mostly north from White River Junction. This is actually a camp; the campground has lean-tos, outhouses, and a hand-pump well. Because of that, though, the cost is low: the full three day stay runs $17.50 per person, including campsite registration and s'mores money. Knitters, crocheters, spinners, and anyone who does anything else with yarn or wants to learn how are welcome. It's basically a chance to get away and do your craft, though there will be a yarn/tools swap and Friday potluck dinner. (If this sounds good to you except for the camping part, there will be another retreat in February in a lodge.)

Finally, retreats all about knitting: Beth's Vermont Retreats with Beth Brown-Reinsel and Marilyn King. There are two, each held in the Dutton Farmhouse in Dummerston, VT (fifteen minutes north of Brattleboro), August 14-17 and August 21-24. Each costs $500 and includes classes in Scottish Sanquhar Gloves and the Danish Nattrøjer.

A Requiem for the projects I will not be completing

There are two types of projects: the ones we finish and the ones we don't.

Like all these jokes, this is both an oversimplification and a truth. We all have projects that sound so good in the abstract but somehow never get completed. Or even started. The ones we carry around like baggage: Someday I'm going to... The ones that nag at us with their presence. The dreams in our head that clutter the path for the projects that we can complete.

So this post is my chance to send some of these projects on their way and thank them for coming. I've upgraded the storage and work surfaces in my studio and while I have lots more space than I did, I only have room for the projects I will actually do. Here is what I'm sure is only the first list of projects that I won't be completing.

Project: Stitched, woven basket out of newsprint paper.

Why I like it: Trash to treasure. This is a major theme of many of my projects and interests. The whole Yankee thing of using what you have to fill a need. And cute storage, ta boot. How cool would it be to have awesomely useful baskets made from IKEA packaging I already had on hand! So tempting! 

Why it won't work: I just have no need for that kind of storage right now.

And so it goes: this project may come around again, but for now, I'm letting it go.

Project: Baskets made from rolled magazines/IKEA instruction manuals/catalogs.

Why I like it: Trash to treasure, cute storage, stuff on hand.

Why it won't work: Sure, I could make all my studio storage out of this stuff. I need boxes for all the cubbies of my new storage system. But stuff needs to be stored by next week and I have a family to take care of and a house to clean. So it's purchased boxes for me.

And so it goes: Life as a parent and person who loves magazine subscriptions mean that I'll always have a ready supply of material for this one. Maybe someday the stars will align and I'll be ready to do it. Perhaps when my daughter goes off to college in 10 years we can make things from all those school brochures.


Project: Bowls made of shredded magazines/IKEA instruction manuals/catalogs.

Why I like it: Trash to treasure, cute storage, stuff on hand. (At least I'm consistent.) Back when I was running the catalog fundraisers at my daughter's school, I was tempted to create beautiful art from all the extra catalogs, envelopes and papers. So very Pinteresty and a sly kick at the fundraisers that encourage you to buy overpriced junk to support your child's public education. Never happened. I'm sure I could use an attactive bowl on my bookshelf/dresser/coffee table. [Oooh! I do need a bowl for my night table.] [Ahem!] [Sigh.]

Why it won't work: time and need. Night table bowl notwithstanding.

And so it goes: Yep, this one won't quite die yet. A bowl is a small project. Maybe it will get done during summer craftiness. But it's last on the list. I have bigger fish to fry.


Project: Alabama Chanin clothing

Why I like it: These clothes are stunningly beautiful. I enjoy hand embroidery and the idea of sewing a garment entirely by hand. And I like the idea of a long-term project like this for trips.

Why it won't work: As beautiful as these clothes are, they're not my style. An they're an enormous amount of work. I think a car/plane project should be something I'm capable of finishing in a season. Something small that will fit in a carry-on bag. Plus I just can't seem to get around to buying supplies for a project and the kits are more than I'd like to pay.

And so it goes: I do love hand sewing so I will probably use the patterns as inspiration in other projects.

Project: A memory quilt made out of my daughter's old clothing

Why I like it: I've been saving my favorites of my daughter's clothing for years in the hopes of making a memory quilt. (But stay tuned, I'm learning and will be teaching a couple of classes at the Sew-op this year.)

Why it won't work: Great idea but lots of knits. And all are so different it's tough to work them all in to one quilt. And it's a big project for a first quilt. Maybe I will work bits into future quilts so each quilt I make has a little piece of my daughter's babyhood but no designated memory quilt. (oooh, that's actually a great idea... Sort of a signature... Always in the same place. Hmmmm.)

And so it goes: I've got a plan now for all those baby clothes and I think it will be a nice way of spreading around the memories.


So there's my list. Say your own farewells to projects in the comments.

E-Textiles and other July events

All across Vermont, libraries are going to have STEAM events this summer. STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics, and it's the usual STEM with a creative twist. There's one class relevant to this blog by location and content: E-Textiles at the Quechee Library, July 26, 10 AM to 1 PM. It's for kids and families, best for middle school and up, and combines sewing with circuit design to incorporate LEDs into fabric. For more about the class, see the STEAM-e-zine; for information about signing up, visit the Quechee Library page. If you are further afield in Vermont, the STEAM-e-zine has an interactive map of programs all over the state.

What about other happenings? Many if not most of the Artistree classes from the previous listing are still ahead of us.

AVA Gallery's fabric doll making course (for children age 5-8, July 21-25, 1-4 PM) is still open. For more information and registration visit the member listing or the nonmember listing and scroll down a bit.

Some of the upcoming League of NH Craftsmen classes have filled; here are the ones still open:

• Cloaks and Shawls (and armor) summer camp for ages 8-10, July 21-25, 9 AM-noon
• The Wonderful World of Color Captured on Fabric summer camp for ages 8-10, July 28-August 1, 1-4 PM (one place left as of this writing)
• Transforming (t-shirts into other items) summer camp; ages 8-12: August 4-8, 1-4 PM; ages 8-10: August 18-22, 9 AM-noon
• Suminigashi (marbled dye technique) for adults, Saturday August 9, 2-5 PM

See the mixed media class page for Suminigashi and the summer camp section of the children's classes page for the rest.

The Upper Valley Sew-op has reduced hours in July and will be closed for the month of August except for a "yard sale" August 1-2 (more on that closer to the date). Most offerings in July are Open Hours, the free drop-in times to come use the Sew-ops tools and materials. Those occur every Wednesday afternoon 1-3 and two Saturday mornings 10-noon: the 12th and 26th. On Saturday the 19th 10-noon there is a kids' class for ages 7 and up: Make a Chalkboard Place Mat. For the description and a registration form visit the the Co-op's calendar page.

July's Craft Challenge: Tee Shirt Rehab

Welcome to second UV Craft Challenge. We are inspired by Just Crafty Enough's Iron Craft challenges to create our own. Here at Upper Valley Fiber Crafts we host a quarterly challenge for anyone to join in. Sometimes there will be a theme and sometimes there will be a specific craft. We'll post our own interpretations of the challenge here at the blog and at the end of the month we'll have a round-up for you to show off your project.

Summer is here and school is finally out. It's probably safe to swap your wintery woolens for summery tees. Each season I inevitably find that time in storage has not been kind to at least one tee. Maybe a grease stain magically appeared, or a tear, or it's too worn to be worn. Or maybe it's just too boring. A quick Google search or glance at Pinterest will show you oodles of ideas for making a tee shirt wearable again.

For this month's challenge I'd like you to choose a tee shirt to rehab and turn it into something wearable or usable by the end of the month. There are four categories of techniques you can use to transform your tee.

• Alterations (make the tee shirt fit better or differently) 
• Decorations (embelishments) 
• Repurpose as a different garment 
• Repurpose as a different object 

Here are some ideas to get you started:

Alterations

Take an oversized shirt and alter it for style and fit.

Or change the neckline.

Decorations

You could use this fabric dot patch technique or paint to strategically cover stains or mended holes. Many dots make the design look intentional.

Or copy a high-end tee. There's also an opportunity here to hide stains and mends.

Repurpose: New Garment

Like a cute headband.

Or a ruffled scarf.

Here's a cute toddler dress.

Repurpose: New Object

Make a cozy for your morning cup of tea.

Make a functional and decorative bowl.
Or make useful shopping bags.

Be sure to check out my Tee Shirt Rehab Pinterest page as well. I have many great ideas pinned that contain dead-end links but the pinned picture contains enough info to give you an idea and get you started.

We'll be posting our own ideas for this challenge. Post a comment if you will be following this challenge. I can't wait to see what you come up with.

P.S. This was once offered as a Sew-op workshop but garnered little interest. Reply in the comments if you'd like to attend a live class on this topic.

Quilting field trips

If you want to see some lovely quilts, there are two major events within day-trip distance.

The Vermont Quilt Festival is this weekend in Essex Junction, up near Burlington. There will be exhibits and classes on quilting skills, designing, and specific quilt patterns. The festival is open Friday and Saturday 9-6 and Sunday 9-3, and costs $12 for one day plus $10 for each additional day. Check out their website for all the details.

For looking only, you can visit the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, which has a special exhibit until July 27 of the Pilgrim/Roy collection of quilts. The exhibition page has a slideshow of some of the quilts, which in person are accompanied by descriptions of the visual effects and aspects of color theory they exemplify (though these are historical quilts, made for household use). I'm intrigued by the inclusion of a section called "Optical Illusions."

If you go (or have been) let us know what you think!

Participating in UVFC

Every fiber crafter in the Upper Valley has a different perspective, different interests and different expertise. Upper Valley Fiber Crafts aims to be a place to share those perspectives, interests, and expertise for the benefit and enjoyment of everyone. To that end, here are six ways to share with other crafters via UVFC - consider this your invitation!

On the Blog:

• Guest post or join up as a regular contributor (more on this below).
• Send us tips about upcoming events or ideas for posts you'd like us to write.
• Comment on posts: especially when we have guest posters, let them know you appreciate their contribution.

On the Lists:

• Add your blog to our blogroll (in the sidebar below the archive list). As long as fibercraft is in your posting mix, we'd love to have you.
• Send us information for our Fiber Craft Location page: shops for craft materials, groups that gather on a regular schedule to craft together, and places that teach classes are all there.
• Add to our Skills for Hire page: this is for shops and individuals who provide services, from alterations to professional knitting to scissors sharpening to private craft lessons.

You can easily get in touch with us via the contact form in the sidebar.

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More on Guest Posting

We welcome any number or regularity of posts. Want to write a month-long series of weekly posts? A single post? A monthly column? Five posts a year? We are happy to have all of these. Contact us through the form in the sidebar. If you have specific topics in mind, include them, but if you don't know exactly what to write about (or, perhaps, how to write about the topic you have in mind) we will help you formulate your ideas.

There are many kinds of posts you could contribute. Here's an incomplete list:

• Reviews: your favorite books, techniques, or materials, or a useful resource online.
• Event announcements or recaps: festivals, fairs, sales, craft markets, classes....
• Profiles: of fellow crafters, crafting groups, shops, educational establishments, etc.
• Tutorials: for projects or techniques.
• Sightings and stories: such as yarn bombing, fiber-based art, or tales of glee or woe about crafting.

There are really only two cautions:

• Be constrictive in your criticism: reviews should be honest, but remember this blog is for celebrating all of the fibercraft happening in the Upper Valley.
• Posts are not sales pitches: If you are selling handmade crafts, we'd like to know about it, but make it more than an advertisement.

Tell your fellow crafters what you know!

Get Scrappy

First, there's still plenty of room in my skirt drafting class, June 14th from 10-12, Upstairs at the Sew-op at the Upper Valley Food Co-op. You'll learn how to draft your own pattern and sew a basic a-line, elastic or drawstring waist skirt. It's an easy and fun class. It helps if you've had our Basic Sewing class or have similar experience. You can sign-up by the registers in the Co-op.

Scrap Busting

Every project creates scraps. Even the most carefully designed layout will result in scraps. And thread scraps are also unavoidable. Some professional crafters even sell their scraps. So what can be done with all those scraps?

Very Small Scraps

Visitors to the Sew-op may have noticed there are special buckets to collect very small fabric and thread scraps. It's partly for tidyness and convenience, but also that we could potentially do something with those scraps. Back before polyfil those scraps would be saved and used as stuffing for a pillow or doll or other stuffed thingy. Sawdust was also used as stuffing and while that is a fiber, it's not under this blog's umbrella. (Anyone know the expresion about feeling so worn out your sawdust is leaking from your stitches?) Anyway, at home I save those fabric and thread scraps in a box and I almost have enough for a small stuffie. Like maybe this one, a turtle pin cushin that is also made from scrap fabric. It makes for a lumpier look but it can be charming.

Larger Scraps

Larger scraps, let's say at least 1 inch square, can be used in many ways. 

Qulting them together to create a sort of fabric is an easy one and works with all shapes and sizes. http://stumblesandstitches.blogspot.com/2011/11/tutorial-scrappy-stocking-christmas.html

Scraps make great patches.

photo credit: kellyhogaboom via photopin cc

These little keychains are adorable and use very small scraps.

And kids will happily make use of any sized scrap. I used to make doll clothes from the 2"x2" fabric swatches my grandma used to to get. She lived on a farm in SD and ordered all her fabric by mail.


Still Larger Scraps
Once you have a piece of fabric about 3 or 4 inches square there are all sorts of small projects you can create.

You can make fabric rope from scraps

A cute, scrappy bracelet

Beanbag book ends are a creative idea

Yarn Scraps

I don't knit or crochet, but of course those crafts also create scraps. Yarn and floss scraps can be saved as stuffing, used in kid projects, etc.

Or to make carrots


Check out my Pinterest board devoted to scrappy projects for more ideas. What do you do with your fabric scraps?

The Upper Valley in Blackwork

Our first tutorial is a map of the Upper Valley (as defined by the Valley News) that I designed in the counted-thread embroidery style known as blackwork. The pattern is a pdf that includes instructions, a preview, a single-page version of the pattern, and a three-page version for easier reading. Download it here: Upper Valley Blackwork Map.

I didn't define blackwork in the previous post because I knew this was coming right up. Despite its name, the central identifying trait of blackwork is not the black on white color scheme; there are ample historical examples in other colors. Instead, blackwork is distinguished by the fact that "solid" regions are filled in with repetitive stitch patterns that are actually quite open. It is also common, though not necessary, that the patterns allow the stitched fabric to be reversible. This requires that the patterns be connected so you do not need to cross between them on one side and not the other, or start and stop threads in the middle of the fabric to avoid such crossing. Wikipedia's blackwork page has a lot of good pictures, and Nordic Needle has a page with history, materials, and methods for blackwork.

Lovely fill patterns that are historical or in the historical style are freely available, and from them I would most recommend Ensamplario Atlantio, a collection by Kim Brody Salazar. However, I suffer that strain of DIY mania common to crafters, and created my own fills from each town's initials. You may wish to replace them, and, in particular, if you want to make a reversible piece of work you will have to replace most of them. In case you'd like to crop the map, in simplifying the town boundaries (and shifting them a bit so the littlest towns still had a decent amount of space) I made sure boundary intersections all happen at grid corners.

The traditional stitch to use for blackwork is double running stitch, also known as Holbein stitch. Needlework Tips and Techniques has a whole page on double running stitch, aimed at blackwork and complete with video.

It will be a while before I finish mine. I'm working with 32 count linen; it's really not very even for an evenweave, but since I'm stitching over two threads to make it 16 count, things average out a bit. I'm using one strand of black (DMC 310) embroidery floss. I started in the middle and have five towns finished: Norwich, Hanover, Hartford, Lebanon, and Hartland.

Medieval crafting

The local Vermont branch of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Panther Vale, is hosting Panteria this weekend in Thetford. The SCA is dedicated to researching and re-creating the arts and skills of pre-17th-century Europe (per their website), and Panteria is a weekend dedicated to the re-creation part.

I am writing about it because, of course, the arts and skills of medieval Europe include a good deal of fiber craft. Of course there will be banners and period clothing, much of which will have been sewn by the person wearing or carrying it. There will be merchants with handmade items. The weekend has many planned activities, but members will also spend time as they would have in the medieval period, working on handcrafts. You'll likely see people embroidering, sewing, and spinning, and should feel free to ask questions.

The planned activities also include at least one fiber class: blackwork, a style of embroidery. There may also be one on nalbinding, a method of making fabric from yarn that far predates knitting, and perhaps some last minute classes on other fiber topics.

The practicalities: Panteria XIX runs from 2:00 Friday, May 23 to noon Monday, May 26 and is at Camp Farnsworth in Thetford. They request visitors attempt medieval garb but do not want that to be an obstacle to coming, and in fact have loaner costumes available. About those and about classes ask at the registration desk for the most up to date information. It is too late to sign up for the meal plan for the weekend, but individual meals are still available for purchase at registration. You can also cook on site, subject to some restrictions on fires. See the site rules/FAQ for more.

Many thanks to David O'Vitt for answering my questions and some I hadn't known to ask.

Upcoming Events

Somehow it escaped my awareness until this afternoon that this weekend is the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival, Saturday 9-5 and Sunday 9-4. It's in Deerfield, NH, east of Concord and about a 25 mile drive from the junction of I-89 and I-93. The NH Weavers Guild and NH Spinners and Dyers Guild will be demonstrating their crafts all day both days, and there are demonstrations and workshops on needle felting, wet felting, dyeing, and drop spindles.

While we're talking about events, a few more. Many of the entries in the previous installment are still current or upcoming, so check back there as well.

Upper Valley Sew-op:
The Sew-op's classes through June 2 were listed previously. There are a few scheduled after that, for adults unless otherwise stated:

• Custom Gadget Sleeves - sew to your item's measure with a few shaping and finishing options; June 9, 5:30-7:30 PM. Basic sewing skills required.
• Skirts - sew to your own measure; June 14, 10-noon. Basic sewing skills required.
• Tech Holder, for kids - make a pouch for your MP3 player; June 21, 10-noon.
• Letter Pockets, for kids 8+ and adults - sew a simple pocket for practicalities or treasures, while learning to top stitch and sew a buttonhole; June 21, 1-3 PM.
• Tic-Tac-Toe, for kids ages 7-12 - cut and sew a felt tic-tac-toe game, including a pocket to hold the pieces and ribbon ties to roll the game up; June 28, 10-noon.

Open hours in June are every Wednesday 1-3 PM, and Monday the 16th, 23rd, and 30th 5:30-7:30 PM.

Artistree:
Artistree, in Woodstock, has a number of fibery classes and camps this summer, including one tomorrow afternoon. They're roughly chronological below, but alphabetical on the website.

• Scribble Scarf Workshop, adults and 5+ - make a wool and silk scarf, aimed at Mother's Day; May 10, 10-noon.
• Silk Painting, adults and 12+ - tracing, dye resist, and painting; June 7, 9 AM-4 PM with hour lunch; may also register for 9-12 only.
• Fiber Arts Studio, ages 5+ - weekly studio of knitting, felting, knotting, and twisting; Wednesdays June 18-August 13, 1-3 PM. Register for individual sessions or the whole series.
• Simply Crafts, adults and 15+ - three sessions dedicated to different crafts: rag wreaths, easy canvas art, and nail and string art; June 28, July 26, and August 16, 10-noon. Register for individual sessions or the whole series.
• Dragons and Fiber Craft Camp, ages 7-12 - four days of felting, weaving, and sewing dragon-related items; June 30-July 3, 9-12 AM.
• Hand-sewn, Hand-made: Designing and Creating with Fabric, ages 7-12 - five days of creating textile accessories, learning fundamental hand sewing techniques along the way; July 7-11 or August 11-15, 1-3:30 PM.
• Fashion Camp, ages 8+ - five days of restyling clothing with sewing machines and embellishments; July 14-18, 9-noon.
• Zombie Sock Monkeys, 8+ and adult friends - just what it sounds like; July 19, 10 AM-12:30 PM.
• Shibori Scarves, adults and 16+ - Japanese dye-resist techniques of folding, pinching, and binding; August 9, 10 AM-12:30 PM.

A visit to the Upper Valley Sew-op

The Sew-op is a community workspace on the second floor of the Upper Valley Co-op in White River Junction. It is dear to my heart, as I have taught there since 2010, when it was about a year old. It is sewing-centric, but as a sign says in the room, not just for sewing.



The Sew-op overflows with fabric, yarn, and other materials and tools for fibercraft. The fleet of sewing machines includes an embroidery machine. Except for a few tools purchased with monetary donations and class proceeds, everything was donated by people in the community, and all materials are free to use. The goal is to put usable goods to use rather than throw them away – want fabric to practice sewing with? Take some of ours home.



The Sew-op is typically open for two-hour stretches Monday evening, Wednesday afternoon, and Saturday morning. There may be a class scheduled; if not, the room is available for free, drop-in use by the public, times we call Open Hours. They are staffed by volunteer aides (Co-op Superworkers) all of whom sew, are familiar with the Sew-op, and know the sewing machines. You might come to Open Hours for a second opinion on an unusual pattern instruction, to use a sewing machine because you don't sew enough to want to own one, to be inspired to create a costume, or simply because you'd rather do your projects in the company of others.



Classes, described on the Sew-op webpage, cover topics in sewing, hand embroidery, and crochet, and include children's sewing classes (see the photo below). Instructors are paid, and each two-hour class costs $25, or $20 if you are a Co-op member. You can register for classes via phone, clipboards by the Co-op's registers, or an online form.



Getting to the Sew-op requires some description; the second floor is reached from the back of the building. Start by following the footsteps on the concrete (and signs to Vital Communities) and enter through the yellow door. When you're in you can take the elevator to your left or the stairs to your right, following the red and yellow Sew-op signs along both paths. I made a map of the upstairs for you; it is incomplete and not to scale, but it will show you what turns you need to make.



We would love to see more people use the Sew-op and for materials to circulate – the main reason the Sew-op is so unkemptly crammed is that we get more donations than are used. We would also love for more people to come on board the Sew-op as aides and teachers. Feel free to contact us here via comment or the form in the sidebar if you're interested in knowing more!

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Make your own visit!

The Upper Valley Sew-op
Upstairs at the Upper Valley Food Co-op
193 North Main Street
White River Junction, VT 05001

802-295-5804 (Co-op)
http://www.uppervalleyfood.coop/sew-op/

Co-op open Monday-Saturday 9 AM to 8 PM, Sunday 11 AM to 5 PM.
Sew-op open for scheduled classes and open hours only; generally includes Monday 5:30-7:30, Wednesday 1-3, and Saturday 10-12, as well as for a rug braiding group on 3rd Thursdays 5:30-7:30. See the calendar.

UV Craft Challenge 1: Fiddleheads Round-up

First, a little housekeeping. Summer is coming and to keep things easiest we've decided to limit the challenges to once a quarter. They will still run a full month and the next one will be in July with the topic to be announced in June. Feel free to comment with your ideas for future challenges.

Best I know, Rebecca and I were the only crafters this challenge. Both of us felt it was a great experience. I love how this encouraged me to be creative and flow with how things happened. I not only made a table runner, I also found enough fabric for a table cloth. Rebecca came up with two wonderful and very different projects for the challenge.

If you created a fiddlehead project, or if you find time for a later project on this theme, please post in the comments. I still hope to play with my plastic bag idea and post those results so maybe I'll do a final round-up at the end of the quarter. Keep watch for the topic for July's UV Craft Challenge sometime in June.

UV Craft Challenge 1: Fiddleheads Craft

This has been an interesting project for me with a few twists and changes.

My first thought was to play with plastic packaging in place of rope in a sort of coiled coaster or trivet. And I still want to do that. But, after two weekends in a row of watching house guests slide serving dishes across our old (family heirloom) dining room table I decided a table runner was in order. Something cute, with good coverage, and knowing my family as I do, insulated. I'll still use trivets under hot serving dishes but I'll rest easier knowing there's a little extra protection. So I was leaning in the direction of something quilted.

I also wanted this project to use up as much stash fabric as possible and after some digging came up with this. It's like a very heavy linen with a tight weave and a nice fringe at the selvage.

Turns out, the fabric piece is large enough to be a tablecloth on it's own with plenty of fabric leftover to create my table runner. I think ideally this would be best with the fabric grain running the length of the table, but my extra fabric is on the end and it doesn't matter for this project. And the fabric is a bit too stiff for a quilting project. So I'll go with just a single layer of fabric and save a quilted runner for another day.

I ended up buying the fabric for the fiddlehead design because I didn't like what I had on hand.

I got a little carried away cutting out circles. (I see many circle projects in my future!)

The biggest challenge for me was the layout. I went back and forth between colors and sizes, symetrical and non-symetrical layouts until, after much fiddling (heh), I ended up with the layout below. The purple was nice but ended up looking too Easter-ish. The blue and yellow add interest while staying in the green family.

But how does this have anything to do with fiddleheads you ask? Like this.

I used a double-sided, fusible interfacing called Wonder-Under to attach my circles. First I ironed the interfacing to my circles. Then I cut them into spirals. Those are double cut to allow the base to show through. And then I ironed them to my fabric. My final step will be to fringe the sides of the entire runner. Or perhaps just run a stabilizing seam down both sides and see what happens.

Simple Tools

What tools (other than the necessary ones) do you love? I set out to choose one from each of sewing, crochet, and embroidery, but couldn't get down to just a single sewing tool. Here is my selection:



The tan flower-shaped item is a bit of rubber for pulling needles. This one was sold as an embroidery aid, but you could make your own by cutting down a jar opener. It's the pulling counterpart to the push of a thimble, giving you better grip on a needle so you don't have to pinch as hard, and therefore don't get as much hand fatigue.

The light blue item is a stuffing tool. My crochet is mostly amigurumi, small stuffed items, and pushing fiberfill into thin features or through small openings can be difficult. The forked end is not large, but it's enough to catch the fiberfill a lot more effectively than, say, the back end of a crochet hook. You can buy stuffing tools, but this one is a large plastic yarn needle with the end of the eye clipped off and the resulting tines sanded smooth. I just discovered it could probably be used as a ribbon rose making tool as well.

The stuffing tool is leaning on a seam ripper, which clearly has seen a lot of battle. I included this because in addition to undoing stitching, I use the seam ripper to cut slits in fabric where the length of the slit is crucial, such as in buttonholes. You can put the point down through one end and back up through the other before doing any of the slicing, so you can't accidentally cut too far (and you're assisted in not going off course, too).

Finally, I included a seam gauge. When I make alterations I use this as my memory for non-round measurements, and if I have to iron a small turn-up on some fabric I use it to measure, turn, and hold the fabric down in one move. The iron can go right over it!



What tools would you choose?