Yukata Table Runner

I have finally finished this latest Yukata cloth table runner. (This striped Yukata cloth is a type of Japanese fabric that is traditionally used to make men's kimonos. You can see other ones that I have made here and here.)


Despite the fact that it is entirely hand quilted with approximately 7000 stitches, (no, I didn't count them all... I do have a life! I just counted one row and multiplied it by the number of other rows.) ...I am still not sure why it took me soooo long to complete. (I've done more extensive hand quilting on other pieces that seemed to take me a fraction of the time.)


With this one, I felt like no matter how much I stitched on it, there were always lots more rows to go. It began to remind me of some nightmare where the hall you are walking down just keeps getting longer and longer, with no end in sight.


Because it was such a bugaboo, I've decided to keep this one for myself. :0)

P.S. That old scale with it's original weights, was just given to me the other week by my aunt. It had belonged to my Greek immigrant great-grandparents who used it to measure out candy in their confectionary shop in Baltimore, Maryland. Pretty cool, huh?!

Keeping it Simple

My hands needed a break from hand stitching, and my mind needed something very straight forward to work on, and so this is what I made...


A very simple table runner made from muslin,
(some of which I hand dyed with coffee, turmeric and walnut ink).


The center strips were torn, and the edges left raw...


The machine stitching consists of closely, but unevenly spaced rows of meandering straight stitch...


The piece was most definitely inspired by the colors and textures which I see on the old, (and once white) barns that I pass everyday.


I think it would lovely on an old wood table.

(Now for sale in my shop).

(Note: Now sold)

Playing with Pojagi

Still playing with Pojagi inspired patchwork...


Because all of the seams are folded in and stitched down, both sides can be displayed...


I think that the stitched patches and seam work really give the cloth a wonderful utilitarian feel...


This shot cotton was woven with green and yellow threads, producing a beautiful chartreuse color...


By alternating the direction of the grain on the individual patches, sometimes, (depending on how the light hits the cloth) some patches appear more green based, and some more yellow based...


And of course, hung in the window creates a totally different look...




This Pojagi Inspired Utilitarian Patchwork Panel/Runner is currently available in my shop. Note: Now sold.

One by One

One by one, I am adding new items to my shop.

This stitched, patched and quilted Table Runner...


Made from the Japanese striped "Yukata" fabric that I showed in an earlier post, and bounded and patched with my beloved shot cottons.


I think it would be very well suited for either a modern home, or a rural country home...


More of these are in the works.

Also, just added to the shop are these two Hip Pockets...

I made one in a small size...


and one in a large size...


The large size not only carries more but is perfect for sticking your hand into when you don't know what else to do with it... I don't know about you, but when I am around a lot of people, my hands sometimes get shy and just like a good place to go and hide. (Esmeralda, my trusty model friend of nearly 30 years, does not have this problem.)

I decided that the pockets would be a great way to use up some of my vintage barkcloth stash.






(The pocket flap lays nice and flat... I just popped it open for the photo.)


Esmeralda, who always thinks on her toes, (well if she had them she would) had the great idea of also knotting the 'apron strings' and wearing the pocket like a shoulder bag. That Esmerelda really has a good head on her shoulders!


... Well, lets just say that she has a good head for someone who has no head.


(She's a bit sensitive about the whole body part thing, you know.)

More Hip Pockets are also in the works... till then have a great week!

Open For Business!

Yippee! My new designs arrived in the mail late yesterday afternoon from Spoonflower, and I am pleased to announce that my BooDillys shop is now revamped and reopened for business selling my original fabric designs!


Blue Bells


Pinwheels


Posie Party


He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not


Orange Grove

(Also available in the shop are my Marrakesh Mix and Moroccan Medley fabrics.)

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Good News! I'm starting to feel much better physically and am now trying to play catch up with all my projects. I am so behind in my sewing. Happily I did find time to use some of my Marrakesh Medley to make a quick and super easy table runner:



Wishing Everyone a super-duper weekend!

Stones, Shells and Hemingway... Inspiration to Sew By

"Let him think I am more man than I am and I will be so."
- Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea


With this new piece, I happily revisited a previous theme which I first began exploring a year ago... Mid Century inspired table runners/wall hangings, (which I also refer to as "functional art quilts" as these pieces work both as beautiful, functional table runners and decorative accent pieces, as well as a beautiful piece of art to hang.)


My muses for previous pieces, (see here, here and here) included old utilitarian quilts and Frank Lloyd Wright.


For this piece however, my inspiration came from stones, shells and the mental image of Ernest Hemingway. The stones and shells, gathered on my recent visit to the sea side, were a visual influence for my color and pattern choices,


where Hemingway provided the muse for creating a piece with a masculine feel... I wanted something that would look at home in a study, draped over an old and well used wooden table that had been oiled to a deep, rich shine.

"Hemingway" - A Mid-Century Inspired Functional Art Quilt is currently available in my shop.

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P.S. I was delighted to learn from the comments on my last post that so many of you are familiar with and like Tsatsiki! What a pleasant surprise!

Shades of Pink and Coral

This is my latest piece.
I find it very calming and decided to call it "Early Sunday Morning".
Sunday mornings around my home are generally very low key and easy going. Early in the morning there's a feeling of tranquility which even seems to translate into the light that shines in through the windows. I get the same feeling from these gentle shades of coral and pink.


I love how the quilting turned out. It was one of those splendid accidents. I had just oiled my machine and was sewing a piece of scrap fabric through, something I always do after an oiling... it helps to get all of the oil distributed... and my hand accidently hit on a stitch that I never use, and as I moved my hand away I wound up accidently swiping the stitch length control. Because I was just doing maintenance, I went ahead and started stitching on the scrap fabric... And to my delight I loved what I saw being stitched! Amazing what a little adjustment in stitch length and width can do. Note to self: Explore more stitches and variations of the stitches on sewing machine.


I am putting this one in my functional art quilts category, because I think it works equally well on the wall and on the table.


Early Sunday Morning-Modern Functional Art Quilt measures 23.5" x 36.5" and is available in my
Silly BooDilly shop.

Note: This quilt has been sold.

New Work

I set out last week to make some new functional art quilts. My plan was to continue with the Mid-Century inspired work that I recently embarked on, (see here, here and here). However when I shut my eyes to see what this new quilt would look like, (now you know my highly sophisticated process of design) I didn't see stripes, and lines, but instead saw circles and flowers.


I opened my eyes and politely explained to my brain that it had made a mistake, and to please try again. Closing my eyes I saw the same image as before. After several more attempts to redirect my brain, I finally gave in, (which is always the smart thing for me to do, for whenever I try to make something that I am not seeing, even if it something that I made before, it never turns out right. When an idea wants to be born, it wants to be born. My job is to get out of my own way and let it happen!)


As in the previous quilts, this to is meant to be both functional and beautiful. Use it as a table runner, hang it on the wall, or drape it over a hanger or chair. I have another one of these contemporary circular designs lined up to be quilted this week, and I hope that they will be as well received as the Mid-Century designs, (I am delighted to say that two of the three have already sold!)


For more information, you can check out this quilt in my shop, here.


One more bit of lovely news, I was again awarded the Brillante Blog award. This time from the very sweet and talented Gunnel. Thank you so much Gunnel, I truly appreciate it! And I once again am going to pass on the official passing on of this award to 7 worthy bloggers, (due to well documented phobias in this general area) and instead pass it on to all of you because you are all so delightful, and because it is my blog and I can do what ever I want!

New Color, New Work

I hope everyone had a lovely long holiday weekend. I know that for a lot of folks in the New Orleans area, the only thing lovely about it was that they weren't hit as hard as originally feared. Thank goodness for that, however they still got slammed pretty good, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that all future storms spare them. They have been through enough. And by the way, thanks to everyone who left such thoughtful comments on my hurricane quilt from the previous post.


We spent part of the weekend giving our kitchen a much needed paint job. I choose this pale sunny yellow color, and am delighted by how cheery the kitchen now looks. Seeing as it was on my to do list for the last 5 YEARS, (!) I am thrilled that it is finally done! Hoping to tackle the dining room next week!


And this is my latest mid-century inspired
table runner/wall hanging/art quilt, which I posted a few days ago here in my shop.


I am really enjoying designing and constructing these pieces, and am looking forward to doing more!
(But now I need to go blog hopping and catch up on everyone else's weekend!)