May 10, 2012

with needle & thREAD

May 10, 2012/ Elizabeth Foss

Hello, sewing friends!

I welcome you to needle and thREAD. What have you been sewing lately? Or are you embroidering? Pulling a needle with thread through lovely fabric to make life more beautiful somehow? Would you share with us just a single photo (or more) and a brief description of what you're up to? Will you tell us about what you're reading, also? Would you talk sewing and books with us? I'd love that so much.

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I can't believe it's Thursday already. I thought I'd have so much more (sew much more?) to share. I have one half-finished tunic and about a half dozen half-finished books, and another half dozen newly downloaded not-even-touched books.

First, this blouse. Oh my! I do love it. Love the way the fabric feels, love the way it drapes, love the front. Love the colors. I even bought a pair of bermuda shorts to go with it. Love, love, love. But the back? Um. I blew it. And I tried and tried to figure out what was wrong--what those pattern directions meant--and I couldn't. Just couldn't. I spent hours, hours, hours reading and re-reading, taking out and doing again. I scoured the internet looking for just one person who had struggled with this pattern. No one. I'm sure it was just me. And all the while, I was thinking and praying about a child of mine who has learning disabilities. Every day is like this for him. Everything he struggles to learn. Ridiculously hard. And mostly lonely. Please, God, don't let me forget this.

At then end of the day (literally), I made a "design decision." I just covered up my mistake, made sure it wouldn't affect the usefulness, and moved on. It's a coping technique I've witnessed again and again in that child. Figure out a way around it. I hauled myself upstairs, aching and exhausted, and wondering if sewing was really in God's plan for me.

And waiting up there was a text from Sarah, directing me here.

I cried. Really. I can't even begin to tell you how hard I struggled with that quilt, how many, many imperfections are there, but if you look closely at her photos, you can see them. Likely, you won't though, because you'll be utterly entranced with her baby, with God's creation. The uneven corner (I know it well--it's there) seems so ridiculously unimportant as I drink in those delicious toes. And that's how it is, isn't it?

We sew clothes to cover our bodies, but those bodies and our souls are His. The clothes will never be perfect. We sew quilts for our homes. The family that lives in that home? The most glorious, splendid art of human love? It's His. We bring beauty to His perfection and He makes it more beautiful. We are created in the image of the Creator and if we can keep our eyes on Him and do it all for His glory, no matter how we struggle and how flawed our product, He makes it all so good.

I want to sew this blouse pattern again. I want to learn the right way to do it. But I'm grateful for the now and I will wear this shirt one day-- after I tuck under all the bias for the hem and handsew the facing to the yoke. Did I mention I made that bias tape? I did. And I thought I was a rockstar sewer. Briefly.

I will wear it, though maybe not too far from home;-). For now, though, I'm going to show you the back as well as the front, even though I could get away with editing out the flaws and never revealing a back view, because, hey, you're my friends and I'm not alone, even if no one in history has ever messed up this pattern.

(The color is truer here. I got tired of messing with iPhoto above)

As for half-finished books, I'm out of time. Those will wait until next week. Maybe they'll be finished then. But don't miss these, my not-even-started books. For years, Kim has been telling me about Grace Livingston Hill, sharing quotes and big thoughts. And, oh, how this is a writer after my own heart. Last night, Kim shared on Facebook that all of Grace Livingston Hill's books are available for free on Kindle. Don't wait! Download a bunch. We have a whole summer to read them together! Maybe Kim will chime in and tell us in which order to read them.

What have you been up to this week? Reading, sewing, embroidering? Do share:-)

May 02, 2012

with needle & thREAD

May 02, 2012/ Elizabeth Foss

Hello, sewing friends!

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I've been reading some Urban Farming-type books this week. I'm reading as fast as I can because my husband--who does not have "the Farmer" as his screen name--is out of town and I want to have lots to make a case for turning our yard into a mini farm share with him when he gets back. But I'm going to save those until next week. Because I got a surprise in the mail yesterday and, well, it just looks so pretty with my sewing;-).

I pre-ordered Joanna Figuera's With Fabric & Thread several months ago and it arrived yesterday. I haven't read the whole book, but I do admit to sitting on the front steps and immediately inhaling the fourth chapter. That's where color theory all finally made sense to me. It was all I could do not to phone a friend who plays with paint chips as much as I do and read the whole chapter to her right then and there.

There are some really lovely projects in this book and I know I will sew many of them. I've already got my eye on a darling apron to keep up my St. Martha's day tradition. It's a flirty retro style that will still cover my mama figure. And there's a pattern for little girls, too, so we'll be all set.

In sewing news, I thought I'd have so much to show, but I don't. I have traced the pattern for Anna Maria Horner's Painted Portrait Blouse. That whole tracing thing is so tedious and bothersome, isn't it? And I've started laying it out and cutting it. The fabric you see there (which is a Fresh Vintage palette--I learned that in Chapter 4), is some Heather Bailey that I've had since I tried to sew when Karoline was a baby. The blouse will have that fabric for the yoke and some coordinating solid green for the rest. I think. What do you think? I thought the print all over might be a bit much on me. I'm barely 5'2" and don't want to look like a stuffed chair. That striped fabric? It's my tablecloth, an Anna Maria Horner Loulouthi, but I'm not sure it's staying. It's not Fresh Vintage. And I most definitely am.

Speaking of which, I did get some needlework done this week. Mike's been gone. Karoline has been staying up way past her bedtime and stitching with me. This quilt square is part of my big anniversary quilt project. The fabric? California Girl by Joanna Figuera:-). I already have fabric to match my new book, fancy that. All most definitely Fresh Vintage.

Finally, my happiest needle news ever? This is Karoline's needlework. She's five! And she embroiders! And she loves it. It's so fun to sit and stitch with her. Aren't these the loveliest butterflies ever? She chose her current favorite books for the picture.

What are you needling and reading this week?

April 25, 2012

Crafty Chloe

April 25, 2012/ Elizabeth Foss

Crafty Chloe is a new book that catapulted to the top of my children's best-loved list. The story of a little girl whose talent is creating things, Crafty Chloe tells what happens when Chloe is invited to a birthday party, but can't buy the perfect gift. At first, she fakes a case of Chicken Pops. The pictures of her bemused father are darling. (He was modeled after Todd of Oliver + S fame). Then Chloe gets busy building and sewing. She's resourceful, creative, and downright inspiring.

When this book first arrived, I was busy. My three youngest girls squirreled away to read it to themselves. They came bolting upstairs as soon as they finished reading, yelling, "We have to go Crafty Chloe Online!" They were eager to try the craft projects there.

It took me a few grocery trips to find a necessary Clementine box. Ours is cardboard. There are no wooden ones to be found. Then, despite the fact that we were at Home Depot three times a day every day last week, they were all out of "normal" paint stirrers. They were chopping large, industrial ones. I kept holding off, thinking I wanted the shape and size of the smaller ones. Yesterday, between pediatrician and X-rays, I decided to go ahead and get the chopped ones. I only picked up four. I couldn't bring myself to grab more than that.

I left the paint stirrers at home and headed with Nick to X-ray (he's fine). The kids took over and didn't follow the directions at all. We had blue paint left from the closet project. They even saved a stick for Nick to paint. Sarah is devastated that this bed is not pink. Other than that, they're rather pleased with themselves. I think Chloe would applaud as well. (All pictures, Mary Beth's phone pix.)

And Annabelle? She is charmed by her new bed:-) Annabelle was name for this book, by the way.

I'm dashing out the door this morning. Do you have favorite storybooks with craft themes? How about favorite crafts-with-kids books? Please let us know all about it.

For more about our Storybook Year, click here.

April 12, 2012

with needle and thREAD

April 12, 2012/ Elizabeth Foss

Last winter, I learned to knit. It was a great, grand, and glorious thing. I loved plunging headfirst into the world of knitting. Such nice people I found there! Such beautiful projects I found there! I discovered great joy and enormous peace in knitting. And I loved creating beautiful things for the people I love.

I joined my friend Ginny's Yarn Along with unbounded enthusiasm. Those Wednesday posts were my favorite and almost always, I found time to read everyone else's Yarn Along post. Endless inspiration and eye candy.

Alas, I sneezed. And wheezed. I am very allergic to animal fibers. I knew this, of course, before I began to knit. But I thought I could knit around that fact. I could. Sort of. I would find a pattern I loved and head off to translate it cotton-ese. I knit beautiful handspun cashmere generously provided by the best knitting mentor a girl could ever hope to have. Eventually, even that made me itch and wheeze. I persevered in the cotton department. After several months of nearly manic knitting I developed tendonitis. Ginny is a dear in-real-life friend. She pointed out that knitting cotton is especially tough on one's tendons. No kidding.

Around this time, another friend was encouraging me to learn to sew. As I began to explore the world of sewing, I discovered a beautiful fact: those who sew speak the language of cotton. They don't look at cotton the way that knitters do. They love cotton! Embrace it! Revel in it! Here was a way to create I could acutally jump into with wholehearted gusto.

I learned to sew. I am learning to sew. And as my enthusiasm has grown, so has my desire to "talk sewing." A few weeks ago, after being quiet for a couple of weeks here, with nothing really to say, sewing came bubbling up out of me. I posted pictures of my girls' handmade Easter dresses and pretty much begged you to talk sewing with me. And you did:-)! I visited some new-to-me sites and saw such pretty things. One of the dear ladies who read that post wrote and asked if I'd consider a linkup party like Yarn Along, for those of us who sew.

What a great idea...

I ran it past Ginny and she said go for it!

So here I am introducing to you needle and thREAD. What have you been sewing lately? Or are you embroidering? Pulling a needle with thread through lovely fabric to make life more beautiful somehow? Would you share with us just a single photo and a brief description of what you're up to? Are you reading something wonderful, a volume you just can't put down? Are you listening to the audio version so that you can sew and read at the same time? Would you talk sewing and books with us? I'd love that so much. Please come back every Thursday and share with us!

Here's a button for your post (you can even choose your color), that way we can find our way back here to see what other people are dreaming up to do with needle and thread. Go ahead and put it in your sidebar, too. If we want to talk sewing and reading on a regular basis, we have to spread the word!

And if you're knitting instead, or knitting as well, please be sure to stop by Yarn Along and tell my friend Ginny hello for me:-)

This week, I began to stitch the embroidery in the center of quilt squares. I'm putting together a quilt that's a hybrid of two sewalongs at Clover and Violet: Embroidery 101 and Garden Steps. This is a very longterm project. I packed three squares to take with me to Florida last week, but I never got to them. I did finally pick up the embroidery this week at home. I've never really embroidered before, so it's a bit rough, especially at the "learning curves," but I think I am going to like it! (Isn't that a great embroidery hoop? I read about it on Pretty By Hand.)

I read several books during Lent. If you were away from the 'net and missed it, pop over and see what I had to say about the fabulous Style, Sex and Substance. Then, I didn't read at all last week as I hustled around like crazy. Now, I'm sighing contentedly into reading The Jane Austen Guide to Happily-Ever-After, a book which was recommended to me by a lady who reads my blog and thought it would suit me. She was right. I'm very much enjoying this modern-day application of Jane Austen civility. And, since endless pictures of my Kindle aren't very much fun, here's a peek at the actual book cover.

What are you reading and sewing? Leave a link to your blog so we all can see or upload your picture to the needle and thREAD flickr group.

April 11, 2012

Papa and the Pioneer Quilt

April 11, 2012/ Elizabeth Foss

Rebecca's Papa has wandering feet. He packs up the family in a covered wagon and they head to Oregon. Along the way, Rebecca gathers scraps of fabric from family and friends, meaningful mementoes of their journey together. When they arrive in Oregon, she quilts all the memories into a lovely blanket. The book was inspired by the pioneer quilt pattern "Wandering Feet."

We had a wonderful time with this one. I sat with a handful of 5 inch fabric squares on my lap and handed one to each of my three listeners every time Rebecca gathered a scrap for her collection. At the end, I added a few more. Then we sat on the floor, they did a little trading, and designed their own small quilts. We stitched them all together for some very lucky baby dolls.