Floor Pouf

I'm not sure what to call this exactly... but all the websites from which I got this idea called it a 'Pouf' or 'Pouffe'.  This is a large pillow or ottoman to rest your feet on while sitting in the rocking chair that's in the baby's room.  I got the idea from these that I found online, which are leather and rather expensive.  I drew up a similar pattern and constructed this one out of duck cloth and piping to highlight the seams.  I was a little disappointed with the proportions of the pouf, I wanted it to be wider than tall but that got lost somewhere in translation.  I had never worked with piping before... I really liked working with it.  Also, after a few attempts, I successfully installed a zipper.  I usually avoid them at all costs!  The pouf is stuffed with old towels and pillows.  All in all, I like this bright addition to the room :).

Crib Skirt

Another quick, soft sewing project.  Keeping the crib simple I opted for just constructing the crib skirt myself and buying a plain solid colored sheet.  All the bumpers and dressed up cribs are nice.... but ultimately it turns out not the safest option for your kid.  It is now recommended to completely eliminate the chance of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrom) by embracing the 'clean crib' concept and not to include bumpers, stuffed animals, blankets, or pillows in the crib as they are all possible suffocation hazards.  All the baby needs is a sheet.  And a nice bed skirt:).  

I found this fabric on Etsy as well.  I love the vibrant colors and the bold print, but I was disappointed by the weight of the fabric.  It is very thin, easily wrinkled, and not hefty enough for this application.  So I designed the pattern to include a hefty interfacing to make sure that the fabric hung cleanly.  The skirt has 2 pleats on the long side and one pleat on each of the ends.  I underestimated the amount of fabric needed to complete the project (opps!) so the skirt only hangs on 3 sides.  Not a big deal since I anticipate always having the long side of the crib facing a wall.  There are a few ties on the back side to keep this from slipping out of place.  The project came together well and I love the way it looks in the room.  Soon I'll have photos of the whole room so you can see how all these projects are coming together.

New Swing Cover

Among the many borrowed and second-hand baby items we've collected is this infant swing.  Swings are one of those items that aren't necessary... some kids love them and some don't.  Just in case Baby Carlisle is really into the swing I put a little work into fixing up this one.  The swing belonged to Isabel, a little girl, and since we're unsure of our child's gender I wanted something gender neutral.  I was able to remove the seat cover and just using a simple slip stitch I recovered the pink sections of the upholstery with this fun orange print.  Now it's ready for either boy or girl and it looks great in the baby's room.  A really quick and easy fix!  I found the fabric on Etsy, it is either a Joel Dewberry or Amy Butler pattern of hydrangea petals.

Gestation Quilt

For lack of a better term I've come to call this the 'Gestation Quilt'.  Shortly after moving to CA and learning that I was pregnant I wanted to start a project that represented this process of being pregnant, this time of prayer and anticipation and preparation.  So I designed this quilt, comprised of 280 hexagons, each piece of fabric representing each day of pregnancy.  Each side of each hexagon is about 2.5 inches.  The finished quilt is just large enough to cover a twin bed, approximately 4.5' x 6.5'.  It's a gift to my son or daughter and I hope it will become an heirloom that will be cherished for a lifetime.  The bold, primary color scheme also became inspiration for the color palette for the baby's room.  Playful and gender-neutral.

This quilt was so much larger of an undertaking than I anticipated!  The beginning was fun: designing the layout, searching for fabric, finding the right patterns and colors.  I even did some printing and stamped some of the pieces with custom patterns.  All the other steps after that could be described in one term: tedious.  280 pieces, each with 6 sides, all needing to be sewn together.  What was I thinking?  To keep myself on track I had to get on a schedule of working on the quilt for a couple of hours each day.  Every task seemed to last much longer than I anticipated.  Just getting all the pieces stitched together, even by cheating and using a sewing machine, took a month!  After that another week was spent just trimming and pressing the seams in place.  

I also used the sewing machine to quilt the blanket, more marathon quilting for a week or so.  Then I decided to complicate the project even more and finish the edges with a very complicated, mitered binding.  There was no way to cheat that part, it had to be completed by hand.  I went through spurts where I worked on this project exclusively... then I would complete a milestone and take a break and work on other smaller projects.  This was truly a marathon!

There are countless errors, puckers, and inaccuracies in this blanket.  That drives me crazy.  The architect in me knows that in theory all these sides and angles should line up perfectly... it's all math, right?  But fabric is stretched and pulled out of perfection.  My mother kept reassuring me that this small accumulation of errors is what give quilts their charm.  I hope she's right.  Now that the project is done I'm glad I stuck with it and I think it will be well used, as I intended.  If nothing else it looks nice in the baby's room :). 

Painting Baby Carlisle's Room

I had been debating for the last 4 months or so whether or not to paint the baby's room.  Just one wall as an accent.  Around Thanksgiving, noting that I was growing quickly now and the task of painting would be increasingly difficult if I put it off much longer, I decided it was a low risk experiment that I should go for.

My inspiration came from the fact that turquoise, in all it's variations, is among my favorite colors.  And from the nice results of the use of this color as featured on the blog Young House Love.  I was looking for a darker turquoise to contrast with the brighter dresser I already had painted.

All the paint chips under consideration.  All these colors look much different in the room, see the photo below.

'Plumage', 'Tropical Waters', and 'Scotch Lassie'

So here is my confession.  I painted this wall twice.  First time around I went with 'Plumage'.  But after a few days I decided it was just too dark and adult and not saturated enough to compliment all of the brighter baby colors that I was playing with in the room.  In the photo to the left you can see the difference in the two colors.  I repainted the wall in 'Tropical Waters' which has a lot more green in it, less dark and gray.

It is worth note that Matthew thinks I'm crazy.  Wisely he decided not to interfere with the pregnant designer and just let it my fickle experiment go without too much comment.  He didn't do any of the painting anyway.  He just woke up from sleeping off a night shift and the job was done.  I'm much more happy with the new color.

Unfortunately this is a really difficult thing to photograph.  Because of the window there is always a strong glare that makes this wall look darker than it is.  Until I get a great photo make due with these.  More photos to come soon.

The final wall color selection, 'Tropical Waters' in contrast with the painting I did for the room.

Loom!

I finally found a loom!  It is a Rasmussen Loom, made in Seattle about 30 years ago.  The company was sold and is now known as 'Montana Looms' with headquarters in Missoula.  This is a table loom (I was looking for a floor loom), it has 4 harnesses that are operated by the levers on top of the castle instead of by treadles on the ground.  It's weaving width is 26" and everything is in pretty good shape.  Heddles are rust free.  It came with one 12 dent reed.  I bought it on Craigslist from a man in Auburn who just found he didn't have the time to use the loom as much as he wanted.  He sold it to me for $150!  A comparable table loom brand new would be around $1000.

I compromised some in this purchase from the ideal loom I have been searching for (a Macomber Floor Loom).  But I'm quite pleased with this intermediate machine.  I think it will satisfy my craving for a few years and then I can reassess my needs and space availability.

I lack a whole bunch of supplies to make weaving faster and fun.  I think I'll just slowly invest in pieces over time.  In the short term I bought a heddle hook and a simple 8" weaving shuttle.  It proved to be enough to get me started.

I really need one of these (pictured left), a warping board.  Warping your loom is a fundamental process to weaving.  This board allows the weaver to quickly and uniformly measure all the warping strands for your work.  I don't have a warping board, so I used instead the legs of a few dining room chairs.  This worked OK, but much of the precision was lost.  If I were dedicating a lot of time to a serious project I would need to buy (for about $60) or build a warping board.  

This is my first product on the loom!  A scarf, made of one skein of sock yarn, 100% merino wool, in simple plain weave.  The weave is nice, tight, and consistent.  Good experimentation.  The actual weaving process (after the loom was warped and threaded) took about 4 hours.  I estimate that is about twice as long as it would have taken me on a floor loom.  But I found that I didn't mind flipping the top levers so much as I thought I would.  Success!  The one thing that drives me crazy about weaving is the waste created in the warp... check out the pile of unused warping thread (Above right)!  

Looking forward to more experimentation with the next project.

Felted Vessel

This is an exploration in a brand new process (as if I needed another hobby!) and I think I might be hooked!  Wet felting is the process of creating a dense cloth out of raw wool fibers, binding them by agitation.  The great thing about the process is that it is so fast and the product is so abstract and loose.  The Tin Thimble, the shop in Loomis California where I took this class, offers instruction on how to make scarves, wall hangings, bags, and other treasures through the wet felting process.  The vessels are made using a resist in the center and fibers are felted on either side of the resist.  I love the way this allows one to play with color and form.  To the right are the products of our 4 hour class, my vessel below.

I'm sure I'll use this in some way in the baby's room.  It is a nice way to play with form now that I'm not able to play with clay.  I like the looseness of the process and the informality.  Much faster than both knitting and ceramics.

I think I'm really more interested in making a felted cloth and sewing with that.  Below are supplies purchased for future projects.  I'm planning to make cloth to be used for some throw pillows and a bag.  Stay tuned for more experimentation with this new process!

Recent Handknits

Vitamin D

That's the name of this sweater pattern I found on Ravelry back in May (before I learned I was expecting).  I was attracted to the pattern because of the great drape in front, the eyelit details, and the cropped length.  Very subtle and sophisticated.  This is by far my most ambitious knitting project.  The knitting always required reference to the pattern.  And I actually followed instructions, to the letter!  (I often have problems with this).

The yarn added to the project's complexity.  It's a DK weight by Madeline Tosh, merino wool superwash.  Very light and fine gauge.... I worked on size 4 US knitting needles.  This is one reason it took soooo long to complete the project... just a lot of small stockinette stitching.  I actually bought this yarn online without having seen it in person, another first with this project.  And I am so pleased with the material.  Great subtle variation.  I really like this Madeline Tosh line of yarn - great color selection and a great price.  This marks a milestone... I'm actually comfortable enough with my fiber and knitting knowledge to correctly choose the right yarn without seeing it myself.

I'm in love.  So pleased with how it came out.  This is a sweater I will wear (and have been wearing)!  Success!  I have a bad history of making sweaters and ultimately never wearing them.  But not this one.      And considering it has no front closure it should be perfect for the pregnancy!

Spiral Star Baby Blanket

It reminds me of a hurricane!   I just finished this blanket last night, the first completed project for the little one.  From center to point the radius is 23" (46" in diameter).  It's so nice to see in completed... I had so many stitches crammed on my needles it was impossible to get a gist of the shape that was being developed.  I pinned it in place to block it, it's still drying.  This project actually called for Madeline Tosh DK, the yarn I was just raving about, but the thought of knitting such a large blanket from such a fine gauge yarn made my head spin!  So instead I substituted a chunkier, cheaper cotton yarn (which is more practical for a baby than merino wool, right?).  The project was easy, fairly quick, and fairly cheap.  Very pleased to have one (of the many) projects for the baby completed. :)

Skirts for Africa

In preparing for our trip to Africa (next week!) (follow here!) I learned that women in rural Kenya are quite conservative in their dress.  Women do not wear pants or anything that is tight fitting.  I needed to find some long, loose fitting skirts to sustain me for our 3 week trip.  I did look in a few stores before deciding to make the skirts myself... but apparently skirts this season are widely available in two different styles: short and shorter.  This made my decision easy:  I'll just make a few skirts.  This coincided nicely with the work I was doing in my independent study printmaking class.  After choosing a simple pattern and deciding on fabric (the spring linen was on sale at Hancocks!).  I decided to give the skirts a new life and make them a bit more personal by printing them with original designs.  Using the same basic process that I used on my quilt: I carved various designs from the rubber stamp material and went to work printing with the textile printing inks.  

So these are the 3 textiles I created for the skirts.  Mums, gingko, and a bird motif.  Mostly fairly simple patterns that each repeat in a different way.  The gingko pattern (printed on the heaviest weight linen) is a simple grid type repeat.  The mum design (printed on a lightweight linen) was simply a large flower, about the size of a plate, and I masked out sections to create overlaps.  This was the pattern that was easiest and most fun to print.  I was able to design as I went, creating voids between flowers and overlaps.  

The bird motif, which is printed on a rust colored cotton knit, was the biggest headache.  The design was intended to be continuous, lines that were fluid meant to unite the individual repeats of the patterns.  This was a pain to design and almost impossible to keep consistent and straight while printing.   But after review the areas that don't line up aren't all that noticeable and, as my husband said, I'm the only person who will ever know the flaws of the print.

There are a couple of nice things about the skirts.  Its a nice medium to work with because a long skirt accommodates a large pattern easily.  I wasn't burdened by trying to repeat a small 2"x2" design on yards of fabric.  I each design is roughly in the 7"x9" range.  I cut the pattern pieces for the skirts first and then printed (so I didn't waste time printing areas that would not be used).  Each skirt took about 2.5 hours to print.  And as I mentioned, a nice long skirt is forgiving and I think the inconsistencies of the heaviness or lightness of the ink, and the areas that don't line up, all add to the handmade charm and nature of the product.

And this leads to a comment about process.  The process of printing on fabric by hand is still widely practiced in Africa and India.  The act of creation and participation in this process was a nice way of meditation and preparation for the trip.  There is something so basic and fundamental about textiles and clothing... a universal need and a universal method of expression.  I was engaging in a process that is not unique but a natural instinct, and greater than myself.

The final product!  Nicely modeled on my dress form.  I did go ahead and make a skirt without any  printed pattern because at heart this simplicity appeals to me, and it's also quite practical.  I also used another variation of the pattern for the odd skirt.  Each pattern is really simple: side seams, elastic waist, and a hem. I probably spent as much time printing each of the skirts as I did constructing them.  I was weary at first, during the printing and the construction, that I wouldn't like them... but the patterns have grown on me.  I hope (and this is the true test), that I will wear these again, outside of my trip.  That is always the sign of success for homemade clothing, not whether it fits well, or if it is well made, but if it is used.

O'Keeffe in Hawaii

Georgia O'Keeffe, Waterfall - No. II - Iao Valley, 1939, Oil on Canvas, 24"x20"

Georgia O'Keeffe produced this work as part of her Waterfall Series, inspired by the Hawaiian landscape.  I wrote a bit about my encounter with this body of work in this post, after visiting the Honolulu Museum of Art.  I like to buy prints of works that resonate with me after visiting stellar museums like the one in Honolulu.  But this time I refrained from buying a print and decided on a more ambitious approach.  Copy the original. 

This method of replicating the work of masters is quite a common practice in the fine arts - I'm hardly the first to attempt it.  The practice is an exercise in seeing as much as it is an investigation of techniques.  What better way to get inside the head of an artist?  After spending so much time with this particular composition I really got inside the space, began to understand how depth and atmosphere was created and how colors interact with each other.  To be honest by the time I completed the painting I was tempted to create the scene in clay.  This work in particular is so sculptural.

A progress shot.  I completed about half the scene early one morning.  But by the time the sun rose I found that all my colors looked off - they were just too warm.  I think it was the effect of the florescent bulbs in the room.  Whatever the effect it set me back a bit - I had to repaint a bunch of work.  Also the proportions are a bit off as well.  My canvas is 18"x24", the original work was two inches wider.

   

I hate to put these side by side.  All I see are differences.  But I'll leave my complaining at that, because though mine is different it is not bad.  I easily could have decided to obsess about the flaws, about every detail.  But honestly I reworked and fussed over so many sections that at last I had to decide that this is to a certain extent mine, and my interpretation.  It would not and could not be identical to O'Keeffe's, no matter how long I labored. 

I do think the light keeps fooling me, even in these photo it does not appear the same in life.  As I'm sure the print that I have scanned does not resemble the print that I was trying to replicate, and that print is only an approximation to the original work.  On the whole I guess that mine has alot more contrast.  And it appears that my greens are bluer.  But again, I swear I only notice these things upon viewing the photographs and scanned images.

I really like this work as a reminder of Hawaii.  I enjoyed the exercise - it is a good challenge, especially with the use of color.  I think I'll do this again.

Now, the debate I had with myself, and with Matthew, should I sign the canvas?  You know, because it's mine, but it's not mine.  I can't find that O'Keeffe signed the original so mine is also unsigned.  For now.