I’ve always been interested in vintage fabric. So many things left in attics and estate sales remind us of life in by-gone times. Those days folks did not use disposable paper products the way we do today. Now, I’m hoping to never need to figure out how to do without toilet paper, but I remember the days before paper towels, paper napkins and Kleenex. I still have an assortment of beautiful handkerchiefs, cloth napkins and dishcloths from my mother. The dresser scarves and crocheted doilies seemed to be everywhere in my grandmother’s home. I have found many similar items in antique stores and flea markets. Besides representing how my parents and grandparents functioned in their homes, I find them a great resource of one-of-a-kind beautiful fabric.
I recently visited Apple Hill Antiques in State College. This large warehouse-size building is divided up into individual sections for individual sellers. This building used to be the local roller-skating rink back in the 1970’s and 80’s. I have fond memories of learning to skate with my kids back then.
If you like to wander through small shops with an assortment of items, Apple Hill Antiques is a great place to visit.
Usually, I find it helps to focus on a specific time period or a specific kind of item from toys, glassware, furniture or textiles. Otherwise, I find the mixture of items overwhelming. When I focus on vintage fabric my eyes look for a certain kind of display.
Some items, like quilts, are displayed tucked into trunks.
Things like handkerchiefs and napkins are often piled into baskets.
Larger items like hand towels and tablecloths are often hung on hangers or racks.
I have a project in mind this time–Christmas Ornaments–so when I stopped by, I focused on smaller items. I was looking for edging on handkerchiefs or embroidery on hand towels. A few crocheted doilies looked promising.
Here is an example of what I hope to make…enough to give as gifts at Christmas:
Therefore, I’m looking for unusual edging on handkerchief or interesting doily patterns.
Apple Hill Antiques is a great place to spend time…to relive the past or to search for special items for your own collections. Here’s their flyer with more information:
You could even join their mailing list:
A great way to spend some time! Enjoy!
Please leave a comment or email me directly if you have questions at marykisner@comcast.net.
About 10 years ago I volunteered my sewing skills to make memory bears for a local Hospice organization. Over several years I made over 100 bears for families who had lost loved ones. I learned a lot about how to make a stuffed bear from almost any kind of fabric.
All of my work was arranged through a volunteer coordinator and a Chaplain with the Hospice organization. It was very rewarding work. Over the years, the volunteer coordinator’s position changed and memory bears have not been requested for a long time. I miss making those bears…and I think they meant a lot to the families.
I’d like to share pictures of a few of those first bears. Then I’d like to show you how you could make one too, or at least what kind of fabric makes the best bears. You might want to save something from a loved one in the future.
The very first bears I made were for a family who had just lost a young mother. They gave me a while fluffy bathrobe that she wore in her last days. It seemed pretty morbid at the time, but I found it very healing to be able to offer a way to remember her.
Since it was a full-length bathrobe, I couldn’t make just one bear and throw away the rest of the robe. So, I kept going and made three large bears and then was able to make 5 little ones too. They were shared with the extended family. This first project was the most meaningful for me!
These bears were made from one full-length bathrobe.These bears were made from a single flannel shirt, in memory of a Grandpa.
While I was waiting to get more requests from the Hospice volunteer coordinator I went to Goodwill and picked up a flannel shirt to make a sample for the Chaplain to show families.
I also went to the Army/Navy surplus store and found a camouflage shirt. I thought I might get requests from a military family and wanted a sample to share. The military shirt was a major challenge…very little fabric available that didn’t have pockets all over it! (Incidently, I did not have a single request from a military family. I guess around this area we don’t have a huge military presence.)
This was the first pattern I used. I have since tweaked the pattern so I liked the shape better. I found the tiny bear pattern on another stuffed animal pattern…like a toy for the stuffed animal!
Almost any stuffed bear pattern would work, but the simpler patterns were the easiest to work with. If I were making just one bear, a complex one would make a nicer bear but would take longer to make and need more fabric. Since this was a volunteer project and I was making multiple bears, the most important part was the actual fabric of the loved one…that’s where the memory resided. When I start with a loved ones’ clothing, I feel compelled to make as many bears as I can with it. The little bears even make good Christmas ornaments!
Of course, by now the only bears I have around the house are a few I made out of soft fabric for my grandkids (along with a few stuffed dogs!).
Of course, I had to try a stuffed greyhound puppy…I worked hard to figure out the ears!This is how we remember Otis and Max. I even made dog tags with their names on them.
Steps to make a memory bear
I managed to persuade a friend to let go of a soft fleece shirt that she didn’t wear anymore so I could take pictures as I made a bear. I prefer to work with flannel…it doesn’t stretch as much and is more colorful.
First, I laid the pattern pieces on the shirt to make sure there was enough fabric to make the bear.
Sometimes a logo can be appliqued to the finished bear. I’ll make the bear first and then see if the picture/logo will fit.
The next step is to cut the shirt apart along the seams. I removed the zipper and discarded the collar. (My mother would be proud of me…I saved the zipper!) The front is folded to cut two of the front pieces; the back is folded to cut two backs. The sleeves when opened up work well for the smaller bears.
I baste pieces together by hand first because the fabric is so stretchy that sewing around the curves makes it hard to keep the two pieces aligned.
Basting is especially helpful on the tiny bear!
My finishing touches include tacking the ears, adding button eyes and nose, a ribbon and a small red heart button on the foot. If I know a bear will be loved by a child, I’ll use the eyes that are fastened through the fabric…see the dogs above…but I really prefer buttons. The tiny bears have only the heart button, so it can be cut off if necessary.
I still haven’t decided whether to add the logo from the shirt. I will have to make it smaller by using just the picture and not the words. It just feels too big, but I’ll ask the recipient first. What do you think?
Making memory bears for Hospice families was one of the most rewarding volunteer activities I’ve ever done. It was more than just making stuffed bears…it was preserving memories of a loved one. Enjoy!
Time for my Patriotic Door Quilt to retire! The colors in the fabric were starting to fade. The block I chose for August and September is called Grandmother’s Pride (sometimes called Courthouse Square).
Here are the four previous door quilts lined up, beginning with the Christmas stocking made from recycled neckties. (See earlier postings for each of these blocks.)
Given the parameters I’ve set for myself…a single quilt block with borders about 12″ to 14″ square, with the outer color being lighter so it will show up on our dark red door…I usually start with Marsha McCloskey’s BLOCK PARTY book…a mix and match book of 9″ blocks.
I love the way the pages of instructions are laid out and I have many of the templates already cut. Each page has a color picture of a finished block, a diagram showing the straight of the grain for each piece, step-by-step how to assemble the pieces, alternate color choices and how many of each template to cut.
All the templates are diagrammed in the back of the book. All I have to do is lay clear template plastic over the template I want, trace the lines and cut out the template.
Since I usually plan to hand stitch the pieces, I need the stitching line marked not the cutting line. Then I draw around the template onto the back of the fabric and cut each one out, leaving about 1/4″ to 3/8″ seam allowance. It doesn’t matter if I’m exacting in cutting…the stitching line is what matters. So, I trace the inner line of the template.
I have made many of the blocks in this book, so I have many of the templates already cut out. All I have to do is dump them out on the table and sort through to find the ones I need.
The block I’m making needed only three templates, as indicated on the box of instructions at the bottom of the page. The shapes in the diagram refer to the diagram at the top of the page, which shows the straight grain of the fabric with arrows. You can see on the chart below, Template T5 will be used to make 4 of Shape A. They also give instructions if you are using a Rotary Cutter.
Now that I know I will need 4 different colors, and I know I’m aiming for colors of the season…late summer greens and a splash of color, I head to my bins of fabric. I have found I tend to look for fabric by color, not size of the piece. Most of the fabric I have is cotton and is washed right after I buy it.
In the “Green” bin I found these choices:
This is how I arranged the pieces:
Next, I tried out some strips to see what I liked for the border:
I’m pleased with how the finished block shows up on the door!
So, my door is decorated for the next two months. Around the beginning of October, I’ll find orange fabric to make something for Fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving. Such fun! Enjoy!
Changing color schemes in our living room isn’t too hard. The furniture is dark wood and brown leather. I add color around it. I seem to have established a common element…a small quilt hanging above the sofa. This started years ago with a full-size quilt draped over the rod (thus the hefty rod on the wall). After that I went with smaller wall hanging quilts that I could make by hand. They satisfied my love of hand-piecing quilt blocks on a smaller scale. I can change the color scheme in the room by changing the wall hanging and swapping out pillows and throws to coordinate the color.
The Cathedral Window quilt hanging that I made several years ago was blue and white and I love it, but I tired of the color over time.
The most recent quilt (that I’m phasing out) started with a plan to make a full-size quilt for Kathy, but by the time I had hand-pieced a few blocks her colors had changed and I lost my motivation. So, it became the next quilt on the wall.
Of course, as I change color schemes, the pillows and throws on the sofa have to change too. A small matching piece of fabric provides a pad on Bert’s chair to protect the back under his head. Thus, I had used extra fabric to make this:
Now that I’ve finish the next quilt, changing my color scheme to gray and burgundy, his chair needed a new head rest piece. This is the new wall quilt:
So today I pulled out the extra fabric and whipped up a new head rest pad. I had two fat quarters and trimmed them to 14″ x 21″ and added a piece of batting.
The fabric pieces are right sides together on top of the batting. I stitched around the outside, leaving a 4″ opening to turn right side out. I hand stitched the opening closed and top stitched around the edge. In half an hour I had the final piece of my decorating! Finally, everything matches! Whew!
I am definitely not a decorator, but somehow these quick changes I can handle. The slowest part is hand-piecing the quilt, but that makes a good winter project…one block at a time! Enjoy!
Last week I was brainstorming a nice way to package up three odd shaped items to use as a gift. I didn’t want to have to stock up on small wicker baskets to do the job. My daughter suggested I make a fabric box like the ones I gave to the grandkids. That way I could make one at a time as I needed them. At the time I cranked out a whole bunch of them for gifts and for a greyhound conference and I still have a few around the house.
Luckily, I saved the link to the tutorial, because frankly, I couldn’t remember how to make them! The original instructions are from a website by Connie Kresin Campbell. Here is the link to the tutorial:
What I do recall about these boxes was they perfectly held a square box of tissues but they were not sturdy enough to really pick them up without squishing them. However, they could be made in any appropriate fabric for most any holiday.
I wanted to refresh my memory about how to make them so I referred to the link above. I documented my steps here, but they do mirror the ones in the tutorial from Connie.
How to Make a Fabric Box
Materials:
Two 16″ squares of coordinating fabric, one will be the outside of the box, the other the lining.
One 16″ square of lightweight low loft batting
4 buttons
Instructions:
Sandwich the fabric, right sides together, on top of the batting square.
Stitch around the “sandwich” with a 1/2″ seam, leaving a 3-4″ opening to turn.
Trim the corners to reduce bulk.
4. Turn the “sandwich” right side out. Press the finished square. Hand or machine stitch the opening closed.
5. Quilt the square in any pattern you like…free motion, straight lines, wavy lines, etc. (Hint: Unless the fabric is quite stiff, the fabric will “creep” as you sew. I started all my stitching from the center to reduce this problem. I also started with two diagonal rows of stitching to stabilize it.)
6. Decide which side will be the outside of the box. Fold the square in half with the lining out.
7. Mark the corners 3″ by 3″ with a ruler and pen. Stitch on the lines. Trim close to the stitching.
8. Open the square and fold again in the opposite direction. Mark the corners, stitch and trim as before.
9. Turn the box right sides out. Pinch each corner flat and top stitch as shown below:
10. Fold down the points and add a button to secure them.
I had three items that I wanted to put in this box. They are lumpy and the basket is hard to pick up.
I think I will have to figure out how to shrink wrap them like a gift basket so they are easier to pick up, or I’ll have to put a handle on the fabric box and add a piece of stiff cardboard inside on the bottom of the box.
I’ll be glad to hear any suggestions you might have! Anyway, now I’m clearer about how to make these boxes…and you can try it too! Enjoy!
After suffering all weekend with a sore tooth, I finally made it to the dentist to find out, YES, I need a root canal! Phooey! Of course the first available appointment is June 11! It’s going to be a long three weeks!
With a swollen gland, a sore tooth and puffy face I was reaching for a cold damp washcloth just to ease the discomfort. I decided it was time to find a different solution. I had seen many versions of a small pillow stuffed with various things, from popcorn to rice to flax seeds with lavender buds mixed in. Some of those things work well in the freezer but not so much in the microwave (like popcorn!).
I had a bag of flax seeds ready for just such a project and I had ordered some fresh dried lavender buds recently, so I thought I’d give it a try.
Materials:
1 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup lavender buds (optional)
1 piece of cotton fabric…9 1/2″ by 5 1/2″
2 layers of cotton flannel…9 1/2″ by 5 1/2″. Treat as one piece of fabric.
Instructions:
Make a pouch by sewing the fabric and flannel pieces wrong sides together, leaving a 3″ space to turn right-side out. Trim the corners.
Close up of the opening.
When turning the pouch right-side out use a stuffing stick or pencil to poke the corners out completely.
Top stitch on three sides to reinforce the seams…don’t want those flax seeds to poke through the seam. Top stitch the top edge after stuffing.
Close up of top stitching before stuffing.
Put 1 cup of flax seeds in a bowl. Add 1/4 cup of dried lavender buds and mix them up. If you don’t care for the smell of lavender, use less or skip them and use a drop or two of your favorite essential oil directly on the fabric bag. No scent at all is fine too.
Use a funnel poked into the opening of the bag and scoop the seed/lavender mixture into the bag (oops…no picture of the funnel).
Stitch the bag closed with two rows of stitching just for reinforcement.
Close up of top stitching after stuffing.
That’s it! The bag is only about half full so it’s flexible and easily molded to my eyes (for sinus pressure) or in my current case, my jaw!
I’ll put this into a zip bag and put it in the refrigerator (or freezer). I’ll enjoy it later this evening!
If I decide I need it warm instead, I’ll let it warm up naturally and then pop it in the microwave…maybe 10 seconds at a time at first. Flax seeds are supposed to hold the warmth quite a while. On the other hand, I may have to make a second one just for the warm version!
I’ve always said most of my projects are inspired by a need. I certainly had a need today! Enjoy!
Do you find yourself collecting t-shirts with pictures of the places you visit? Or maybe you’ve saved t-shirts that your child has outgrown that just have special memories? Working with t-shirts presents a few unique issues that are not found in regular quilt-making.
First, t-shirt fabric is usually soft and stretchy. Second, the pictures are not all the same size. Sometimes the picture is small, like on a pocket. Sometimes it is huge, covering the whole front or back of a shirt. So, before you can begin putting the puzzle pieces together, you have to make the puzzle pieces!
The first time I was asked to make a t -shirt quilt it was with a box of shirts a friend had saved from a career in the military…a mix of shirts from bars, world travel and military mementos…63 in all! Every picture had already been trimmed and the rest of the shirt was pitched so they wouldn’t take up so much space in storage. It was very overwhelming, since I had never attempted to make even a small t-shirt quilt.
I decided I’d better try a small version before I cut into someone’s precious memories. I went to a local children’s resale shop and picked up a dozen cute t-shirts with interesting pictures on them.
I laid them out to get an idea of how they might look together.
I ironed and trimmed each shirt, leaving just the picture with as much fabric around it and still lay flat.
I used a lightweight non-woven iron-on interfacing and ironed a piece to the back of each shirt front.
I had to decide on the size of the blocks that would allow most of each picture to be shown. The pink shirt above had raglan sleeves, so I left the pretty seam as part of the design. I ended up with a template 8 1/2″ by 10″.
Once the fabric had been stabilized so it wouldn’t stretch, the blocks are assembled like any quilt top would be. I used strips as shown below for the inner borders. Of course, the flamingo’s foot was going to be cut off, so I cut around it and appliqued it to the border.
I ended up printing out the directions and offered the quilt to the resale shop for them to use as a display in case other mothers would like to try it.
Next, I offered to make a memory quilt for my daughter. She had saved a pile of t-shirts from my grandson’s elementary school years. This time I decided to not separate the blocks with an inner border. A few blocks had to be pieced or small pieces were appliqued to other blocks to make the size consistent and to make use of some smaller pictures.
Finally, I felt ready to attack the huge box of career-long memory t-shirts. I consider this a major accomplishment that took over a month to assemble. Because the pictures had already been trimmed it was impossible to make a design with consistent-sized blocks. After ironing the lightweight interfacing to each picture, I worked with long strips of backing material and arranged the various sizes of blocks down the strips. Starting at one end I methodically stitched each picture to the backing material…kind of like doing a crazy quilt…one piece at a time. As I worked, the pictures were rearranged multiple times until I got them all in!
I sewed the strips together to make one large quilt, one smaller quilt and two giant floor pillows. I especially loved the one from Bali! I was sorry to give that one back! Whew! Quite the learning experience!
A word of advice, if you are asking someone to make a memory quilt for you…don’t trim the shirts before handing them over! The extra fabric can be useful in piecing odd size pictures.
When finished, the extra t-shirt material can be disposed of (actually the soft knit material is great to make tiny doll clothes!)
Save those memory t-shirts, or start a new collection! A t-shirt quilt is a great way to preserve those memories! Enjoy!
Time for a new door quilt. As you might recall from my earlier posts, I needed to find a solution to the problem of putting a wreath on my front door and then squashing it when I closed the screen door; not enough clearance. Flat door quilts have solved the problem. Here are the previous ones I’ve made (starting with the Christmas stocking, the Heart in a cathedral window pattern and the spring quilt in the Dutchman’s Puzzle pattern).
I seem to be continuing with a seasonal quilt about every three months. I have also discovered that three months exposed to the sun has faded the fabric some so it was time for something new.
With some major patriotic holidays coming up like Memorial Day and the 4th of July, it was time to try a patriotic theme.
This quilt pattern is called Fifty-Four Forty or Fight. You’ll see several color variations below.
This phrase was the famous 1844 presidential campaign slogan of James Polk that contributed to his unexpected victory. The slogan was named after a line of latitude that served as the northern border of Oregon at 54 degrees 40 minutes. The slogan was not actually coined during the election but appeared only by January 1846 and was promoted and driven in part by the press. Women often stitched their political views because they weren’t supposed to voice them. That’s where this block comes from.
By altering the color arrangement of the pieces it has also been called Grandma’s Star, Railroad Quilt, Nine Patch Star Quilt, Garden Walk, Garden Patch and An Old-Fashioned Pinwheel.
When colors are arranged like in #265 below, it has been called Bird of Paradise.
As you can see, the same arrangement of blocks and triangles can be called something else if changing the colors gives a different impression.
I always want to check from the front yard to see if I have the colors right (meaning, light around the outside so it can be seen through the screen door). I think it works!
If you would like to be notified when I post, sign up on the Welcome/Home page and you’ll be sent an email automatically by this wonderful program. Your email will never be shared! Thanks!
Frequently when I visit Kathy and family, I come home with some interesting mending projects. I think our son-in-law enjoys providing me with a sewing challenge…just because he knows I’ll humor him and produce something different! I’m up for the challenge!
He works very hard with his contracting and landscape business and his work clothes show it. This time, I came home with three items…a stuffed toy their dog Daisy had ripped with her teeth (obviously not related to his work) and two pairs of work shorts with rips in embarrassing places.
First, I worked on the dog toy. This elephant is really not a dog toy, but Daisy loves it and really doesn’t shred it; her teeth just seem to catch on the soft fabric.
The damage seemed to be right at the back of the neck. It looks like I had mended this item several times already!
First, I just pulled the sides of the hole and sewed it shut…again…with some strong thread.
Then I added a double layer of pretty hefty ribbon around the neck, right over the repair. With double knots in the ribbon, the bow might come untied but the ribbon should protect my repair. Maybe the ribbon will give Daisy something new to play with.
Now, on to the work shorts. The first pair had a big rip right in front.
Pair number 1
The second pair was pretty shredded through the crotch!
Pair number 2
PAIR NUMBER 1
First, I prepared two patches that would cover the holes. I cut two pieces of lightweight denim, folded them in half (right sides together) and stitched around the open sides, leaving about 3 inches to turn them right side out.
I turned them right side out and top stitched around both patches. Now the edges of the patches are finished and will not unravel when washed.
Starting with the smaller patch, I turned the shorts inside out and placed the patch over the rip, making sure it was covered by the patch.
From the outside, you can see the patch through the hole. I trimmed the ragged edges around the rip so they wouldn’t bunch up under the outer patch.
Then I stitched around the hole.
Now it’s ready for the outside patch. I could have just put another plain patch to match the shorts. However, where’s the fun in that! How about a big red heart! I turned the edge of the heart and stitched it before putting it on the shorts.
As long as it covers the hole it’s just fine.
Do you think he’ll know I love him now?
PAIR NUMBER 2
On the second pair of shorts, I follow the same procedure. It’s a little more awkward getting the patch and shorts under the sewing machine.
After sewing the patch on the inside, turn the shorts right side out and clean up the rip by trimming the shredded fabric.
Then add a top patch of your choice (in this case, another heart!). I figure maybe it will embarrass him to go get some new work shorts! HaHaHa…actually he loves them and shows them off on the job! Go figure!
If these were good shorts, I would have used thread that matched the garment and I would have chosen a matching fabric for the patch. I guess I could have just thrown them away, but where’s the challenge in that!
So, that was my mending challenge of the week! Hopefully everyone will be entertained on the job!
I seem to have collected an assortment of unfinished projects. I don’t notice them because they are stuffed into a bin waaaay up high on a shelf!
However, I needed another bowl cozy and remembered to check that bin today. Imagine that! I have several already cut out, ready to sew!
Several years ago, I was on a roll and made dozens in these colors for my high school friends (maroon and gray were our high school colors). Obviously, I had a few extra cut out.
These shaped potholders are great when I want to reheat a bowl of soup in the microwave. I lay a paper towel on top to catch spatters. When I take the hot bowl out of the microwave, I have a potholder already in place! It has saved me a lot of spilled soup and burned fingers. I have other friends that have discovered they are great to hold their cold bowl of ice cream!
You may have seen stacks of these potholders at craft fairs…all sizes. The larger ones are great for hot dishes. This size fits a standard cereal bowl.
Here are the instructions:
Step 1:
Cut out two 10″ squares of cotton fabric (not polyester…it may melt in the microwave).
Cut out two 10″ squares of lightweight cotton batting.
Step 2:
Place each square of fabric on top of a square of batting, right side up.
Stitch on the diagonal on both pieces of the fabric/batting sandwiches. I stitch with the batting on top to decrease the amount of lint that goes into the machine.
Step 3:
Fold each piece in half, right sides together.
Mark a stitching line, 1″ from the fold, and 2″ along the fold, as shown below.
Sew along both lines, on both pieces.
Step 4:
Open the squares and fold the other way. Mark and stitch again.
Step 5:
When you open the squares, they will sit like a bowl.
Trim seam allowance to 1/8″ to decrease bulk of darts.
Step 6:
Turn one piece right side up and the other right side down.
Pin the two halves with right sides together, lining up the darts.
Sew around the edges with a 1/4″ seam, turning your needle at the corners and the darts.
Leave about 3″ open for turning right side out.
Oops…in this picture I hadn’t trimmed the darts yet!
Step 7:
Trim corners. Turn cozy right side out, pushing corners out and nesting the two halves.
Step 8:
Top stitch around the edge of the bowl, folding in the opening 1/4″ to close. The cozy is reversible.
If you want a larger cozy, start with a larger square…11″, 12″, etc.
And that’s it! Enjoy your next bowl of soup or ice cream!
If you have comments or questions, leave a comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net! Enjoy!
