Vintage Knit Dress

I am guessing I knit this dress in the early 1970’s. As I have been doing recently I knit it without a pattern. I had a limited number of skeins of a very expensive boucle yarn.

By taking my body measurements I was able to knit the dress with the amount of yarn I had.

I crocheted the edges with a cream colored yarn that was the same weight.

I even put an invisible zipper in the back of the dress, not an easy feat.

Knowing how knits can bag out I lined the entire dress. I matched the color of the lining to each part of the dress. I took darts in the lining so it would fit the body like the knit did. All seams were finished with an appropriate seam finish.

I covered a padded hanger with the same yarn to help the dress keep it’s shape. I had enough left to make a cord that could be used for a belt or used to accessorize it in another way.

This was a much more complex project than the knitting I am doing now.

I feel it is an heirloom that I hope someone will treasure.

As I look back I am amazed that I was able to take on such a complex project 40 years ago.

I never was afraid to try to create something and I feel that is why I am where I am today with my creations.

Reupholstering Dining Room Chairs

I just finished reupholstering the seat of the first of four dining room chairs.

I was bound determined NOT to buy any fabric to cover them. I knew I had to have something that would work.

I found just enough of this fabric in an obscure bin on a top shelf.

I felt the room needed a little more green so this had just enough.

This was the original covering. These were “new to me” chairs I purchased on eBay.

The covering was slightly soiled so I decided to recover them.

The fabric I used was a lightweight linen fabric. Dining room chairs don’t get a lot of wear and tear so this should be just fine.

Amazing what one can do with a staple gun and a hammer to hammer in the staples that are sticking out.

I’m Knitting–Black And White Shawl

Recently I was wishing I had a black and white shawl to wear when I went to restaurants where the AC was freezing cold.

I pulled out some orphan skins of black and white yarns and decided it would be a fun relaxing project to knit.

I knit without a pattern most of the time so it took me a while to come up with a plan.

I am pleased with what is happening.

It is very lightweight, yet it will keep me warm as it traps the air.

I am about one half done and will be knitting more on it today.

Sun Printing Without The Sun

I find it is more convenient to do my “sun printing” in my studio than outside.

Because the effect is really created by the way the moisture evaporates it is not necessary to have sun to do it.

It is a widely held belief that one needs a certain Brand/Type of paint for this to work.

I set out to test a different paint and it worked just fine.

I painted a large circle in the center of this fabric and then placed some foam pieces on top of the fabric while it dried overnight.

On this one I just placed two different shaped foam pieces on the different colors, but placed them paper side down.

For this one I cut up some foam shape into smaller pieces and used them to create a design.

I used a 50/50 cotton/poly blend for these pieces. It is not necessary to use PFD fabric since I am not dyeing.

I applied the paint to this fabric and then let it dry wrinkled up.

I will be doing more experiments with this paint using different fabrics.

I found there were variables that gave different results.

Some of them were how thick or thin the paint was, how well I had mixed the colors if I was using two colors to get a new color, the way the resists made contact with the fabric and how I brushed the paint on to the surface.

As per so many things there is no one RIGHT or WRONG way to do things, just different ways.

It’s a fun easy way to create your own fabric.

If At First You Don’t Succeed,Try Again!

This is my second try at knitting a square basket. I had no pattern to start with so it was trial and error.

The first one is OK but this one is so much better.

The first one was larger, higher and had a design flaw that didn’t let the cuff fold over as nicely.

I think the second one corrected all those problems.

This is one of those projects that can be knitted without paying a lot of attention as you work.

I don’t know if I’ll be making more of them, but I probably will.

I still have no idea what I am going to use these for, but I am guessing I’ll figure something out very soon.

Even though the violet one had a few issues it will still be useful.

TBT–What Were We Wearing Then?

My friend Molly and I (and a few others) were talking about sewing yesterday.
We even may have the same Pfaff sewing machines purchased many years ago.
I wanted to share one of the dresses I made over 55 years ago today.

I had wanted one of my granddaughters to model this for a picture but only one of them is tiny enough to possible fit this and she has not been around.
It is pink chiffon over pink taffeta with pink lace for the bodice. Considering the fact it has been packed away for almost 50 years it still looks pretty good.

And the back view with the big pink chiffon bow. Of course I wore this with a pink Alice Lon Petticoat I made with 8 yards of nylon net.

I sewed this on this exact sewing machine, my Mom’s Singer 201. It now has a place of honor in our guest room. When that was our bedroom it lived in there and that is where I did all my sewing. I had it brought downstairs so if I wanted to do some simple sewing for a short time I could just walk in there instead of heading up to the studio.

Here I am in the dress waiting for my date.

My date and I ready to head to the dance. Notice the corsage I was wearing..those were the days we all got a beautiful corsage to go with our dress from our dates.
True confessions: A group of girls used to get together and rent a country club and we each got to ask our own dates. Then they would take us out for dinner after the dance! So if you were part of that group it didn’t matter if you had a special boyfriend or not, you could ask someone!

5 Of My Ice Tapestries

I hung these 5 of my Ice Tapestries on my design wall today.
I had a guest who I wanted to show them to.
She also got to see the rest of them.
She was impressed!
We went out for lunch at Seibert’s Pub built in 1880. It still has the original crooked porch, etc.
She loved the vintage ambiance.
Didn’t get a picture of the two of us as we had so much to talk about since we hadn’t seen each other for a long time.
 
I did get a picture of this sign that was hanging above the booth we sat it. Pardon the glare but I think you can still read it.
I have no idea of the date this sign is from. You can see it had  other names over the years.

Hooker Lake Hotel (now Siebert's Pub). Notice the Corner entrance to the bar area (which at the original build was probably NOT A BAR, since Salem downtown was a DRY town) and the center entrance to the main room and the staircase to the rooms. Siebert’s Pub is located in Salem, WI. Siebert’s was established in 1880 and has created a lot of history over the years.The building has gone through numerous transformations from being an ice cream parlor, hotel, insurance and real estate office to a local tavern that is known by many…to name a few. The building still holds a lot of character and is now a friendly, small pub with great food and staff and mostly great patrons. Siebert’s has offered a great fish fry for many years and is also known for the Reuben sandwich.
This is what it looks like today.

Washington Park High School Class Of 57 Ladies Who Lunch

I had a great time getting together with 3 of the other ladies who were at our 57/57 Class Reunion in Florida this past winter.

We met at the Olive Garden in Racine and we were there for close to 3 hours. Fortunately they weren’t busy and they didn’t mind us taking up a table that long.

Even though we had all been together a few months ago we still had a lot to talk about.

Of course we talked about our school years and adventures, but soon the conversation switched what is happening in our lives today.

What fun to be able to continue friendships after 57 years.

Back row: Pat Davidson Maranger, Lynne Crane Leithleiter and Barb Tesolowski Coleman

Front: ME

We had such a good time we’re planning on doing it again soon!

What Is It Going To Be?–THIS!

It’s a basket! It is about 6 inches square and high.

I had seen similar knit baskets so I experimented and this is what happened.

I’m pleased with it, although I might try again and make it smaller.

I used two strands of Nature Spun Chunky yarn to knit this and used about 8-9 ounces.

I haven’t decided what I will use it for. I could store potatoes in it.

But I could store just about anything else in it too.

I have a feeling this is not the last one I’ll be making.

Sunrise At Cedar Key At Visions Art Museum

My quilt is part of a show at Visions Art Museum that opened last night. I am pleased to be affiliated with Visions.
Here is a link to a short video from the opening. I was not able to see my quilt in the video.
https://www.facebook.com/quilt.visions/videos/10207257744828395/
This silk quilt is 14 x 14 inches. It is for sale for $250. Half of the sale price goes to support this museum. They do not have an online presence to sell the art at this time. If anyone is interested in purchasing this they will sell it and ship it once the show is over. Buyer pays shipping.
My quilts get to visit a lot of places without me….I don’t fit in a shipping box!

What Is It Going To Be?

When my friend Judy visited this week she told me she had been knitting.

I love to knit, but haven’t done any for a few months.

I decided it WAS time to knit something simple. I found yarn in my studio for this project and worked on it last night and this morning.

It’s the kind of thing one can knit and watch TV or visit while doing. You can put it down and pick it up without trying to remember where you were.

I am not using a pattern…..which is the way I usually choose to knit.

SO, what do you think it is going to be?

SO Great To See This BFF

My BFF Judy Sorenson Sattersten visited me this week. We go back a long way.

Living where we each do currently it’s hard to coordinate a time to get together. We both agree it was far too long since our last visit and plan on getting together sooner next time.

If you wondered about the Sorenson name, we have tried to research and see if there is a relationship from way back in Denmark. There are just too many similarities in family resemblances that make us feel there has to be some common relationship at some time in our heritage.

We each wore pink tops and pink shoes. Such a coincidence as I can’t remember the last time I wore pink!

My Florida Kids- What Do You Use To Eat Your Ice Cream?

My Florida kids moved to a new house.

That created a problem for Drew.

There were no small spoons for him to eat his Ice cream with.

So this is how I came to the rescue:

I went to my collection of antique silver spoons and found these. I also found food fabrics featuring ice cream.

This is the beginning of the spoons file I made for him – a spoon for each day of the week.

I added a flap with the information that also protected these valuable spoons.

I bound the edge all around. You can also see the ties that are attached to the outside so it can be folded up and kept in the SAFE!

Here it is all folded and tied shut to keep the spoons safe!

What did Drew say?

“Now I can eat ice cream every day of the week”!

I hope he enjoys it and keep the spoons in a very SAFE place!

Where Are They Now? Fabrics I Created

I was looking at some pictures of fabrics I’ve created and I have no idea where these are.
I made this with thickened dyes stamped on fabric with various items.

I stamped this with a circular stamp I made and also somehow used rubber bands for the impression.
I am wondering if these could possibly be here down in the basement with other fabrics I feel need another layer added to them?
I can’t think of any other place I would have put them. Even with as many things as I have in this house I have an almost photographic memory about where things are. The only time it is likely to fail me is when I do some reorganizing and rearranging!

Facebook Friends From UW Stout In 1958!

I have been looking through some of my photos and found these three people who are FB friends now.
I wonder if any of them read my blog?

If we had to pick a “least changed” classmate she would be it.

Someone flooded the floor in the shower room. Don’t know who the guilty party was but my cousins roommate is cleaning it up.

I think this was a dance in the basement of our dorm. That is me. I am dancing with one of my Facebook friends but I don’t think he spends time on Facebook.
I chose to share these photos because these college friends are now Facebook friends some 57 years later!
Maybe some of the rest of my Facebook friends will recognize some of these people!
I will be finding and scanning some more so I may have a picture of you from that time in our lives too.

From Deep Within Me Comes ART

Last week I did 3 blog posts comparing the things that surround me and the art that comes from somewhere deep inside me.

I am going to share links to each post so you can go back and review them if you’ve seen them.

If you missed them they are here for you to enjoy.

July 8, 2015

http://quiltspluscolor.blogspot.com/2015/07/inspiration-and-beauty-opportunity-to.html

 

July 9, 2015

http://quiltspluscolor.blogspot.com/2015/07/inspiration-at-work.html

 

July 10, 2015

http://quiltspluscolor.blogspot.com/2015/07/artists-homes.html

I am just sharing one image from each blog post. I hope you will click on the links to see the entire post with the relationships between my home and my art.

When I posted the third post I referred to something I saw on the internet about the homes of 7 female artists.

Several people had asked me if I could share the link.

I tried in vain ever since the first request.

AND THEN –BINGO…..I found it this morning while working on my iPad.

I have added it to the bottom of the post from July 10th.

Hand Dyed Fabric- Oh, The Possibilities!

I’m just sharing some random pieces of fabrics I’ve dyed, each one quite different!

For many years I resisted dying my own fabrics and bought hand dyed fabrics from other dyers.

Most of them were either solid colors or had mottled textures.

I am so glad I learned to dye my own fabrics.

I love the colors and the textures I am able to achieve. Many are a surprise when I finally get them washed, dried and ironed.

The surprise is another plus when creating the fabrics.

I will admit it takes a lot more time and effort to figure out how to achieve a work of art with these patterned fabrics, but it’s all worth it when the answer is clear.

Artists Homes

I read a Facebook post this morning that shared the homes of 7 women artist, famous and lesser known.
Makes me want to share a few more of my home scenes and quilts that might have been mysteriously influenced by them…or maybe it was the other way around!

A pillow purchased at Pier 1.

A close up view of my quilt “And……. Then The Centers Fell Out”.

My very oriental water fountain.

A very oriental quilt.

Clay pots with ombre glaze

Needle felted pillow with ombre effect.
You may not see a direct correlation between these items, but I am sure there is a connection.
I do not set out to make these connections. They just happen as I draw from within to create art.
ADDENDUM: Several people asked if I could share the link to the 7 Female Artists Homes. I spend several days trying and couldn’t find it. Then this morning while working on my iPad….BINGO….I found it and here is the link for those of you who are interested.
http://m.dailylife.com.au/life-and-love/dl-home/seven-homes-of-amazing-female-artists-20150708-gi7ypt.html