For the Love of Silk

Silk Dupioni. I have had this project on my table for maybe a month. I almost forgot it was there. How dare I?!. This is another circumstance where machine applique was required. I made sure the edges were smooth and I matched the threads perfectly. If I was making this pillow sleeve for myself, I would have hand appliqued. But, it is for the store and I am time focused. And there is no time to work on this at home. It's Christmas. I have much to do and I have already agreed to undertake a home project for the store. The pillow is covered with silk.

The pattern calls for a 13" pillow form although the cover is 14 inches. And, because it is dupioni silk, I completely lined the sleeve instead of lining only the circle piece. Why would a designer only indicate to line just one side of the sleeve? Especially with something that is made with silk? How absurd? So many flaws in pattern-design. I want to put myself out there as a pattern refiner. You design it, I will test it out for completeness.

So this little piece came out well. It was a project given to me from Marge who is the Craft Department Manager. She lightly mentioned that if I made it in a blue-way, she would love to take it home when it comes off of display. So, that I did.

Silk. The deep breath of how happy these little worms make me.

For The Children

I love making things for children. These little creatures are called "amigurumi" animals. The concept comes from Japan. They are crocheted and are very small and awkward to construct. You almost have to be an experienced fiber person. If I had the time, I would make hundreds of these and just give them away. They are fun to make and they bring smiles to the faces of those who touch them.

The quilt was wild to make. The pattern itself was in a colorway totally different from what I was given. So this was a total stretch for me to put together. I keep saying I am not a quilter. I am NOT a quilter. And.... I had never done the machine satin stitch quilting before. It took some practicing before hand. I have seen pieces that the more 'experienced' quilters have done and their satin stitch was loose and not always even. I was not sure that I liked it. Of course you would not notice those features standing away from the quilt. But if you were to wash it, would the fabric fray within the loose satin stitch? So I thought, this is a child's quilt and will have to go through multiple washing and so I should give it a nice tight stitch. Remember, this is my first applique piece such as this.

The approval board was happy and I gained more experience in what appears to me to be a rather broad horizon of the quilting universe.