Settling into Raven Wood

When we moved into the new house it was still very unfinished. There were no lights or plugs hooked up so we used candles and flashlights for the first week. There was no bathroom fixtures or even a kitchen sink hooked up. The kitchen stove was not wired in so we cooked on the wood stove. We still have a long way to go but we have gotten a lot accomplished in our first month here. All in all it feels very much like home and the welcome we have received from our neighbors has been wonderful. One of our house warming gifts included a dozen fresh eggs from our neighbors hens. It feels wonderful to be home. 

Geli Prints Celebrating, Crows, Ravens and the Woods

Just before I packed up my studio I did a batch of gelatin prints celebrating our 36 acres of beautiful woods. This was my last artistic fling in my studio here in Brattleboro and I am greatly looking forward to getting my new studio set up in Westminster! 

Jude Hill's "Spirit Cloth 101" Class & The Postcard Project

I am taking Jude Hill's "Spirit Cloth 101" class and I LOVE it. It is so jam packed with wonderful information. Here is a piece I am working on for the class. You can find out more about Jude's classes on her website at this link: Spirit Cloth

"Glue stitching" the background down

 Adding more layers with cloth and stitch. I painted the little boy in the robe (after Picasso's Child with Dove) in oils pastel on harem cloth and heat set it with an iron

                     Still a work in progress the name of this piece is called "Love Letter For Liam"

Another small project I did was a postcard I stitched to help save a small Post Office in Rupert, VT that was in danger of being closed due to not enough mail volume. The post office is owned by fellow Vermont artist Jane Davies. You can find out more about the project on Jane Davies blog: The Post Office Project  You can view all of the post cards, which as of today are still arriving, at this link: View the Postcards

Layered Shirt and Linen Jumper

Finally finished the layered shirt

The Linen jumper below just gets better and better looking after each washing!

Stitching Up a Storm

With all this snow we have been getting here in VT it looks like a winter wonderland, but I have been "nesting" indoors,  staying cozy and warm and working on some stitched pieces.

Two Homemade Linen Jumpers

The patterns for both of these are full length jumper dresses that I shortened into tops. The lighter one is from a pattern by Kwick Sew and is one of Kerstin Martensson's designs. Both jumpers are made with medium weight linen from Fabric.com. The lighter jumper was Kaufman Essex Wide Linen Blend and the brown fabric is Brussels Washer Linen Blend. The pattern for the brown one is one I have had for 20 years so it may be discontinued but it is by McCall's Easy Stitch 'n Save #7479. It didn't have pockets so I just added them.

Really cute casings and ties on the back of the jumper. This jumper has really deep pockets which I love. Those skinny little ties were a bear to turn even with the old bobby pin trick!

Sewing a Curved Hem on Layered Shirt

I sewed my first curved hem on a layered shirt I am making and I am very pleased with the results so I thought I would share it. 

Because this is a layered shirt I needed to hem the layers before I sewed the side seams. 

I had already finished the edges of each piece with a zigzag stitch, so for the hem I went back in and did a straight stitch 1/4 inch in from the edge.

I folded the fabric on the stitched line and pressed it as I folded

Pressing the first fold on the stitched line 1/4 inch from the edge

This shot shows the first fold pressed all the way across the hem length

I then folded turned the first fold under another 1/4 inch and pressed again

I opened up the 2nd pressed fold here just to show how it was folded and pressed. 

Second 1/4" fold all pressed

I then topstitched next to the outer edge of the fold

Here is a look at the top and the bottom after being topstitched. Nice and neat.

I repeated the same process of stitching, folding, pressing and folding/pressing again on the other layer of the shirt. 

Showing front and backside after topstitching

Both layers after hemming