Spring!

When I think back on how busy the last few weeks have been, I feel like I should have more to show for all of my hard work!  Unfortunately, I have not had one minute to work in my sewing room on any of MY projects.  Right now my to-do list is longer than there are hours in the day, and, with some deadlines looming, I've got to put my projects on the back burner.  I have a beautiful wool skirt that is *almost* finished, but I won't get to wear it this season.  I love how it's turning out, with some hand embellishment, and can't wait to show it to you.  I just hope we haven't reached bathing suit season before I can.

Most of the things that have been keeping me occupied aren't blog- or picture-worthy (tagging items for my church's consignment sale, taxes, yard work, subscription renewals, doctor's appointments) but here are a few little projects that I've been working on.

I needed to come up with five little thank you gifts in a hurry.  Luckily, I had some materials all ready to go that allowed me to whip up these five kanzashi flowers in an evening.  A couple of years ago I led a program at my local ASG group on making kanzashi, and I still have lots of prepared supplies left over which makes it easy to get started on a project.  You can read more about the flowers in some of my previous posts here. 

Today is the last day of school before Spring Break and I sent some special treats to school with my kids today.  I told them that these are the Easter Bunny's favorite cookie.

Lastly, my oldest son is finishing a program he's been in all year (hence, the need for thank you gifts).  They are sending him off with a little party this afternoon so I made these cupcakes for the occasion.  The butterflies are made from gumdrop-style orange slice candy, the antennae are piped icing and the tips of the antennae are sprinkles.

All of these pictures make me feel so happy, like spring has really arrived.  Wish me luck finding time over the next week to finish up some projects in my sewing room -- with Spring Break happening at my house I'll be lucky to find even a few minutes for myself!

Hari-kuyo, A Book for Broken Needles

A few weeks ago I signed up for Susan Elliott’s online class, The Hari-kuyo Needlebook Course.   Susan does a great job explaining Hari-kuyo, the Japanese Festival of Broken Needles on her blog.   This cultural festival lays to rest the needles broken during service each year.  Susan has designed a resting place for, not only our working needles, but those that are broken, until they can be disposed of.  I’ll share with you some pictures of my book along with some thoughts about the project and the class.

For the class, Susan provided optional kits for those who wanted them.  Seeing that my current mantra is use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without, I chose to come up with my own supplies.  My husband and his family lived in Japan for a number of years, and my father-in-law continued to work in Asia for many more years.  I have been the fortunate recipient of LOTS of lovely Asian fabrics that I knew would work well for this project.  I began with a piece of cotton ikat that I purchased some years ago from Susan McCauley with Mekong River Textiles.  From there I developed my color-way by combining vintage kimono scraps with Asian-inspired quilting cotton.  For the inner felt pages I turned to my supply of felted wool.  I found a particularly appropriate piece to house the broken needles:  a small scrap from my late father’s sweater (which I blogged about previously here and here).  I love that above that piece I embroidered, “Broken but not forgotten”.  With my supplies at hand I was ready to start the class.

Susan’s materials were first rate.  The class was broken down into 5 lessons, each with a different topic for the day which Susan would post on a private blog.  The materials included written instructions in PDF format along with lots of clear pictures as well as videos showing exactly how to accomplish the steps.  Susan’s videos were really great.  Her speaking voice is pleasant and easy to understand, and her photography very clear.

FRONT COVER

BACK COVER

For this project we did ribbon embroidery, floss embroidery, machine stitching and 3D flower making.  I really enjoyed every step, and now I can’t wait to use my new needlebook!  With all of the hand embroidery I've been doing lately, I think it will get some use.

Vintage Hand Embroidery

A few of my friends complain to me that I don’t post enough on my blog these days.  I hope they are just saying, “We want more”.  Over the last five years, since my first son was born, I’ve tried to carve out some time each day to do something creative.  Some days (and months) it’s easier than others.  It’s only been this school year that I’ve finally felt I have enough time to do whatever I want in my sewing room.  Ironically, this has led to fewer posts on my blog.  In the past, I would only work on small projects that I knew I could finish in a short amount of time.  This led to completing lots of small projects and, hence, lots of goodies to show off on my blog.  It’s only now that I have time to work on larger, more complex items.  These, however, take weeks, and sometimes even months, to complete, hence less to share in this space.

Case in point:  I’ve been doing a lot of handwork lately.  I currently have three projects underway, all of which have some element of hand stitching involved.  I’m still working on my Alabama Chanin dress which will take me several more months to complete.  Then there’s the hand stitched needle book that I’m doing as an online class with Susan Elliot.  Here’s a little sneak peak of that one:

The third project is a combination of machine sewing embellished with handwork.  I’m hoping to have this skirt finished in the next week to share with you.  I love how it’s turning out.

All of this thinking about handwork got me to wondering where my love for it had its origins.  My mom taught me basic embroidery when I was just a little girl, probably 7 or 8 years old.  I’ve still got a few of my early pieces, including these embroidered pants that I made when I was 10.

I never quite completed them; you can see the last design I was stitching on the front, a bunch of grapes.  I still have the pattern with the iron-on designs.

Who knew when I was 10 that I would attend a college where the mascot was a yellow jacket?

Or that I would grow up to have a love for dragonfly images?

I’m not sure what the ducks walking across my backside mean, however.

So, I hope you enjoyed a little glimpse into my early stitching life.   I haven’t lost the interest in the art all these years later.  I just hope that I don’t abandon my current projects with one motif left to stitch.  I’ve got blog posts to write, after all.

Appliqued Heart T-Shirt

Here's the second piece in my "t-shirt series".  This shirt gave me a little trouble from the start.  I used a white cotton t-shirt that I bought at my local thrift store, but it was a little too big to give a good fit.  I tried to take it in a little, but there's not much you can do with a too-low armhole.  I ended up cutting it open at the side and underarm seams (leaving the neckline uncut), adding a bust dart in the armhole, sewing it back up again and putting in a new hem along the bottom.  It still doesn't fit as well as a shirt made from scratch but it will do.

The design is from a stencil I ordered from istencils.  They have a large selection of stencils at very reasonable prices, and you can order the stencils in a range of sizes.  I cut the heart pieces from some fabric scraps leftover from a previous skirt project and appliqued them on with buttonhole craft thread.  It was a challenge to work with the tiny little pieces.  This will be a good casual addition to my wardrobe.

I have several exciting sewing related notes to report: 

• I've finished stitching the fourth panel of my Alabama Chanin dress (2 more to go);
• I am participating in an online class with Susan Elliot (who does beautiful hand embroidery and has a wonderful blog, Plays With Needles) and we are making a needlebook inspired by the Japanese ceremony of broken needles called Hari-Kuyo (I'll be posting about this once I've finished the book).  Thanks to Daphne (who also has an adorable blog at The Imperfectionary) for introducing me to Susan's work;
• I leave on Friday for a three day class with Sarah Veblen.  It's been almost 2 years since I last worked with Sarah, and to say I'm excited would be an understatement.  Those of you who know Sarah know what a wonderful teacher she is.  And having three days away (and with my great pal Joyce, too!) is just a real treat.  Thanks to my husband for keeping the home fires burning while I'm gone.  You'll get a full report when I return.

King Cake for Mardi Gras

Each year our church celebrates Mardi Gras with a music-filled party and King Cake.  I volunteered to help make one of the cakes several years ago, and today found me in my butter- and flour-filled kitchen making another.  The recipe I use is by John Folse and can be found on his website.  It is rich and luscious with an easy-to-work dough.  Here are some pictures of the process along with some of the changes I've made to the recipe.

You begin by making a very soft dough with lots of butter and eggs.  After rising for an hour you roll this out into a large rectangle.

The recipe calls for brushing the dough at this point with melted butter and sprinkling on cinnamon sugar, then cutting into three long strips.  Instead, I cut the three strips first, then use softened, but not melted butter, and spread a layer of butter onto each strip.  I sprinkle on the cinnamon sugar keeping it away from the edges of the strips.

The long edges of each strip are now brought together and sealed, enclosing the sugar mixture.  By keeping the edges free from melted butter and sugar, I have found it much easier to get a good seal along the seams.  When I used the method described in the recipe I found the butter and sugar interfered with this goal.

The next part is probably the trickiest but really is not all that difficult.  The dough is very easy to work with.  Begin by turning the seams to the bottom, then bring three ends together and begin braiding the tubes.  Once the braid has some length, begin forming a circle.  Continue braiding to the other end of the tubes and then bring all of the ends together.  Don't worry if the join does not look perfect -- imperfections get lost in the rising and baking of the cake. 

You will brush an egg wash over the dough now.  You don't need to use two eggs as called for in the recipe.  One egg is even too much.  This would be a good spot to use some liquid eggs if you have them.  Combine with about equal parts of milk.  Now this undergoes another rising and then it is ready to bake.  DON'T overbake!

Fresh out of the oven:

The final step is to apply a glaze and some "bling" (though I think the cake is at it's most beautiful at this fresh-baked stage).  The glaze is another area where I divert from the recipe.  First, the quantity that is made from the recipe is enough for a dozen King Cakes.  I make a much smaller batch.  I also omit the cinnamon after trying it both ways.  The cinnamon makes for a very dark brown glaze that I think detracts from the colored sugar added at the end.

You'll need a really large serving plate -- I've covered a pizza box bottom with parchment foil to make a platter large enough to hold this colossus.

You've still got time to whip up one of these cakes in time for dinner tonight, or bookmark this for next year.  This is a project that will give you a great sense of accomplishment, along with a really tasty treat.  So, enjoy this last day of plenty before the start of Lent.  Just remember, everything in moderation -- there's a reason it's called Fat Tuesday.