Author Archives: Jess

Hint dropping

So, I thought I’d give my back tack buddy some ideas of what I’d like to try.

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The one thing I’ve really wanted to do, but haven’t gotten around to, is making a Waldorf doll. This book looks good and there are kits at Magic Cabin.

Crewel looks fun too.


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I really like to embroider, and doing it with wool would be even better than cotton, if you ask me. Here’s a new book about it.

And, I have never learned to crochet. I do need to crochet a flower or two to try to salvage my eaten clogs

Scrapbooking is also something I should get to and I have a very, very meager supply of scrapbooky things. Maybe having some cool things would inspire me to get working.

Anyway, I hope the person I’m gifting will drop some hints, because if she doesn’t she’ll be getting a spinning kit!

Wool Gathering coming up

I’m getting ready to take “Learn to Spin” kits and niddy-noddy-nostpinnes to the Wool Gathering on Saturday.

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Anyone want to try spinning? Everything you need is here– a handmade drop spindle, an illustrated book of instructions, and 2 oz. of wool roving. These kits could be good to include in your Back-tack bags, for those of you participating! I’ve seen lots of hinting blog entries out there, like this one by Amy at angry chicken. If anyone wants me to set a kit aside before I sell it this weekend, leave me a comment and say if you’d like light (birch), medium (cherry), or dark (walnut) wood. (Oh–prices. Kits are $22 with $5 shipping and handling)

If you’re my buddy, I’ll leave some hints soon:)

Sets

I get so frustrated with Brenna sometimes. She escapes into books and her own little world and does her own thing most of the time. She has a great imagination and is an amazing reader for a five year old–but when it is time to go out the door or feed the rabbits or go potty it drives me crazy how she is totally oblivious to anything I say. It is of the utmost importance to her to get her pretend picnic set up perfectly before she can focus on anything else. She calls them her “sets.” They are a very integral part of her life.

Barry helped me wade through my art room this past weekend and get it in order so that it is functional. We sorted fabric scraps, tossed things out… He rearranged shelves so that things were stored in logical places. I did this:

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I made “sets”.

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The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.

Quilt Monday

Well, before our trip I got my Kona Cotton Color samples that the Denyse Schmidt suggested. (Yes, Denyse Schmidt commented on my blog. If you don’t believe me, check this out!)

So, here’s my stack of squares:

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They didn’t come labeled, so I went through with the list they came with and stapled names and numbers to each of them so that when I picked my colors I would know what to order.

The colors of our road trip really inspired me. I couldn’t get over the layers of grasses–the white/yellow of the dried grass, the red and orange plumes, the fresh greens–all against the back drop of deep green trees, gray trunks, and gray blue sky. As we drove I decided I wanted a quilt that was a late summer day, and as I’ve played with my color squares I came up with this color combination:

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My photos just don’t do the colors justice…

Anyway, I found these vintage reproduction fat quarters at the New England Quilt Museum which fit my color scheme.

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Hopefully soon I’ll get a chance to get underway!