Testing Testing

A peek or two at what I'm working on now.

The weaving was done quite some time ago, years perhaps. It's denim strips woven alternately with picks of an indigo dyed cotton yarn.

With the ANWG Conference (Association of North West Weaver's Guilds) coming up in June I've decided to make something of the fabric and submit it for exhibition. No guarantee that it will be accepted of course, but nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

These photos are just teasers. Some experimenting, trial and error and testing of ideas is going on.

The above is a testing muslin for a bound pocket. It's not perfect but I learned a few things I can carry over to the real project.

More Hats Than Heads

I always tease my baseball hat collecting son that he has far more hats than he has heads. Seems I'm getting that way myself. I'm now storing 4 hats on just 2 wicker heads.

After a lifetime of never wearing hats I've been told, in a roundabout way, that I must wear a hat when outdoors. Yes, in part it is for sun protection after a bit of a problem with a "precancerous lesion" that needed treatment, but mostly it has to do with my eyes. My eyes are very sensitive to the sun but if I wear polarized sunglasses I find that direct sunlight on the lenses makes it difficult to see anything! I have to have some sort of hat visor overhanging the sunglasses.

I've written before about the "Upcycled Hat" made of denim patches. That was the first one. It fit so well and worked so well for my purposes that I went on to sew the black velveteen one later on. It's great in the winter but rather hot when it's not chilly out. Then came the white one with denim trim. I don't think I blogged about that one? I was hoping it would be a bit cooler, but nope. I guess with my volume of hair any hat at all is HOT.

I've added yet another hat to my growing collection. The wildly patterned pink/orange/purple hat was sewn from a loosely woven cotton tablecloth I found on sale at Value Village for $3. It's a little cooler and lighter than the others.

All four are sewn using my go to pattern, the "Gardening Hat" from "Happy Hats and Cool Caps". At one time the book was available for 1 cent plus shipping but I see it has gone up in price.

Pincushions

Ever since a boring old store bought pincushion fell apart on me, scattering sawdust power everywhere, I've been wanting to make myself not just one, but three new ones.

I ended up with six, which is a bit of overkill, but I was on a roll and thought I might as well use up the main fabric.

I used the "My Favorite Pincushion Pattern" by Darcy Ashton and made four in the Jumbo size and two cute little miniatures. The decorative "leaves" on the larger ones are cut from felted wool fabric and then appliqued in place using Ashton's well written instructions. The additional embellishing stitches are my own touch, done in a unplanned sort of way.

Why do I need three pincushions? Because in my sewing and embroidery work I use three different types of straight pins, each with a specific purpose and I don't like getting them intermingled. 

My two favourite types of pins have heads that will not melt when they come in contact with a hot iron. The extra-fine glasshead pins are excellent when sewing fine fabrics. They slide through the fabric easily and are less inclined to leave holes in delicate material. The heavier stainless steel pins on the right are my go to for any heavier fabric like canvas or denim and when working with multiple layers that tend to bend the lighter pins. I do have the new-fangled clips but find I still need pins for anything that requires securing away from an edge. Cheap pins, like the multi-coloured ones at the top of the picture, will go in the third cushion. I use those when I'm stitching away from home, taking classes as there is a good chance I will lose some. They are garbage, with plastic heads that melt, but they are easily replaced.

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