Not Just Another Pretty Face

Every action done in company ought to be with some sign of respect to those that are present.
                                   ----  George Washington

PIGIPEDIA
Feral pigs are being blamed for the spread of avian malaria among Hawaii's native birds.  Culex is a tropical mosquito that breeds in warm, nutrient-rich puddles, known as cups.  The pristine forests in Hawaii used to have very few of these.  Feral pigs create hundreds of cups per acre, that filled with pig fecal matter and rain water, create the perfect Culex breeding sites.  The mosquitoes are adapting to higher and higher elevations, where the native birds are making a last stand.  There are more endangered species per square mile on the Hawaiian Islands than any other place on the planet.

The Sandhills Are Back

Last Saturday we heard a Sandhill Crane.  The weather was still very cold, with a heavy snow cover on frozen ground.  Earlier last week we heard and saw red-winged blackbirds, and fellow walkers told us they had seen robins. 

Time to show you my Sandhill Crane book that I made in August 2005.  The feathers are the only two we've ever found from them.  I brought them home and Lysoled them nice and good, in case there were any bird mites.  I like getting close to Sandhill Cranes, but there are limits.

I glued Oriental fabric to cardboard, and embellished the front with some decorative threads.  For a closure, I used ribbon that wrapped around the book, then around that silver button that I glued to the cover.

 

The back.

The inside pages are accordion-folded, heavily textured paper.  On alternate pages I glued pictures of Sandhills that my husband took in April 2005.

The series of photographs starts with a landing, followed by a vocalization, then a check for predators before he starts his walkabout search for food.  One time we saw one spear a mouse with its beak, then swallow it.  Ick.

Sandhills weigh 10-14 pounds.  Seems like it should be more.

I made this small (19 x 22 inches) wall hanging in 2006.  Some of the fabric in the center is the same as I used on the book.  These aren't Sandhills, although if you possessed a "scope of imagination" like Anne of Green Gables did, you could pretend they were.

I fussy cut the cranes and swoopy "clouds" out of fabric, then appliqued them onto the lavender "sky".

On the right side, I sewed a strip of iridescent, crinkly fabric.  More cranes and clouds are appliqued on this different texture.

We did so much walking this winter that I wore out a pair of boots.  Here are my new boots that came in the mail yesterday.  Although we're all looking forward to lots more walking and crane sightings, it won't be in these - they're too pretty to get dirty!

Thursday is Purse Day - Easter Basket Purse

I made an Easter Basket Purse in February, 2009.  It started with some leftover bargello strips from a Kimono quilt.

 

I cross-cut them into smaller strips and made a "woven basket" for the body.  The blue oval on the flap is stuffed with fiberfill - it's an egg, can't you tell?

I used thin-gauge beading wire to string the beads, so the handle wouldn't be so floppy.  You can buy the wire in so many pretty colors and they're all nice and shiny.  I poked it through the top of the purse, and wound it tightly around itself.

Here's a good view of the "basket" on the back side.

And what's this we have on the inside???

From the Vault - Kimono T Quilt

Another trip down to the vault, to pick out an old quilt to show you...

I finished this wall hanging in May 2003.  It's 26 x 49 inches.  I made a lot of Oriental-style quilts back then.

That was when I discovered paper piecing, as well.  I still love paper piecing today.  This is a T-block that looks like a kimono when you add the obi strip.  Each kimono is on a slightly different neutral background.  Well, I guess there might be some repeats.

Gosh, I just realized 2003 was ten years ago!  Doesn't seem like that long!!  That was when the "stained glass leading" bias tape was big.  That's how I covered up the raw edges of the blocks.  I didn't piece them - just laid them on the caramel fabric and stitched through the bias.  

Speaking of the caramel fabric - it's not cotton.  It's that shiny stuff you use for lining jackets and coats, back when we used to sew our own clothes.  Silky looking without the $$$ of silk.

I had a hard time with the quilting of this.  Back in 2003 I only had chalk for marking, so it was difficult to get the hexagons precisely marked.  I did a straight stitch on my machine for the straight lines.  Where I had trouble was was with the free motion I used on the internal scrolls.  I didn't mark them and it was hard to get them relatively smooth and even.  I remember tearing out more than a couple.

Because of the shininess of the material, it looks puckery.  Well I guess that's because it is.

The back. 

The end.

 

Tutorial - Roll-up Pouch

My large sewing basket is really pretty, but a little cumbersome when heading out to my guild's Community Sew Days or retreats.  I was looking for something smaller and more flexible, so I made this roll up pouch this week.  I had so much fun making it that I thought I should turn it into a tutorial in case I want to make another one!

Cut two pieces 9 x 21 inches.  One is the exterior; one is the lining.
Cut a piece of batting the same size.

At the center top of the exterior and lining pieces, sew a line of stitching 5 inches long, 1/4 inch from the edge.  Don't sew the pieces together.  Do this line of stitching on each piece, one at a time.  This will come in handy when you turn the pouch inside out.

Cut two pieces of ribbon 15 inches long.  Sew them to the center of the side of the exterior.  

Make the pocket out of three strips:

1. The top strip is 5 x 21 inches.  (This is the pocket lining.)
2. The middle is 1.25 x 21 inches.  (This is an accent strip on the top edge of the pocket.)
3. The bottom is 5 x 21 inches, created from strips that are 2.25 x 5 inches.  (This is the front of the pocket.)

Note:  I had to trim the bottom piece 1/4 inch on each side in order to get it to be 21 inches wide. 

Fold the pocket in half and press. 

Stack the pieces in this order, from bottom to top:

1. batting
2. interior, right side up
3. folded pocket, right side up
4. exterior, wrong side up

Find the 5-inch line of stitching on the top.  Don't stitch on it - this will be your opening.  Starting at the edge of it, stitch through all layers, pivoting at corners, and ending when you get to the other end of the 5-inch line of stitching.

Trim batting very close to the stitching and trim corners.  Turn inside out.  As you fold the raw edges of the opening to the inside, use those 5-inch lines of stitching to make a nice straight line.  Slip stitch the opening closed.

Press the edges flat and top stitch all the way around those nice crisp edges.

Decide how many compartments you want in the pocket, and stitch through all layers, from top to bottom.  I stitched in the ditch on the pocket, but you could also stitch along the seam for a more decorative look.

Take into consideration what sewing implements you want to bring with you, and how many hiding places you might want to leave for stowaways.

The finished roll up pouch...