Word for 2012?

Here's my final finish for 2011! I spent my time off completing this Buttermilk Basin design that I started at the Primitives of the Midwest workshop in June. That's the last of my Christmas crafting even though the decorations are still up here!

Have you made New Year's resolutions or do you have a "word of the year"? I've thought about this a lot this week and the word I landed on for me for 2012 is "margin", as in managing my time to cut down on the busyness and leave time to pursue the things that are meaningful and rejuvenating. I have a natural tendency to busyness. I can easily fill my days with tasks and leave little room for down time to dream or pursue other interests. The things that fill my days might be good things or even very good things, but my goal is to reach a balance between the pull of work and things that refuel my tank and give me energy.

Last year we spent time in Amish country in Indiana. I admire many things about the Amish but the thing that really impressed me was that they may embrace modern technology, but they do it in a way that fits with their culture and values. Did you know that some Amish use cell phones? Some of the men own cell phones for business purposes, but they only turn them on in the morning and evening to get their messages and return calls; the rest of the day the phones are off. This allows them to focus on their work or whoever they're with instead of dealing with the usual interruptions that come with cell phone ownership. So they have the convenience of technology on their own terms--it doesn't control them.

Sometimes my life is so full of obligations that I'm controlled by my to-do list. You've heard the old saying "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy"? Too much focus on being productive probably makes me boring and crabby!  So my goal for 2012 is to really look at how I spend my time and avoid the tendency to over schedule and give myself permission to relax. Thanks for bearing with me on this looong post. I'd love to hear what word you'd choose for yourself for 2012.

POTM-Stacy West

Saturday was the last day for Primitives of the Midwest. Stacy West of Buttermilk Basin, another designer whose work I've long admired. This workshop really emphasized to me the range of design styles that you can find in primitive crafting. I love Maggie Bononomi's work and the very vintage feel of her designs. But I'm also drawn to designs with more detail like Lisa Bongean's and Stacy's and this penny Christmas tree has lots of that!

Stacy also recommends using Stem a Seam to ensure your applique has crisp edges and because it gives a strong enough bond that you can pack it up and take it with you to sew on the road or as you're waiting for kids, etc. 

More Fusing and Cutting!

Stacy also demonstrated another method of blanket stitching.

Practicing New Method

Stacy begins her stitch at the edge of the design which allows her to see exactly where that stitch will come up in the design, looping through the thread on the topside and pulling it taut but not too tight. Stacy used regular DMC floss for this design and the large selection of colors would make it easy to pick one that would blend nicely with whatever you're sewing, if you don't want your stitches to show prominently as part of the design.

Final Touch-Beads for Sparkle

Some of you have asked for more information on Lynda Hall's crazy wool method and this tutorial from Kaaren on The Painted Quilt demonstrates it much better than I could. Her stitches are just beautiful! For me personally, however, I'm beginning to rethink whether it would be easier to do the stitching before adding the applique. While it would mean more stitching, at least for a beginner like me it might help to make the stitching look a little better and more uniform.


As you can imagine, the end of the workshop gave me the same feeling of loss I get when I finish a book that I loved reading. But I'm also coming away with a new enthusiasm and appreciation for wool applique and am so fortunate to have shared a little time with such kind, talented and fun teachers and professionals.

POTM-Lynda Hall's Class

Yesterday my friend Barbie Jo of Cleo and Me and I had the privilege of participating in Lynda Hall's crazy wool pincushion class. I haven't made any crazy wool projects before, so this was another new technique for me.

Lynda with Pincushion Samples

Lynda explained the techniques and demonstrated some of the decorative stitches and away we went. Some of her samples were made by her granddaughters. Wouldn't that be a fun project with your grandkids!

We were encouraged to be creative and draw our own designs and Lynda also had several pattern sheets with additional ideas.

We received a kit with a variety of wool which we used to piece our background and baste in place. After the background is in place, you can either do the decorative stitching or stitch your applique.

Barbie Jo's Decorative Stitching

Applique First for Me!

We received a kit with a variety of wool which we used to piece our background and baste in place. After the background is in place, you can either do the decorative stitching or stitch your applique. What a great way to use up those little random scraps of wool!

Primitives of the Midwest

Yesterday I had the privilege to take part in a class at an annual gathering of superb primitive artisans in nearby Lee's Summit, MO called Primitives of the Midwest. I took an all day class offered by Lisa Bongean of Primitive Gatherings. Lisa keeps the class moving, but she has a lot of great tips and different ways to do things.

"Patiently Waiting"

Lisa's designs have a lot of detail and she's developed some new techniques to ensure that her finished project has the well crafted look she wants. Instead of using freezer paper to cut out the pieces and tack them on with glue or pins, Lisa recommends using Seam a Seam Lite.

Lots of Cutting Out to Do!

I've always used the freezer paper method and the benefit is you don't have to trace everything. For example, this design has seven flowers and I had to trace each one of them. Using freezer paper allows you to trace it once, cut out the design and then you can reuse the paper and even save it to use when and if you make that design again. But one advantage to using Steam a Seam is that, if you're using a piece of wool that frays easily, this will cut down on the fraying. Lisa also recommends running a tiny bead of Fray Check on the edges of loosely woven wool to ensure no fraying!

Lisa also has a different way of doing the blanket stitch. The trick to ensure the stitches lie flat and don't roll over the design is to keep pressure on the thread, pulling it back from the design. I've done a lot of blanket stitching and never figured that out, but it does make a difference. And then to finish, Lisa cuts the backing about 3/8" smaller than the design, pins the pieces together RST and edges matching and stitches around, leaving an opening for turning this piece. This will cause part of the wool background to roll under, making a nice clean edge that doesn't need to be blanket stitched unless you want to do so.

Tongues Turned In, Ready for Fabric Backing

There's a lot of stitching involved, but I hope to finish this up this weekend.

Class Member Sally Preferred Cardinals

If you are a fan of Lisa's, you'll love the BOM she has coming out this fall. It's a take on the classic Baltimore Album quilt done in wool. I'd love to do this, but I'd have to make it a wall hanging. It would probably last only one or two days on the bed before one of the cats would throw up on it.