Earth Day: Mending a vintage quilt and collaborating with Anonymous

The theme for Earth Day 2023 is "Invest in our Planet." In our little space on the planet, my husband is tending our home garden and weeding the flower beds. My plan is to gather materials to mend the binding edge of this vintage quilt—a quilt that is on the bed and used all the time.

Frayed quilt binding on a vintage patchwork quilt that needs repair.

I realize that adding a new binding onto a vintage quilt will date it to the current year, but I think it's more important to care for and repair the things we have rather than discard them. Mending and repairing this quilt will be a "Collaboration with Anonymous." I like to think that the anonymous quiltmaker who made this quilt early in the last century would be pleased to know it is being used and cared for.

These are the potential fabric options I have for this mend. I'll be doing some auditioning to see what we—Anonymous and I—find most suitable.

Fabric options for a new binding on a vintage quilt.

 A Mend/Repurpose project is also one of my Make Nine prompts for this year.

Oh, and if you're interested in textiles, clothing, and sustainability, try the Sustainable Fashion Quiz on the Earth Day website.

Slow Fashion Challenge 2023 starts in May

The Slow Fashion Challenge 2023 is set for May 1-15. It follows Fashion Revolution Week, April 22 - 29. Fashion Revolution Week 2023 marks 10 years since the Rana Plaza tragedy.

Daily prompts for Slow Fashion Challenge 2023.
Follow #slowfashionchallenge2023 on social media.

Are you a maker?

As a maker and a fabric rep, many concepts of the Slow Fashion movement are pertinent to me and what I do. I participated in the Slow Fashion Challenge last year and was exposed to many ideas and issues surrounding sustainability, caring for and mending our clothes, fast fashion, fashion brands, and a myriad of other topics. I was also extremely inspired by the Challenge participants, their posts and comments.

Hand lettering practice with text from Folk Fashion, by Amy Twigger Holroyd.

I'm reading and incorporating excerpts from the book, Folk Fashion, Understanding Homemade Clothes by Amy Twigger Holroyd, in one of my 100 Day Projects. I think Folk Fashion ties in perfectly with the Slow Fashion Challenge.

Folk Fashion, Understanding Homemade Clothes, by Amy Twigger Holroyd.

One excerpt from the book examines the definition of Creativity with respect to individual sewers/knitters/weavers/etc. using patterns when making garments. It seems there are different views on creativity when making clothing for an individual or for oneself vs creating clothes for mass production. Does this also apply to Slow Fashion vs. Fast Fashion?

Creativity is about breaking new ground, but internally—doing something you've not done before.

Join the Slow Fashion Challenge

Consider participating in the Slow Fashion Challenge... or at least follow along [#slowfashionchallenge2023 and @slowfashionchallenge]. The prompts are new this year and there will be many insights and viewpoints on the topics from people around the globe. I know I'm certain to learn something! And, the possibilities for learning is a good motivation that might develop new habits. 

Hand lettering: "Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going."

Six days of stitching the Secret Trellis Garden

Working in the garden is often challenging, but it's also rewarding when you see the fruits of your labor. This composition, called the Secret Trellis Garden, is one from my 100 Days of Textile Collage project. This garden grew over the course of 6 days.

The Secret Trellis Garden
from 100 Days of Textile Collage project 2023.

Days 1 - 6

The beginning of this collage truly started with fabric leftovers—scraps from fussy cutting hexagon shapes for English paper piecing (EPP). You can see where the hexagons have been cut out. The background is also pieced from cut-offs from previous projects.

Secret Trellis Garden Day 1: running stitches in a zigzag pattern.

Following the design on the print, the scraps were appliquéd to the base in a zigzag (or "trellis") pattern. Unknown to me, the seeds for this stitched garden had been planted from the inception—with the trellis. 

Secret Trellis Garden Day 2: outlining the circle motifs.

The trellis was build (stitched) over the first two days. By Day 3, I needed to figure out how to bridge the two appliqué pieces to make the piece more unified. See that odd-shaped dark background showing through between the two appliqué pieces? That was the problem.

I incorporated yarn thrums in a previous composition and felt it was successful. So, auditioning thrums and other ideas was needed to bring cohesiveness to this one. 

Auditioning placement for yarn thrums.

The addition of another lighter fabric solved the problem. 

With the addition of a third fabric, the prints started to tell a story. The bees, grasshoppers, circles (flowers), the mason jars... all began to converse in this textile garden.

With another piece of fabric added, the lighter value made the composition mor unified.

The next obvious step was to turn the composition 180 degrees so the grasshoppers were right-side-up.

Secret Trellis Garden Day 3: rotating the work 180 degrees.

With the garden theme secured, it was time to add blooms and greenery. The yarn thrum spirals transformed themselves into flower blooms. French knots formed the flower centers. The beetles (the "crunchy" bugs) disappeared beneath flower petals where they belong.

Couching the yarn thrum flowers (in progress).

On Day 4, the garden took shape.

Secret Trellis Garden Day 4: yarn thrum blooms and stitched leaves and vines.

Day 5 focused on details: more French knots in the flower centers and the circle motifs; fireflies stitched in a doubled fly stitch; stem stitch outlines on the glass jars; stitched leaves with fly stitches supported the flowers.

Secret Trellis Garden Day 5: stitched flower centers, vines, leaves and fireflies were added.

On Day 6 the final touches included additional leaves and greenery, background kantha stitching, feather stitches at the bottom to ground the vines.

Secret Trellis Garden Day 6: the final composition.

In an outdoor garden, the work can been realized in the outcome. With a stitched garden, the work can be seen by looking at the back!

Secret Trellis Garden (back view).

The halfway point of the 100 Day Project

Today is Day 50 of the 100 Day Project 2023. The Secret Trellis Garden is my 8th textile collage composition.

Happy Easter 2023

Watercolor with hand lettering.

 

Combining my 100 Days of Hand Lettering project with watercolor flowers.

Pink tulips in the backyard.

Pink tulips colored by Mother Nature... who needs no classes nor practice.

Another Bristol knit top: Make Nine project #4

Can you have too much of a good thing? In the case of the Bristol Top pattern paired with Art Gallery knits... I think not.

The  Bristol Top with cotton knits from Art Gallery Fabrics.
My Make Nine 2023 Wild Card prompt.

When you're faced with the comment, "wear something green in honor of St. Patrick's Day," you quickly rummage through your closet to see what you have. Hmmm... not much. However, the luck of the Irish must have been in the air as I found two AGF knits on an "end of the bolt" sale. The prints were from two different collections, but with Art Gallery's fabrics, you can mix across collections and still come up with a pot of gold at the end of any garment sewing rainbow.

Make Nine 2023: the Wild Card prompt

This Bristol is fulfilling one of my Wild Card prompts for Make Nine 2023. This is my second Bristol this year and the sixth make from this pattern. See all previous versions in this blog post. 

Bristol Top #6. Pattern from The Sewing Workshop.

My Make Nine 2023 tracker has been updated.

Wild Card prompt on the Make Nine 2023 tracker.

Four projects completed this year with five more to go.

Make Nine 2023 tracker, April 1, 2023