Redwork Tree Skirt Part 5: The Final Reveal

To start at the beginning of this journey...
Redwork Tree Skirt Part One
Redwork Tree Skirt Part Two
Redwork Tree Skirt Part Three
Redwork Tree Skirt Part Four

The Redwork Tree Skirt project if finally complete. My mom put the whole thing together & even made for accessories for my little sistar's house. So, grab some egg nog & a gingerbread man...

Heather drew eight designs for her tree skirt

Embroidering on route to Thanksgiving in New Orleans 2013

Double acorn completed in redwork

Birds completed in redwork with turquoise accents

Mom completed the tree skirt 

Heather's tree with the skirt underneath

Another view of Heather's tree

Mom made a table runner & mug rug out of leftover fabric

Miniature stocking Mom made out of leftover fabric grace Heather's mantle

All lit up for Christmas with the completed tree skirt beneath

It is so gratifying to see a project completed, appreciated, & on display. What a great family project.

Happy Holidays & Happy Stitching!

Ruby's Marketplace Grand Opening

After about 6 months in business, the artisan co-op I belong to is finally ready for their Grand Opening! If you are out & about in northeastern NY, southern VT, & western MA this weekend, stop on by. There are other great shops & a few local restaurants too.

A shortened version will appear in Manchester newspapers tomorrow. Here is the long press release:

FOR MORE INFORMATION:                                          FOR RELEASE:

Terry Mumby                                                                          IMMEDIATE

rnthimble@verizon.net                                                        March 28, 2014

TITLE: GRAND OPENING OF RUBY’S MARKETPLACE

GREENWICH, N.Y. (March 28, 2014)- Walking down Main Street in Greenwich, one can see a resurgence. New businesses are popping up in the vacant storefronts, like flowers poking through the winter snow. One such business is Ruby’s Marketplace, a co-op of local vendors.

Ruby’s Marketplace initially opened in October 2013 with a handful of artisans, and now boasts eight local vendors under one roof. The Grand Opening of Ruby’s Marketplace is a two-day event: Friday, April 11 from 10:00 to 5:00 pm, and Saturday, April 12 from 10:00 to 4:00 pm. Craft demonstrations, refreshments, and eight unique door prizes are all part of the festivities as you shop.

Greenwich resident, Annette Arnold, started YARN to supply yarn and patterns while teaching knitting and crocheting classes. She soon added pottery, and painted glassware to her list of skills under the name Brushes & Mud.

Aprilsongstress Designs features hand embroidery by Greenwich native Tisha Dolton. Ms. Dolton began embroidering in 1998 while working at Saratoga National Historical Park. She has since switched to redwork, a simple embroidery that is excellent for her embroidered portraits.

Her mother, Tamaris Dolton, also of Greenwich, started Just-A-Duck in 1988. Mrs. Dolton’s business has evolved over the last 26 years, and she now focuses on one-of-a-kind, whimsical, wonky quilts.

Another mother-daughter team, Beadle Hill Bags is the enterprise of Judy Stevens and Annabelle Bink. The two enjoy sewing and other creative crafts.  Together, they make purses, wallets, and tote bags that are at the same time useful, beautiful and affordable.

Paper Creations is a collection of colorful hand stamped cards, and stationary by another Greenwich resident, Beth Vallone.

Mina Zaffarano makes lovely, hand crafted necklaces, bracelets, and earrings at very reasonable prices from her home in Hoosick Falls. Mrs. Zaffarano also assists Ms. Dolton with the store’s Facebook page.

“Thoughtfulness in a busy world” is the tag line for Sincere Sentiments. Saratoga Springs resident Carol Ann Maguire makes party favors, decorated candles, and seasonal floral wreaths for the home.

Sue’s Shirt Shop, run by Jim and Sue Adams of Argyle, is the newest addition to the marketplace. They hope to have printed mugs, shirts, and gifts available in the shop this April.

Ruby’s Marketplace is located at 81 Main Street in the village of Greenwich, NY, next to Ruby’s Nimble Thimble. Visit our joint Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/RubysNimbleThimble. 

Ruby's Nimble Thimble & Ruby's Marketplace- 81 Main S. Greenwich, NY 12834

Unfortunately, I have to work Friday & Saturday & will not be there. My mom (Just-A-Duck) will be there with her quilts for a little while. Her ankle is recovering well from the fall she took in February. She has been riding the stationary bike at physical therapy. Plus, today she was able to get a regular shoe on!

I will have a display of how I do my embroidered portraits. Hopefully that will pique some more interest. & for those of you who requested a tutorial, I haven't forgot. I'm plugging away at it.

Happy Stitching!

Vendors on Facebook 
Aprilsongstress
Just-A-Duck
Beadle Hill Bags
Vine & Branches Gallery
Brushes & Mud
YARN
Sue's Shirt Shop

I'm in a SHOP!

Fabulous news!

My mother & I have rented space in a shop in Greenwich, NY. The Grand Opening is tomorrow & I am very excited. Unfortunately, I will not be at the opening due to my "day job," but Mom will be there for a little while & so will the other women we are sharing the shop with.

Here are the dets:

DAY:
Saturday, October 12, 2013

LOCATION:
Ruby's Marketplace
81 Main St
Greenwich, NY 12834

TIME:
10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Spinning demo 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.)

THE GOODIES:
Hand embroidery & redwork (by me- Aprilsongstress)
Quilts, aprons, backpacks, tea cozies, fabric cornucopias, et al (by Mom- Just-A-Duck)
Vintage Clothes (by Ruby's Nimble Thimble)
Yarn & pottery (by Annette Arnold)
Jewelry (by Mina)
Stamped stationary & cards (by Beth)

Oh, & there is a classic car show in town, so bring the other half, or a friend.

Sneak peek at my display at Ruby's Marketplace 2013

The event is also listed on my Facebook page. Head over & 'like' it!

It's (nearly) Fair Time!

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Summer means lots of things to lots of people, but I think many would agree that "The Fair" is a summer must. No matter where you live, fond memories of local county fairs abound.

For me & mine this means the Washington County Fair on Route 29 in Greenwich, NY. (The fair is technically in the Town of Easton, but as Easton has no post office, or even one, unified zip code, the address says Greenwich. Bear with me, the historian in me is coming out. Let me switch gears again.) It is, arguably, the best county fair in NY State.

Anyway, Mom & I have decided to (gasp) enter some of our projects in the fair! Why had we not thought of this before? Mom has been quilting for nearly 20 years & she used to win awards for her clothes when she was in 4-H. The quilt divisions tend to be pretty competitive, but Mom did get 3rd place in the NY State DAR competition!

The needlework/embroidery/cross-stitch divisions tend to be a bit more open. I have quite a few pieces that fit into the categories. Plus, two more projects I need to complete before the middle of August. All told, we are submitted 6 items each!

portrait of Fiona in progress- based on a selfie

Oh, & Mom has a new blog! Check it out here...

Flashback...

Hope everyone had a great National Embroidery Month. I fell way behind due to life (& death), but am ready to start March with a bang.

While I continue to work on my daughter's One Direction quilt, I will share a few previous projects!

The Bonnet

This particular piece was for  local fundraiser. Everyone who participated decorated a window, then the windows were auctioned off. The pattern for this lovely lady in her floral bonnet came from the book Ladies of Leisure.

I traced out the pattern on to white cotton, crayon tinted it, then broke out the embroidery floss. I just rediscovered this photograph & figured I would share it. I think it is beautiful.

Ellen Hardin Walworth House Saratoga Springs, NY- razed

 This is another project that I created as part of a fundraiser. Our local DAR chapter (Saratoga) was holding a fundraiser & my mother & I created this pillow to help. Using a photograph of Daughters of the American Revolution founding member Ellen Hardin Walworth's home in Saratoga Springs, NY I was able to create this redwork facade. My mother put the pillow together.

The house was razed in the 1960s. There is currently a gas station/convenient store on Broadway where the house used to stand. The 3rd floor of the Saratoga Springs History Museum is an approximate replica of the rooms in the Walworth House.

back of Walworth House pillow

For more information on Ellen Hardin Walworth, check out Saratoga Sojourn: A Biography of Ellen Hardin Walworth by Allison Bennett & Fall of the House of Walworth by Geoffrey O'Brien.

Reworking an old, incomplete piece...

Last month my mom was going through some vintage needlework she had accumulated over the years. She used to do a needlework party plan & taught candlewicking for awhile. In this bunch of stuff, she uncovered a partially embroidered piece that looked like Jacobean flowers. Mom said it came from my aunt's house.

Apparently the woman who owned my aunt's house previously was an artist. She used to go down to NYC to pick up supplies & come back to her home Gansevoort (Saratoga County, NY) to work on her ideas. This piece may have been one of her own designs transferred on to a bit of linen.

I decided to remove the original embroidery, which felt like crewel wool, & embroider the piece myself.

Used embroidery scissors to remove the old stitching

A new color pallet of variegated floss

 I used DMC variegated floss, #92 (green), #99 (burgundy/pink), & #105 (brown) to complete the piece. I wanted different colors but didn't want to have to plan a color way. So, I was lazy & used variegated floss!

Detail of the completed piece

Finished piece

Now that the piece is finished, I need to decide what to do with it. Should I frame it? Should I turn it into a table runner?

Redwork grandkids for competition?

Another project I have been working on for awhile is to create redwork renditions of the grandkids for my mom. My grandiose idea involved me learning to sew and creating an entire queen-sized redwork quilt. Ha!

Well, I had 4 of the 5 blocks done, but never got around to the youngest grandson, until Mom got an email from some quilt guru saying she should submit a quilt or 2 for an upcoming competition.

Breaking out the photo I had chosen of my nephew Aidan's cute face I got to work.

outline on blown up scanned image

traced image on bleached muslin using light box & pencil

traced image on muslin compared to outline on paper

Once the image I wanted had been transferred onto fabric, I was ready to embroider. I used my favorite spring tension embroidery hoop, similar to the Darice hoop, & DMC floss #347.

back of project showing my stitches & spring tension hoop

project in progress using outline stitch

Stem stitch vs. outline stitch... check out this blog!



finished redwork square of my nephew Aidan



With all 5 redwork squares done, Mom can create her grandkids quilt. It won't be very big. She is making 8" or 9" Puss-in-the-Corner for the remainder of the blocks.

I'll keep you posted if it is chosen for competition!

Embroidery to match your fabric...

I can't draw to save my life. & here comes the but; the very big BUT!

I can color & I can trace!

& I can embroider.

So, what do I do when I want an embroidery pattern to match the fabric I am working with? Do I search through my stash of patterns, books, quotes, photos, & other random bits of ephemera? Sometimes, but usually I create a pattern from the fabric. Using the fabric as the base for my embroidery pattern ensures that it will match!

Step 1. Scan the fabric & save it. I save it to my Dropbox account so that I can have it wherever I go. Especially if I'm blogging on the go. Or need a new pattern while at a friend's house for tea.


Ghastlies Witch under embroidery transformation

Step 2. Print out the scanned image to the size you want, then trace the image onto your fabric. I taped the bleached cotton muslin fabric & paper to the window & used natural light. I almost always use regular pencil to trace patterns.

Step 3. Start embroidering. I mainly used an outline stitch with 3 strands of floss. The hair & face I used 2 strands & a modified back stitch. The DNC floss is a dark gray that looks like pencil (I don't recall the number). I used a rather old 6" spring hoop & what ever needle I had laying around.

Ghastlies Witch transformed

Step 4. Give it to your amazing mother to make it into whatever you or she wants! LOL! For me, this is true because I cannot sew. I'll have to take a class one of these days! Mom made it in to a tea cozy.

Embroidered front of completed tea cozy

fabric back of completed tea cozy

If you like the fabric, it is a series called The Ghastlies by Alexander Henry Fabrics. You can buy it a bunch of places, but I like Hawthorn Threads.

Gram's embroidery

My mother's mother passed away 7 years ago. This past summer, while going through her things, my mother came across a number of Gram's old craft projects. She went through them & decided on one each for all of us. Mine is a counted cross stitched & embroidered children's prayer.

cross stitch by Jacqueline Martin

For my birthday, my Mom brought the cross stitch to KC Framing & Fabrics in Saratoga Springs, NY. Kelly did a great job with the matting & framing!

close-up of older girl and baby

I am rather partial to the older girl with the brown braids. I wore braids & ponytails quite a bit as a kid. She reminds me of myself, but she also looks like my big sistar, Emily. The little blond baby reminds me of my little sistar, Heather.

close-up of older boy and younger girl

 This little girl could be me, the middle sistar. The boy could be my older brother, Sean, if his hair were brown.

close-up of younger boy

There are only 4 of us, so this little boy is extra. He's cute though.

Heather's pillow

Last Christmas I decided I wanted to make something special for my little sistar*. We are very close in age & shared a room for the majority of our childhood. In many ways we were best friends. I thought about sister quotes, but I'm not a fan of embroidering words.

If your family is like my family, there are a few iconic photographs that everyone loves & remembers. I decided I would adapt one of the images into an embroidery pattern & make a pillow. Brilliant!

I decided on one photograph. Luckily it was already scanned, so I had a digital copy to work with.

Heather & Tisha outside Nanny & Gramp's house c.1977


I printed the image out on a regular sheet of paper. Then, using pencil, I traced the objects to be included in the finished design & added embellishments.



pencil outline on copy of image above

Then, I blew up the image on the printer/ scanner & retraced the outline using black marker for most lines & black pen for fine lines.

marker & pen outline on copy of previous image


Notice how I chose to include a complete outline of the mailbox on the fence? I nixed the tree & added some cartoon flowers near Heather at the base of the fence. I chose to add the flowers because Nanny was an avid gardener & owned her own greenhouse business for many years. She eventually put a flower bed around the mailbox.

If you want a reverse of the image simply flip the paper over, & using a light box or taping it to a window, trace the image onto the back of the paper. Now you have two patterns.

reverse of previous image

Next, I traced the image on white Kona fabric using pencil (but water soluble blue marking pen works as well). I used crayons based on the colors in the original photograph & colored in little Tisha & Heather & the flag on the mailbox. Then, sandwiching the colored fabric between two pieces of paper, I ironed the crayon into the fabric (process is called "crayon tinting"). Then, choosing coordinating embroidery floss, I got to work. Since I don't sew, our mom^ made the finished square into this pillow. (Thanks Mom!)

finished pillow

* I'm not sure how this started, but my sister Emily came up with this. We are Big Sistar (Emily), Middle Sistar (me), and Little Sistar (Heather).

^ Mom's blog- http://www.justaduck88.blogspot.com/