One Direction Quilt Project: The Finale!

For those of you following the One Direction Quilt Project... it is complete! & it is currently on display at the Washington County Fair until Saturday, August 23, 2014 in the Domestic Arts building (#24). Congratulations to all the other participants & winners. For those of you who can't make it to the best fair in NY, here it is!

One Direction Quilt by Aprilsongstress on display at Washington County (NY) Fair August 18, 2014

Fiona can't wait to finally take possession of her quilt nearly 2 years in the making!

A special "Thank You" to my mom, Tamaris- Just-A-Duck & to Courtney at KC Custom Framing & Fabrics for pounding out an awesome long-arm quilt job while 9 months pregnant! You rock girl!

Close-up of hand embroidery & machine quilting

For those of you who are seeing this for the 1st time, check out my previous posts:
1.) 02/03/13
2.)  03/12/13
3.) 03/27/13
4.) 04/19/13
5.) 04/26/13
6.) 05/08/13
7.) 05/15/13
8.) 05/20/13


Happy Stitching!

Holy shhhh! It's August!

Wow! It's August. That means I need to get my stuff together for the Washington County Fair. Hoping for another ribbon or 2 this year. The One Direction Quilt Project should be wrapping up this month. I will keep you posted!

I have my first craft fair of the year coming up too! It is more artisan/ artist based & the organizers want us to focus on demonstrating our technique! Very exciting.

LocalFest event page on Facebook

LocalFest is in it's 3rd year & focuses things made here in the greater Glens Falls, NY area. I am thrilled to be a part of it this year. For the Facebook event page- CLICK HERE! There will be artists & artisans- selling & demonstrating, food, music, history talks, author readings, kids activities, performances, and more.

Check out what I'm making... Adirondack Guide, Noah John Rondeau lived in the Adirondack Mountains as a hermit for 37 years. A true individual, and self-educated man, he is just the sort of person I like to render in redwork embroidery.

Redwork of Noah John Rondeau

I hope you can stop by LocalFest at The Shirt Factory on September 6, 2014 & see me & all Glens Falls has to offer.

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!

Ribbons at the fair

I am very excited to report that my embroidery won 4 ribbons at the Washington County Fair this year! Since this is the 1st time I have ever entered anything in the fair, I am very pleased.

Embroidery display in Handmade and Homegrown Bldg

Embroidered portrait one 3rd place

 I wish the redwork, embroidered portrait of my wonderful daughter would have placed higher, but 3rd is great. It is a lovely piece that I am really proud of. I think competition in that particular category was pretty stiff. Plus, redwork only requires a few stitches, so it's not the best for showing off what the stitcher can do. The comment I received from the judges was that the picture appeared too large for the frame & I should have used something to keep the fabric flat in the frame. Fair points on both counts.

Holiday reindeer pillow took home 2nd place

 This reindeer pillow is the same pillow that took 1st place in the NY State DAR competition this spring. I am happy it received recognition from 2 different organizations!

My "We Can Do It!" pillow took home a blue ribbon

 I am proud of both of my 1st place entries. The "We Can Do It!" poster from 1943 has become an iconic image. I even have a lunchbox that features the image. I adapted the poster to create this embroidery pattern & have stitched it a few times.

The redwork quilt below is another original design. The patterns are based on 5 portraits, one of my daughter & the others of her 4 cousins from their 1st birthdays. It is a wall hanging that, I think, my mother loves as much as I do.

Redwork quilt of my mom's grandchildren came in 1st place

One Direction quilt project- Harry

Finally... the last one. He happens to be the youngest member of One Direction, Harry Styles.

Harry singing into his mic

To add visual interest I chose this image of Harry. It is very different from the images of the other members. It feels more intimate.

Embroidery in process

After creating the pattern from the Sketch Guru image, & transferring  the image to the fabric, I began embroidering Harry using DMC floss #922. Below shows the finished block. The mic came out a bit wonky, but I love how his face & hair came out.

Finished block of Harry

Harry's name just above Liam's

Harry's lyrics in What Makes You Beautiful

Fiona chose this line because Harry flips his hair a lot & she thought it was ironic. (Love my kid!) I added the butterfly because Harry recently got a butterfly (more realistic, not this girly) tattoo on is abdomen.

With all of the embroidery complete, my mom started helping me on the construction of the quilt.

Cutting the All-Star sneaker fabric

To flank the larger top & bottom group blocks, Mom pieced strips of the various fabrics to create the blocks in all 4 corners.

Ironing the strip pieced blocks

Below is the quilt top laid out on my daughter's bed. Notice all the One Direction posters. (Mom did the colorful strip paint job on the walls last year.)

Pieced quilt top

We will use the rest of the fabric to go around the top, bottom, & sides making a full size quilt. Now we need to find some backing fabric, then take it over to our friends at KC Framing & Fabrics in Saratoga Springs, NY. Maybe we will find some great fabric on our trip to the UK this week. It is my daughter's first trip abroad & she is so excited!

I'll post about the One Direction Quilt Project again when it is finished!

One Direction quilt project- Zayn

If I were allowed to have a favorite member of British-Irish boy band One Direction, it would be Zayn Malik. He's very nice to look at, shy, & (as I stated before) has the best voice. You may ask why I am not allowed to have a fave? That would be my daughter, Fiona. In her opinion, I am too old to like One Direction! (But I do. There, I admit it.)

I digress... This post is about the embroidered pieces I created about Zayn. If you have been reading this blog you must be familiar with my process by now...

1.) Pick awesome image of your subject & save it. (check)

Zayn singing, showing off his swallowtail tattoo

 2.) Create pattern by tracing over a printed copy of said image, or use an app like SketchGuru. (check)

Pattern created and traced out on the fabric

 3.) Trace pattern onto the fabric you will be embroidering on. (check)

Embroidery in progress

4.) Begin embroidering with your floss of choice (in this case DMC #321). (check)

Finished embroidered block of Zayn Malik

 5.) Finish embroidering & iron. (check)

That's it. It is so simple!

Zayn and Niall's names written by me

 Again, I like to use my own handwriting when I letter. I like using cursive more because it feels more like a design, like art. Printing feels like work.

Lyrics Zayn sings in the song Moments

Fiona wanted me to embroider nearly all of the bridge that Zayn sings in "Moments", but that was too many words for Mommy's sanity. I shortened it.

Only one more "boy" left in the boy band. Stay tuned for... Harry!

One Direction quilt project- Niall

Niall is the only member of One Direction who is not British. He is from Mullingar, Ireland. Because of that, I decided to add an Irish flag & the Union Jack to one of the blocks. I also added the 1D logo and one of Zayn's tattoos. For more on this block, check out one of my previous posts.

Cartoon 1D with signatures for the quilt

Fiona chose Niall & his blocks to be embroidered in DMC floss #904. It definitely reminds me of Ireland, even though it has been 15 years since I was there.

I've shared this block before as a work in progress. See it here. Below is the finished block.

Niall playing the guitar in embroidery

I think it came out great based on the image I created the pattern from. I didn't quite capture his quiff, but I like it just the same.

Niall playing guitar in Live While We're Young video

Kiss You lyrics sung by Niall

I think these are the funniest lyrics in the entire song. Again, I added a guitar for Niall, because I was not embroidering a chin. (Or drool, for that matter.)

Niall's name is complete- starting on Zayn

& for those of you who like to see the underside of embroidery...

Showing off my stitches

Next up is the member I, personally, think has the best voice... Zayn!

One Direction quilt project- Liam

Today I am featuring Liam Payne of One Direction.

The image below is to give you an idea of what the original image looks like & what the Sketch Guru image looks like. I usually use the "SimpleSketch2" option in the app. I find it gives me best mix of strong outlines & finer details.

Liam Payne and image used to create the pattern

From this sketch image, I create the embroidery pattern. Sometimes I draw it right on the fabric, as is the case with this project.

Traced out on the fabric

I didn't use my light box for this because the lines were so sharp. I just laid on my bed with some good overhead light & traced away.

Finished block of Liam all ironed

Using the trusty outline stitch, I embroidered Liam in purple- DMC floss #327. My favorite part of this is Liam's chevron tattoo peeking out from the arm of his sport coat.

Liam's name in my handwriting

Below is Liam's lyric block with the lines from "Over Again" that Fiona picked out. I traced Fiona's hand & embroidered the outline in light purple- DMC floss #209. Adding Fiona's hand made this quilt even more specific to her!

Liam's lyric block- Over Again

Up next... the boy from the Emerald Isle- Niall.

redwork tea cozy & table quilt

Mom & I have been working like crazy these past few weeks. Craft fair two weeks ago, one today, a couple in October & one in November before she & Dad head to Vegas for Thanksgiving with my little sistar!

I will be updating my Etsy Shop tomorrow with anything that doesn't sell today (Kulak's on Route 146 in Rexford, NY if anyone is out & about).

tea cozy & table quilt in redwork

The teapots on the table quilt in the image above were adapted from a disposable, paper napkin. I scanned napkin, then increased the size of each teapot to fit on my pre-cut 12"x12" cotton muslin square. Outline stitch in red... then get my mom to put the squares into a quilt. (I have to learn to sew one of these days!) The tea cozy is a different pattern that I did not design or adapt, but they look great together!