Just a note for now...

Yes ~ I'm back to my familiar blog template.  None of the other choices suited my personality and after speaking with my #1 WedeWorks fan (hi Denice), I returned more promptly than I thought I would.  Ha! 

Please note a few changes.  You Tube was not cooperating with my intentions.  I don't know where the glitch is originating and after a prescribed amount of patience I deleted the video bar widget from the bottom of my blog and embedded the one You Tube video that I'm really jazzed about at the moment.  Fractals intrigue me and the more I learn about them the more mesmerized I become.  Although a nine minute video is rather lengthy, you will be astounded with the information presented therein so grab a cup of tea or whatever and relax long enough to view it all the way through.  I wasn't crazy about the 'music' that accompanies it so just use the volume lever on the bottom right part of the video screen to adjust it when it gets in music mode if you don't like it either.

Here's scores of computer generated fractal eye candy for those who are interested although I have no idea how these are done... I think an image is photo manipulated to repeat a specific design, thus creating man made fractals but I'm guessing here??

https://www.fractalus.com/cgi-bin/glist

And here's a natural fractal (a hybrid broccoli/cauliflower ).  I bought one last summer at Farmers Market just because it was pretty but it did taste pleasant as well.

   tiger.towson.edu/~gstiff1/researchpage.htm



Another addition to my site is the Animal Rescue button located on the sidebar.  You can click on the image, it will take you to the web page where you click once daily (FREE) - and this helps feed rescued animals.  It's a quick trip and you can use your browser window back button  < to return to WedeWorks.  If you have a heart for animals in need this is a wonderful way to help out.  Thanks.

2010 With a new look for my blog...

It will be a year this February when I began this blog and while I have enjoyed the previous template this past year, I'm ready for a change.  Don't be surprised if I play with it a bit and land on something entirely different but for today I like this one.  : )

Hopefully everyone has enjoyed their holiday events this past month and is looking forward to a new year and all the opportunities that come with it.  My two Block of the Month quilt tops I participated in this year are almost finished.  For those of you who don't know what that is... each calendar month a new block is pieced and at years end there are 12 finished blocks which are enough for a lap or bed sized quilt depending on how you sew it together.  I'd never done BOM's before so I enrolled for two colorways of the same project at a local quilt shop. If I didn't make a concerted effort to complete them this month  I knew they would sit in a drawer half done for heaven knows how long. 

Next I'll put the blocks together on my friend Kathy's king sized Yellow Brick Road quilt top so I can clear the studio of that project.  I'm also committed to make a doll sized quilt for our guilds annual Teddy Bear Tea in February.   Those quilts are matched with Teddy's and other stuffed animals, then divided among five or six child related social networks for children in need, homeless, abuse etc.  My final commitment is creating a recycled art piece for the Salvation Army's Trash to Treasure silent auction which benefits several community non-profit organizations locally.  I've not previously participated in this event but it falls right in line with my recycling and charity donations so I'm looking forward to it.  More later.

An unexpected but welcomed surprise arrived in the mail recently from Friends of Pets.  This was my first time participating in their annual fund raising silent auction.  My cat quilt was the last entry for this year but took First Place People's Choice Award for Favorite Cat Theme.  In addition I received a $50. gift card from Seams Like Home - the local quilt shop I just finished my two BOM quilts from.  Best of all, I was able to combine my gift card and a quilt shop coupon for 25% off my entire purchase, to get some wonderful gifts for myself.  Ha!  Finally I have a Walking Foot for my Bernina sewing machine among other goodies.

Photos of all these projects to follow.  Just wanted to let everyone know I'm still here and happily getting acquainted with my new computer more each day.  Be back soon.  HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Vintage Fabric Tote

If you haven't guessed by now, I thoroughly enjoy making something old into something new.  Recycling suits my nature especially if it is artistry with a practical purpose.  My 'mobility tote' was made as a Christmas gift for someone who uses a walker.  An apparatus like this doesn't allow for carrying items when both hands are needed for stability and mobility.  With that in mind, I decided a lightweight tote bag with long enough handles to hang from the walker or over the shoulder was necessary.  It must hang from the side without getting in the way and be roomy enough to be useful yet sturdy enough to carry reasonably heavy items.  Inside pockets would be an organizational benefit and a light interior would increase visibility.  A removable stiff fabric covered insert helps to reinforce the bottom of the bag.  A blue canvas exterior was chosen for stability, strength and being somewhat soil resistant.  I sewed wide black elastic at the top sides to accommodate accessibility to the interior and allow for a full pack.

 EVERYTHING about this project is 100% recycled.  My fabrics were leftover scraps, the canvas was given to me from a previous church project, and the best part... vintage 8-pointed stars were purchased locally from an antique shop by a friend, which I then bought from her in a garage sale.  I have a slew of these hand pieced stars and decided to use four of them in this configuration as my focal design on the front of the tote.  The person I made this gift for is partial to Depression Fabrics so I knew she would appreciate this tote even more.

Because vintage fabrics are typically worn and weaker from age I used a lightweight fusible stabilizer to reinforce the fabrics.  Stabilizer also assists in creating a stronger edge for machine stitched applique.  I used the buttonhole stitch with a variegated thread that would blend with the stars.  Placing the design on the diagonal and using a dark canvas backing lends itself to greater contrast and overall interest.  I did not work from a pattern which makes this a one of a kind unique gift.  This project placed high demand on my thought and time but hopefully it will make mobility for someone special a little easier.

Vintage Fabric Fiber Bowl

Vintage fabrics emit a comfortable homey feeling.  I enjoy them immensely for their charm and simplicity.  Often times quilt blocks, especially during the 1930's Economic Depression, were made with fabrics recycled from homespun, clothing, aprons, and even printed feed sacks for the home sewer trying to stretch her dollars.  No telling when and where this quilt block began or how I even acquired it - probably through a local antique shop - but with a bit of ingenuity and a versatile heavy fabric stabilizer called Timtex, I transformed this old quilt block into a fiber bowl.

I adhered the block to the stabilizer with Wonder Under (an iron on fusible web), and did the same with canvas for the backing.  (Fast2Fuse is a similar stabilizer with fusible web already on both sides, thus eliminating the extra step).  This blocks pattern helped dictate which lines I would create with a machine satin stitch.  I used the center beige patch as the bottom of the bowl but found it to be too small so I enlarged the base by adding another satin stitched square on the diagonal around the first.  The plaid orange section was originally rectangular in shape.  After notching out a V- section on each side,  from the side edge of the block toward the center and deep enough to create the height I desired, the orange sections became somewhat football shaped.

Although I have machine quilted fabric bowls for added texture and design,  in this case I didn't feel this fabric needed it.  The beauty of this heavy stabilizer (which is used in baseball caps to make the bills), is that it will bend and hold its shape.  I folded back the blue sections and hand sewed vintage mother of pearl buttons on each corner with embroidery thread.

This is an inexpensive gift item and a great way to use up oddball blocks or just a piece of fabric while making something useful.  Recycling is a beautiful thing!

Here's the book I used to learn this technique by Linda Johansen