Wow, it's been awhile. Stained glass project.

The past two years I've found it very hard to blog. Maybe it was my son going to school. Or maybe it was the motivation was never there anymore. Any moments I spent were mostly being sucked into my phone complacently surfing the web. Oh my gosh, Pinterest pretty much had every spare moment not being a Mom, or doing stuff, was on my couch while my kids watched way too much T.V.

I somehow managed to do quite a lot of stuff, but never felt the need to post about it. But, today, its raining, and I've somehow exhausted the internet. So, I'm posting some thing I had just finished. Well, rather the craftsmen finished the project, I just gave it to them to do. Note to all you out there, it's ok to let a professional do the hard work. Seriously, it will be better and cheaper than trying do somethings all by yourself.

So, this stained glass had been wandering out various households.

It was originally three antique transom pieces that had been re-worked to one large piece to cover a bathroom window. The stained glass people didn't do an amazing job. There was no re-bar to support the very heavy piece and after 20 years it was sagging and falling apart. Not to mention the color choices were a bit weird. So it had been in my sisters house, then my Mother's house. After my Mom moved, there was no other place for it to go. It was in the garage and I decided I would try to use it in my bathroom window. The huge 4'x4' window was naked save for blinds that let very little light in. But alas, there was no apparently studs to hold the 50 pound piece. So, it stayed behind my dresser, mostly peeking out, and it irritated me that I couldn't use it. The colors chosen were weird, my sister said the stained glass guy she used for some reason chose blue when there was no blue in the original piece and she was a bit miffed. I researched stained glass repair and reworking and it was so complicated with a huge amount of tools I just didn't feel I could tackle it myself. I had wanted to separate the three original pieces and hang them separately. So finally after 6 months of staring, I got my butt in gear and looked for some professionals. I found a stained glass shop a few miles from me, whose sign I drive by almost daily. I never thought to actually see if they were in business until now. Well, they were. 

Whiteworth stained glass:

/http://whitworthstainedglass.com/

I called and asked if they did repair and refashioning on old stained glass. Jack, the owner said yes and I dragged the large and wobbly and falling apart piece and managed  to put it in my minivan. (Thank god for minivans ;) I drove it over, showed it to him and he was pretty surprised I was able to manage it into my van given the state of disrepair it was in. And not break it I guess. After talking it over with my Mom and my sister it looked like I could go ahead and have Jack and his team to fix it. The price was better than I was expecting for the labor. So I came up with the mock-ups of how I wanted them to look finished.

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

I went with option 3, with green and white borders added new to match the green in the shields. 

In about 3 weeks, Jack gave me a call and said he had finished. 

I was thrilled, they came out beautifully.

The final resting place of these pieces was my Mothers kitchen. She had three big windows that needed a little excitement.

The added border goes perfectly with the decor in her house, and adds some excitement to her kitchen. It made a perfect mothers day gift, albeit, a few weeks after Mothers day. Thanks to all my sisters and brothers that helped pay for it, and a big thank you to Whitworth stained glass for creating it.

,Ruth

Well, it's quilting time.

It's been a long drought of new posts and such. That's completely my fault. I was in a very long and dusty creative block. Then, my sister had her baby. And it was QUILTIN' TIME! Thank you dear sweet Sullivan, you helped me out of my slump.

Here's some of the work I did that helped me back into the sewing creative groove.

These were leftover fabrics from another project I had done years earlier.

Another zig zag pattern? Yes I think so.

I made this design wall out of a 8'x4' piece of wall insulation foam board.
Wrapped in a piece of batting and then flannel, I never have to get on the floor to lay
out a quilt again!! Genius. It just lays agains the all, and is super lightweight.

Final idea approved my myself and my sister, and my mom.

I pieced it together, and then just did a basic stitch in the ditch to quilt it on my machine. 

Note my children's artwork and notes adorn my design wall.
I can use straight pins in it as a bulletin board as well.
I always have those around.

The backing had a little piece work in it. I rarely have enough fabric for the backing, and I love pieced backs. It's like two quilts in one!

 My dear little niece, Sullivan.

Thanks to Tery Wiemers for the
embroidery machine help.

My sister Sully is a teacher at a local high school and she helped me to get this embroidered with her name and date of birth. Big Thanks to Terry Wiemers the fashion design and sewing teacher who let me use the embroidery machine and worked it for us.

Actually I must thank Sully, without her I wouldn't have done this at all. Like I said, I was in a creative slump. Sort of. My sister was having a baby in May and was planning on name her Sullivan. So my older sister the original Sullivan, Sully to all of us, insisted we do a project together for our new baby Sully.

Sully: "Ruthie, we need to do a project for baby Sully. And by us I mean, that we brainstorm a project, and that you do it for me."

Ruth: "That definitely sounds like one of our projects."

Now Sully, is and was an artist and art teacher, and Home Ec teacher. And this was apparent even when we were children. She taught me art, and how to make taffy, and how to make candles, how to silk paint, and read me stories, and created treasure hunts and musicals that are lovingly recorded on video for all of our combined amusement and horror. For birthday presents, she would give me "gifts" that were more like projects. Like blank paper and water colors, or gave me an assignment that I would sometimes finish. Once I became a full fledged member of the BFA club, (bachelor of fine arts) we would work on projects together. And by together I mean, she would start one and I would finish it. She has been one of the most ardent supporters of EVERYTHING I do. Well, especially quilts. So after much brainstorming of ideas for little Sully, we decided to do a quilt. Mostly I decided because Sully and I couldn't agree. Maybe this was her plan all along. Hmnn, she's a mastermind older sister right?

So thanks big Sully, and little Sully, and Gracie for conspiring to help me get some fun work done.

Thanks and thanks again.

Ruthie

Finishing tutu's

I have finished the four tutu's I was making for the Nutcracker this year. I still have 2 volunteers working on the other 4. 

Waltz of the flowers tutu's.

Still more work to do, I need to fit them on the dancers they were made for, and add the hook and eye closures, sew the back straps in to the bodice. 

While I was perusing the internet, looking for more tutu's I came across this.....The New York City Ballet Costumer shop.

This is fabulous.

So cool. Oh how I wish I could have explored that place and picked their brains.

While looking at other tutu's; (because I may be insane) I came across some really great videos, and tutorials. As well as a great website to buy tutu's Prima Donna Tutu's. 

I just want to show you guys some of the fantastic stuff they offer.

All property of Primadonna tutu's.

Man o Man. I wish I could create something like this. 

All property of Primadonna tutu's.

They make these either custom, or you can get basic. I would have loved to buy tutus' from them but they are not kidding around. They will cost upwards of $500 a tutu. Which taking into account the work and struggle that goes into making tutu's, it would be worth it. (But out of the question for a some student ballet company's)

Well, inspiration for another day.

,Ruth

Spiderweb quilt finished!!

So, after many many (10 or so) months of stalling and stopping and finally finding motivation....
I  finished the spiderweb quilt.

I'm so glad my neighbors are so friendly and let me use their fence to photograph
the quilts I make.

Instagram fun

Picnic anyone?

A little piecing in the back is my favorite thing.

Onto the recipient, my sister Laura who's been asking for a quilt
for years now.

I had originally found the tutorial from CrazyMomQuilts blogspot. But instead of paper piecing, or sewing onto a small kite shaped piece of fabric, I used a muslin triangle, and just sewed on top of it until I was finished. That way I don't have to pull off paper, and I've got a perfect triangle and built in stabilizer. The quilt was heavier that way, and because of all the piecing and the under layer it was a bear to quilt through. My long arm quilter Kelliegh called me and told me the 12 layers of fabric at the thickest point was too much to fit under her presser foot on her long arm machine, and we decided on a lazy stipple for the pattern as opposed to a pantagram. And I love it, it's not too overwhelming for such a busy quilt and it allowed her to avoid breaking her machine and numerous needles.

 You can find Kelleigh at:

http://www.kellsquilting.com/

Next on my mind is a quilt for my daughter, to be joining us November 26, 2012. Talk about Thanksgiving.

Ruth

Wow

Take a look at this repurposed billboard turned into a swing set. I loved swinging as a kid and if they would let me I'd do it again. (But those pesky children always get irritated if an adult is hogging the swings).

Go HERE to learn more.

Ruth

Absolutely Fabulous

No, I'm not speaking about Ab Fab, the wonderfully funny and irreverent English comedy. I'm speaking of this blogger:

http://shropshirescrappersuz.blogspot.com

Oh My goodness. If you like flowers, cut paper, and general lovelieness, go to her blog.

Especially the Ikea lamp hack.

Ikea hacking is taking something you bought at ikea, and tweaking it to fit your needs. Painting, re-finishing, cutting, adding who know's what. There's a whole website devoted it it called Ikea Hackers.

It's worth a look. Here are some pictures from Shropshire Scrappers UZ.

You will be mine.

Oh yes, you will be mine.

She also posts a tutorial on how to hack it yourself.

Here it is:

Flower light tutorial courtesy of Shopshirescrappersuz.

Love you All and Happy Memorial Day.

Ruth