hand sewing – Page 2 – Malvena Pearl's Emporium

January 20, 2011 quilt square progress

Here’s some progress on the quilt square, which traveled with me to the home of Ms. C. yesterday. I went to help her paint a mural on her baby’s bedroom wall. The baby is due in a couple of weeks. Ms. C. is the friend who drew a bird a day for many long months in 2010 and has a nice collection of illustrations to enter into an exhibition or two. And she’s going to be a mother very soon.

Here’s the latest:

This quilt square also went with me to my first meet up with four other members of the Oakland Needlers group. What a hoot! They were working on cross stitch, knitting, crochet and hand-sewing projects. I am so glad I was invited. Lovely folks, good conversation, funny stories and advice given and accepted on the “needle arts” or “fiber arts.” I feel like i made some new friends and they are all in the East Bay so that’s wonderful. We meet again in two weeks. I want to have this quilt square complete and in the mail to the project person, Abby at Skull a Day, by next Monday.

Ninja Becky Thomas vs. Breast Cancer: Pink Warrior

I want to let my readers know about a great charity investment they can make to a great local cause. Becky Thomas, who has been teaching role playing workshops at Dr. Comics and Mr. Games in Oakland for 20 years, needs our help. She’s fighting the good fight against breast cancer. Becky’s partner, Steve Kani, designed some very cool t-shirts to raise some funds for Becky’s medical treatments for cancer. Becky teaches math, studies Ninjitsu and works with a number of autistic and special needs kids in the role playing groups and tutoring after school. I feel very grateful for Becky’s work in our community. I am not sure I’d be here if I hadn’t had some wonderful teachers when I was younger. They helped me find my love of history through role playing games and I learned to sew FOR those games. If you’re so inclined, check out Becky’s blog and the t-shirts here.

If you know of other ways to help Becky, please be in touch with her or with Steve through their blog or web site. Thanks!

quilt square update

Quilt square embroidery

Here’s the latest work I’ve done on the quilt square: the teeth of the skull.

I’m thinking of different stitches I can use to outline it and then make the wreath of flowers and leaves around it.

And here’s another evening of work on it, now with more definition:

2011 January

Greetings from the Emporium! Happy 2011 to everyone.

Every so often, inspiration strikes to help get me moving to our next endeavor. I will be posting much more often this year as I have been inspired by two sources. I read an article about a project diary called 365 Make Something Every Day and Change Your Life. This strikes me as very similar to the write-every-day strategy for folks who are writing a novel in a month. I’m inspired.

I also have a friend who has been drawing a bird every day. Her work is all over her living room and it’s inspirational. I will Make Something Every Day.

To jump start this process, I began work on a quilt square for a charity quilt. It’s being put together for a non-profit called Becky’s Fund by Abby over at Skull A Day. I’m kind of excited about it because I’m starting small and contributing to a group project. This I can do. I started yesterday.

I have been drawn to the images of Dia de Los Muertos, since I volunteered at the community event at the Oakland Museum. The first year I volunteered, I got to meet the organizers and participants and also was able to participate in the celebration and community blessing. I want to draw upon traditional imagery from that event for this project.

I did some research on images of skulls and went through my fabric collection to find a suitable background fabric. I drew the basic design in chalk and then went over it in ink onto the back of the square of fabric. I want it to be tactile, so I went over this outline with the sewing machine. It’s going to be partly applique and partly embroidery, with ribbon flowers. Here are the beginning photos.

skull design one skull design 2

bonnet complete

Here are some photos of the completed bonnet. My friend made the lace that I used to trim the inside:

hand-sewing the trim

After many hours of hand-sewing, I have completed the embellishments on the Victorian dress. The pattern of the trim is based on a number of photographs and fashion drawings from the 1840s – 186os. It’s two layers of trim: the top one is thin, red velvet ribbon. The collar is antique lace and so is the lace at the cuffs. All hand-sewn onto the garment, which was provided to me by the person who asked me for assistance.

I listened to some great digital recordings of J.K. Rowling’s first three “Harry Potter” books, while I sewed.

Here are a couple of pictures.

dress trim project

Progress! Hand sewing some gorgeous trim onto a cotton dress that will be worn to dances and to the Dickens Faire!

Yes, that is 2 layers of trim: the first layer is three colored and the top layer is thin, red velvet.

On the dvd player: Freaks and Geeks, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 2 and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, the Jeremy Brett production.

Halloween 2009

It’s the most Wonderful time of the Year! Project List

With school starting and the little goblins and ballerinas getting ideas for their outfits, we’ve got a full plate here at the Emporium. (not to mention, our recent relocation a few zip codes away from the old MPE studio.)

Here’s a few of the ongoing projects:

8- 10 aprons for a kindergarten class so they can cook and do art

1 “Stitch” costume and 1 “Max as wolf” costume for a little boy, size 4-5; I have a size smaller piece to transform and re-use

1 Klingon costume for our friend Corvus, for whom I made a wizard costume, somce years ago, to his specifications – I like specifications! (he sent me a photo of an action figure for a model this year – yay)

Completion of the two bonnets for the fabric-obssessed friends in the costuming group who have been promised the completion of these lovelies; and then the preparation for Dickens Faire 09 gears up…

Now to find the copy of “Bleak House” dvd; you see, her majesty, Roo, has been clamoring for it, now that Autumn is on its way. I think I might have to settle in with some “Jeeves and Wooster” on the dvd player, in the background.

I have converted two unsuspecting dvd-watchers to the wonders of British television series: “House of Elliot” and “Jeeves and Wooster”. And you pondered what I had been doing, when I was too busy to blog. Hah! There’s no need to fear! The super-distractor is here!

Oh, and there are all these boxes of fabric and books to unpack, sort, label. Ahem.

Decorating a bonnet

My friend got a plain, green bonnet form to match her new outfit for the Dickens Fair. She’s making the rest of the outfit so she asked me to decorate the bonnet. Here’s what I did.