mystical crafting corner

Bird #11: Rainbow-bearded Thornbill

Guild: -chilly silence-

President: so the challenge to you all is a quilt with your interpretation and/or feelings towards our current “democracy”

Guild: 👏👏👏

How I spent my July 4th.

At the start I thought stitching “fuck you I won’t do what you tell me” for the last quarter would be therapeutic

I was correct.

I have one more line of embroidery and I think it needs to be bolder and messier than I started it.

Hard to tell in this light, and without ironing it, that the embroidery does get gradually bolder as it goes. Two strands at the top versus 5 at the bottom (6 for the started to be redone final line).

Not bad for first time doing appliqué.

Bird #15: Purple Glossy Starling

But get this: It’s made from fucking TREE BARK. Can you imagine the dedication, foresight, and experimentation involved in figuring out how to harvest and spin that? On top of everything, it’s also lace weight. What the fuck, Neanderthals?

Article: https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/04/neanderthals-made-the-worlds-oldest-thread/

Also, big ole slow clap for the article writer.

like, look at it. it’s string. it’s obviously string. you don’t actually have to be a genius to look at this and think ‘ah! string time :)’

i’ve picked up shed pieces of elm bark on a golf course, stripped and combed out the fiber with just my fingernails, and started hand-twisting good strong cordage right then and there as i walked. you don’t even have to soak it first, though i think if you want finer/softer cordage it helps to soak, beat, and comb the fibers.

the people of the pacific northwest, where there’s so many cedars, developed really wonderful textiles out of cedar bark fiber, pounding and soaking and combing it a bit like linen. i’ve never gotten to touch any, though i’d really like to.

here’s a whole page on all the different stems and barks that can be used for cordage! how cool is that?

Despite making this post in August, this post spikes in brief periods throughout the year, depending on when folks like to start.

Reading all the cool costume projects people are working on

Just in time for Moon Day Monday, I finished my quilt!

I learned many things on this one, including:

- nesting your seams is a thing and it really helps with nice aligned corners, who knew??

- inset circles. Now I fear nothing, including God

- how to use the long arm with a pantograph

- the easy way to change thread on the long arm because the inner blocks were too light for the medium grey thread I was using

- how to stress out my grandfather stopping at various points on the pantograph because I wanted to do something different in the moons and finally

- fun things about free motion quilting, so I could put the correct textures of our beautiful lady into the different phases on the blocks.

The holiday quilt is done. Small lap quilt made of reclaimed materials. Fully handsewn and hand quilted. Closeups below for the quilting stitches.