sketchbook 5/24 – 6/6
sketchbook 5/17 – 5/23
the new plan for scraps : filed by color
The organizing was a huge idea generator. It shifted something – seeing everything grouped that way, it was somehow thrilling and I got tons of new ideas. There was also a big editing process, I just kept the stuff I loved.
It took forever and was hugely fun and satisfying to do. I haven’t figured out how to store them yet plus I love looking at them so for now they’ll stay where they are, just hanging out on a table.
The idea was to organize some little groups of scraps for my hexie quilt project. It snowballed into sorting through every single little cotton quilting weight scrap I have and organizing them by color. How do you sort your fabric scraps? Historically my scraps have been sorted mostly by project – owl scraps, doll scraps etc. but the hexie project uses all the scraps plus I’m experimenting with color transitions.
I found little scrap treasures I’d forgotten, and the original miss thistle turned up too – she’s been missing for years (her dress is still missing).
It’s perfect for the hexie quilt – I’m working from the pale neutral pile now. And it does help immensely to have things pre-sorted by color. All the sorting and organizing led to more sorting and organizing, you know how that goes, and I think my plan for the remainder of this odd spring will be to organize and edit all my possessions.
How do you store your scraps? Have you tried sorting by color? Share in the comments if you like and check out out lots of awesome #hexiesforsanity projects here.
how to make salt clay
It’s also called Victorian Salt Clay, I even love the sound of it. The question was “ What if you want to make tiny dishes but don’t have paper clay?” I wondered if a homemade, air-dry clay could work and the answer is yes. It was a fun experiment plus I love the way it smells – I was immediately 11 again.
Salt is the main ingredient. It produces a clay that is a little more textured than paper clay. It takes a while to dry – a day or two. You shouldn’t bake it but you can put it someplace warm to speed up the process. My oven has a pilot so it’s always a little warm and I put my pieces in it overnight. The small things were dry but the larger pieces needed another day. It’s very hard when dry and can be sanded and painted – I have tips for that below. First let’s make the clay.
You will need:
1 cup of salt
⅓ cup water
½ cup cornstarch
¼ cup cold water
!. Mix 1 cup of table salt with ⅓ cup of water. Heat in a small pan over medium heat, stirring constantly for 4 minutes. Do not let it boil. Remove from heat.
2. Quickly stir the ½ cup cornstarch into ¼ cup cold water. It’s very important that you sprinkle the cornstarch a little at a time stirring constantly or it won’t mix properly.
3. Put the salt mixture back on low heat and add the cornstarch mixture stirring constantly. The mixture will begin to thicken. Keep stirring until it becomes dough like – this happens pretty quickly.
4. Scoop it out onto a plate and let it cool. When it’s cool enough to handle, knead it into a smooth ball. It’s ready to use – you can roll it like cookie dough or sculpt it. Left over clay can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container. I did find it a little crumbly when I took it out of the fridge the next day but after I kneaded it again it was sculpt-able.
I tried making some plates and cups from the tiny dish tutorial and got good results. When I formed it over things it was looser than the paper clay but it still worked. And in the plate tutorial I recommend letting it dry about halfway before cutting the shapes. With the salt clay you can’t do that – it becomes too brittle. It’s a pretty stiff clay though so easy to cut.
Over-all I was pleased with the results – not as fine as the paper clay but still charming and I definitely value heart over perfection in tiny dish making.
Plus it’s fun to make the clay!
I sanded the pieces and painted with watercolor, acrylic craft paint and finished some with nail-polish. Use quick multiple coats of paint. I found if I overworked the paint it would lift.
The handle on the tiny cast iron frying pan broke when I sanded it but I glued it back on and painted it with black nail polish. The teacup got painted with black nail polish too. The soup kettle was made by forming the clay over a handle – similar to the process for creating the teacup in the dish tutorial.
Parts for a little doll experiment showed up too. Such a funny little lady, I love her. I’ll post a photo when she’s finished.
And magic stones.
I made them, that’s how I know for sure they’re magic. They are painted with watercolor and acrylic and finished with a layer of nail polish. The clay and stones would be a fun project to do with little folks and a magic rock in your pocket can’t hurt.
I hope you make victorian salt clay!
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sketchbook 4/26 – 5/16
the elegant rag doll sewing pattern and a free and easy doll skirt pattern
get the elegant rag doll pattern!
Elegantly dressed, or quite nude. It’s your choice. The finished doll is 16 inches tall. The pattern includes instructions for both versions. And there are sweet details like earrings and a fancy hairdo.
This pattern took forever to make. You may have noticed… It was mostly because I kept changing my mind about how to make and stuff the head. I’m super happy with the solution I finally settled on, I love the result and it’s simple to do. The other good news is I’m shipping wool again – it’s the ideal stuffing for the elegant dolls.
And I’ve included the doll skirt pattern for you below. It’s a super easy way to make a doll skirt and you could easily scale it to fit any doll.
I hope you make elegant dolls! If you do I’d love to see – please use #annwoodpattern on instagram or send an email to info at ann wood handmade dot com.
There is a free tutorial for the slippers too – find it right here.
Find the skirt pattern and directions below. And to add the bustle detail like the skirts above gather a little section in the front and add a little button.
download the skirt pattern
You will need:
- a 16 X 9 inch piece of cotton fabric
- one yard ribbon or string
- large safety pin
- basic sewing kit
1. Down load the skirt pattern and pin it along the fold of your doubled fabric – right sides together – and cut out. Clip out the triangles.
2. With the wrong side of the fabric facing you fold over and press the side fabric between the triangle clips.Stitch them in place with a small, neat straight stitch.
3. Fold over the top edge at 1/4 inch and press.
sketchbook 4/19 – 4/25
sketchbook 4/12 – 4/18
paintings to stitch, the hexie quilt and nude rag doll news
Every day starts with stitching owls and castles and swans etc. and making scrap hexies. I chose a few images from the daily paintings to print on linen and stitch and I love stitching them, I find it hypnotic. It’s a free style situation – choosing lines or details to highlight and embellish. I’ve only been using 3 stitches – back stitch, satin and french knots.
You can find the stitch paintings in the shop.
When I finish these I’ll keep them in the hoops and hang them in a little group – I’ll show you how to do that soon. I’m using DMC floss – the six strand stuff – separating one, two or three strands.
I love this blue bug gentleman, where is he going? Who are those flowers for? And I love the little french knot flowers for his bouquet. I used two strands of thread for these.
french knots:
Bring the needle through the fabric where you would like the knot. Hold the thread tight about and inch from the fabric with your other hand. Place your needle in front of the tight floss – be sure it’s in front – not behind.
Wind the floss around the needle twice (or once for a tiny knot), Don’t twirl the needle to wind the floss – wind it around the needle with your non-needle hand,
Keep the tension of the floss and put the needle back in right next to (not in the same hole – but very close to it) where you began. Keep the thread tight with your non-needle hand and pull the coil downward towards your fabric. Pull the needle through to finish the knot.
hexie update:
I add a few every day- I’m moving from the multicolor scrap area into a pale section and starting a dark blue group too, Lots of people are making hexies! Check out #hexiesforsanity to see. And I found a printable sheet of templates here.
Scandalous doll pattern update: Just about there and it is awesome. The hard part for me was the head – I changed my mind over and over but finally settled on a solution I’m super happy with. Stay tuned. And get some fabric – muslin or any light cotton.
What are you working on? Come across any cool projects, recipes, awesome books or ideas you’d like to share? Please leave them in the comments.
sketchbook 4/5 – 4/11
the hexie project
It’s a perfect plan, here’s why: You can do it in bed, all you need are some scraps, the most basic sewing ability and paper. Plus it has a calming effect, for me anyway. The first thought was to use only pale, small prints. But then the idea of playing with scale and color was appealing – using large prints in these little hexies. That dissolved into abandoning all constraints and going with a fully random assemblage – no planning, no thought, inviting serendipity.
I also didn’t really have a plan for what they would become, that evolved too. At first I thought I’d patch a quilt with them- I love it when hexies or groups of them just turn up somewhere. And I used a few in my mending.
I like making them so much though I want a legit hexie project. The current plan is to just keep going and going. Instead of a fully random situation I’ve begun to plan some color transitions and shapes and lines, still taking a meandering, “yes and approach” and not laying out a design beforehand.
The idea of approaching a hexie project in a painterly and abstract way is super duper appealing to me. It’s also super duper appealing that it will take an immense amount of time over days, months, years…
They are simple to make. There are tons of detailed hexie (english paper piecing) methods, tutorials, tips and ideas on the interwebs to explore, I’ll give you some basics on my process here. I started with template paper that was precut and later made my own paper templates using magazine pages. My shape is 2 inches at the widest point. Place the paper on your fabric and cut about 3/8th of an inch from the edge.
Fold one side over the edge and finger press the fold.
Fold an adjacent side down, finger press the edge and stitch through the fold to hold it in place. Don’t stitch through the paper.
Keep your needle attached and fold down the next side and finger press the edge.
Stitch that fold and continue around until all 6 sides are basted.
After I get a bunch I press them. To stitch them together place 2 with the right sides together and whip stitch the edge. Keep adding hexies stitching one edge at a time.
After a bunch are assembled I’ve been pressing the whole thing and taking the paper out to use again – snipping out a couple stitches and using my needle to lift out the paper. This may be controversial…. I think you’re supposed to leave them in until it’s finished. Feel free to share your opinion.
resource – find printable hexie templates here.
I’m working on it every morning, marking these strange moments with hexies. I so recommend it. If you’d like to join me use #hexiesforsanity on instagram. Make something small, make something big, make a design or go free form or both – that could be awesome. I’ll be updating you regularly on my progress.
Onward,
ann
PS – if the idea appeals to you but you’re not on instagram let me know in the comments – I’ll try to put together another sharing option.
PPS – If you have tips for making and assembling hexies please share in the comments.
Be sure to check the comments for great tips!
Do you get my free weekly-ish newsletter? There are tips and tricks, ideas, stuff to try, all the latest news and blogposts and extra stuff, just for subscribers, delivered mostly on Friday. Pretty much.
ideas – for having ideas
I’ve gathered a few posts for you here on the subject of having ideas. The feeling of a percolating idea, rolling around a problem in my head is one of my most favorite things in life (for the record a couple other top spot holders are dogs and cats, plants, swimming and apparently homemade pizza… So many pizzas…).
I’m curious about thinking, imagination, creativity, ideas and inspiration, how it all works and how to make it work better. When I find something that helps, something that keeps my wheels turning and ideas flowing I love to share it.
road sewing, feedback loops and accidental amulets
Life rewards action, give it a chance and it will show up with happy accidents. The minute you do something, take some action, a feedback loop begins. You get information. Begin, listen and respond. This week I accidentally made some necklaces or amulets or talismans or charms or pendants, I’m not sure what to call them yet. I know I like making them and I like how they feel, I like looking at them and putting them on and I’m sure they are lucky. And I know that continents and centuries collide in these saved and assembled scraps. They are a happy accident in lots of ways….keep reading
deliberate daydreaming
Wouldn’t it be nice to have it all at your command, to be able to summon deep focus, motivation and drive, ingenuity, and sparkling original ideas as needed or desired. But our minds don’t work like that. Our minds do what they like and so often just the opposite of what we’re looking for. Practice, training and attention help though and I’m always on the look out for ways to improve – stuff to try – ways to reach the deepest parts of my imagination and creativity….keep reading
percolating ideas and macgyver
I’ve been thinking about some of the painful parts, the really not fun moments, that are part of creative work. The fear and panic I feel when inspiration or solutions aren’t appearing and a deadline is looming. I felt a lot of this during my fox project. The schedule was ambitious – they had to be photographed in mid November and I started designing from scratch in October. They are relatively large, they are jointed (this is brand new to me), they needed to be free standing (nightmarishly difficult for this kind of creature) and their posture and body language were important to the mood, the mood was everything and I wasn’t getting it…. keep reading
pick up a thread and follow it, small stitch experiments
Part of the day today was devoted to waking up the experimenter in me. It needs some encouragement so I gave it an assignment, an easy assignment. I’ve been filled with reasons why I can’t do things lately so it’s a baby steps approach: make something small, make something fun, start without knowing.
One thing leads to another, if you let it. But first you need to start. Sometimes without knowing where you are going. If the experimenter in you needs some encouragement too please join me in the little assignment….keep reading
30 minute figures : experimenting and generating ideas
Play generates ideas. And constraints make things interesting, they send you in new directions and bypass inhibitions. Find 30 minutes to play. Make a space, gather materials, scraps, paper, cardboard fabric, whatever is around, and tools – a glue stick, tape, paint, the basics. Make an appointment with yourself to show up and set a timer for thirty minutes….keep reading
my big creative year : good ideas
Sometimes ideas are like mosquitos – whispers that won’t leave you alone. Sometimes they are slippery and hard to grasp. Sometimes they’re chaotic, tumbling over each other. Sometimes they are lurking in the shadows, maddeningly half revealed and sometimes they are frightening – too big to hold.
Whether they are big or little, scary, silly, sad, strange, embarrassing or brilliant they are in unlimited supply. You can’t run out.
And this is also true….keep reading
curating, focusing and finding your voice : practice every day
I consume tons of information – often via podcasts while stitching – a lot of it around creativity – and some around business and marketing – they often overlap and intertwine. There is a lot of discussion and advice, especially lately, around finding your voice, curating and focusing.
I have struggled with all three – especially the focus and curating. I’m all over the place and I think there is validity to the argument that it’s easier to make progress if you focus your efforts narrowly. For example – I know I could grow the sewing and craft pattern business – my newest venture – much faster if I focused solely on that. Maybe I should. I also know there is a lot more to explore and experiment with in my own stitch-work and…keep reading
harnessing the power of your curiosity to get unstuck
Curiosity is an energetic place and you can apply your curiosity to stuckness with a very simple exercise: make a list of questions – at least ten. To get started the questions can be small or absurd or silly – in fact absurdity can be good for waking up curiosity. And I have found the more questions I can come up with the better they get but the exercise is less about finding solutions ( although they may occur) and more about tapping into the energy of a massively powerful part of your mind….keep reading
