Here we are in the middle of summer! I have enjoyed time with my family and have had the opportunity to meet new friends.

I have been taking an Art Journal class with the wonderful local artist Dawna Kinne Magliacano 

Here are some of my Journal pages:

When I started the classes I thought it would be nice to make it a memory journal of my Mother; we are so much a like and there's not a day goes by I don't think of her at some point.

Bobby Darin and the fashions were from her prime...she lived on Lake Michigan (Chicago). I was surprised how this page evolved.

 By the next week I realized what my Mother, Bernice would want me to do is enjoy being creative/artistic and move forward with it, knowing she was right there with me in spirit.


So my next page was a good-bye to the past so (we) could move on in adventure and discovery.


   The little picture is my Aunt Lois, Grandmother (Bernice) and Mother, also named Bernice. They were standing in front of the Lincoln Park Zoo the (used to be) in Chicago Illinois, her home town. The phrase at the bottom was written on the back of the picture, it reads "Remember our Easter Outfits"...because they made them! Besides being a creative/artist these three women were incredible seamstresses...my life instructors.

Here are three more pages to follow this Art journaling adventure:

   

I love spring!

This is a lovely Sunday in middle Tennessee. I have Daffodils up. That beautiful yellow is so welcome this time of year....Just reminds me of this beautiful silk "hankie" I got at the yarn shop yesterday.

I went in for a part for my spinning wheel and saw later that day there would be a class using the lovely fiber. You can knit with it right from the batt (hankie) or spin it first. You can learn more about this at the Knaughty Knitter

Projects with Rag Yarn

My latest projects have been with the rag yarn. 

It has been fun experimenting with it, the baskets are always fun, and pretty quick to work up. 

The Granny Squares are a simple design and could easily be sewn together for an interesting rug.  

The table mat is pretty quick too, this one is in Christmas colors, I'll make one up in the spring colors

hat I have been listing in my etsy shop.

I am using Kona Cotton fabric. It is a very nice quality, washes well and keeps it's vibrant colors! It tears straight on the grain, with a softly frayed edge, which gives a nice vintage look.

Dying for Rag Yarn

Rag Yarn is Such an Interesting Medium

This all started with the bath mat I made from the old sheet, it wears so well and is machine washable and dryer safe. The fabric has become absorbent over time too.

So, because I have Muslin fabric here all the time (for my pillow inserts) I decided to tear my strips narrower and dye it. Muslin is an even weave cotton and absorbs dyes very well. 

Here I have the Federal Blue and a Bright Pink, they will look darker in the dye bath. With these batches I started with fabric that has already been stripped. There is a little less drama in the untangling  if I dye the fabric before stripping!

I have been testing for gauge and color fastness of the rag yarn. It is washable and dryer safe. Below I have a couple pictures that show gauge. The white is in stockinette stitch on a US13 needle is 11 stitches and 12 rows to a 4 inch by 4 inch swatch. The sample you see in the next picture is knit on a US15 needle, the gauge is 12 stitches and 14 rows to a 4 inch by 4 inch swatch.

 

If you like to knit or crochet, have some fun with different fibers. For fun here are some links with rag yarn ideas:  Creativejewishmom.com      bethsco.com   

Where did this name come from?

Fine Linen and Scarlet is the name I use to represent my service as a seamstress. This was born at a time of need and will stay with me forever. 

The craft of sewing and my love of the craft has carried me through many times of need, it is a way of life I learned at a very early age. It has followed me for many years, never goes away and sometimes wells up like the sun bursting over the horizon.

The name Fine Linen and Scarlet comes from my favorite passage in the Bible (Proverbs 31), it is the description of a woman of noble character. She makes linen garments and sells them. She is not afraid of the snow (winter; difficult times) because all in her household are clothed in scarlet.
This woman of Proverbs 31 has been a beautiful role model for many years.

Fresh from the oven!

I was so delighted when one of my etsy customers told me they used this Chef's Hat as a photo prop on their lovely baby boy!

Baby photo props are so much fun!

The Quilt Project

My friend Lisa sent me this quilt to finish. It's one of those projects so many of us have! Started when the kids were little, but raising children was just took priority over finishing the project. Working on these must do projects in the wee hours of the night takes a tole on the time we spend with the kiddos during the day...well Lisa has been one dedicated wife and mom! I I am happy she asked me to help her out with this special project.

 I love all the color! The quilt is for her son Devin so the theme is sports and very whimsical. It will be fun working on this and (ha) I'm glad it is whimsical because my quilting skills are kind of....a, whimsical :}

I'm going to use a cotton batting and a twin cotton sateen sheet with a 400 thread count, this will make the quilt seamless and the only joins I need to be concerned with are in the top itself.

Yesterday I had the afternoon to work on this sports whimsy quilt and it went well. There was enough backing fabric for a self binding.




I worked the center squares first and then used a free-hand design on the border blocks. When the quilting was finished the quilt batting was trimmed. For the binding I didn't want to cover too much of the polka dot border so the backing was trimmed to one inch to make a half inch binding.

And the finished quilt! front and back. Tomorrow morning I'll give it my final inspection, box it up and it will be on it's way back to Lisa.

I hope this information was useful to you

Happy Crafting, I'll see you next time.