Hat Making

I suppose it would only be natural that someone so gifted in making ribbon flowers would also make hats. After all, hats create a great palette for all sorts of artistic expression! Ribbon flowers and trims, feathers, ruffles, and tulle can all work together for a stunning effect! So, in addition to silk and satin flowers and trims, Deb shared some of the hats she made. She started by showing us her (antique) wooden hat blocks. Their surfaces were worn to a beautiful patina from use over time. They are the form that heavy buckram is placed over to create the unique shape of a desired hat. The buckram is coated with a vegetable sizing and becomes pliable when wet. It can be molded, formed, tucked, and darted to create the shape the designer wants. After it dries it becomes very stiff and makes a solid foundation for the rest of the hat. At that point, many beautiful fabrics and trims can be stitched on. Deb even showed us how she used builder's Tyvek (high density polyethylene fibers) as a material for some of her hats. They meld, shape, and bond so beautifully when mixed with tulle, laces, and textiles. From fascinators to fedoras, Deb made hat-making look simple yet elegant and fun!

Click on the photo montage for a larger view.

Ribbon Paradise

Ribbons made from silk and satin are so inviting with their gentle patina or glowing sheen. If you love textiles like I do, I'm sure you understand the draw to admire, touch, and create. Making flowers and trims out of ribbon isn't something I have attempted, but I do admire those who have the patience and skill to create with such beautiful materials.

There are images galore of flowers made from ribbon in Google. And here's a Pinterest board of ribbon and fabric flower ideas. But none are nicer than the ribbon flowers and trims made by Deb, a woman who recently spoke to the local quilt guild. It was a chilly winter evening and the meeting room was filled with women who arrived wearing hats, coats, and gloves. We were met by a beautiful display of colorful hats, gowns, and ribbon boards designed and fashioned by Deb. They were exquisite! Such patience and such ability she has! 

Have you made ribbon roses or other flowers before? My mother did some ribbon embroidery (a similar art) and was skilled at making ribbon flowers. Her favorites were always pansy's which she used to adorn baskets, candles, pillows, and more.

Click on the photo montage to enlarge and get a better look.

Visiting the Community Textile Museum

Spinning wheels, an old-fashioned quilt, vintage sewing machines, and pincushions make up an interesting display at our local textile museum. What? A local quilt museum? That's right!

Every community has little gems that are sometimes hidden from general view. They don't mean to be. In fact, they want everyone to know about them, but sometimes they get lost in the crowd. Recently I discovered that our community has a quilt museum that is a regional textile center for quilting and textile arts. It serves as both a museum and an organization that supports guilds for those who quilt, weave, spin, and make baskets. Although these craftspeople have been part of our community for many years, it is only recently that a home has been created for them. And what a beautiful home it is!

My friend, Karleen, and I have been working hard at finding interesting things to do during the gray days of wnter. So, we decided to take a trip to the textile museum and see what was there. It did not disappoint!

The museums mission is to promote both the art and the craft of quilting and textile arts by providing educational opportunities to adults and children. They also strive to preserve the history of the textile arts as unique American art forms. But the goal that pleases me most is their desire to enhance the community by providing a welcoming place for people to share their knowledge and heritage through their love of quilting, weaving, spinning, basketry, and other textile arts.

Community members teach classes in spinning, weaving, sewing, quilting, and basket making. A side room is filled with a dozen new sewing machines. They are available for classes and are often used to teach sewing to groups of children.

Interesting objects are on display; old quilts, wood roving, baskets, button crafts, and a display of dolls from around the world. We enjoyed admiring the dolls.

Looms large and small sit near a window that provides lots of natural light. For a fee, volunteers will give private lessons to community members who wish to learn how to weave by making woven wool rugs.

Across from skeins of wool roving is a small library filled with books about textiles. Patterns, resource books, reference books, and reading books that are related in some way to the textile arts are available for hours of diligent study or casual reading.

Museum membership fees are minimal,yet offer a wide variety of benefits. Classes in subjects like quilt restoration, dating, care, and storage are available. 

And for those who love to shop, or simply love quality handmade items, a small gift shop near the entrance of the store offers handmade quilts, scarves, baby items, hot pads, and various knitted or crocheted goods. It's a great resource for those who want to give someone a "gift of the heart".

An afternoon at the textile museum equals a pleasant way to spend a wintry afternoon. 

Hankies

We are the Kleenex generation; I suspect that most of us have never carried a hankie in our purse or pocket unless it was as an added frill for an outfit we were wearing. But, my grandma always had a hankie in her pocket. She'd often wear an apron with large pockets, and tucked in there or up her sweater sleeve, was a dainty hankie. Lace, embroidery, printed hearts or flowers, cotton, or linen --- each hankie was unique. Some were even an impractical satin or silk. Since grandmother was an invalid and could not walk, sister and I would spend quiet times at grandma's house, entertaining ourselves with what was on hand. A favorite activity was to go through grandma's hankie box that sat on a table in her bedroom. Each hankie was clean and pressed. And each fold was ironed in a sharp crease. Most of the hankies were folded into fourths, but some were in sections of six. When grandma died, sister and I were allowed to choose a few things to remember grandma by. I chose some of grandma's hankies and treasure them to this day. One of them, a very delicate, cream colored hankie was trimmed with wide ecru lace. I especially loved this hankie because it was so old-fashioned. On my wedding day it was tucked into my wedding bouquet --- the 'something old' in remembrance of grandma.

These days hankies are still valued, not for their function, but for their form and beauty. Just seeing one carries us back to days gone by. They may not be tucked up a sweater sleeve or in a purse pocket to wipe away a tear or sniffle, but they are cheerfully used for curtain valences, quilt blocks, tea napkins, pockets on an apron, or centerpiece doilies. The possibilities are endless. Some things we hold dear and wish not to forget. Those memories are reinforced by viewing the cherished object in a new ways.

Do you have a hankie collection? How do you store it or use it? I'd love to know!

Photo: the beautiful Elm Street kitchen.

Little Things, Joyful Things

Simple things can work together so beautifully to create a lovely day. Sunshine and a joyful note from Becky started my day in such a positive note. Errands took me to Paula's town, and although her shop is closed on Monday, she met me there this afternoon so I could pick up some of these beautiful flour sacks to send to Lucy in the Netherlands. They are so vibrant. It's amazing to think that flour used to be sold in such useful and pretty containers made from fabric. I think Lucy first desired flour sack towels to cut into quilt pieces, but I suspect that these will be displayed in their entirety (Lucy, I'll keep looking for 'old' flour sacks for you; some that are falling apart so you can cut them up). Little things, simple things, joyful things --- the things that make life meaningful and whole. What a lovely day. I hope yours was as well.

The Fragrance of Laundry

Have you ever noticed the fragrance of laundry? I love burying my nose is freshly dried sheets and towels, especially when they have been dried outside on a clothesline. Arizona winters in the desert have especially made me appreciate the smell of 'fresh linen'. It only takes a few hours on the clothesline for sheets, towels, jeans, and tops to be completely dry and delightfully fragrant! Winters in the our northern climate to not promote drying clothes on the line, as they simply will not dry in a day! There is too much moisture in the air, even on a sunny day. But during the summer months I dry many things outside on my porch clothesline. Cottons, linens, silks, and such get special care and dry quickly in the summer sun. They enter our closets smelling fresh, clean, and fragrant. It's a fragrance that the clothes dryer simply cannot duplicate, even with an abundance of smelly softener sheets. A friend recently gave me a beautiful little candle called "fresh linen". Surprisingly, it duplicates the fragrance of fresh, clothesline dried clothes very well. When lit on winter days, it carries me back to the warm summer sunshine and I look forward with anticipation to clothesline days ahead.