Spotting my belongings in a film



You are watching a film or a TV show and suddenly you see an item that you own.  Or an actress wearing a dress you have in your closet.  It's an odd moment- and it kind of breaks down the 4th wall!

Here are two things I've recently spotted on the small screen that also hang out at my house.

The Walking Dead: The quilt on the bed in the farmhouse. 

I've had this quilt for years; my Mom gave it to me.  It's factory made, but it's a nice light weight for early spring.



And next:

The Casserole Club: drinking glasses

These were a surprise to see.  I had literally, two days before, picked up a set of about 15 of these at a yard sale.  I have way too many glasses, but the lady wanted $2 for all of them and I couldn't pass them up.  I thought maybe I'd use them for candle holders or holiday glasses.

They have no markings, so I just assumed they were modern made.

But..
The Casserole Club is set in the 1960s.. so was the prop department of the movie satisfied as long as the props looked mid century, or do I have an actual vintage set of glasses?

Bonus shot from The Casserole Club: you can see the glasses on the table, etc- but I really love all the ceramic pieces on the shelving!

TEDtalks; Crochet Pillow

Crochet pillow front, unstuffed

I've been listening to TEDtalks and working on a crochet pillow. 
The pillow pattern is from a vintage (1978 is vintage right?) book, of which most of the patterns are pretty hideous by any decades' standards.  "Fantasy coat" anybody?  But the pillow pattern is great, and I finished it up last night.  It looks bad on my couch.

Note:  Though I got through it ok, but the pattern is definitely not written in modern terms and there was enough 'you fill in the blanks of where to put this stitch' to get annoying.  I like my crochet patterns Precise with a capital 'P'!

Book: Design Crochet, 1978.  Edited by Mark Dittrick (the first 'crochet dude' maybe?)

Crochet pillow done

Crochet pillow backed with brown linen

I love TEDtalks! All the 'Ancient Clues' ones were really good.. mapping the genomes of early forms of humans and finding genetic markers in our own DNA. Neanderthal lovin! 

I also liked a talk on the 'Head Games' series about the power of smiling. Someone studied baseball cards from the 40s or 50s (I think it was) and compared how much the player was smiling vs. how long they lived. Those with the biggest smiles lived the longest!

Crochet pillow looks great on mid-century chair!

I'm still plugging away on my afghan sampler.  Must..finish....

How bout a photo of a mum?

Misc. food, Leaf garland tutorial

It's my favorite time of year in the kitchen.  For one thing, it doesn't get unbearably hot in front of the stove like it does in the summertime.
 
I become a more adventurous cook as well. 

Summer is all about quick prep times, fresh produce, throwing things on the grill and then sitting back to relax.  But in the fall, I indulge myself with unique ingredients and decadent dishes..

Butternut squash, onion, pancetta, thyme, basil
This smelled SO good while sauteing

Butternut squash, bleu cheese, and pancetta pizza

Portabello stuffed mushrooms

 

 

 

 

I came across a packet of basil seeds while rifling through a drawer the other day.  I remembered getting the seed packet free with a magazine years ago.  I had clipped most of my basil plant's leaves off, and I figured it couldn't hurt to toss the seeds in my old basil plant's soil.  I didn't bury them, just sort of sprinkled them right on top of the soil and watered.

 

To my delight, they sprouted!  I'm so bad at keeping plants alive, (I don't even have one house plant, and I've been know to kill even the hardiest of cactus) but I'm going to try my best to grow these little buddies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This little fall leaf garland was easy to do, and took me less than an afternoon!

 

Fall leaf garland

 

 

Leaf garland instructions:

Material:
-Approx a fat eighth or so of fall colored fabric or a novelty print
- quilter's cotton solid for backing
- iron-on interfacing
-package of rick rack
- length of twill tape 1 1/2 yds approx

1. Lay your fabric, right sides together on a square of iron-on interfacing.  Iron to set.

Note: I had some novelty print leaf fabric on hand, but several smaller squares of any fabric will work!

2. Lay the quilter's cotton wrong sides together with the main fabric and sparsely pin in place

3. Cutting through all the layers (main fabric, interfacing, and cotton backing), cut the fabric out in various leaf shapes.  If you prefer, you can draw the shapes out with a fabric pen before cutting out.

4. With main fabric and backing edges even, sew around close to the outside edge of each leaf with a zig zag stitch.

5. Lay leaves out in desired order on work table

6. Working without pins, lay rick rack on top of twill tape and begin to sew down the middle of the rick rack.  After an few inches, tuck a leaf in between rick rack and twill tape and then continue sewing up the center of the rick rack, being sure to catch the tip of the leaf.  Continue in the this manner until all the leaves are sewn, varying the space between leaves and angling some leaves to the left or right for visual interest.

Hang and enjoy!

Leaf garland, detail

Crocheted Rug

Crocheted rug

Last night I parked it on the couch, turned on the netflix, and crocheted a rug!  The pattern I used is sort of granny square.  I am happy with the way it turned out.  I've wanted to crocheted a rug for years and can't believe I've finally gotten around to it!

But first, a little background..

When I was a girl my mom, who is a super crafty lady, crocheted several rugs for the house.  Two of them were on my bedroom floor for years and, as these things go, I have managed to hang on to one of them.  I keep it in my spare bedroom, and I really treasure it.  It's held up well over the years.

Crocheted Rug,
Stitched up by my mom when I was a young one!

The vogue of crocheting fabric rugs has definitely waned.  Once, you were able to buy rolls of cut fabric for this purpose, but I've never seen any for sale. 

I used to work at a fabric store with this kind older lady.  She was sweet and gave me several rolls of fabric and I've been lugging them around for years with the intent of crocheting them up.

 

Pre-cut fabric rolls for crocheting rugs

For now I've got my rug in front of the fireplace.  I didn't make it with a particular spot in mind, but it makes a nice hearth rug.

The Yoko seal of approval

Afghan stitch along, squares finished!

Granny sampler stitch along blocks!

 

This week I finished up all the blocks for my afghan stitch along!

I've been following along with Blair at Wisecraft for months, doing a granny square a week, and I started joining them together last night!  For my main color, I originally wanted a grey, but instead chose a salmon rust color (eek!).  I hope I'm going to like it, so far it looks good but I haven't joined many blocks.  The salmon color is versatile as it looks a bit like spring and a bit like fall, which I like.

The afghan has a defined inner rectangular border which I am crocheting now, and then an outer border as well.  I may end up doing the outer border in a grey background, not sure.

 

 

Earth toned squares mini quilt

I put together this quilt on a whim in about two days.  I ran across this fabric in my stash and thought the little squares would stand nicely on their own. 

Hand embroidered running stitches, linen binding

Finished piece is about 18" square

San Jose Quilt and Textile Museum

San Jose Quilt and Textile Museum

I figured two weeks was plenty of time to experience everything the bay area had to offer-- where did I go wrong?

...We didn't make it to Chinatown or the museum of modern art-- and though we had some fabulous meals, I didn't get to eat a lobster that had been scampering along the ocean floor that same day..

Maybe I could have fit in more sites with a structured agenda, but we tried to keep things spontaneous.  This probably explains how late one afternoon, after a quick google search of local museums, we found ourselves heading to the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles...

Hello!
Hands on parking garage

 

Yarn bomb,
outside museum

Quilt block tiles on
sidewalk outside museum

There were probably 20, and I wish I took
photos of all of them!

I was hoping to see lots of vintage quilts, but to be honest, there were only about six vintage quilts on display.  The museum's collection (though large) must be kept in storage- probably to protect the delicate textiles from deterioration.

In front of a nice
sunburst quilt

  
So, slightly disappointed with the small display of vintage quilts we made our way to the current exhibition, that of the painter and tapestry artist Mark Adams.  It was amazing!!

I had admittedly never heard of this amazing artist, but seeing his tapestries in person was an unexpectedly enjoyable treat.  I was not permitted to take photos of any of the tapestries, but I pulled a few from the net (below).

His tapestries jump off the cloth at you, and from a distance look like paintings.  Some pieces felt mystical or maybe esoteric; others had fabulous graphic pop.  Mark Adams' work deserves more recognition, and getting to see this extensive exhibit in person was great!

Mark Adams
Can you believe this is a tapestry?

Mark Adam
Tapestry

After our museum visit, we stopped in the gift shop, to check out the handmade objects, books, textiles... and we picked up these fabulous Mola embroideries!  We plan on framing and hanging them.  We've owned a Mola owl embroidery for years, it was one of the first pieces of home decor we bought.  The colorful and stylized look of these pieces will fit nicely with our eclectic decor.

Scoring these embroideries was the perfect end to our afternoon!

My paintings; Lady in floral dress

Lady in floral dress

This painting is very large, probably 3' by 6'.  I like this lady, and I love her dress! 

It was fun painting the background; I don't normally devote much attention to them.

Lady in floral dress, detail

Blue jean quilt and cats

Yoko on my mouse pad.  She loves to hang out with me while I blog. :)  She's a siamese tabby and too smart for her own good.


And I wanted to share a project I've been working on this week for my stitch-love-project. 

It's a lap quilt made from blue jeans.  I have finished the top and am getting ready to tie it and bind it!  I've love the results, and will of course be sharing the finished project on my stitch love blog. :)

Granny square afghan sampler stitch along, week 3 and cats

I finished week 3 of WiseCraft's afghan stitch along.  I can't wait to see it finished!  The beige yarn is really working on me!  I might start using this more as my dominant color...




Frida girl! 

Granny sampler afghan stitch along, week 2

Just finished up week two of wisecraft's afghan stitch along.  I made about 14 of these little tonal squares, and like the results. 

I am busting some serious stash!  If you'd like to join in the fun, follow the link.  :)

Micro Cleaning

Kitchen Cabinets,
Lined with scrapbook paper

I've had a bit of free time on my hands this week, so I have been doing a lot of 'microcleaning'.
 
This cleaning (scrubbing base boards, descaling the faucet heads, scraping inside the oven) isn't the type that gets noticed by family and friends.  You won't hear this when someone walks in the door- "Wow!  you've cleaned up!".  In fact, most people won't even be able to tell that you've alphabetized all of your recipe cards.

But, we don't always clean for the praise (though it is nice).  And while doing the dishes gives an immediate and appreciated result, there's something very satisfying about mopping under your couch.

Happy cleaning :)

Kitchen cabinet before,
Misc glassware

Kitchen cabinet after,
Vintage Pyrex collection,
Lined shelves

My paintings: Portrait of Lady with Willow Branches

Lady with Willow Branches

I will be, over the next few weeks, displaying some of my paintings here at hellohorizon.

You can read about my love of painting here. 

This painting is pretty big, probably 2' by 6'.  I like to paint on big canvases!

Granny Sampler Afghan Stitch Along/ Weaving in crochet ends

So I made this cute pillow last week for my Stitch-Love-Project blog.  I always visit the blog/website of the designer of my latest project, and have found some wonderful blogs this way.  WiseCraft is no exception!

-and I'm just in time to join an afghan sampler stitch along!  I can't wait to finish it!

Above are the first three blocks done- ends woven in and all!  When doing grannies, it's good practice to weave in the ends after each block is finished, otherwise it gets really overwhelming at the end of the project.








My tips for weaving in ends: 
1. When you've finished off a round, leave a tail of about 5-6 inches long.
 
2. On the next round, crochet over the knot and the tail of the round before.  **Don't carry the tail along the space between the stitches, as it will be seen.  Just stitch over the tail with about 3-4 stitches.  This hides the knot.

3. When the square is completed, thread a tail with a yarn needle, and weave it into the stitches nearby of the same color as the tail

4. Weave carefully thru the yarn ply, in a zigzag pattern, thoroughly (this will help hold the tail secure) ending in the middle of a cluster of stitches (so tail won't show thru a space if it loosens)

5. After all the tails are woven, gently pull the square both ways to loosen the tails.

**As the afghan is used and folded and washed, it will stretch.  This step of gently pulling the block before cutting the tails ensures that they have enough slack to limit their coming unwoven later on as the afghan stretches

6. Clip the tails, leaving about 1/2 inch

After all the blocks are stitched together, tails can be clipped all the way.