Not Quite Pink Spirit Doll

I decided to make spirit doll with some of--er, a tiny part of--the not quite pink beads left from my October BJP. Here she is.

She's almost finished. There is just one empty spot, where three or four more beads are needed. Can you find it? After those last beads are added, I'll cut it out and whipstitch the back on.

The final step will be to do a beaded picot edging around the outside. However, that will have to wait for a few days. I don't have enough of the beads I want to use for that so I had to order some more.

Always room for more beads!

The Real Truth About Dust Bunnies, or How to Stop Worrying So You Can Make Art

1. Dust bunnies are neither rats nor bats nor armadillos nor woolly mammoths.
2. Those with dirty glasses do not see dust bunnies.
3. Those with dirty bifocals do not see dust bunnies at all.
4. Threads and fabric scraps on the floor camouflage dust bunnies.
5. Significant others who object to dust bunnies are just asking to vacuum.
6. Dust bunnies do not follow one to fabric shops or bead stores.
7. Dust bunnies do not clean up your stuff so you can't find anything.
8. If you sit on a chair when you eat, dust bunnies will not get in your food.
9. Clutter can hide many dust bunnies.
10. It is better to have dust bunnies on your floor than in your head.
11. It is better to have both dust bunnies and clutter on your floor than to have either in your head.

Renegade Militant Seamstresses, part 3, or the completion of the sweatshirt jackets

Ta-da! This is the first completed raw edge, collaged sweatshirt jacket. It is Wendy's. She used a variety of blue fabrics. Many of them had bits of brown, so she used brown flannel as binding for a suede look. I think it looks great!


This is mine, with an unidentified body inside. To quote Nora Efron, "I feel bad about my neck." It seems to me that the neck--I mean the neckline--is again too large for me. I'm thinking about adding a stand-up collar to this one, too. Of course, another option would be to increase my exercise regimen until I have the neck and shoulders of a football player. Ok, never mind. I'll keep thinking about the collar.
This is a close-up of the fabrics after the sweatshirt had been washed. You can see a little of the texture that develops. Many of the fabrics were from Northcott's Quest for the Cure collection from a few years ago.

Not Quite Pink--October BJP

Here is my October Bead Journal Page, Not Quite Pink. It is in acknowledgment of October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Technical Details:
Again I used Lacy's Stiff Stuff as a foundation. I sprayed it with some red Memories Mist so the Stuff would be somewhat not-quite-pink under the beads.

Most of the beads are 11/0. There are some 15/0, 8/0, 6/0 and bugles, plus a few hexes and triangles. Nearly all of it is worked in the back stitch. The little heart in the upper right is almost copper colored.

It is 2.75 inches by 2.75 inches.

I used Nymo thread. I started it with mauve thread and then somewhere along the line switched to light pink.

What I Was Thinking:
I chose a rosy peach color scheme instead of the pink usually associated with Breast Cancer Awareness. As a Survivor, I have mixed feelings about the relentless pinkness of October. You can see my October 1 post for the full rant.

The copper-colored heart is for my supportive friends and family. As a whole, I find the piece somewhat disjointed--I feel that unity and flow are missing. But that's what makes it a good journal entry for this month. It reflects my disjointed feelings. Although I finished September very early, I had a hard time getting started on this one. It was tough to get the needle moving through the beads until I knew I had "passed" my check-up.

Issues that Came Up: (Beading Issues)

• The size works well. After I did the September page, I wondered if it were too small. But this size gave me time to do some other things without feeling rushed.
• I like this color, and I certainly have a lot of beads left over. And most of them are sparkly.
• This would be a wonderful color for a spirit doll.
• But I need more not-sparkly beads.

Thanks to all who left supportive comments after my previous rant. The BJP has been good for me!

Renegade Militant Seamstresses, part 2

The Renegade Militant Seamstresses met last week to take the next step in their raw-edge, collage sweatshirt jackets. This is a really fun group, and in keeping with the "renegade" nature, not everyone worked on sweatshirts. See the nearly finished spiral bracelet above. It will go with her sweatshirt.

We didn't quite get finished, but everyone should be able to complete the jackets at home. This one features seamstresses.
One person added a side seam pocket. You can see the quilting from the wrong side if you enlarge this photo.
How about this for a beginner's project? Beautiful soft colors and fabrics with a special meaning.
And here's one finished except for the binding. Just made to wear with jeans. Note the black and white patchwork sweatshirt she's wearing.
I've got the binding almost sewn on mine. It came to a temporarily halt when my machine needle broke. Not a big problem, but I can take a hint. Time to stop for the day. I'll get it done tomorrow or the next day. The final step will be to machine wash and dry the jackets so the sweatshirts shrink up, giving a soft, rumpled look. And then trim off any loose threads. And then vacuum up the threads. Or not.

Beaded Button Workshop

On Monday evening, I did a beaded button workshop for our local sewing guild. There were 14 participants, a good sized group.
These are some of the works in progress.
Each person got a kit with fabric backed by lightweight, stable-in-all-directions interfacing, a button form, a beading needle, beading thread and a collection of at least ten different kinds of beads. Most of the beads were 11/0, with a few 8/0, 6/0, and other shapes.
I've found that, for me at least, it's easier to teach this when the fabric is backed by interfacing. Maybe that's because sewers are very familiar with interfacing.

Here are some of the finished buttons.

We only had abut 90 minutes to work, but most people got nearly finished or completely finished. They did a nice job, didn't they?
Our guest brought several little beaded bags to show us. They are just gorgeous. They are knitted, with more than 1500 11/0 seed beads on each one. The knitting needles are about the diameter of toothpicks. The bags are about two inches high.
Amazing, aren't they?

Blog Info Update

1. The pattern for the Spirit Doll has been found. (October 12 post) It was in that favorite location, "under stuff."

2. Forget what I said about the Wall Street Journal and a lack of attention to women's shoes in the September 23 post, item #5. For a full discussion of women's shoes, see this article in the WSJ.