Gratitude and Jeannie Cooper

On Health, Friendship, And Gratitude.

For those of you who are Young and Restless fans, and who check in to my blog because of that, and not so much the textile art, you may have heard that this week, our Grand Dame of Genoa City, Jeanne Cooper was struck seriously ill, and has been in hospital touch and go for many days.  

The outpouring of support from her fans, through social media and the press, is jaw dropping, and although not always appropriate, (things got a little gossipy and competitive) it has confirmed for me the power of Internet tools to touch each other in a way that until recently was impossible.

Thousands of strangers have mobilized their prayers, good wishes, thoughts for healing and recovery, and have posted support, love, cards, pictures collages, greetings, song bytes, and outreach that is utterly amazing to me.  

In the midst of this illness and Jeannie's very slow progress out of Intensive Care, her family surrounded her, tweeting, posting through press contacts and social media sites, keeping us all informed and somehow comforted that the strength of will of one amazing woman, and the love and focus of thousands of those who love her could be experienced moment by moment in real time through the Internet.

I am grateful today for Jeannie's continuing improvements, for my own health, for the nearness of my family and for the contact I too have with all of you through technology and the strange and wonderful world of Daytime.

I am also grateful for you.  Life is short, unpredictable, challenging.  So I'm feeling compelled to tell you thanks.  I'm hoping you'll tell others the things you want them to know.

Hug your children, kiss your dog, ride your horse, splurge a little on a treat for yourself today.  Celebrate the now.  Find the good.  Live like Jeannie Cooper does, putting it out there every day with strength and dignity and all her heart.  Be grateful for every moment.

I am.

A Rose Is A Rose

Tutorial:  A Velvet Rose For Mother's Day

With Mother's Day just around the corner, here's a perfect little project to make into a pin, sew on a purse or a hat, or pin to the lapel of a jacket.  They can also be added to home accessories like pillows and drapery tie backs.  These are beautiful silk/rayon velvet roses in an assortment of hand-dyed colors, but you can just buy the yardage in the color you want your rose to be and save a step.

You will need:

One scrap in your choice of color, rayon/silk blend velvet (cotton velvet, and panne poly velvet will too but are not as lush, lightweight, or easy to work with) 5” by 20” sewn into a tube lengthwise

One scrap of velvet in any complementary green for leaves, 6” by 10 makes two leaves

One square of buckram as a foundation for rose, 5” by 5” 

THE ROSE:

First make the leaves by cutting two 6” by 5” pieces of green velvet. Fold in half to make a tube, 3” by 5”.  Sew right sides together along the 5” side, one end shut at a point, and leave the other end open for turning. This will be the base of the leaf, and will be hidden in the petals of the rose, so does not need to be finished. Turn right side out, seam down the center back of the leaf.  Start just above the point, and gather the excess fabric sewing it down with topstitching in a matching or darker green thread.

     

Take the long velvet strip and make into a tube, right sides together (which should be just over two inches tall by twenty long) that will be the rose.  Turn right side out with both short ends open.  Tie a knot in the tube at one end.  At the sewing machine, take the buckram square and tack down the end of the tube with matching thread on either side of the knot, attaching it to the buckram base in the center of the square.

Fold the tube up and around the knot covering it slightly as the knot is the center of the flower.  This first turn should be about two inches.  Pinch the tube together and tack down with a few sewing machine stitches.  Twist over again, and move around the knot and expand around the flower, each time manipulating the velvet tube to a pleasing, expanding petal affect.  Each time pinching the tube and sewing down to the buckram, hiding stitches with the twist of the tube and the next layer of petals.

   

As you reach the last round, but before you sew them down, attach the leaves artistically according to how your flower has “bloomed”.  Bury the open end under the petals.  Tack down with machine stitches.

Cover the stitches with the last round of rose velvet and tuck in and finish by hand stitching.  Trim away the extra buckram.

Optional:  Sew the buckram backing directly onto a purse, hat or pillow, or make into a pin/brooche by sewing a pin back to a matching piece of felt, and sewing or hot gluing the felt to cover the buckram.  

going to the fabric store...

Recently, on a break between appointments in town, I found myself with two hours to spare, and without hesitating, went straight to the nearest chain fabric store to leaf through  project books and pattern books and walk the aisles actually touching the rows and rows of beautiful material.

I was reminded how convenient and fantastic the Internet is for buying the latest jelly roll or charm pack of fun new fabric lines.  I also spend lots of time clicking around several websites that offer free tutorials, free quilt patterns, blogs and advice about almost any kind of sewing project from the new 'green' baby accessories (water resistant diaper covers, changing pad patterns, bibs, etc.) to home dec lampshades.  I am spoiled by instant access to learning, quick delivery of goods, and community through chat rooms, board rooms, and blog spots, social media and networking, and the great companionship the whole world of sewers and quilters extend.  I have lots of friends online.  But don't really know any of their faces beyond a profile snapshot or an icon of their pet that represents their online persona. I don't often return products, and love the predictable crispness of a box of quilters cotton I order from a manufacturer.

But I don't get to feel the fabric (till it arrives).  I don't get to smell the dye and test the loft of the batting.  I don't get to pick up and test the weight of the scissors.

Also, I don't get to chat with the cutting table lady, or hold the door open for the white haired lady who has too many bags to manage.  Or thank the cashier for reminding me about my coupon or membership card discount.

Back at the fabric store...

As I checked my watch and prepared to pay for a couple of things I couldn't live without, I rounded a stack of flat folds and bumped into a Costume Designer friend of mine I haven't seen in months...one who lives as far away from that particular fabric store as I do.  She too was between meetings, and gravitates to textiles like I do.  She had a yard of fabric she had brought back from Paris ten years before and was matching colors to make it into a throw for her bedroom...

As we talked and touched the choices and compared ideas, a lady rounded on us with a full cart, and it was a Set Hair Dresser I know from a sitcom I worked on a couple of years ago.  Introductions around, and we helped her find corduroy for a project she was working on, pillows for her home.  We laughed and chatted for a few more minutes with suggestions for her about the fabric district downtown LA and where to find other great fabric finds.  

I really had to get on to my next appointment, but I joked to them that we could meet here next week same time with our coffee and do it all again.

On the way home, I realized how much we creative spirits need real contact as well as virtual...really feeling things, touching, weighing, laughing, chatting, connecting.

My reminder for the day then is to use all of our fabulous Internet tools, but don't get isolated in a craft that is solitary in itself.  Join a quilt group.  Take a class.  Go to your local quilt shop whenever possible and sign up for their free sewing Tuesday to share and learn from quilting friends.  And stop by my Facebook page and post a picture of what you're working on...don't forget your friends online!  Connection.  It's what keeps us all moving forward, trying things, being inspired.   Looking forward to hearing from you...

;)  Beth

QUILTING:  PERFECT OR FINISHED

Yes, I too have a huge pile of unfinished projects, quilt tops ready to be quilted, nearly finished costumes, and even projects I started that went wrong, and that I promised to put back on course when I had more time.

Well, I’m pretty convinced that time won’t come unless I insist.  And my recent move already ruthlessly cut back the pile of UFO’s.

So I’ve made the hard decision...do I want to spend lots of extra time on each project making it perfect, making every seam match just so, restitching that little overlap in the binding?  Putting myself further and further behind from the projects calling out to me on my worktable...

No.  I want it done.  I want to be free to move on to all the zillions of other projects I have waiting, the new fabrics I bought to propel me into the next baby quilt, tutorial, girlfriend gift, family memento.  I want it all and I want it now.  Haha.

So, within reason, I have spent the last two years giving up and giving in to the not so perfect corner on my binding, the faster method of piecing, and the pre-cut revolution of time-saving cutting.  (jelly rolls, charm packs, fat quarters and the like)  And I LOVE IT!!!  I’m getting lots more done by concentrating on smaller, more manageable projects (baby quilts, table toppers, lap rugs, table runners) and using these faster methods has increased my “finished” pile by a landslide!!

So I’d like to encourage you to give this some thought and save your perfect methods for heirlooms and very special quilts...and get the job done by relaxing with your quilting and doing good work in a shorter amount of time.  That doesn’t mean being sloppy.  It means being practical with the time you have to quilt, and the kind of technique that will you there, and the gratification of completing your alphabet quilt before the baby is in college.  Save the hand quilting for the family heirloom you can make on summer vacation.  Embrace the machine.  Use this as an excuse to take a “finish in a day” class at your local quilt shop, or use a YouTube/Internet tutorial to coach you through “make it in a weekend”.  Pick smaller projects and bigger blocks.  Learn about panels and fussy cuts that can be big impact centers for quilts and blocks.  I use machine embroidery to create focus and then panel quilt around them with complimentary colors and prints.  Learn chain piecing techniques that save loads of time, and pick projects that use cutting to reduce construction time like the disappearing nine patch.

I am adding some stash buster and pre-cuts projects on my YouTube Channel over the next few weeks, but there are already loads of great tutorials on the Internet to inspire you, and with winter winding down...there’s still plenty of time to quilt, and actually finish those projects for you and your family and friends to enjoy and admire.

Now let’s get cracking!!  We've got quilts to finish!

New Year Resolution:  Be Creative!!  Get it Done!!

As January speeds past, I find myself still lingering in the Holiday Season, tucking away the last of the decorations, and trying to catch up on all the things I thought I’d have time to tackle during the break.  Instead of finishing the last of my homemade gifts, I got sick, and farther behind, and the temptation now is to put off my quilting and sewing projects and to find every excuse to wait until spring.  Or worse, add them to my pile of UFO’s that may or may not ever be finished.  Am I alone?!  I sure hope not!!!

The weather has been cold but beautiful, so I have no help there...no rainy days to keep me indoors.  Demands of work, family, home, and pets (I got a new kitten just after Christmas), have left me with three Christmas projects unfinished and a mad rush to purchase something to replace them as the gifts I intended.

I’ve decided not to be disappointed and I will not feel guilty either.  I’m turning it around to this new spin:  finish all three projects and be that far ahead for next year’s Christmas List!!

So I’ve put aside an hour three times a week to work on the projects, more time if I can spare it.  First I’ll bind the two small quilts that are trimmed and waiting, and then do the detailed negative space quilting I’ve got left on the third table top square quilt.  

I’m making it a game.  Finish the two closest to done, so I feel like I’m making good progress.  Like paying off credit cards, or dieting, any positive accomplishment urges you on to keep up the good work!  We’re goal oriented beings for the most part.  Might as well use it.  Then I’ll do the more challenging job, and use the negative space quilting as a learning project to try a few new designs and expand my skill set.  I wouldn’t have had time for the extras if I had finished this quilt for Christmas.  I’m making the situation into a good thing.

Besides, January is the best month of the year to learn new things.  Your mind is fresh, resolutions are made, and with a new calendar in place, we feel up to the task.  Also, in most parts of the country, winter is still keeping us house-bound, and it’s good to have something new to learn to keep us sharp.

I would also like to suggest that if you don’t have any UFO’s lying around to finish, or any new learning project you’ve been dying to try, that instead you do a few simple and fast projects with immediate gratification.  I’ll have a few quick and easy project tutorials on my YouTube Channel over the next couple of weeks to give you some ideas.  But there’s nothing better than starting AND FINISHING a few small lovelies to get the year moving in the right direction.

Now...let’s get crafting!

Excerpt from "Bewitching Quick Stitching" by                 Beth Maitland...  Quick Holiday Gift Idea:
Mini Art Quilt Brooche

   For a quick, freeform gift that is sure to please your female friends and family and that can be easily personalized, try one of these little pins.

  
Start with a central design, in my case these little machine embroideries on linen so they fray and look tattered and vintage.  You can use a special ribbon, piece of trim, hanky, patch, antique button or piece of old jewelry...if it's not fabric, mount it on a square of linen or cotton as described below.

For pin back:

 Pick two quilter’s cotton fabric scraps approximately 3” by 5” in size.  They can be the same or coordinating.  One side will be the back of the pin; the other will show from the front.

Make a quilt sandwich with a similar sized piece of cotton batting, layered fabric right sides together, and batting on top.

Start sewing 1⁄4 inch seams, beginning one inch in to one long side, and continue around the other three sides, turning the final corner and sewing just one inch in, leaving an opening to turn.  Snip corners diagonally to make turning easier on this small piece.

Turn right sides out. Pin the opening shut and topstitch to close, 1⁄4 inch from edge, continuing around all sides as a topstitch finish. This is a great place to change thread color to a decorative accent thread that will be seen from the front.

You now have your mini quilt base.

       

Cut out your embroidery design, or other central embellishment scrap, in a rectangle, approximately 1⁄2 inch larger than the design. Snip the cotton batting (if you used it) about 1⁄4 inches closer in to the embroidery design leaving room to fray the linen rectangle’s edges for a tattered appearance.

Now that we have all our elements ready, it’s time to get creative. Be brave. Take scraps of ribbon and lace or cord, and loop and drape them in one corner of your fabric mini quilt.  See what appeals to you.  Bunch it, scrunch it, gather it till it looks right.  Sew it down with the sewing machine in a few tacking stitches.

Take lace or cheesecloth scraps and build a trim ruffle on the top or side of your mini quilt, each time laying the embroidery over the top to see where it would best fit, and to make sure the embroidery element will eventually cover your tacking stitches.  Tack down the ruffle or puff of fabric trim.

Lay the embroidery design on top of the mini quilt collage.  Experiment with best layout, load contrasting top thread on your machine, and sew down onto mini quilt.  Stitch around the embroidered rectangle a couple of times like you were sketching an outline with a pen...this stitching looks better if it is not perfect and if each line of stitches wavers and wiggles a bit.

In my samples, I used a fabric pen to add some color interest.  I wet my mini quilt base before starting to layer the embroidery and embellishments.  Then I took the fabric pen and touched it to several areas of the wet cotton, and let the color “bleed” into the weave and create a sort of mottled color effect.  If you use solid muslin, this will be most successful, as a print or deeper colored fabric won’t take dye as well.  Heat press to set with a hot iron.

Experiment with buttons, trinkets, beads on top of the embroidery. At the top, or the bottom, on the embroidery itself, see what looks best and hand sew the embellishment onto the mini quilt collage.  Add hot fix rhinestones if desired directly onto the embroidery or around the quilt top to add some sparkle. You can also hand sew on beads, crystals, old broken jewelry or any other bit of bling to enhance your art quilt.

Holiday Tip #17:  SPREAD KINDNESS!

Last night, after a long two days of my sitcom production job and my three hour commute, I was getting ready to start the drive home and stopped at a Starbucks for coffee to keep me awake.  I was in line but daydreaming about all the work I have to do in the next 24 hours and stepped up to place my order.  The barista smiled and took my name for the cup and walked away.  My money was out, but he didn't tell me my total.  Confused, I waited at the register.  When he returned, I said, "How much is it?" (a little aggravated)  He  replied, "The person in front of you bought your drink.  It's been happening since about ten this morning."  

I handed him some bills and said, "Buy the next guy's and keep the change.  Merry Christmas."

One small, inexpensive gesture changed my whole three hour drive home...and perhaps my week.

Pass it on...