Visitors for the Quilt Shop

Here's a picture of the quilted skirt for the display table. It's hard to see, but the blocks that look white are really unbleached muslin made with the same pattern as the colorful blocks. I thought having all colorful blocks would draw too much attention to the skirt, so I alternated them. Now that they're quilted (I outlined the houses), they show up better -- like ghost houses. :) All four panels are finished, but I'm not going to staple them to the base until we set up for the show. I'll show you photos from the show. Here are the visitors to the show. The grandpa doll has already take off his lavender shrug (really!), and the grandma doll shed her dress in hopes of getting a new one. All of the ladies were treated to hair styling, and everybody's clothing changed a bit except for the boy, who for some reason missed this photo opportunity.

The young man looks much better with his oversized collar gone and his lavender trouses changed for houndstooth. The lady in the blue dress got a new belt. The lady in the red turtleneck lost her collar and got a new pair of slacks. The grandma doll didn't get a new dress, but she did get a much needed hair-do and an apron. She's going to be stationed in the kitchen, keeping an eye on the refreshments. Grandpa got a new shirt and a scarf. I think he is the gallery owner from the Big City that Janice mentioned in a comment. I hope he finds a lot of quilts for his gallery.

By the way, I did notice the stains on the little girl's shirt. Her red collar ran when I doused her hair with hairspray. I debated making a new shirt for her but then decided she's a tomboy who can never keep her clothes clean anyway, so why bother? She may have her back to the audience or be playing hide and go seek with the boy ... we'll see!

Along with the owner and quilter made by Havanaholly and the two resin people in the apartment, it makes a total of eleven people in the shop. I think the lady in blue will be shopping, the family and grandpa will be admiring quilts, and grandma will be in the kitchen, but they may have other ideas when it comes time to set up.

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Oh .. I forgot one other person. I didn't get her photo today, but there is a lady in the workroom, working at one of the sewing machines. Cindy Lou came from a vignette I made a few years ago in a Greenleaf Dollhouses competition. She got tired of riding the ski lift. Click on her name to see her. That makes an even dozen inhabitants.

Quilts at the Great American Dollhouse Museum

Last week we traveled, and in our travels we spent nearly a whole day at The Great American Dollhouse Museum in Danville, Kentucky (about 20 miles south of Lexington). It was such a treat to visit with the gracious owner, Lori Kagan-Moore, and some of her family. The museum was featured recently on a local TV station and can be seen on YouTube. Lori permits photos in the museum, and I took several, although reflections were a challenge. I'm posting four of them here -- all of quilts, since that is my current focus. More to come, I promise! Poke the photos for a larger view.

Although the clothing isn't quite right, I think this scene was in the Shaker Village.

There are two quilts in the photo, one fabric print folded on the floor and one stitched on the bed. This house boasted a beautiful rug in every room. I wish I could remember more about the house. After exposure to hundreds of houses and thousands of beautiful rooms, my memory box overflowed! Here is a pieced and printed quilt. Can't recall which house this was.

The next scene is from a series depicting the days of the underground railroad. The little girl is telling the runaway under the bed to keep still, as the authorities have come to the house. The quilt appears to be printed fabric with stitch marks added with ink.

More about The Great American Dollhouse Museum when we get unpacked and sorted out!

Pack up your ... whatever!

I got to thinking that all quilters need a bag to carry projects and supplies, so today I made some. They are unbleached muslin over lightweight cardstock front, back and bottom and embelished with 1/8" ribbon and tiny cuts of fabric. Poke the picture to see them better. (When I poked it to check, I noticed some tiny threads that need to be clipped. I think next time I make these I'll turn a tiny hem in the top edge.) While assembling, I found it useful to have a block made from two pieces of 1/4" foamcore board stuck inside to form the shape. I cut the rectangles of cardstock, scored the two bottom folds, and glued them to the muslin and trimmed around the edges. This photo shows the cardstock ready to bend around the block. The muslin side is inside. The four in back have had the muslin glued on the outside. I cut it a quarter inch longer than the height of the side so there would be something to fold under to make a nice bottom.

Here's the block being pulled out of the wrapped bag. The narrow sides do not have cardstock; they can fold naturally.

The next photo shows today's quilt in progress. I found that by cutting the squares to near finished size and gluing them on a backing, I could scrunch them up a bit, so they look as if there is batting. These blocks were cut from a piece of fabric printed with them, although I rearranged them better to suit a mini pattern.

Here is the finished quilt. It turned out to be 6" x 8" rather than the 5" x 7" I'd planned because I added a border (folded bias tape) and then added some lace on top of that for extra texture. It's a rather strong design and will likely go on the wall in the display room as it is too big for the display frames. This quilt is all glue. Not a stitch on it.

More Quilts

The chaos in yesterday's photo has nothing on the chaos and clutter generated today! I made three quilts, finished another, and made a wall hanging, plus a dozen more bolts of fabric. There are snips of fabric all over the place! These quilts are all about 5"x7" and will be displayed on the frames in the quilt show room.

The next one is the crazy quilt I started way last fall. I made the push and got it finished. Decided it would get lost among the quilts in the show, so I think it will be displayed in the apartment. It's not a very traditional design but I like the clean modern lines combined with the fussy look of a crazy quilt. The sparkle doesn't show up in the photo. It really looks much better in person.

I did a tentative rearrangement of the apartment furnishings. The little wall hanging I made today is on the bed. It may hang inside the Murphy bed. The crazy quilt will hang higher, above a table that will go between the chairs.

Out of Chaos

Late this evening I looked at the worktable and couldn't comprehend how I'd managed to get anything done in all of the chaos. I tidied up somewhat after I snapped the photo but it's still nothing to brag about. The clutter in the lower left is the creation of a display frame prototype.
The quilt-in-progress is put together and in the workroom. I like the strips yet to be added that hang on the chair. I wish I'd shaped them a bit better with hairspray before I glued them, but they look okay in person. Did you notice that the quilt hanging by the worktables has a sewing theme? :)

This is the third table in the workroom. The pieces aren't glued in place. I want to show a pile of quilt blocks and some sashing in progress. This fabric has alternating one-inch solid blocks and blocks made of four half inch small blocks. It would be a good candidate except that the colors are so blah. I need to find better fabric for this one.

I did get some new smaller quilts made. The top left and center quilts will be on racks in the show room. The smaller ones below them will go on the walls. The one on the right -- not sure what will happen to that one. It needs to have a border before I decide.

The bulk of the afternoon was spend fiddling with quilt frames for display in the showroom. This prototype is a bit unstable and about an inch and a quarter too tall, but has provided the research I needed to make better ones. There will be two quilts on each frame, back to back. I'm not sure how many frames this room will take so that a) visitors will be able to see both sides of the frames and b) the view of the kitchen/workroom won't be blocked entirely. Did you notice the little clothespins holding up the quilt?

Details, details, details!

Here's an overview of the quilt shop. The shop (lower left) is coming along nicely. The workroom (above the shop) is also coming along. The bathroom needs wall hangings. My friend NJ says she has just the thing for in there. :) The apartment (upper right) is still in chaos. The furniture is there just to see what it looks like with furniture. The Murphy bed will stay. Not sure about anything else. Below the apartment is the large room where the quilts will be displayed, and behind it the kitchen/workroom. Poke the picture to see the details.

I'm debating whether to have the Murphy bed open or closed. NJ says it should be open or people won't know what it is. But I wonder about it being open during the day. Makes the owner seem a bit lax with her housekeeping!

Remember the empty spot on the counter? It has been filled with spools of thread in a basket.

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Here is the finished shelf unit. The little wall hangings across the top were cut from fabric. I really like the detail in this. Too bad most of it won't be seen because the unit is toward the back of the room on a side wall. I hope folks peek in the window to see it.

I started hanging quilts to add color to the walls. The big quilts, back and at right, are glued to a bamboo skewer, which runs through screw eyes. If this reverts to a residence one day, the tiny holes can be filled or papered over. The smaller quilt also has a skewer glued to it. The skewer holds it just far enough from the wall to look more "real". I think the smaller quilts are light enough to be held up with miniwax. Note the quilt in progress on the far worktable. The nearest chair holds sewn strips for another quilt. More about that later.

Here's a better shot of the apartment. The resin lady appeared in a box of minis given to me by a friend last May. She's knitting. The furniture, except for the Murphy bed, is in there to be auditioned. Still not sure what this room will look like, but it's beginning to feel like a personal hideaway in a commercial establishment.

This is how the quilt on the worktable (above) got to have such realistic folds and draping. This is the quilt for the near table. The quilter is sewing a strip in place. The pink contractor's foam is standing in for the table and the bit of foamcore board is standing in for the sewing machine. I didn't want to get them gunked up with hair spray.

Here is a strip of wall hangings that will go over the doorway between the show room and the kitchen. They have also received a dose of hairspray to give them some life. I want them to appear to be fluttering. The two bundles in clamps are quilts. It's nearly impossible to fold a quilt this small and keep it from popping open. A few drops of fabric glue help considerably. I hesitated to fold these up, but what would a quilt shop be without some folded quilts on a shelf?

I talked to my friend at the local hardware store today about plexiglass for the back. I think some U-channels ought to do the trick. I want to have it enclosed for the show.

Two new quilts

Two new quilts today. The first is stitched together using the strip method. It was tedious and didn't turn out very well. I should have done one with plain cloth to get a feel for it. The pattern was hard to calibrate. This one may end up folded on a shelf. It's lap robe size.
The second one is made from cheater cloth, my candidate for most clever invention of all time. Since it went together so quickly, I used the sewing machine to embellish it with some "quilting." The backing is a dark green/black print. If I weren't so tired of playing with tiny pieces of cloth, I'd have finished stitching between each block. Most of the lines between the blocks are printed. I stitched the center top vertical line; it makes a difference. Maybe I'll sew the rest another time.
One reason I got tired of sewing was that when I changed a bobbin, I didn't replace the needle thread properly. Who knew that skipping a step on the thread that goes through the needle would cause the bobbin thread to make ugly snarls and knots? I wasted a lot of time cursing and rethreading the bobbin assembly, which was innocent. *sigh*

Tomorrow, back to making bolts.

An afghan without all of that tedious crocheting

One of the Greenleaf Dollhouse Forum members suggested putting together strips of trim to make an afghan. What a great idea! I bought a tiny daisy chain at Walmart* and stitched it together to form a throw. Unfortunately, it's a bit narrow, so I'm going to have to stage it carefully, but here you can see it draped over the foot of a double bed. *Yes, a Walmart that still have fabric. It's in Sedalia, Missouri. The manager says they'll keep it until the store is remodeled. Nobody is saying when that might happen. Meanwhile, she has the go-ahead to keep on ordering. :)

A new Project: A Quilt Shop

It has been 2-1/2 months since my last entry. Real life got in the way of minis. I'm happy to report that the White Orchid is nearly finished. Just a few details to add and it will be ready for the final photos. Stay tuned!

Meanwhile, I have another project. My father built this large wooden dollhouse for my sister and me back in the 1950s. It has been played with and stored for at least 60 years, and has come to me for refurbishing. It's big. Wonderfully big.

My good friend NJ has agreed to chair the local quilt guild's show in September 2010. The theme is "Home, Sweet Home." She asked if I'd have the house finished by then. She wants to use it as a prop."Don't bother with the inside", she said. "The outside will do fine." But then I got to thinking. This is a big house. Big enough to hold a quilt shop and a studio apartment for the owner.

Here's my plan: downstairs left (the living room) will be the shop area with bolts of fabric, fat quarters, sales counter, cutting table, etc. The room on the right (dining room) will be a workroom with sewing machines, tables, maybe some sale fabric. Behind it (the kitchen. See the door) will be a break room with coffee pot and snacks. Upstairs left (master bedroom) will be the quilting room. A couple of frames for hand quilting and maybe a couple long arm machines. The little room in the middle will remain the necessary and block off the public area from the owner's studio apartment, the room on the right (former children's room).
Since I haven't had much time in the workroom, I've been doing some pick-up-and-go items, namely quilts. The three on the left are made of cheater cloth -- fabric that has a quilt-like pattern. These are not individual blocks. The one of the right is getting close to becoming a crazy quilt. More about that below. I'm sorry I didn't include something in the photo to give an idea of scale. They are each about 7-1/4" high. The one on the left is sized for a king bed. The second is double bed size, and the third is twin size. The one on the right is meant to be a wall hanging, so it's not a standard bed size. Click on the pictures to see larger views.
The calico was the simplest to do. Just layer the quilt top with the red backing and sandwich a couple layers of my husband's discarded tee shirt, baste it, then "stitch the ditch" with the machine. I'm not a quilter in real life, but I have picked up a few terms, enough to be dangerous. Stitch the ditch means that the quilting stitched run between the blocks. For this I sewed the lines between the blocks and around the five little red diamonds.
Here's a close-up of the calico. Please don't look at the bindings. I need to work on the corners on all of these. I'm telling myself that they're prototypes and don't need to be perfect. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
The next one is the Quilter's Quilt. I was lucky enough to find cheater cloth with sewing symbols on it to mimic an appliquéd quilt. Same technique: stitch the ditch.

It's easier to see the stitching on the detail. Don't you love the fancy detail on the border? Bless my sister for passing on to me a very nice sewing machine. :)

The Tattersal Quilt gets its name from the pattern, open lines. These happen to be double lines, but close enough! This one is not stitched, but tiny knots are tied at the intersection of the make believe blocks

The little red dots are part of the fabric design, so red ties seemed a natural. The border on this and the other quilts is simply the backing fabric folded over and glued.

The Stained Glass quilt started out to be a Crazy Quilt. I found some no-wale black corduroy that works well as a mini velvet and used strips of silk for the colors. It seemed a lot easier to use StitchWitchery to glue down the silk in bold strips than to figure out how to cut tiny bits for individual blocks. I cut strips about an eighth of an inch wide for the horizontal lines.

I didn't want to mess with the bulk of turning the edges of the silk under, so I used a zigzag stitch to edge them. Eventually, I'll embellish most of the segments with some kind of embroidery.

So, here we go. I will probably put new binding on these and use them in the shop. Meanwhile, I have a little plastic tub full of tiny cardboard rectangles and swatches of cloth to make bolts of fabric. And even more very tiny "fat quarters" that need to be folded and boxed. Lots of hand work to be done while sitting or riding or waiting, even if time in the workroom is limited.