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I hadn’t planned to share from this work-in-progress until it was done, but then I was inspired by this post, which challenges bloggers (quilting bloggers in particular) to share more of their process, not just finished projects.

So, here I am, showing you a strip from a large patchwork I’m working on. When I do patchwork, I’m not usually interested in following a traditional pattern or in measuring. Some people call this “liberated quilting.” For me it’s about being able to enjoy the process (I hate measuring) and also something we used to talk about it in art class called “showing the artist’s hand.” In painting this often means that the artist has let the brushstrokes show. I enjoy having my patchwork look handmade at first glance. If you’re familiar with the Gee’s Bend quilts, it’s that kind of aesthetic I’m going for.

I also prefer to work with mostly used or scrap fabrics in my patchwork (I keep saying patchwork rather than quilting because this piece is not actually going to be quilted). I think it’s because historically that’s what quilts were made from, and that thriftiness and ingenuity is part of what attracts me to patchwork in the first place. It’s not that I don’t enjoy a beautiful quilt made from new fabrics—-this is just a rule I give myself (and sometimes break, of course). The history of the fabric creates a story behind the project, and it also provides an extra challenge, kind of like painting a still life using only four tubes of paint.

This patchwork is for my son’s duvet cover, and it’s made from his crib sheets, most of which I hand-dyed, and also from the fabric I used in a failed attempt at making a shopping cart cover. You can see one of his crib sheets in this blog post. There’s also a bit of fabric left from making the curtains in his room.

When I was pregnant with my son, I went snorkeling for the first time and was inspired to create a nursery mural of a very simple school of white fish on a grayish-teal backdrop—blogged here. Now that he’s in a big-boy bed, I wanted to make him a new bedcover with a similar theme. I didn’t want to make literal fish but  wanted to keep the feeling of simple white shapes moving over the space. Here’s my sketch for the piece—although I didn’t color it all in so you really can’t tell at this point which parts are going to be white. That part’s in my head. I may or may not follow the sketch entirely.

In addition to the Gee’s Bend quilters, another influence is the work of Malka Dubrawksy, a fiber artist, quilting blogger, and author I admire. Check out her gorgeous work made with fabrics she batiks and dyes herself.

Can’t wait to get some more done so I can show you my progress. Hopefully I’ll finish this before the little man goes to college. And if he doesn’t like it, I’ll hang it on the wall!

4 Comments on Hand-Dyed Patchwork in Progress, last added: 9/15/2010

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Bunnies Rock!  I love them!  Does this bunny look familiar?  It’s ME! ha!  I love personalizing my art and thinking about friends and family when I draw.  When my kids were little I would draw a bunch of cartoons and they would come up to me and ask,  “Which one is ME?!”

I’ve been pretty busy with studio cleaning!!  Bags and bags of things are GONE from my sight!  Why is it that I feel so much freer when clutter is OUT OF SIGHT?

The last few days have been working days!  I have bunnies galore, many baby chicks fluttering about, a children’s book on the front burner and more fabric ideas ready to color.

I find it interesting that fall seems to be my most productive time. I get so energized!  I can hardly wait to get working each morning! The cartoons are nearly flying off the page!!

Clothworks! I have not forgotten my Winter fabric collection revisions for you!  I have many sketches ready to go and some fresh ideas!  Have some more children’s fabric in the works too…. so fun!  I love my job!!!!

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I got some Spoonflower samples today!  Always exciting.  When I discovered they now offered cotton lawn I had to come up with some designs to test it out. (Lawn was the first thing I requested back when I first signed up with them.)  The samples you see above are all printed on lawn.  The colors came out mostly as expected which is nice.  Can you see the old-timey circus/Alice influence?

The fabric itself is a looser weave than I was expecting; maybe it will shrink up a bit in the wash.  My idea was to construct a wee 1930s dress for myself from Spoonflower lawn.  And, I suppose, some dolly dresses too.  What do you think?

I printed the strongman design on canvas.  I really like the canvas. (I wasn’t expecting to as I haven’t had much use for it; perhaps that will change!)  There were other strongman versions on quilt-weight fabric but I don’t like them as such.  Somehow the details didn’t show up as well. (Plus the scale was smaller so the little guys just seem sort of lost.)  I think this design would need something a little more if it were ever to be printed, some kind of design element in the background.

The diamond/star design is printed on their standard quilt-weight fabric in a slightly different colorway from the same design above it.  I like the softer, more greenish version in the lawn. (Although the bright red, blue and white is appropriate for our holiday weekend!)

Have you printed up anything at Spoonflower lately?

Anyhow, I wish all my fellow U.S. residents, citizens and ex-pats a Happy July 4th weekend!   Actually, a lovely weekend to everyone!

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One of my other birthday treats was a trip to St. Jacob's where there is a huge Farmers' market, with a giant Antiques & Collectibles warehouse across the road. When we first discovered the warehouse in the winter, we were hurrying home, so I only had half an hour to rush through, so the big treat was to come back this weekend with lots of time to look around.

I've been meaning to recommend the place as it's amazing. It's the kind of place where each dealer has their own partitioned "room" and the contents range from gorgeous antique furniture to cheap and cheerful $3 vintage tins. The sheer amount of stuff will put vintage lovers into a happy daze.

There are also a couple of places in the town that have antiques. I found the little glass apothecary jar from Hamel Brooms on King Street in the old blacksmith's shop. I'm not sure what I'll do with it but it had a pleasing quality about it that I couldn't resist.

Then Sunday was the Spring Trunk Show at the Workroom, I had a great time and picked up a few treats. It's hard not to get tempted by the charming handmade things that inevitably surround me every time Becky and Karyn curate a show.
This time I picked up a pocket pony (I hadn't realized these existed but immediately discovered that I needed one) and a green rabbit from Stitch Face who is just as sweet as her creations.
I also bought a pretty vintage robe from Becky, that I can't seem to stop wearing. This picture really isn't doing it justice - it has flattering vintage shaping and a charming floral print:
Finally I picked up some fabric I can't wait to sew something with, from Kalpna's rummage department and some vintage dress patterns from Karyn.
As always the Workroom is such a homey place to have a trunk show, so much fun chatting with everyone and wandering around looking at all the crafty inspiration. We had a beautiful day for it. Thank you to eve

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Blue fabric from my stash.  Perfect for a bevy of blue dresses (some of my favorite things!).  The top and second from the bottom are vintage.  Don’t you love that lace in the middle?  I can see it made up into a 30’s style dress or blouse.

For Poppytalk’s Spring Color Week.

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Today I rode my bicycle downtown and had a quick peek at the fabric sale at the Textile Museum. This one is a lot smaller than the big sale in the Spring, but it was still worth going. There's some fabric outside on tables, then upstairs there is a large room with more fabric, some buttons and some handmade items.

I bought a scrap of pink fabric, a piece of brown wool fabric and some buttons:

I chose two mother-of-pearl buttons and a set of four antique glass buttons. The buttons are special, so while these were expensive I think they were good value... well I don't really know but the four on the right are the prettiest buttons I've ever seen and I knew if I went home without them I would be thinking about them later.

It's not too late for you to go too! Here's the info:
p.s. they were saying that new buttons would be for sale on Saturday so you all the best things won't be gone if you go then!

For the Love of Cloth: Decorator Fabric Sale

Friday October 23 11:00 am - 5:00 pm and
Saturday October 24 11:00 am - 3:00 pm

Textile Museum of Canada
55 Centre Avenue (Dundas St. W & University Ave., St. Patrick subway)
Toronto, Ontario
M5G 2H5
(416) 599-5321

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Meet my brother, Guy Latulippe. He’s a garment designer who has turned his full attention to designing some amazing bags, purses, and totes.

When a wise and talented friend remarked on the fact that bags transcend size and shape of body, a new course was set. Inspired by mythology, super-heroes, music, mechanical systems and the wonders of the natural world, my bags are artisanal pieces, that are part of a collection. The bags are to be considered part of the wearer’s ‘armor’ elevating one’s sense of confidence as one sets out into the world.

His attention to detail and passion for his craft have always impressed me. Whether it’s his Pursonalities handbags (above), his impressive messenger bags, or his take on Christmas stockings (below), his creations always turn heads.

Visit his Etsy shop, or stalk him on Facebook, and send him some internet love.

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Posted by Luc Latulippe on Drawn! The Illustration and Cartooning Blog | Permalink | No comments
Tags: bags, Design, Etsy, fabric, Fashion, purses

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I've made great headway and the giant heap on the dining table has turned into two overflowing suitcases. One has the scrappy fabric packs, buttons, beads and vintage tins. The other has a mish-mash of odds and ends and larger pieces of fabric.

I went a little overboard with the fabric packs and created lots of the scrappy ones:I have a new vintage suitcase I really like, it's green, and so my vintage yellow suitcase will be up for sale. This is the new one:
This could be a good way to clear out some things that are hard to let go. But I've found that when I try to gather up things to sell I find myself changing my mind. It's like I'm hoarding things from my own hoard which is something only you fellow hoarders will understand. You get a fresh look and come up with new ideas for things and decide you might need them.

I am fighting my hoarding habits though, so if I can let them go, here are more of the things I'm adding to my rummage sale:I have more things than will fit in my suitcases so new things will be added throughout the show!

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Have you heard? There's a Pure Rummage Trunk Show at the Workroom! That means tables full of craft supplies and vintage items. I know some of us already have a bit of a stash situation but then again winter is coming and what better time to curl up on the couch with a new project?

I'm going to have a table there, and I can tell you that I already have a dining table covered with things I've decided I can let go. I've created quilt bundles which are sets of ten 10"-13" squares of quilting cottons in coordinating small scale prints. These can be used to add to your quilting stash, or used on their own for miniature quilts, scrap booking, collages, small sewing projects or little starter kits for kids that want to learn to sew. But really, I don't need to tell you what to do with some extra fabric.

I also have scrappy fabric bundles which are made up various sized pieces of new, vintage and reproduction fabrics from my stash. And I have more button and bead packs, some larger pieces of fabric and some vintage odds and ends. I'm going to post more items in the next few days so you can see if anything strikes your fancy.

My goal for this sale is to clear out lots and lots of my collectibles and fabric, button, bead, and yarn stash, which means things are priced to go! My personal goal is to not buy more things than I showed up with. I hope to see you there.

Here are the details:

Sunday October 18, 2009
Noon-5pm
the workroom
1340 Queen Street West

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I really love working in this style. : )

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I just uploaded some fun 1/2 yard fabric combos in my shop.

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The other day I was going out to lunch and couldn't find a bag I wanted to take. It wasn't going to be a full day out so I didn't want to take a backpack, or even a messenger bag. And while I usually don't coordinate bags with outfits, I didn't have a bag that seemed right for a hot summer day. They all seemed kind of dark and barkclothy if you know what I mean.
So I had a rummage through my stash - you know the big stacks of hoarded fabric we sewers keep in various locations around the home - and found the perfect print that I had bought months ago. And whipped up a new handbag that seemed just right. I used the last scrap of the fabric to make a matching coin purse:So I'm just wondering, do any of you have stash guilt? Does it seem like you have too much, and do you wonder why are you buying more fabric when you already have lots you haven't used yet? Because if I didn't have all my fabric handy I wouldn't have found that perfect piece.
On the other hand my stash is still a little unwieldy so lately I've been trying to do more sewing and make some of the things I've always been meaning to make but was too busy. There's going to be some new things going into my etsy shop www.clairelmilne.etsy.com including some older bags getting sold (because my bag stash is a little excessive as well) and maybe even some fabric...

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I did manage to pull this one off in about an hour while the
children went out. Yay!!!!!! This is a part of a series of fabric
illustrations that I am working on.

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Toronto illustrator Miki Sato creates some delightful collage-style illustrations with fabric and textiles. You can also find her on Flickr.

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Sometimes I post something and then I think it needs a little follow-up. In this case it's the IKEA Fusion dining set. I loved it when we bought it and it did fit perfectly into our kitchen eat-in area. But I was never really happy with the cushions.

The set comes with the seats covered in a black matte vinyl? fabric. I really didn't like it. So I used an aqua and white striped fabric I had on hand to recover them. But I made some mistakes. First of all I didn't pre-wash the fabric and I had bought it 2nd hand so it turns out that there were dusty marks on it. I didn't notice until later.

Also I didn't remove the black fabric that was already there since it was attached with about 1000 staples. This isn't a good idea because it doesn't feel right and there was a subtle dark shadow from having the black underneath the white and blue striped fabric.

So this time I was determined to do it right. (if something is worth doing, etc...) For some reason I was picturing a green and white print and finally found the perfect one at a fabric store on Queen West. The best part is that it was a fabric that was usually $19/yard but I found an end piece that was around 1.5 yards for only $10! The green colour was exactly what I was looking for, and it was a nice upholstery weight with a lovely smooth feel to it.

Bradley helped remove the 1000 staples and I attached the new fabric and now I re-love the IKEA dining set. Yay!

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So here are the finished cushions I made from some of the fat quarters I bought at the workroom. If you're sad because you don't live near the workroom and can't buy fabric there (I would be), don't fret because you can order this print online. I found it recently at reprodepot but I'm sure there are other places that have it in stock.

It's called Maime Bamboo Thatch by Anna Griffin. I'm mentioning it in particular because I used the blue version for our kitchen door curtains and I've had some people ask what the fabric was for those. p.s. I've listed all the places that I buy fabric online in my sidebar to the right. The only other places I find fabric would be ebay (that's where I found the barkcloth for the floral couch cushions in the picture) and of course local finds.

These two cushions were made with 3 fat quarters. I did it by cutting a square each from two of the pieces for the fronts of the cushions. Then the backs are made up of two hemmed overlapping pieces so that you can get the cushion in and out. One half is from the leftover piece after cutting the front square, then I cut the 3rd fat quarter in half to make the other sides. Alternatively you could just buy a bigger piece of fabric and use a zipper! I ended up with a few small leftover pieces that will probably become pouches.
The piping is just some green cotton I had in my stash. That particular piece came from the Textile Museum sale that happens once a year in Toronto. The cord for inside the piping is actually a fat bootlace found at the dollar store. Then I added a snap to close the back.

I am still planning to show you some holiday pictures once I get them all sorted. I'm a bit obsessive about showing things in order. So for now, we're still at the beginning of the trip, with one of our other favourite finds in Glasgow (along with the fabric store) - the TARDIS!

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that looks old, if I did it right.


I really had fun with this. I wanted to make something that looked vintage. Something cool you'd find at a good flea market or antique shop. Something that had a history, a life, memories. But of course its all new.

The body of the bag is hand knit in garter stitch, then woven with the same yarn, going up and down each row, vertically, if that makes sense. It gave the 'fabric' of the knitting much more oomph and strength. The yarn is cotton, and it tends to stretch if its not firmed up some. The weaving also gave it a different texture, which I like a lot. Now "plain" garter stitch looks unfinished to me!



The fringe is just the leftover woven ends, which I purposely left long. I split them apart and also added a couple extra lengths of other yarns for some variety.



I've had this fabric in my stash for a while. I just artistically stuffed it into the bag body, letting it overlap in front and back, and left the ends raw. There's a little wood button in front here, and some little stitching holding it in place in the back.




The handle is hand crocheted, and attached on both sides.

I also "aged" the bag and yarn just a hair in a couple of spots with brushed on coffee. Yes, coffee! Just a little bit.

What I love is that all the ends are frayed and raw and just "out there".

I might add a bit more to it, but I had to take a break. It might be done, I'm not sure. I have to live with it a day or two to know for sure.

I'd like to resurrect my Etsy shop (which has been in a coma for some months now) and wanted to come up with something new to sell. Thing is, these might be a bit pricey, since they're labor intensive. The knitted and woven body is the thing that really takes the time. Hmmm. I may have a hard time parting with this anyway because it looks way too cute hanging on the post of my black iron bed. So we'll see. (And yes, I know I need to do better pictures before I put this in my shop! Why are good digital pictures so hard to do?)

The heat has gone back to wherever it came from and everyone's feeling way better around here. It'll come back, but for now sanity has returned. I'll try not to whine so much next time around.

All images are © Paula Pertile and may not be copied or used for any reason.

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The Valentine's Trunk show was great, so many people showed up and it was great to see what everyone had made. I took home a few treats, there were just too many nice things to tempt!

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The kitchen is going well, mainly because we had to get things in place for the countertop measurer on Wednesday. It went well, they make cardboard templates of your countertop and glue them in place to make sure they're accurate. Now we just have to wait a few weeks until the countertop is ready to install. Since the kitchen is now more organized I could put away some of the dishes that were in the living room china cabinet I bought specifically for sewing supplies. I've finally organized all my fabric!

The fabric is folded in large squares so that you can see the edge of each one which will make them easier to find. They're sorted by colours of course, with patterns and solids mixed in. I tried to fold them neatly (in thirds if they're big enough) so you can pull one out without messing up the whole pile.

My thread boxes are on top, and the drawers hold smaller items. The lower shelves hold messier remnants of fabric that don't fold as nicely. I want to paint this cabinet white but can't decide. The wood patina is nice on some places but not so much in others. This is the outside of the cabinet: And the inside:
I might just put light wallpaper in the inside to lighten it up without painting. The vintage tins hold things like zippers and bias tape:
I also had some inspiration for my ribbon. I'd already organized it into these metal baskets that came from the dollar store. They are wound onto pieces of paper towel cardboard rolls.
My inspiration was to use some of my vintage thread spools. Finally I have a purpose for them, and it's much nicer than the cardboard. These old wooden spools are just too nice to throw away, but I do actually use the thread so they were empty.
You can wind the lace or ribbon the way you would thread, spiral up and down the spool then secure in place with a pin. I need some shorter pins for this, so if anyone knows where you can find them please let me know!
p.s. the cable stitch from my recent knitting post was adapted from this lovely scarf pattern. For mine, I made the longer cable part shorter and was trying out a double rib for the sides.

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